Bangalore archbishop offers free education, hostel for displaced Manipur youth

By Matters India Reporter

Bengaluru, June 14, 2023: Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore has promised free education and hostel accommodation in Church-managed educational institutions to young people from the strife-torn northeastern Indian state of Manipur.

The prelate told this June 12 at a meeting of a group of young Manipuri people organized by the archdiocese.

The young people had sought safety in Bengaluru and the archdiocese provided them solace, said Aloysius Kantharaj, the public relations office of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Machado extended all-round help to the Manipur youth, responding to their plea for help. The prelate said Bengaluru is an excellent place for education and the Manipur youth could continue their education in the diocesan and religious educational institutions in the city and stay in hostels free.

The archbishop also expressed solidarity with the displaced people of Manipur and conveyed the archdiocese’s readiness to care for them.

Manipur has witnessed unprecedented ethnic violence since May 3 when various tribal groups in the state organized a peaceful rally to protest a government move to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the majority Meithei community.

The Meithei people retaliated by attacking the tribal rally, triggering violence that killed nearly 100 people, displaced thousands and torched hundreds of churches belonging to various denominations in the past one month.

The government has imposed prohibitory orders and snapped internet facilities to check the violence.

The young people from Manipur were brought to Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, by Jesuit Father James Beipei, a native of Manipur living in the city.

He explained that Christians and others in Manipur continue to face ethnic and communal tensions even after a month. He said he took the initiative to bring the students to Bengaluru because of the current social situation in the Christian-populated districts of Manipur.

As violent mobs attack places of worship, institutions and houses, the Jesuit priest decided to relocate young people to Bengaluru where he says they would be safer. Some have their relatives and friends already in the city, capital of Karnataka state.

The priest expressed gratitude to Archbishop Machado for welcoming the students and providing them shelter, education and assistance.

Luni, a young woman from Manipur working in Bangalore, said Manipur has not witnessed such civil conflict in the past. She expressed relief and a sense of safety since arriving in Bengaluru where people have welcomed them.

Kennedy, a displaced student, said an intense gunfire was witnessed during the state governor’s visit to his village where his parents continue to live in fear. He thanked the archbishop for his help and said the prelate has become a father figure to them.

Salesian Father Edward Thomas, director of the Dream India Network in Bengaluru and a participant, offered to help the displaced youth. Father Lourdu Xavier Santhosh, director of Bangalore Multipurpose Social Service Society, and Sister Rosali of the Society of the Sisters of St. Anne congregation, promised to help the Manipur youth to find jobs, education, and secure housing.

The archdiocese of Bangalore has already reached out to young people living in the city.

On June 3, 2019, Catholic representatives of Manipur migrants in the city shared with Archbishop Machado their struggle to avail spiritual help.

The archbishop was told that Christians from various tribes of Manipur were among the migrants that grew at an alarming rate.

The archbishop then assured the people from northeastern India to provide them spiritual care and animation.

The archdiocese started reaching out to the migrants at the time of Archbishop Bernard Moras. It started providing spiritual care for them through the help of the Salesian priests.