A Church leader from India’s Manipur expressed optimism after the strife-torn state in north-east region was brought under direct federal rule days after its chief minister resigned.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh from the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit on Feb. 9 after facing pressure to step down for failing to stop the continuing violence in the state for nearly two years. The ethnic clashes bet-ween the state’s majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities broke out in May 2023 over economic benefits, land rights and job quotas.
More than 250 people have been killed and over 60,000 displaced, most of them indigenous Christians from the Kuki-Zo group. The office of President Droupadi Murmu on Feb. 13 announced President’s rule, which allows the Delhi-appointed gover-nor to administer the state on behalf of the federal government. Murmu’s office said in a state-ment that the federal rule was imposed because of the situation in which the governance of that state could “not be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India.”
A Church leader in the troubl-ed state told that “the federal government can work towards healing wounds and restoring peace, provided it is sincere.” Christians have been demanding the chief minister’s dismissal since the violence began almost two years ago.
“The chaos cannot continue indefinitely. There should be an end [to violence],” added the Church leader who did not want to be named, fearing retribution. He said the discriminatory atti-tude towards indigenous commu-nities adopted by Singh, a Meitei, has “divided both the communities to such an extent that they do not like to see each other or share the same space.”