Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India honours WWII US servicemen with Himalayan museum

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu inaugurated ‘The Hump WWII Museum’

India honours WWII US servicemen with Himalayan museum

INDIA paid tribute Wednesday (29) to the hundreds of US servicemen killed during World War II with the opening of a museum near its strategic border with China honouring the dramatic Himalayan airlift dubbed "The Hump".

Telling the story of how Allied pilots flew the perilous route to supply Chinese forces, it includes 80-year-old rusting wreckage and machine guns of some of the 590 planes that crashed into the jungle hills and jagged mountains of India's northeast Arunachal Pradesh state.


Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said it showcased "the remnants of aircrafts that went missing", as he inaugurated "The Hump WWII Museum" alongside US ambassador Eric Garcetti in the town of Pasighat.

Khandu said American families had "sent their relics and artefacts for this museum in memory of their great-grandfathers who lost their lives while flying over the tough mountains of Arunachal Pradesh during the Second World War".

Pilots nicknamed the dangerous route over the ice-covered eastern Himalayan mountains "The Hump", a giant airlift to supply Chinese troops battling Japanese forces after they cut off the overland route through Burma, today's Myanmar.

It also earned the moniker the "Aluminium Trail" because of the number of crashes.

The remains of aircraft are still found smothered in Arunachal Pradesh's rugged jungle hills, sandwiched between Myanmar and China.

Today, Washington and Beijing are rival superpowers, while China claims almost all of India's Arunachal Pradesh is part of its territory as "South Tibet".

New Delhi, who is wary of Beijing's growing military assertiveness along their 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) shared frontier, consistently maintains that the state is an "integral and inalienable part of India".

According to the China-Burma-India Hump Pilots Association, 590 planes went down with the loss of more than 1,650 lives from April 1942 until near the end of the war in 1945.

The National Museum of the US Air Force called it the "greatest sustained aerial transport achievement of the war".

They ferried around 650,000 tonnes of fuel, munitions and equipment through some of the toughest of flying conditions over the mountains.

The "obstacles posed by terrain and the extremes in climate were difficulties never before experienced in mass operation of aircraft", the Ohio-based US Air Force museum added, calling it the "world's first strategic airlift".

The US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the US agency that deals with soldiers missing in action, has sent repeated teams to Arunachal Pradesh to locate the remains of missing servicemen.

"Several struggles were made scaling high and tough mountains across Arunachal Pradesh to recover the fallen aircraft of the US and finally we have come up with this beautiful museum in memory of those fallen airmen", the museum's director Oken Tayeng said.

(AFP)

More For You

Andrew Tate Sued by Ex-Girlfriend Brianna Stern Over Sexual Assault Allegations

Tate’s attorney, Joseph McBride, has dismissed the lawsuit

Getty

Andrew Tate faces sexual assault lawsuit from ex-girlfriend Brianna Stern

Social media personality Andrew Tate is facing a new lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend, Brianna Stern, who has accused him of sexual assault, battery, and gender violence. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, details allegations of abuse and an incident that allegedly took place at The Beverly Hills Hotel on 11 March 2025.

Allegations in the lawsuit

According to the legal complaint, Stern claims that Tate initially appeared as a "dream come true" but later became emotionally and physically abusive. The lawsuit describes a violent encounter at the hotel, where she alleges Tate physically assaulted and threatened her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Voices of Faith 2025: A journey through spirituality and wisdom

Soumik Datta (R) and Gurdain Singh Rayatt

Voices of Faith 2025: A journey through spirituality and wisdom

Mahesh Liloriya

The inaugural edition of Voices of Faith commenced on Friday at the iconic Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, marking the beginning of an extraordinary three-day festival exploring theological philosophies, interfaith dialogues, and the deeper essence of spirituality through conversations, music, and healing vibes.

Organised by Teamwork Arts, the creators of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) and JLF London, Voices of Faith is presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust, with the support of Tech Mahindra. Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat serve as the official media partners of this landmark event. This unique festival seeks to offer insights into navigating the complexities of modern life through the timeless wisdom enshrined in global religious traditions. It focuses on the universal ideals of compassion and interconnectedness that underpin the world’s faiths, fostering dialogue that transcends barriers and deepens mutual understanding.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court reopens Asian child sex offender's deportation case

Home Office successfully challenged a ruling that allowed him to remain in Britain (Photo for representation: iStock)

Court reopens Asian child sex offender's deportation case

A PAKISTANI man convicted of sexually assaulting a child under 13 will face a fresh deportation hearing after the Home Office successfully challenged a ruling that allowed him to remain in Britain, reported The Times.

The offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had initially won his case to stay in the UK after claiming he would face "inhuman or degrading treatment" if sent back to Pakistan due to his alcoholism.

Keep ReadingShow less
India launches Operation Brahma to aid quake-hit Myanmar

Rescue teams work to save residents trapped under the rubble of the destroyed Sky Villa Condominium development in Mandalay on March 29, 2025. (Photo by SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

India launches Operation Brahma to aid quake-hit Myanmar

INDIA has swiftly responded to the devastating earthquake in Myanmar by launching Operation Brahma, sending emergency relief and rescue teams to the disaster-stricken nation.

A C-130J military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed in Yangon on Saturday (29), carrying 15 tonnes of relief supplies including hygiene kits, blankets and food parcels. The aid mission comes after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday (28), killing more than 1,000 people and injuring nearly 2,400 others.

Keep ReadingShow less
Britain’s happiness crisis: UK hits record low in global wellbeing rankings

Pakistan stands at 109th place out of 147 countries

Britain’s happiness crisis: UK hits record low in global wellbeing rankings

THE UK has experienced a significant blow to its national morale, plummeting to 23rd place in the World Happiness Report for 2025 – its lowest ranking ever – despite being the world’s sixth richest nation.

Released to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness last Thursday (20), the report provided a nuanced exploration of national contentment that extends far beyond economic measurements.

Keep ReadingShow less