A citizens’ group from Manipur has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for immediate intervention to stop ongoing and proposed development at Koirengei Airfield, a World War II site the group describes as a “palimpsest of Southeast Asia where world history was written on Manipur’s soil.” The representation, dated February 2, 2026, warns that continued construction could permanently erase one of India’s most layered and historically significant landscapes on the eastern frontier.
The appeal was submitted by the Citizens for the Protection and Preservation of Koirengei Airfield (CPPKAF), a non‑political civic body formed after consultations among historians, research scholars, local residents and concerned citizens. CPPKAF says Koirengei is not merely an abandoned strip of land but “a rare historical manuscript” bearing overlapping chapters of humanitarian crisis, global warfare and political transition.
According to the memorandum, Koirengei played a crucial humanitarian role in 1942 during the mass civilian exodus from Burma (now Myanmar), when thousands fled advancing war zones; the airfield served as a transit and evacuation ground offering temporary refuge in one of South Asia’s largest wartime civilian movements. In 1944, during the decisive Battle of Imphal, the site reportedly became a critical operational and command airfield, with decisions and operations coordinated from the terrain influencing the outcome of a major theatre of the Second World War.
CPPKAF also links the airfield to post‑independence political symbolism, saying the site reflects Manipur’s complex journey from colonial rule to sovereign nationhood and holds educational and commemorative value for the region and the nation.
The group argues that development projects can be relocated but historically authentic terrain-once disturbed-cannot be restored. They warn that permanent construction would destroy the physical integrity of a documented World War II landscape, erase tangible evidence of military and humanitarian history, and compromise the site’s value for research, education and remembrance.
In their appeal to the Prime Minister, the citizens have sought immediate suspension of all development and construction at Koirengei Airfield; a formal moratorium until a comprehensive heritage and historical assessment is completed; consideration of declaring the site a protected heritage zone under national legislation; and constitution of an expert committee including historians, military scholars, conservation specialists and representatives of national institutions.
The memorandum underlines that the urgency “cannot be overstated,” and frames preservation as a national obligation, describing Koirengei as “not unused land but a manuscript of memory” that embodies civilian suffering, military sacrifice, geopolitical struggle and political transformation etched into Manipur’s soil.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/manipur-civic-body-urges-pm-modi-to-save-historic-koirengei-airfield-demands-halt-to-ongoing-development-works-1354015-2026-03-02?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-03-02 21:35:00
