Kohima is the capital city of Nagaland with a resident population of 99,039 (2011 census) and also the second largest city after Dimapur, in the state. According to other sources, the present population is approximately 1.15 lakh. Kohima occupies an important place in the history of the Second World War. It was in Kohima that the beleaguered allied force of only 1500 stood against the waves of attacks launched on April 4 by 15,000 battle hardened Japanese forces under Lt. Gen. Sato. The very fact that the handful were able to hold on against waves of attacks by ten times the number of Japanese forces, gave time for reinforcements to arrive. Finally the allied forces dealt a fatal blow on the Japanese forces and turned the tide of war and that is history. In 2013, the National Army Museum of London, voted the ‘Battle of Kohima’ as the “Stalingrad of the East” because the fighting was so intense. Kohima still evokes a deep sentiment among war veterans be it allied of Japanese. Over the decades Kohima experienced a fast-paced development.The picturesque hilly town could not meet the demands of a burgeoning population of migrants from various parts of the state. Today, the civic amenities of the capital city is managed by the Kohima Municipal Council which has 19 wards administering over 22,312 houses.The rapid development of Kohima has been imbalanced and led to ghettoization. This is a challenge but Kohima still maintains its special aura as the metropolis of the Nagas. It also has communities from various parts of India too. Unfortunately, in recent times, the criteria on ‘Liveability’ has earned Kohima as the dubious distinction as the second most ‘unliveable’ city in India. Any city that has fulfilled, to a greater extent, criteria which promote the socio-cultural, economic and mental wellbeing of citizens so as to improve the quality of life of citizens is an important objective of the current urban missions of Indian cities, such as of the Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT. To make Indian cities at par with international standards, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has adapted a global concept through ‘Ease of Living Index 2018’. According to Kovi Meyase, CEO Smart City Development Limited, the reasons for Kohima being tagged as the second most unliveable city was due to lack of awareness among government agencies as well as citizens, lack of co-ordination between departments, lack of data in the departments and late submission of data which delayed compilation, sorting, and final uploading. Kohima performed relatively better in the social pillar with an overall score of 7.75 (or 31%) out of 25 points. Again in the cleanliness index, Kohima is ranked fifth under Swachh Survekshan 2019 among capitals of the north east and 382nd nationally. Kohima precedes Agartala (national rank 367) at sixth, Shillong (national rank 394) at seventh, and Aizawl (national rank 398) at eight positions, according to Swachh Survekshan 2019, results of which were declared on October 2, 2019. Perhaps the SCDL will undertake a serious effort to co-ordinate with all agencies and mainstream the potential of citizens of Kohima in all the criteria and fight back to win, like how the handful of defenders made history at Kohima, against all odds.