Imphal: Tribal student organisations in Manipur have strongly condemned the attack on Little Flower School in Imphal. The explosion occurred on June 5 at the school gate.
The All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM), the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and the Kuki Students’ Organisation-General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ), in a joint press statement today, said that the “evil act of violence against educational institutions has cropped up again where Christian missionary run educational institutions usually are the victims”.
The three students bodies said that such an “evil and insensitive act” of planting and detonating of bomb at Little Flower School in Imphal on June 5, 2022, by miscreants not only threatened the lives of school children but also hampered the functioning of the school. “Therefore, the ATSUM, the ANSAM and the KSO-GHQ condemn the incident at the strongest terms and caution the perpetrators not to repeat it again”.
Also read: NSF condemns Little Flower School bomb blast
According to the tribal student organisations, the attack on Christian missionary run educational institutions has become a periodic yearly phenomenon in the state. They alleged that selective targeting of these schools for extortion and bomb attack can be a religious conspiracy taking into consideration certain people’s intolerance to other religions or to destroy the competition put up by these schools in terms of quality and popularity.
The tribal student bodies then appealed to all and sundry to respect these Christian run educational institutions which have given the utmost contribution in the progress and development of education in the state. They also said that creating a congenial atmosphere for these schools to function peacefully is the least that the people of Manipur can do to show our appreciation for the great things these schools have done for the people.
The three tribal student organisations then said that the arrest of the attackers by the Manipur police is laudable. “Thorough investigation has also to be initiated to arrest the conspirators so that victimisation of the Christian run institutions does not happen again in future,” they added.
NNN