Khongjom Day: remembering the last stand of the Anglo-Manipur War

Every year on April 23, thousands climb the hill at Khongjom where the last battle of the Anglo-Manipur War was fought in 1891 — a stand that ended with the beheading of Major General Paona Brajabasi.

The memorial, a sword-shaped obelisk, has become a site of quiet pilgrimage and loud debate about how the region remembers its colonial past.

This year, students led the ceremony, carrying the story of the ‘last stand’ into a new generation.