In early May, ethnoreligious violence broke out in the state of Manipur in NE India, leaving behind a disaster zone for tribal Christians. “As of now, 200 plus Christian churches and properties have been burned down entirely,” Vishnu, an Open Doors partner in India, tells The Other Cheek. “Some strong buildings continue to stand. But everything inside those churches was totally burned. According to the reports, the death toll is more than 40 to 50 people now. And most of them are Christians.
“Overall anything which had a Christian identity was attacked. For example, a church or a seminary or a house, whoever was a Christian even if the person was not tribal, it was sufficient for them to attack because the person or family was Christian.”
Vishnu explains that in one of India’s remotest states, ethnic and religious identity overlaps. He refers to one group, mostly Christians, as the “tribal” group. They are an indigenous group living in forests in the hills, sometimes known as Kukis. They are related to the Christian tribes in Myanmar.
Another group, the Meitei, also indigenous, are Hindus.
Indian media report 10,000 troops have been brought in to restore order. Vishnu says the violence has eased, but nine thousand Christians are now homeless. “There is nothing to attack anymore or harm people anymore. Also the arrival of the central forces has played animportant role to control the violence. So right now there’s no violence.”
The Evangelical Fellowship of India has pointed out in the Indian Supreme Court that the Indian government itself has disclosed that political groups linked to the ruling party have been involved in communal crimes, according to a Release International report by Andrew Boyd.
“They say that ultra-nationalist right-wing organisations such as the ‘Hindu Sangathan, Hindu Vadi Sanghatan, Hindu Jagran Manch, members of RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP’ have been involved in the attacks.
“The petitioners claim a rising tide of violence against Christians in the world’s largest democracy. They report 505 instances of assault in 2021, rising to 598 in 2022. And they say that in the first two months of 2023, there have been 123 assaults.”
Release International describes a pattern of attacks
- Large groups gather outside prayer meetings in homes or churches and force their way in to disrupt the meetings.
- They assault members and drag the pastor away, then
- Register a legal claim against him alleging the forced conversion of Hindus.
Open Doors’ Vishnu points out that the Meitei people and the tribals lived for centuries without violence. But the tribals believe they are under threat.
The BBC describes the context: “Members of the Meitei community, who account for 53% of the state’s population, have been demanding inclusion under the Scheduled Tribe category for years which will give them access to forest lands and guarantee them a proportion of government jobs and places in educational institutions.
“The communities already recognised as Scheduled Tribes, especially Kukis who live in the hill districts, worry that they may lose control over their ancestral forest land if the Meitei’s demand is accepted.”
Vishnu says the effects of the violence a couple of weeks ago live on. “The differences between these two ethnic-religious groups are profound right now. So in the places wherever Christians are exposed, they may be easily targeted. As a result, many Christian families have gone underground and are staying anonymously wherever possible.
“Many families who are living in theArmy’s protection, they’re surviving on a single meal.”
In the last few days, Aid agencies like Open Doors have regained access to Manipur, and Vishnu says they are planning “so that those who have lost their houses, their churches and their shops and business can tryto rebuild their life.”
Vishnu urged Australian Christians to lobby our government to condemn this incident of violence and urge the Indian government to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supporting the right of religious freedom and the right to life in Manipur, especially for the tribal people who have been highly persecuted this month.”