Archbishop Linus Neli of Imphal has called all Catholics in the eastern Indian state of Manipur to hold intense fast and prayer for reconciliation and peace May 3-5.
“Let us persistently pray for the day when people of all ethnicities and religious commu-nities can live together peacefully in this beautiful land of Manipur,” says a statement the archdiocese issued in early May.
An ethnic clash that broke out May 3, 2023, between the Meitei and Kuki commu-nities led to the death of hundreds and the displacement of 60,000 people. The Meitei people make up 53% of Manipur’s 2.8 million, population; the Naga people make up 24%, the Chin-Kuki-Mizo people make up 16%. Hindus and Christians each make up about 41% of the population, while Muslims make up just over 8%.
The conflict was triggered by an affir-mative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand by mostly Meitei Hindus for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills populated by Kukis and other tribal groups, and get a share of government jobs. Ethnic violence has been a decades-old problem in Manipur state, where 700 people were killed in 1993 and the govern-ment took a year and a half to restore nor-malcy in the region.
The archdiocese’s statement said that while the situation may have relatively relaxed, “we know only too well the present scenario of ethnic segregation and several hundreds of our people still languishing in great distress, pain and uncertainties in relief camps and in undesirable conditions.” The archbishop recalled the most horrifying and harrowing days – particularly May 3-5, 2023 – saying, “we should fall on our knees to intensify our prayers for genuine reconciliation and peace with justice among all fellow human beings.”
“Like many responsible communities and organisations, the Catholic Church in Manipur has been in the forefront in humanitarian interventions, in peace dialogue, and in con-stant prayer for early solution,” he continued. Quoting Isaiah 57:18-19 from the Bible, Neli asserted, “it is our firm confidence that God will hear our prayers and heal our land, guide and comfort our people, and give peace to those who are far away and peace to those who are near.”

A pro-Hindu group has sought action against a Catholic arch-bishop, accusing him of violating the country’s poll code by trying to influence voters on religious grounds amid India’s ongoing national elections. The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, wants the Election Commission of India to take action against Archbishop George Anthonysamy of Madras-Mayla-pore in southern Tamil Nadu state. The forum’s April 29 complaint was about an editorial Anthonysamy wrote in the arch-diocesan fortnightly The New Leader Weekly. While highlight-ing India’s current socio-political situation, he also referred to the plight of Christians and Muslims under Modi’s rule since 2014.
The forum alleged it was an attempt “to influence voters on religious lines,” so Anthonysamy violated the election code. In his guest editorial, Anthonysamy, president of the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, wrote that Chri-stians, who comprise 2.3% of India’s 1.4 billion people, must ensure 100% voting. “Let us all vote,” he wrote, calling the ele-ction a “significant one… an ele-ction between two contrasting ideologies.” Editor Father Antony Pancras said they stood by the guest editorial and denied the allegation it violated the poll code. “The archbishop indeed tried to inform people about the plight of the country’s people, especially the minorities,”

A Hindu nationalist group in India, the world’s most populous country, has demanded a law to control population growth over perceived fears that Muslims could outnumber the majority Hindus. “Hindus generally settle down for one or two children… [but] there are people who say children are Allah’s gifts. This is a matter of deep concern,” said Shriraj Nair, spokesperson of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council). Nair said the Indian government “should immediately bring in a Population Control Bill.” He referred to the recent findings of a report by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), which said the Hindu population declined by nearly 8 percent between 1950 and 2015 while Muslims grew at a record 43% in the 65 years.
“Demography decides your destiny… It’s high time Hindus awakened to this reality. Wher-ever Hindus slipped into minority, what has happened, we all know. Let’s learn from history,” Nair posted on X on May 9.
The EAC report authored by Shamika Ravi, Abraham Jose, and Apurv Kumar Mishra, said that the population of Sikhs went up by 6.58% and Christians by 5.38% in the same period.
“Migration, legal or illegal, is also responsible for change in demography in various parts of the world. But we are not talking migration or birth rate, we are talking conversion,” she added.

An Indian court had to inter-vene to ensure a proper burial for a tribal Christian after residents of his predominantly Hindu villa-ge objected to Christian burial in the village. Fifty-four-year-old Isvar Korram, an indigenous Christian, died on April 25 while undergoing treatment at a hospital in central Chhattisgarh state’s Jagdalpur city, which is the headquarters of Bastar district. But villagers from his native Chhindbahar, a remote village in the hilly, forested district, told his family not to bring back his body and bury it according to Christian rites. “This is not the first time that indigenous Christians were denied permission to bury their dead in the region,” said Bishop Vijay Kumar Thobi of the Protestant Church. Bastar is known as a stronghold of the Maoist rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and have been engaged in an armed insurgency for many decades. Local church leaders said the villagers “opposed a Christian burial on the plea that it will prove a bad omen” for them. “This time, we decided to file a case in the Bilaspur High Court [the state’s top court] seeking a direction to bury Korram in his village,” Bishop Thobi told.

Around 15,000, including Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, on May 9th attended the golden jubilee celebrations of Berhampur diocese in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. “I am glad and happy to be with you and for you to celebrate this jubilee Mass,” the nuncio said in homily during the jubilee Mass at St.Peter Parish Mohana under Berhampur diocese. The Vatican ambassador expressed happiness that the diocese, founded by the Congregation of the Missions in 1974, now has 71,000 Catholics in 26 parishes, served by 29 women and 10 men religious congre-gations, and 379 catechists, besides the dio-cesan clergy. The seed your ancestors sowed 50 years ago has produced plenty of fruits, he added.
As many as 10 bishops and more than 100 priests and nuns too attended the celebrations. Catholicism was first introduced in the region back in the 17th century when it was under the care of Madras-Mylapur archdiocese. By 1845, Odisha came under the diocese of Visakhapatnam. The first missionaries were the Fransalians, who worked in the hilly region of Ganjam and Phulbani and the coastal belt of Berhampur and Cuttack. The Cuttack Mission was declared self-governing by Pope Pius XI on July 18, 1928, and Vincentian Father Valerian Gumes was appointed its administrator and ecclesiastical superior. In 1937, the mission was raised to the status of a diocese. On January 24,1974, the Cuttack Mission was divided into the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese and the diocese of Berhampur. Berhampur’s first prelate was Vincentian Bishop Thomas Thiruthalil, who served the diocese until 1990. He was succeeded by Bishop Joseph Das who served the diocese during 1993-2007. The current bishop is Sarat Chandra Nayak.