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In Meitei mythology and Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur, Kanglā shā is a sacred guardian beast with a lion's body and a two-horned dragon's head. It is a royal symbol of the Meitei royalties (Ningthouja dynasty). The most remarkable statues dedicated to "Kangla Sa" stand inside the Kangla.
In Meitei traditional race competitions, winners of the race are declared only after symbolically touching the statue of the dragon "Kangla Sha".
During the months of June and July in the year 1844, Meitei king Raja Nara Singh () reconstructed the two statues of the Kangla Sha dragons once again.
During the British conquest of the Anglo Manipur War of 1891, the British forces led by Captain Allen demolished the two statues of the Kangla Sha dragons by blasting them by artillery fire into pieces on 20 July 1891.
Later, in the year 2006, the statues of the "Kangla Sa" ("Kangla Sha") were reconstructed by the Government of Manipur. Each statue is 19.30 feet in height, 15.30 feet in length and 6 feet in breadth. The weight of each statue is 36.50 metric tonne. The statues of the Kangla-Sha were sculpted based on the photographs published in the books including "The Lost Kingdom" and "The Meitheis" written by Thomas Callan Hodson. 4 kinds of bricks, found in the ruins of the Old Palace at Canchipur, were used during the construction of the sculptures. It took the craftsmen and sculptors 2 years to complete the construction works.
Before the construction of the real sculptures, to take the comments, feedbacks, opinions and suggestions of the people, Sculptor B Mohendro Sharma presented the of the Kangla-Sha, made of mud, displayed on the public.
The action of the removal of rods taken up by the Government of Manipur led by Nongthombam Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, and Leishemba Sanajaoba, the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, was given positive reactions by the "Lamlai Mapari Thougal Lup" and the "All India Kangla Pakhangba Temple Development Society".
However, this event of the removal of rods drew criticism by RK Nimai, a retired IAS officer, as He wrote an article about its criticism in the Imphal Free Press. As a result, many social associations and organisations burnt newspaper copies of the Imphal Free Press.
In a neutral response to the criticism and its reactions, Ethno Heritage Council (HERICOUN) stated:
In reaction to the criticism, there was a strong objection by the "International Sanamahism Students' Association" (ISSA).
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