Paralytic burnt alive in Kandhamal violence

Jajati Karan

CNN-IBN

VICTIM OF RAGE: Rupagaon village of Kandhamal was set on fire by a violent mob on August 26.

Kandhamal: Kargil hero Motilal Pradhan desperately searches for the remains of his brother.

His house in Rupagaon village of Kandhamal was set on fire by a violent mob on August 26.

While other members of the family managed to escape to the nearby jungles, Motilal's paralytic brother Rasananda Pradhan was consumed by the flames. Motilal's younger brother claims that he was a witness to the horrifying incident.

Victim's brother Rabindranath Paradhan says, "Around 300 people came shouting 'Jai Bajrang Bali and Jai Shri Ram'. Later I saw the people in the mob who were mostly form our village pour petrol on my brother and set him on fire as he kept pleading."

Motilal Pradhan rushed to Orissa from the Indo-Pak border only to find his entire family living like refugees.

It was only after 45 days that they were able to perform the last rites, that too under heavy security cover.

"I have fought the Kargil war, I have fought for my country in North East. I am fully committed to my duty. Can’t my government do this much for my dead brother. Can't it give me justice?" questions Pradhan, who is a soldier in the Indian Army.

Though police have arrested two persons in connection with the case, it would be a long battle for Motilal to get justice for his brother.

In Kandhamal violence, officially 35 people have died so far and Motilal was the fist person to get armed escorts by the district administration for the decent cremation of his brother.

There are many others who did not even get such opportunity to cremate their loved ones. When life of the people are least protected very few care for the dead ones.

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Kandhamal Christians fleeing to town

Bhubaneswar: Scared of returning to their homes in riot-hit Kandhamal district, a large number of people have started to migrate to urban areas in Orissa and near by states, Christian leaders alleged while addressing a media conference here Thursday.

"At least 20 families have left for Kerala and 10 other families went to Surat," President of Orissa Minority Forum, Swarupananda Patra said. He too claimed that the affected people who have left the relief camps have been taking shelter in city slums.

Patra said similar was the fate of the inmates of several relief camps in Cuttack. Some of the affected people had already started doing daily-wage manual work in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to earn a living," he pointed out.

Giving the example of Suresh Nayak, an inmate of a relief camp in Cuttack, he said Nayak had been working as a labourer at construction sites, while 11 others either took up the jobs of tailoring or driving vehicles in Cuttack.

"We are scared to return to our villages as they could kill us," said Nayak, adding many of the families who were living in relief camps prefer to settle in cities instead of going back to villages where their houses were burnt or damaged.

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PM for Bajrang Dal ban but needs more proof

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in favour of a ban on the Bajrang Dal but will wait for a central team of ministers to go to Orissa, government sources told CNN-IBN.

The Prime Minister is finding it difficult to take a decision and it's not the allies who are binding his hands but his own party colleagues.

Sources have told CNN -IBN that despite Manmohan wanting an immediate ban on the Bajrang Dal, he has decided to wait because Home Minister Shivraj Patil felt that he needed some more time to get a strong case against the Dal.

During the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Union Law minister HR Bhardwaj argeed that insufficient facts would mean a weak case against Bajrang Dal which could fall in a court of law.

But with mounting pressure from the allies, it may be difficult for the Prime Minister to postpone the decision.

"The formalities will be completed. Where there is a will there is a way. The government should ban the Bajrang Dal immediately," Lok Jan Shakti Party chied and Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Steel, Ram Vilas Paswan, said.

Allies like Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad have argued forcefully for a ban on the Dal as it would help their minority votebank.

While the Congress too has been demanding a ban, it is also worried about the dividends the Bharatiya Janata Party could reap out of it.

So for now the government has decided to buy time. Manmohan has suggested that a team of Central Ministers visit the state to ascertain facts.

The government and Congress strategy is very simple that if you can't do it make maximum noise about it and that is why the government is treading extremely cautiously over the ban on Bajrang Dal.

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Orissa Xians to sue Hindu organisation

Bhubaneswar: Two days after Hindu Jagaran Samukhya (HJS) circulated documents alleging that the conspiracy to eliminate the VHP leader Laxamananda Saraswati was hatched at Bethikala church in Kandhamal, Christian leaders in Orissa Thursday announced they would take the matter to court.

"We will file both civil and criminal defamation cases against the person who made such allegations," Christian leaders including Father Joseph Kalathil, Cicar General, Archbishop House here, Rev Fr Prafulla Ku Sabhapati, President of Bethikala Parish Council, Kandhamal and Prafulla Ku Nayak, General Secretary Bethikala Parish Coul, Kandhamal, told reporters here.

Both the President and General Secretary of Bethikala Church also alleged that their signatures in the documents circulated by the HJS leader were "forged."

"Not only our signatures were forged, the contents of the document were also fabricated," Nayak and Father Sabhapati claimed.

"We strongly condemn this attitude of the Hindu fundamentalist organisations attempting to drag Christians and the church into the crime purposefully by fanning elements of hate to sustain the campaign against Christians," they said in a joint statement.

Terming the HJS's move as an attempt to "reignite" violence in Kandhamal which had been showing declining trend, the leaders said that no meeting was held at Bethikala Church as claimed by the HJS state President Ashok Sahu.

Sahu earlier had told reporters that the plan to kill Saraswati was made at a meeting at Bethikela Church on May 25, 2008 and attended by 17 persons following a brief and command from religious leaders.

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Violence spreads to neighbouring district Boudh in Orissa

Bhubaneswar : Rioters sneaked into Kandhamal's neighbouring Boudh district and set afire eight houses, police said on Thursday.

A group of miscreants from Gochhapada area in Kandhamal entered adjoining Kantamal police station area of Boudh late last night and torched the houses at Lamsaripali village, Deputy Inspector General of Police R P Koche told .

Some of the arsonists, including their leaders were arrested

No one was injured in the attack by suspected tribals and the damaged houses belonged to 'Pana' dalits, giving an indication that the incident involved ethnic problems and not communal conflict, Deputy Superintendent of Police K P Mund said.

Police movement to the area was affected as the attackers had blocked roads by felling trees, he said adding that the village was also located atop a hill.

Additional security personnel including one company of CRPF jawans and three platoons of Orissa State Armed Police have been deployed in the area to prevent any major flare up, Mund said.

Flag march was held by the security personnel in a bid to instill confidence among local residents.

Kandhmal sees first burial in 45 days

9 Oct 2008, 0219 hrs IST, Anand Soondas,TNN

BHUBANESWAR/RAIKIA: Five men, surrounded by a posse of policemen, quietly went to a charred house in Tikawali, Kandhmal, on Wednesday, and scraped off a few bones lying scattered on the floor since August 24. At 1 pm, they put the remains in a coffin and buried it with a quick prayer session.
It was Kandhmal's first funeral after about 60 people were killed in communal violence. The rest of the survivors are awaiting administration's permission to send off their loved ones according to Christian rites.
Rasanand Pradhan had a paralytic stroke when he was just a boy and had beessn wheelchair-bound. On August 24, when a bloodthirsty mob converged at his house in Tikawali, he couldn't escape. The mob burned his house down with him inside. ''We felt very uneasy and sad all this while,'' said Rasanand's elder brother Motilal, an army man posted with a unit guarding India's international border at Suleiman Chowki, Fazilka (Punjab). ''We just got a part of his hip bone and head. His limbs were missing. There were five of us and the policemen, but my brother's soul will now rest in peace.''
Motilal had to petition everyone, from the SP to collector, asking for police protection so that he could bury his brother, Rasanand, the youngest of three siblings and 32 when he was killed. He got the permission last week.
''There were about 20 CRPF men and a small contingent from the Tikawali police post,'' he said, talking about the funeral. ''We had to hurry things up and catch a bus to Bhubaneswar, where we are in a relief camp. I had never imagined I would be forced to do such undignified things - being forced to complete funeral in 10 minutes''
Others, though, aren't so lucky. A priest in Raikia, Kandhmal, who insists he be called 'Rev Naik' as he too is still in hiding, said, ''People ran for their lives when the killings began soon after Laxmananda Saraswati's murder on August 23. We were compelled to leave the dead behind and directed our efforts towards protecting those alive. There are many bodies waiting for burial. People are afraid to come back from relief camps for the last rites. I don't know how long our dead will remain in this state.''
Something else also happened here after Christian villages were pillaged. Many say the marauders took the bodies of their victims away so that their relatives couldn't claim compensation. The government, after all, had made no provision to compensate the kin of those missing.
''Yes, it's true,'' said Jacob Pradhan, another priest in Phulbani. ''People didn't get a chance to bury the dead. How could they have when everyone's so scared of returning to their villages? Even now I am told every two days to embrace Hinduism or forget about returning to my village. I know of 33 people, in Tikawali, Baliguda, Raikia, G Udayagiri, whose bodies are strewn around, waiting for burials. Maybe now, after Motilal Pradhan took the bold step, others will follow.''

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National commission for Scheduled castes to visit Kandhamal in Orissa

Orissa:

With violence continuing against the Dalit and tribal Christians in Orissa, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has decided to inquire into the matter.
A full-fledged team of the Commission chaired by NCSC Chairman Buta Singh is visting Orissa on October 17 for a two-day enquiry into the whole episode.

The team will visit the worst affected Kandhamal district and adjoining areas to assess the situation. NCSC members will also hold meetings with the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and DGP of the state.

The Commission will examine cases of attacks against Dalit Christians and also assess the steps taken by the state government to safeguard their life and property.

The Commission had earlier sought a detailed report from the Orissa Chief Secretary on the communal violence there after the killing of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati on August 23.

A fortnight back, the Orissa government apprised the Commission of the background of the violence and the measures taken by it to control communal clashes and compensate victims

Christians insecure in Orissa: Sister Nirmala

Sister Nirmala, the leader of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, on Tuesday met Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his residence to discuss the attacks on Christians in Kandhmal district.
Though she appeared satisfied about certain steps taken by the government, Sister Nirmala was concerned about the sense of insecurity and fear that prevents thousands of Christians in relief camps from returning to their homes.
"I have talked to the Chief Minister about it. He knows and they will take the steps. They cannot go back now unless things are settled for them. Things have to be controlled. That's their responsibility," she said after the meeting.

"I spoke to her in detail about the steps the government is taking to see that law and order is maintained and that peace and calm is restored to the district," rejoined the Chief Minister.
Kandhmal has been relatively calm for last 3 days. But it's the nun rape case that's bothering police the most. So far, 5 people have been arrested, but a police team sent to Delhi to bring the nun back has not been able to trace her.
Orissa DGP Manmohan Praharaj says: "They have been trying to persuade the Sister and others who are associated with her to return to Orissa participate in the judicial proceedings so that these miscreants are quickly punished."
There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the nun. Sources have told NDTV she's back in Orissa and will testify before a magistrate in utmost secrecy. But until she is available to the police for further inquiry, the case will continue to haunt the state government.

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Situation is bad in Kandhamal: Sister Nirmala

Bhubaneswar, October 7: The Missionaries of Charity has been assured by the Orissa government of strong measures being taken in troubled Kandhamal district, its Superior General, Sister Nirmala said on Tuesday.

"The situation is not good at all, but the state government has started taking strong measures," Sister Nirmala told reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

She hoped that the state administration would continue to work to contain the violence.

During her talks with the Chief Minister, she said, they talked about the need for return of peace in tribal-dominated Kandhamal district.

The violence there has claimed at least 35 lives and houses and churches were burnt after the killing of the VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others on the night of August 23.

Asked whether she had faith in the Orissa government, Sister Nirmala said, "I have faith. Having faith encourages one to do good work."

On the allegations by some Hindu organisations that Christians had engineered the attack on Saraswati, Sister Nirmala said it was the work of the police to find the truth.

"That is for the the police in Orissa to ascertain. Truth must prevail," she said.

The nun who was allegedly gangraped during the Orissa bandh on August 25 and was missing would return to the state if there was a 'proper' atmosphere, she said in reply to a question.

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Cabinet meet tomorrow, Orissa may figure

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) With demands for centre's intervention in communal violence-hit Orissa growing, the issue is likely to figure at the meeting of the Union Cabinet tomorrow.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil is expected to brief the Cabinet, to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, about the situation in Orissa which has witnessed attacks on Christians for several days.
The Cabinet is meeting amid growing demands for "stringent action" against the BJD-BJP government of Orissa and a ban on Bajrang Dal.
At the last Cabinet meeting on October 3, the Prime Minister had spoken about the embarrassment he had faced over the incidents during his visit to France. He had sought a report from the Home Minister about the situation in Orissa as also Karnataka, where similar incidents were witnessed.
Patil has since written a strongly-worded letter to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and spoken to Governor M C Bhandare seeking a report on the situation.
There have been demands, including from some Union Ministers, for Centre's intervention in the state.
Patil's move to seek a report from the Governor and strong letter to Chief Minister to take effective measures to ensure security to the Christians has fuelled speculation that the Centre may take the extreme step of imposition of President's rule in the state.
The Centre also warned the BJP-ruled Karnataka to be "more careful" and maintain peace and normalcy in the state.
Parts of Karnataka have witnessed a series of attacks on churches and members of the Christian community by alleged activists of sangh parivar outfits. PTI

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Situation in Assam and Orissa can't be compared: Congress

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The Congress today said the Assam government had taken all possible steps to rein in violence in the state and the situation there cannot be compared to that of BJD-BJP ruled Orissa where attacks against Christians are going unabated.
"It was unfortunate that violence broke out in Assam... But the state government intervened immediately to bring the situation under control unlike in Orissa where the government did not do anything," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.
He was replying to questions on different standards adopted by the party in its stand on violence in Orissa and Assam and whether it will ask its chief minister to step down as it has done in the case of Orissa.
"There is a qualitative difference in the situation in the two states...The Orissa government did it deliberately while the Assam government did everything to bring the situation under control," he said. PTI

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50000 Christians reconverted to Hindus. RSS says that they will convert Church into Temple. Dainik Jagran carries the news with pride.

बदायूं। राष्ट्रीय स्वयं सेवक संघ के विभाग प्रमुख विद्याराम पाण्डेय ने कहा कि सहसवान तहसील के ग्राम खिरकवारी में चर्च अभी भी मौजूद है। उस स्थान को मंदिर का रूप दिया जायेगा। कहा कि संघ का घर वापसी अभियान जारी रहेगा। पांच साल में ब्रज क्षेत्र से पादरियों को भगा देंगे।

संघ कार्यालय पर गुरूवार को पत्रकारों के साथ बातचीत कर रहे श्री पाण्डेय ने कहा कि खिरकवारी में ढाई सौ ईसाई पुन: हिन्दू बन चुके है। वहां के जब सभी लोग हिन्दू बन चुके है तो वहां चर्च का क्या काम। उसी स्थान को मंदिर का रूप देने की तैयारी की जा रही है। उन्होंने कहा कि खिरकवारी में पूर्व प्रधान प्रेमचन्द के नाम से चर्च की स्थापना हुयी थी। उन्हीं के साथ सभी लोग पुन: हिन्दू बन चुके है।

गत दिवस एक पादरी द्वारा खिरकवादी की घटना पर टिप्पणी करने को ओछी मानसिकता का परिचायक बताया। उन्होंने कहा कि ईसाई मिशनरियां हिन्दू आबादी का अपहरण कर रही है। इसे अब और बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जायेगा। प्रलोभन देकर दलितों को ईसाई बनाने और चर्च की स्थापना करने के विरोध में अभियान चल रहा है। अब तक 25 चर्चे धर्म जागरण विभाग अपने कब्जे में ले चुका है। अब तक ब्रज प्रांत में 50,000 लोगों की घर वापसी हो चुकी है।

धर्म जागरण विभाग प्रमुख अजय पाल ने कहा कि खिरकवारी में चर्च होने और वहां पादरी के पहुंचने की खबर लगने के बाद ही वहां ईसाई बने लोगों को फिर हिन्दू बनाने की प्रक्रिया शुरू की गयी। उन्होंने कहा कि जिस दिन खिरकवारी में शुद्धिकरण का कार्यक्रम आयोजित किया गया था उस दिन पुलिस पहले से ही गांव में पहुंच गयी थी। उन्होंने कहा कि हिन्दू धर्म सबसे प्राचीन और वैभवशाली है, अब कोई भी हिन्दू, ईसाई मिशनरियों के बहकावें में आने वाला नहीं है।

Source: http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/local/uttarpradesh/4_1_4851514.html

NCM for ban on Bajrang Dal

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 5
The Bajrang Dal has come under further pressure with the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) suggesting a ban on it, saying such organisations were responsible for the “breakdown of communal harmony” while seeking a judicial enquiry into the violence against the Christian community in Karnataka.

The commission in its report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a few days back said, “The state must keep a close watch on the activities of all such organisations that have contributed to the breakdown of communal harmony there. Remedial action, including a ban and prosecution, should be initiated.”

Terming the violence as gross violation of human rights, the NCM sought a judicial enquiry into the attacks on churches there. An inquiry commission headed by a sitting judge of a high court should be instituted, the commission said.

The NCM’s suggestion comes in the wake of a visit by its team to BJP-ruled Karnataka, where churches have been brunt down.

While the commission has rubbished allegations that large-scale conversions of Hindus to Christianity was the reason for the violence in the state, it recommended a thorough enquiry into the origin of the pamphlet denigrating Hindu gods, which is said to have acted as the immediate provocation for the violence. There was no evidence of even a single conversion, it added.

Noting that the attacks on Christians and their institutions appeared well-planned, the commission suggested the state government to pay special attention to build an effective intelligence unit.

The commission headed by Mohammad Shafi Qureshi visited Mangalore, Bangalore and Udupi last month to assess the situation after the attacks on Christians and their places of worship.

According to the report, the Bangalore administration told the NCM that of the 83 persons lodged in judicial custody in connection with the communal clashes, 36 belonged to the Bajrang Dal.

The report said the District Magistrate and the SSP of Udupi district told the NCM that all 17 persons arrested in the district for violence belonged to the Bajrang Dal. The NCM team also took up the statements of Bajrang Dal’s Karnataka chief Mahendra Kumar, who reportedly claimed that he damaged the prayer halls in the state.

The NCM has said Mahendra Kumar had not been arrested so far and he should be arrested and serious action be taken against him as well as other persons responsible for the acts.

The commission has already submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The report suggests remedial action, including a ban and prosecution, should be initiated. Communal harmony should be maintained at all costs. The NCM has also asked for action against policemen, who allegedly brutally thrashed 25 Christian women at Mangalore. The NCM said it also visited a Christian school in Mangalore, where around 25 women in the age group of 26 to 75 years showed injury marks on their bodies. The women alleged that policemen beat them up with canes and lathis in the prayer hall of the school. Separately, the commission has demanded a flexible approach in giving compensation to the victims of communal clashes in Orissa.

Underlining the problem faced by those whose kin have died without their bodies being recovered, the commission asked the BJD-BJP government to give compensation to their families by relying on the testimony of eyewitnesses to the murder or even by taking an indemnity bond from the compensation recipients.

Bajrang Dal denies role in violence

Bajrang Dal's National Convenor Prakash Sharma today ruled out the involvement of his organisation in the recent violence in Orissa. “The violence in Orissa is not a good sign for the country and the Dal has no link with those incidents”, Sharma told reporters here. He also criticised the comparison of Bajrang Dal with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and said such propaganda was being done to appease the voters. Sharma said Bajrang Dal was observing its silver jubilee this year and to mark the occasion a convention would be held in December in Ayodhya. Besides, Bajrang Dal would also organise 'Jan Jagaran Yatra' to unite the youths, Mr Sharma added. — UNI

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Orissa police to bring back nun

Special Correspondent

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Sister Nirmala to meet Naveen Patnaik today

Violence abating in Kandhamal: DGP

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BHUBANESWAR: A three-member Orissa police team led by B. Radhika, Inspector-General (Training), on Monday left for New Delhi to bring to the State the nun who was raped at K. Nuagaon village in Kandhamal district on August 25.

“We want the nun to be in Orissa to help us in the investigation and the judicial proceedings pertaining to the case,” Director-General of Police Manmohan Praharaj told The Hindu. She would be provided adequate security wherever she lived in the State, he said.

The nun, along with a priest, was beaten up by a mob of about 40 men, one of whom later raped her. The incident took place even as violence was spreading in Kandhamal after the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmanananda.

Meanwhile, Sister Nirmala, Superior-General of the Missionaries of Charity, has reached the city. She is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday.

900 cases booked

Mr. Praharaj said more than 900 cases were registered in connection with the communal violence in Kandhamal district and at least 465 people arrested. More arrests were likely in connection with the riots.

The cases registered in different police stations in the strife-torn district pertained to killings, rape, rioting and burning down of houses, churches and other prayer houses.

Mr. Praharaj said that in each police station a police official would accept complaints from the affected people.

Besides, cases were being registered on complaints received by post.

Although violence spread to the neighbouring Kalahandi district on Monday, the DGP claimed, the number of violent incidents had come down in Kandhamal during the past few days due to strengthening of security in interior areas. Patrolling had been intensified in sensitive areas to prevent blocking of roads by those indulging in violence.

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Advani at it again: Defends Naveen Patnaik government and warns center against imposing article 356

New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Charging the Congress-led UPA government with adopting double standards, the BJP today warned it against imposing President's rule in Orissa warned the Centre will have to pay "a heavy price" if it went ahead with its threat.
Senior BJP leader and the party's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani said while the Centre has not taken any stringent step in Assam and West Bengal despite large-scale violence, Home Minister Shivraj Patil warned the Orissa government of President's rule.
"The Centre will have to pay a heavy price if it imposes President's rule in Orissa," Advani said addressing 'Vijay Sankalp' rally organised by the Delhi BJP here.
Advani said there were reports that Bangladeshi infiltrators had hoisted Pakistani flags in Assam. He alleged the Tarun Gogoi-led state government as well as the Centre have failed to take any action on it.
"In Orissa, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took prompt action and several of those who indulged in the heinous crime are languishing in jails...The state government has also ordered a judicial probe into the incidents," claimed the former Deputy Prime Minister.
Referring to violence in West Bengal's Nandigram and the ongoing clashes between Bodos and Bangladeshi migrants in Assam, he charged the UPA Government with turning a blind eye to the incidents in these two states.
"The government talks of imposing Article 356 in Orissa but not in Assam and West Bengal," Advani said in an apparent attack on the Home Minister. PTI

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Kandhamal violence: PM convenes NIC meet on Oct 13

New Delhi: In the wake of continuing attacks on Christians in Orissa’s Kandhamal and Karnataka, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of the National Integration Council on October 13 in an apparent move to evolve a consensus on tackling the communal situation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened the meeting. It would discuss all matters impacting national integration, Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmed said.
There have been demands for the dismissal of the BJD-BJP government in Orissa in the wake of communal violence in the Kandamal district and the Prime Minister had recently said that a special meeting of the Union cabinet could be convened soon to discuss ways and means to deal with the issue.
Contesting the Centre's charge, the Chief Minister said that his government was doing everything possible to contain the situation.

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More Lies against the Church in Orissa by the Sangh Parivar

Sangha Pariwar rejects Maoists' claim, insists Church behind killing

Bhubaneswar (Orissa) : Hindu Jagaran Samukhya, a frontal organisation of the Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangha, was on Monday virtually rejected the claim of CPI (Maoists) Orissa chief Sabyasachi Panda and insisted that the church behind the brutal murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati and four of his disciples at Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district on August 23.
The strong warded reaction of Sangha Pariwar came a day after rebel leader Panda, claimed that they had killed Swamiji as he did not respond to them and continue his activities in tribal areas.
Speaking at a press conference here, HJS State president Ashok Sahu lambasted on Orissa Government for having shown utmost apathy and indifference in nabbing the killers of the Swamiji even after lapse of 45 days of the gruesome murder of five persons.
He accused that there has been a systematic effort to shift the blame of killing of Swamiji and four of his associates from the Church to the Maoists. Few days back, some handouts were distributed purported to have been printed by the Maoist groups claiming responsibility for killing Swamiji.
When the public opinion was visibly not influenced by such propaganda, a section of the electronic media have projected the local Maoist leader for having owned responsibility for such killings after 45 days of the occurrence,said Sahu, a retired IPS officer said.
He questioned the government's inaction and silence on such open claims by terrorist groups. Assuming the claims to be true the gravity and nature of the heinous crime has hardly reduced by shifting the blame.
Sahu reiterated his earlier allegations that the local Church authorities including the Archbishop are closely associated with the murder by hiring some Christian Maoists who have used AK-47 to eliminate Swamiji, he alleged.
Though in all Maoist affected places in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Andhra Pradesh the Maoists attack the CRPF personnel by ambush and laying land mines, But in Kandhmal district if Maoists are present, how come there is no such attack or encounter in last more than a month where seventy companies of the CRPF are deployed since 25th August 2008, the former IPS officer reasoned.
He also displayed a register that contained the minutes of the quarterly meetings of one Betticola Church under G.Udaygiri Police Station in the Kandhmal District.
The minutes of the meeting dated 25/5/2008 reveals that 17 participants took a resolution at the direction of their archbishop to award suitable punishment by sacrificing the 'Satanic' sinners at the altar of the Lord to propitiate him on an appointed day.
Accordingly, it was further resolved to fix the date and the 23rd August was fixed. On success of the efforts the Christian dioceses would celebrate the day as a 'Victory Day' amidst merriments.
Copies of the transliterated version of the minutes, in English besides the true photostat copies were distributed to the Media Persons.
Sahu crticised the remarks of the Prime Minister on the happenings in Orissa as a 'National Shame'.
Sahu said that killing of an eighty-four years old unarmed saint along with a woman and three other disciples should have been condemned as a 'National Shame' in a country where saints have all along been worshipped as symbol of Godhead.
Commenting on the alleged rape of the 'Nun' Shri Sahu said that any civilized society would condemn the alleged rape on any woman. But the 'nun' never claimed the alleged offence in her earliest version.
Moreover, she was staying with fr. Thomas Chellan before the incident and went away to Kerala with him soon after the incident. Unless she comes to the investigators and co-operates with the team it is difficult to substantiate such after thoughts.
Such allegation had surfaced even earlier in Orissa in Baripada on February 4, 1999 and the investigations falsified the allegation of 'rape on the Nun', he added.

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Paswan favours imposing President's rule in Orissa

New Delhi (PTI): Noting that violence against Christians is continuing in Orissa despite Centre's warning, Lok Jansakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday demanded imposition of President's rule in the state.

"The Centre should use Article 356 (imposition of President's rule) to bring back confidence of the people," Paswan said here on the sidelines of a conference when asked to comment on reports of alleged rape of a nun.

"Even after Centre's warning, cases like rape against minorities continue to be reported and no attention is paid by the state. It is dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country. This has tarnished India's image abroad. India is being condemned all over the world," he said.

Paswan alleged that atrocities on minorities were being committed by assailants in connivance with the state government.

"Since the violence is due to the state government's involvement, the Centre should not remain a mute spectator," he charged.

The LJP leader demanded the Centre should also issue notices under Article 355 to Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, where attacks against minorities were reported.

At least 32 people have been killed since the outbreak of violence in Kandhamal district following killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati in August.

An incident of alleged rape of a nun has come to light recently, though it took place on August 25 during a bandh observed in protest of the VHP leader's

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2 more killed in violent-hit Kandhamal, Naveen under pressure

Bhubaneswar (Orissa) : At a time when the centre expressed concerned over Kandhamal violence today, two villagers were hacked to death by unidentified persons in the sensitive Tumudibandha police limits in riot-hit Kandhamal district.
With this the death toll of communal violence has reached at 35 on Friday.
The killings took place at Sindhupanka village in the Tumudibandha police station area late on Thursday night while bodies were recovered early on Friday.
Police sources said that the miscreants attacked the house of Dushashan Majhi and hacked him to death with an axe. After that they killed a 15-year old boy, who was present at the spot with sharp weapons.
Nobody was arrested and efforts were continuing to capture the culprits. The police have arrested 371 persons so far since the violence broke out on August 25 few minutes after Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four of his disciples were shot dead at Jalespata Ashram.
Night Curfew is continuing in nine police stations. 119 out of the 505 licenced guns in the district, surrendered to the authorities by the weapon holders following an official order.
Confiscation proceedings would be initiated against those who failed to deposit guns.
Meanwhile, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is now under tremendous pressure after the Union Cabinet took a serious view and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed anguish over continuing violence against Christians, the Orissa Chief Minister received a strong warded missive from Home Minister Shivraj Patil, which has asked him to take effective measures and provide security for the community.
The letter came hours after the Union Cabinet expressed grave concern over the situation in the state with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directing Patil to present an appraisal report on the situation at the next cabinet meeting.
In the letter, the Home Minister is understood to have stated that enough para-military forces have been provided to the state since trouble broke out in December last year.
He told Patnaik to take effective measures to control communal violence and to apprehend elements that continue to stoke violence and hatred.

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400 houses burnt and 2 Killed

Tensions continue in Orissa even as the Anti-Christian violence spilled over to the Boudh district which borders Kandhamal, the most affected district of the state.

Reports say that around 400 houses have been burnt by angry mobs between 1^st October – 3^rd October in Kandhamal and Boudh Districts. In Kandhamal the worst affected area was Raikia while in Boudh it was Kantamal.

It is reported that the police has so far arrested closed to 50 leaders having an affiliation to the Hindutva brigade.

In protest of this two Christians Dushyant Majhi and Sanyasi Majhi were killed on the evening of 3^rd October in Sindhipankha village, near Tumulibandh by an angry mob. The mob later destroyed many Christian houses in the village and killed household animals.

It is estimated that 10 companies of the CRPF will be reaching Kandhamal by 5^th October. An additional 10 companies of the CRPF were sent on 1^st October 2008 by the centre raising the paramilitary presence to 53 companies including 3 of the RAF (Rapid Action Force).

It’s still religion, stupid

Angana Chatterji

The riots in Kandhamal district, Orissa, in August and the ongoing violence targeted Christians in 310 villages, with 4,104 homes torched. More than 18,000 were injured and 50,000 displaced. A month after, homes continued to burn in Raikia, Tikabali, Tumudibandha, and Daringbadi. Some of these were houses of Christians residing in relief shelters, burnt by Hindu extremists as retaliation for the Christian refusal to ‘reconvert’ to Hinduism. On September 28, three bodies, including of a woman, were uncovered from Badasalunki river in Kandhamal.

The Government of Orissa systematically diminished the extent of suffering, damage, and dislocation borne by Christian communities in August-September 2008, as in December 2007, and denied the dangerous extent of communalism in Orissa. Both to the Supreme Court and the Central government, and to civil society in general, the Orissa government failed to explain how it would tackle the emergency in the state.

In the aftermath of August 2008, many Christians abandoned Kandhamal district, departing for Beherampur and Bhubaneswar in Orissa, and other states like Maharashtra, Goa, and Kerala. The police repeatedly refused to lodge FIRs that Christian communities sought to file, and made no provisions for witness protection for those willing to file charges.

Prima facie, their inaction suggested fear (of Hindutva workers) and complicity (with the Sangh Parivar) within police and district administration personnel in shielding Sangh Parivar activists. Discounting the evidence, police did not arrest prominent Hindutva leaders complicit in the August violence, stating that such action would generate further turmoil. While in Kashmir, state forces placed leaders of the self-determination movement under house-arrest in the largely peaceful protests of August 2008, in Jammu and Orissa, Hindutva leaders were not restrained as they called for vigilante terror.

On September 28 , Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik announced a ‘peace package’ responding to the demands of, in particular, Hinduised Adivasis. No reciprocal ‘peace package’ was announced for Christian communities. The Orissa government progressively presented the discourse on the Kandhamal crisis as an issue between adivasis (Kondh, Kui) and Dalits (Pana)/Dalit Christians, premised on land disputes and conversions to Christianity, trying to divert focus from the leadership and responsibility of Hindutva organisations in orchestrating the violence. The government’s figures dispute their allegations of escalation in Christian conversions, as Christians in Orissa numbered 8,97,861 in 2001, just 2.4 per cent of the state’s population, as per the Census(2001); and the Christian population in Kandhamal district was recorded as 1,17,950 to 5,27,757 Hindus. Land issues in Kandhamal, as in most Adivasi and Dalit areas in Orissa, remain unresolved, fraught with the inequities of history. Yet, in Kandhamal, it is the communalisation of this issue via Hindutva’s use of certain Kondh and Kui Adivasi communities, and the refusal to grant Dalit, including Pana converts to Christianity access to affirmative action, that cultivates injustices and nurtures acrimonies. These conditions enable the Hindu right to conscript adivasis for its activities, and generate divisiveness between adivasis, Dalits, and Christians.

Funding for hate, from across India and the world, continues to incentivise the Sangh Parivar. Governmental regulations focus on Christian and Islamic groups, and neglect to monitor Hindu ‘charities’ that operate as sectarian organisations. A recent article by Soumitro Das in the Hindustan Times explained that, as opposed to the lack of scrutiny on funding of Hindutva-affiliated organisations, monies received by Christian organisations are monitored via stringent provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976. In the annual report on foreign contributions, Das clarified, ‘There are also no records of mass conversions’. That is not the case with Sangh organisations, which have undertaken extensive coercive conversions to Hinduism in Orissa, with the intent to communalise, violating conversion laws. The following Sangh-affiliates, registered charities in the US, allocated sizeable amounts of money under ‘programme services’, disproportionately directed to Hindutva-affiliated groups in India. Per 2006 tax records, Ekal Vidyalaya allocated more than two million dollars to India, India Development Relief Fund (IDRF) allocated 1.6 million USD, and Sewa International USA allocated 284,800 dollars. Other organisations channelled funds for the Sangh Parivar to Orissa via groups located in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and elsewhere. All together, substantial money continues to be accumulated from upper caste/landed communities in Orissa.

The events of August and September 2008 are evidence of the Hindutva’s cadre’s state of preparedness. The composition of the rioters attests to the mass of the organisation, and the precision of execution points to premeditated forethought and groundwork. The Sangh Parivar’s plans for Orissa are on track.

The writer is associate professor of anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies and author of the forthcoming book: ‘Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India’s Present, Narratives from Orissa’

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