Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore welcomed 70 students from the northeastern Indian state to Karnataka in the south
Activists of the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) hold placards during a protest amid ongoing ethnic violence in India's northeastern Manipur state, in New Delhi on May 31. (Photo: AFP)
A Catholic archdiocese in southern India has shown a willingness to rebuild the shattered lives of college and school-going students from the strife-torn hilly state of Manipur, where a fresh outbreak of violence has reportedly resulted in the killing of 11 more people.
Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore in southern Karnataka welcomed nearly 70 students from the northeastern state at the archdiocesan pastoral center on June 12.
“We will provide all-round help,” the prelate said trying to console and assure them of all support.
Archbishop Machado assured them that they could continue their studies in “diocesan and religious order-run institutions free of cost.”
The prelate expressed “solidarity with displaced people of Manipur” and conveyed his readiness to help them, according to a press release.
“The prelate listened to their ordeals and promised to do whatever possible in his capacity to rebuild their shattered lives,” archdiocesan spokesperson J A Kantharaj told UCA News on June 14.
“The archbishop has promised to assist them until their situation improves,” he said.
The 69-year-old archbishop is a party to a petition in India’s top court that alleges widespread attacks against Christians across the country, perpetrated by hardline pro-Hindu groups with tacit support from provincial governments, most of them ruled by BJP.
The students were accompanied by Jesuit priest Father James Beipei, currently based in Bengaluru, the capital of southern Karnataka.
Narrating the ordeal of more than a month-long sectarian violence in Manipur, Father Beipei said, “Places of worship, institutions, and houses are vulnerable to attacks”.
Meanwhile, police in Manipur said a fresh outbreak of violence claimed the lives of at least 11 people in the Imphal East district on June 13.
Several injured people have been admitted to government and private hospitals.
Earlier, at least 109 people died due to sectarian violence and arson between tribal Christians and majority Hindus in the state.
The death toll could go up as many of the injured persons are still in critical condition, according to hospitals.
Since May 3, unprecedented violence has taken place in the hilly state, bordering civil war-hit Myanmar, between the ethnic Kuki and Meitei communities over a court proposal to grant special tribal status to Meitei people to get priority in government jobs, education and other affirmative programs meant for the indigenous people.
Most Kuki people are Christians, while most Meiteis are Hindus, though a few of them are Christians, too.
The majority of Meiteis make up 53 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million people and control political power (40 of the 60 lawmakers in the state assembly are from the Meitei community), and economic resources.
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