For embracing Catholic denomination...Dead woman denied burial at native place
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 10 2017: In an extreme case of religious intolerance or bigotry, a dead woman has not been allowed to be buried because her family was ex-communicated about seven years back for adopting a different religious denomination .

Now, the bereaved family have been eagerly waiting for Government's intervention .

Notably, secularism is enshrined in the Constitution of India .

Rita Haorei (42) w/o Yangmi of Leingangching, Ukhrul district but presently staying at Litan expired on August 7.But her mortal remains have not been put to rest till date .

Yangmi Haorei who was earlier a Christian Baptist embraced Catholic denomination of Christianity.

For his conversion from Baptist to Catholic, Yangmi and family were ex-communicated and banished from his village on January 7, 2010 .

Now the people of Leingangching have been preventing Yangmi from burying his dead wife at their village .

Speaking to media persons at Litan today, Tangkhul Catholic Council (TCC) president Paotam Zimik decried that denial of proper burial to a dead woman is against humanity and it is a blatant violation of freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution of India .

"It is a matter of serious concern if the Government cannot see us, the Roman Catholics, as citizens of the country", Paotam said .

Giving a brief account of the sequence of events leading to the present predicament, Paotam said that a written application was submitted to the headman of Leingangching on November 10, 2009 seeking permission to let people embrace Catholicism if they wish .

The next day, the Sacred Heart Parish Pastoral Council, Hungpung wrote another letter asking the Leingangching Village Authority to give freedom of religion to Leingangching villagers .

The village authority sent a reply to Yangmi within the same month informing that there was no prohibition in embracing any other religious faith/denomination but they must leave the village .

The village authority sent another reply to the Parish Pastoral Council informing that no other denomination except Baptist would be allowed at Leingangching .

Yangmi was banished from his village on January 7, 2010 and his house was locked.

Five other families who had embraced Catholicism were also expelled from the village in May 2009 and their houses were vandalised, Paotam Zimik said .

Even though complaints were lodged with police about these incidents, the FIR was withdrawn following NSCN-IM's assurance that they would look into the matter .

A group of Catholic leaders even went to Delhi and met Th Muivah but he never bothered to intervene into the issue, Paotam said .

Before Rita, four other individuals had died but their families were not given any room to perform their last rites at Leingangching .

Apart from submitting written complaints to the Ukhrul DC/DM, a petition has been filed at Court but it was said that Leingangching falls within Kamjong district .

Such segregation and ill-treatment which render many Catholics homeless and the Government's failure to intervene have grievously hurt the sentiments of the entire Catholic community, he said .

"In spite of all these harsh and humiliating treatment, we, as Catholics, would not resort to violence and we would wait for Government intervention", he added.

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