Over the last couple of years I have been fortunate to travel widely throughout the borderlands where Burma, China and India come together. In this time I have spent many hours bumping along the trans-regional connection, now often called the Stilwell Road, that was constructed by allied forces during World War II. As many readers know, the road from Ledo in Assam went all the way to Kunming. It was designed to re-supply troops fighting the Japanese in China. But in all my time on the road I had not, until last week, seen a sign marking this epic linkage.

What follows are a few pictures taken from the “Stilwell Park” just near Ledo. I hope New Mandala readers find them interesting or useful.

Stilwell Road sign

– The route to Kunming is marked out on this map under the catchy slogan: “Rejuvenate our lifeline; Revitalize our relationship; Reach out beyond the borders”. The political figure who erected the sign has gone on to become Assam’s Minister for Industries & Commerce, Power (Electricity) & Public Enterprises.

Stilwell Park

– The local take on the history of the road in English and Assamese.

The history of the Stilwell Road

– A close-up of the historical details.

The road

– The road with the big sign in the background.

Road needing improvement

– A part of the road that is currently being refurbished. My understanding is that prominent local figures hope to have the Indian portion of the road to the Burma border completely rebuilt by some time in 2010.