By Matters India Reporter

Mon, Jan 14, 22: A huge crowd gathered in the bitter cold in Mon, Nagaland, to pay their respects to the 14 civilians killed by the armed forces a month earlier.

The speakers at the gathering on January 6 and 7 repeatedly affirmed the need for the healing of memories. The entire musical program was planned to provide a healing touch to the pent up emotions of the families and communities that were affected.

The civilians, who fell to the army bullets, were innocent Indian coal workers who were returning home from the field. The army mistook them for insurgents.,

Military and political authorities have apologized. But the pain remains. The people of Oting village have been in deep distress, trying to recover from the shock of this inhuman blow that they have received, with several injured in addition to the dead.

A month after the tragedy people gathered at Mon, the District headquarters, from different parts of Nagaland, other parts of the Northeast region, and even beyond, to both to remember the victims of violence and to pray for Peace and Healing.

Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil represented the Assam Christian Forum along with Reverend Mordecai of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

Introducing Archbishop Menamparampil, the executive secretary of the Konyak Baptist Convention, Reverend Wangchuk said, “Here is a Church leader, 86 years old, travelling 15 hours on bad roads to bring us words of condolences and encouragement from our friends in Assam. Let us feel strengthened at this moment of pain.”

Many other leaders spoke of the need for forgiveness. Reverend Mordecai gave the same message through his musical performance.

Archbishop Menamparampil pointed out how the entire region felt intensely united at the moment of this pain. “Pain has redemptive power. May the agony that we have gone through during the last month unite us in a common effort to work towards the construction of a shared future of Peace and Prosperity in Nagaland and in our region”.

In this way our sorrow will be transformed into joy, a joy that no one can take away, the Catholic prelate added.