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Orissa violence ’sought Christian enslavement’
Jury members at the release of their report on the Orissa violence
Anti-Christian violence in Orissa was an orchestrated attempt by Hindu fanatics to enslave lower cast people, a special tribunal in New Delhi has said.
Religion was used as an excuse to execute their plans, a “jury” of former judges and eminent citizens said in a report at the end of a National People’s Tribunal (NPT), yesterday.
The hearing was held to mark the second anniversary of the start of the riots.
Sectarian “forces used religious conversions to incite horrific forms of violence and discrimination against Christians of low caste origin and their supporters in Kandhamal,” the report said.
The objective of the violence was “to dominate” the poor “to ensure that they never rose in social status so they would remain subservient to higher castes,” it said.
The 12-member jury heard evidence from 43 victims and testimonies of bishops, officials and social activists from Orissa’s Kandhamal district, the center of the 2008 violence.
The tribunal was established by the National Solidarity Forum, a coalition of some 50 volunteer organizations and rights groups.
“What happened in Kandhamal was a national shame, a complete defacement of humanity,” said jury chief A. P. Shah, a former New Delhi chief justice. Survivors continue to be intimidated, denied protection and access to justice, Shah added.
“Coercive tactics have been used for the conversion or re-conversion of people into the Hindu fold, including threats, and intimidation, as well as institutionalized humiliation rituals,” the report said.
State and district authorities “on no occasion, intervened to protect freedom of religion and freedom of expression,” it added.
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Jury members at the release of their report on the Orissa violence
Anti-Christian violence in Orissa was an orchestrated attempt by Hindu fanatics to enslave lower cast people, a special tribunal in New Delhi has said.
Religion was used as an excuse to execute their plans, a “jury” of former judges and eminent citizens said in a report at the end of a National People’s Tribunal (NPT), yesterday.
The hearing was held to mark the second anniversary of the start of the riots.
Sectarian “forces used religious conversions to incite horrific forms of violence and discrimination against Christians of low caste origin and their supporters in Kandhamal,” the report said.
The objective of the violence was “to dominate” the poor “to ensure that they never rose in social status so they would remain subservient to higher castes,” it said.
The 12-member jury heard evidence from 43 victims and testimonies of bishops, officials and social activists from Orissa’s Kandhamal district, the center of the 2008 violence.
The tribunal was established by the National Solidarity Forum, a coalition of some 50 volunteer organizations and rights groups.
“What happened in Kandhamal was a national shame, a complete defacement of humanity,” said jury chief A. P. Shah, a former New Delhi chief justice. Survivors continue to be intimidated, denied protection and access to justice, Shah added.
“Coercive tactics have been used for the conversion or re-conversion of people into the Hindu fold, including threats, and intimidation, as well as institutionalized humiliation rituals,” the report said.
State and district authorities “on no occasion, intervened to protect freedom of religion and freedom of expression,” it added.
(More)