From correspondents in Delhi, India, 07:02 PM IST
The recent communal violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district was an 'unprecedented' attack on the Christian community in India, says a rights group in its fact-finding report.
'We are saddened to acknowledge that the violence in Orissa, which left at least four killed and 730 houses and 95 churches burnt, will go into the history books as an unprecedented attack on Christians in India,' said Joseph D'Souza, president of the All India Christian Council (AICC).
'The tragedy is deepened by the fact that the violence was avoidable if the authorities had enforced the rule of law,' D'Souza told IANS.
The state chapter of the AICC visited affected villages in Kandhamal Jan 3-5 to ascertain the damage done.
In its fact-finding report, the Christian rights group noted that cadres of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had attacked members of the minority community using guns, knives, trishuls or tridents, bombs and other weapons.
'Many of them had a yellow ribbon on their heads and vermilion on their foreheads,' said the AICC report.
The AICC accused the state police of bias and inaction. 'In all the villages we have visited, people testify that the attacks, destruction and looting was done in the presence of the police.'
The rights group also alleged a 'conspiracy to hide the bodies of Christians killed by VHP cadre to destroy evidence', indicating that the death toll could be much higher. 'Many are missing - both adults and children - in every village.'
The worst hit area was Barakhama village, about 12 km from Baliguda town, where 415 of the 450 houses belonging to tribal Christians were burnt down, and six of the seven churches were vandalised, said the report.
The AICC also said that a church in Barakhama was turned into a Hindu cremation ground.
'On that day (Dec 24), an old Hindu person had died naturally. To desecrate the place of worship of Christians, the VHP cadre brought the body and cremated it right in front of the pulpit (of a church that was celebrating Christmas Eve). The ashes of the body remain there until today (Jan 5). We have a photograph,' the report pointed out.
Describing how the first killing of a Christian took place, the report said 50-year-old Bhogra Naik from Barakhama was 'cut into three pieces' after his house was destroyed.
The report said Brahmani was another village that bore the brunt of the violence. Talking about an attack there, it said VHP cadre took away a goat from a Christian family, butchered it and used the blood as vermilion for their foreheads. Then, 'shouting slogans like 'Jai Bajarangbali' and 'Jai Shriram', they started attacking and looting Christian houses'.
It said all the men in this village went into hiding in a nearby forest to save their lives, adding that they licked the dew on the leaves of plants and trees to quench their thirst in the forest.
Narrating another incident, the report said miscreants forcibly tonsured and 'reconverted' to Hinduism 12 Christian families and their pastor, Kalia Mani Digal, in Kutikia area in Baliguda. 'Later, all of them were told to eat raw rice mixed with goat blood to become Hindus.'
The report concluded that the violence was pre-planned given its simultaneous eruptions across the district within hours of the first incident, and the fact that it could be sustained for more than a week despite the presence of the police.
The violence began Dec 24. As the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Brahmani village was pitching a tent for Christmas celebrations, a mob allegedly led by cadres of the VHP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) launched a fierce attack on Christians and their shops to protest the Christmas celebrations they had planned.
There were also reports of sections of Christians indulging in vandalism in the violence that followed.
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Mahatma Gandhi himself wanted ban on religious conversions even in his own times.It divides families and nation. This is now most urgent for national integration. Conversion can never be a right which religious expression is.
The violent crimes should not go unpunished. Solution will be only possible if we stem the circumstances which pvovoke violence.The violence is said to be a reaction by some people taking law into own hands due to opposition to wide conversion activity. In fact in many countries where Christian missionaries entice poor and illirterate people with charities there is lot of violence. Hence only a ban on conversion, but without banning charities to the poor, will be the solution.
This is an incident conducted by purely communal parties,which is ultimately destroy sovereignty and nation integration. ruling party or the opposition party because of their political power they don't want take necessary steps to protect Christianity
Hindus excluding most white collar workers reading cheap English magazines filled with illusions of India's future superpower status, cricket, and vulgar photos and Western-like articles, believe that their meekness is misused by Islamist violence all over India. Xian converters have been exhorted by sectrian chiefs and the Pope of Vatian, to convert by hook or crook, all Hindus, who are poor, diseased, ignorant or disgruntled with their own lack of drive for self upliftment.While Islamist Jihadi violence is universal, the Christian conversionary virulence is of recent origin in India.No amount of counterarguments are going to change these rootcauses of communal violence. Secularism must be unambiguously redefined as to what it is and what it is not,so that conversions will become a thing of the past. The poor must be the special target of govt.and all politicians embezzling govt.money with frontmen for contracts must be ruthlessly weeded out from politics by voters.
News of innocent people dying due to violence is misfortune. In this case,they have actually become pawns in the struggle between Christian missionaries who convert poor and illiterate people, and the local Hindus who fear that the highly accelerated conversion work will end up in another division of India.
The basic fact is that the government is doing little for the amelioration of poor and suffering as the politicians seek and remain in power for their own selfish and partymen's personal benefit.This is taken by the missionaries as opportunity for selling Christian charity in exchange for change of religious label.If this trend does not change, the nation will be a hotbed of terrorism and divisive forces.
The govt is now forcing Christian to turn to a terrorist. Many of them whose family has killed and their sis assaulted will defenately join terrorism. These all has created by majorities and govt poilitics
If Musharaf would have been there, he'd have got a military rule in orissa. If Gandhiji or Ambedkar would have been there, they might have shed tears of blood. God is there and there is no partiality in the eyes of the LORD. He will bring Justice since the rulers betrayed.
Its really sad... Hope the government would take some serious action on the state.
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