Roadmap to peace and tranquility in the context of Manipur Hill areas
- A Theological Perspective -
- Part 3 -

Rev Th Mangthianlal *

Churachandpur Landscape :: pix - Nongmai M

3.17. Justice That Restores – Restorative Justice24

"Truth without love kills, but love without truth lies."25

South Africa created Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was a court-like restorative justice to address national justice, healing and reconciliation to its logical conclusion after the apartheid government was dethroned.

Bishop Desmond Tutu, who is a leading member, once said:

After years of Apartheid and its dire consequences, South Africans do need national healing. This is especially true since black people have been dehumanised and oppressed for more than 300 years. South Africa is indeed a wounded nation. The wounds go beyond what can be seen with the naked eye and beyond what has been recorded or celebrated: Our nation needs healing. Victims and survivors who bore the brunt of the Apartheid system need healing. Perpetrators are, in their own way, victims of the Apartheid system and they, too, need healing.26

Charles Colson opined that restorative justice was probably first used by the American scholar Albert Englash. In a 1977 article, Englash suggested three types of criminal justice. One was "restorative, that is, based on restitution or making right to the extent possible the wrongs done."27 Therefore, restorative justice is focussing on "repairing the harm caused by crime and reducing the likelihood of future harm."28 If sustainable peace is our goal, then restorative justice must be undoubtedly one of the measures we must adopt in Manipur.

In this process, conscientious wisdom,29 acceptance, truth and justice is followed by grace and love. When all these are present forgiveness and restoration is the result.

3.18. "Love Thy Neighbour"

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." (Lk. 10: 27).

Here Jesus is telling us that we have to be a good neighbour and that we are to love our neighbours, which includes even loving our enemies. Sanjoy Hazarika once said, "In North East the sooner we (various ethnic groups) learn that we cannot change our neighbours the better. And that we must accept one another as neighbour in a mutually peaceful coexistence state."30

Accepting that God has created us to be neighbors will have many paradigm shifts in our way of approach and dealing of each others.

3.19. Our Identity in Christ Must be Reaffirm Above Our Regional-Ethnic Identity

"You were bought with a price" (I Cor. 7:23a)

"...we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8c)

How immature is the maturity of our discipleship and how shallow is the depth of the root of our identity in Christ Jesus when we give preference to our ethnic affiliation and our identity over our relationship and identity with God!

One of the surest way for peace process to bear fruits is to acknowledge our common and shared identity in Jesus Christ. If we meet at the feet of Jesus our Saviour and be sincere enough to learn from Him and from one another, I think it will not be long for the days when everyone can sing and dance fully in the hills and mountains without being afraid of someone to harm him or her.

3.20. A Heart that Forgives

Forgiveness based on seventy-seven times principle (Matthew 18:21-22)

"Justice must be surrounded by mercy."31

Ateek quotes a description by the Austrian Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the death camps of Nazi Germany, of fellow survivors:

Now, being free, they thought they could use their freedom licentiously and ruthlessly. The only thing that had changed for them was that they were now the oppressors instead of the oppressed. They became instigators, not objects, of wilful force and injustice. They justified their behaviour by their own terrible experience.32

That was a classic case of victims-turned-perpetrators.

Kohl wrote, An essential part of the Christian answer to the Middle East conflict is forgiveness. Hate can be changed to love through forgiveness. Jesus tells us, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you' (Mt. 5:44). God's kingdom, the new Christ-centred covenant, promotes forgiveness based on love, and this forgiveness generates peace. This is what the New Testament understands as justice.33

Forgiveness is a roadmap to true healing, reconciliation and restoration. Peace will be the result.

3.21. The Theology of Creation Affirms the Essential Goodness of Humanity:

"God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27).

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good"(Gen 1:31).

We begin this paper with creation account in the Bible and once again let us look at this very important theology of Creation:

The theology of creation affirms the essential goodness of humanity as made in the image of God, and connects that image with social relationships. Our idea of "creation" is a response to the evil in the world; the symbol "creation" tells us that evil and suffering are not part of God's providential design and should be resisted. Creation faith counteracts historical experiences of suffering, uncertainty, and evil, and reassures God's people that God can create them anew.34

The God who works in the beginning of the creation of the world and humankind is still working powerfully today. His design of the world is a just and peaceful order. He made everything beautiful. Today we may see ruins, broken relationships, violence, death, corruption, injustice and sufferings all around us. But the Master Designer can create everything new and beautiful with purpose and meaning in Manipur. If we give Him his place, He will restore Manipur and all our lives back to its intended original place.

4. CONCLUSION

Theological thought on peace and tranquillity in the context of Manipur Hill Areas is indeed the need of the hour. I hope this will not be the end but many theological reflections will be the next steps to be taken by our theologians for our application in real life situations.

It is important to note here that, "Any theology that leads either to hatred of Jews or to hatred of Muslims must either be wrong in itself or have been wrongly applied."35 We must know, in this context, it is important our theological reflections must be directed to the restoration of broken relationships, lives, justice and truth and love must prevail. "All of God's promises are moving towards Jesus Christ, and it is he who is the whole aim of the law and the covenant (Romans 10:4)"36 And he is the embodiment of God's love and truth. Therefore, this theological reflection hope that it will bring closer the people dwelling in the Hill Areas of Manipur with the love of Christ in particular and found its fruits even all around the inhabitants in the valleys.

Before closing, let me emphasize that since the roots of misunderstanding and conflicts in Manipur Hill Areas were found mainly because of ethnic identity or extreme assertion of one's own tribe identity and/or ethnicity and land-related-issues, I have given prominent place in theological responses to these areas. There are other roots too but I left it out due to space and time constraint.

I will wind up by proposing that care-fronting, truth, forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, restorative justice, and marching and dancing according to the drumbeat of heaven – the Bible, must take significant place in the peace process along with acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our individual and community identity and lives.

Finally, confession and mutual forgiveness will be absolutely necessary for former conflicting parties to live together in a new future of peace37 and for all to enjoy peace and tranquillity which is a divine order in the beginning of Creation for all communities and lands that has a right relationship with God their Maker.

Shalom!

Concluded....