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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Sep 09, 2022, 02:35 PM IST
Why was Rajnath Singh gifted a horse in Mongolia? History, significance explained
Rajnath Singh, the defense minister, was given a horse while he was in Mongolia. PM Modi received a gift of a horse when he visited Mongolia six years ago. Since the time of Nehru, this pattern has continued. When the then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Mongolia on December 16, 1958, he also acquired 3 horses of Mongolian descent.
Let’s know the significance of horses as a gift in Mongolia.
1. According to the report of the American Museum of Natural History, people living in Mongolia use more horses in their daily lives than any other country. There are 2 reasons for this-
a. Here Mongolian breed horses have been used for riding since about 4000 years ago. People have been using it from freight to ride.
b. About 850 years ago in 1175, Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan conquered 22% of the world by sitting on horses of this breed. Since then, the people here started considering it as a better companion not only in daily life, but also in the battlefield.
2. The Mongol breed of horses is seen by the people here as a proud historical symbol of their country. That is why there is a tradition of gifting a horse to the guests coming here.
In the year 1223, 20,000 Mongols on their horses defeated 80,000 Russian soldiers. The battle was led by two lieutenants of Genghis Khan. Seeing more than 4 times the Russian soldiers in front of them, instead of getting scared, the Mongol cavalry launched a fierce attack.
In this battle, the Mongols riding on horses easily won this battle using bow and spear. It is said that the Mongols won this war not because of the soldiers, but because of the horses.
3. According to Globetrotter.com, a website that provides horse information around the world, the Mongol breed may have started domesticating horses 4,000 years ago, but the presence of this breed in Central Asia dates back to 10,000 years ago.
Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan had established his empire in 9 million square kms of Asia and Europe on the power of this horse. Genghis Khan used to travel 80 miles i.e. 128 kms every day sitting on this horse. From that time till now this horse was used for these 5 reasons:
a. Along for the ride
b. For freight
c. For milk
d. For hunting
e. For Spiritual Reasons
4. The number of horses in this country is equal to the population of Mongolia-
According to the report, horse culture is still flourishing in Mongolia. It can be estimated from this that in 2020 the population of this country was 33 lakhs and the number of horses here was 30 lakhs. Even today, horses are at the center of the traditional lifestyle here.
The reason for this is that a large number of Mongols still live a nomadic life here. These people depend on herds of cattle, goats, sheep, yaks, camels and horses for food and many other resources. People who keep Mongol breed horses are considered wealthy here. For this reason, there is a famous saying in Mongolia that 'A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings'.
