India: Anti-Christian violence rages in Manipur

Leaders of the Hindu nationalist party have accused the BJP of complicity in an orchestrated attack on Christians. ACN continues to monitor the situation in India.

The status of Christians in Manipur, India is cause for great concern, as violence against Christians rages, and hundreds of churches and other Christian buildings have been destroyed.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, published a short note on July 9, explaining that the current situation is causing “anxiety to all and suffering to the people of the area.” He also ensured that the episcopate of India is in communion with the local Diocese of Imphal and trying to find ways to help.

Local sources blame the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the crisis. A Hindu nationalist party, it is suspected of condoning and even stoking the violence. This theory was supported on July 13, when the vice president of the BJP in Mizoram resigned in protest of the violence.

In his resignation letter, R. Vanramchhuanga wrote that militants have burned   357 churches and church-owned buildings, and thatleaders from both the local and central governments, which are held by the BJP, have yet to condemn their actions.

“Therefore, I believe that the massive demolition of Christian churches in Manipur was supported by the state and central authorities,” the politician said.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been following these developments in Manipur and received information from local sources. What started out as an attempt by the Meitei group to be registered on the Scheduled Tribal list devolved quickly into attacks against the Christian Kuki and Naga tribes. Violent attacks from militant Meitei groups resulted in the burning of entire villages, the deaths of more than 100 Kuki civilians, and the destruction of Catholic and Protestant churches, including those that belonged to Christian Meiteis. The situation can now be described as open persecution against Christians.

Two reports that reached ACN described in detail the destruction of Church property that and clearly show the methodology and intentions of the attackers.

St. Paul’s Parish

On May 3, according to a report from the Diocese of Imphal, several Meitei activists entered St. Paul’s Parish and Pastoral Training Center in Sangaiprou, which serves a variety of ethnic communities.

“Around 8:30 P.M., a mob began to destroy the church and the properties therein. Window panes, doors, statues, crucifixes, t instruments: whatever was in the church was smashed, and the altar was set on fire.”

The 46 people who live on the premises were rounded up and forced to provide proof of identity, to ensure that there were no Kukis among them. “After verifying their identity, they set a motorcycle on fire and left. The fire in the church was brought under control,” the report said.

Local Christians believed that they had escaped the worst, but instead, the group returned twice that same day, asking again for proof of identity.

On May 4, the mob came back. “The residents were asked to identify themselves. After checking documents several times, they left, finding none of the people they were apparently looking for. However, at around2:00 P.M.,, they walked into the church, took the gas cylinders from the kitchen, piled up pews and any valuables they found, and then smashed, looted, and burned both the church and the Pastoral Training Center.” They did not even spare the livestock.

According to the report, no security was provided, despite repeated attempts to reach the police.

Holy Redeemer Parish

Security forces also failed to protect innocents in the Holy Redeemer Parish in Canchipur.  

On May 3, at around 8:30 P.M., “a group of unidentified people, armed with iron bars and sticks, came to the parish and forcefully crashed through the gates. There were three or four police agents, but they could not control the mob. After smashing the doors, windows, and other church belongings, the attackers set the church on fire,” says the report sent to ACN.

As with St. Paul’s Parish, the worst seemed to be over, but the nightmare continued. “At 10:00 P.M., the mob came back  and vandalized the rectory of the parish. All valuable assets, like computers, cash, and gas cylinders, were taken, and the private rooms of the priests and staff were ransacked and destroyed.”

The attackers returned twice before morning, threatening staff, breaking windows, and ransacking the building before setting the residence for needy students on fire. They also broke into the Bethany convent and looted all thevaluables there.

ACN continues to monitor the situation in India and is in touch with local Church authorities to find the best and fastest way to provide emergency aid.

—Felipe d’Avillez