Manipur: Archbishop claims 249 churches burnt in 36 hours, says, ‘collapse of constitutional machinery’

The Archbishop of Imphal, Dominic Lumon has claimed on Saturday that religious attacks have been carried out in the state of Manipur leading to 249 churches belonging to the Meitei Christians being destroyed within 36 hours of the start of the conflict between Meitei and Kuki communities. The archbishop also indicated that the attacks may have been pre-planned and some pastors have been told not to rebuild the churches. 

In a letter on Saturday as reported by the Indian Express, the archbishop wrote, “The wonder is in the midst of the fight between the Kukis and the Meiteis, why did the Meitei mob burn down and destroy 249 churches located in the Meitei heartland? How is it that there was almost a natural attack on the church in the Meitei localities itself and how did the mob know where the churches were located if not previously planned?”

The Archbishop went to argue that the central and state government have not been able to put an end to the ‘mad violence’ in Manipur and restore normalcy in the state even after one and a half months since the start of the conflict. Alleging a ‘collapse of the Constitutional Machinery’, the Archbishop questioned why imposing President's Rule in the state is still not an option. 

He also questioned the role of security forces arguing that there was not even one place of attack where the state forces were able to prevent things from ‘running amok’ for a long period of time and why were vulnerable places left unguarded after the attacks.  

Opposition leaders lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday for not speaking about the Manipur crisis during the broadcast of his radio show ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh had also argued that ‘Manipur has totally failed’ after his residence at Kongba in Imphal was torched by a mob last week.