Karnataka : Christians Attacked

Hindu extremists attack a Christian family, beat them up including two women, damaged their house and accused them of forceful conversion in Vyasmallapura Thanda, Bellary District, Karnataka.

According to reports from EFI, the extremists shouting and beating a Tahndora (drum) on May 28 blocked the believers, stopped them from going to the church and threatened them that there will be a village panchayat on Monday to pass judgment on Devendra Naik and his family for their faith in Christ.

On the same day, Naik reported the matter to the area Sub Inspector, Girish Naik, but the Inspector ignored his call, reported our correspondent.

Subsequently on the next day, a mob of about 50 extremists led by Umesh Naik broke the house of Davendra Naik, beat him up and his mother, sister and father and forcefully brought them to Sevalal temple.

Area Christian leaders intervened and the police summoned the extremists to the station and questioned them. The entire conversation was documented.

The extremists accused Devendra Naik of forcible conversion and claimed that they are ready to go to jail as well stand before the court as witnesses that Naik is involved in forceful conversion.

Thereafter, the police threatened to arrest the Christian’s family on charges of forcible conversion. However, Naik told the police that he was not involved in any kind of forceful conversion, reported our correspondent.

Area Christians leaders submitted a letter to the police officials on behalf of Naik that he was not involved in forceful conversion.

The police thereafter arranged a peace talk between the two parties and reached a compromise. Protection was given to Naik and his family and a constable was posted in the area to see the development in this issue.

In Hadagali Taluk there are about 6 Churches with 450 believers.

Raped nun fails to get notice for ID parade

Police have failed to notify a Catholic nun, raped during the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Orissa, of an identity parade including a new suspect in the case.

“Unofficially we knew … that the court fixed March 8″ for the identification lineup, Lansingh Lu Rongmei, one of a team of lawyers dealing with the nun’s case told UCA News today.

“But until she gets the summons, how can she attend?” the lawyer asked.

The nun, 29, also feared going to Kandhamal and she planned to request that the court move the police lineup outside the district.

On two previous occasions, the court had allowed the lineup to be moved to Cuttack, the state’s ancient capital, as the nun did not feel safe in Kandhamal.

Kandhamal was the epicenter of the seven-week long riot where she was raped on Aug. 25.

“The district is not yet safe for the nun. And, we also do not think the police would act in a fair manner,” the lawyer said.

She accused police of standing by while the nun was paraded half naked after she had been raped.

Rongmei said the investigating officer had applied to the court in Balliguda, Kandhamal, last month for an identity parade featuring the new suspect.

Father Thomas Chellan, who was also attacked on the same day, was also due to attend but he did not receive notification either, she said.

The last time the nun attended a lineup was on June 23, 2009, conducted inside Choudwar Circle Jail in Cuttack. Police lined up about 80 people, mixing prisoners with eight suspects, and asked the nun to identify those who attacked her.

A similar exercise was conducted on Dec. 5, 2008. On that day, she identified two people — one who slapped her and another who was in the crowd that attacked her.

Sister Mary Pulickal, superior of the nun, told UCA News today that the nuns “will not go to Kandhamal; we cannot go there because we do not feel safe.” Press Trust of India, quoting official sources, said 19 people have been arrested in the case so far. The state police’s Crime Branch was in search of two others, they said.

The news agency said Crime Branch officials also failed to turn up for yesterday’s lineup.

Click here for source

Marxist-Leninist fact-finding report says 500 Christians killed in Orissa in August-September 2008 pogrom, cites government officer

[Marxism] MLIN [Nov.-Dec.08] ML International Newsletter, November-December 2008

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation international team

Liberation Magazine, November, 2008.

Websites: [mlint.wordpress.com] and [www.cpiml.org]

Emails: [cpiml_elo@yahoo.com] and [cpimllib@gmail.com]

Orissa Pogrom

Fact-Finding Report on Kandhamal Situation

A Communist Party of India [CPI (ML)] fact-finding team visited Orissa's Kandhamal District on 15-16 October, 2008. The team visited affected villages and relief camps, after facing interrogation by the Orissa Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The team also met District Magistrate (DM) and various police officials of Kandhamal district. Below is a report by team member J P Minz.

1. The District Magistrate's (DM) Statement: The DM told us that Kandhamal had been peaceful for the preceding ten days. Whereas there used to be fifteen relief camps, now only seven were operational, having 12,641 people. According to him, breakfast, meals, supplementary food meant for children, and iron and calcium tablets for pregnant women are available in these camps; a doctor is available round the clock; books are available for children and there are
regular reading sessions. Blankets, sarees, buckets and mugs and similar essentials have also been provided.

2. Conditions at the Relief Camps: Our team visited Phulbani, Tikabali, Ji Udaygiri and Rakiya relief camps and found that the inmates of the camp are living in extremely bad conditions. In the
name of breakfast they get only fifty grams of chura (beaten rice) and rice-dal for meals, which is not enough to satisfy the needs of hunger and nutrition. In the name of supplementary food, the children are occasionally given biscuits. Bathing soaps have been distributed just
once in the camps. The doctors do visit but patients are told that there is no medicine. There is no arrangement for pregnant women. The camp inmates sleep on plastic mats on the ground. They have to defecate in the open, which apart from being unhygienic also puts them
in danger. One inmate of Ji Udaygiri camp, we were told, was killed when he had gone to defecate.

3. Role of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal: The victims in all the relief camps unanimously told the fact finding team that it is the VHP and Bajrang Dal cadres who have sowed the seeds of communal division in the villages. They used to organize meetings of
the Kandha tribals and incite them to attack the Christian hamlets and also provided funds for doing this.

4. Role of the Police and Administration: The anti-Christian riots in Kandhamal started on the day of the bandh called by VHP after the murder of Swami Lakshmananad, and these riots continued for over a month. In the communal fire two hundred Christian villages and 127
Church and prayer halls were either destroyed or burnt. Apart from this, schools, hospitals, hostels and convents also have been damaged. The incidents of killings, rape and loot also were carried out in addition to former incidents. The shocking fact is that all these
incidents took place in full view of police and the police remained mute spectators.

The official figure for deaths has been reported to be 31, however, a senior government official on the condition of anonymity informed that he himself consigned two hundred dead bodies - found from the jungle - to flames after getting them collected in a tractor. As per his
estimates based on the intensity and pace of killings the number of those killed is over five hundred.

5. Atmosphere of Terror: The Christians continue to experience great terror. The Sangh outfits are campaigning for sending back the CRPF and the Nikhil Utkal Kui community is threatening to launch an armed movement. Riot-victims are frightened to go back to their villages
because they have been threatened that if they return they will be hacked into pieces. The rioters are also proclaiming that only Hindu converts will be allowed to return. On the other hand, those in charge of the relief camps are pressurizing the riot victims to return to
their villages saying that the life has returned to normalcy and peace has returned.

Conclusions:

1. This violence was a pre-planned anti-Christian communal assault, and in no way was it a 'clash' between adivasi (tribals) and dalits.

2. This violence which had full support from the Biju Janta Dal
Government was planned and executed by VHP and Bajrang Dal.

3. The Sangh's propaganda about 'indiscriminate religious conversion' is a far cry from facts, as the Christian population of Orissa is only 2.5 per cent of the total population. It is to be noted that Christian missionaries began working in Orissa 150 years back.

4. Dalits have far less proportion of land in comparison to the Kandha tribals. In Kandhamal 90 per cent land is government land, 5.5 percent belongs to tribals and rest 4.5 per cent belongs to Dalits, OBC and Oriya (businessmen). There is not much difference in the economic
conditions of the tribals and the dalits. The dalits are very slightly better off as they engage in small businesses.

Our Demands:

1. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD) should be banned.

2. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik responsible for the violence should
tender his resignation immediately

3. The accused for the riots be immediately arrested.

4. The Orissa Govt. must reconstruct all houses, churches, schools, hostels, hospitals and other social-religious structures demolished during the violence and for other damages adequate compensation be granted after a proper survey

5. The relief camps be run for another six months and proper civic arrangements for food, medicine and sanitation be made in these camps.

6. Arrangements be made for registering First Information Reports (FIRs) related to the communal violence at all police stations.

7. Peace process be initiated and guarantees be made for reopening and running of schools, hospitals and other institutes run by the Christian missionaries.

Orissa Pogrom

United Protests: South Orissa Bandh by CPI (ML) and Other Parties Liberation, November, 2008.

On 13th October CPI (ML) Liberation along with four other parties – CPI (ML) New Democracy (ND), Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) [CPI (ML)], Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI) and Samajwadi Jan Parishad held a successful bandh in five districts of South Orissa - Kandhamal, Rayagada, Gajapati, Koraput and Ganjam – against the carnage in Kandhamal, the complicity of the Navin Patnaik Government and the criminal inaction of the Congress-led UPA
Government at the Centre. The bandh was total in the five districts and marked by the spontaneous participation of people. Around 10, 000 people actively participated in Liberation's initiatives to make the bandh a success in Rayagada; 1200 in Gajapati.

Holding that the ruling BJD as well as Congress which is in power at the Centre too have blood on their hands because of their hands-off approach towards the Sangh Parivar mobs, the CPI (ML) had declined to join a joint protest announced by Communist Party of India (CPI) and
the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress party in the state.

In Bhubaneswar, trains were stopped and the National Highway blocked by 200 Liberation activists. Comrade Tirupati Gomango held a rally of around 8000 people at Gunupur. The bandh sent out a stern political message rejecting the communal violence against thousands of
Christians by the Sangh outfits and condemning the forces in power which are allowing the violence to take place unhindered.

CPI (ML) Liberation's Nation Wide Protests

On October 3, CPI (ML) held nation-wide protests demanding prosecution of Chief Ministers of Orissa and Karnataka for allowing saffron mobs to indulge in an anti-Christian pogrom; demanding a ban on the Sangh outfits guilty of communal violence and protesting against the UPA Government's refusal to take stern action against the communal
killers. A memorandum to the President of India was submitted from all over the country. The memorandum, raising all the above issues and demands, also noted that the Sangh's accusations of 'forced conversion' was actually serving to cover up their own acts of forcing
adivasis and Christians to convert to Hinduism. Conversion from Hinduism has largely been an act of rebellion by the oppressed castes against the caste-ridden Hindu fold, noted the memo, and "the current wave of violence is therefore also an attempt to terrorise the Dalits and other oppressed social groups for their rebellion – and is therefore acontinuation of social oppression in another form." The acts of humiliation of Christians that have come to light – raping,
parading naked, and forcing to eat excreta as 'purification' ritual – are all reminiscent of the atrocities against Dalits.

The party also noted the increasing incidents of communal violence in Dhule (Maharashtra) and Adilabad (Andhra Pradesh), in which the minority community bore the brunt of the attacks. Also, it condemned the Tarun Gogoi Government for allowing the Bodo-Muslim clashes to
take place, which had resulted in thousands of people being driven into refugee camps.

In Delhi, activists of CPI (ML) gathered at Parliament Street and burnt an effigy of Navin Patnaik and Yeddyurappa, and submitted a memorandum to the President.

In Karnataka, another major centre of the ongoing communal violence, protest demonstrations were held in various places in the state, and the memorandum to the President was sent through the tahsildars in the taluks. More than hundred people protested in front of taluk office at Harapanahalli. The demo evoked much expectation in the town as a
church near Harapanahalli was also attacked sometime back. Our comrades had helped in getting bail for the Christian priests, on whom false cases had been foisted in addition to the attack on their church. The demo at Gangavati was also impressive and demonstrators
shouted slogans against BJP that is coming out with its true colours after assuming power in the state. The demo at HD Kote near Mysore protestors included construction labourers and All India Central Coordination of Trade Unions (AICCTU) activists.

In Jharkhand, hundreds of people marched in the capital of Ranchi. The March against Communalism, in the Sainik Bazaar campus, was led by CPI (ML) General Secretary Comrade Dipankar. The March culminated in a mass meeting at Albert Ekka Chowk, addressed by many leaders. Protest processions, effigy burning, dharnas and mass meetings were also held
at various district headquarters (HQs) in Jharkhand; Bihar; Assam and Karbi Anglong; UP; W. Bengal, Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Durg.

All India Progressive Womens Association (AIPWA) between 10-14 October, held protests and submitted a memorandum to the President of India demanding ban on the Sangh outfits Bajrang Dal and VHP responsible for assaults on Christians, and a Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) probe into the rape of a nun in Orissa.

‘Where is that sister…Come let us rape her, the crowd shouted’

New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANS)

"I hid myself under the staircase. The crowd was shouting ‘where is that sister. Come let us rape her, at least 100 people should rape.’”Her head down, her bespectacled face wrapped with a printed scarf, her voice steady except for once when she broke down and sobbed, a nun Friday recounted before a stunned nation the horror of her rape two months ago in Orissa’s Kandhamal district at the hands of a mob baying for vengeance for the killing of a Hindu leader.

Appearing live on TV news channels, the nun narrated her ordeal in the Indian capital, where she was brought by activists, and the way the state government and political parties had turned a blind eye to her suffering.

The press conference was held at the Indian Social Institute. Flanked by Christian leaders, the nun read out her handwritten statement that often made quite a few in the audience wince in horror.

The nun said a mob of 40-50 people dragged her out from the house of a “Hindu gentleman” where she was hiding, ripped off her clothes and raped her on a verandah strewn with glass.

“They pulled out my saree and one of them stepped on my right hand and another on my left hand and then a third person raped me on the verandah,” the nun, who did not take any questions, recounted in a choked voice of the Aug 25 incident.

“When it was over, I managed to get up and put (on) my petticoat and sari,” she said with her head bowed, stirring the conscience of a secular country that has been shaken by recent assaults by Hindu fanatics on minorities in Orissa and Karnataka states.

The nun recounted her story here two days after the Supreme Court ruled out an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged rape and asked her to cooperate with the state police in the investigation. She had not made a public appearance after the incident was reported.

It was a painful journey the Indian nun had to endure all the way from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi to draw attention to her plight because, as she herself has said in the past, she had lost faith in the Orissa Police to bring to book the perpetrators, reported to belong to the Hindu extremist group Bajrang Dal.

The alleged rape took place two days after the killing of a prominent Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and four of his associates in his ashram in Kandhamal. The killing triggered widespread anti-Christian attacks in the district.

Not surprisingly, at the end of the 15-minute hair-raising narrative, the nun was in no frame of mind to take questions and was quickly ushered out of the room by another nun and an advocate.

After the rape, the nun and Father Thomas Chellantharayil were made to walk on the road to Nuagaon market, which was half a kilometre away.

“They made to fold our hands and walk. I was with petticoat and sari as they had already torn away my blouse and undergarments. They tried to strip (me) even there but I resisted and they went on beating me with hands on my cheeks and head and with sticks on my back several times,” the nun said.

Personnel of the Orissa Special Armed Police (OSAP) were present at the spot but didn’t even attempt to intervene, the nun alleged.

“When we reached the marketplace about a dozen of OSAP policemen were there. I went to them asking to protect me and I sat in between two policemen. But they did not move. One from the crowd again pulled out from there and they wanted to lock us in the temple mandap,” she recounted.

Eventually, the nun and the priest managed to find their way to a police station, where the officials initially refused to register a complaint. They relented only after she underwent a medical examination and then too, what was recorded was an extremely watered down version of the incident, the nun said.

Replying to queries, the Archbishop of Delhi, Father Dominic Emmanuel, said the nun had come to Delhi in the hope that the Supreme Court would reverse its decision against ordering a enquiry into the incident that has sent shock waves throughout the country with the Pope expressing sadness over reports of anti-Christian assaults in India and European leaders seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in the matter.

At least 36 people have died, thousands have been rendered homeless and dozens of Christians shrines vandalised in violence that erupted in the coastal Indian state after the killing of the Hindu religious leader.

The Supreme Court had Wednesday said “it does not feel the need to have a CBI inquiry, at the moment”.

Dominic said that since the decision was “for the moment”, the nun’s open admission and “narration of injustice under the state system would make the requirement felt”.

Source

Statement of the Nun who was raped in Orissa

Statement of Orissa rape victim Sr. Meena

On 24th August, around 4.30 pm, hearing the shouting of a large crowd, at the gate of Divya Jyoti Pastoral Centre, I ran out through the back door and escaped to the forest along with others. We saw our house going up in flames. Around 8.30 p.m. we came out of the forest and went to the house of a Hindu gentle man who gave us shelter.

On 25th August, around 1.30 p.m., the mob entered the room where I was staying in Prahald's house, one of them slapped me on my face, caught my hair and pulled me out of the house. Two of them were holding my neck to cut off my head. Others told them to take me out to the road, I saw Fr. Thomas Chellan also being taken out and being beaten. The mob consisting of 40-50 men was armed with lathis, axes, spades, crowbars, iron rods, sickles etc. They took both of us to the main road. Then they led us to the burnt down Jan Vikas building saying that they were going to throw us into the smoldering fire.

When we reached the Jan Vikas building, they threw us to the verandah on the way to the dinning room, which was full of ashes and broken glass pieces. One of them tore my blouse and others my undergarments. Father Thomas Chellan protested but they beat him and pulled him out from there. They pulled out my saree and one of them stepped on my right hand and another on my left hand and then a third person raped me on the verandah mentioned above. When it was over, I managed to get up and put my petticoat and saree. The another young man whom I can identify caught me and took me to a room near the staircase. He opened his pants and was attempting to rape me when the crowd reached there. One man in the crowd told him not to do any further harm and so he left me. I will be able to identify the person who raped me and other three persons who stepped on my hands and tore my saree etc.

I hid myself under the staircase. The crowd was shouting' where is that sister, come let us rape her, at least 100 people rape. They found me under the staircase and took me out to the road. There I saw Fr. Chellan was kneeling down and the crowd was beating him with hands and sticks. They were searching for a rope to tie both of us together to burn us in fire. Someone suggested to make us parade naked. They made us to walk on the road till Nwagaon market which was half a kilometer from there. They made us to fold our hands and walk. I was with petticoat and saree as they had already torn away my blouse and undergarments. They tried to strip even there but I resisted and they went on beating me with hands on my cheeks and head and with sticks on my back several times.

When we reached the market place a dozen of OSAP policemen were there. I went to them asking to protect me and I sat in between two policemen but they did not move. One from the crowd again pulled me out from there and they wanted to lock us in their temple mandap. The crowd led me and Fr. Thomas Chellan to the Nuagaon block building saying that they will hand us over to B.D.O. From there along with the block officer the mob took us to the police outpost, Nuagaon, other police men remained far.

The mob said that they will comeback after eating and one of them who attacked me remained back in the police outpost. Policemen then came to police outpost. They were talking very friendly with the man who had attacked me and stayed back . In police outpost we remained until the inspector incharge of Balliguda with his police team came and took us to Balliguda. They were afraid to take us straight to the police station and they kept us sometime in jeep in the garage, from there they brought us to the station. The inspector inchareg and other two government officers took me privately and asked whatever happened to me. I narrated every thing in detail to the police, how I was attacked, raped, taken away from policemen, paraded half naked and how the police men did not help me when I asked for help while weeping bitterly. I saw the inspector writing down. The inspector asked me "are you interested in filing FIR?" Do you now what will be the consequence? At about 10.00 p.m., I was taken for medical check up accompanied by a lady police officer to Balliguda Hospital. They were afraid to keep us in police station, saying that the mob may attack police station. So the police took us to the IB (inspection bungalow) where CRP men were camping.

On 26/08/08 around 9.00 a.m. we were taken to Baliguda Police Station. When I was writing the FIR, the Inspector In-Charge (IIC) asked me to hurry up and not to write in detail. When I started writing about the police, the I .I. C told me this is not the way to write FIR, make it short. Sot I re-wrote it for the third time in one and half page. I filed the FIR, but I was not given a copy of it.

At around 4.00 pm the inspector in charge of Balliguda police station along with some other government officers put us in the OSRTC bus to Bhubaneshwar along with other stranded passengers. Police were there till Rangamati where all passengers had their supper. After that I did not see the police. We got down near Nayagarh and traveled in private vehicle and reached Bhubaneshwar around 2.00 am on 27th August.

State police failed to stop the crimes, failed to protect me from the attackers, they were friendly with the attackers, and they tried their best that I did not register an FIR, not make complaints against police, police did not take down my statement as I narrated in detail and they abandoned me half of the way. I was raped and now I don't want to be victimized by the Orissa Police. I want C.B.I enquiry. God bless India, God bless you all.

Sr. Meena

AFTERMATH OF SWAMI'S KILLING : THE CHRISTIAN VICTIMS LIST

EFI NEWS

1) NUN BURNT ALIVE: A nun was burnt to death on 25th, Monday, after an orphanage was torched in at Phutpali in Bargarh district in Orissa during a bandh called by Hindu nationalist parties.Twenty children, who were at the orphanage, managed to escape but a priest suffered serious burn injuries in the attack.
2) RASANANDA PRADHAN TORCHED ALIVE: Another person, Rasananda Pradhan, was burnt to death when his house was set ablaze at Rupa village in Kandhamal district.
3) INFLAMMATORY SPEECHES TARGET CHRISTIANS: During the bandh inflammatory speeches spreading hatred against the Christian workers and the community were given by the VHP leaders. To gain the mass support,the activists have also carried the body of Swamiji throughout the town.
4) CHURCHES BURNT ALL ACROSS ORISSA STATE: Churches were attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal districts as also in the state capital, police sources said, adding 40 houses were set ablaze in Phulbani town.
5) BUSES AND VEHICLES TORCHED: Mr. Mishra Digal was beaten up, while the motorcycles of Mr. R. K. Digal and Jitendra were burnt. Several buses at Gee Udaigiri in Baliguda were burnt.
6) PULBANI CHURCH RANSACKED: The Church at Phulbani,and several other churches at Phiringia were attacked and ransacked. Pastor D. Tatson's house was vandalized and his property burnt.
7) KAKRIGUMA CHURCHES VANDALISED: Churches in Kakriguma have been targeted by the mob that reportedly damaged the Assembly Of God Church and the Philadelphia Church.
8) WORLD VISION STAFF FLED FOR SAFETY: World Vision India office ransacked and the Staff has also fled to jungle for protection.
9) CHRISTIANS TAKE SHELTER IN FOREST FOR PROTECTION: A police camp at Barakhama was also attacked by the Hindu fundamentalists. With several houses being burnt down and people being made homeless, many Christians,particularly from Nua Sahi, Munda Sahi and Suna Tonga have fled into forests for their lives.
10) NUN RAPED: A young Catholic Nun of the Cuttack Bhubaneswar diocese working Jan Vikas Kendra, the Social Service Centre at Nuagaon in Kandhamal was reportedly gang raped on 24th August 2008 by groups of Hindutva extremists before the building itself was destroyed.
11) SENIOR PRIEST AND NUN INJURED: Fr Thomas, director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre in Kanjimendi, less than a kilometer away from the Social Service Centre, and another Nun were injured when the centre was attacked. They were taken to the police station in a disheveled state as the armed mob bayed for their blood. The Pastoral centre was then set afire.
12) BALLIGUDA CHURCH BUILDINGS DESTROYED AGAIN: On 24th August 2008 evening lynch mobs at the block headquarters of Balliguda, in the very heart of Kandhamal district, which had seen much violence between 24th and 26th December 2007, attacked and destroyed a Presbytery, convent and hostel damaging the properties.
13) CHRISTIAN BOYS HEADS TONSURED: The mobs in Balliguda caught hold of two boys of the Catholic hostel and tonsured their heads.
14) PHULBANI CHURCH DAMAGED: On 25th august 2008 morning followers of the late Lakshmanananda Saraswati damaged the Catholic Church in Phulbani, the district headquarter town.
15) MOTHER TERESA BROTHERS ASHRAM ATTACKED: Mobs attacked the Mother Teresa Brothers' residence and hospital in Srasanada, destroyed once before and rebuilt two months ago, and beat up the patients.
16) BHUBANESWAR BISHOP'S HOUSE ATTACKED: On the morning of 25th August 2008, violent mobs made several attempts to enter the compounds of Catholic Church and Archbishop's house in the heart of the Capital of the State of Orissa. They could not enter because of the police presence. They threw stones at the guesthouse of Archbishop's House, damaging windows.
17) DUBURI PARISH: Another group of fundamentalists entered presbytery in Duburi parish, managed by the SVDs and destroyed and damaged property. Two priests of the parish are missing.
18) Mr. Jamaj Pariccha, Director of Gramya Pragati, is attacked and his property damaged, vehicle looted and burnt.
19) A Baptist Church in Akamra Jila in Bhubaneswar is also damaged.
20) Christian institutions like St. Arnold's School (Kalinga Bihar) and NISWASS report some damage.
21) BOUDH DISTRICT [Adjoining Kandhamal]: Fundamentalists enter the Catholic parish church and destroy property. People are fleeing to safer places. But nothing seems safe.
22) MUNIGUDA: Muniguda Catholic Fathers and Nuns' residence have been damaged.
23) SAMBALPUR: HM Sister's residence (Ainthapalli) has suffered damage.
24) PADANPUR: One priest is attacked and admitted to a hospital. Hostel boys and the in charge have moved away from the place.
25) MADHUPUR: Madhupur Catholic Church currently under attack.
26) SMALL CHURCHES: Attempted violence on small churches in various districts, including Padampur, Sambalpur near GM College, Talsera, Dangsoroda, Narayanipatara, Muniguda, Tummiibandh, Tangrapada, Phulbani, Balliguda, Kalingia, Chakapad, Srasanranda.
27) VILLAGE CHRISTIAN HOUSES ATTACKED: Houses attacked on forest hamlets of Balliguda, Kanjamandi Nuaguam (K.Nuaguam), Tiangia (G.Udayagiri), Padangiri, Tikabali.
28) KALAHANDI DISTRICT: Houses burnt even though the district is more than 300 kilometers from the place where Swami Lakshmanananda was killed.
29) PASTORS' HOUSE BURNT: Pastor Sikandar Singh of the Pentecostal Mission beaten up and his house burnt in Bhawanipatna.
30) KHARIHAR: 3 Christian shops were looted and burnt. Pastor Alok Das and Pastor I M Senapati beaten up.
31) AAMPANI: Pastor David Diamond Pahar, Pastor Pravin Ship, Pastor Pradhan and Pastor Barik beaten up and chased away with their families.
32) NAKTIKANI: Mob surrounds village to attack Christians.
The government has sent forces, it is reported. A delegation of Christian leaders under the leadership of Archbishop Vincent Concessao, the President of National United Christian Forum of CBCI, NCCI and EFI, met the Home Minister Shri Shiv Raj Patil and submitted a memorandum. The Home Minister assured the delegation all necessary steps have been taken to maintain peace and harmony and protect the innocent. He also expressed his helplessness by stating that police protection cannot be given in all villages.
EFI request prayers at this time so that peace and harmony may prevail.
[This list is compiled with assistance from Archbishop's House, Bhubaneswar, John Dayal, Light Foundation and EFI News reporters and other sources]

Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India

Christians in Punjab Victimized for Exercising Their Civil Rights inState Election & Pastor Beaten in Rajasthan

New Delhi, March 12, 2007 (All India Christian Council)

Three pastors have been arrested and charged with attempts on thelives of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists in Bathinda, Punjab.They were sentenced by a district magistrate to 24 days policecustody under section 307 of Indian Penal Code. Sources told the AllIndia Christian Council the allegations are false and the factscontradict reports by local media which carried fabrications from VHPand Bajrang Dal activists. Another pastor was beaten in Rajasthan andpolice refused to take his complaint.

Fifteen women were having prayer in Pastor Amit Sidhu's home inBathinda, Punjab on March 10, 2007, when a group of VHP and BajrangDal leaders came and asked them to stop. The matter was brought tothe attention of other local Christians and there was a clash betweenthem and VHP and Bajrang Dal activists.

One source told the All India Christian Council that a VHP activistwas severely injured and later Pastor Kulwan Raj, Chootta Singh andHarfool Singh were booked with an attempt on the lives of VHPactivists.

On the following day, Vijay Bhardwaj, the general secretary of theVHP, and Sumit Kumar, co-coordinator of the Bajrang Dal, led a group50 Hindutva activists and attempted to attack the occupants of PastorAmit Sidhu's house. Police forces had to disperse the crowd withlathi charges and it has been reported that some of them sufferedinjuries.

Gurjit Romana, Station House Officer of city police station, whoprotected the Christians from VHP and Bajrang Dal attack has beensuspended.

The three accused pastors were produced before magistrate today andthey have been put in police custody for 24 days.

"Christians were targeted because they exercised their rights offranchise, and the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists were angry thatChristians voted against their political alliances," one victimizedChristian said.

Christian women have given a complaint to local police against VHPand Bajrang Dal leaders for abusing them.

This incident took place less then a month after Akali Dal and itsBJP alliance won the state Assembly election. The Christian communityof the state live in fear of religious fanatics' attack might occuredas it happens in BJP and its allience Government rule states.

Another Pastor Brutally Beaten in Rajasthan

In another incident, Pastor Reginald Howell of Good ShepherdCommunity Churches was brutally beaten by a fanatic group inHanumangarh, Rajasthan, on March 7, 2007. Pastor Howell went there topray for sick people along with other Christians. He was beaten withan iron rod and suffered severe injuries on his back.

He told the All India Christian Council that police refused to takehis complaint against the culprits and forced him to leave the place.He sought medial attention as he was bleeding and doctors refused togive him First Aid in fear of attack from religious fanatics. Hehired a taxi and managed to reach his hometown in Punjab.

The All India Christian Council (www.aiccindia.org), birthed in 1998,exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, andthe oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indiandenominations, organizations, and lay leaders.

Source: AICC

Christians beaten up in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh

Christians assembled for Sunday morning devotions at the Philadelphia Church in Nawapada, Badwani were targeted by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on January 28th 2006. The shouts and screams of a Christian woman, who was one of the first to be beaten up, drew the support of the Hindu neighbors who came to the rescue of the Christians. Assembling in large numbers to defend the Christians, the Hindus forced the RSS men to withdraw from the area. However, in the skirmish three Christians, namely Bablu, Guman and Sushil, went missing.

Initially it was feared that the three had been kidnapped. After searching at length, they were found at the Badwani Police station. The RSS had got them grounded at the police station on charges of forceful religious conversions. When asked to release the young men, the Thana Inspector insisted they would not release them till the investigations were not complete. To make matters worse, the RSS men brought in two more believers whom they insisted they had found involved in conversions. Pastor Hatey Singh and Pastor Raju contacted us to intervene on their behalf.

We got in touch with the Superintendent of Police (SP) looking after Badwani, who was helpful enough to hear out the details in an impartial manner. He addressed the situation in due time, and at night by 8.30 pm all five had been released. However the updates that we have received from the Christians who were in the police station is that the SP has "forbidden" them from baptizing people from now on and has given them an instruction to take people to Gayatri Mandir whenever they want to help people i.e. helping alcoholics or praying for them.

The situation in Badwani, and the adjoining areas - Jhabua and Nimad; is increasingly being communalised. The Hindutva forces are targeting these heavily populated Christian areas to enforce their majority status. Please pray for the safety of Christians residing in Badwani, Jhabua and Nimad, that the Lord’s special hand of protection would be upon his people even as large scale Hindu gatherings are being organized to ‘reawaken’ the Hindus of the area.