Since May last year, Manipur, a state in northeastern India, has been caught in violent ethnic clashes between two groups: the majority Meitei community and the minority Kuki-Zo tribes. This violence has led to more than 200 deaths and forced over 60,000 people to flee their homes. Recently, the situation escalated with the Kuki militants launching high-tech drone and long-range rocket attacks. This prompted the Indian government to investigate whether foreign groups are involved in fueling the unrest.
Some experts believe that US-backed Baptist organizations could be playing a role in encouraging separatism in India’s northeastern states, particularly in Manipur. According to the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), a non-profit Indian group, and Vinay Joshi, a former Indian Military Intelligence (MI) officer, American Baptist missionaries have been linked to separatist movements in the region. Joshi pointed out that this strategy, known as Liberation Theology, has been used by the Baptist Church to promote violent separatist ideologies. He compared it to what has happened in Myanmar, where Christian militant groups are allegedly backed by American agencies to push for independence from the government.
In India’s northeastern states, where a significant number of people have cultural ties to Myanmar, these separatist ideas have taken root among some Christian militant groups. Joshi emphasized that outlawed groups such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) have used slogans like “Nagaland for Christ” to promote separatism, which has worsened tensions between different communities in the region.
Joshi claims that the US Baptist Church holds considerable influence in northeastern India, especially in the tribal areas. This influence, he argues, has been used to increase the number of Christians in the region. For example, Christianity, which only accounted for 1% of the population in Nagaland in 1901, now makes up over 85%. Baptist missionaries first arrived in Assam, in the 1830s, and their presence has grown steadily over the years. Currently, seven main Baptist organizations operate in northeastern India, and they are part of a larger global network, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). This network supports various religious activities under the framework of Indian law, though some suspect it has other motives.
The recent violence in Manipur has brought renewed attention to these issues. Reports indicate that Christian militant groups have specifically targeted the homes and businesses of Meitei Hindus, further deepening the conflict. The unrest originally began when the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur opposed the Meiteis’ request to be included in India’s Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. This opposition led to a spiral of violence that continues today.
While there isn’t clear evidence directly linking US Baptist organizations to the violence, there’s growing suspicion in the region. Some Indian Baptists are believed to sympathize with their Christian counterparts in Myanmar, who are also involved in armed struggles against their government. Colonel R. Hariharan, a retired Indian military intelligence officer, shared that US-backed Baptist organizations have supported insurgents in Myanmar, many of whom belong to ethnic groups with ties to northeastern India.
Hariharan explained that US churches, particularly the Baptist Church of Washington DC, have established strong connections with Myanmar’s rebel groups, particularly among the Chin, Kachin, and Karen ethnic communities. These churches provide spiritual and material aid to the rebels, with some funding coming directly from the US. The US has also passed the BURMA Act, which allows non-lethal aid to flow to these insurgents. Additionally, the US has long been involved in Myanmar, with the CIA supplying arms to rebels during the Cold War.
The situation on the Myanmar-India border adds complexity to the conflict. Many people from Myanmar, fleeing the violence in their country, have found refuge in India, especially in states like Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, which share cultural ties with Myanmar’s tribal groups. This movement of people and weapons has kept the insurgencies alive, and some Indian experts believe that securing the border with Myanmar could help restore peace in Manipur.
Meanwhile, India’s government is trying to reconcile the Meitei and Kuki communities, but some say that foreign missionaries, particularly from the US, are exploiting the situation. They believe these missionaries are taking advantage of the ethnic divisions in the region to push their own religious and political agendas.
According to the LRO, the US Baptist Church’s biggest project in India right now is “Nagaland for Christ,” which is supported by banned militant groups like the NSCN. Many Western missionaries, including some from the US, are allegedly present in Nagaland, sometimes violating visa rules to carry out religious work. Another controversial organization, the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), has been active in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, where it has been preaching to local tribes.
The LRO also highlighted the case of Daniel Stephen Courney, a blacklisted American street preacher, who was caught delivering an inflammatory sermon at a Kuki refugee camp in Manipur shortly after the violence began. In his speech, Courney incited the Kukis against the Indian government and the Meitei community. Despite being deported from India in 2017 for violating his tourist visa by engaging in missionary activities, Courney managed to sneak back into the country last August. He is now believed to be in Nepal.
India has tightened regulations for foreigners entering on missionary visas in response to concerns about illegal religious conversions. Yet, Western preachers still find ways to enter the country. Two American citizens were recently arrested in Assam for attending a Baptist convention while on tourist visas, and several others have been deported for engaging in religious activities without permission.
Many in India are worried that these Western religious groups are being used by the US government to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. Former Indian intelligence officers told Sputnik India that US-backed NGOs are running campaigns that paint Manipur’s Christians as victims of persecution to raise money globally. However, these campaigns often ignore that both Meitei Hindus and Kuki Christians have been affected by the violence.
The situation has drawn international attention, but India has strongly pushed back against what it sees as Western interference. The Indian government has rejected offers of foreign aid and condemned reports from the European Union and the US that criticize its handling of the conflict in Manipur. Many in India view these actions as part of a larger pattern of Western nations meddling in the country’s internal matters.
As the violence in Manipur drags on, questions remain about the role of foreign religious groups in the region. Are they providing humanitarian aid, or are they advancing a hidden agenda that could destabilize India’s northeastern states even further? The answers are far from clear, but the impact on the ground is undeniable.
