Very recently India has encountered severe riots in Gujarat state on the basis of religious lines which have been very complicated and the governments both at the state and the centre are yet to redress all the related problems arising from the riots. And the divisive Ayodhya campaign has also led to a large scale religious violence and creating misunderstanding between the Hindu and Muslim which is also yet to be settled.

At the same time, Northeast India becomes a matter of concern not only because of the insurgency problems and but also because of its geo-political factor which makes it more hyper-sensitive. In the case of Nagaland, the NCSN has been using religious card "Nagaland for Christ" in gaining political supports and as well as recognition from aboard.

In the same way the claims asserted by organizations like Chhinlung Israel People`s Convention (CIPC) headed by Lalchhanhima Sailo make the confused situation more confusing. The CIPC asserts that Mizos were a lost tribe of Israel and should be independent of India. They do not intend to migrate to Israel like the Bnei Menashe. It is rather a political movement.

The CIPC never observes Jewish' rites and practices like circumcision, fasting prayer and learning of Hebrew, etc. Thus, their movement can be a threat to Indian's internal as well as external security.

Moreover, veteran Israeli journalist Hillel Halkin thus comments on Lalchhanhima Sailo's movement in his book 'Across the Sabbath river: In search of the lost tribe' as follows, "He (Lalchhanhima) was a pan-Mizo nationalist looking for a unifying myth.

Had he been born a generation earlier, he would have fought in the jungle with the Mizo National Front (MNF). He may have the lungs of Fidel Castro, but he seems to know how far he can go". Thus, there is a fear that his Israelite identity movement would rather turn into secessionist movement and destroy the present peace and tranquility in Mizoram.

Whereas the Bnei Menashe is purely a religious movement and has nothing to do with politics and their movement is within the framework of the Indian constitution. So, it may be wrong to appose the Bnei Menashe as the Indian constitution grants each one of us 'Freedom of religions'.

Several months back chief Rabi of the Sephardic Jews, Shlomo Amar, eventually declared members of the 6,000 B'Menashe communities in Northeast India as the lost descendants of ancient Israelites. This declaration not only throngs the Northeast India, but also New Delhi.

The declaration made by the Chief Rabi of the Sephardic Jews is a landmark and historical event for the B`nei Menashe and CIPC of Northeast India. During the term of former interior minister Avraham Poraz, immigration of the Bnei Menashe to Israel was closed because a large percentage of the Bnei Menashe ended up settling in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Several months ago Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar recognized the Bnei Menashe as legitimate candidates for conversion. It's just an effort to convert Bnei Menashe in India. After their conversion, the Interior Ministry could not prevent their immigration anymore.

What comes next? The Israel and India couldn't sit quietly as it's a policy of loss and gain either for one side or for the other. But it is rather a threat to India's national security.

Apart from the government of India, some NGOs also made an enquiry in connection with the Rabi declaration. The enquiry we received was from the Chairman, Advisory Committee Promotion of Heritage in North East Region and Diverse Communities of India.

The statement runs as follows; "From the press report I find that some people from Manipur and Mizoram claiming themselves to be Menashe Jews recently migrated to Israel and the Govt. of Israel has accepted them as Jews. I know that some section of people in Mizoram work for a long time claming to be Jews but the Govt. of Israel did not accept their claim.

It seems from the press report that Govt. of Israel has changed their mind. I do not know whether it is because of change of policy or of because of some new evidence being produced. I would like to have some information in this matter. I shall be thankful if you look into it and convey to me your views and information particularly in respect of the people of Manipur who claim themselves as Jews."

What we could provide here is the response from Hillel Haikin and his statement runs as follows; "I don't think Rabbi Amar and his colleagues' decision was taken on particularly logical or scientific grounds.

The Rabbis from Israel who visited Mizoram and Manipur last summer, as well as others, who preceded them, were impressed with the Jewish devotion and intensity of the B'nei Menashe community, and I imagine that they thought: Nobody who does not have a Jewish soul and Jewish ancestors could possibly behave so Jewishly. This is of course a naive decision, although one that I personally was happy to see.

Basically, this is the same thing that happened with the Ethiopian Jews in the 1970s; then, too, a rabbinical ruling that they were descendants of a "lost tribe" --- that of Dan -- first began to open the gates of immigration to Israel to them. The difference is that the identification of the Ethiopians with Dan was purely fanciful, whereas, as you know, I truly think there is a historical link between the "children of Manmasi" and the biblical tribe of Manasseh.

The fact is that even before this ruling any B'nei Menashe who converted to Judaism by an Orthodox conversion in India could have entered Israel under the Law of Return as a Jew. The problem was that there were no rabbis in India to perform such a conversion.

The significance of Amar's decision, therefore, is that the Israeli Rabbinate will now take it upon itself to send rabbis to NE India who can do this. It will be interesting to see what position, if any, the Indian government takes toward this. As for the Calcutta study, Professor Skorecki, as I've written to you, does not think it was methodologically sound -- which does not mean that its conclusions are necessarily wrong, but simply that they are not fully persuasive at the moment.

So far Skorecki has been unable to get the additional data that he needs from the CSFL people. If we could go back to the schools where the samples were collected and re-collect them, he could analyze them on his own.

But it is important to realize that the results are of purely historical importance and have nothing to do with the status of the B'nei Menashe in Israel. The Rabbinate -- and rightly so -- does not recognize DNA testing as having any bearing on the Jewishness of anyone, and from its point of view, DNA results make no difference one way or another. I hope that answers your questions."

According to Jerusalem Post, Mr. Amos Nadai, deputy director-general for Asia and the Pacific (Government of India) asserted that Israel is trying to aggressively convert Indian citizens and this is of great concern to India. As he (Nadai) is solely responsible for relations with countries in the Middle East, and there seems to be a feeling that Israel has converted Indian citizens.

So this is of great concern to India and she has no tolerance for proselytizing. The group has already brought 700 of the Bnei Menashe to Israel and some thousands more among them are eagerly waiting. Most of Bnei Israelites have been put up in settlements in West bank and Gaza Strip which are a centre of hostility between the Israelis – Palestinian.

These immigrants brought back by the Amishav on one occasion sat on the grass during a break from their Jewish studies, singing songs they learned in Manipur and Mizoram about redemption in Jerusalem. The Bnei Menashe were first discovered by Rabbi Eliahu Avihayel, who has been hunting the 10 lost tribes for the last 45 years.

Now a crisis in relation with India has been averted as Israel has put a stop to all efforts to convert and bring there another 7,000 Indian citizens, Foreign Ministry official Amos Nadai said. Nadai, who appeared before the Knesset Immigration Absorption Committee, said India had expressed concern over attempts made by rabbis to aggressively convert Indian citizens, known as Bnei Menashe.

And there was also an indication from the Indian officials that such mass conversion of Indian citizens is illegal and is to be banned. As a result, diplomatic ties between Israel and India have become worse soon after the recent change of attitude of Indian government towards the immigration of B' Menashe. Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, an organization spearheading the effort to educate Bnei Menashe in Aizawl and prepare them for conversion and immigration said: "If what the Foreign Ministry says is true, I would expect it to try to change Indian policy.

India issues special missionary visas to church officials. Therefore, he said, it was unclear why India opposes Israeli conversion activities. Just as the Vatican and many other religious movements send religious officials to India to engage in religious activity, so too should we be allowed to help Bnei Menashe to return to their people.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post received several documents from Indian officials in Mizoram, Manipur and New Delhi stating that there were no constitutional obstacles. The letters also praised Shavei Yisrael's involvement with the Bnei Menashe. "India is a country of freedom and democracy. We have never encountered any difficulties with our activities there, either from the Indian government or from the local state governments of Mizoram or Manipur. The only difficulties we have encountered have come from the Israeli Foreign Ministry which seems to be opposed to the immigration of Bnei Menashe."

In conclusion, much has been talked about the Mizo-Kuki-Israel issue both from the negative and positive sides. As we are all aware, the Bnei Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram are now known all over the world. Even the Indian foreign policy towards Israel has been changed dramatically. In fact, every community and nation wants recognition.

The B'nei Menashe's contribution towards the internationalization of their case really deserves honor and appreciation. Dr. Hmar Tlawmte Sangliana IPS (Retd) M.P (Bangalore) had once visited Israel way back in 2002 and found out that there is one SNIPPER even among the Bnei Menashe, adding "we have to congratulate the Bnei Menashe instead of criticizing them." Yes, forget about the Bnei Menashe.

As far as Christianity in Northeast India is concerned, it is placed in a very tight position and many of them have gone astray from the teaching of Jesus Christ. One cannot deny the fact that many Christian youths have began to pick up arms like AK-47, M-16 or 9mm pistol rather than the Holy Bible and formed communal-based underground organisations.

So, in view of the prevailing situations and atmosphere arising out here, the 'Israelization process among the Mizo is like new redemptive ministry for such lukewarm Christians. It is really hypocrite for the church leaders to show cares for the souls of the Mizo-Israel while majority of the lukewarm Christians are still hanging around with them.

So, it may be wiser for the church leaders to take good care of the lukewarm Christians and hands off to the Bnei Nenashe. It is better to say, 'Leave Bnei Menashe alone! Run Bnei Menashe, run..!"