| 2007 Christmas violence in Kandhamal | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24–27 December 2007 (4 days) |
| Location | |
| Caused by | Hate Speech, Religious Nationalism, Ethnic nationalism, Ethnic tensions |
| Methods | Arson, murder, looting |
| Casualties and Damages | |
| Death(s) | 3-50 |
| Damages |
|
The 2007 Christmas violence in Kandhamal violence refers to the violence that occurred during the Christmas of 2007 between the groups led by Sangh Parivar together with the Sangh-affiliated Kui Samaj and the Christians in the Kandhamal district of Odisha.[1][2][3]
The violence started on 24 December and ended on 27 December 2007. Violence first broke out on December 24 between Hindus and Christians over Christmas celebrations where a mob of 500 to 3000 members of various Sangh Parivar organizations desecrated several Christmas decorations and injured many Christians. On the same day an alleged attack on Lakshmanananda Saraswati and his driver by some Christians after some of his bodyguards allegedly vandalized church equipment.
Clashes between the Kui Samaj which protested the tribal status to the Christians together with groups led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamswvak Sangh, Bajrang Dal and the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram against the Christians erupted after these incidents, where more than 100 churches and church institutions, 700 houses were burnt down, vandalized or damaged. During the final day of the riots there was also a Christian retaliation in which mobs burnt down about 120 houses of Hindus at different places in the district.
The official death toll suggested three Christians were killed but other reports put the death toll to nearly 50.
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India / Orissa: "They will never give in..."
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ବହୁ ଚର୍ଚିତ କନ୍ଧମାଳ ଦଙ୍ଗା /kandhamal danga /odia christian message /odia bakya
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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER 26th December 2018 Complete Analysis
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The Christian Persecutions in Orissa
Transcription
Sister Kiran and Sister Sarojini get ready for another long day of work. They belong to the religious order of the Society of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Nothing can disturb them during their morning prayer - not even the lingering smell of smoke - a grim reminder of August of 2008. Back then this Catholic education centre was on fire. Fundamentalist Hindus in the Indian state of Orissa burned down some 5000 houses, churches and pastoral centers belonging to the Christian minority. The violence was triggered by the murder of a prominent nationalist Hindu leader. He was killed by leftist rebels with no connection to the Christian minority whatsoever. But the nationalist Hindus took advantage of the moment to demand that all Christians should leave the country because they are considered a foreign religion with no right to exist in India. At the end of the violence there were 70 people killed, some 50 000 displaced people and countless ruins. The pastoral centre in which the two sisters live has been fixed up for now. Right after the violence the sisters were sent here by their order to help the dislocated Christians. Sister Sarojini had just finished her education in the convent. I was saying shall I go or not, that question, so many question was within me. I do not know how to proceed this work, I was questioning myself and I was praying also to God: Lord help me, I do not know what to or I never studied for that also. Like that I was questioning myself and I was praying - but anyway it was a different experience for me. The Catholic Church in the small town of Raikia. One of its buildings served for a time as a storage place for emergency aid. But now all are dispensed except for a few metal boxes for valuables. The emergency food is almost all gone as well. Today the sisters are packing rations for just 3 families in a nearby camp. The food was donated from catholic charities in Germany. Sister Sarojini and sister Kiran are the only ones that still come to the camp on a regular basis aside from occasional visits by the Red Cross. One of the families they visit today is the one from 50-year-old Gobinda Nayak. This metal box contains all the valuables he has left. This small space in a tent is what he calls home now. Gobinda once had a nice, big house. But now it all lies in ruins... We believe in God as described in the Holy Bible. We cannot worship Hindu Gods. We have been raised as Christians by our parents and grandparents. In our faith we are all considered equals and no caste system declares us as outcasts and untouchables. Because we did not convert to Hinduism they destroyed our houses and forced us to flee from our villages. Till today fundamentalist Hindus advertise their politics on campaign posters like this one. The killed leader to left - his successor on the right. Between them the God Krishna and the famous historic military leader Adjuna thus transferring their power to the contemporary politicians. The billboard is located in the centre of the town Raikia. Whenever the sisters come to town they have to pass it. The sisters remember all too well the message that the killed Hindu leader never got tired of repeating: And being a leader he said that you kill Christians, rape Christians and he said, let us destroy Christianity because Christianity has com from foreign and let them go to foreign to celebrate their Easter and Christmas. The next camp they visit can be reached only on a motorcycle. It is located in the mountains of the eastern Indian state. Today the sisters bring clothing for the men and children in the camp. For their fundamentalist Hindu neighbours the members of the tribal people had all but one fault: they were Christians. They were expelled from their homes and camp out now in this patch in the forest. Like the refugees themselves the sisters are also members of the tribal people, which are considered the lowest rank of the social fabric in India. But this is not the only reason why the two are so cordially received wherever they go. But we come and stay one day two days and we used to eat with them and we used to sleep with them so that we are like that - we come and stay here. When I was in the convent I used to think, oh I have to go for a prayer. It is time for prayer, but I never need that I need prayer for my spiritual life. But when we came to people and saw their faith. It is that my faith is nothing, their faith is much more greater than our faith. A striking example of strong faith is the family of Pramila and Godabari Pradhan. He is a day labourer and one of the „untouchables“. For a long time he worked for a local Hindu farmer who promised him a good plot of land for a fair price. Godabari paid the price - but then all hell broke loose. Without blinking an eye, the neighbours watched how their little house was wrecked. When the young mother comes back to her destroyed house in the company of the two sisters, the neighbours repeated their demand: ‘if you want to return to your place you have to convert to Hinduism.’ The response of Pramila Pradhan leaves no doubt: In Christianity there is peace and love. We want to live peacefully with all people. I do not want to give that up just because there was so much violence against us. I will remain a Christian. Kiran and Sarojini promise to take care of this case. A few days later they visit a workshop for legal aid. The lawyer teaches representatives of displaced Christians about their rights and laws regulating compensation for the damage they suffered. After the workshop the sisters explain the case of Godabari and Pramila. The lawyer does not hesitate to accept the case. He is confident to retrieve at least the money paid for the plot of land. A few days later they are back in the camp in the forest. The young mother is delighted to hear that they will get back the money for the acre they had paid already. They will make good use of this money. Next to their little huts the refugees have started to build new homes. Some of the building material they got from religious aid agencies. What is lacking they recover from their destroyed houses or from the forest. The mountain range of Orissa. Almost everywhere one can find these kind of small churches. In one of them Arun Digal served as a priest for quite some years. Now the sisters accompany the priest on a visit that weighs heavily on the young man. For the first time in 8 months he returns to his village and his former church. Like so many other Christians Father Digal was chased away by a vicious Hindu mob in August 2008. This is all that is left from his parish church. A campaign poster of the fundamentalist Hindu party that instigated the riots is still to be found on the walls of the house of his neighbour. Today Arun Digal returns for the first time to his parent’s house as well... The destruction was done by outsiders - but it was the villagers, his neighbours who directed the outsiders towards the houses of the Christians. The neighbours are reluctant to face Arun Digal. But then a brief encounter takes place. The man wants to know how Arun’s parents are doing and where they live now. But when Arun asks the man who destroyed his parent’s house, the man falls silent, turns away and leaves. Like many others in the village he was threatened by the ruling Hindu party: whoever talks about those who were responsible for the destruction has to pay a stiff fine of 1500 Rupees to the party. And that is more than most here can afford. Even Arun’s cousin was threatened that his house would be destroyed as well, if he would talk about those who had organised and executed the persecutions. The threats seem to be effective. Women and children with who Arun grew up don’t dare to stop. But his visit carried a clear message: I get more courage now because seeing the destruction of my house has strengthened my faith. So I have lost my house but I have not lost my faith and I stand at my faith. 10 : 10 : 22 While Arun’s small church lies in shambles - a new church is being built not even 20 kilometres away. Like most parishes in the district of Kandhamal the Catholic community of Simonbadi is a poor parish. Without outside help they would not be able to put up this building. Therefore organisations like “Aid to the Church in Need” help them out substantially. This new church however was planned long before the violence of August 2008. But now with so many other churches in the district being destroyed, this new church takes on a whole new meaning: The violence failed to weaken the Christian faith let alone eliminate it. More to the contrary, the new church is bigger and stronger than ever. 10 : 11 : 15 Sister Kiran and Sarojini are on the road again headed for the next camp. In this location the refugees have to fend for themselves. There is no support for them anymore, neither by the government nor by the Red Cross, which is still present in some other camps. Many families have settled provisionally in deserted market stands. Again the people turn to the sisters with their hardship. These women tell about a young mother who is sick in the hospital after giving birth. The parents of this girl cannot pay tuition for school any longer after having lost everything in the violence of August 2008. Sister Kiran encourages the girl strongly to continue going to school. Sr. Kiran promises to collect the tuition among her sisters in her convent at least for the next school year. When night falls over the camp, the sisters are once again invited to stay for dinner. Before they leave they pray with the internal refugees. 10 : 12 : 36 Late in the evening the two are back in the burned out pastoral centre of Jana Vikas. They have lived since 8 month. This period has been a time of profound changes for both of them: Morning as I was so enthusiastic and fresh with mind and heart …as the sun goes down I feel more exhausted and it is not only that because I travelled, I am exhausted, but by listening to people, their problems, their difficulties and the way they are living, that makes me more sad and more tired. But as I met them it is not that I am so sad, but all the more I feel happy, that I could reach people and my presence made them to be happy. I didn’t help them through any material goods or anything, but my presence made them to be happy and some kind of consolation that they had. They are not left alone somebody is behind them. So this gives me a more strength and it is not that I was walking around alone but God was with me and he was leading me and taking me to the people. So that gives me a satisfaction.
Background
Kandha–Pana tensions
The Kandhamal district is home more than 100,000 Christians where 60% of them converted from the Scheduled Castes (SC) and are locally called as the Pana Christians. They were Dalits and they speak Kui language like tribal Kandhas. The district has been ethnically divided for decades between the tribal Kui-speaking Kandha tribals and lower caste Kui-speaking Christian Panas who occupy a dominant position in their society. The Kui Samaj, a Sangh-affiliated tribal organization claimed to represent all the Kandha tribals who were nearly 52% of the population in the district.[4] According to the Constitution, the reservation benefits are removed from the SCs after conversion but the Pana Christians demanded the Scheduled tribe (ST) status after the Presidential Order of 2002 which mentioned the Kui tribes in the ST category since the Pana Christians also speak the kui language. This was opposed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Kui Samaj and other political leaders who depend on Hindu tribals to support their vote bank in the area. These tensions soon transformed into communal.[5][6][7][8]
The Communalism combat blamed the Sangh Parivar of orchestrating rivalries between Kandhas and the Christian Panas in Kandhamal through Hinduization and polarizing the Kandhas ties with the panas and instigating the Kandhas against the latter's campaign for a scheduled status as a tribe.[2]
Christmas tensions
During the last days of the 2007 Christmas, the Dalit Pana Christians were constructing a cloth-draped pandal⟨a temporary decorative scaffolding⟩ for the Christmas celebrations, over-topping a main-street in the town of Brahmanigaon after receiving permission for the construction from the authorities. The pandal which had been constructed on the same spot for number of years was warned to be removed this year by some local Hindus because it was located in the same area where a recent Durga Puja celebrations took place. The activists of the Sangh-affiliated Kui Samaj who had a strained relationship with the Pana Christians called for a Statewide bandh⟨shutdown⟩ on December 24 and December 25 of 2007 to protest against granting of the ST caste status to the SC Pana Christians with the support of the groups affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The call was first made by Laxmananda Saraswati's commemoration committee.[8] Christians were also warned not to put-up Christmas decorations due to the fact that some Hindus also celebrated Christmas along with them. Due to these tensions several Christian groups asked for extra police protection for their Christmas celebrations.[9]
Despite the Kui Samaj's call for the Statewide bandh, the police opened the local market on December 24 at about 7 a.m. in Brahmanigaon after recommendation by some Christian groups for their Christmas preparations. About two hours late a large group allegedly led by a local RSS leader, Bikram Rout, arrived in the market and attempted to forcefully shut it down but the police kept it open. Later scuffles started between the Hindu and the Christian merchants after the group led by the RSS leader allegedly roughed up with some Christians in the market and the market was eventually closed down.[9]
Lakshmanananda Saraswati
On 24 December, at about 10:45 am, Lakshmanananda Saraswati, while travelling to the town of Brahmanigaon for a yagna ritual in his car was forced to stop after a bus broke down in front of his vehicle. Hearing Christmas music coming from a nearby church, he sent his bodyguards to ask it to be turned down. His body guards allegedly roughed up on some Christians and vandalized the Church equipments. Saraswati claimed that a group of Christians injured him and his driver and damaged his car, while eye-witnesses and doctor's statements said that he did not appear seriously hurt.[10] Yet, pictures of him, lying in a hospital bed were circulated widely in the internet and in the news reports. The RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for a 4-hour bandh on the Christmas Day following the incident.[11] This led to the communal tensions in the area.[12][13][14]
Other incidents leading up to the riots
On 23 December, Hindutva-associated tribal organisations reportedly organized a rally with slogans of 'Stop Christianity, Kill Christians' with the support of Sangh Parivar groups.[15]
On 23 December, Hindutva activists organized a ritual to convert Pastor Digal from the Kutikia gram panchayat along with 12 members of the Christian community. He was beaten, brutally tortured and paraded naked as he refused to renounce Christianity.[16]
Riots
Violent clashes occurred from 24 to 27 December 2007 between people led by the Sangh Parivar groups, the Sangh-affiliated Kui Samaj and the Christians.[2]
Around 10 a.m. on 24 December, a mob of around 500 people led again by the RSS leader, Bikram Rout ransacked the pandal and set it on fire in front of the onlooking police. The mob then went on to destroy Christian shops and attack Christians. Gun-shots were fired, a boy was severely wounded, many Christians fled to the near-by jungles out of fear.[11] While other reports suggest more than 3000 people belonging to Vishwa Hindu Parishad, RSS, Bajrang Dal and the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram started to vandalize Christian symbols and two young boys suffered gun injuries. The Church of the lady of Lourdes was decimated. This occurred before Laksmananda was attacked.[10]
On 25 December, six churches were set ablaze after the Christians were chased out. The Violence continued as the members of each community clashed with each other.[17]
On 26 December, clashes continued all over the district, multiple houses were attacked and many were left injured, a police station in Phiringia was set on fire. Police was found it difficult to reach the violence hit areas in the villages as protesters obstructed roads by blocking it with trees. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held two rounds of meetings with senior officials to review the situation.[18][19]
On 27 December, dozens of churches were ransacked and razed in the areas of Nuagaon, G Udaygiri Phulbani Sadar and Brahmanigaon. A Congress parliamentarian's house was also attacked by the Saffron activists and the Kui tribals, opposing tribal status for the Pana Christians.[20] A Christian reprisal also took place as a Christian mob entered the Hindu quarter of Brahmanigaon and set fire to about hundred homes. Similarly a Christian mob set fire to an additional twenty homes near Gadapur. On the same day the rioting had stopped.[21]
Total casualties and damages
Initial governmental reports suggested that more than 100 churches and church institutions, including hostels, convents and about 700 houses and other structures were burnt in the riots and three persons killed(all Christians).[22][2] More than 837 families were left homeless.[23]
A report by the National Commission for Minorities, suggested more than 730 houses were destroyed and 95 churches were burnt.[21]
The Communalism combat reported 85-95 Churches and 94-96 institutions Christian institutions were burnt down, vandalized or damaged, homes were also looted of jewellery and other valuables [2]
All India Christian Council (AICC) study team stated that in December 2007, Hindu nationalists murdered a total of 50 Christians, destroyed 730 housing units and 95 churches. In the numerous relief camps set up by State government, hundreds of displaced Christians were made to stay.[24]
The general secretary of the Kandhamal district's Christian Endeavour Union, suggested that 100 houses belonging to Christians were burnt in Godapur, Brahmanigaon, Barakhama, and some other villages on 26 and 27 December 2007. He also visited Godapur and Brahmanigaon villages to take a look of the situation, and suspected that these houses were burnt sown by sections of "Hinditva Activists" who may have been incited by the Maoists.[25][26]
Investigations
Many members of the Hindu community have claimed that Christian show of religiosity, and the financial privilege that enabled such an exhibition, contributed to the rioting.[2] While some Hindu organisations suggested that disturbances were the result of ethnic tensions in the area, mainly between the Dalit Pana community and the Adivasi Kandhas.[13]
Independent experts found that in terms of the violence and planning it across the mountainous areas, the violence was orchestrated and the police had prior information about the Hindutva organisations planning to riot. The celebration of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's party's 10th anniversary coincided with the turmoil. The celebration demanded that a significant number of the state police forces be relocated from districts to Bhubaneswar, the state capital. The police found it challenging to react to the developing situation in Kandhamal between 24 and 25 December.[2]
Hindutva Organizations accused that the violent uprising of Hindus stemmed from Christian conversions and actions of Maoist organizations, resulting in the Kandhamal riots of 2007 even though the Maoist parties are not present in the places in which violence has arisen, even though sangh parivar organisations have seen an increase in these same places in the past years.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Das, Sib Kumar (26 December 2019). "Kandhamal rises above violent past on Christmas". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h CHATTERJI, ANGANA (January 2008). "Kandhamal: Hindutva's terror | Charting the history of sangh parivar violence in Orissa". Communalism Combat. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (29 December 2007). "India: Stop Hindu-Christian Violence in Orissa". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ JPDC 2008, p. 29.
- ^ "Ethnic Violence and Communal Polarisation in Orissa's Kandhamal District". The Daily Star. 12 January 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Quota fuel to communal fire". Hindustan Times. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ Robinson 2010, p. 271–274.
- ^ a b "Tribals hold key to peace". Hindustan Times. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ a b Robinson 2010, p. 265.
- ^ a b JPDC 2008, p. 25.
- ^ a b Robinson 2010, p. 266.
- ^ Bauman 2015, p. 53.
- ^ a b "In photos: Damaged churches, broken homes are the lingering scars of the 2008 Kandhamal riots". Scroll.in. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Patnaik, Arun K; Bag, Rajesh (January 2016). "Dialogue, Sacrifice and Reconciliation:A Study of Kandhamal Violence, Odisha" (PDF). Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies,Bhubaneswar.
- ^ JPDC 2008, p. 23.
- ^ JPDC 2008, p. 24-25.
- ^ "In India, Churches Torched On Christmas". www.cbsnews.com. 26 December 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "Orissa: Fresh violence in curfew-bound areas". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "An Assessment of Damage and Loss of Private Property during the Anti-Christian Violence in Kandhamal, India" (PDF). Centre for the Sustainable Use of Natural and Social Resources.
- ^ "Twelve more churches razed in Orissa". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ a b Robinson 2010, p. 267.
- ^ "3,706 acquitted in Kandhamal riots - OrissaPOST". orissapost.com. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "A Flashback to Kandhamal Targeted Violence against Christians, 9 Years Later". SabrangIndia. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Maoists Said to Recruit Victims of Violence". www.worldwatchmonitor.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ India: Maoists Said to Recruit Victims of Violence Archived 22 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NGO-Maoist link in Kandhamal". Ndtv.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
Bibliography
- Robinson, Rowena (2010). Margins of faith : Dalit and tribal Christianity in India. Joseph Marianus Kujur. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-81-321-0604-3. OCLC 671529854.
- Justice, Peace and Development Commission (JPDC) (Bhubaneswar, India) (2008). Faith under fire. Delhi: Media House. ISBN 978-81-7495-320-9. OCLC 294883231.
- Bauman, Chad M. (2015). Pentecostals, proselytization, and anti-Christian violence in contemporary India. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-020210-1. OCLC 888554934.
This page was last edited on 6 April 2024, at 19:47