Indian bishops appeal to rebuild lives in riot-hit Manipur

Serving, retired prelates from Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church in southern Kerala urge governments to restore peace

Bishops from the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church have urged Catholics to help rebuild the shattered lives of people in the strife-torn Manipur state in northeast India.

“We all need to extend our wholehearted support to rebuild the shattered lives of people in Manipur,” the bishops said at the end of a week-long meeting of the synod on Aug. 26.

Some 54 serving and retired bishops from the Church present for the synod expressed their shock over the unprecedented violence in the hilly state that claimed more than 170 lives.

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Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Church, in a post-synod circular, urged the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led federal and state governments to “take earnest steps to restore peace in the troubled state.”

The prelate further said, “It is the constitutional duty of the governments to ensure safety and security of the life and property of every citizen in the strife-torn state.”

Manipur witnessed unprecedented violence since May 3 leading to the displacement of more than 50,000 people, mostly Christians from the indigenous Kuki community.

The violent mob on rampage burnt to ashes thousands of houses belonging to Christians, besides their churches and other institutions.

The prelates described the violence in Manipur as “a deep wound in the heart of secular India” and expressed their concerns over the rising incidents of persecution against Christians in other parts of the country as well.

“Our brothers and sisters in Manipur are in deep pain and distress and it is our moral responsibility to share our solidarity with them,” the bishops said in the circular.

Cardinal Alencherry said different dioceses of the Church have already taken the initiative to provide free education to victims of the violence, especially those orphaned or homeless.

The initiative has been launched with the help of Caritas India, the social service arm of the Catholic Church.

A Church leader based in Manipur told UCA News on Aug. 29 that the sectarian violence had divided the people, especially the majority Meiteis and minority Kuki tribal communities.

The divide is “so much that it is not possible for a Kukis to enter into the areas of Meiteis and vice versa,” he said.

The sectarian violence broke out when tribal groups, comprising mainly Christians, opposed the demand for inclusion of the Meitei Hindu community in the Scheduled Tribe category to avail benefits of education and job quotas under India’s affirmative action plan.

The Meiteis account for 53 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million people while tribal Christians form 41.29 percent of the population. A few Meiteis are also Christians.

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