Church's role sought to end violence in NE India

A recent consultation of Christians in Shillong has urged the Church to play a crucial role in addressing the issue of violence in North East India.

Organised by the National Council of Churches in India, the three-day regional consultation on "Violence and Violation of Human Rights: Patterns and Perspectives for Peace", called for urgent measures to bring healing to the people of NE India, facing atrocities and oppression.

Rev. Lalnunzira, a lecturer at Academy of Integrated Christian Studies, Mizoram, exhorted church leaders to "critically look into the forms and patterns of violence and systematically unwind the structures of violence perpetuated in the society."

Adding a point was Mr. Marishang Chitung of John Robert's Theological Seminary, Meghalaya, who noted "peace within the NEI context cannot be achieved by our narrow understanding of individual salvation but by social transformation through community salvation."

"As the people of the NEI believe in a communitarian system of life, it is therefore important that the church's activities towards peace building also be in patterns of community ethos distanced from the western theological and philosophical approach of individualism," he added.

The region of NEI has recently witnessed a surge in inter-tribal conflicts, insurgency, denial of justice due to failure of law and order, structural violence of caste and patriarchal system, and others.

Says Rev. Dr. PBM Basaiawmoit, the Vice-President of NCCI, "the 21st century Indian Church looks up to NEI. People of these regions have learned to progress amidst such violence."

In his keynote address, he asked Church to voice for the oppressed and take initiatives for lasting change in NEI.