Manipur Christian Leader Pleads for Help
By J. M. Lindner 06/12/2023 India (International Christian Concern) —A Christian leader in Manipur, a state in northeast India, is pleading for help because of the murder, desecration, and disruption of his people by a warring tribe. The leader, a native of Manipur who remains unnamed for security reasons, said that members of the Meitei tribe “are killing innocent women, children, pastors, and even civil servants” among the Kuki and Zo tribes. Not only has the government done nothing to stop the violence, but the government has also even sided with the rampaging Hindu tribals. He writes, “the State Chief Ministry, N. Biren Singh, and MP Sapam, a member of Parliament, are heading the Meitei Leepun and Aramba Tenggol,” while the State Police and the Meitei Army join forces to “rape, kill, and burn the minoritiy Kukies. The Christian community is suffering from ethnic cleansing and genocide.” “Churches and Villages are burned down by these Meitei Hindus along with Manipur State Police and even India Army, which are led by Meitei officer [who] join hand with them to kill and burn,” the Manipur Christian leader stated. Thus far he said the conflict has killed at least 147 Christians, and injured another 220, with an additional
More distressing reports from Manipur
In Manipur, which has been beset by fatal ethnic conflict for a month, a crowd set a seven-year-old child, his mother and his aunt on fire before they could escape. Tonshing Hangsing, his mother Meena Hangsing, and his aunt Lydia Lourembam were taking the seven-year-old to the hospital to receive treatment for a gunshot wound he got during an attack by alleged Meitei militia members on Sunday. The ambulance was accompanied by police officers and Assam Rifles troops since the child's health was severe, but as they approached the Iroisemba neighbourhood, they were allegedly halted by Meira Piabis, a women-led civil society organisation. Tonshing, Meena and Lydia were still inside the ambulance when it was set on fire, according to the 2,000-person crowd, who claimed it had been used to transport Kuki militants before they went on the rampage and attacked police. “We are in shock. We thought that because Meena and Lydia are Meitei women, they would not be attacked,” according to Champi Hangsing, a relative of the victims, who spoke to The National. The crowd yelled, "We have caught a Kuki," after learning that Tonsing's mother hails from a Kuki-dominant region. They failed to recognize that she was a Meitei because of their
Conference of Religious India Ri Bhoi condemns attacks on Christians in Manipur
During the rally, participants carried placards condemning the persecution of Christians in Manipur. The Ri Bhoi zone of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) held a short gathering in front of the Nongpoh Town Shopping Complex, on Saturday after witnessing the persecution of Christians in Manipur, as well as other parts of India, including the burning of Christian churches and schools and the community conflicts between the Meiteis and the Kukis. During the rally, participants carried placards condemning the persecution of Christians in Manipur, and called on the Manipur government and the Central Government to protect Christians in the state, particularly by taking measures to end the conflicts and restoring peace for the public. Church leaders from the eastern region, including Br Varghese SG, Sr Esconciana Vaz MSMHC (NE Regional Secretary), Sr Prema Chowallur SCC (Convener of North East FORUM of Religious for Justice and Peace), Sr Teresa Kamasuam FMA, Fr Laurence Kharluni (CRI Shillong President, Shillong Archdiocese), Br Sunil Britto CFC (CRI Ri Bhoi President), Sr Melita Syiem MSMHC, the youths of St Stephen Hostel Girls, Opel Lyngdoh (Headman of Nongpoh), among others attended the public gathering. This article was first published on https://themeghalayan.com/
Killings continue in Manipur as Christian worshipper shot dead in church, tribal leaders report
The outbreak of communal violence in India’s north-eastern Manipur state shows no sign of ending, with tribal leaders reporting three new deaths, including a woman shot dead inside church. Confirming details of village attacks is difficult, as the internet is restricted and accessing remote areas difficult for journalists. But according to The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), which represents the mainly Christian Kuki tribals, the incident was a “heinous attack on Khoken Village, situated on the boundary of Kangpokpi District and Imphal West District”. In a statement, the ITLF said the attack involved Meitei militants disguised in Indian Army uniforms and using Army vehicles, in the early hours (4:00 AM) of June 9, 2023. “The Kuki-Zo villagers, unsuspecting of the attackers’ true identity and assuming it was an Army combing operation, gave way but were instead met with automatic rifle fire, resulting in the tragic deaths of Mr. Jangpao Touthang, Mr Khaimang Guite and Mrs. Domkhohoi," their statement read. “Two others, Mr. Thongneh, and Mr. Thangkhojang, were also injured in the attack. Mrs. Domkhohoi was saying her early morning prayer in the church when these militants shot her dead, with no regard for the sanctity of a place of worship," it added. The anti-Christian aspect to the attacks
A New Model of “Religious Cleansing” Pioneered in Manipur, India
At least 317 churches and 70 church administrative/school buildings were burnt. At least 75 Christians killed. Over 30,000 displaced in the worst anti-Christian violence India has ever seen. The violence in the Northeast Indian State of Manipur against Christians in the month of May has been one of the deadliest and most violent attacks against Christians in India. Verified facts defy the government-sponsored narrative that the conflict is not religious but tribal over land rights. Every piece of detail collected contradicts the claims made by the Modi-led Hindu nationalist government. The BJP government used a decades-old underlying ethnic tension between two ethnic groups to bring down the deadliest violence against Christians. This wave of destruction was instigated by Hindutva nationalists from a particular indigenous community. Most destruction was done in the first three days of conflict from May 3rd- 6th. The destruction continues to this day in the state capital of Imphal and the surrounding Valley with target killings by government forces. Under the guise of inter-community conflict between the majority Manipuris (Meiteis) and the minority tribal people (collectively known as Kuki/Zomi tribes), almost all churches in the extended Imphal Valley have been burnt, vandalized, or desecrated by BJP government-supported militia. Though Meiteis are primarily
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations is greatly troubled by the large-scale assault on the Christian churches and homes in the Northeastern Indian State of Manipur during the first week of May by the Hindu nationalist BJP government-supported militia.
The Federation has reasons to believe that it was a well-planned, coordinated attack by the party in government against the Christian population of the state. The attack has all the markings of the Hindu nationalist campaign seen in previous violent campaigns carried out by the BJP party and its mother organization, the RSS, in Gujarat 2002, Odisha 2008, and Delhi 2020. In all these cases, government authority was used to facilitate and protect the Hindu militia while the police were ordered to stand down for the duration of violence. During this government-sponsored violence, on May 3rd and the 4th, over 200 churches and over 500 homes of the Christians were burned by the BJP militia. The violence has forced more than 23,000 people to flee their homes. Initial reports indicate that the police were actively supporting the militia providing them tactical support. FIACONA strongly condemns the violence perpetrated by the ruling party on its Christian population. FIACONA urges the US Administration to see this for what it is and not buy into the Modi government’s talking points. FIACONA believes that the BJP government is using pre-existing ethnic tension in society to create religious violence against the Christian population. “For the peace and prosperity of
India’s ratcheting up curbs on Christians, Muslims
There are occasional rays of hope amid the gloom but at the moment, there is reason to be pessimistic The fate of the 70-year-old struggle of India’s converts from its erstwhile “untouchable” castes in the Hindu hierarchy may well be in the hands of a former chief justice of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan while in office had asked Church leaders if they were willing to say on oath that they exercised caste discrimination in their congregations. There was silence in the courtroom. He was at that time hearing appeals against Article 341 Part 3 which assures affirmative action including scholarships, jobs and political representation to this group of citizens as long as they remain Hindu. If they convert to Christianity or Islam, they lose the benefits. The converts may also be jailed if the government discovers that they had studied in Church schools on scholarships given to Christian students. "Dalits who embraced other religions were denied the benefits of affirmative action by presidential order" Justice Balakrishnan was the first Dalit, as the former untouchable castes now call themselves, to become the chief justice of India. His elevation was the direct result of a question raised by former President K R Narayanan, the
Forced conversions a threat to national security, says SC
NEW DELHI: Calling religious conversions by use of force or allurement a threat to national security, the Supreme Court on Monday sought a detailed affidavit from the government on steps being taken to curb this "dangerous trend." As solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that it is common knowledge that such conversions are rampant in tribal areas, the court asked what the Cenre and states have done to stop it. The Centre must step in and make its stand clear, the bench of Justices MR S hah and Hima Kohli said. Forced conversions a threat to national security, says SC Expressing grave concern over alleged religious conversions by use of force, allurement and deception, the Supreme Court on Monday warned that this posed "a very serious threat to the security of the country" and sought a detailed affidavit from the government on the steps being taken to curb this "dangerous trend". Hearing a PIL filed by advocate-petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, a bench of Justices M R Shah and Hima Kohli told solicitor general Tushar Mehta that "everyone has the freedom of conscience to choose a religion. But religious conversions through force or any kind of temptation is a dangerous thing which must be stopped".
Indian court’s quota ruling a stab in the back for the poor
The church should have studied and discussed the judgment in detail before rushing to welcome it. India’s Supreme Court upholding the economic criteria for granting educational and job quotas to the privileged upper castes could be the final nail in the coffin for the country’s affirmative action program for historically disadvantaged groups such as the Dalits or former untouchables and the indigenous tribal people. The Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church deserves its share of the blame for missing the woods for the trees by welcoming the decision and expressing its readiness to ignore the historical injustices unleashed on the marginalized sections of Indians in the name of the caste system. For centuries, people in the lowest strata of Indian society were ostracized from public life. The idea of educational and job reservations for the ‘outcastes’ was to enable them to have a level playing field with the so-called upper castes. India’s constitution-makers, fully aware of the rampant poverty in the country, decided that the criteria for reservations should be the social poverty that a community faces, and not economic poverty. However, a 1950 presidential order limited the affirmative action program only to people from the Hindu religion on the grounds that casteism was practiced only by them.
