Priest killed in Karnataka

A priest was killed Wednesday in the southern Indian state of Karnataka where Christians have been targeted in violent attacks, the Vatican-based news agency Asianews said Thursday.

The naked body of James Mukalel, 39, was found Thursday morning on a road leading to his parish in the diocese of Belthangady.

According to initial investigations, he was killed while returning to his parish after having conducted a funeral in a neighbouring village.

The bishop of the diocese Lawrence Mukkuzhy did not put forward any theories as to the motive for the killing, but ruled out a straightforward criminal act.

Another diocesan official Tomy Mattom said it looked like an "execution." He said the body had no obvious wounds and initial information led him to believe the priest had been strangled.

An autopsy must be carried out soon to determine the cause of death.

Indian Christian groups have demanded an inquiry into the killing and other attacks on Christians in the region, Asianews said.

Twenty churches and chapels have been destroyed in the past year in Karnataka.

In the eastern state of Orissa last year, thousands of Christians were forced to flee after Hindu mobs burned their houses, churches, orphanages and schools. At least 35 people were killed in the attacks.

Christians account for 2.3 percent of India's billion-plus Hindu majority population.

Minority leaders for longer stay of CRPF in Kandhamal

Bhubaneswar, Jul 23 (PTI) Eleven months after the Kandhamal riots rocked Orissa, minority leaders today sought continued deployment of CRPF in the strife-torn district, claiming there was still fear and anxiety among people due to the alleged pressure to re-convert.
"An atmosphere of fear and anxiety still exists in Kandhamal despite considerable improvement in situation.
People are threatened and asked to re-embrace Hinduism when they return from relief camps to their villages," Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Raphael Cheenath told reporters here.
Favouring retention of CRPF in the riot-hit district for more time, he said both the central paramilitary and state forces should remain there to instil confidence among people and restore normalcy.

PTI

Naveen for stay of CRPF in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Worried over back-to-back attacks by the Naxalites in different parts of the State, including the killing of two security personnel in Sundargarh district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday sent an SOS to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram requesting him to allow the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to continue in Kandhamal district till September 30. Naveen has also reiterated his demand for seven more battalions of CRPF to be deployed in the Naxalite-affected districts. The Centre has started withdrawal of CRPF from Kandhamal despite requests from Naveen to extend their stay. Now, five companies of CRPF are left in the strife-torn district.

The base of the Naxalites has increased in Kandhamal which witnessed communal violence last year. The attack on the Katingia police outpost under Bamunigaon police station by the Left-Wing Extremists (LWEs) late on Friday has left the district administration on tenterhooks as it will now have to deal with the situation without the Central forces.

Underscoring the need for deployment of CRPF in the district, Naveen said Kandhamal is Naxalite-affected and had witnessed communal strife last year.

The Centre has recently included Kandhamal in security-related expenditure (SRE) scheme because of the repeated attacks by the Naxalites at different places. The Naxalites had attacked a forest beat house near Daringbadi and triggered landmine blast. Sporadic incidents have taken place in the district pointing to increased presence of the extremists in the area.

Attacks on police stations and forest beat houses in inaccessible areas of Koraput, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Kandhamal districts have now become regular.

The activities of the Naxalites are on the rise in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks of Koraput district for the last six months. Ten security personnel were killed at Narayanpatna in a landmine blast suspected to have been triggered by the ultras 24 hours before the visit of Chidambaram to the area last month.

At a time when the Government is grappling with the problem in Narayanpatna block where tribals have seized land from non-tribals during the last one month leading to fleeing of non-tribals from the area, the killing of the sub-inspector in Sundargarh has put the police on the backfoot.

Last month, another police officer was killed by the Naxalites in Sambalpur district.

The incidents have turned out to be embarrassing for the State Government as the Budget session of the Assembly is going on. The Opposition is planning to raise the issue in the House on Monday during the discussion on the Budget for the Home department.

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Kandhamal riot accused MLA's bail extended

Phulbani (Orissa), Jul 17 (PTI) A local court today extended till July 31 the interim bail granted to BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan, accused of inciting communal riots in Orissa's Kandhamal district.
The fast track court of Sovan Kumar Das here extended the bail period of Pradhan, who was granted conditional interim bail for 15 days on July four.
The extension was granted to him on the basis of Orissa High Court's order, special public prosecutor Bijay Patnaik said.
After taking oath as a member of Orissa Assembly following his release on July 5, a day after getting bail, Pradhan had moved the court seeking extension of the bail period to enable him to attend Assembly proceedings

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Orissa nun rape case: Chargesheet filed against seven

Bhubaneswar : Unable to nab two of the 19 accused persons in the nun rape case, the Crime Branch (CB) of Orissa police moved the court seeking legal sanctions to declare the duo as absconders even as it filed chargesheet against seven others on Friday.

Though the CB sleuths had so far arrested 17 persons on charges of their alleged involvement in the rape of a 29-year-old catholic nun at Kandhamal on August 25, 2008, it failed to arrest the two others even as several notices had been served at their addresses.

The duo identified as Gururam Patra and Pandit Bisi Majhi neither responded to the CB notices, nor cooperated with the investigation despite several warnings, a senior official engaged in the investigation said.

We can hang notices on the doors of the accused persons if the court allows us to declare them as absconder, Investigating Officer of the nun rape case, Dilip Kumar Mohanty said adding that the police could seize their property if they fail to surrender before the investigating agency.

Meanwhile, the CB had already filed chargesheet against the 17 persons in two phases. While chargesheets were filed at Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate's (sdjm) court at Baliguda earlier, similar documents were produced at the court against seven other accused on Friday.

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Kandhamal: Posters against BJP MP

Still recovering from last year’s communal riots, Kandhamal witnessed fresh tension on Thursday after hand-written posters containing threats to a local BJP legislator — accused of leading murderous mobs during the riots — appeared in Raikia area of the district.

Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said at least two posters warning G Udayagiri’s BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan and Bajrang Dal activists of dire consequences for “their role in the riots” were found pasted in Raikia.

This is the place which bore the brunt of the anti-Christian riots that followed the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda. At least 38 people were killed in the riots and hundreds were rendered homeless in the violence.

Police officials said the threat posters could have been the handiwork of Maoists as the area has a strong rebel presence. But they said they were also examining other possibilities.

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Pastor beaten up in Hosur

Uddinapally, 8 June 2009: Pastor Paul Chinnaswamy (50) was attacked by two young men on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. while he was sitting in front of his church in Uddinapally, Hosur Taluk, Krishnagiri District in Tamil Nadu.

Pastor Paul was fasting on Saturday morning and sitting outside his church alone when the attackers, both around thirty years old, came on a bike and stopped in front of the pastor. They asked him, “Why do you have to do these things?” Without another word, they got off the bike. One of them kicked the pastor in his chest so hard that the pastor dropped to the ground in pain. Before he could get up, the other man punched the pastor in his jaw, breaking two of his teeth.

About 200 meters away, there were several villagers who were making bricks. When they saw the pastor being attacked, they ran towards him to help him. When the attackers saw the villagers running towards them, they got on their bike and fled. The villagers picked up the pastor and rushed him to a nearby clinic for first aid.

After the pastor was attended to medically, the villagers and he went to the nearby Uddinapally Police Station and lodged a complaint there. When asked by the police if he knew who his attackers were, the pastor said he did not know them and had not even noticed their number plate, but he could recognize them if he saw them. Hearing this the police took him to three surrounding villages but the pastor was not able to identify his attackers.

It is most likely that the attackers were from a distant village and from radical Hindu groups. This is one of several attacks that have occurred against Pastor Paul over the past few years. He has been warned several times by the police to be careful of Hindutva groups in the area. His family and his home have been attacked several times over 2007-2008 and he has received numerous threats as well.

At the time of the attack, Pastor Paul was alone. His family was visiting his ailing mother-in-law in Kelamangalam, 8 kms away from Uddinapally.

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Hindu extremists burn three Christian homes in Kandhamal

by Nirmala Carvalho

The victims identified the ring leaders, but the police have advised them against naming him on the report. The attack took place on May 31st, the very day the armies sent to protect Christians in the area withdrew.

Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) - Three Christian houses, were set on fire by Hindu extremists in Sirsapanga village of Kandhamal, (Orissa). The episode took place on May 31st in the evening, the very day the Central reserve police force (Crf), sent to the area to protect the Christians, began their phased withdrawal as mandated by the central government. The incident seems aimed at stopping from Christians returning to their villages.

The three houses belong to Manoj Pradhan, Lankeswar and Sunil Digal and lie only 3 km from the headquarters of the Crpf. Eyewitnesses report that the extremist group celebrated the police withdrawal by attacking the homes. Deployed for months across the region to halt assaults and another pogrom of the Christians, the New Delhi government decided to withdraw the Crpf. The Orissa governor, Naveen Patnaik, has however asked the Minister for Internal Affairs Chidambaram to leave the last 10 companies - circa 1000 men – at least for another three months.

The withdrawal coincides with the closure of the refugee camps and the Orissa governments appeal to the Christians to prepare for their return to their home villages. On June 5th the district administration in Kandhamal organised a peace meeting between the Christians in the camps and the communities of their local villages. Fr. Bijay Pradhan, parish priest in Raikia, sees in the burning of the three homes in Sirsapanga “an attempt to stop this”.

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (Gcic), explains that “The Christians from Sirsapanga village have not returned to the village, they are still in the Refugee camps. The administration is keen that the people go back to the villages and be resettled, so occasionally, the Christians go to their homes and try to make some temporary repairs. This is being objected to by the dominant community, and the burning of the three Christians homes is an attempt to control our people”.

The situation is still unstable. The three owners of the burned houses in Sirsapanga have presented official reports to the police. According to Fr.Ajay Kumar Singh, Director of Jan Vikas, Social Action Initiative “the gang was led by Dilu Mohanty, who is mastermind behind attacks against Christians in Raikia and G.Udayagiri”. The victims identified him in First Information Report. “But the police – continues Fr. Singh – asked them to change tehir report ommitting the extremist agng leaders name”.

“Culprits [of the violence] continue to roam about freely, - concludes Fr. Pradhan - and some of them threaten our people that if they don’t withdraw their police reports against them, they will not be able to return to their villages”.

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Blow to Kandhamal caste certificate probe

Bhubaneswar : The drive in Kandhamal against use of fake caste certificates for government jobs, which was started in November last year soon after the anti-Christian riots, has come to a grinding halt with the vigilance department withdrawing the 10 specially deputed investigating officers (IOs).

The alleged use of fake caste certificates was one of the major reasons for building anger in the tribal-dominated district against Christians, which ultimately led to the riots in which 38 people were killed.

Officials said Kandhamal, which has 25 per cent Christian population, had seen many Dalit Christians submitting fake tribal certificates for government jobs and buying lands. The law enables job reservation for people belonging to Scheduled Tribes even after converting to another religion, whereas Dalits are not eligible for quota if they convert.

Apparently, many Dalits, mostly Christians in Kandhamal, reportedly used fake certificates that showed them as members of Kandha tribe. Several officials and politicians face the allegations.

Though the state Government had deputed 10 vigilance department inspectors to investigate 876 allegations on the issue of forged caste certificates, they were quietly withdrawn in February this year. “Of the 800-odd cases, the inspectors had investigated less than half the cases when they were called back by their parent department. This has hit the investigation process,” said Kandhamal Collector Krishan Kumar.

Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy, who reviewed the progress of the special package announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for Kandhamal district on Monday, was apparently dismayed by the return of the inspectors. While directing the home department to depute the required number of inspectors for probing the remaining cases, Tripathy asked the Collector to cancel the false caste certificates immediately.

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CRPF to leave Kandhamal, Naveen wants them to stay

BHUBANESWAR, 27 MAY: With the deadline for withdrawal of central paramilitary forces from Kandhamal district barely two days away, chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik rang up home minister Mr P Chidambaram today seeking a three month extension of the CRPF deployment.
Official sources said Mr Patnaik had earlier written to the home minister on 21 May making a similar request and today he spoke to Mr Chidambaram as a follow up measure. The home minister has reportedly said he would look into the matter.
It may be noted here that the CRPF which has been deployed since 10 months now is scheduled to return on 31 May.
Central paramilitary forces were pressed into service following the communal violence in Kandhamal district since August, 2008.
The state DGP Mr Manmohan Praharaj said he was hopeful of a positive response from the Centre. "Simultaneously, the state is preparing itself to deploy 16 companies of armed police and special police officers in the troubled region," he informed.
Reliable sources said the Centre had in an earlier communication to the state rejected the demand for further extension of central paramilitary forces. It had also sought a payment of Rs 181 crore from the state towards the prolonged deployment of central forces.

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Kandhamal painted in Saffron

BHUBANESWAR: The BJP might have lost ground in most parts of Orissa but in the hub of the communal cauldron of Kandhamal, its has been saffron all the way.

The strife-torn district has returned BJP candidates in two of its three Assembly segments, reflecting a deep polarisation of votes and angst among the local populace over the killing of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati.

In G. Udaygiri, the BJP’s Hindutva mascot Manoj Pradhan pulled off an upset defeating sitting MLA and Congress candidate Ajayanti Pradhan by a margin of over 23,500 votes.

The BJD’s Luksuna Majhi has been relegated to the third position even as his party swept the polls across the State. An RSS pracharak and a protege of Swami Lakshmanananda, Pradhan fought the elections from jail. He was arrested in connection with 14 cases of rioting and murder which followed the murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati.

Combined with the religious polarisation, Pradhan has been able to evoke a sympathy wave in his favour with the Hindu and tribal votes going en bloc for him.

The votes of the dominant Christian community in the segment have been divided between the Congress and BJD paving way for Pradhan’s victory, observers said.

At Baliguda segment too, the ground zero of the communal violence and home to Swami’s Ashram, the BJP emerged victorious with sitting MLA Karendra Majhi retaining the seat.

The slain seer had in fact pressed for his candidature in the last elections and this time too Majhi had to use all his resources to gain the party ticket. He defeated his nearest rival Congress candidate Sadananda Mallick by around 3,246 votes. BJD’s Dinesh Singh Pradhan came third in the segment.

However, the Phulbani Assembly segment has been retained by the BJD with Debendra Kahanr winning the seat by a margin of 8,701 votes over rival Deba Narayan Pradhan of BJP.

The Kandhamal district had witnessed large-scale violence in the aftermath of the killing of the Swami and his four disciples at Jalespeta Ashram on August 23 last year. More than 47 lives were lost with over 25,000 rendered homeless and shifted to relief camps. Most of them have returned to their houses though.

The elections to the constituencies in the district were also embroiled in controversy with Christian organisations demanding postponement of the polls on the plea that the situation was not conducive.

But the polls passed off peacefully with turnout of over 60 per cent. There was 80 per cent polling in the relief camps too.

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Persecution reported in three states of India

Two incidents of assault and one incident of vandalism were reported from three states on Wednesday.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, about 30 extremists from a Hindu group attacked a Christian meeting, injuring 10 believers and a five-year-old girl in Mumbai.
The attackers reportedly from the Swami Narendra Maharaj Sansthan, forcefully entered the prayer meeting at Damodar Hall in Nallasopara (East), and beat up the pastor, children and women. There were over 200 Christians attending the meeting organised by ‘Vasai Taluka Christian Pastors Association’.
"After closing the doors and windows of the hall on all sides, the hardline Hindus forced Christians to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and started beating the believers when they refused to recite the Hindu devotional," reported an EFI correspondent.
"Pastor James Samuel received hospital treatment and had five stitches to his head while about 10 others including a five-year-old child were left with bruises."
The incident led to the arrest of five Hindu extremists who have been charged for rioting.
The evangelical body reported a similar case as 15 Hindu radicals on May 3 "attacked an afternoon prayer meeting, burned Bibles and Christian literatures in Bara Koni Area, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. "
The extremists burned Bibles, gospel tracts, broke up crockery and other household goods after which they proceeded to verbally abusing the Christians and threatening them with dire consequences if continued to gather for Christian meetings.
In another incident of vandalism, suspected religious fanatics, in Sidapuram Village in Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh, burned a church roof and furniture.
According to the All India Christian Council (aicc), unknown persons broke the church gate and attempted to burn the whole church building.
"After an hour, the fire was noticed and the alarm was raised," aicc said, adding the fire had destroyed the furniture, carpet and roof of the church. Property worth almost Rs 50,000 was lost in the fire.
An FIR is being registered in the local police station.

http://in.christiantoday.com

US Panel to visit India

Washington : For the first time, a US Congress-backed panel on religious freedom would visit India next month to gain perspective on Indian government's response to allegations of communal violence in Gujarat, Orissa and other parts of the country.

As a result, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) refrained from publishing the status of religious freedom in India in its annual report released on Friday.

However, the report does mention Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the only individual who has been denied an American visa under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), which bars entry into the US of those foreigners who are "responsible for or directly carried out, particularly severe violations of religious freedom".

It said the provision has been invoked only once in 2005, when Modi was denied entry to the US to attend the World Gujarati meet over his alleged involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The '2008 Status of Religious Freedom' report has placed 12 States including China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia as countries of particular concern.

Church attacked in Karnataka

Shimoga, 16 April 2009:

On 12th April 2009 a group of Hindutva radicals attacked the Padmos Prayer Hall at Analekoppa, Sagar Taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka.

A group of 20 people led by Chowdappa barged into the Padmos Prayer Hall house church while the service was going on. The radicals caught the pastor, Rajesh G. Kurdekar, and accused him of indulging in forceful conversions. They took photographs of the church and accused the pastor of converting innocent Hindus to Christianity.

When Pastor Rajesh approached the Sagar City Police Station for help, instead of giving him protection, the police official accused the pastor of conducting worship services. The police warned the pastor not to conduct any more prayer services or he would have to face dire consequences.

Source: GCIC

Staines killer Dara Singh is contesting elections

Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh, convicted in the killing of an Australiam missionary and his minor sons, filed his nomination for Ghasipura assembly constituency in Orissa, a top official said.

Dara Singh, presently lodged in a Keonjhar jail, submitted his papers to the sub-collector of Anandapur through an agent identified as Netrananda Mahanta.

"Rabinda Kumar Pal has submitted his papers for Ghasipura seat on the last day of filing nomination as an independent candidate," sub-collector Suresh Chandra Mallick told PTI over phone.

However, Dara, sources in the election office said, has not attached certain documents like his affidavit.

Manoharpur village, where the missionary Graham Staines was murdered on the night of January 22, 1999, is within the Ghasipura assembly segment.

Dara, convicted in September 2003 for the killing, had set fire to the station wagon in which Staines and his two minor sons Philip and Timothy were sleeping.

Though Dara and his associate Mahendra Hembram were given capital punishment, Orissa High Court later commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.

Besides, Dara was also accused in 11 other cases including killing of another Christian priest Arul Doss and a Muslim trader.

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Dalit Christians can get SC status by reconversion

CHENNAI: In a significant decision, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to grant Scheduled Caste community certificate to children of converted Christian parents who reconvert to Hinduism. The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department has issued a government order to this effect.
"The children born to Christian Schedule Caste parents i.e., Christian by birth, converted to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism at a later date and the Scheduled Caste parents embracing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism converted to other religion and subsequently reconverted Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, if they are accepted by their community people, the revenue authorities can issue Scheduled Caste community certificate to them to become eligible for the constitutional privileges conformed on the Hindu Scheduled Caste (following Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism) and order accordingly," the government order said.
Granting Scheduled Castes status for re-converted Hindus has been one of the long standing demands of Adi-Dravidar groups in Tamil Nadu. In fact, the current government order has been issued after a long-drawn legal battle.
In Tamil Nadu, Dalit converts to Christianity are treated only as Backward Class and do not enjoy the SC benefits. The latest order will enable those aggrieved by this rule to reconvert to Hinduism or Sikhism or Buddhism and avail Scheduled Caste status.
During 1995, the state government had clarified that the born Christians (Children born to Christian parents), even after conversion to Hinduism at a later date, they are not eligible to obtain the Community Certificate as Hindu Adi Dravida and they cannot enjoy the constitutional benefits conferred to the Hindu Adi Dravida.
However, this was challenged before the Madras high court. Delivering its verdict on the petition in 2007, the court had set aside the government's stand and directed it to reexamine its position.
Subsequently, the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department sought the opinion of the advocate general on the matter based on which they issued SC certificates to reconverted Hindus on a case on case basis.

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Look who's talking now: Modi Blames Naveen for Orissa violence

Bhubaneswar (Orissa): Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hits out at his Orissa counterpart Naveen Patnaik for the recent communal violence in the State.
The firebrand BJP leaders, who extensively addressed several public meetings at State’s western part, blamed Naveen for the communal clash.
The Chief Minister is responsible for the communal violence. Forcible conversion should be stopped with immediate effect to restore communal harmony among various communities, he added.
He also came down heavily on Patnaik for his failure to nab the killers and conspirators behind the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. “It was unfortunate the killers and running freely and the Government making all out effort to appease the minorities,” he added.
Modi, who also addressed at a huge gathering at Raikia in riot hit southern district of Kandhamal, about 270 kilometers away from here, demanded immediate arrest of the killers.
Earlier in the day, stepping up his party’s poll campaign for the first phase, he came down heavily on BJD president for the split in the 11-year old alliance.
“The BJD has betrayed not only us but it has also betrayed the people of the State by breaking the alliance,” Modi said while addressing a huge public meeting at Nuapada. He also alleged that the BJD is falsely propagating its success by ignoring BJP’s contribution for the development of the State.
“We were part of the Government while several of our Ministers did well in their respective Department but BJD alone claiming all success,” he said directly castigating the regional outfit’s media campaign on development.
He further added that the BJP could only provide a stable Government and avail good governance. “It was BJP, which could do well than others,” he added.
After addressing Nuapada rally, Modi reached Balangir, where party’s Sangeet Singh Deo seeking re-election at around 11 am and addressed an impressive rally. At Balangir meet, he came down heavily on Congress led UPA Government as well as on the Left leaders, who are desperately making efforts for a Third Front. “The UPA and the proposed Third Front are two separate sinking boats,” he ridiculed.

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From Archbishop of Orissa to Election Commission: An appeal to put off polls

To Chief Election Commissioner,

Election Commission,

Govt. of India, New Delhi

Sub: Request for postponing the Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections 2009 for the constituencies covered under Kandhamal district, Orissa in view of continuing abnormal situation caused by communal violence.

Sir,

As announced by your august office the electoral process for forthcoming elections to Lok Sabha and Orissa Legislative Assembly has already commenced for the whole State of Orissa including the district of Kandhamal with effect from 2nd March 2009 and various political parties have fielded their respective candidates for different constituencies keeping an eye on the two-phase polls to be held on 16th and 23rd April 2009.

Needless to reiterate that the first and foremost requirement for holding a free and fair poll is a secure and peaceful environment where the candidates and their supporters do enjoy freedom of movement and speech to go round to every nook and corner of a constituency to meet the voters and canvas votes from them. And at the same time, the socio-cultural environment of the constituencies should be so conducive as to enable citizen who may be willing to speak out, propagate and join in any rally or meeting in favour of a party or candidate of his/her choice.

However, as the entire nation knows, the situation in Kandhamal, greatly disturbed by the continuing communal holocaust since the last week of August 2008 is still very tense and abnormal, completely unsuitable to the possibility of a peaceful electoral process, let alone free and fair polls on the scheduled dates. We cite the following reasons as to why we consider the Kandhamal situation as exceptionally abnormal and therefore unsuitable to the scheduled holding of Lok Sabha and Assembly Polls –

There are still nearly 3,200 persons living in the refugee camps run by the Government in different places of Kandhamal. Their houses were destroyed/burnt away and valuables looted by the communalist miscreants during the riots beginning from last week of August 2008.

In the process their Voter Identity Cards were also lost away. The efforts made by the Government to provide the duplicate Voter Identity Cards to these hapless refugees is neither complete nor satisfactory.

They know not whether their names are enrolled in the Voters’ List and where they have to go to exercise their franchise.

At a conservative estimate about 50 thousand persons of Kandhamal belonging to minority community of Christians comprising both SCs and STs and Hindu Dalits were affected by the communal violence that raged for months together. While a faction of the affected lot preferred to take shelter in the Government run refugee camps in and outside Kandhamal including Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, a considerable number, out of a mortal fright altogether fled Kandhamal to unknown destinations leaving their house, valuables, cattle and crops behind just to save their life. The worst affected are the women. Till date the Government has not made any survey whatsoever of these people and no body knows where they are at present. There is no possibility at all that such people would ever be able to return within a short span of time to their respective villages, to re-arrange the Voter Identity Cards lost in the riots and exercise their franchise in the forthcoming elections. And needless to say, the elections if at all held bypassing such a big faction of Kandhamal electorate would produce a fractured verdict to the glee of rioters and miscreants who always want the election to be held without the affected minority and Dalit members being able to exercise their franchise.

As regards the thousands of members of refugee camps, who as per the Government records have returned to their respective villages, their condition is also equally pitiable. On nagging pressure by the Government officials the refugees, batch after batch, left the camps on different dates supposedly to resume their life in their respective villages. But as soon as they reached their villages, they were threatened by a hostile crowds led by the communalist miscreants with a serious warning, which went on thus - To live in the village, you must leave Christianity, reconvert to Hinduism, pay fine, withdraw all cases and vote for our candidate, otherwise you won’t be allowed to stay on in the village. After getting such hostile treatment some families returned again to the refugee camps and many others left Kandhamal for unknown destinations in and outside the State. The Government has not made any survey of the numbers and present conditions of such families. And there is no possibility at all that these families would ever be able to exercise their franchise in the coming elections.

As is well known, there is increasing incidence of violence in different pockets of Kandhamal by both extremist groups, namely Maoists and M-2. The first group targets the hindutva fundamentalists while the second group, strangely enough, targets its retaliation, not against Maoists as such but against the selected leaders of minority and Dalit community. As a result, the overall atmosphere of Kandhamal is charged with both extremist and communal violence of every sort, leading to cessation of free movement and free expression on the part of the common people. Since the State machinery has conspicuously failed to nab the frontline leaders of such extremist outfits till date, it is also very much likely that they can destroy polling booths and polling process at any place at any time victimizing the common voters in the process.

It is a fact that a section of innocent Adivasis and Dalits were somehow implicated in various non-bailable charges concerning riots, while the real masterminds and ring leaders were let loose by the Government to continue their acts of violence against minority and Dalits. The innocent persons so charged are found to be taking shelter in forests and strange places and leading a life of under-grounder all the while as a part of their hide-and–seek game with police. There is no possibility at all that such innocent Adivasis and Dalits be ever able to participate in the canvassing activities during the electoral process or exercise their franchise in the coming polls.

The atmosphere of Kandhamal is still pervaded by the air of communal violence against minority and Dalits as fanned out by the fundamentalist hindutva forces aided by rabidly anti-Dalit verbalizations indulged in by the so-called Kui leaders. And the State machinery instead of nabbing such open advocates of communal and caste violence are found to be providing special protection to some of them and thereby vitiating further the already polarized and communalized society of Kandhamal. In such a situation there is no possibility at all for the poor, unorganized members of minority or Dalit community to come out in the open to participate in the electoral process, let alone caste their votes on the day of polls.

Till recently the leadership of the affected people thought that situation would improve, with the intervention of the state in the context of the elections. But, day by day the scenario it is deteriorating. From different sources I hear that as the election is fast approaching many those who are in Kandhamal fearing backlash, are planning to leave Kandhamal.

Under the circumstances, when there is no possibility on the part of a massive chunk of Kandhamal electorate comprising especially the minority Christians and Hindu Dalits to take part in the electoral process as free citizens and when the entire atmosphere of Kandhamal is still rent with aggressive communalism and extremist violence, and when the State machinery can’t possibly restore justice, peace and harmony in the given short span of time, and above all when there is no possibility of the people of Kandhamal exercising their right to vote freely and fearlessly, I as citizen of this country and leader of the Christians in Orissa, Most Rev. Raphael Cheenath SVD, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, earnestly request that the proposed elections to Lok Sabha and Orissa Legislative Assembly in all constituencies of Kandhamal district be postponed to a future date, when an ideal situation will have been restored in full.

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath,

Archbishop’s House,

Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa

Copies to:

The President of India

The Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India The Chief Justice, Orissa High Court Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission Chairperson, National Commission for Women Chairperson, National Scheduled Castes Commission State Election Commissioner

Young Christian man killed in Orissa in what police describe as an “accident”

Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) – Gunjan Digal, a young 23-year-old Christian man, was killed by a tractor on the side of the road in Gungibadi, a village in Kandhamal district. Police dismissed the case as a simple road accident, but a Christian activist described it as a “targeted murder” against Orissa Christians.

For the police at Saranghar station, the death, which occurred on Monday, was an ordinary road accident, a claim that Sajan K George, chairman of the Global Council of Indian Christians, rejects.

“We categorically reject claims that young Gunjan’s death was purely accidental,” he said. “The young man’s faith was well-known in the village, where there are only 21 Christian families,” forced to live in utter poverty, sheltering under plastic tents.

“Last Sunday, after ten months, Mass was finally celebrated, attended by about 50 people,” he said.

Eyewitnesses who were at the site of the accident confirm that it was “premeditated murder.”

Gunjan Digal was walking on the side of the road leaving a wide berth for the tractor to drive buy when the still unknown driver swung the vehicle against the young man, killing him on the spot.

The body is now being in police custody for the autopsy.

“Christians are victims of abductions and assassinations like that of Hrudananda Nayak, who was killed by Hindu fundamentalists last February,” Sajan K George said. “In most cases the culprits are never punished.” And according to the Christian activist the situation in Orissa is deteriorating.

Manoj Pradhan, one of the people who masterminded recent anti-Christian pogroms, is running for office under the banner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is closely aligned with Hindu fundamentalism, in an upcoming Assembly election in G Udayagiri riding, Kandhamal district.

The Hindu extremist leader is currently in jail and has police has ten files against him, seven of which include charges of murder.

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Orissa effect: City Christians demand rights

KOLKATA: Rarely have they been fiercely vocal about their demands or pressed hard for implementation of projects that would benefit them. But the Kandhamal riots changed all that. For the city's fast-shrinking Christian community, the attacks on missionaries in Orissa served as a wake-up call. Shaken by the atrocities and the politicians' "lack of concern" for their security, they have come together to form People for People a platform of like-minded people including Muslims. They have come up with a charter of demands that will be distributed across the city and to candidates in the run up to the polls.
"For the first time, we have come together and raised a few demands. Even though we don't believe that our security is at threat in Kolkata, there is a need to change the way candidates look at us. Issues like our education, employment and security have never been given due importance. We are going to approach parties and candidates with our list of demands. So long, election issues have been dictated by parties. But now we are going to tell them what we need," said Sunil Lucas, general secretary of People for People.
The charter has demanded the withdrawal of all anti-conversion laws and banning of re-conversion. Quick compensation for victims of communal violence and punishment for remarks against communities have also been demanded. Parties have also been asked to ensure security for all communities and implement the Sachar Committee report for uplift of Muslims.
"Our demands are not entirely community-specific. But we have become more conscious of the need to raise our voice after Kandhamal," said Sister Vianny, vice-president of the organization. She pointed out that Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), too, has come up with a similar manifesto.
To begin with, People for People will distribute their "manifesto" in the form of leaflets. Later, candidates will be approached in their constituencies and asked to address the issues that are relevant in their areas. "It could be sanitation, schools or water supply in some areas and measures against trafficking in others. The problem of child labour, for instance, is a big one in Kolkata and it has never been addressed properly. We will press for it," added Lucas.
Candidates will be called for a panel discussion and asked about their views on the manifesto. "They might find it a little awkward to be asked to address issues. But it's time we made ourselves heard. Minorities have never felt insecure in Bengal but we felt we should speak out for all communities, not just us. We will benefit if the major issues are addressed," said Lucas.

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