Convert or die

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INDIAN BISHOPS COUNTER ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE
By Makri SDB
donboscoindia.com/english/bis/default_ms.php?newsid=1725&pno=1
Guwahati, Feb. 25. JAMSHEDPUR,INDIA (UCAN) - During their recent meeting, India`s Catholic bishops held two unscheduled sessions to study recent attacks on Christians in Orissa state.

The 28th biennial plenary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) also discussed a proposal to coordinate the Churchs civil and political activities to counter increasing anti-Christian violence in India.
Hindu extremists attacked Christians in Orissa`s Kandhamal district during the last Christmas season. However, the matter could not be included in the plenary agenda as the CBCI Standing Committee had formed this in April 2007.

The Feb. 13-20 meeting in Jamshedpur, 1,300 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, focused on discussing topics related to women`s empowerment in the Church and society.

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, whose diocese covers Kandhamal district, addressed the unscheduled sessions on Feb. 18.
His audience included Cardinal Paul Cordes, the Vatican official in charge of the pontifical council for charity work, and two officials of Misereor, a German Church aid agency.
Archbishop Cheenath urged the Indian prelates to shed their complacency and come up with a plan to deal with violence and false propaganda against Christians in various parts of the country.
Several bishops who also spoke during the sessions expressed solidarity for the Kandhamal Christians and offered financial and legal assistance. They also agreed the Church needs to devise a national plan to address growing threats to Christians in the country.
Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo of Ranchi, who ended his term as CBCI president on Feb. 20, said the attackers in Orissa looted whatever they could carry away from Christian houses and Church institutions. What they could not carry, they heaped them together and burned, added the cardinal, who visited Kandhamal at the end of January. He described the destruction there as diabolic.
Archbishop Cheenath said that over three-and-a-half days starting Dec. 23, the Church lost whatever it had built in Kandhamal during more than 100 years.

On Dec. 23, Hindu radicals forcibly shaved the head of a Protestant pastor. The following day, they disrupted Christmas preparations in a Christian-dominated village. They chased Christians and burned their shops, Archbishop Cheenath added.

Christians who fled to forests to escape the violence have all returned but they remain traumatized, he added. For three days, there were no police in Kandhamal, he alleged.
The archbishop urged the bishops not to treat such violence as isolated incidents but to come up with a plan to deal with this at the national and regional levels. Be alert. Today it is Orissa; tomorrow it could be somewhere else, the 73-year-old prelate warned.
Archbishop Cheenath also distributed a report of an independent group that spent 20 months two years ago studying the impact of Hindu radicals in Orissa. The Indian Peoples Tribunal (IPT) noted that thousands of Hindu radicals work in 25 of Orissas 30 districts, using **coercion and force to promote Hindu supremacy and hegemony. **
The tribunal, comprising mostly Hindus who work to protect the environment and human rights, was established in 2003, a year after sectarian violence killed hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat, western India.

K.K. Usha, a former woman judge who led the IPT team, also noted that the Hindu radical groups **legitimize their actions against minorities by invoking specific and fabricated threats to Hindus from Muslims and Christians. **

Archbishop Cheenath warned the bishops that if Christians continued to compromise in such situations, **we would lose our relentless battle with the evil -- there is no time to rest. **
An attacked diocese or a religious congregation cannot fight the fundamentalists alone, he maintained. He also observed the Indian Church suffers from too many dioceses and regional, linguistic and ritual divisions. The prelate called for a disaster management team at the national level.
In response, Bishop Yvon Ambroise, chairperson of the CBCI commission for justice, peace and development, proposed to the assembly a draft plan to coordinate the Church`s political and civil works in the country.
The plan calls for the Church to formulate ideological positions and disseminate these through statements and the media. Other proposals are to lobby politicians and civil leaders, and network with other groups including international ones. The plan also includes setting up national and regional coordination teams and providing them with training and resources.
Save a life sign the online petition to the Indian prime minister,
petitiononline.com/orissa/petition.html
 
INDIA: HINDU EXTREMISTS ATTACK CHRISTIANS IN MADHYA PRADESH
Assaults over “conversion” charges leave three Christians severely injured.
INDORE, India, February 25 (Compass Direct News) – At least 125 Hindu extremists here yesterday attacked one of the oldest and best-known churches in Madhya Pradesh state, Masihi Mandir Church, brutally beating one of the fleeing members.

The assault followed an attack in Kosmi of the state’s Balaghat district on Friday (February 22) in which a mob of Hindu extremists dragged at least four people from a home where Christians were meeting and beat them with bamboo poles, rods and belts.
Save a life sign the online petition to the Indian prime minister,
petitiononline.com/orissa/petition.html

compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5258
 
It’s been open season on Christians since Jesus was a newborn. Instead of foeigners dictating to a soveraine nation how they should be in their own country, the actions of these martyrs should be their own witness. Their witness will never go unheard in heaven.

The history of euripeanizing, Christianizing and all around interference in foreign cultures without understanding them is one of the deepest, most irretractable barriers between many middle-eastern people and the Western world.

Do we really need to create another unrelenting enemy?
 
Antegin said:
It’s been open season on Christians since Jesus was a newborn. Instead of foeigners dictating to a soveraine nation how they should be in their own country, the actions of these martyrs should be their own witness. Their witness will never go unheard in heaven.

The history of euripeanizing, Christianizing and all around interference in foreign cultures without understanding them is one of the deepest, most irretractable barriers between many middle-eastern people and the Western world.

Do we really need to create another unrelenting enemy?
Click to expand...
Thanks Antegen, for your comments, the problem is not as I see it of Europeanising but “Christianizing” to use your phrase, as the missions in Orissa are all local, and Jesus as you know was more Asian than European.
Persecution results because Christians do not and will not worship any other God but Christ. And this was true from as you say so correctly the very birth of Christ, the Herods of this world will never prevail against Gods Church so we must hope for Gods healing and restoration.

Now in the very first age of the Church there was tremendous persecution, St Alphonsus writes “The number of Christians who had received the crown of martyrdom, previous to the accession of Constantine, was almost incredible. Many authors calculate the number of those who had laid down their lives for the faith to have been nearly eleven millions! So that if this number were equally distributed in the course of one year, thirty thousand would be allotted to each day.”

**Now this eleven million was concentred almost entirely in the reign of two emperors of Rome, namely Diocletian and Maximian where the martyrs numbered eight million. **🙂
In the words of St Alphonsus where he quotes several historical authorities “THE persecution under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian is considered as the most violent that the Church has had to endure; and yet the triumph of the Christian faith was never more glorious than under these two notable tyrants.
It was considered as a capital offence for Christians to absent themselves from the public games; and not only in the principal towns, but even in the smaller villages, gibbets were prepared to execute those who would dare to confess the name of the Lord Jesus. Irons, scourges, racks, caldrons of boiling oil, and all the apparatus of torture were everywhere in readiness for those who refused to sacrifice to the idols.

The cruelty of Maximian went so far as to ordain that in the market-places, in the mills, in the bakers shops, and in the taverns idols should be set up, to which everybody should show some mark of idolatrous veneration, on pain of being arrested. Yet, notwithstanding this wholesale butchery, never were there seen greater multitudes of Christians professing a desire to suffer and to die for Jesus Christ; so that the number of holy martyrs amounted at that time to eight millions.”

I say quite casually 8 and 11 million, but please bear in mind, that the entire population of the world then was only around 170 million, and the number of humans in Asia, Africa and Europe within the Roman world would comprise only a fourth of that number, which means to be Christians in those days was to ask for martyrdom.

These wonderful martyrs place for our example wonderful examples of constancy, fortitude and courage, only surpassed by their Love of Christ. These holy souls despised their own lives, in many cases allowed their entire families to be cruelly tortured and killed before their very eyes, and apart from bearing every possible torture gave a unique witness to Christ.

Today in places such as Kandhamal - Orissa, the Christians witness under peril of their own life shines more brilliantly the greater that persecution reigns. Dear Antegen we have cause to rejoice and hope as even in the early church God, increased us many times more than tyrants made martyrs.
Why should we fear, if we believe in Our God.

God bless
Derrick
 
On January 28th 2008, I was in Bhubaneswar, on the invitation of Most Rev. Raphael Cheenath svd, the Archbishop of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, to speak / participate on a Sstrategic Planning Meeting entitled “Christian Minorities in Orissa under Attack”, which was convened by him at the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

In the context of the meeting and my subsequent interactions with several, even on the next day, I think it is necessary to put down some of my reflections / observations on what is happening in Orissa and also some suggestions, to immediately address the situation. **
  • The parallels between Gujarat and Orissa are unbelievably similar. The connection between the two States, especially since the late nineties, has always been there. It is a known fact that some of the rabble rousers in the tribal dominated areas of Gujarat have had their orientation and training in Orissa.
  • The “modus operandi” of the Sangh Parivar is evidently clear. There is meticulous planning involved. They use lies and half truths to instigate the mobs; the mobs attack Christian Churches, institutions, houses…the people flee, they are terrorized; the Managers, Parish Priests, Superiors in charge of the institutions move away fearing death. Through official Government channels, relief is not allowed. The Sangh Parivar clearly show that the Church has “abandoned” her people, the Priests have “run away”, there is no relief coming and then ofcourse, there is a “ghar vapasi” programme !
  • The media is compromised; the reports in the local press are mainly anti-Christian, there is very little coverage in the national / international print / electronic media. Most outsiders think everything is alright.
  • The Collector of Kandhamal issues an order dated 11th January 2008, literally preventing the Christians from providing relief to the affected people. This order was challenged by the Archbishop of Bhubaneswar in a Writ Petition No. 1257/2008 . This Writ Petition was apparently deposed on 28th January 2008 but the written Court Order is still awaited.
  • The State of Orissa shows an apparent air of being ineffective, but the reality is that the State is in criminal complicity with the right-wing Hindu elements – inspite of sweet talk by the CM.
  • Whilst Orissa definitely has a huge number of NGOs, there seems to be hardly any desire, collaboration and commitment to respond to the attack on the Christians.
  • Civil society also seems to have abdicated its role and responsibility. Whilst there has been some token protests in Bhubaneswar, it was mainly because of the presence and organizational capabilities of those who have come from outside the State.
  • There have been some reports and some appeals which have come from Orissa but what is seriously lacking is an indepth study / analysis of the situation, preferably done by a team of eminent citizens from outside the State.
  • The Church too seems to be in a state of “paralysis”. There definitely have been several gestures of response, but what is lacking is a coordinated and articulated stand which would simultaneously address the humanitarian (relief), justice (legal) and Constitutional (against communalism), media (communications) dimensions of the reality. Besides, in keeping with the terrorist / fascist designs of the Sangh Parivar, several key Church personnel are not present in the affected areas.
  • Major Donor Agencies like the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas India are ready to provide financial assistance to the victims but these sources remain virtually untapped.
    **Some of the above may seem judgmental but I have drawn these conclusions after indepth interactions I have had with several concerned people; however, I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.
 
In view of the above, I would like to make the following suggestions (these are not in order of priority but all need to be addressed immediately and perhaps, simultaneously) :

a) All Parish Priests / Vicars / Sr. Superiors should go back to their places of work immediately. Stay in a tent, in a thatched hut, whatever…The presences of these key-personnel will bring back the confidence to the people

b) Start mobilizing relief immediately. Take a convoy of relief materials. The Collector has no business to issue such an order. Provide relief, even if it means “courting arrest”.

c) Appoint an effective coordinating mechanism with key-people based in Bhubaneswar. This team should facilitate relief, legal aid, communications, etc. Separate teams / cells must be appointed for each dimension of involvement.

d) Get the women involved. They have suffered a lot during the attacks. I was very dismayed when there was not a single Religious Sister (or for that matter, a women victim) present at the meeting.

e) Internationalize the issue. The WORLD MUST KNOW what is happening in Orissa. Let there be short communications sent out from the Media Office of the Church in Bhubaneswar every day. Our Centre (PRASHANT, in Ahmedabad) will be ready to flash it to the world media.

f) Bring together and backup with resources, an “Independent Citizens Tribunal” consisting of eminent non-Christian citizens. They should begin work as soon as possible. (This, and other suggestions were already made at the Consultation organized by the CBCI Commission of Justice and Peace in Delhi on January 18th 2008.)

g) Be in touch with the local media, provide them with facts and figures on a daily basis. We need to give them our side of the story.

h) Sign and get others to sign the Petition Online: PetitionOnline.com/orissa/

i) Demand from the Central Government, immediate intervention in Orissa. Their silence is deafening inspite of high-level delegations to the President, PM, etc.

j) Popularize “Communalism in Orissa” - the Report of the Indian Peoples Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, of September 2006. (I had already insisted that CRS Orissa buys copies of this and sends it to all their Partners in Orissa more than a year ago.).

We may be already too late to effectively respond to the situation in Orissa. Let not future generations condemn us for allowing the secular character of our country to be destroyed. We have to act now …!
( Fr. Cedric Prakash sj is the Director of “Prashant”, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace)*
‘ PRASHANT ’
(A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace)
Near Kamdhenu Hall
Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad 380 052
Gujarat, India
Tel: 91 79 66522333 /27455913
Fax: 91 79 27489018
Email: sjprashant@gmail.com
www.humanrightsindia.in****
 
INDIA: HINDU EXTREMISTS ASSAULT NEW CHRISTIAN LEADER
Doctor had given legal help to believers beaten in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.
compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5265
Dr. Robin Singh
BALAGHAT, India, March 3 (Compass Direct News) – Following a Hindu extremist attack on five Christians meeting in a home here on February 22, the Madhya Pradesh town of Balaghat witnessed another assault last Wednesday (February 27) when the newly elected president of the Balaghat Christian Association was beaten for providing legal help to the previous victims.
Members of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal allegedly targeted Dr. Robin Singh, a medical doctor and Christian leader, because he had provided legal and administrative help to Tom George, Sunil Lal and others who had been dragged from a Lent meeting and beaten with bamboo poles, sticks, rods and other weapons.
The attack on Dr. Singh appeared to be calculated to give him nonvisible internal injuries so that a stronger police case may not be formed against them, as the 10 to 12 Hindu extremists did not use any sharp weapons. They struck him with their fists and wooden sticks, as well as kicked him, to deftly give him internal injuries.
“They did not use any weapons this time for if injuries were visible, an attempt to murder case could have been registered against them,” Dr. Singh told Compass. “I was startled and did not know what was going on. It was so sudden and I was so in shock that I could not even register the faces of the attackers properly.”
As president of the Balaghat Christian Association, Dr. Singh is active in representing Christian concerns before the local administration. The attack contrasted sharply with the February 22 assault on George, Lal, Vijay Patle, Aman Sri Nag and a woman named Leela Patle. Lal and George sustained severe internal injuries but we also left bruised and bleeding, with Lal suffering wounds on his head, ears, cheeks, shoulders, hands, stomach, knees and left leg. (See Compass Direct News, “Hindu Extremists Attack Christians in Madhya Pradesh, India,” February 25).
The Hindu extremists reportedly arrived in cars at 9:30 p.m. at the clinic, which they vandalized.
“The Bajrang Dal people completely broke the front portion of his clinic, destroying the glass, the reception area and all the medicines that were inside,” pastor Jagjit Singh from Creative Growth Ministries, Balaghat, told Compass.
Pastor Singh added that local police had done nothing so far, though a case has been filed against the assailants.
“No arrests have been made by the police even in the previous case,” he said. “The attackers are roaming free, and the Christian community is intimidated by all this.”
Dr. Singh appeared weak from the manner in which he spoke to Compass, and he reportedly has offered to resign from his post as president of the Balaghat Christian Association as the incident has left him fearful. Local Christian leaders are urging him to continue as the president. Christian leaders of Balaghat, along with state and national leaders, are considering expressing their concerns over the growing violence on the Christian community in Madhya Pradesh to the state’s chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Gov. Balram Jakhar.
END
 
Orissa Violence Figures In EU Parliamentcbcisite.com/cbcinews2165.htm
speroforum.com/site/artic…stian+violence
NEW DELHI, MAR. 05, 2008, 09.40 Hrs (CBCI News/John Dayal):

Questions have been asked by European Parliamentarians on the Christmas 2007 anti Christian violence in the Kandhamala district of Orissa allegedly by VHP activists.

Europe MP Mr. Jim Allister asked, “Is the EU Commission for External Relations aware of the widespread violence against Christians perpetrated by Hindu extremists in Kandhamala district, Orissa, during the week that preceded Christmas? Reports indicate that several Christians have been murdered, 65 churches have been burnt down, 600 homes of Christians have been destroyed, and hundreds of Christians have been displaced since the violence began on Christmas Eve. Has the Commission made representations to the Indian authorities to ensure that a thorough investigation be undertaken by the Central Bureau of Investigation and that police accept the complaint of the victims? Will the Commission make sure that action is taken against the perpetrators under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Act and that justice is delivered by an appropriate court?”

The answer given by Mrs. Ferrero-Waldner on behalf of the EU Commission for External Relations Commission on 13 February 2008 was: "The Commission is aware of reports of recent violence against Christians, their homes and churches perpetrated by religious extremists in Kandhamala district, Orissa. In response to these events, Commission officials in Brussels have shared with Indian counterparts the concern widely felt in Europe over the scale of the violence and the targeting of the vulnerable part of the population.

Indian officials have manifested awareness of the importance of pursuing justice and protecting the vulnerable in this situation. The Commission was also informed that, under Indian law, state government authorities hold the primary responsibility for law and order in the area. The Commission has received assurances that the Indian Government will ensure that action is taken. The Indian Embassy has also undertaken to provide further information in the future.

The Commission’s Delegation in New Delhi will continue to gather information on the violence in Orissa. The Commission’s Delegation in New Delhi will follow closely the decision taken by the judicial system against the perpetrators of these acts. In addition, the Delhi- based National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is expected to publish a report on the situation, prepared by the team, which the NCM sent on a fact-finding mission to Orissa earlier in January 2008."

Sent by: Dr John Dayal
save a life sign the online petition to the Indian prime minister,
petitiononline.com/orissa/petition.html
 
In the Archbishops words
"Christians are accused of ‘converting’ Hindus to Christianity. The Sangh Parivar exaggerates the number of Christians in Kandhamal in order to drive them away from the State and eventually from the country.
At present the fanatics are roaming around in Kandhamal threatening Christians by giving them three options: leave the country, or become a Hindu or be ready to die.
The Christians who have witnessed the total destruction of all their belongings are in great mental agony. ‘Gharvapasi’ (returning to Hinduism) costs them a lot: one goat, few kilos of rice and Rs. 500.
Those who refuse to return to Hinduism have to pay Rs.10,000 and get out of the place."

576 in Orissa return to Hinduism
March 6th, 2008 - 1:26 pm
thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/576-in-orissa-return-to-hinduism_10024558.html
Bhubaneswar,(IANS) At least 576 Christian converts in Orissa reverted back to Hinduism Sunday in a mass religious ceremony, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader said here.
The residents of about 122 families, including men, women and children of seven villages, formally announced their return to Hinduism at a religious function at Bijepur village, about 415 km from here, in the western district of Bargarh.

All of them had filed affidavits before a local magistrate expressing their desire to come back to the Hindu fold prior to the function organised by the VHP and Bajrang Dal, local VHP head Satyanarayan Panda told IANS.

Police were deployed to avoid untoward incidents.

The seven villages are located around Bijepur and have a population of about 5,000, mostly Hindus.
 
Christians protest against attacks on their community
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Christians_protest_against_attacks_on_their_community/articleshow/2849513.cms
9 Mar 2008, 1437 hrs IST,PTI
NEW DELHI: Christians in the capital on Sunday demanded that attacks on the community and its places of worship in various parts of the country be stopped immediately and urged the government to take action against perpetrators of such atrocities.

About 200 Christians under the aegis of Roman Catholic Church of New Delhi staged a protest here against violence targeting the community in Orissa and other states.

“Attacks against Christians by saffron forces have started taking place in Delhi too. Three weeks ago, activists of VHP and Bajrang Dal came to a church in Dilshad Garden and raised slogans against the community,” Father Dominic Emmanuel, a spokesman of the Delhi Catholic Church, said.

“We are sad and concerned. We appeal to the Centre to rein in the forces responsible for such attacks. The media should also focus on the issue. Just because we do not resort to violent protests, our voices should not be ignored by the media,” he said.

He said protests were simultaneously held in all major churches of the city and by all sects of the community.

The demonstration in front of the Cathedral of Sacred Heart in the heart of the city also saw the staging of a street play to denounce attacks on the community.
save a life sign the online petition to the Indian prime minister,
petitiononline.com/orissa/petition.html
 
Harijans reach out for help
thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=194692
PHULBANI, March 11: Twenty harijan families belonging to Kambarkia and Sikati village under Sudra gram panchayat have urged the district administration to come to their rescue as they are being repeatedly threatened by a tribal leader ever since the ethnic violence rocked the district in December 2007.
Contrary to claims of the government that it had brought the situation under control within four days of the violence and relief as well as rehabilitation measures are in full swing, the affected families continued to be a tormented lot.
The families who have petitioned the district authorities said a particular group had held a meeting at Dulikia village and resolved to oust non-tribals from the area. These frightened people are now seeking help and assistance of the administration. They have sought security and protection to their life and properly.
On the other hand, Mr Hemant Naik, State Convener Orissa Dalit Adivasi Action Net (ODDAN) in a statement criticsed the inaction of the administration. The human right violation that takes place goes unnoticed he alleged.
He alleged that 22 families of Barekia village under Midiakia gram panchayat have already been forced to leave their houses and now they have taken shelter at Majhipadar in Kotagarh Block. Similarly, 21 families of Usurkupa village were driven out from their village and now settled down at Tumudibandh where they are not getting work and food, he charged.
The government makes announcements and tall claims but the fact remains that Kandhamal is still on the boil and certain acts of the government in the post-enthnic violence period have provided a handle for one section to suppress and torment the other, he lamented.
save a life sign the online petition to the Indian prime minister,
petitiononline.com/orissa/petition.html
 
ITINERARY OF FR CEDRIC PRAKASH SJ VISIT TO THE US
(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is the director of Prashant, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace. He was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’ Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedric_Prakash

MARCH 13th to 1st APRIL 2008
Email ids during travel: (cedricprakash@gmail.com) (sjprashant@gmail.com)
Wednesday 12th March (Ahmedabad – Mumbai)
Dep. 1850 hrs Ahmedabad (9W 326) -Arr. 1950 hrs. Mumbai
Thursday 13th March (Mumbai – Seattle)
Dep. 0140 hrs (NW 33) via Amsterdam (AMS) Arr. 1525 hrs **Seattle/Tacoma Int’l, WA (SEA)**Stay : C/o Srijan Chakraborty
11614 NE 87th Ln , Kirkland , WA 98033
Tel : (425) 890-8515
(Off) 425 722 4341
Others : Javed Sikander (425-707-3735) - Cell : 425.283.9932
email : jsikander@yahoo.com
Soyam Vohra (206-769-6625)

Friday, March 14th Seattle
1700 hrs Talk at Microsoft, Seattle
**“ India : Balancing Economic Progress and Social Justice”**At : Bldg. 40/1261 Constance

Saturday, March 15th (Seattle - San Jose)
Dep. 1225 hrs. Seattle, WA (SES) (SW 1966) Arr. 1435 hrs San Jose , CA (SJC)
Contact : Rahmat Baig (408-828-3021)
email : mrbaig@yahoo.com
Sunday, March 16th San Jose
1200 hrs Talk in San Jose / Bay Area
“Human Rights Challenges in Democratic India ”
At: Chandni Restaurant
5748 Mowry school Rd, Newark , CA

Monday, March 17th (San Jose - Chicago )
Dep. 0730 hrs San Jose , CA (SJC) (SW 599)
Arr. 1335 hrs Chicago , IL (MDW)
Contact : Zubair Patel (847-644-3908)
Rasheed Ahmed (630-670-8875)

Tuesday, March 18th
1515 hrs Leave Chicago for Milwaukee by Amtrak
Meetings at Marquette University
C/o Philip Rossi
Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs
Theology Department (Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences )
Marquette University
PO Box 1881
Milwaukee WI 53201-1881
Phone : 414 288-7170 [Theology]
Phone : 414 288-7692 [Arts and Sciences]
Fax : 414 288-5548 [Theology]
Wednesday, March 19th
Meetings at Marquette University

Thursday, March 20th ( Milwaukee – Columbus )
Dep. 1220 hrs Milwaukee , WI (MKE) (Continental 2650)
Arr. 1438 hrs Cleveland , OH (CLE)
Dep. 1545 hrs Cleveland , OH (CLE) (Continental 28719)
Arr. 1645 hrs Columbus , OH (CMH)
Contacts : Zaki Khan (937-309-9399)

email: zaki43016@yahoo.com

Friday, March 21st ( Columbus – Boston )
Dep. 0750 hrs Columbus , OH (CMH) (US Airways 3134)
Arri. 0907 hrs Washington , D.C. (DCA)
Dep. 1030 hrs Washington D.C. (DCA) (US Airways 2028
Arr. 1158 hrs Boston , MA (BOS)
Stay : C/o Dr. Sanjay D’Souza (MIT – Dept of Biology 68-633)
88 Alpine Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts – 02139)
Somerville ( Lab Phones 1-(617) 253-3745)
Massachusetts :02144 (1-(617) 253-4721)
Tel : (617) 666-7509

Saturday, March 22nd ( Boston – Richmond )
Dep. 0830 hrs Boston , MA (BOS) (US Airways 1847) Arr. 1003 hrs Philadelphia , PA
Dep. 1130 hrs Philadelphia , PA (Piedmont Airlines 4477)
Arr. 1253 hrs Richmond , VA (RIC)
Contact : Attaulla Khan (410-903-1157)
email : attaulla2000@yahoo.com

Monday 24th March
1430 hrs Meeting with Mr. Sean Callahan
Catholic Relief Services
228 West Lexington Street
Baltimore , MD 21201
Mobile : +1 443-255-9581
Direct Fixed Line : +1 410-234-3175

Tuesday March 25th – Thursday March 27th
Washington D.C. area State Department, etc.
Thursday, March 27th (Washington, DC - New Jersey )
(By Amtrak)
Contact: Shaheen Khateeb : (201-357-5358)
email : shaheen@khateeb.com

Friday, March 28th ( New Jersey - Atlanta )
Dep. 1211 hrs New Jersey , NJ (EWR) (AirTran 1695)
Arr. 1432 hrs Atlanta , GA (ATL)
Contact : Dorothy Grillo
CRS Regional Director - Southeast
229 Peachtree St NE
Suite 402
Atlanta , GA 30303
Tel : 404-681-4600

Saturday, March 29th ( Atlanta - Ft. Lauderdale )
Dep. 0815 hrs Atlanta , GA (ATL) (AirTran 71) Arr. 0958 hrs Ft. Lauderdale , FL (FLL)
Contact : Ayub Ibrahim (954-288-9275)
email: ayubi1@gmail.com
Safaquat Khan (561-703-6288)
Email : safaquat@gmail.com

Sunday, 30th March ( Miami - Amsterdam )
Dep. 14.46 hrs Miami , FL (NW 996) Arr. 17.55 hrs Detroit , MI
Dep.19.05 hrs Detroit , MI (NW 36)Arr. 2250 Amsterdam

Monday 31st March ( Amsterdam – Mumbai)
Dep. 1020 hrs Amsterdam (NW 34)
Arr. 1050 hrs Mumbai
Tuesday 1st April ( Bombay – Ahmedabad)
Dep. 0540 hrs. Mumbai (9W 321) Arr. 0635 hrs. Ahmedabad
 
Hindu Extremists in India Forcibly ‘Re-Convert’ Christians
Believers lured to temple in Himachal Pradesh, pressured to deny their faith.
christiannewstoday.com/Christian_News_Report_469.html
by Surinder Kaur Lal
SHIMLA, India, Hindu extremists recently carried out a well-planned scheme to lure to a temple and forcibly convert scores of Christians from villages around this capital city of Himachal Pradesh state.
Offering money, making threats, or leading the Christians to believe they were going to government offices for official paperwork, Hindu extremists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on February 27 lured the believers to the Satyanarayan Temple in the heart of Rampur Bushar.

Ramlal Kanol, who is blind, said four men came to his house on February 26, first offering him money to go with them, then threatening to imprison and fine him if he didn’t.

“I was forced to participate in the Hindu rituals, and I could not resist the force in the temple because of the massive crowd surrounding us,” he said. By one Christian pastor’s estimate, about 30 percent of those present were Hindus pretending to be Christians re-converting back to Hinduism.

“The crowd was gathered together to make a show that all of them are converted Christians re-converting to Hinduism,” said pastor Bhadur Singh, who along with 20 members of his church was lured to the temple by local politician named Brij Lal. Lal took them by bus supposedly for them to support his bid to win election to office.

Local media subsequently reported that 60 families had reconverted to Hinduism in purification ceremonies performed by Hindu priest Lal Dass.

Kanol, who has a preaching and healing ministry with Amar Jyoti India in Bhutti village, said the four Hindu extremists who came to his house on February 26 offered him money, and then threatened him and his wife Meera Devi with seven years of prison and a fine of 15,000 rupees (US$372) if he did acquiesce to their demands.

“They threatened me, asking me to ‘Continue your work with the poor and healing the sick, but in the name of Ram, not Christ,’” he said.
Claiming that they were from an organization called Seva Bharati, the Hindu extremists offered Kanol an annual salary if he would do his service to humanity in the name of the Hindu god.
The Hindu extremists – “Heera Lal, Joginder, and a lady named Nirmala” among others – finally persuaded Kanol and his wife to accompany them to Rampur Bushar “for some official paper work,” he said.
His wife Meera Nevi recounted, “Instead, we were taken to the Hindu temple where they washed our feet, put a Hindu stole around our neck, and made us go around the temple. When we reached the temple, around 200 people from various villages were already brought there for the ceremony of re-conversion. I recognized only one of them.”
The harassment did not end that day. Some of the Hindu extremists came to Kanol’s house the next morning to set up a Hindu altar in his house in place of his cross and Christian altar.
“I told them straight, ‘I will never remove the cross, even if I have to die,’” Kanol said.
Sign Here
Among those taken by bus to the temple was Amar Singh, a Christian from Ganvi village.
Upon reaching the temple, Singh also was pressured to participate in the rituals and purification ceremonies.

“Brij Lal filled out some kind of a form which I did not sign – so he signed it himself for me,” Singh told Compass. “I, along with my family, will still follow Christ and go for the worship service to church.”

Anita Negi of Jhakadi village told Compass that two Hindu extremists told her to bring personal court case documents to authorities. While her husband was at work, she went with the two men, who took her to the Satyanarayan Temple.

“A man continuously lectured the crowd, persuading us to re-convert to Hinduism,” Negi said, adding that she there recognized four Christian women and three young children from her village.

“They did not give us opportunity to speak,” she said. “As soon as we entered, they welcomed us with garlands, Hindu temple songs, and we were made to eat food that was sacrificed to Hindu idols.”

Local Hindu extremists approached her husband, Sukhchand Negi, the next morning on his way to work and threatened him unless he forsook his Christian faith. He capitulated, she said with evident distress – their three children were also forced to re-convert – adding that her husband told her, “If you want to continue to believe, believe secretly, don’t force me.”

The Hindu extremists issued threats throughout the district. Dharmendra Kanol told Compass, “They sent me threatening messages, through the villagers, of attacking me with sticks in order to take me along to Rampur Bushar, but I did not [go].”

‘Returning Home’
Amar Ujjala newspaper published statements from RSS and Bajrang Dal officials welcoming families who had returned to their “original homes,” saying they were glad that the re-converted families have recognized the “wrong intention” of Christians and their preachers and had decided to return to the Hindu fold. They also claimed that they would organize more such “homecoming” events in other parts of Himachal Pradesh.

Kuldeep Dogra, baptized a Christian four years ago, was among those lured to the temple. “I did not know that they would make me do all this,” he said. “I am badly hurt.”
Sundar Singh, one of the 20 Christians taken by bus to the temple, said there were about 10 cameramen there.
“I felt detestable,” he said. “That was the worst day of my life.”

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ARMED MOB THREATENS CHRISTIANS ON PALM SUNDAY IN KANDHAMAL, ORISSA

BHUBANESHWAR, MAR. 17, 2008, 09.30 Hrs (CBCI News):

For the first time in more than a decade, the Palm Sunday procession could not be carried out in Tiyangia village under the Raikia police station in Kandhamal district’s Udayagiri block. The pageant was called off after a crowd of armed Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists threatened local Christians this morning.

Dr. John Dayal, president of All India Catholic Council (AICU) and secretary general of the All India Christian Council (AICC), reported from troubled Kandhamal district that an armed mob prevented the 180 Catholic families of the Betticola Parish in Tiyangia village to hold the traditional procession to mark the Palm Sunday.

The mob was still in the village, and growing, at the time of reporting.

Dr. Dayal quoted Betticola Parish priest Fr. Praful Sadhapati as saying that that when he came to the village at around 10 a.m. to conduct the Palm Sunday mass, he saw a huge crowd of people carrying arms and shouting slogans asking Christians to leave the area.

The mob was also using a loudspeaker to gather more people.

Sensing trouble, Fr. Praful Sadhapati informed another Catholic clergy in the Bhubaneswar Archdiocese, who reported the incident to the police inspector, identified only as Panda. The superintendent of police of Kandhamal was also informed, and police were expected to arrive at the scene.

Local Christians think the crowd was collected by the Hindutva communal organisation, whose leaders are reportedly eying for the land set apart for a Christian graveyard outside the village.

Christians are apprehending violence, and tensions have gripped the Tiyangia village and surrounding areas, Dr. Dayal said.

Asma Jahangir, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion, was in Kandhamal yesterday to take stock of the aftermath of the violence, which began on December 24, 2007 and lasted for more than a week. The series of attacks killed at least six Christians and burned 730 houses and 95 churches.

Thousands of displaced Christian victims are in various relief camps set up by the state government of Orissa.
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**Hindu nationalists attack girls and nuns Hindu men and women attacked Catholic nuns and girls in Maharashtra state near Mumbai. The nuns were pummeled by the mob who also destroyed the girls’ means of livelihood. **

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
CNA
A Hindu radical group on Saturday attacked two Catholic nuns and three teenage girls in a western Indian village as they prepared to hold a women’s educational program, UCA News reports.

Sister Merciana Tuscano, one of the Carmelite nuns attacked, told UCA News that radical Hindu men and women attacked the nuns and girls in the village of Sanghoti in the state of Maharashtra. The mob shouted at the nuns, accusing them of “converting tribal people to Christianity.” According to Sister Tuscano, the mob “told us to leave the village at once and never to come back or else they would break our legs.”

The Catholic group was in Sanghoti, a village about 75 miles south of Mumbai, to conduct programs for tribal women. The group’s activities include running adult literacy classes, encouraging self-help groups, and popularizing the government’s AIDS program.

The Saturday program was to begin at noon, but at about 10:30 a group of about twenty men and twenty women arrived and began to throw away chairs and tables. Sister Tuscano said that when she confronted the group, “the women caught hold of me, pulled my hair and punched me hard all over my body.”

She said that though she cried for help, the group dragged her out of the venue. The three teenage girls tried to rescue her, but Sister Tuscano said they were “hammered” by the mob.

The second nun, Sister Philomena D’Mello, then arrived with other women for the program. Sister Tuscano told UCA News that Sister D’Mello was also attacked. “The mob rushed at her, caught hold of her, punched her all over. When she fell down in pain, a man stamped (on) her stomach twice,” she said.

The mob also attacked the nun’s driver, a Catholic, who tried to intervene.

The injured group was rushed to a government hospital in Albag, but were discharged on Sunday.

Sister Floripe D’Silva, vice-provincial of the nuns’ Carmelite congregation, said she would take the sisters to a private hospital for further evaluation. She said all six victims were traumatized by the incident.

Sister D’Silva said the mob also destroyed a grinding machine donated by a non-governmental organization to help tribal women generate income. She said a Hindu social worker who had come on behalf of the government to talk about AIDS was shocked by the attack.

According to a local police official, 13 Hindu men and women had been arrested for the attack, but were granted bail. The official said the attackers, who were followers of a local guru, accused the nuns of “converting the local tribal people to Christianity.”

Sister D’Silva denied the accusation. “It is a humbug charge. We have not converted a single tribal,” she said. She said that the tribal people themselves have told police that the nuns do not preach religion but only train them to lead a decent life.
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Orissa HC Stays Govt Order Restraining NGOs From Aiding Violence Victims
cbcisite.com/cbcinews2196.htm
NEW DELHI, MAR. 24, 2008 (CBCI News):
The High Court of Orissa, Cuttack has granted stay on the implementation of the Order of the District Collector and District Magistrate of Kandhamal District proclaimed on 11 January 2008 which had affectively banned the Church and NGOs from giving relief to the victims of the Anti-Christian violence during Christmas week.
The Bench consisting of Chief Justice Mr. Justice A K Ganguly and Mr. Justice B N Mahapatra on 18 March 2008 passed the relevant order and posted the matter for further hearing on 3rd April 2008.
The All India Christian Council, represented by its Orissa Chapter president Rev Pran
Parichha, had challenged the Collector’s order on 27th February 2008, through a Public Interest Litigation writ petition.
The District Collector’s order has also been challenged in the Supreme Court of India by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Catholic Archdiocese.
The following is the text of the order:
The High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
[Original Jurisdiction Court]
Writ Petition [C] Number 3028 of 2008
Code No. 211000
IN THE MATTER OF:
An application under Article 226 of Constitution of India
And
IN THE MATTER OF:
Public Interest Litigation challenging the arbitrary and unreasonable restrictions and ban imposed against the charitable and religious institutions for carrying our relief operation amongst the victims of communal violence in Kandhamal District or Orissa
And
IN THE MATTER OF:
All India Christian Council, [Orissa Chapter] being represented by its president Rev Pran Parichha, aged about 57 years, son of Late Subhas Chandra Parichha, at Kanika Road, PO Tulasipur, Town/ District Cuttack — Petitioner
Versus
  1. State of Orissa represented by the Chief secretary to the
    Government of Orissa, Orissa Secretariat, Bhubaneswar
  2. Principal Secretary to Govt of Orissa, Home Department, Orissa
    Secretariat, Bhubaneswar
  3. Collector and District Magistrate, Kandhamal, at Po. Phulbani,
    District Kandhamal
  4. Union of India, being represented by the Secretary, Ministry of
    Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi
  5. — Opp. Parties
    On 18 .3.2008
    Heard Counsel for the parties.
    On the oral prayer made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, the name of Opposite Party number 5 is deleted from the cause title of the writ petition
    Mr. Khuntia, learned counsel for the State, accepts notice on behalf of the opposite parties 1 to 4. Four extra copies of the writ petition be served on him by tomorrow, who will obtain instruction in the matter.
    The mater will appear in the list on 3rd April, 2008
    Perused the impugned order dated 11.1.2008 annexed as Annexure 3 of the writ petition
    This Court makes it clear that the order dated 11.1.2008, shall remain stayed. However, in the matter of distribution of relief materials, all parties involved therein should maintain law and order.
    Urgent certified copy of the order be granted on proper application.
    A free copy of the order be handed over to the learned counsel of the State.
    Signed
    A K Ganguly
    [Chief Justice]
    B N Mahapatra, Justice
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Members of the Tribunal
MR. JUSTICE HOSBET SURESH
MR. JUSTICE KOLSE PATIL
MR. R. B. SREEKUMAR, IPS, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE [RETD.] GUJARAT,
MS TEESTA SETALVAD
Facilitation:
Dr Pran Parichha [943709714], Mr. Joseph Dias, Mr. Hemant Nayak
Convener:
Dr John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, Govt of India
09811021072 johndayal@vsnl.com
URGENT
Bhubaneswar, 17 May 2008
Transcript excerpts of press meeting by the Independent Tribunal on Kandhamal on return of Justices HOSBET SURESH, KOLSE PATIL, MS TEESTA SETALVAD AND RB SREEKUMAR, IPS RETD AFTER PUBLIC HEARINGS IN KANDHAMAL DISTRICT
–War footing required in Rehabilitation Relief, Reconciliation
– Roofs must before Monsoons
– Systematic communal polarization must be checked
– Government had warnings of violence but failed to act
Independent Tribunal will send list of queries to State Government for response
The four-member Independent Tribunal consisting of eminent jurists Justice Hospet Suresh, Justice Kolse Patil [both former High Court judges], Director General of Police [retired], Gujarat, Mr. R. B. Sreekumar and Ms Teesta Setalvad, the noted Human rights activist, returned from Kandhamal on the evening of 16th May 2008 after extensive Public hearings in the district between 13 and 15 May 2008. Justice Suresh left for Mumbai early, but Justice Kolse presided over a press conference also addressed by Ms Teesta Setalvad and Mr. R B Sreekumar at Swosti Hotel in Bhubaneswar today. The Tribunal did not issue a written statement, but made oral preliminary remarks and said the Interim report will be prepared and questionnaires sent to the State and Central Government authorities for their comments and responses before the final report was made public.
The following are excerpts from the typescript of the Press conference:
JUSTICE KOLSE PATIL: We have been going places through the country where there is human rights violations and prejudice. We were requested by Ms Teesta Setalvad and we have been to Kandhamal for the Independent Tribunal. We have practically visited most affected villages, tried to talk to victims personally, and we also invited them for giving evidence before the Tribunal. We have recorded the evidence.
ONE THING WE NOTED PROMINENTLY IS THAT AID HAS NOT REACHED THE VICTIMS. CHURCHES, HOSTELS, HOSPITALS WHICH ARE DESTROYED – THEY ARE AS IT IS. NOW WE KNOW THE AREA IS FACING MONSOONS. BY JUNE, WITHIN THESE FIFTEEN DAYS, IF AID IS NOT REACHED, THE CONDITION OF THESE VICTIMS WILL BE PATHETIC. MANY OF THEM HAVE NO HOUSES YET. HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES ARE EITHER STAYING IN A CAMP OR WITH THEIR RELATIVES, WHEREVER THEY GOT SHELTER.
This is a religious as well as an economic problem. A community rich in resources is being exploited. The culminative effect of this exploitation, we know, is that every six months or a year, riots take place.
The womenfolk who deposed before us said they were so independent before 1970. “We had our own traditions, our own sanskruti and we used to have tremendous independence.” We in the Tribunal found that this happiness of the people there is being jeopardized by the religious, political economic exploiters. The area is being destroyed. The ultimate ulterior motive of the leaders, religious, economic or political, is clear. Many of the down trodden are doing business now and they are educated, and because of their education and upliftment, the class that was exploiting them earlier, is making life miserable for them.
The evidence is with us and we will analyse it. We have tried to invite all state machinery to give evidence. We also tried to contact them to give and other facilities to the people/ There are no government schools running in the area, and some schools run by other agencies seem to be for their own ulterior motives. The government instead of protecting the traditions and culture of the people has allowed other agencies such as the RSS and the Bajrang Dal to be active. The government machinery is not taking an interest in the progress of the area. The police have neither recorded the complaints of the people nor given them protection, and there this is the best example of why there is no law and order in the district.
But prima facie, it is important that the people get aid immediately so that by June their life is somewhat conformable and they are in a position to have shelter.
 
MS TEESTA SETALVAD: We have just concluded our visit and this is a preliminary feedback for the media.
It is virtually five months after the break of the violence. The violence which we know was deliberately engineered around Christmas day 2007 had been festering for other reasons since about July or august 2007. The festering conflict since that period has been twisted and manipulated and engineered around Christmas eve, which is a very major event for the minority community. And the violence unleashed. Even the government – we met relief official the sub collectors, have spoken to the superintendent of police. Even the government records show where the damage has taken place.**
What is really of concern is that even five months after the violence, when we visited the remnants of the camp at Barakhama, the communication levels that ought to be there between the victims and the government officials were not there. While we were there, we actually encountered a young woman who suffered an abortion, needed to be taken to hospital because she was festering with a stomach infection which could have led to septicemia. Only after our intervention, she was privately taken to the Balliguda hospital for treatment. This small incident, but which could have affected her life, showed that there has not been required and requisite coordination between the victim groups and the government. Even five month after the outbreak of violence, in the heat of this month and the threat of monsoon by the next fifteen or twenty days, government officials admit that about 220 houses need to be built in Barakhama alone, and now private agencies are being asked to chip in to buy asbestos sheets for the roofs. We do not understand how government could not recognise the urgency of doing something about it.
Out first appeal to the government is that they should put aside technicalities and on a war footing ensure that every single house is built. It is not that which agency gives the money, but the issue should be that the people who are dis-housed and displaced by the violence it is the responsibility of the government under the Constitution to ensure that the houses are built.**NUMBER TWO: We also believe that in a particular village which is quite inaccessible – even we had to walk to it because the road is very bad – called Borikia, there are 48 [forty-eight] families who are displaced from there and are now staying at G Udaygiri. This is an immediate problem. We are therefore appealing to the authorities that under police protection, if required, they are allowed to go back to their village because they are still living in a leprosy camp and they are not able to go back.
I would not go to the nitty gritty of testimonies, but our visit was very illuminating. Out of my experience of travelling across the country – unfortunately dealing with communal situations –m what was very apparent and heartening in the Kandhamal area is the inherent communication and empathy that even the different affected groups have with each other. We believe there is a tremendous potential for peace-building in this area. There is a history of peace-building like in 1994 when women from different tribes and groups were given the leadership. The governments unfortunately not entrusting them with this peace-building. Unfortunately, many of the peace committees set up by the government have people on them who are themselves accused in the violence. So they fail to attract the faith of the affected population. Something heartening we found was that the local populations do not have animosity, apathy towards their fellow people. The local population does not have grudges, or any festering communalism.
THERE ARE SOME ISSUES THAT LED TO THE VIOLENCE, BUT THERE IS A TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL TO OVERCOME IT. SO INSTEAD OF MAKING CYNICAL EXPLOITATION OF THE POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE IN THIS PRE-ELECTION YEAR – THERE IS ONE MORE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR – THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON GENUINE PEACE BUILDING AND HAND OVER THIS PROCESS TO PEOPLE WHO CAN HANDLE THIS WORK. THIS IS ALSO OUR APPEAL.
Our preliminary view also is that in terms of what happened 24 to 27th December 2007, there were definite indicators of various kinds that such violence may break out. So there seems to have been a failure of the state to take preventive measures. The timing of a bandh on a date which is an important feast of the minorities – all this points to the fact that the government did not take as seriously as it should the events of 24th and 25th December. These mistakes we cannot afford to repeat. This is a very inaccessible region. If anything of this kind is allowed to fester, it will be even more problematic. We feel the government should learn the lessons, admit its failure and NOT allow them to happen once again As citizens of this country, poor victims of inaccessible areas should NOT become victims once more of something that can be avoided.
We also have reports of communal speeches being made, a certain communalization of populations. This will come out in the final report. But we believe that stringent action against communal elements is a step the government should be taking.
 
MR. R B SREEKUMAR, IPS RETIRED: We have to think what we can do hereafter. We should build upon the present situation. Unlike in other places, particularly in Gujarat for instance, there is a lot of amity prevailing here between people. THERE IS A STANDARD LAID OUT DRILL THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA REGULATIONS STIPULE – THERE ARE THREE “R” TO BE FOLLOWED. THESE ARE FIRST RECONCILIATION, SECOND REHABILITATION AND THE THIRD IS RESETTLEMENT. FOR THIS THERE SHOULD BE SCHEMES. ONE IS THE CIVILIAN ONE. AND THE OTHER IS THE POLICE SIDE. NO SOCIETY CAN BE HELD TOGETHER ON POLICE TERROR AND POLICE SUZERAINTY OR POLICE PLAN. THOSE WERE FOR EASE OF THE BRITISH ACTION. **That is why the British gave all powers to the policeman. A head constable apparently has more power than the President of India – he can arrest a citizen under fifty-two different laws. That is the British system which we are continuing.**WHAT IS REQUIRED THE CIVILIAN ACTION. Development problem and social problems will degenerate into communal clashes unless action is taken, or caste or class violence. Institutions and NGOs fail, government departments fail. Civil departments in Kandhamal should come out with detailed scheme regarding social welfare, social mobility, economic issues, and even religious reconciliation. We are not lacking any code of conduct or systems. We have not implemented them. There are certain agent’s provocateurs, instigated by evil minded people probably deputed by some political parties, communalists, who have some grand design to break India, they are behind it. These people should be brought on record by the police. These are all laid down procedures and should be followed as listed in the Orissa Police Rules. This is a specified laid down drill down to the police station. But apparently it is seldom or rarely implanted. It must be impended otherwise another conflagration will take place.
It seems there is some problem in arresting a top-most communalist who is engaged in rabid vituperative attack against a minority community, denigrating holy personalities such a Jesus Christ. If the police say it is not easy to arrest him, a beginning can be made by arresting his henchmen. Without these henchmen, these tools, he cannot operate.
There should be a special riots scheme to handle future situations in this area otherwise the police will collapse. There should be standard operating procedures in which dos and Don’ts for every rank of officer should be laid down. IPS officers should be trained.
There seems the skill is lacking. But also the will is lacking. If the police are again caught unawares, unlike in Delhi, Ahmadabad or Chennai, here in far flung areas, you may have to drop policemen by helicopters and even then by the time the police come, the whole thing may be over. I think because of the amity, fraternity and harmony between people, there was no targeted attack on human beings. Had they attacked human beings, nothing would have been left. The riots died down of their own, without any government intervention. It is as if the government was following some system of `naturopathy’. This cannot do.
RESPONSE TO SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA:
TEESTA SETALVAD: The tribunal invited leadership of all different sections of public and political parties to depose. THE PUBLIC CAME FROM ALL COMMUNITIES AND RELIGIONS, BUT THE POLITICAL LEADERS DID NOT, EITHER FROM THE RULING ALLIANCE OR FROM THE OPPOSITION. We have this experience in other tribunals. The person [Swami laxmananda] you mention did not appear before us. But there is not a single section of people that did not depose before us. Unfortunately the political class looks askance at Tribunals and the administration.
Justice Patil: We named people because there was evidence on record – the slogans, and the names related by witnesses.
Ms Teesta Setalvad: we have on record testimonies of people who have studied in the ashram of Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati – how this ashram functions, what it does, what activities go on there. Al this is now on record of the tribunal. We have concluded that certain types of speeches that have been made and telecast have made the communal pointing.
The government has been apathetic. Monsoons are approaching, Aid has not yet reached. IT IS THE PRIMARY CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE A SHELTER OVER THEIR HEADS AND DO NOT SURVIVE IN SUBHUMAN CONDITIONS. Even now people have not gone home, or not been able to return home. Surely there is a degree of insecurity. Miscreants who have been identified in every village – the whole village is not communal, but some elements are – create situations in which people cannot come back. At that stage the administration should step in, to ensure that the citizen should be able to return. This indicates complicity. State complicity is in not having adequate force to prevent violence despite warning, and not taking immediate and concrete steps since the violence broke out. Even today, police are not registering FIR’s and punishing the guilty. These are the ingredients on which we say that there has been a high level of carelessness and apathy on the part of the government – When crimes are committed across time and across villages, who the villagers are naming as accused.
There were many ingredients that form the backdrop of the violence, but the violence took a distinctive communal color. IT IS UNFORTUNATE FACT OF OUR HISTORY AS AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY THAT COMMUNAL VIOLENCE AND OTHER VIOLENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT SECTION OF SOCIETY IS USED BY THE PARTY IN POWER , WHICHEVER THE PARTY IT IS, BUT FOR SOME PARTY, HATRED ITSELF IS THE AGENDA. Using violence for political ends has unfortunately become a part of democratic electoral practice in India.
Some parties have hatred as an agenda and some don’t.
It is obvious there were a lot of preparations for the violence. Violence can be used to polarize people in a pre election year. The fact that this happened in December 2007 and what we have seen of the political response – by the ruling party and the opposition – it seems there has been some complicity across parties. If adequate lessons are not learnt, there are fears that once violence has been used, it will be used again. Here or in neighboring districts or in neighboring states which will go to elections sooner or later.
It is the local people who can provide answers and solutions. They are working day and night. I was really humbled by the testimonies of the Kui women.
In Kandhamal, people filed FIRs, even sent it by registered post. But these were returned. This is against the law. Under section 154, FIRs have to be registered, as the law of the land insists. The attitude of the police and administration does not seem to be to record the FIRs and punish the guilty. This is unfortunate. There was ample evidence through government sources. The reasons why the government did not take adequate measures speaks for itself. It is the amity between the people that prevent more lives lost. Otherwise there was nothing that the government did which could have prevented this. Violence festered with no affective government intervention.
Our report will say all this in a considered manner. We will come before you once again.
RELEASED TO THE MEDIA BY DR JOHN DAYAL
Member, National Integration Council, Government of India
Convener of the Independent Tribunal
Mobile phone number 09811021072
Email: johndayal@vsnl.com
 
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