India: 4th Northeast Regional Youth Convention ends

The 4th Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) Northeast Regional Youth Convention concluded successfully on October 26 amid rain and inclement weather.

The five-day-long Northeast Regional Youth Catholic Convention (NERYC), organized by the ICYM Northeast Regional Youth and hosted by Manipur Catholic Youth Organization, was held in Canchipur, Manipur State in northeast India.

The theme was "Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive."

The thanksgiving Mass was presided over by Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao, Arunachal Pradesh State and chairman of NERYC.  

As many as 250 priests, 300 nuns, and 2000 youths from 15 dioceses in northeast India attended the event. 

"Young people should not be dormant and should keep active in society and church and have a meaningful life. They need to learn to live in the present. If not, start moving now," Father John Barman MSFS, regional youth director, told RVA News.

"Young people are energetic and vibrant. I hope they learn something new at the convention," he said.

The youth need more opportunities to build their careers and futures, which is why they came to learn and explore new ways of faith and life at this convention, the priest said. 

Father Barman further said, "He is happy to see young people participate in this convention with a huge attendance, which he never expected. This shows young people are serious about learning and exploring new things." 

He underscored that as physical health is important for all, so too is spiritual health. The large number of youths who participated in this event showed that the youths are thirsty for spiritual knowledge. 

"They came here with a spiritual thirst to learn and experience fellowship with others and to return to learn even more," Barman added.

The priest thanked the organizing committee and the host—Manipur Youth Organization—for their tireless work to make this convention a grand success despite the rain and inclement weather for the past two days.

"Overall, the activities at this convention were amazing. The youth from the Northeast came and learned together as one group," said Alan Lalrinawma, general secretary of the Northeast Regional Youth Commission.

Manipur is a great place. The convention was well attended despite the bad weather. The host church youth are dynamic and energetic, and the people in Manipur are welcoming and hospitable, added Lalrinawma. 

The special attractions during the events were the night concert by Traffic Jam Band, the cultural dances performed by different tribes, and the stall exhibitions by the 15 dioceses in which they displayed and sold various cultural items.

Earlier, on an opening day, October 23, Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal welcomed the delegates to Manipur, saying, "It is a beautiful land, the land of jewels. It is famous for its dancing and polo games, among others."

The chief guest was Ramngaining Muivah, the only Catholic Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manipur and a former Indian Administrative Service official.

"Christians in India have lived, like others in India, for 2000 years, and for this, we have no reason to apologize for being Christians," he said. 

He bemoaned the widespread disinformation campaign against Christianity in India, which he believes is the result of ignorance. 

When India got its independence in 1947, the Christian population was 4 percent. Today, it is about 2.3 percent. 

"There are some forces that accuse Christians of forcefully or fraudulently converting others to their religion. It is a mere malign against Christians in India," he said. 

He encouraged the Catholic youths present at the event with three points—entrepreneurship, politics, and youth power.
"I want to see Catholic billionaires in northeast India, corporate houses and big shopping malls run by Catholics. They have everything, except we have no billionaires and millionaires in our midst," he said. 

In addition, Catholic youth need to enter politics as a public service. In the parliament form of government, the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister can only transform society, and Catholics need to join politics to transform society for the better.

"Today, in India, we have two Catholic Chief Ministers from Telangana and Meghalaya states," he said.

Youth power is something unimaginable if exercised in the right way.

This was the first big gathering of Catholic youth in the region since the pandemic.

The convention had several sessions on entrepreneurship, music, mental health, love and relationships, and more.

In his address, Ramnganing Muivah, a former member of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement from north-east India, spoke on the power of youth.

He called for unleashing the power of the Catholic youth in the northeast region to bring about change in society.

He encouraged the Catholic youths to enter politics, saying, "Politicians play crucial roles in transforming society, and as the number of Catholic people holding high-profile posts like Chief Minister is very limited in the region."

While claiming that entrepreneurship is also an important driving force to transform society, Muivah asked Catholic youths to take up entrepreneurial work to take Catholic society to greater heights.

He further advised the youths to lay special emphasis on digital technology.

The Additional Chief Secretary, Letkhogin Haokip, who attended the function as a guest of honor, stressed the importance of highlighting and generating awareness about the humanitarian works being carried out by the Catholic Church. 

Many participants found the convention enriching and inspiring. 

Florence of the Kohima diocese of Nagaland State told RVA News that she was happy to participate in the youth convention.

She encouraged the Catholic youths not to be ashamed of being Catholic. "We should be united to explore Catholicism and spread it proudly to others," she added.

She further said that she liked the evening concert performed by Jimmy Thang and his band, Traffic Jam.

Another participant, Birunjit Bosmatriya, from Miao Diocese, Arunachal Pradesh State, said the sessions were educative and relevant. - Michael Tungthang and William Sian Zou