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
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
Christian community in India faces surge in violence
The United Christian Forum (UCF) reports that the Christian community in India has endured 400 incidents of violence within a span of 190 days this year. According to the UCF, attacks occurred at a rate of at least twice per day during this period, escalating to three times per day in the month of June alone. During the month of June, UCF documented 88 instances of violence specifically targeting the Christian community, primarily originating from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. AC Michael, the National Coordinator of UCF, expressed concerns about the government's "indifferent" response to the situation in Manipur, stating that this has emboldened right-wing factions and contributed to the increased number of incidents in June. "Month of June alone has seen 88 incidents which are largely from North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Looks like the indifferent attitude of the government to the violence in Manipur has embolden the violence perpetrators in these states," said Michael. The UCF's half-yearly report for 2023 reveals a significant rise in the number of incidents compared to the same period in the previous year, which documented 274 acts of violence against the Christian community. Among the 23 states that reported violence against the Christian community in the country,
11 Indian Christians released from jail
A court in a northern Indian state has released 11 Protestant Christians who spent a week in jail after their arrest under the draconian anti-conversion law. A local court in Bahraich district in northern Uttar Pradesh state granted bail to Pastor Babu Ram and 10 others, who were released on July 17. “We are happy that our brothers are released from jail,” said Dinanath Jaiswal, a social worker who helped the Christians in their legal fight. Police arrested them on July 9 during a Sunday service following complaints from activists of the hardline Hindu group, Bajrang Dal (lord Hanuman’s army). The activists forced their way into the prayer hall and accused the pastor and others of being involved in religious conversion, which is a crime under the state's anti-conversion law. The activists called the police who took the pastor and those attending the Sunday prayer service into their custody and produced them before a court. “Thirteen Christian women were also taken into custody by the police. But a local court granted them bail,” Jaiswal told UCA News on July 18. Police charged them with illegal assembly, conspiracy, and criminal intimidation. “It is unfortunate that police keep registering totally fake cases against Christians who are merely attending the Sunday prayer services," Jaiswal said. He said that life has
Report: Religious Persecution Against India’s Christians Has Nearly Doubled
A new report confirms the persecution of India's Christians is rising and nearly doubling since from last year. The New-Delhi based United Christian Forum (UCF) keeps track of violence against believers and found there were 400 incidences in the first half of the year in 23 states in India. Comparatively, there were only 274 incidences during this same period last year. "The government data downplays the severity of the situation," said A.C. Michael, the UCF's national coordinator. The report highlighted Uttar Pradesh as one of the leading states in religious persecution against Christians with 155 incidences total. June saw the highest number of violent attacks with 88 cases, which translates into three per day, the group reported. "Violence in the northeastern state of Manipur has been raging for over two months and hundreds of churches and many precious lives have been lost," UCF said. Over the last two months, ethnic clashes in Manipur have led to the death of more than 100 people dead and the destruction of nearly 400 churches. As CBN News has reported, the violence was sparked over plans by the government to give privileged status to the Hindu majority Meitei community in the Imphal Valley region. The Kuki community, who reside on the hills
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 High
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
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
