4th anniversary of Kandhamal anti Christian violence

At last, a token of hope amid injustice
But Christians still face an uphill struggle

By John Dayal
New Delhi:
In the continuing gloom of injustice, broken promises and misadministration in Kandhamal, the birth of the new parish of Pakari has come as a token of hope and light for a Christian community still living with the memory of brutal attacks in December 2007 and August 2008 and with the ensuing “structural violence”.

The two young priests in charge of the parish, Fr. Bimal Nayak and Fr. Cassian Pradhan, a Panos Dalit and a Kondh tribal, are hopeful that it will invigorate the almost 5,000-member local church. They hope that in a few years, they will see the birth of another parish in the remote region of Orissa.

The church building is still just a design on a piece of paper, broadly resembling the church in Brahminigaon, which is getting the finishing touches on reconstruction after its destruction on Christmas Eve, 2007. The new parish will have a hostel and perhaps even a school, as well as the presbytery for the parish priest and his assistant, and a few rooms for visiting bishops and clergy.

One school may not be enough to challenge the success of the Sangh Parivar in spreading its hate ideology to the young.

Surveys by several groups, including mine, the All India Christian Council, reveal a massive effort by the Hindu nationalists to penetrate every village in the region. By this summer, the Sangh had set up an estimated 500 “Shishu mandirs,” or formal schools, and as many as 500 additional “Ekal vidyalayas,” or one-teacher schools, in remote villages.

Neither the government nor the church comes anywhere close to these numbers.

Observers have also noted changes in the tactics of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the main cadre of the Hindutva Parivar in the villages. The presence of Maoists in Darringbadi and other blocks has made the Sangh focus on areas where the Maoists are absent, or present only in small numbers. No major attacks have been reported this summer against Christians.

But the absence of violence brings little joy for much of the Christian community. In interviews and affidavits, residents speak of extreme economic hardship, particularly in remote areas, because of a lack of employment and ongoing economic boycotts of Christians.

In the villages of Tikabali, Adasapanda and Mujhlimandi, Christians are not being employed as labor in the fields or in the local markets.

Worse, many Christian men and women have been kept out of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which is supposed to provide 100 days a year of paid employment on official projects such as roads, bridges and water conservation works.

Government agencies are still harassing tribal Christians, forcing them to get a recommendation from the political outfit Kui Samaj when they come to get their “caste certificates” which are needed for scholarships, jobs and other “benefits” from the state and union governments. This is of course illegal, but the practice goes on despite Christian activists and lawyers notifying the District Collector.

There is also no government initiative as yet to give land to the landless tribals.

The cumulative impact of these situations is the migration of tribals and Dalits first to Phulbani, the district capital, and Baliguda, the only two major towns in the district, and then out of Kandhamal and even out of Orissa.

Recent surveys have confirmed that as many as 10,000 of the 56,000 people impacted by the violence have not returned to their homes in the villages.

With the justice process in the two fast-track courts showing no progress, Christian groups have once again petitioned the Supreme Court for re-investigation of the murders committed during the August 2008 violence. There have been just two convictions in more than 30 cases accepted by the government, after a death toll of more than 90. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the writ soon.

In another major initiative, the National Human Rights Commission is being approached by victims and their representatives who are seeking a comprehensive justice and rehabilitation package such as the ones victims of the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 won after interventions by the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission.

The comprehensive application points out that thousands of children continue to be without education, and men and women without jobs. Both individuals and the church have been denied adequate compensation for the destruction of property during the riots, because of deficiencies in government surveys and irrational systems of calculating the loss.

Christian activists have taken great heart from the recent Supreme Court judgment holding two BJP politicians guilty of murders in Gujarat’s Naroda Patiya area, and NHRC decisions in similar cases.

This has been reflected in the mass rallies that have been held in Phulbani and Bhubaneswar on August 25. Police gave permission at the last moment for Christians to mark the fourth anniversary of the violence. Berhampur Bishop Sarath spoke to about 4,000 people about the need for justice and rehabilitation.

The RSS held its own rally on August 23 to commemorate the murder, by Maoists, of Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice president Lakshmanananda Saraswati. Several hundred RSS activists shouted slogans asking for the arrest of the “real” murderers of Saraswati. Seven Kandhamal Christians have been rotting in jail for four years as suspects, their bail applications routinely denied by the courts.
[First published in Ucan News, 12 September 2012, New Delhi]

Maoists attack kills Kandhamal family

Kandhamal Update One in the Season of Advent 9dec10

Maoist violence delays church restoration, and the Catholic Parish of Batticola village that has vanished in thin air

John Dayal, Kandhamal, {Orissa} 8 December 2010

Sikarma Catholic parish is a blessed one – it escaped anti Christian violence both in Christmas 2007 and the 23 August to November carnage of 2008. But today it is a Parish in mourning. Five of a local Catholic Dalit and Tribal families were wiped out when an ambulance they were travelling in was blown up in a bend in the forest road on its way back from a Hospital in Behrampur some 200 kilometers at midnight on 27th November 2010. Ironically, the pregnant woman the family had taken to the hospital gave birth to a stillborn child because they had delayed too long. The tragedy was further aggravated, for among the dead was a pregnant social worker, and a three year old girl who would not stay back at home with her father. The social worker and the ambulance driver were the only one not related to the others. She had volunteered to accompany the woman in distress.

Maoists had a few days earlier shot dead a businessman and Hindutva political activist Manoj Sahoo, 35, at point blank range in the marketplace. Sahoo was a contractor and had been listed in a public handbill reportedly published by Maoists after the assassination of VHP vice president Lakshmananda Saraswati on 23rd August 2008, which triggered off a three month orgy of anti Christian violence by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh groups Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Adivasi Kalyan Parishad. Manoj was an enthusiastic local leader of that violence, according to the villagers.

In another incident three moths ago, two Christian home guards were killed by the Maoists who accused them of being police informers before slashing them with sharp weapons and then executing them with gunfire.

In the terror that now pervades the area in Brahmanigaon and Sikarma, people are afraid to come to work. According to the Parish priest of Brahmanigaon, his work of reconstructing the church burnt down on Christmas Eve in 2007 has been stalled because the contractor has chickened out.

In a black turn to the tragic story of nearby Sikarma, the Maoists reportedly apologized to the surviving members of the small well knit-clan, and have offered compensation. The surviving family members told me they would refuse the money if indeed it was given.

The Maoists had set the trap – a powerful wired anti-vehicle mine set off by a long distance switch – for a local senior police officer, who was to pass by the same route in a white vehicle, very similar to the ill-fated hospital ambulance. The policeman apparently changed his plans at the last moment. According to villagers who wish to remain anonymous, the ambulance driver too had been “warned” by unidentified persons not to travel along that route so late at night, but the family was in a hurry to reach home to collect money for the Behrampur hospital where their patient required fresh infusions of expensive blood.

The ambulance driver avoided possible Maoist “checkpoints” in the nearby Brahmanigaon area by taking a detour through the local police station and hospital before coming back to the only road to the village, and its rendezvous with tragedy. It would seem that the Maoists mistook the ambulance be the vehicle of the policeman and set off the blast. Later, they dragged the bodies of the driver and another man close to the culvert, seemingly to identify them. The women’s bodies were still far away from the shattered vehicle.

It was some days after the blast that I came to the village after passing by the twisted remains of the jeep-ambulance by the culvert. I met the family which was still in a trauma to be very coherent. The story was narrated by Sister Teresa who runs a dispensary in her convent, and Fr Dushmant, the assistant parish priest, who had helped pick up the pieces of the bodies as they lay, splattered over 500 meters in the jungle. Dushmant has himself seen violence at close quarters. He was earlier in the Kanjimendi-Nuagaon Pastoral House when it was burnt by marauding mobs in August 2008.

Fr Dushmant says they are still to find the legs of one woman, and the head of another.

Sister Teresa said she had earlier attended on the pregnant woman, Bonita, the wife of casual labour Buna Digal. She had diagnosed that the woman was carrying a fetus too large for a normal delivery. She told them to take the woman to the government hospital in Phulbani or to Behrampur. Buna waited too long. By the time his driver friend Simon Pradhan brought the hospital ambulance, rushed Bonita and her relatives to the hospital, it was too late for the unborn child. He was dead in the womb. But Bonita still needed blood, and for that, the family needed money. The ambulance was returning with the family to borrow the money.

In their twin huts in the Musina hamlet of Sikarma village close to the road, Bento Digal sits with his grand aunt Sushila Digal, who now looks older than her 60 years. Bento lost his pregnant wife Innoci and daughter Subhashi. His three year old son Pabano had remained in the village, and survived. Sushila lost her son Buna, whose wife survives in the Behrampur hospital after her still born delivery. The two unrelated good Samaritans who died were Simon Pradhan, a friendly tribal who had brought the ambulance from the hospital in Brahmanigaon where he served, and Shushanti Mallik, 30, a tribal and social worker of an NGO. The survivors do not know what the future holds for them. Senior district officers are still to visit the twin families.

… …

Batticola – The Parish that vanished


Tragic in a different manner is the story of the Catholic parish that has vanished into the unknown. Batticola parish covered the Nandigiri village which had more than six dozen worshipping families. These were devout families, and had given at least three Nuns and two Priests to the Church in recent years despite their life of abject poverty as petty famers and casual labour. One of the priests is Fr Mrityunjay, the secretary to Archbishop Raphael Cheenath and also the treasurer of the diocese. His mother and two brothers are witness to some of the worst aspects of the anti Christian violence of 2008. One of his brothers was forcibly tonsured, made to drink cow dung and urine in a religious conversion masterminded and enforced by the local Hindutva thugs.

Every single Christian house in Nandigiri was torched and destroyed in the violence. The people ran away into the forest, and then found refuge in government camps. Bu they are among the unfortunate who may never be able to go to the village of their ancestors because they have been told they would have to convert to Hinduism as a precondition to their return. The kingpin behind the violence is one Goverdhan Pradhan, who roamed free for two years before he was finally arrested in nearby Udayagiri town by police inspector Murmu.

Collector Krishan Kumar has apparently conceded that he cannot ensure the safety of the Christians back in Nandigiri nor can he persuade the local Hindus to accept their brethren back. His solution has been to found a new village ghetto several kilometers away at the foot of a mountain, just for the Christians. In a supreme irony, this village is called Shantinagar, the place of peace.

The collector has allotted 4 cents of land – four per cent of an acre – to each family to build a house. The 69 families who have shifted – 51 of them Catholic – cleared the shrub, dug the rain water trenches, and waited in tents before the houses – sterile and identical brick and steel sheet roof structures – were put up by the Believers Church in money they donated together with the little money that the collector gave. The houses cost Rs 80,000, and many of the residents now owe money to the church. Efforts are on to persuade the church to waive off the balance. The Jesuits and Mother Teresa’s sisters have provided the cots and blankets, the cooking pots and the clothes.

But there is no livelihood. The collector has allotted them the land on condition that they would let go of their claims on the old village land. But he has not allotted them any agricultural land in exchange of their fields in the village where they are now not allowed to till. This is a village where the men have no jobs of any kind. The younger lot goes to the nearby town of Udayagiri to try their luck as casual labour. They have lost much more than their livelihood. They have all but lost their dignity. And the church has lost its parish. The official parish priest now lives in far away Bhubaneswar. A priest closer by comes for Sunday prayers. Even as I was talking to them, the villagers were being persuaded by St Gabriel congregation Brother Markose, who was uniting them to build a new church-cum-community hall, so they could celebrate Christmas in a new church, and not under the very cold Kandhamal skies.

Their Christmas wish remains a return to the lost parish of Batticola in Nandigiri and to revive their old Church.

THE INDIA UPDATE

Updated 11 March 2009

ORISSA POLL PROCESS LEAVES CHRISTIANS OUT IN THE COLD

 

Community may move Election Commission of India for Kandhamal review

 

Major Reports not implemented so far by State Government

 

Barring a miracle, there will be no Christian candidate chosen by any political party to contest the Parliamentary and State Legislative Assembly Elections in the troubled State of Orissa which goes to the polls mid-April 2009. This speaks amply about how the various parties -- the ruling Biju Janata Dal, its erstwhile coalition partner and otherwise minority-baiting Bharatiya Janata Party, the new allies in the Left, and the old Opposition Congress Party -- think of this hapless religious minority as someone to project and strengthen politically. Patently, Christians do not matter when it comes to elections in India.

 

But even if they had chosen a Christian candidate or two as a concession to tokenism, it remains a moot question if he or she would have won, given the acute communal polarisation in the State in the wake of the anti Christian violence of 2007-2008 that singed and scalded half of the State’s thirty districts.

 

For the Christians in the Kandhamal district which was the epicentre of the violence, in fact, the chances are quite dim that they will ever get a chance to exercise the Constitutional right of universal franchise. Three thousand of them are in government refugee camps, the rest are basically homeless, destitute, disenfranchised. Tens of thousands remain internally displaced persons, as a group of them had famously told the United Nations office in New Delhi last year.

 

My own organisation, the All India Christian Council, which has been deeply involved in the Orissa issue, is considering approaching the Election Commission of India in a legal memorandum, and the Election Commissioners individually, urging them to take a close look at the Kandhamal situation to see if free and fair elections are possible, and to take remedial action to make it possible for the people to exercise their democratic rights. We are not sure at this early stage of seeking a deferment of the elections in the Kandhamal region is the possible solution.

 

Democratic norms are not really the strength of Orissa.  The Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata party alliance which had ruled the state eleven years – in religious bigotry at other times – broke up when the partners fell out on the sharing of seats. Mr. Patnaik, the butt of jokes and attacks through the crisis of the last two years, suddenly found new friends, even in the Left, and won a voice vote in the State Assembly after the Bharatiya Janata party left him crying betrayal! Mr. Pattnaik is yet to take action against the BJP and its friends of the Hindutva Parivar for killing, maiming and raping Christians, and for monumental arson amounting to a sort of genocide. Probably he never will, even if he returns to power in May 2009.

 

The words of Archbishop Raphael Cheenath sum up the situation; Said the Archbishop today “Alliances and elections do not matter when life and security is under threat! My primary concern is the people of Kandhamal, not only the Christians but everyone there. Who is concerned about the affected people in Kandhamal? It is more than six months now and still the life and security of the people in Kandhamal is under threat. The state is trying to project peace by sending the people out from the camps. In some villages there is social boycott and the people are still living in fear. The Dalits and adivasi of Kandhamal feel that they have become victims of the narrow political interests of the political parties, whether BJD, BJP or Congress. The culprits have not been arrested and they continue to pose threat to peace. No reasonable compensation has reached the people. Every move of the political parties and opportunistic alliances are keenly being observed by the people and I am sure that they will teach an appropriate lesson to all of them.”

 

The following are some of the major recommendations I culled out from reports as diverse as the Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Prof Angana Chatterji’s deposition in Washington before the United States government, and the National Commission for Minorities report to the Indian government, the former Revenue Secretary of the Government of India’s note to the State government, and a retired high court judge whose report is yet to be published. The recommendations are basically in a random order, and remarkably, were mentioned in most, if not all, of the reports. I have edited them for brevity, but they still make for hair-raising reading.

 

1.      The attacks on Christians in 2008 were pre-planned. The guilty must be speedily identified; fast track courts set up to see that justice delivery is transparent and timely to make a difference.

 

2.      The matters and circumstances that led to the Kandhamal violence of 2007 and 2008 in Orissa continue to pose a threat to the sanctity and security of human rights in the state, particularly of religious and ethnic minorities such as Christians and Muslims, disenfranchised Adivasi, Dalit, and caste groups, and other vulnerable groups such as women. Failure to take preventative and effective action continues to jeopardize the rule of law, the right to life and livelihood, freedom of religion, of speech, movement, assembly, inquiry, and the right to information in Orissa.

 

 

3.      The atmosphere in Kandhamal District continues tense. Fresh violence is possible. Central Reserve police, of which three battalions still remain in Orissa, need to be retained to give confidence to the religious minorities.

 

 

4.      Hindutva nationalist leaders, activists, and organizations in Orissa charged with involvement in criminal acts and involvement in actions that have led, or may lead, to communal violence must be investigated and prosecuted. The impunity being enjoyed by members of the RSS, VHP and others should be cracked by proceeding legally against them. The Government of Orissa and the Central Government must make concerted efforts to identify, investigate, and eradicate paramilitary hate camps being operated in Orissa by the Hindutva groups raining cadres in arms and militancy with the express purpose of threatening and destroying minority populations through social and economic boycotts, sporadic and organized intimidation, arson, rape, murder.

 

 

5.      Police Force levels, strengthening of the Criminal Justice System and Rule of Law:  Government must take these steps by mobilising man power in the area of criminal justice system at a level that is proportionate to the multiple crisis situations that the District is facing. Such a mobilisation will send the clearest signal yet so badly required to the entire area and beyond in regard to the Government’s earnestness in outlawing forces of disruption and re-establishing the Rule of Law.

 

6.      Large numbers of Christians remain in the government refugee camps, and in other camps, because of the construing threat of forcible conversion to Hinduism; Though conditions in the camps are inhuman, and an affront to Human rights norms, the camps themselves must continue so long as complete conditions of peace, safety and security have not been restored in the affected villages. A basic requirement for the victims to return to their homes is assurance and self assurance that they may lead the kind of cultural and spiritual life they wish to live as guaranteed in the Constitution.

 

 

7.      Guilty officers continue to enjoy impunity. Even the judicial commissions give signals of their bias. The government officials should be booked for the dereliction of their duty and the wilful negligence in protecting the victims and stopping the violence.  Police, judicial, and governmental reform, including diversity training, must be addressed by relevant state institutions, and action taken against officers of the law and political servants who abuse their position by using their power to influence and support Hindutva groups.

 

8.      Orissa Minorities Commission must be established. Peace committees are bigoted, and have failed.

 

9.      Women suffer the most, even in the government camps.  In the tents, there was hardly space for anyone to move or stretch, what to speak of privacy for women to change. Those women live in the full view of the male inmates, including their own brothers on the one hand and strangers on the other. Their sanitary requirements at a personal level, including of women who have not attained menopause have not been factored in by those who designed or are running these camps.

 

10.   Restoration of Tribal Identity and simultaneous justice to the long-time weaker sections residents of the area, the Dalits. Land rights in the Scheduled areas in letter and spirit, and in the rulings of the Supreme Court of India. The Government may examine in the Tribes Advisory Council if land can be made available to the riot-hit people. The Governor has certain powers in the Scheduled Areas as well.

 

 

11.  The Collector must give importance of giving priority to programmes like the ICDS, Watershed Development, NREGS and Joint Forest Management as they are amenable to integrated approaches involving the entire community, thus providing a healing touch and togetherness.

 

12.   Relief, Rehabilitation and Compensation package: Consumption finance is a very important part of the relief package in any programme of relief and rehabilitation. Its absence leads to the victims using the compensation intended for other purposes such as building destroyed and damaged houses for consumption needs and to stave off hunger.

 

 

 

13.  Policy of zero tolerance to Discrimination: There are laws in this country that punish promotion of hatred and religious intolerance. It would serve the interests of the people of the State and act as a salve for the traumatised and therefore estranged sections of the society

 

14.  Probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI

 

15.  Extensive and proper damage assessment should be done by the government with the help of civil society organisations and full compensation ensured. The damaged and burned houses and institutions should be rebuilt by the government.

 

16.   Police desks should be set up for registering minority grievances and filing FIRs, and the Government of Orissa must appoint a team of Special Public Prosecutors to conduct proceedings as necessary. Toward this, independent monitoring bodies must be supported and protected.

 

 

17.   The Government of India and the Government of Orissa must take adequate and expeditious steps to ensure that those who convert voluntarily to Christianity, Islam, or any other faith are allowed to practice their religion

 

18.   The disparagement, demonization, and vilification of any religion should be statutorily prohibited and held punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

 

19.   The Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967, and the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960, must be reviewed and repealed.

 

 

20.  On 29 November 1949, India became a signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, approved by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 260 A (III) of 9 December 1948. On 27 August 1959, India ratified the Genocide Convention. However, India is yet to fulfil its obligatory commitment to enact legislation to implement the convention, which it must be compelled to undertake.     

 

A brief recall August- December 2008:

In Orissa, 54,000 were rendered homeless, 20,000   Children lose a year of school, some may never go back to school, 3,000 persons areas till in Government refugee camps in March 2009. As we know, 120 were murdered, including 7   Priests/ Pastors, ten more were injured, Two Rapes confirmed [One of Nun], many others are feared to have been molested,, 315 Villages were destroyed, 4,640  houses burnt [State government earlier estimates 4,215], 252 Churches destroyed [as estimated by State government], and 13 schools and colleges were destroyed.

MEANWHILE, IN KARNATAKA STATE, THE RECORD FOR 2008:

AUGUST 2008

·         10^th: At Davanagere, Davanagere District, the House of Prayer church was attacked by around 200 Bajrang Dal activists. Fifteen church members received minor injuries. About 80 members normally attend the church. Six persons were arrested.

 

·         12^th: A mob of about 200 people, including activists of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Shiv Sena youth association surrounded the house of Pastor Premkumar in Davangere Town, Davanagere District. They repeatedly pelted the house with stones between 10:30 am and 7 pm. Eleven people including four women were brought out of the house by force. The police were compelled to take the Christians into detention to protect them. The attackers demanded that Pastor Premkumar, Pastor Rajashekar and Pastor Karunakar of Divine Healing Ministries and Hosanna Ministries Eternal Life Church should be exiled from the district. An FIR was filed.

 

·         17^th: The Divine Healing Ministry church in Davangere city, Davanagere District, was attacked by around 50 Bajrang Dal workers during the church service. Bibles and hymn books were burnt. A few church members were beaten and harassed.  No arrests were made.

 

·         24^th: Nitya Jeeva Devalaya, an independent church in Davangere city, Davanagere District, was attacked during the Sunday worship service. Around 60 Bajrang Dal workers barged in and disrupted the service and beat a few believers. They also broke furniture. And they burnt Bibles and song books. No complaint was registered.

 

·         27^th: A Christian prayer hall named Yesu Prathanalaya at Uchangidurga in Harpanahalli taluk, Davanagere District, was attacked by about 30 Ram Sena workers. Pastor Raju Gowda was roughed up. Three of the church members were hurt and treated for minor injuries in the hospital.  Eight persons were arrested. Case was registered under IPC Section 295 and 298.

 

September 2008

 

·         7^th: Around 9 a.m. at Bada village, Davangere District, an independent church planted by Mission Action Fellowship called Yesu Kripalaya was attacked by a 300-strong mob that broke the asbestos (corrugated material) ceiling, furniture, windows, and set fire to a Bible and other literature. They also broke the cross and the pulpit. Hindu Jagarana Vedike claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was because villagers were forced to convert. The pastor, Lukas, vacated the village and has not returned. Ten arrests were made. Case registered under IPC Sections 295 and 298.

 

 

September 14^th

 

Between 9 a.m. and 11.15 a.m., the following churches and prayer halls were attacked:

 

·         In Bannur village, Udupi District, a group of 25 to 30 attackers entered and vandalised Believers Church. They burned Bibles and damaged the furniture. Two church members were beaten. Four persons were arrested. Case was booked under IPC Sections 143, 147, 148, 427 and 149.

 

·         In Udupi city, Udupi District, the New Life Fellowship Hall was attacked by 40 to 50 slogan-shouting Bajrang Dal workers. They injured five adults and a child. Windows were smashed and furniture damaged. The pastor's name is Pastor Gopi and FIR was registered. 

 

·         In Shiroor village, Udupi District, a gang of 25 with sickles and sticks attacked the Life and Light Ministries prayer hall. The pastor was assaulted, a car torched, windows broken, and furniture damaged. Five arrests were made. Case registered under IPC Sections 143, 147, 295, 448, 324, 506, 427 and 149.

 

·         In Koteshwar village, Udupi District, the Carmel Ashram (Roman Catholic) was attacked. Icons/statues of Mother Mary and Infant Jesus were damaged by around 25 people. A few church members were physically harassed. A couple of them were slapped or hit. Two persons were arrested.

 

·         In Mudur village, Udupi District, a group attacked Mission One Million Life Centre and physically harassed one person and damaged furniture, a television set, and the telephone. Five arrests were made.

 

·         At Kodical, Mangalore city, Dakshina Kannada District, a Tamil-language Protestant church which is part of the Church of South India denomination was attacked by 15 persons during a prayer service. Several church members were assaulted. Furniture was destroyed. Four persons were arrested.

 

·         At the Roman Catholic Adoration Monastery on Falnir Road, Mangalore city, Dakshina Kannada District, about 15 people vandalised the building and sacraments, and attacked nuns who were in prayer. Several of the nuns were severely injured and treated in the hospital. Seven arrests were made.

 

·         At Kavoor, Mangalore city, Dakshina Kannada District, around 20 persons vandalised and desecrated the Assembly of Prayer Fellowship. Policemen stationed there were attacked.  Bibles and Christian literature were burnt. Seven Christians received injuries. Four arrests were made.

 

·         At Shakti Nagar in Mangalore Rural taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, around 60 persons vandalised and desecrated the Jesus Christ Church. Windows were broken and furniture damaged. No arrests were made. Case registered under IPC Sections 143, 147, 148, 447, 427, and 149.

 

·         At Bilinele village, Dakshina Kannada District, at the Assembly of God Church, around 20 persons vandalised the facility. Bibles were burnt. A few Christians were assaulted. Nine persons were arrested.

 

·         At Kalanja village, Dakshina Kannada District, about 15 persons attacked believers with sickles and desecrated the Indian Pentecostal Prayer Hall. Four people received injuries and were treated in the hospital. Nine arrests were made.

 

·         At Madanthyar village, Dakshina Kannada District, a gang of 30 people assaulted the pastor of the Mahima Prayer Hall with iron rods and desecrated the church. Three people, including the pastor, were injured.  Six arrests were made. Case registered under IPC Sections 143, 147, 148, 427, 324 and 34.

 

·         A group of alleged Bajrang Dal members attacked the New Life Fellowship at Madanthyar, Dakshina Kannada District. The property was damaged and an FIR filed.

 

·         The End Time Full Gospel Church in Jayapura, Chikmagalore District, was attacked during the Sunday service by 15 people who claimed to be Bajrang Dal activists. They had sticks and sickles and injured nine Christians. No arrests were made.

·         Kingdom Hall church in Chikmagalore District was attacked by 20 Bajrang Dal workers who threw chilli powder in the eyes of the Christians. A pregnant woman was attacked and kicked. She later received treatment for her injuries in the hospital. No arrests were made.

 

·         New Apostolic Church was attacked in Singatagere village, Chikmagalore District by twelve people. They damaged the church, burnt a Bible, and one Christian, Kallesh, was stripped naked. An FIR was filed.

 

·         Ebenezer Prayer Hall in Chikmagalore town, Chikmagalore District, was vandalized by around 25 VHP workers who damaged the church furniture. An FIR was filed.

 

·         An attack took place on the St. Thomas Church, (Church of South India) in Chikballapur, Chikballapur District. Miscreants came in the night and vandalized the church.

 

September 15^th

 

The following places were attacked between 1.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.

 

·         At Ganjimath village, Mangalore Rural taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, window panes of the Believers Church were broken by motorcycle-borne vandals. No arrests.

 

·         In Bantwal taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, vandals tried to set the door of the Believers Church on fire even though a police team was guarding the church. No arrests were made.

 

·         On Jail Road, Mangalore city, Dakshina Kannada District, motorcycle-borne vandals pelted stones at the Capuchin Church (Roman Catholic) and damaged sacred icons and statues. No arrests. Case registered under IPC sections 427 and 153a.

 

September 16^th  

 

·         In Kolar town, Kolar District, vandals damaged a century-old statue of the Mother Mary at the St. Mary’s church (Roman Catholic). No arrests were made.

 

·         At Adyar, Mangalore Rural taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, over 20 vandals desecrated the Rima Worship Centre and destroyed property. No arrests were made.

 

·         At Ernody village, Dakshina Kannada District, vandals broke into the St. George Church (Roman Catholic) desecrated the place, and attempted to set it on fire. Two arrests were made. Case registered under IPC sections 457, 295, and 448.

 

September 18^th  

 

·         On B.C. Road in Bantwal taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, vandals pelted stones at the Believers Church. Windows were broken. No arrests.

 

September 19^th  

·         In Sagar town, Shimoga District, a group hung a garland of chappals (flip flop sandals) on the Jesus statue at St. Mary’s Church (Roman Catholic). This is a serious insult in the culture. Three arrests were made. Case registered under IPC section 153 and 153(a).

 

·         At Padu Kody village, Dakshina Kannada District, motorcycle-borne vandals pelted stones at the St. Xavier’s (Roman Catholic) church and damaged icons. Cases registered under IPC sections 143, 144, 295, 427 and 149.

 

September 21^st   

·         A group of unknown assailants broke windows of a prayer hall called “Brethren Christa Aaradhanalaya” near Nellihudikeri town, Kodagu District. No arrests made.

 

·         In Bangalore District, at the St. James Church (Roman Catholic) in Mariyannapalya, two gold plated crowns and cash from the offering box were stolen, and the sacred sacrament damaged. Seven persons were arrested. A case was registered under IPC sections 144, 149, 333 and 448.

 

·         At the Holy Name of Jesus Church (Roman Catholic) at Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bangalore District, the glass casing around the statue of the Infant Jesus was stoned and the statue damaged. No arrests have been made. A case was registered under IPC sections 144, 149, 333 and 448.

 

September 26^th 

 

·         Peace Prayer Hall in Yelahanka, Bangalore District, was vandalized. Pastor Gideon said about 20 members of the Bajrang Dal came as the prayer meeting was in progress and broke the musical instruments and burnt the Bible. An FIR was lodged.

 

·         At Shamboor village in Bantwal taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, attackers vandalized Sacred Heart Church.  They burnt the Bible and two song books. They also damaged the pulpit, a lamp, a clock and two tube lights. An FIR was filed.

 

September 29^th

 

·         Money (Rs. 10,000) and electronic items were stolen from St. Anthony’s church (Roman Catholic) Church in Anagalpura, Bangalore District. Unknown criminals ransacked the store room & stole musical instruments, microphones, and a loudspeaker.

 

October 2008

 

·         5^th: Immanuel Prayer Hall in Chamraj Nagar near Mysore, Mysore District, was burnt down. According to Pastor Patrick, Bajrang Dal workers came and threatened him couple of weeks ago and he believes they were involved in arson. Police declared that it was just an accident. An FIR was filed.

 

·         13^th: Some miscreants set fire to St. Anthony’s church (Roman Catholic) at Yadavanahalli, Bangalore Urban District. The church suffered extensive damage and the loss is estimated around Rs. 1 million (10 lakh). Police said the fire was due to an electrical short circuit. Two experts’ teams, comprising electrical engineers and technicians, said there was no trace of any electrical short circuit. A case has been lodged in Attibele Police station and no arrests were made.

 

·         26^th: Belgaum: Teluga Brethren Christian Assemblies Church vandalised and damaged, complaint given to police, but no FIR was filed by police.

 

November 2008

 

·         2^nd: Thimannakatte village, Haveri: police disrupted Dheiwah Ministry meeting following false reports of ‘forcible conversions’, pastor told by police to request permission before meeting in future.

 

·         2^nd: Bagalkot: Shalom Full Gospel Church told by police to request permission before conducting meetings in future.

 

·         20^th: Bajpe Antonikatte, Mangalore: St Antony Chapel vandalised when stones thrown by Hindu extremists.

 

December 2008

 

·         14^th: Bangarapet, Kolar: RSS members attacked a Christian function and falsely accused Christians of ‘forcible conversion’. The Christians were dragged to the police station and detained and the police are investigating the allegations. Aicc was involved in securing the release of the Christians.

 

Other States impacted include Tamil Nadu Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Andhra

[Data courtesy aicc, Hyderabad and Bangalore officex.]

Bishops call Orissa CM's bluff

Text of letter by the Bishops of Orissa to the Chief Minister on 10th November 2008
Shri Naveen Pattnaik
Hon’ble Chief Minister
Government of Orissa
Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
Date: 10th November 2008.

Respected Sir,

First of all we want to convey to you our sincere thanks and appreciation for giving us this appointment to meet you.

Further we want to place before you the following points for your kind consideration and necessary action on an emergency basis.

1. The Exodus of Christians from Kandhamal District: There is considerable reduction of refugees in Relief Camps (from 24,000 to 11,000). The claim that those who leave the relief camps are going back to their own villages and settling down in their homes is not true. Most of them have migrated to relief camps in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jhanla, Berhampur and also settled down in rented houses and in the homes of relations, friends, acquaintances etc. It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Christians of Kandhamal district are living outside the district.

A large number of Christians of Kandhamal district have gone to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat etc. People in the relief camps of the costal belts, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur etc. want to return to their villages, but are afraid because of the reasons (a) They may be attacked on the way or in their own villages (b) They are forced to become Hindus under pain of death or loss of properties. They are told to become Hindus or leave the village, the district or even India (c) Many are unwilling to return because the criminals are still at large and moving about with swords, guns, weapons etc. as in Kothingia/Tiangia of Raikia block and Sarangodo block.
The Christians who have returned to their own villages and homes are forcibly converted to Hinduism; they are forced to accept Hindu Samskaras under oath and under pain of divine punishment. Their movements and meeting with people are restricted by the fanatics for instance in Padangi, Sankarakhol.
2. Acts of injustices against Christians.
a) Christians are chased away from their homes and villages.

b) Even though the State Govt. had promised to allot land to the landless (after the last attack) it has not yet been done. Many do not get money for the gutted down houses or damaged houses because the administration applies rules absolutely and strictly to the Christians in such a way that the landless will not get allotment of land or they even loose what they have.

c) A man was not allowed to be buried in the village as he did not become a Hindu in village Sarthaguda of Tikabali block.

d) Christians are not allowed to harvest the paddy from their own fields in many Gram Panchayats if they do not become Hindus.

3. Looting of houses, Churches & Religious Houses.: As the people had fled out of threat and fear criminals are looting the homes, churches, religious houses, institutions and destroying/burning whatever is left over.

4. Non Acceptance of FIRs: FIRs are not accepted in Daringabadi and Sarangoda Police Stations.

5. Attack on Christians is not an Ethnic Conflict: Hindu Fundamentalist groups have been trying to name the communal violence as an Ethnic Conflict between the Tribals and the Pano Christians. A cursory look at facts reveals that this conflict is a calculated and pre-planned master plan to wipe out Christianity from Kandhamal district, Orissa, in order to realize the hidden agenda of Sangh Parivar of establishing a Hindu Nation. Therefore to keep the hidden agenda a secret they have tried to manipulate the facts:

- That the victims of attack were Christians

-That not only Panos but Christian Tribals also were killed, their homes and properties burned, destroyed and looted (list attached).

6 Fast Tract Court: We are happy that the state Govt. has decided to establish FTC at Kandhamal for expeditious trial of cases relating to communal violence. Looking at the geographical area it is suggested that the said Fast Tract Court may be set up at G. Udaygiri as it is centrally located to all the villages that have been affected by violence. Further it is requested that the Judge of the FTC should be from any other religion other than from Christian or Hindu Religion.

7. Request the presence of Central Forces in Kandhamal Dist: The Hate campaign beginning from 23rd August 2008 has been targeted to polarize religious groups and will affect peace process during restoration stages till the Parliament & Assembly Elections in Orissa are over. The Christian victims now in relief camps and those who have taken distress departure from Kandhamal are afraid of further attacks as the State Police are few and who even cannot defend themselves and their outposts. Hence we request that the presence of Central Forces be extended till the Parliament and Assembly Elections in Orissa are over.

8. Churches be built/repaired by 1st week of December 2008: This will allow Christmas spiritual preparations to begin and spiritual traditions to be observed. This will also help confidence building among the congregations and bury the past quietly as they approach Christmas 2008.

Thanking You
Yours faithfully

Dr. Raphael Cheenath, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar
Dr. T. Thiruthalil, Bishop of Balasore
Dr. Sarat Nayak, Bishop of Berhampur