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MANIPUR
Manipur is one of the most culturally and strategically important state of North Eastern India. Nestling in the slopes of Sub-Himalayan ranges, it has been the home of more than thirty ethnic groups in historical times, with varying responses to the changing geo-cultural environment. Manipur is also well-known to the rest of the world as the birth place of the game of ‘Polo’. Manipur shares its border with Nagaland in the north, Mizoram in the south and Cachar district of Assam in the west. To the east it shares an international border with Myanmar.
HISTORY OF MANIPUR :
Manipur has a very ancient, vibrant and proud past.. After the First Anglo Manipuri war in 1891, it became part of the British colonial empire. After India’s independence in 1947, the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947 established a democratic form of Government with the Maharaja as the Executive Head. It functioned till it was dissolved on the integration of the state with the Dominion of India in October, 1949. Manipur achieved full statehood on January 21, 1972.
Places of Interests:
Loktak Lake and Sendra Island: Located 48 kms from Imphal this beautiful lake resembles a miniature inland sea. The government has built a Tourist Bungalow for the comfort of the tourists. From the nearby Sendra island, visitors can get a bird's eye view of this huge and beautiful stretch of water and its busy life - the fisherman and their families who live in neat huts on its shores, using their watery environment by casting their fishing nets on it, by harvesting it for the water chestnut known as Heikak, and even by building their houses on the islands of floating vegetation that traverse the lake.
Shree Shree Govindajee Temple: This symbolic temple in Imphal adjoining the palace of the former rulers of Manipur, is a historic centre for Vaisnava culture. It is a simple and beautiful structure with gold domes, a paved court and a large, raised congregation hall. The main deity of the Temple, the presiding deity in the centre, is flanked by idols of Radha Govinda, Balaram and Krishna on one side and Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra on the other.
Keibul Lamjao National Park: 53 kms. from Imphal and sharing a shore with Loktak Lake, Keibul Lamjao National Park is the last natural habitat of the endangered marsh-dwelling brow-antlered deer of Manipur called "Sangai". It is the only floating national park in the world, composed of large masses of floating weed (called "Phumdi" in local dialect). These phumdi can seemingly suport a lot of weight!
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