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EFI NEWS
Hindu fanatics now killing and terrorizing Police in Orissa
Protest Rally in Thiruvananthapuram ; Attack in Ujjain, MP
Kandhamal (Orissa): Armed Hindu attackers on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 shot dead four police constables and set fire to a police station in Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal district.
According to Director General of Police Gopal Nanda, a large number of attackers armed with country-made guns and crude weapons gunned down a constable and set ablaze the police station at Gochapada early on Tuesday morning.
Other policemen present at the police station, located about 36 km from district headquarters town of Phulbani, seemed to have fled into the forest as they were heavily outnumbered by the attackers.
Kandhamal District Collector Krishan Kumar said the mob comprised about 500 people who were carrying fire arms and other weapons.
DGP and the district collector stated, additional security forces have been=2 0deployed in the area in the wake of the incident in the sensitive district which has been witnessing violence for the last three weeks..
Police sources said the mob was demanding release of a man held by the security personnel but local residents felt that the attack was retaliatory action of the police firing at Kurtamgarh in Tumudibandh area on September 13.
The roads leading to Gochapada had been blocked by logs and boulders which were being cleared to facilitate the movement of forces, the sources said.
The state police chief said it was not the first instance of a police station being attacked and torched by the radicals as similar incidents had taken place during the riots that had rocked Kandhamal district in December 2007.
Meanwhile a huge protest rally is organized on the afternoon of September 21st 2008, by Madras Diocese Bishop at St. George Higher Secondary School in Chennai, the Capital city of Tamil Nadu State. The rally is expected to bring around 30,000 Christians from all denominations including Roman Catholic and Church of South India to protest against the mass genocide by the Sangh Parivar backed VHP and Bajrang Dal groups in Orissa and attack on the Churches by Ram Sena, in Mangalore. The rally is organsied by. It would be followed by submission of the memorandum to the Governor.
Thiruvananthapuram (Tamil Nadu): A protest meet under the banner of the Pentacostal Fellowship of India was organised against attack on Christians in20Orissa and Karnataka at Parassala near here today.
The 'prayer meeting', as the sit-in was called, was addressed by state Civil Supplies Minister C Divakaran and senior Congress leader G Karthikeyan.
The BJP state unit came out in strong protest against the presence of the minister, a CPI nominee in the cabinet, at the protest meet.
Addressing hundreds of believers, who turned up to participate in the demonstration, Divakaran said the attack on minorities in Orissa and Karnataka amounted to an assault on the country's secular ethos.
“He said such a thing would not happen in Kerala under the LDF rule. If anybody sought to direct violence against the minorities, they would be dealt with sternly”, he said.
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): A group of five persons came with Air Guns to the Caramel Convent in Banduha village under the Ghatia Police station area in Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh and assaulted the watchman Amar Singh, at around 1:30am of Tuesday morning. He was found with multiple gun wounds at three places but he is out of danger now. “The culprits asked me to call the sisters at the convent but I told them that they are out of station. They beat me and asked me to cry loud so that sisters would come out. When I disobeyed them they shot me with air gun and went away."
Police said that since the persons had covered their faces nobody could be identified.
Ujjain Superintend of Police said We are using all information to arrest the accused. We come to know very late that there was slipper of the accused, we will use dog to trace the culprits. We have taken all steps to give better security to Christian institutions in the district."
Bishop Dr. Sebastian Vadakkel has expressed deep sorrow over the incident. He has called people of good will to extend support to the Christian community. He said," We have launched an FIR and we hope that police will nab the culprits soon."
Father Hans says that it is not the first time that incident like this has taken place here. “Last year also we faced a situation like this. We have approached the district administration for security.”
"It cannot be treated as stray incident in Madhya Pradesh; there are series of attacks taking place here. It is always done in different methods; we are in touch with the higher officials and leaders from different socio-political organizations. We are peace loving people so violence is not our way of living." said Father Anand Muttungal.
Evangelical Fellowship of India requests prayers for the safety of the suffering Christians even as the cases of Persecution flares up in BJP led States.
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
EFI NEWS
Churches attacked in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa
1. Karnataka: Hindu fanaticism is fast spreading its tentacles and reaching out to other States too.
EFI correspondent in Banglaore Rev. Noel Kotian reports, today during the worship service several churches belonging to New Life, Roman Catholics and CSI are attacked. The places are Belthangadi, Modanthiar, Moodabidri, Kodikal, Tokottu, and many in Mangalore. The Catholic church called Milagres was attacked statue of Jesus and St Joseph were smashed to pieces. In all 8 churches of New Life Fellowship, 4 churches of Roman Catholics, 1 of CSI are attacked. The worshippers were beaten. Men, women and even children were beaten and Bibles burned.
There is a bandh called by Christians tomorrow. Please pray.
2. Madhya Pradesh: Masihi Mandir CNI Church in Indore was burnt by Hindu activists on Saturday, September 13, 2008.
The miscreants entered the Church at around 10:30 pm and set it on fire. The church is located in the Chawni area. Interestingly, the Church is only a few minutes walk from the Chawni Police station.
The fire was spotted by few onlookers who managed to douse it quickly. The damage due to fire has not been very extensive but doors, windows and other wooden material has been burnt irrecoverably.
Sometime back this Church was attacked by Bajrang Dal activists causing severe damage to its property. They shattered its window panes, broke the furniture and other items kept in the Church.
3. Orissa: Rev. Patnayak of the Orissa Missionary Movement, reported to EFI that a Church was burnt by irate mob having allegiance with Hindu militant outfits in village Anchhla, Borigumma, Koraput on the night of September 13th.
EFI requests prayers for the persecuted Christains and for peace and normalcy to be restored.
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
Latest Update
The reports we are getting back from the State of Orissa is getting worse and worse. The government 'appears' only to be talking about sending troops and help but it never quite happens. Christians are a minority in India, with only about 7-10 % of the population. Regardless, our brothers and sisters desperately need our prayers !
Some of the reports:
- A woman was asked to renounce her faith in Christ or have her baby daughter killed, she refused to renounce her faith, so they sliced her daughter in two in front of her.
Please pray that the God of Comfort can console this precious mother, a pain none of us want to imagine.
- Another village 6 pastors wives were raped and kidnapped, their where about are still unknown. Another pastor's 15 year daughter has been kidnapped and feared dead.
Please pray for the safety of these woman and that God will heal them completely and restore them to their families.
- Another pastor's family, each member was brutally killed and then burned.
Please pray for the grieving family left behind and the church congregation, that the church will be restored and stronger than before.
These are only some of the reports we are getting. The media is vastly under-reporting the condition in Orissa. The attached article reports 16 killed, that was the same number about a week ago. That number is grossly under-stated, it has to be reaching close to hundred at least by now.
Even as I sit safely in my neighborhood in Bombay, tomorrow anyone of us could be next as far as persecution. We know the coming days are only getting to get more intense for Christians. I pray I have the strength and faith to stand my ground, even against death.
There are 1,000's of Christians who have ran into the jungle for safety, please pray that God will provide all food, water and medicines for them.
http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-35291320080903
Blessings,
Bernie David
www.tenderhands.org
Facebook Name: Tender Hands Inc
berniedavid07@yahoo.com
AFTERMATH OF SWAMI'S KILLING : THE CHRISTIAN VICTIMS LIST
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]
5 More Burnt Alive: Persecution Continues
Apart from the CNI Baptist Churches there are reports of the Independent
Baptist Churches being targeted in the continued spate of violence that has
spread its tentacles across the state.
Gajapati district today has witnessed torching of one independent Baptist
Church. Local sources report of a church in Baliguda and six in Phulbani
district being burnt by the errant mob.
According to reports three persons were burnt after their houses were
torched at midnight of August 25th 2008. One each in Kandhamal and Bargarh
were burnt to death during the 12 hour statewide bandh.
Compassion East India office (NGO) in Bhubaneswar was ransacked. While in
gruesome act a man named Ramesh Digal was brutally cut into pieces.
At least 3 people were reported dead in fresh violence in Barakhama,
Kandhamal. Mission Compound in Sunapanga in Baliguda is also set on fire.
Terrified Christians from Padapara, Marlova and other places have fled to
the jungles.
There have been already over fifty eight instances of violence in which more
that 300 homes gutted down by fire in Kandhamal including 150 houses in
Rupagaon alone.
The authorities are mere helpless spectators watching Christians being
lynched before their eyes.
EFI requests your prayers for the safety of our brothers and sisters in the
State of Orissa.
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
Ongole Samuel David
Living Water Intl -India
Country Representative
Hyderabad
India
Atrocities by Vishwa Hindu Parishad in orissa, India
Posted by: "George Abraham" abraham@un.org
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:42 pm (PDT)
1) Priest is forced to have sex with Nun in public:
Rev. Thomas Chellen, undergoing treatment at a
Catholic hospital in Bhubaneswar, India, said he was grateful to be
alive after a Hindu mob lead by VHP nearly set him on fire. "They had
poured
kerosene on my head, and one held a matchbox in his hands to light the
fire. But thanks to divine providence, in the end, they did not do
that. Otherwise, I would not have been there to tell this horror," the
55-year-old priest, director of the pastoral center at Konjamendi in
the Indian state of Orissa, told Catholic News Service in a telephone
interview from his hospital bed Aug. 28.
Following the Aug. 23 murder of a Hindu leader, Swami Laxmanananda
Saraswati, by Maoist extremists, Father Chellen said Hindu mobs
started attacking Christian centers in Kandhamal, the district where
the slain leader was based. When a Hindu mob of 500 people broke into
the pastoral center around noon Aug. 24, Father Chellen said he fled
through the backyard with another priest and a nun. "It was
heartbreaking for us to watch from a distance the entire complex go up
in smoke," said Father Chellen, who had supervised the construction of
the center that opened in 2001 and could accommodate 200 people. "They
vandalized everything and set it on fire. It has been reduced to
ashes," he added.
As the three watched from a distance, some other priests told them to
flee. "We fled to the jungles and came in the night to take shelter in
the house of a Hindu friend and spent the night there," Father Chellen
said, adding that the second priest left them to join other priests.
The following morning, he said, the Hindu family moved the priest and
nun to an adjacent vacant house and locked it to give the impression
that no one was inside.
However, the Hindu mobs overheard the priest speaking on his cell
phone, broke into the room and dragged him and the nun outside. "They
began our crucifixion parade," said Father Chellen. The gang of about
50 armed Hindus "beat us up and led us like culprits along the road"
to the burned pastoral center.
"There they tore my shirt and started pulling off the clothes of the
nun. When I protested, they beat me hard with iron rods. Later, they
took the sister inside (and) raped her while they went on kicking and
teasing me, forcing (me) to say vulgar words," said the priest who has
cuts, bruises and swollen tissue all over his body and stitches on his
face.
"Later both of us, half-naked, were taken to the street, and they
ordered me to have sex with the nun in public, saying nuns and priests
do it. As I refused, they went on beating me and dragged us to the
nearby government office. Sadly, a dozen policemen were watching all
this," he said.
Angry at his plea to the police for help, the mob beat the bleeding
priest again.
Later, a government official and members of the mob took the priest
and the nun to the police station, where Father Chellen said he was
kicked in the face. "The four-hour ordeal ended when a senior police
officer arrived in the evening," said Father Chellen.
The priest said one of the most hurtful things about the incident was
that some local Hindus whom he knew were watching the events and
ignored his requests for help. Later, the priest and nun were taken to
a nearby police camp, he said. "They were very kind to us, gave us
clothes and slippers," said Father Chellen.
On Aug. 26, the priest and the nun were taken for medical tests. That
afternoon they were sent by bus to Bhubaneswar. Father Chellen said he
was admitted to the hospital Aug. 27, while the traumatized nun was
taken to a convent. He said the plans called for him to be moved to
Mumbai for treatment.
Asked about the how the nun coped with the trauma, Father Chellen
said: "We had no option and were simply following their commands. We
resisted as much as we could. This is like being tortured for Christ"
2) HOW A 20 YEAR OLD GIRL WAS BURNT TO DEATH BY A CHEERING CROWD
Fr. Edward Sequeira, a priest belonging to the Society of Divine Word
(SVD), was one of those who was seriously injured when his mission
station was attacked by the mob in Orissa.
Currently recuperating at Burla Medical College Hospital, Sambalpur,
Fr. Sequeira, upon gaining consciousness, narrated the story to his
brother Commodore Valentine Sequeira who writes:
A large mob of more than 700 people were returning after attending the
cremation of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati who was killed along with
four others Saturday evening by suspected Maoist guerrillas at his
Jalespata ashram.
The mob was chanting anti-Christian slogans and when they reached
Padampur in Bargarh district, they attacked the orphanage where Fr
Edward lived.
Ms. Rajni, a 20-year-old student who lived in the orphanage and was
also working as an auxiliary nurse in the orphanage confronted them.
When Fr Sequeira arrived at the spot, the mob locked him and Rajni
into separate rooms, and ordered the children to vacate the orphanage.
The mob then ransacked Fr Sequeira's room, poured petrol on him, Rajni
and set the orphanage on fire.
"I was engulfed in flames, I could hear the cries of Rajni and the mob
was cheering and shouting through the windows," recalls Fr Sequeira.
He however, managed to crawl to the bathroom, beat out the flames and
closed the windows.
"When I started to suffocate I found a crack on the wall that was
damaged in the attack and kept my nose there to breath some air. All
the while I could hear the cries of Rajni from the next room where she
was writhing in agony. After sometime, there was silence and I thought
she must have managed to escape from the room," recalled Fr Sequeira.
Unknown to Fr Edward, the girl was burnt alive and had breathed her
last.
People from the neighborhood who heard the cries of children rushed to
the rescue, broke the walls and brought him to safety. That is when
the mob attacked him again outside the orphanage and beat him up
mercilessly till he became unconscious. He was initially rushed to the
hospital at Padampur and later with the help of local officials was
shifted to Burla Medical College Hospital, in Sambalpur.
3) TWO PASTORS FAMILIES AND A LEADERS WAS KILLED BY HINDU RADICALS ON
27TH AUGUST AFTER NOON
Pastor Daniel Naik and Samuel Naik along with a christian leader Michel
Naik and their wives and children were killed by the radical with swords
and sticks. Seven members of thier family were also killed brutaly by
smashing their heads with clubs and iron roads. The hindu radicals
approached the Pastors families and instructed them to denounce Christ or
face imminent death.The pastors said that the God was great and they
choose death than abandoning Christ. The radicals stated killing one by
one inf front of their parents.First they smashed the heads of the
children and shouted praising Hindu Gods .The crowd of 150 people were
carrying clubs,iron rods,swords and country made guns. One of the member
tried to call the police,immediately the gang snatched the phone and
shouted aloud that "no one will come to their rescue"The savage incident
took place in Bakingia.
Bakingia is about 8 kilometers from Raikia police station.
When some of our contacts tried to persuade the police ,they were
informed that they were not given orders to protect Christians from
radicals. We presume this is the way the radicals are protected from any
retaliation by villagers. Pastor Samuel and Daniel are members of the CNI
church and Michel is a Christian leader of Raikia.
In Pagigala and Buda Maha hundreds of radicals have camped and fan out to
different dwellings and force the Christians to bow before them and Hindu
gods
Orissa Burning Blog - For up-to-date info on Orissa
Posted by: "georgeabraham2003" georgeabraham2003@yahoo.com georgeabraham2003
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:44 pm (PDT)
Orissa Burning
http://orissaburning.blogspot.com/
Paswan for ban on RSS, VHP and Bajrang
Posted by: "georgeabraham2003" georgeabraham2003@yahoo.com georgeabraham2003
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:49 pm (PDT)
Paswan for ban on RSS, VHP and Bajrang First Published: 20:33 IST
(2/9/2008)
Last Updated: 21:07 IST(2/9/2008)
Strongly condemning the attack on Christians allegedly by Sangh
Parivar activists in Orissa, LJP leader and Union Minister Ram Vilas
Paswan on Tesday sought a ban on RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal.
The Lok Janshakti Party will hold a demonstration in New Delhi on
September four protesting the violence in Orissa which was "shameful
and dangerous for national integrity", Paswan told reporters in New
Delhi.
To a question as to why he opposed ban on SIMI, while demanding such
an action against the Sangh Parivar outfits, he said "my suggestion
is to set up an independent inquiry commission that will analyse the
activities of various organisations and recommend ban if they are
involved in any anti-national work".
The commission with social scientists and human rights activists as
its member can study the role of various organisations in spreading
terror and communal tension.
"If SIMI has to be banned, then why not VHP, Bajrang Dal or RSS,"
Paswan, who had shared power with BJP till 2002, shot back, adding
that until there were evidences of SIMI's involvement in terror acts,
it should not be banned.
On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati declining to recommend CBI
probe into the Kanpur blast incident in which two Bajrang Dal
activists were killed, he said that it showed that the BSP supremo
was going soft towards the BJP.
Paswan, who had shared power with BJP till 2002, hit back the saffron
party for condemning his suggestion to grant citizenship to
Bangladeshis in India, saying that it had failed to identify them
when it led a coalition at the Centre.
http://publication.samachar.com/pub_article.php?
id=2586443&navname=General&moreurl=http://publication.samachar.com/hin
dustantimes/general/hindustantimes.php&homeurl=http://www.samachar.com
/mostread.php
Maoists behind Swami Murder
Posted by: "georgeabraham2003" georgeabraham2003@yahoo.com georgeabraham2003
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:50 pm (PDT)
The Kandhamal district police and crime branch sleuths probing the
murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23 say several clues
point to Maoists' involvement.
The VHP leader's murder was the trigger for the recent communal riots
in Orissa.
The fact that the assailants fired from AK-47s has strengthened the
Maoist conspiracy theory as it is unlikely that less organised groups
have access to such lethal weapons.
The People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) has claimed
responsibility. The investigating team says there are three plausible
reasons for Maoists killing the VHP margdarshak.
First, they say Maoists must have been unnerved after Saraswati's
much-publicised visit to Malkangiri district on April 9. The visit
took place despite Naxalite threats.
"The Maoists may not have liked the Swami entering Malkangiri to
launch initiatives among tribals, as this would hurt Naxal
recruitment," a senior police official told HT. Second, Naxalites
have targetted RSS/VHP leaders as they describe the Salwa Judum
phenomenon in neighbouring Chhattisgarh as a "creation of Hindu
fascists and capitalists".
Malkangiri SP Gajbhiye told HT, "When advocate Prabir Das was killed
in Malkangiri district few months ago, the police found a letter by
the Maoists at the spot which said Das was being killed for his RSS
links."
The third reason could be the Naxalites' failure to make inroads into
the strategically-located Kandhamal district. A strong base in the
dense jungles of the district would open doors to the coastal plains
of Orissa via Ganjam and Nayagarh districts.
A senior police official said: "Maoists were not very successful in
recruiting cadres in Kandhamal district as Swami Laxmanananda had a
major influence on tribals in the district."
Another theory is that the murder could be the handiwork of local
Maoists without authorisation from higher-ups.
Send Feedback
‘No complaints of forcible conversions’
Posted by: "georgeabraham2003" georgeabraham2003@yahoo.com georgeabraham2003
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:51 pm (PDT)
Orissa Home Secretary T K Mishra said on Tuesday that contrary to
charges, the state government had received no complaint of Christians
being forcibly converted to Hinduism in the riot-hit Kandhamal
district.
He however admitted that the state government rarely receives
complaints as conversions and re-conversions are a very private
affair.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has been stating
that members of their faith had been converted forcibly and made to
attack the very churches they used to pray in.
Mishra told HT on the phone from Bhubaneswar that "forced conversion
is unlawful under the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act".
He said any priest performing a conversion is supposed to inform the
district magistrate or collector concerned.
The state can intervene only if it finds that "any threat, compulsion
or inducement" has been used, Mishra said.
On the continuing attacks on Christians and churches in Kadhamal
despite deployment of the Rapid Action Force, Mishra said the remote
and densely forested area made it difficult for security forces to
operate in effectively.
Meanwhile, the CBCI said in New Delhi that it was "extremely
distressed" to note that despite assurances given by Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the violence in
Kandhamal would be brought under control, "we find that there has not
been much improvement" in the riot-hit areas.
As the CBCI expressed concern over the continuing attacks, the Centre
on Tuesday assured the Supreme Court that it would fulfill its
responsibilities and take necessary steps in the riot-hit district.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium said: "The Centre will
fulfil its responsibilities. Necessary steps will be taken."
He informed the bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan when
it was hearing a petition seeking a CBI probe into the violence
against Christians in the state. The petition was filed by Archbishop
of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath.
(With inputs from Bhadra Sinha, Delhi
Kandhmal becoming laboratory of hate
Posted by: "georgeabraham2003" georgeabraham2003@yahoo.com georgeabraham2003
Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:53 pm (PDT)
Kandhmal becoming laboratory of hate
Mohuya Chaudhary
Tuesday, September 02, 2008, (Kandhmal)
Ever since the murder of VHP leader Swami Lakhananda Saraswati in
Kandhmal, villagers hide in the forests every night. The fear is so
palpable that they speak in hushed voices, afraid to be seen or heard.
They pay a heavy price for being Pano Christians, who are accused by
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of killing the 84-year-old Swami on
August 24.
"They came at night and started burning everything. Our food, grains,
whatever we had is gone. Our families and children have nowhere to
go. We have nothing to wear. I appeal to God - why did they do this
to us?" one of the villagers said.
Hostility between the Sangh Parivar and Pano Christians, a Dalit
group that dominate the Christian community in Kandhmal, goes back 40
years from the time Swami Lakhananad Saraswati set up his ashram in
1967.
Though he actively brought the Kandh adivasis, who traditionally
worship nature, into the Hindu fold he vehemently opposed conversions
by the church.
Till the end of his life, Swami was firm on his stand - "they must
stop conversions or leave the state."
This stern stand has led to several flashpoints between the two
groups.
On Christmas eve in 2007, over 100 churches were razed and one Hindu
village torched. In July 2008, the slaughter of a cow led to clashes
in Malipada and a church and orphanage were attacked.
The final trigger was the murder of the VHP preacher by 30 masked
men, which unleashed the current surge of violence.
After this, enraged Hindu groups set Pano dominated villages ablaze.
The backlash was so widespread that bodies are still being recovered.
Hundreds have been injured and at least 50,000 have turned homeless.
"Maoists have never had problems with the Swamiji for so many years.
Why will they attack him now? It is a conspiracy by the Pano
Christians. They killed him and they must be punished," Bajrang Dal
national coordinator Subas Chauhan said.
This time the divide is clear. The Panos - both Christians and
Hindus - are on one side and are the focus of attacks. On the other
side is the Sangh Parivar with tacit support from the Kandh adivasis,
some of whom are Christians were spared by the right wing groups.
The Kandhs oppose the Pano demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
"They must punish the culprits. We know who they are - Pano
Christians who else. We have foiled their plan of getting the ST
status and got adivasi land back from them. So they want to kill me,"
said Lamboder Kanhar, president Kui samaj.
And caught in this volatile cocktail of caste and communal conflict
are poor villagers who have nowhere to go. Those who are outnumbered
in their own villages choose the easiest option - that of conversion
to the majority.
The attacks are fewer in areas where one community dominates.
In a clearing deep inside the Kandhmal forests, 17 families are
reborn as Hindus. And these neo-Hindus pledge to fight for their
religion.
Darkness brings some relief and security to the Digal family as their
home and belongings were set on fire by rioting Sangh groups in
Kandhmal. The jungle offers them a temporary hideout but fear shadows
them.
"I made a mistake. Now I have come back to the fold. I am now going
to pray to the Earth and the Sun. I am ready to give up my life for
my dharm," said Kandharu Digal.
But the truth lies somewhere in between.
"I was a Hindu. When my husband fell ill, I took him to two hospitals
but no one helped. I approached the church and they helped me. So I
became a Christian," said a local woman.
The climate is one of opportunism. Exploiting the fear and
helplessness of villagers, reconversions are taking place. But
switching sides can only offer a temporary truce. Peace continues to
be a fugitive in Kandhmal.
With the administration moving slowly in tackling the crisis, senior
police sources say both the Hindus and the Christians are arming
themselves in case of a backlash.
"The church is against violence. We want peace. We can never support
these attacks but how can we deny anyone who wants to protect
himself? The government has failed to do anything for us and today,
minority is being ruled by the mob," said Archbishop Raphael Cheenath.
For the first time, country-made firearms have been used for
retaliation. There is talk of Christian militancy to counter Hindu
fundamentalism.
PRESS RELEASE....ATTACK ON MOUNT CARMEL SCHOOL, NAVRANGPURA, AHMEDAB
Posted by: "SJPRASHANT, Ahmedabad" sjprashant@gmail.com
Wed Sep 3, 2008 4:18 am (PDT)
Prashant . A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace
Post Box No. 4050, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380 009, Gujarat, India
Tel. : +91 (079) 66522333, 2745 5913 . Fax : +91 (079) 2748 9018
Mobile : 9824034536 . e-mail : sjprashant@gmail.com . www.humanrightsindia.in
We strongly condemn the stone throwing incident on Mount Carmel School, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, around 2.30 early this morning.
We call upon the police and other concerned authorities to bring to book those responsible for this attack, and to ensure that law and order is maintained.
Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ
Director
3rd September 2008
Unprecedented Peaceful Protest Rally held on 2nd September 2008, f
Posted by: "SJPRASHANT, Ahmedabad" sjprashant@gmail.com
Wed Sep 3, 2008 4:18 am (PDT)
GUJARAT UNITED CHRISTIAN FORUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
C/o. Bishop's House, Mirzapur, Ahmedabad 380 001, Gujarat, India Tel: 91-79-25624015
Unprecedented Peaceful Protest Rally for Orissa in Ahmedabad
It was a Protest Rally that Ahmedabad had rarely seen before. Hundreds and thousands, walking silently through the main arteries of the city, in a five kilometer stretch, brought vehicular traffic to a grinding halt. Since 2002, civil society in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat has always been a bit cautious, in coming out to protest about injustices....therefore, this Rally was historic indeed !
The Rally which was held on Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 was under the banner of Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights (GUCFHR) and brought together not only Christians, but several other persons of goodwill, from different faiths. It began at the CNI Church at Victoria Gardens.
Leading the Rally, were top Church Leaders: Rt. Rev. Bishop Vinod Malaviya (CNI Gujarat), Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomas Macwan (Ahmedabad Catholic Diocese), D.S. Ravikant Master (Medhodist Ahmedabad Dist. East), Rev. Fr. V. J. Thomas (Orthodox Church), Rev. Fr. Eapen Abraham (Mar Thoma Church), Rev. Rameshchandra Parmar (Synod President Alliance Church), Major Jaswant Macwan (Salvation Army), Rev. Pankaj Parmar (Seventh Day Adventist), D. S. Satish Rathod (Methodist Ahmedabad Dist. West) among others.
This Silent Peace Rally was undertaken to bring home their demands for Justice, Peace and Communal Harmony in Orissa and the rest of India, where, of late, entire minority communities, their homes, places of worship and properties have been targeted in the name of religion, while the police and so called "guardians of law" have been "looking the other way", and who, very often, have been the instigators of heinous crimes.
At the culmination of this Peaceful Protest Rally, a public assembly was held at the Mount Carmel Cathedral, Mirzapur where the Bishop of Ahmedabad Rt. Rev. Thomas Macwan addressed the gathering saying "No one has the right to take the lives of innocent people. We urge the concerned authorities to investigate the Orissa incidents and find the real culprits behind the attacks and take stern legal action against them. Blaming the entire Christian community for these murders without a shred of evidence and unleashing a reign of terror against them is complete unjustified".
D.S. Ravikant Master of the Methodist Church then read out a passage from Sacred Scripture.
Fr Francis Parmar, Principal of St. Xavier's College of the city, in a hard hitting message said "I am born an Indian, proud to be an Indian, and I will not tolerate anyone who is out to tarnish my Indian image, my Indian identity". He was very clear when he said "my dear brothers and sisters, it is time we understand the seriousness of the evil designs of the fundamentalist fascist forces at play all around us, and stand united in our fight against them, lest there comes a day when there will be no one left to fight for us, when evil comes to our doorsteps and strikes us.....it is time we wake up, stand united and fight these evil fascist forces, before they destroy us and "our beloved India" !
Fr. Cedric Prakash the Convenor of the GUCFHR then read out the Memorandum which was to be sent to the Governor of Orissa, the President, Prime Minister and Home Minister of India pressing for their various demands for bringing about Justice, Peace, Communal Harmony in Orissa and providing full protection, relief and rehabilitation to the suffering victims.
Rt. Rev. Bishop Vinod Malaviya then lead the gathering into a final Prayer and blessing, followed with the singing of our National Anthem.
Veronica D'Souza 3rd September 2008
EFI NEWS
Church Desecrated in Tamil Nadu
A group of villagers belonging to Uralla tribe desecrated a church on August 4th 2008 in Gurathoamoor village, Krishnagiri district, Tamilnadu.
According to our sources, the church was under renovation when in the early part of Monday morning the radical elements unlawfully barged into the premises of the building and broke down the walls and the roof of the church. They were demanding that the church should be vacated so that they can use the land for their own purposes.
The land has been given to the Christian by the local gram panchayat to construct the church and was approved by the revenue office.
A complain has been registered but so far no action has been taken against the culprits.
EFI requests prayers for the safety of the Church and the christian community in the area.
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
Evangelical Fellowship of India (established 1951) is a charter member of World Evangelical Alliance, an accredited NGO with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
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