GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CARE JUST HOW MANY WILL SLEEP UNDER THE STARS ON CHRISTMAS IN KANDHAMAL, BUT HAVE WE FORGOTTEN?

[Dr. John Dayal]

AN UPDATE

BY JOHN DAYAL

22 December 2011

This is the fourth Christmas that many people of Kandhamal in Orissa
will “celebrate” in terror, a few thousand of them without a real
roof over their head, scores of widows and orphans remembering the
denial of justice which has seen the killers of the head of the family
walk away merrily after being set free by the sop called Fast Track
Courts

Justice still remains an overwhelming issue for about everyone of the
56,000 people who had to run for their lives first on 24th December
2007 and then again from 24th August 2008. They need not have had to
flee if they had obeyed their attackers, changed their faith to
Hinduism and burnt a Bible as a token of their leaving Christianity.
They did not. Four hundred villages were purged of all Christians,
more than 5600 houses and about 295 or so churches burnt, a hundred or
more killed -- the exact number will never be known -- some women,
including at least one nun raped.

The tension remains, exacerbated this season with the murder of a law
assistant who was uninvolved in protecting witnesses. In another
tribal district, Keonjhar, twelve houses were burnt in a scenario
eerily, and frighteningly, similar to the one in 2007 and 2008.
Adding to the apprehension is the call by a local group for an
agitation, a Bandh, during Christmas week.

A few days ago, in Bujlimendi village, Arabbakka gram panchayat,
Tikkabali block of G Udayagiri Tehsil, the house of Kaleswar Digal,
45, was sleeping with his family which includes three children, when
his house was set on fire just after midnight. The family escaped, but
the house, including their animals, were destroyed. There are 25
Christian families in this village of 100 houses, now living in
palpable fear.

The murder was of Rabindra Parichha, a legal activist who had been
working with the Evangelical Fellowship of India for justice in
Kandhamal. He was killed on 15th December evening at Bhanjanagar,
Ganjam District, which adjoins Kandhamal. A former village chief and a
local leader, Rabindra was a popular figure in the region. His family
lives in their home in Bhaliapara, in Raikia block of Kandhamal. The
police have not been able to say why he was killed. His body bore
multiple injuries. Cause of his murder is not known.

Rabindra Parichha is the third Christian leader to be killed during
this year. Pastor Saul Pradhan of Banjamaha (Raikia) was the first
Christian killed during 2011. The police version is that he died of
too much liquor and the cold. Pastor Minoketan Nayak of Midiakia
(Baliguda) was killed on 26 July. Police say that he died in a bike
accident.

The police have not acted on reports that Manoj Pradhan, member of the
state legislative assembly and prime accused in several cases of
murder has been moving from village to village instigating anti-social
elements and allegedly urging them to “finish off” all Christian
leaders of Kandhamal.

The police are also deaf to reports of hate speech. On 23 July, a
large rally at Phulbani saw a lot of hate speech, and slogans such as
"Hindu-Hindu: bhai-bhai _ Anya sab desh-drohi" [Hindus are brothers.
Everyone else is a traitor]. The police was present, but took no
action.

The "Kui Samaj", a front organisation of the right wing hyper
nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which was once in an alliance in
the State government, has called for Kandhamal bandh for five days
from 23 to 27 December, throwing the Christians into a state of panic.
They have memories of the 2007 violence which also took place in the
backdrop of another such strike, or bandh. Bipra Charan Nayak,
convener of the Survivors’ Associations of Communal Violence, has
demanded that the district and state authorities take note of the
latest strike call and act swiftly and sternly. The memorandum, to the
government said “We remind you that every year, Kui Samanyaya Samittee
in nexus with extreme element of Sangh Parivar gives Bandh Call
creating mental trauma among the peace loving Christians of Kandhamal.
We demand that such practice be stopped.”

The All India Christian Council, one of the several groups working in
rehab and justice issues said “Although we are for the freedom of
expression and do not wish to curb demonstrations and political
activity by any group, even by those who are against Christianity and
the Christian people, it is the duty of the government to ensure that
there is no excuse for confrontation or violence. In Kandhamal, we
have had bitter experience. Out community has been deeply wounded,
specially in the aftermath of bundh calls during and around Christmas.
We are therefore apprehensive of such bandh calls. The Orissa
government and the Kandhamal administration must restrain all
mischievous and fundamentalist elements and ensure the Christmas is
peaceful.”

Not that the region outside Kandhamal is peaceful. On 8th December
2011, a Hindu group attacked 3 tribal Christian families at
Chandikhole, a suburb in Jajpur district close to Keonjhar district.
When the people went to the police station, they were detained on
charges of “conversion” of Hindus.

The saddest commentary on the governance in Orissa is in the narrative
of the dispensation of justice, specially in the fast track courts
where not a single person has so far been convicted of murder – mostly
because the witnesses have been coerced into silence and the police
has made sure there is precious little forensic evidence from their
shoddy investigations

The following is the current Status of communal violence cases of
2008-2009 of Kandhamal district. Do remember that more than 3,500
persons filed complaints to the authorities.:

1. CASES REGISTERED BY THE
POLICE : 827

2. NO. OF CHARGE SHEETS :
512

3. NO. OF FINAL REPORTS SUBMITTED : 315

4. NO. OF CASES ENDED IN
CONVICTION : 68

5. NO. OF PERSONS
CONVICTED : 412

6. NO. OF CASES ENDED IN
ACQUITTAL : 140

9. NO. OF PERSONS
ACQUITTED : 1900

10. NO. OF CASES PENDING
TRIAL : 304

11. NO. OF ACCUSED PERSONS ARRESTED : 1607

[Acknowledgments: Fr Ajay Singh, Fr Dibya Parichha, Br Marcose,
Pastor Harish Arshaliya, Rev Vijayesh Lal]