Meitei Christians find themselves in crossfire of Manipur clashes, call for reconciliation
Philem Rohan Singh, known for his bicycle and motorcycle expeditions across India for numerous social causes since 2018, has one question. “Why am I called Judas Iscariot?” Singh is a Meitei who lives in Imphal. He is also a member of the Ministry of Reconciliation — an independent Church. On his bicycle earlier, and on his electric motorcycle now, he has been flying two flags: the Indian Tricolour and the Salai Taret, which represents the seven clans of the ancient Kangleipak, the old name for Manipur. At least 142 people have been killed and more than 60,000 have been displaced in clashes between the mostly Christian Kuki tribals and the largely Hindu Meiteis since May 3. Pro-Meitei groups have flown the Salai Taret as their banner during these clashes. Singh’s co-religionists from the Kuki community, he says, now liken him to Christ’s disciple Judas who betrayed him to the Jewish clergy. The slur is testimony to how deep and complex the faultlines in Manipur are. “For the charity work I have done, Kukis have contributed lakhs of rupees. I have also given humanitarian assistance to Kuki refugees from Myanmar,” Rohan said. “Two years ago in Moreh, a large number of refugees arrived in a very bad state fleeing
UP Man Arrested For Converting 230 Dalit Families To Christianity: Cops
Accused Bajrang Rawat, a Christian from Lucknow, was living on the railway land falling under the Lonikatra police station limits here for the last one year, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akhilesh Narayan Singh said. Barabanki: Police arrested a man today who allegedly converted 230 Dalit families to Christianity promising to cure their members suffering from any ailment. Accused Bajrang Rawat, a Christian from Lucknow, was living on the railway land falling under the Lonikatra police station limits here for the last one year, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akhilesh Narayan Singh said. Some copies of the Bible and other Christian books were also recovered from his residence, ASP Singh said. On the basis of a complaint by one Vijay Hindustani from Haidergarh town, a case was registered against Rawat under relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, the ASP said, adding that efforts are on to ascertain involvement of other people who were helping the accused. In his complaint, Mr Hindustani, an activist of a Hindu outfit, alleged that when he, along with other activists, visited the spot, he found many Hindu women of the area there. Mr Hindustani said that Rawat used to call the poor people
Meitei Christians find themselves in crossfire of Manipur clashes, call for reconciliation
Philem Rohan Singh, known for his bicycle and motorcycle expeditions across India for numerous social causes since 2018, has one question. “Why am I called Judas Iscariot?” Singh is a Meitei who lives in Imphal. He is also a member of the Ministry of Reconciliation — an independent Church. On his bicycle earlier, and on his electric motorcycle now, he has been flying two flags: the Indian Tricolour and the Salai Taret, which represents the seven clans of the ancient Kangleipak, the old name for Manipur. At least 142 people have been killed and more than 60,000 have been displaced in clashes between the mostly Christian Kuki tribals and the largely Hindu Meiteis since May 3. Pro-Meitei groups have flown the Salai Taret as their banner during these clashes. Singh’s co-religionists from the Kuki community, he says, now liken him to Christ’s disciple Judas who betrayed him to the Jewish clergy. The slur is testimony to how deep and complex the faultlines in Manipur are. “For the charity work I have done, Kukis have contributed lakhs of rupees. I have also given humanitarian assistance to Kuki refugees from Myanmar,” Rohan said. “Two years ago in Moreh, a large number of refugees arrived in a very bad state fleeing
Madhya Pradesh: Police issue notices to church office-bearers seeking religious conversion details, withdraw after objection
Police served notices to office-bearers of 40 churches in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city seeking details of religious conversion activities, but withdrew them after opposition by the Christian community and said they were issued "by mistake". The community members found "objectionable" the notices issued last week by different police stations in Indore to the office-bearers of around 40 churches and religious organisations, an office-bearer of one such outfit said. When asked about it, Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deuskar told reporters on Saturday that the notices which reached the people were actually sent to the station house officers (SHOs) of all police stations in Indore. The SHOs sent them to members of the Christian community "by mistake", he said. Hence, the notices have been withdrawn after opposition by the community members, the official said. Suresh Kalton of the United Christian Forum on Sunday told PTI that there were "objectionable" questions in the notices on involvement in religious conversion activities. "There is a question in the notice asking the person to declare whether he or his organisation is involved in religious conversion. This act of the police is a violation of our constitutional rights," he claimed. “None of us is involved in such activities and we will go to the
At least 400 acts of violence committed against Christians in India in first half of 2023: report
The first half of 2023 has seen a surge in violence against Christians across 23 states in India, according to a New Delhi-based human rights group, which identified 400 incidents, up from 274 reported over the same period last year. The majority of these violent acts occurred in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, with 155 incidents, according to the report released by the United Christian Forum and shared with The Christian Post. Chhattisgarh ranked second with 84 cases, followed by Jharkhand with 35, and Haryana with 32. The districts of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh and Bastar in Chhattisgarh reported the most cases of violence, with 13 and 31 incidents, respectively. According to UCF’s findings, the number of violent incidents against Christians has been rising steadily in India since 2014, with a significant spike observed in 2021 and 2022. The group also noted in its statement that the month of June saw the highest number of attacks against the Christian community, averaging three incidents per day. The UCF expressed grave concerns over the situation in the northeastern state of Manipur, where the ongoing violence has resulted in the loss of at least 130 lives and caused the destruction of over 400 churches. Amid these atrocities, the
European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Manipur, India Says it Reflects ‘Colonial Mindset’
The adoption took place in the afternoon along with other votes on schedule, just after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had landed in France for an official visit. New Delhi: The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution that called on Indian authorities to take “all necessary” measures to stop the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities, especially Christians. India reacted that it was “unacceptable” and reflection of a “colonial mindset”. The resolution was tabled by five political groups and adopted by a show of hands during the plenary session of the European Parliament. The adoption took place in the afternoon along with other votes on schedule, just after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had landed in France for an official visit. In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Such interference in India’s internal affairs is unacceptable, and reflects a colonial mindset”. “Indian authorities at all levels, including the judiciary, are seized of the situation in Manipur and are taking steps to maintain peace and harmony and law and order. The European Parliament would be well advised to utilize its time more productively on its internal issues,” he stated. A day earlier, Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra had
FIACONA APPLAUDS EU PARLIAMENT ON ADOPTING A RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN INDIA:
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) welcomes the strong response from the European Union Parliament (EUP) on the tragic crises in Manipur, India. FIACONA calls the violence in Manipur against Christians as state sponsored. The BJP government armed and aided the militia loyal to the Hindu nationalist BJP party. In speech after speech, Members of the EUP challenged the Indian government’s disregard for human rights in Northeast India and questioned the policies of the Indian Prime Minister Modi when it comes to human rights within India. The Indian Prime Minister has remained silent on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Manipur where mainly Christians have been killed and churches destroyed. “The situation in the state of Manipur in the North East of India is serious…violence is ongoing without the perpetrators being prevented. We call on the Indian government to do everything to restore order, bring the perpetrators to justice, and stop the excessive violence. With this resolution of the European Parliament, we call on the most populous democracy in the world to do what it is duty-bound to do as per its Constitution — to maintain religious freedom for the Christians in Manipur,” said parliament speaker Sven Simon,
Over 400 anti-Christian attacks in 2023 alone: report
A report by the United Christian Forum slams the government’s denial of rising attacks on Christians and calls for an independent probe. The United Christian Forum (UCF), an organisation that compiles data on atrocities against Christians in India, has expressed its discontent with the Centre’s response to a crucial petition in the Supreme Court. On April 13, the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that the claims of rising attacks were fabricated to maintain an “exaggerated” and misleading narrative. “The government data downplays the severity of the situation,” stated A.C. Michael, the UCF’s national coordinator. The UCF has filed a petition with the apex court, decrying the increasing number of attacks and false police cases against minority community members, a trend coinciding with the enactment of anti-conversion laws in multiple States. Michael further explained, “Our advocate, Colin Gonsalves, submitted an interim prayer to the court on July 10, requesting the appointment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising retired IPS officers. This SIT would examine the lists provided by both parties to establish the facts.” He added that the government’s list is biased against the Christian community and argued that the government and the police are relying on baseless claims from third
Manipur Violence: Supreme Court grants interim protection in sedition case against lawyer who accompanied fact-finding team
The lawyer moved the Court contending that the FIR was based a press release that she did not sign, and that the contents of the said press release were not seditious. The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim protection to a lawyer who was charged with sedition after she accompanied a fact-finding team to enquire into the recent violence in Manipur [Deeksha Dwivedi v. State of Manipur & Anr]. The Court ordered that no coercive action be taken against the lawyer, advocate Deeksha Dwivedi. The interim order was passed after the matter was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra by Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave. In her plea before the top court, Dwivedi submitted that she had accompanied a two-woman team from the National Investigation Forum for Women (NIFW) as an independent lawyer and observer. The NIFW team is stated to have concluded that certain violent incidents in Manipur were State-sponsored. A press conference was held at Imphal on July 1 after the enquiry, and a press release was also issued on the team's findings. Following this, a first information report (FIR) was registered against Dwivedi and NIFW representatives for sedition, defamation, making assertions
pastor 9 others held for carrying out illegal conversion in uttar pradesh
Ten people, including a pastor, were arrested for allegedly indulging in illegal religious conversion in Nanpara area here, police said on Monday. Nanpara Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Pandey said pastor Baburam is accused of luring poor villagers to convert to Christianity in Siddhanpurwa village. Some other people assisted him in this work. Ten people, including Baburam, were arrested on Sunday after a case was registered against 19 people on charges of unlawful conversion. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused, Pandey said. It has been alleged that Baburam and his wife were luring the villagers to convert to Christianity by promising to cure their diseases, including cancer, police said. The article is published on deccanherald.com
