IMPHAL, July 23 (Agencies): Christian minorities of Huikap village have been ordered by the village authorities not to bury their dead in the village nor carry the dead bodies through it. Violation of the order would result in dire consequences, they have been warned.
According to sources reaching the All India Christian Council, Manipur branch, the trouble started when a two-year-old Christian boy drowned in a village pond and died. The body was buried on July 19 in a plot donated by a family from a neighbouring Christian village. The ground was to serve as a cemetery for the Christians.
However, soon after the boy's burial, the child's father and the pastor of the local church were summoned by the Huikap villagers and were forced to sign a document promising they would remove the boy's body by 10:00 am, July 20, the AICC sources said.
After persistent requests, the village authorities though relented, but issued a stern warning that no Christian dead body would be allowed to be buried nor carried through the village.
Christians allege that since the incident took place, they were being harassed by the village authorities who called them every night over the issue.
The AICC has submitted a memorandum to the chief secretary of Manipur demanding action against the "unconstitutional diktat of Huikap villagers" and safety for the Christian community.
"No village diktat can go beyond the framework of the Indian Constitution and basic human rights. The diktat of Huikap village leaders to the Christian minority is unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental rights. The guilty must face legal consequences for the illegal order," says New Delhi-based human rights activist, Madhu Chandra, the spokesperson of the North East Support Centre & Helpline and regional secretary of the All India Christian Council.
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