Tribal Christians Under Attack in India Struggle to Bury Their Dead
Over 130 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the ongoing violence
Tribal Christians in India who have faced an onslaught of violence in recent months are struggling to plan a mass burial for their dead, fearing further attacks and violence.
The Christian Kuki-Zo community in the Indian state of Manipur has postponed a planned mass burial after a request from India’s interior minister, Amit Shah, The Christian Post reported.
The announcement of the mass burial, originally set to take place on August 3, had sparked fresh tension and violence as the planned site for the burial was located in a “buffer zone” between the district where the Kuki-Zo live and a district populated by Hindus.
Postponing the mass burial eased tensions somewhat, but there remain dozens of bodies unclaimed in hospitals in the Hindu-dominated district as some families fear violence, while others have wanted to leave them unburied in protest, the Post noted.
One tribal leader said it could take weeks to bury the dead as transportation of the bodies is arranged.
The conflict between the Meitei Hindus and the Kuki-Zo Christians erupted in May when a court ordered the state to consider extending benefits reserved for the Kuki-Zo to the Meiteis as well as allowing the Hindu tribes to purchase land in Christian areas.
The conflict has escalated into a National Security Crisis.
This comes as India has seen Hindu nationalist rhetoric grow increasingly violent in recent years, with some states moving to enact controversial “conversion laws” that would criminalize evangelism.