The bodies of 12 indigenous Christian youths were laid to rest 25 days after they were killed in India’s sectarian strife-torn Manipur state. Many people turned up on Dec. 5 for a special prayer meeting organized at the Peace Ground at Tuibuong in Churachandpur district, a tribal Christian stronghold in the northeastern state, bordering civil war-hit Myanmar. The mourners observed a one-minute silence before the bodies with gunshot wounds were buried in the Martyrs’ Cemetery. Speakers at the meeting called them “martyrs” who laid down their lives while protecting their tribal community which is fighting with the majority Hindus in the hilly state. A total shutdown was observed in Tuibuong and thousands of people joined the funeral procession. Among the 12 youths, 10 were killed in an alleged encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force in Jiribam district on Nov. 11. Two others were allegedly killed by Meitei groups. However, the pro-Hindu government in the state has called the youths “militants.” Their burial was delayed as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), repre-senting Kuki-Zo tribal Christians in Manipur, insisted on their postmortem reports. The youths, aged between 19 and 35, accord-ing to the postmortem report, were shot from behind.