INA Memorial, Moirang
Where the tricolour was first raised on Indian soil
In the small town of Moirang, near the shores of Loktak Lake, stands a memorial to one of the most stirring moments of India's freedom struggle. On 14 April 1944, soldiers of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (the Azad Hind Fauj), fighting alongside Japanese forces, raised the Indian national flag on Indian soil for the first time here — a symbolic act that still resonates powerfully.
The site holds a bronze statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and an INA war museum displaying uniforms, weapons, letters, photographs and other relics of the Azad Hind Fauj and the Imphal-Kohima campaign of 1944. For many Indian visitors it is a place of pilgrimage as much as history.
Moirang is also the cultural heartland of the Meitei, home to the ancient temple of the deity Thangjing, and lies right beside Loktak Lake and Sendra, making it a natural stop on the way to the floating lake and the Keibul Lamjao national park.
What to see & do
- The statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the flag-raising memorial
- The INA war museum and its 1944-campaign relics
- The ancient Thangjing temple of the Meitei
- Loktak Lake and Sendra, a short drive away
Getting to INA Memorial, Moirang
| How to reach | About 45 km south of Imphal, on the way to Loktak Lake. An Inner Line Permit is required for Manipur; check advisories. |
| Best time | October to March. |
| Timings | Museum open daytime, usually closed one day a week. |
| Entry | A small museum fee. |
| Good to know | Do Kangla and the INA memorial together with a Loktak sunrise from Sendra for a full Manipur history-and-nature day. |
More to explore
Sivasagar: Rang Ghar & Talatal Ghar
Sivasagar
The capital of the 600-year Ahom kingdom that stopped the Mughals.
Charaideo Moidams
Charaideo
The Ahom royal burial mounds — the Northeast's first cultural World Heritage Site.
Kohima War Cemetery
Kohima
Where the tide of the Second World War turned in the East.