Complaint Lodged Against Christian Preachers For Allegedly Exploiting Manipur Crisis To Fan Communal Hatred
In a recent development, a formal complaint has been registered against Christian preachers in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by Legal Rights activist, Legal Rights Protection Forum, accusing them of engaging in anti-national activities and enabling religious conversions. The complaint, which was addressed to the Union Home Ministry authorities, raises concerns about various incidents, including activities on national holidays and alleged involvement in the Manipur crisis. The complaint draws attention to the deliberate organization of special Christian worship programs in numerous churches across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on significant national holidays such as August 15th and January 26th. It contends that certain churches are purportedly conducting full-day prayers, camps, and youth retreats on these days with what the complainants term a “malicious intention” of diverting citizens’ focus away from the celebration of Independence Day. The complainants claim that some posters advertising these August 15th programs allegedly display disrespect to the national flag through alterations and religious inscriptions upon it. Furthermore, the complainants argue that hate-filled speeches have been delivered during these events, targeting freedom fighters and portraying them as “hell-bound disbelievers” due to their supposed lack of faith in Jesus Christ. The complainants assert that these activities are aimed at
Manipur Mobs Destroyed Hundreds of Our Churches. Yet God Calls Us Christians to Repent.
Since the beginning of May, more than 180 people have lost their lives in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Most of these victims are Christians from the minority Kuki-Zo tribe and, in turn, thousands from these communities have fled from the violence for shelter in other parts of the state or country. Manipur is a hill-locked state with a fertile valley in the middle. The Meiteis occupy the valley districts, whereas the hill districts are the ancestral home of the various tribal communities, predating the British colonial administration. Both the hill districts and the tribal people are protected under a special act of the Indian Constitution that restricts land ownership in tribal areas. The current conflict began after the tribal community’s peaceful protest against the Meiteis’ efforts to become a “scheduled tribe” (which would also give them access to this hill land) was met with violent retaliation by a radical Meitei mob. The violence was further fueled by explosive lies spread purportedly by the Meitei community themselves, which quickly spread to the state capital, Imphal. Violent mobs started ransacking tribal houses, churches, educational institutions, and hospitals, and attacking people, including women and children. The article is published on christianitytoday.com
Catholic nuns risk their lives to serve violence-hit India’s Manipur state
Sr. Sanrupe Kharsyiumiong and her companion were busy recruiting candidates for her congregation in some parishes of Manipur, when ethnic violence targeting Christians erupted May 3 in the northeastern Indian state. After escaping, "our plan was to return in three days, but [we] got stranded in a village as mobs attacked houses and churches in several Christian villages," the 27-year-old member of the Clarist Franciscan Missionaries of the Most Blessed Sacrament told Global Sisters Report. The ongoing clash is between the majority Meitei community (who are mostly Hindu) and Kukis, one of the tribes in the state (most of them Christian). A tribal solidarity rally triggered the May 3 violence, as the Meiteis attacked the rallyists when they returned from the event. Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, the capital of Manipur, in a report submitted to visiting bishops in mid-June, stated that more than 100 civilians — mostly Christians — were killed, and 249 churches belonging to various denominations were destroyed in the violence, most of which were Baptist and Presbyterian (the two major denominations in the state). But a July 10 report that the state government submitted to the Supreme Court indicated further destruction: 142 deaths, 5,053 registered cases of arson, and the
Church bulletin article warns of Manipur-like situation in Goa
PANAJI: The state government’s talk of “destroying traces of Portuguese culture” is a warning that Goa could witness clashes similar to those in Manipur, says an article in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman’s pastoral bulletin, Renovacao. “Goa is expected to see the next holocaust after Manipur,” writes F E Noronha, a member of the editorial board of Renovacao. The bulletin is published by the Diocesan Centre for Social Communications Media (DCSCM), from the Archbishop’s House in Altinho, Panaji. “The sporadic squeaks about destroying traces of Portuguese culture are announcements of the holocaust under preparation,” Noronha writes in the article. “Get ready to be paraded, you can save on your clothes. There are also sporadic announcements about places of worship.” The article adds, “People of Goa, enough of stupid Sao Joaos, dances, weddings, ‘Corridinhos’ and alcohol, get down on your knees and pray whatever prayer you know.” It goes on to say, “Your grandfathers rescued Goa in 1967. There is no Dr Jack Sequeira today, and Goans are not united. But situations throw up the requisite leadership and people rise to the occasion according to the crises.” The article says that Goa is staring at “crises” and that “churches may be demolished
Indian Christians to hold a prayer vigil in front of the U.N. for the victims of violence in Manipur, India on Saturday August 5 Noon
NEW YORK (TIP): ‘Concerned Citizens on Manipur,’ an activist group, is organizing a prayer vigil in front of the United Nations building in Manhattan on Saturday, August 5th, at 11 am in solidarity with the victims of violence in the northeastern State of Manipur in India and to pray for restoration of peace. The tiny State of Manipur has witnessed violent conflict between the majority of Meitei and a minority of Kuki tribes. Stabbing, chopping, burning, shooting, and other attacks killed more than 140 people. Mobs have destroyed more than 400 churches and shrines; houses have been burnt, some with inhabitants in them and over 50,000 people have been displaced into temporary relief camps in miserable states. Parading of naked women, gang rape and sexually abusing them have occurred in public spaces. Although the Government is supposed to protect the lives and properties of its citizens, the BJP government in power in the State and at the Center has done very little to quell the violence. Independent observers report that the Government has indirectly tolerated the majority Meitei community to continue the atrocities. The BJP government is a fundamentalist Hindutva party advocating for converting India into a Hindu nation. The religious
The Manipur Massacre perceived as the worst anti-Christian massacre in modern India
Open genocidal calls made by the COCOMI Meiteis against the Kukis – the Manipur Massacre is the worst anti-Christian massacre in modern India In a terrible pogrom lasting over two months, it was triggered by an old picture of a girl from Delhi being raped, falsely asserting that the Kukis had raped a Meitei girl. Mayhem prevailed when the Meiteis went on a mad rampage to burn, rape, and kill Kukis. The Manipur Massacre the longest pogrom in the history of the nine years of Narendra Modi’s governance since 2014 and some perceived it as the worst anti-Christian massacre to take place in India which is still ongoing. Many jeering references are made to the Kuki’s Christian faith, over 200 churches were burnt down and many Kuki schools were destroyed making it seem like a Christian massacre. Presently, an eerie video has emerged on social media revealing the COCOMI Meiteis screaming, translated as “All the Kukis must be killed, Kill the Kukis until they are totally wiped out, Kukis cannot stay in Manipur.” A Kuki responded to the COCOMI march, “You talk about peace and shout slogans like these?!!! Make up your minds! Please do whatever you want within your 700sq. kms area. Kill
Hello!… Manipur is still burning! Is there anyone in charge?
“Despite widespread destruction and human loss of lives, India‘s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept a vow of silence until now while making several important state visits to various capitals around the world, including the United States. His primary constitutional duty is to protect the lives and property of every citizen of India, regardless of caste, religion, or region. Yet, this leader of a great nation, whose aim is to make India the Vishwaguru and would readily tweet if a cricketer is involved in an accident, found it convenient to close his eyes to a State ablaze under his premiership. On his foreign visits, he often asks foreign leaders, especially in Christian-majority countries, to protect Hindu shrines and safeguard their sanctity. Yet, he is pretty undaunted about the destruction of 300 or more Christian Churches under his watch. His External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar who has specialized in propaganda, could always rationalize his thoughts in the name of traditions and culture, and even as he has redefined human rights, one that would fit the people of his stripes abroad and the other for the marginalized communities in his homeland.” It has been almost three months since the State of Manipur
Extremists Are Destroying Indian Christians’ Homes and Shattering Their Lives
For nearly two decades, mob violence has driven believers from their communities and upended their sense of security. Since the beginning of May, ethnic and religious violence in Manipur, a state in northeast India, has resulted in the deaths of at least 142 people, the destruction of over 300 churches and hundreds of villages, and one of the largest violence-driven internal displacements in recent Indian history. A fact-finding team that visited earlier this month reported that the clashes were “state-sponsored,” and the violence has uprooted more than 65,000 people from their homes and forced them to seek shelter elsewhere. India records the highest numbers of internal displacements annually, primarily due to natural disasters. But recent communal violence and persecution against religious minorities has wreaked havoc in numerous Indian states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. While the government has an official legal framework for helping communities displaced by natural disasters and development projects, it has none for those displaced by violence or manmade conflict. Instead, the level of response has varied widely depending on public sympathy for the victims, media attention, and protests by those affected. Rehabilitation, including the provision of permanent shelter, jobs, and education, remains a significant challenge for the government
Conditions in Relief Camps Pathetic, INDIA Delegation Tells Manipur Governor
“You are requested to apprise the union government of the complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so as to enable them to intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy,” the opposition alliance's letter to the Manipur governor said. New Delhi: On the second day of their Manipur visit, opposition leaders wrote a letter to the state’s governor, Anusuiya Uikey, requesting her to take effective measures to restore peace and harmony in the state. The delegation comprising 21 parties from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are on a two-day visit to assess the ground situation in violence-hit Manipur. They told the governor that the delegation visited relief camps in Churachandpur, Moirang and Imphal, and “were very shocked and sad to hear the stories of anxieties, uncertainties, and pains and sorrows of individuals affected by the unprecedented violence unleashed by both sides (Meitis and Kuki-Zomi communities) since the beginning of the clashes”. The delegation accused the BJP-led Union and state governments of failing to protect the lives of people and properties in Manipur, and claimed that over the last three months, more than 140 people were killed and 500 were injured,
From Manipur, A Peace Activist’s Account Of State Criminality & Culpability a
In this blow-by-blow account, peace activist Harsh Mander describes his journey to Manipur, where he met Meitei and Kuki families broken by three months of ethnic violence, life inside the camps where hundreds live in despair, unsure if they will ever return to their scorched villages, and the “extreme culpability” of a seemingly partisan state that has done little to help the minority Christians who have been killed and uprooted in greater numbers. Delhi: In the four days that ten peace activists were in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, convulsed in ethnic and religious violence since May, nothing brought home the theatre of war like the gunfire and mortar explosions they passed while returning from the Kuki camps to the capital Imphal on 27 July. Two days later, Harsh Mander, who led the team from Karwan e Mohabbat, a campaign for peace and solidarity he started in 2017, told Article 14: “It was very scary.” “We could hear the sounds of gunshots close at hand and mortar bombs. It became really difficult to know what to do,” said Mander. “When we reached the border, the sound of firing was very close. It was within 100 metres.” In the state of 3.2 million people, Meiteis
