Indian-American Rajshree Keisham instructed a Congressional listening to the Manipur disaster shouldn’t be a spiritual one

New Delhi:

The Manipur disaster is a fancy net of internecine battle marked by violence, distrust, socio-political tensions and a lethal trifecta of insurgency, narcotics and unlawful infiltration, which pose vital threats to India’s nationwide safety, however shouldn’t be a spiritual battle between two communities, an Indian-American scholar instructed a US Congressional listening to.

Rajshree Keisham, an Indian-American scholar, stated the projection of the Meitei-Kuki ethnic conflict as a spiritual battle by some sections “not only ignores the complex social fabric of Manipur, but also heightens tensions.”

“… Efforts have been made to portray this communal conflict in reductionist terms, projected to the world as the Hindu majority prosecuting the Christian minorities. This oversimplification not only ignores the complex social fabric of Manipur, but also heightens tensions,” Ms Rajshree stated within the Congressional listening to, including the makes an attempt to undertaking the Manipur ethnic violence as a spiritual one is a “classic case of Hinduphobia”.

“The majority-minority debate should be examined in terms of the intersectionality of time, space, and context. For example, Christians are a minority in India, but they are a majority in the northeastern region,” stated the Indian-American scholar, who holds a PhD in Sociology specialising in Gender Studies and Socio Anthropology.

Over 180 individuals have died and 1000’s internally displaced after ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 following a protest by the Kuki tribes over the Meiteis’ demand to be included beneath the affirmative motion Scheduled Tribes (ST) class.

Ms Rajshree stated Manipur’s variety is its energy, as throughout the Hindu group within the state, there are different ethnicities together with individuals from Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Nepal and extra. Similarly, the Christian group consists of Nagas, Kuki and in addition Meiteis. “This diversity is not a source of division, but a testament to the harmonious coexistence that has characterised Manipur for generations,” she stated.

She identified some social activists and spiritual leaders of the Christian group have strongly denied the Manipur violence was primarily based on non secular strains.

“Mizoram activist Alinery Lian-Luwang told the UN that ‘the narratives peddled by international media that the Manipur conflict is of religious nature, holds no ground’,” Ms Rajshree stated, referring to the speech by the activist at a basic debate on the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“… The Archbishop of Mumbai categorically mentioned, and I quote, ‘It is given a religious twist, but it is not a religious conflict between two religions, it’s between two tribes, and we must now not do anything that will worsen the situation’,” Ms Rajshree stated on the Congressional listening to organised by HinduACTion, and Namaste Shalom Multi-Faith Alliance to deal with rising antisemitism and Hinduphobia in each the US and Canada.

“In recent times, there has been an alarming surge in attempts to exploit the Manipur conflict as a platform for propagating Hindu hate. This disturbing trend has found traction among certain factions… in the United States, who have strategically exploited religious sentiments to further their divisive agenda. What is even more concerning is the convergence of some radical Islamist groups in the United States, who have appropriated and aligned themselves with this cause. They perceive this situation as a prime opportunity to tarnish the image of Hindus on a global scale,” Ms Rajshree stated.

In August, three months after the Manipur violence started, a speech by the chief of a Canada-based Kuki-Zo tribes group from Manipur over the ethnic violence again dwelling had sparked an enormous controversy. The occasion was held on the identical gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey, whose chief and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot lifeless by unidentified individuals in June.

Lien Gangte, the Canada chapter chief of the North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA), in his tackle condemned what he known as “attacks on minorities in India” and requested Canada for “all possible help”.

NAMTA had posted a video of the occasion on Facebook and X (previously Twitter) on August 7. It deleted the movies a lot later when the row between India and Canada surfaced following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declare that “Indian government agents” have been concerned within the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar.

India’s anti-terror physique the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on September 30 stated it’s investigating a transnational conspiracy case involving terrorist leaders in Bangladesh and Myanmar. The NIA assertion got here after a terror accused, Seiminlun Gangte, was arrested and charged with conspiring with Myanmar- and Bangladesh-based management of terror outfits to wage battle in opposition to India by exploiting the ethnic unrest in Manipur.