Christian groups in the strife-torn Manipur state in northeast India have jointly appealed to Indian President Droupadi Murmu to stop the violence against a tiny group of Christians who live among native Hindu Meitei people. An estimated 35,000 Meitei Christians face “total cleansing and obliteration” in all the valley districts of the hilly state, according to their memorandum submitted to Murmu on June 26. The All Manipur Christian Organization (AMCO), a forum of all Christian groups in the state cutting across denomi-national differences, said Meitei Christians are facing violence from people of their ethnicity.
The Meitei people make up 53 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million population. They are mostly Hindus, but some have followed various Christian denominations for decades. How-ever, they became the target of Meitei violence after a riot broke out 14 months ago between Meitei people and predominantly Christian Kuki tribal people, the Church leader told. “Since the mayhem and violence started, more than 360 Christian churches have either been razed to the ground, demo-lished or vandalized, out of which 249 churches belong to the Meitei minority Christian com-munity,” said the memorandum. “What is extremely saddening and heart-wrenching is the fact that all the displaced Meitei Christians are still not allowed to practice Christianity as their faith,” it said.
“The Meitei Christians, who are being threatened and harassed, are not allowed to practice their faith,” the memorandum said. It stressed that freedom of religion is “a guaranteed fundamental right of each citizen of our secular nation.” The Meitei Christians should be given “the necessary protection and assurance by the government of India and state government that they would no longer be disturbed from any angle in practicing the faith they choose,” it said. The memorandum also appealed to Murmu to take immediate action to “rebuild the places of worship, fostering healing and restoring the fabric of unity among the people.” It said that the reconstruction of these churches will serve as a symbol of resilience and reaffirm our commitment to diversity and harmony.