Medieval era According to oral history, the historical founder of
Kewhira (Kohima Village) was
Tsiera (stone defender). The village is said to be more than 700 years old and is believed to be the second largest village in Asia.
Colonial era The
East India Company Administration started to expand into Kohima beginning the 1840s. The progress made by the
company armies in annexing the region continued after the
Indian Rebellion of 1857, although now under the auspices of the
British Indian Army. Kohima was the first seat of modern administration as the Headquarters of
Naga Hills District (then under
Assam Province) with the appointment of
Guybon Henry Damant as Political Officer in 1879.
Battle of Kohima In 1944 during the
Second World War the
Battle of Kohima along with the simultaneous
Battle of Imphal was the turning point in the
Burma Campaign. For the first time in
South-East Asia, the
Japanese lost the initiative to the
Allies, which the Allies then retained until the end of the war. This hand-to-hand battle and slaughter prevented the
Japanese Army from gaining a base from which they might have easily gone into the plains of India. Kohima has a large cemetery known as the
Kohima War Cemetery for the Allied war dead; it is maintained by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The cemetery lies on the slopes of Garrison Hill, in what was once the Deputy Commissioner's tennis court, which was the scene of intense fighting known as the
Battle of the Tennis Court. The
epitaph carved on the memorial of the 2nd British Division in the cemetery has become world-famous as the Kohima poem.
When You Go Home, Tell Them of Us and Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today. The verse is attributed to
John Maxwell Edmonds (1875–1958), and is thought to have been inspired by
the epitaph written by
Simonides to honour the Greek who fell at the
Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
1963–present When Nagaland became a full-fledged state on 1 December 1963, Kohima was named as the state capital.
Killings of Kekuojalie Sachü and Vikhozo Yhoshü On 20 March 1986, two students Kekuojalie Sachü (19) and Vikhozo Yhoshü (14) were killed and over 50 others were injured in indiscriminate firing by
Nagaland Police when they participated in a peaceful protest called by the
Naga Students' Federation (NSF) to rally against the state government's decision on the introduction of
Indian Police Service (IPS) cadres and the extension of the Disturbed Area Belt from 5 to 20 km along the Indo-Myanmar (Indo-
Burma) border. The event was so tumultuous that it led three Cabinet ministers and five State Ministers of Nagaland to resign.
1995 Kohima Massacre On 5 March 1995, when a convoy of the 16th
Rashtriya Rifles of the
Indian Army, comprising 63 vehicles with 5 officers, 15
junior commissioned officers and approximately 400
soldiers was traversing through the densely populated AOC and BOC areas of Kohima en route from
Bishnupur to
Dimapur, a
tyre burst from one of the convoy's own vehicle led the armed troops to mistake the sound of the tyre bursting for a bomb attack by insurgents. The troops reacted immediately and started firing at civilian populace. The firing lasted approximately 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., during which the soldiers discharged 1,207 rounds of
gunfire and 5
mortal shells into civilian areas. A total of 7 were killed and 36 were left injured. Eyewitness accounts and subsequent investigations found no evidence of an actual ambush or crossfire with insurgents. The incident is widely referred to as the 1995 Kohima Massacre.
2017 Nagaland protests On 2 February 2017, the office building of the
Kohima Municipal Council was burned down by a
mob as part of the
boycott of the Civic Elections. The fire significantly damaged adjoining government and private buildings. On 19 February, in response against the backdrop of widespread protests and civil unrest in the state,
T. R. Zeliang announced his resignation as the Chief Minister of Nagaland.
2023 Kohima fire On 27 February 2023, a massive fire broke in Mao Market and NN Market, one of the biggest commercial areas in Kohima, causing complete damage to the markets. == Geography ==