India (MNN) – The violence in the Manipur region of India continues to simmer, even amid new government involvement. Unfortunately, because the conflict is local, ongoing, and complicated, Manipur can be overlooked internationally. However, the fallout is anything but small.

John Pudaite with Bibles For The World says, “The current conflict in Manipur has been between the Meitei people group and the tribals known as Kukis, who inhabit primarily the western and southern regions of Manipur state. This erupted into violence in May of 2023, so now three years running and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, primarily on the tribal side, who are predominantly Christian. It also resulted in over 360 churches and church properties being destroyed, hundreds of villages attacked, and thousands of homes destroyed.”

Recent estimates suggest around 62,000 people are displaced due to the violence.

Violence in May

Pudaite says there have been peace attempts. However, each time the fragile peace has been shattered by a new wave of violence. In May, once again the conflict was renewed as three Kuki-Zo pastors were killed on their way home from a conference. Unfortunately, this ambush and others have extended the conflict and involved more people.

According to Pudaite, “The conflict in Manipur has been here the last three years between the Meiteis and the Kukis, but now it’s pulled in the Naga tribal groups – which are the tribes to the north. It was suspected early on that there [was a] Naga group involved in this killing, in this ambush. So that’s resulted in sort of some follow-on violence, some kidnapping, possible killing of people, road blockades, different things like that, that have gone on here as everyone is really trying to find out what’s the truth to what happened in this incident.”

With no definite arrests made, the National Investigation Agency took over the case in late June. However, tensions remain high between all three groups.

Gospel Hope

“We need to be praying that the Christian groups here, which both the Kukis and the Nagas tribes are Christian, fully evangelized, that they may see that resorting to violence and revenge and retribution for any of these things that are going on is not the way that they should follow,” Pudaite says. “This is not a godly way for them to be acting. We pray that through this the light of Truth will shine on the Meitei people. We need to be better witnesses to them, even in times of conflict, and we need to pray for the Meitei Christians.”

(Representative photo courtesy of TEP RO via Pexels)

There is hope. Pudaite says that while the Meiteis were for many years considered an unreached group, in recent times they had seen the Gospel change lives. Some estimates suggest that as many as 5% of the Meitei people, or about 100,000 people, had come to the Lord. Unfortunately, as a minority they also faced violence. Fourteen of the seventeen churches Bibles for the World had planted were lost in the violence of the last three years, some completely demolished.

Remember Manipur in Prayer

However, Pudaite says it is not the end. While Manipur may not stay on the front page, it is not forgotten by God. “We do see the light of the Gospel starting to flicker again – starting to shine – but pray that incidents like this will not put out that flame.”

He asks for prayer for peace in Manipur and for the flourishing of Bibles for the World. “A lot of our mission work in India is headquartered there with our hospital, our seminary, and a number of schools there, high schools and junior colleges. It’s a place that we follow very closely and are very concerned when these sorts of incidents erupt.”

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Representative image courtesy of LotusArise via Pixabay.