Indian Christians Fear No End To Manipur Conflict
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Indian Christian leaders are skeptical about the federal government’s “road map” for peace in India’s conflict-torn Manipur state, where scores of Christians were killed and hundreds of churches and other properties were destroyed.
Christian officials said the initiative is “too late and too difficult” to achieve in Manipur, where Hindu-majority Meitei and tribal Christians have been fighting each other for 16 months.
The reaction came after India’s federal Home Minister Amit Shah said Tuesday that a “road map” for peace in Manipur was ready.
Shah is a top leader of the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party. He revealed they have been talking to the tribal Kuki and Meitei communities.
A Church leader said it is now difficult to achieve a breakthrough as the warring parties continue “to stick to their guns.”
Sectarian violence in the eastern state started in May last year and has claimed over 230 lives, many of them Christians, displaced over 60,000 people, and destroyed thousands of houses and over 300 churches.
“There are fears of further violence, particularly as Hindu extremists are using the conflict as an excuse to hunt out church leaders and try to force entire Christian communities to convert to Hinduism,” said advocacy group Open Doors in an earlier assessment.
“While Christians are not the only people affected, local sources say that they have faced ten times the persecution received by Hindus.”
Despite the clashes, Christianity is the fastest growing and second most followed faith in Manipur, a state in Northeast India, according to 2011 census data of India.
Evangelical churches are among those active in the region.
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