DIMAPUR, India — The cemetery of the Salesian province of Dimapur in northeast India was the scene of a solemn remembrance May 15 marking the 25th anniversary of the killing of three Salesian members at a novitiate in neighboring Manipur state.
Father Raphael Paliakara, the 46-year-old novitiate rector; Father Andreas Kindo, the 32-year-old newly appointed administrator; and 23-year-old Brother Shinu Joseph were shot dead at the Salesian novitiate at Ngarian Hills in Manipur on the night of May 15, 2001.
"I remember the deep pain of May 15, 2001," recalled Father Joseph Pamplackal, Salesian provincial of Dimapur, presiding over the memorial Mass held at the cemetery with dozens of Salesian priests, including 10 who had been novices at the time and were present at the novitiate during the attack.
"Today we remember the beauty of Salesian missionary spirit. When Father Raphael was shot, Father Andreas rushed forward to protect him, and Brother Shinu too was shot. They died for the faith and inspired many to witness to the faith," Pamplackal said at the Mass.
Twenty-eight relatives of the three slain Salesians traveled from the southern state of Kerala and from Jharkhand in eastern India for the occasion.
'Shepherds who did not flee'
A memorial card distributed at the event described the three as "shepherds who did not flee" and summarized the events of 2001: "They laid down their lives for us … when armed militants stormed the novitiate demanding money and the novices' lives."
"Money was handed over, but [they] refused to surrender any novice. They died as true shepherds standing between the wolf and the flock," the card said.
Father Josekutty Madathiparambil, one of the 27 novices sheltered during the attack, told EWTN News on May 19 that the events of that night shaped his vocation.
"What happened that night influenced my life a lot. Their sacrifice has given a new meaning to life," said Madathiparambil, who is originally from Kerala and now serves in eastern Arunachal Pradesh state.
"The militants had asked the fathers to bring out the novices, separating them as 'locals' [from Manipur] and 'outsiders.' That would have been the end of our lives. But they fulfilled what Jesus has said: 'There is no greater love than laying down one's life for others,'" he said.
After the memorial service, the Salesians — including 10 of the novices who went on to become priests — joined the family members of the slain Salesians in a two-hour gathering that included the screening of the documentary "They Laid Down Their Lives for Us" produced for the occasion.
"Today we are celebrating the silver jubilee of their martyrdom, which has not gone in vain. We are the proof for that," said Father Anthony Kangba Rang in his testimony.
"We were heartbroken when we came here for the funeral 25 years ago," recalled John Paliakara, elder brother of Father Raphael, who brought eight members of the Paliakara family, including three siblings, from Kerala for the anniversary.
"But it is no more a tragic memory. They saved the lives of 27 novices. We are proud of it," he told EWTN News.
Ethnic tensions persist
As the Salesians prepared for the anniversary, they received a grim reminder of the continuing ethnic tensions in Manipur when two Salesian brothers were kidnapped on May 13.
"I was very tense hearing about this, and that too round the jubilee time," said Father Shyjan Chemmaparappallil, another 2001 novice who was in Manipur that day.
"Our prayers were heard, and they were released unharmed the next night," he said during the jubilee commemoration.
Father Suresh Innocent, from whose care the two ethnic Naga Salesian brothers were taken at an impromptu road checkpoint by Kuki groups, described the ordeal.
"I was shattered. Because of their ethnic [Naga] identity, they were taken away. It is reported that it was a tit-for-tat kidnapping, as some ethnic Kukis had been kidnapped earlier in the day," Innocent told EWTN News on May 16 after bringing the brothers to the Dimapur provincial house.
"Due to prayers and high-level interventions, they were released in 24 hours," he said.
The kidnapping took place on the same day that three Kuki Baptist pastors were killed in an ambush in Kangpokpi district, an attack that has further deepened the ethnic crisis in the state.
