State of India - Manipur

Area: 22,327 sq km

Population: 18,37,149

Capital Of City: Imphal

Languages: Manipuri

How You Know: Manipur is birthplace of the game of Polo. This royal game had been forgotten by the world but still survived in parts of the North East. It was in Manipur that a British officer saw the game and revived it.

History: Manipur meaning 'A jeweled land' is one of the most beautiful states of the Northeast. Surrounded by blue hills with an oval shaped valley at the centre, Manipur is also one of the few unexplored regions of India. Manipur is home to many different communities and tribes like the Meitei, Naga, Kuki-Chin-Mizo, Meitei Pangal and their culture and traditions make the State unique. The tribes have their own regions in Manipur. The plains for example are inhabited by Meities, while Kukis and Nagas occupy the hills. Manipur is rich in bio-diversity and home to many rare species of animals and plants. The Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only floating National Park in the country. Situated inside the famous Loktak Lake, the park is the habitat of the Sangai deer or the brown antlered deer, which is found nowhere else in the world. Manipur is also the only place in the world where you can find the Shiroy Lily or the paradise flower. The elegant puppet like Manipuri dance is one of the most famous dances of India. It is devotional in nature and enacts the Ras-leela or the dance of Krishna with the Gopis. Manipur was the place where the Indian National army first hoisted the Indian flag during the Second World War. Led by Subhash Chandra Bose the INA dreamed of freeing India from the British rule by fighting the British army. The INA had been raised in Singapore and so they entered India from the Northeast. The attempt was brave but unsuccessful. Today there is an Army museum at Moirang, the place where the flag was first hoisted.