By Jose Kavi
New Delhi, July 24, 2023: A top team of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India that visited the conflict-ridden areas of Manipur has criticized the prolonged silence and apathy of the law enforcement agencies in containing violence in the northeastern Indian state.
“It is our earnest appeal that the governance system should uphold the secular fabric of our country, reinforce constitutional values and cultivate an environment of peaceful co-existence of various communities,” asserts the team led by the conference president Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur.
The team that visited various places in Manipur July 23-24 included the conference’s deputy secretary general Father Jervis D’Souza and Father Paul Moonjely, executive director of Caritas India, humanitarian response organization of CBCI.
It was the first CBCI official team to visit Manipur where clashes between Kuki tribal people and Meitei people erupted 82 days ago, killing more than 160 people and rendering thousands homeless. As many as 349 churches and institutions have also perished in the violence.
The visit also took place five days after a video surfaced on social media showing two women being paraded naked and later gang raped. The 26-minute video triggered national outrage prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak about Manipur for the first time. The incident occurred on May 4, but the world did not know about it until because of a ban on the internet in Manipur.
A statement from the conference’s public relations office says the team visited Kakching, Sugnu area, Pukhao, Canchipur, Sangaiprou among other places and “saw the large-scale destruction of private homes, churches/places of worship, schools and institutions in various places along the way.”
The team described it as “heart-wrenching” to see the places deserted and “seemed like they will not be inhabited in the near future given the mutual mistrust and fear that continues to prevail.”
The team says it “is equally worried as to what is the actual situation and the future of those who have fled from these places and the future of their children, in the midst of all these vulnerabilities.”
The CBCI team distributed relief items in the relief damp at Indoor Stadium, Kakching. and opened a medical camp at Pukhou. Sugnu, which used to be inhabited by more than 1,000 families.
“They had their houses and properties totally destroyed and vandalized. St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School and Parish which rendered educational, social and developmental service to all communities including Kuki-zo, Naga, Meitei and others had been reduced to cinders,” the statement says.
Also destroyed were Holy Redeemer Church in the campus of Catholic School at Canchipur and the Regional Pastoral Training Centre and St. Paul’s Parish at Sangaiprou.
The team also visited some schools and hostels where they saw anxieties and distress writ large on the faces of the children, “clearly leaving us with no answers at this point of time as to how we can build better the communities and the institutions.”
The statement also says Caritas India has responded to “this unprecedented crisis” from the beginning providing relief assistance and supporting the relief camps in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Diocesan Social Services Society (DSSS), the Social Service Wing of the Archdiocese of Imphal.
The agency has so far provided relief assistance worth 30 million rupees.
“Caritas India is committed to taking up continued assistance for the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the affected communities. As an expression of solidarity, various religious congregations and church fraternities have come forward to render various forms of assistance including material, healthcare, and psycho-social support in the relief camps,” the statement says.
It also claims that the Church in India, responding to a CBCI appeal, has responded to the Manipur crisis by way of prayer, organizing peace rallies and mobilizing resources to support the affected people.
“We are deeply saddened about the prolonged situation of violence in Manipur. We condemn all forms of violence, atrocities and attacks especially on our institutions, places of worship and vulnerable sections of the society like women and children. We are equally worried about the prolonged silence and apathy of the law enforcement agencies in containing the violence” the statement says.
The top Church team appealed to the government system to uphold the secular fabric of our country, reinforce constitutional values and cultivate an environment of peaceful co-existence of various communities.
“We call upon all concerned persons to enter into the process of dialogue and concentrate on the development of all sections of the people in order to bring about peace and harmony in India and in particular in the State of Manipur,” it adds.