US involvement in the Manipur unrest. Please watch the video. American involvement in NE India is however not new, and started from the 1870s. I have summarised the Manipur issue and the history of the Christianisation of the NE, for an easy read
Currently the Kukis, a Christian community and mostly illegal immigrants into Manipur, are being used by foreign agents to get rid of the native Meitei community that is largely Hindu. If the Christian Kukis manage to get control, they will go then for secession as an independent Christian nation, which is a part of the US plan for creating its power base in the area and forming a drug trafficking corridor. This is exactly what Hasina had warned about, and this is precisely why she was removed.
A major problem in the NE is the Christian conversion, that has changed entire demographics of almost all NE states post independence. Once a Hindu-Sanamahi state, Manipur is now 41% Christian, a rise from 2% in 1931. While there is large concentration of Hindus in urban areas, the hilly districts and villages are now mostly Christian.
The Christianity virus entered NE India around 1870, as British and American evangelists; but the conversions were slow at that time. In 1931, the Christian population in the NE states was around 15%. However, after that the British and the American grip in NE became weak owing to WW, and without political backing the missionaries were forced to leave.
So NE saw a decline in Christianity between 1931 and 1941. However, the 50s saw a huge surge in spread of Christianity in NE India. Mizoram became 90% Christian, while Nagaland became 46% Christian during this time. There were two main reasons for this sudden spread of Christianity.
First reason was the arrival of the American Southern Baptist church , which is extremely fanatic in its conversion methods. This church is also closest to the original form of Christianity, and this is the same church present in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. Second reason was of course Nehru. He facilitated the rapid Christianisation of NE. In 1942, Reginald Coupland came to India to ensure that the missionary agenda in the NE states continued uninterrupted, and Nehru readily agreed.
So post independence, tribal rights in the NE states did not exist, while evangelists were given a free run. Missionaries became Nehru’s “advisors” and he simply followed their orders. One name that needs a special mention here is that of Dr. Verrier Elwin, a Christian fanatic, Masquerading as an “anthropological advisor” to Nehru. Verrier and Nehru signed an agreement, owing to which Hindu ‘Sadhus’ were not allowed entry into Nagaland. Conversions became a cakewalk after that.
A few figures will help comprehend the magnitude of this conversion plague
In Sikkim, in 1901, there were only 136 Christians. Today 15% of the people in Sikkim are Christians. Arunachal in 1901 had no Christians. In 1971, the state saw 0.7% conversions to Christianity, and today almost 40% of population in Arunachal are Christians. In Meghalaya, in 1901, only 6 % were Christians. In 1951, the number shot upto 54%, and today more than 70% of them are Christians.
In Mizoram, from only 45 Christians in 1901, the state now has 87% of its population converted to Christianity. In Nagaland, 6 % of the people were Christians in 1901, but today more than 90% of its population are Christians.
(This article has been compiled from the tweet thread posted by @DisinfoLab on September 08, 2024, with minor edits to improve readability and conform to HinduPost style guide)
