- 08 Aug 2023 21:32
#15282544
1,700 homes of Christians have been burned down by mobs in the Christian state of Manipur.
Hindu mobs are angry that Christians are converting away Hindus to Christianity, which is seen as un-Indian.
The military only arrived half a day later, giving the mob time to carry out its attacks. This may likely have been intentional.
Manipur is in a more remote part of the country in India's far east, bordering the country of Myanmar.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/ ... ment-.html
Manipur Christians: ‘The Violence Has Shattered Us’, Surinder Kaur, Christianity Today, June 1, 2023
Many from India’s tribal Kuki community have fled their homes. Amid ongoing violence, returning isn’t an option.
One person sent out this message:
“Please pray for Manipur. We are in an extremely dangerous situation. We have left home and are staying away . . . Many of the church buildings and pastors' quarters are being burned down. [Christians] are shot dead . . .
Unfortunately, on 5 May 2023, at around 1 p.m., my brother-in-law was also shot dead and their entire village was burned to ashes. Even his dead body could not be retrieved by his family.
The internet has been shut down, and there is no proper electricity. I have no update from sources, but only ground report and life experience. We are spending our life in the jungle and some in refugee camps.”
Those are the words of one of our field correspondents serving in Manipur, India, where a three-month conflict has escalated into a near civil war between two people groups sharply divided by religion. News coming out of the region is horrifying: Christian women being paraded naked and assaulted by a mob of men, Christian men being brutally beheaded, houses being burned down and churches being desecrated and destroyed.
Media outlets report the conflict as “ethnic and tribal,” but everyone living in Manipur knows what’s happening is deeply rooted in religious tensions. Even the European Parliament issued a statement urging authorities in Manipur to “halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence, to protect all religious minorities, such as Manipur’s Christian community.”
This reminds me of the 2008 persecution against Christians in Odisha (formerly Orissa), where false accusations sparked three months of Christian “purging” that left close to 100 people dead and 56,000 people homeless. In Manipur, 130 have already been killed, and 60,000 men, women and precious children have been displaced.
More than 250 church buildings—including 65 of our own—have been vandalized or demolished. Believers are being threatened to renounce their faith in Jesus. Many, like our dear field correspondent, are fleeing for their safety.
Can you imagine yourself living in the jungle, wondering every day if someone will find you and kill you and your children? Or living in a refugee camp, passing your days in a devastated existence until it is safe for you to go home?
Hindu mobs are angry that Christians are converting away Hindus to Christianity, which is seen as un-Indian.
The military only arrived half a day later, giving the mob time to carry out its attacks. This may likely have been intentional.
Manipur is in a more remote part of the country in India's far east, bordering the country of Myanmar.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/ ... ment-.html
Manipur Christians: ‘The Violence Has Shattered Us’, Surinder Kaur, Christianity Today, June 1, 2023
Many from India’s tribal Kuki community have fled their homes. Amid ongoing violence, returning isn’t an option.
One person sent out this message:
“Please pray for Manipur. We are in an extremely dangerous situation. We have left home and are staying away . . . Many of the church buildings and pastors' quarters are being burned down. [Christians] are shot dead . . .
Unfortunately, on 5 May 2023, at around 1 p.m., my brother-in-law was also shot dead and their entire village was burned to ashes. Even his dead body could not be retrieved by his family.
The internet has been shut down, and there is no proper electricity. I have no update from sources, but only ground report and life experience. We are spending our life in the jungle and some in refugee camps.”
Those are the words of one of our field correspondents serving in Manipur, India, where a three-month conflict has escalated into a near civil war between two people groups sharply divided by religion. News coming out of the region is horrifying: Christian women being paraded naked and assaulted by a mob of men, Christian men being brutally beheaded, houses being burned down and churches being desecrated and destroyed.
Media outlets report the conflict as “ethnic and tribal,” but everyone living in Manipur knows what’s happening is deeply rooted in religious tensions. Even the European Parliament issued a statement urging authorities in Manipur to “halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence, to protect all religious minorities, such as Manipur’s Christian community.”
This reminds me of the 2008 persecution against Christians in Odisha (formerly Orissa), where false accusations sparked three months of Christian “purging” that left close to 100 people dead and 56,000 people homeless. In Manipur, 130 have already been killed, and 60,000 men, women and precious children have been displaced.
More than 250 church buildings—including 65 of our own—have been vandalized or demolished. Believers are being threatened to renounce their faith in Jesus. Many, like our dear field correspondent, are fleeing for their safety.
Can you imagine yourself living in the jungle, wondering every day if someone will find you and kill you and your children? Or living in a refugee camp, passing your days in a devastated existence until it is safe for you to go home?
- By Tainari88
- By Pants-of-dog