Church leaders have hailed the maiden initiative taken by the Indian government to hold peace talks to end sectarian strife between tribal Christians and majority Hindus in Manipur state.
“It is a positive sign that the federal government has taken the initiative,” said a senior Church leader based in the troubled northeastern state, bordering civil war-hit Myanmar.
“There is no other way for peace but a dialogue with all stakeholders,” he told UCA News on Oct. 16.
The church leader, who did not want to be named due to security reasons, described the talks as a “new beginning for the state.”
At least 15 lawmakers from the warring Hindu Meitei, and tribal Kuki-Zo and Naga communities attended the peace talks in the national capital New Delhi on Oct. 15.
However, there was a deadlock at the meeting as the Kuki-Zo lawmakers stuck to their demand for a separate administration for the hilly districts in the state where tribal Christians stay.
They also refused to hold direct talks with their counterparts from the Meitei and Naga communities.
“Any such meetings should only occur after thorough deliberation with the public,” the lawmakers representing tribal Christians in the 60-member state assembly said in a statement on Oct. 15.
The federal government has already ruled out a separate administration for the tribal Christian-populated district due to stiff opposition from Meitei Hindus residing in the valleys.
It asked the warring factions to “shun violence to prevent further loss of lives.”
The Church leader though expressed the hope that “as the talks progress, the ice will melt and everyone will fall in line.”
The violence broke out on May 3 last year when tribal Christians took out a protest against a court order that suggested conferring tribal status on the majority Hindu Meiteis in Manipur.
The status would allow the Meiteis, who are politically, socially, and economically influential, to enjoy reservation benefits under India’s affirmation action plan for the poor tribal people.
The violence has continued for 17 months, claiming around 230 lives and displacing over 60,000 people, most of them tribal Christians from the Kuki-Zo community.
Christian leaders have confirmed the destruction of over 360 churches and other Church institutions like schools and presbyteries.
A Church leader, on the condition of anonymity, said the people in the relief camps wanted to go back to their homes. But hostilities between the “warring groups do not permit it,” he added.
Indigenous people make up 41 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million people. The Meitei Hindus, who account for 53 percent, control the state government.
source : ucanews