IMPHAL, June 22 (PTI): A rally of ponies seeking peace and normalcy was organised here on Wednesday in ethnic strife-hit Manipur, where the modern-day game of Polo is said to have originated.
Around 100 polo players rode horses carrying placards reading “We want peace”.
“We fear the integrity of Manipur is in question, so we decided to take out a rally,” Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association president H Dilip Singh said.
N Tombi Raj, vice-president of the association, said, “The rally started from the pony farm and covered major localities of Imphal West district.”
Modern-day polo is believed to have originated in Manipur where it was played as ‘sagol kangjei’ (sagol means pony and ‘kangjei’ is a game of sticks).
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur that broke out over a month ago.
Clashes first broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
