Christianity is the second largest religion inManipur, a state in Northeast India, according to 2011 census. The tribal communities,Kuki-Zomis andNagas are overwhelmingly Christian, along with their kindred communities in the neighbouring states.[a] The dominantMeitei community has only small numbers of Christians, but Meitei groups claim Christianity to be a threat.[1][2] At the start of the2023–2024 Manipur violence, Meitei mobs burned down 200–300 churches in theImphal Valley belonging to all communities, and prohibited pastors from rebuilding them.[3][4][5]
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Christianity in Manipur can traced back to anAnglican namedWilliam Pettigrew,[6] who lived in India whenSurchandra Singh was themaharaja of Manipur. Pettigrew, who was born inEdinburgh and educated inLondon, applied to work with theArthington Aborigines Mission in India and travelled toBengal in 1890. He worked for two years inDhaka andSilchar. In 1891, Pettigrew applied for permission to work in Manipur, but this was not granted until 1894. He worked for a time as a teacher inImphal, teaching the children of government civil servants and soon afterwards opened a school for boys in Manipuri and established a permanentmission station there.[7]
The first Meitei toconvert to Christianity is debated. It is traditionally believed thatAngom Porom Singh ofPhayeng was the first to be converted in around 1896, but another tradition says thatNingol Kaboklei met a Christian missionary inSylhet (presently in Bangladesh) and converted to Christianity in around 1893, a few years prior to the arrival ofWilliam Pettigrew.[8][9]
In December 1912, Porom Singh became the headmaster of a school at Ukhrul, where his teaching responsibilities included preaching thegospel. He was one of only seven Christians who stood by Pettigrew. At the outbreak of theFirst World War, he helped Pettigrew raise a labour corps, later becoming a corps leader and an interpreter.[10]
Protestants (mostly Baptist) outnumberCatholics in Manipur.[11] AManipur Baptist Convention exists.TheReformed Presbyterian Church North-East India Synod has its seat in Manipur.[12] ThePresbyterian Church in India and theChurch of Christ are present in the state, too.[13][14] TheRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Imphal has its seat in the state. The Manipur Section of theSeventh-day Adventist Church has about forty congregations.[15]TheAll Manipur Christian Organisation (AMCO) exists.[16]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 45 | — |
| 1911 | 132 | +193.3% |
| 1921 | 4,050 | +2968.2% |
| 1931 | 10,401 | +156.8% |
| 1941 | 25,727 | +147.4% |
| 1951 | 68,394 | +165.8% |
| 1961 | 152,043 | +122.3% |
| 1971 | 279,243 | +83.7% |
| 1981 | 421,702 | +51.0% |
| 1991 | 626,669 | +48.6% |
| 2001 | 857,285 | +36.8% |
| 2011 | 1,179,043 | +37.5% |
| Source:Centre for Policy Studies[18] | ||
As per the 2011 census, there are 1,179,043 Christians in Manipur, making up 41.3 percent of the population.[19]Of these, 1,119,719 people are in the hill districts,[b] where they make up 92 percent of population.[19]
The valley districts[c] have 59,324 Christians, making up 3.6 percent of the population.[19] The majority of them are expected to be tribals (56,913 in the 2011 census).[20][d] The remaining 2,000–3,000 people would belong to the non-tribal communities including theMeiteis.[e]
The Christian population in the state is predominantly composed of members of theScheduled Tribe communities, accounting for 97.42% of the total Scheduled Tribe population. They are:[22]
| Tribe | Christians | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Thadou | 211,272 | 97.85% |
| Tangkhul | 175,200 | 98.11% |
| Poumai | 126,092 | 98.99% |
| Kabui | 93,416 | 89.90% |
| Mao | 92,602 | 99.21% |
| Kacha Naga | 64,357 | 97.28% |
| Paite | 54,815 | 98.69% |
| Hmar | 47,804 | 98.82% |
| Vaiphei | 42,224 | 98.29% |
| Kuki | 27,784 | 98.03% |
| Maram | 27,221 | 98.90% |
| Maring | 25,858 | 97.86% |
| Zou | 23,718 | 97.63% |
| Anal | 23,107 | 98.29% |
| Gangte | 16,859 | 98.14% |
| Kom | 14,345 | 98.74% |
During the past seven decades,Hindu nationalist organisations have demanded the revival of the indigenous faiths of tribal communities inNortheast India. TheRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also demanded that theScheduled Tribe status of tribals should be revoked unless they return to their indigenous faiths or Hinduism.[23]
It was reported that the Meiteis were alarmed by the rapid rise of Christianity in Manipur in recent years. Claims were made that there was a 62% increase of Christians in the state between 2001 and 2011, and that the valley districts saw a jump of 15%.[23][f] In recent decades, the Meiteis aimed to revive the traditional religion calledSanamahism, and many Meitei Hindus started adopting it. Pressure was brought on Meitei Christians as well to convert to Sanamahism.The Meitei activists organisationsArambai Tenggol andMeitei Leepun instrumental in applying this pressure, as well as the leadership of the rulingBharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[23] According to Meitei pastors, the terms of conversion for Meitei Christians required them to personally burn the Bible, remove all Christian symbols from their homes, and sign a legal affidavit declaring their conversion to Sanamahism.[23]
There were various points of tension between the Meitei Christians and non-Christians in the months prior to May 2023. A rally held by Meitei ChristianMLAPaonam Brojen Singh came in for criticism because he is alleged to have admired tribal Christians for their recent progress and claimed that Meiteis were being held back by their "old religion". After theethnic violence started in May 2023, a mob of several thousand people attacked his house.[23]
The2023 ethnic violence started on 3 May at the border between Kuki-dominatedChurachandpur district and Meitei-dominatedBishnupur district, soon after a tribal solidarity march held by tribals against a Meitei demand forScheduled Tribe status.[24]The first victim of the violence was a pastor fromTorbung–Kangvai area called Haopu Kipgen, who was bludgeoned to death.[25]The violence spread toChurachandpur Town and theImphal City on the same day, and to the rest ofImphal Valley quickly afterwards. A very large number of churches (estimates ranging from 200 to 300) were burnt down by Meitei mobs in the next few days.[3][4] The Catholic Archbishop of ImphalDominic Lumon has said that 249 churches were burnt down in 36 hours.[26][27]While he claimed that all these churches belonged to Meitei Christians, it was not corroborated by others. Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das said 18 churches belonging to the Meitei community and 2 churches belonging to the Naga community were destroyed, while the others were of unspecified affiliation.[28]Many of the destroyed churches are believed to have served multiple communities.[29]Some of the pastors had to flee under the cover of darkness to escape death.[29]
After this initial spurt of destruction, the Christians in the valley appear to have been extensively persecuted. A pastor said that a mob forcefully entered his home and burned all Christian texts, including the Bible. Most pastors were found to be too afraid to speak to journalists. Some were beaten up. Some had fled the state. Others were forced to convert to Sanamahism.[23]
There were also attempts to downplay the role of extremist Sanamahi groups and push the blame on to the Kuki people. The Meitei Christian Churches Council issued a press statement claiming that all the destruction of Meitei Christian properties was carried out by the Kukis. But the Archbishop denied it, saying there was no evidence for the claim.[23] Philem Rohan Singh, a celebrity cyclist who emerged as a Meitei Christian leader after the violence, claimed that the Kukis had burnt down Meitei Christian churches in the Kuki-dominated districts, giving a list of such churches. Again this was denied by the Archbishop as well as journalists who verified that many of those churches were still standing unharmed.[23][30][31]Rohan Singh also claimed that an agreement had been reached with Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun to resume church services in the valley. However the displaced pastors did not believe the claim saying he could have said under threats.[23]
There were also efforts to paint the Manipur violence as a purely ethnic clash, with no religious angle. The BJP quoted Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, as stating this.[32]However, Archbishop Lumon took a firm stand in an interview withKaran Thapar, pointing out the attacks on Meitei Christian churches and pastors.[33]The British Foreign SecretaryDavid Cameron made a similar point in the House of Lords, based a report by David Campanale.[34]The Meitei groups continue to make the claim.[35]