All-community meet to restore peace in Kandhamal On Oct 2

All-community meet to restore peace

Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR: More than five weeks after communal violence broke out in Orissa’s Kandhamal district, the administration on Monday successfully organised a meeting of people belonging to different communities to restore peace in the region.

The meeting, attended by representatives of Hindus, Christians, tribals and Scheduled Castes, decided to hold a district-level peace rally on Gandhi Jayanthi day.

Top officials of the government, including Secretary of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Department, Taradatt, and Kandhamal District Collector Krishan Kumar, attended the meeting. Representatives of various non-governmental organisations were also present. ...more

Nation: Catholic nun stripped naked and raped public

Nun was gang raped and priest brutally assaulted in Kandhamal

Parvathi Menon  The Hindu   September 30, 2008

FIRs lodged but no arrests by State government; no response from Centre; Sister Nirmala wrote to CM and PM appealing for protection to Christians

Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government has failed to take any action, under the law of the land, against those who committed bestial crimes — the gang rape of a 28-year-old Catholic nun and the brutal attack on a Catholic priest who courageously resisted their attempts to force him to participate in the atrocity. These incidents took place on August 25 at K. Nuagaon, 12 km from the Baliguda subdivision in Kandhamal district. Both victims filed First Information Reports at the Baliguda police station. Sister Nirmala, Superior-General of the Missionaries of Charity, wrote to the Orissa Chief Minister and the Prime Minister specifying the atrocities. ...more 

Sister Nirmala’s appeal to Orissa Chief Minister

More attacks on Christians: 10 additional companies of para-military forces sought in Orissa

KalingaTimes Correspondent

Bhubaneswar, Sept 26: Odisha's Kandhamal district that witnessed communal violence recently is now experiencing a fresh wave of violence. At least two persons have been killed since Wednesday night, according to sources.

The blocks from where violence was being reported include Raikia, G. Udaygiri and Tikabali. The police were not able to reach many of the affected villages as the culprits had blocked the roads by felling trees.

In order to cover up its failure in Kandhamal, the state government has again written to the Centre seeking 10 companies of additional para-military forces to the riot-hit district.

A total of 43 companies of para-military forces were presently deployed in Kandhamal to assist the state police to maintain law and order.

Local people were attacking Christians and burning their houses since Tuesday evening after the police firing at Raikia.

The police had fired at a mob that pelted stone at the police station demanding release of some people who indulged in violence.

Meanwhile, the number of people at the relief camps has started swelling again with the Christian families returning to take shelter. They had left for their homes last week when violence showed a declining trend.

Many of the Christian families, who had returned from relief camps, have reportedly started reconverting to Hinduism to escape from attacks. Families not willing to return to the fold of Hinduism were leaving for distant cities and towns for their safety, sources said.  Read it all

  

Persecution of Christians in Orissa, India

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Protest in Delhi over violence against Christians

September 26th, 2008 - 6:02 pm ICT by IANS -

New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) A collage of faces - young students, leaders of religious minorities, Christian priests, nuns and others - gathered at the Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital Friday to protest the violence against the Christian community in Orissa and other parts of the country.Holding banners reading “Prosecute vandalists and communal elements” and “Violence against Christians is violation of human rights”, the protesters raised their voices against the vandalisation of churches and attacks on Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Thursday demanded immediate deployment of paramilitary forces in sensitive areas of Karnataka and sought stringent action against Bajrang Dal activists involved in attacks on churches in the state.

In its report to the Prime Minister’s Office, the minorities panel requested the central government to ensure that protection is immediately given to vulnerable members of the Christian community.  Read

Saffron of reconversion rises in Kandhamal

Saffron of reconversion rises in Kandhamal
Soumyajit Pattnaik, Hindustan Times

Menia, September 27, 2008
First Published: 23:22 IST(27/9/2008)
Last Updated: 23:45 IST(27/9/2008)



After the anti-Christian violence, Hindu proselytisers ‘facilitating’ Sanskara - reconversion - have come to the interior pockets of Kandhamal district.

And as a signal to the outside world that they have embraced Hinduism, villagers are hoisting saffron flags atop their homes. It’s a shield to protect themselves from further attacks.

At least, this is the picture Hindustan Times found in the Menia panchayat area in Kandhamal district, where 38 persons were reconverted into Hinduism on Friday.

Bisraba Diggal of Masapadar village, who had reconverted into Hinduism, said, “Yesterday, I opted for Sanskara and stayed in my village. We took a pledge that from Friday, we became Hindus again. As part of Sanskara, I tonsured my head and observed other religious rituals.”

When asked whether it was due to the threats, Diggal replied, “It was a voluntary decision.” But a local leader said, “People like Diggal have no option but to reconvert. By embracing Hinduism, they want to buy peace.”

Reconversions, done by an organisation called the Viswa Hindu Prasar, are being done in a systematic manner. In Menia panchayat, the Hindustan Times team saw a register in which the names of all the 38 people who came back into Hinduism were written along with their fathers’ names, addresses and details about their families.

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Church attacked in Tamil Nadu

First Published: 01:14 IST(27/9/2008)
Last Updated: 01:27 IST(27/9/2008)

Tension prevailed in Dharapuram town, 80 km from the textile centre of Erode in Western Tamil Nadu, for a while following an attack on the front portion a church by some miscreants in the wee hours early today.

The glass pane of a small square enclosure at the entrance to the St. Aloysius Church there was smashed in an incident of stone-pelting after 1 am early this morning, police sources in Erode told HT over telephone.

A statue of ‘Infant Jesus’ kept in that enclosure suffered minor damage, sources said, but there was no cause for alarm. An FIR has been registered on a complaint given by Fr. Jerome who heads the church, but no arrests have been made yet.

A similar incident was reported from Kanniykumari district down South yesterday, where some miscreants damaged a statue of Virgin Mary, in St. Xavier's Church in Nagercoil.

Read

Church properties in smaller Indian cities being sold

Baljeet Parmar and Ashwin Aghor
Friday, September 26, 2008 04:05 IST


The story so far: Churches in India hold vast lands worth several lakh crores of rupees. These lands are managed by more than 200 trusts and associations of the Church of North India. Some of these lands, particularly in Mumbai, are being sold to favoured private developers. Angry church activists say these deals are fraudulent because the lands are owned by the government and the trusts are merely custodians.

MUMBAI: Mumbai isn't the only place where church lands are sought to be sold to private developers, though the real-estate boom of the past two decades has made lands in the city the prime target. Similar deals are being struck in smaller cities and towns in Maharashtra as well as in other states.....> more

Church in the World: It's time for the 'silent majority' to speak up: T V R Shenoy

One can understand -- and respect -- conversion. If an individual chooses to change his faith after struggling with his convictions, so be it. But going around asking others to convert, with none-too-subtle overtones of 'My God is better than your god!' is not respect but hostility. And that, let us be honest, is the tone adopted by some Christian missionaries in India. Once again, I believe that this is not true of most Indian Christians. This country has had a long history of Christians -- Catholic, Protestant, Mar Thoma Syrian Christians -- living perfectly amicably without feeling any need to convert their Hindu neighbours. Church in the World: It's time for the 'silent majority' to speak up: T V R Shenoy

Advani for conversion debate but against ban on conversions

Advani demands conversion debate

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

L.K. Advani arrives in Bhubaneswar after an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee Bhubaneswar, Sept. 24: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani today called for a national debate on religious conversion, even as he rejected the idea of imposing a ban on conversion. “Time has come for a free and frank democratic debate on the issue of religious conversion with a view to build a national consensus against proselytization using methods of coercion or inducements or by vilifying any faith,” said the veteran leader while addressing a news conference here this afternoon. Advani said he has discussed the issue with religious leaders and bishops and all have supported the idea of a national debate and inter-religious dialogue. “However, a campaign against conversion cannot and must not become a campaign against any community,” he said. “In our country there can be no justification for violence or vandalism in the name of religion,” said the BJP stalwart. Responding to a query on the demand of Hindu religious leaders for a ban on conversions, Advani said he was against it. “It’s true that senior leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, were strongly opposed to the idea of religious conversion. But nobody suggested a legal ban. The matter was also discussed and debated in the Constituent Assembly, but no legal ban was imposed,” said Advani. Conversion is banned in Indonesia, while in some other countries it is treated as a crime with provision of capital punishment, he reminded all. In India, few Congress-ruled states in the past have also enacted laws prohibiting conversion by inducement, said the former Union minister. On the Centre threat to invoke Article 355 in Orissa and Karnataka, he said: “I will say that the two states have controlled the situation that was created. But, what happened in Nandigram?” The senior leader pointed out to similar ethnic and communal clashes in parts of Assam, where non-Assamese people were targeted and attacked and in Maharashtra, where a single party targeted non-Marathi-speaking people, as the government watched. ....> Read more

Open Doors USA seeks Public help for Christians in India

India - Persecution Spreads 

Open Doors USA Encourages the Public to Help...Send Email to Indian Ambassador Now
Contact: Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Director, Open Doors USA, 616-915-4117, jerryd@odusa.org
SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- The violence against Christians by radical Hindus in India continues to spread.
While the state government says 24 people, mostly Christians, have died in the Orissa state violence, the All India Christian Council (AICC) maintained that 45 Christians were confirmed dead and five more were still missing, according to Compass Direct News.
According to the AICC, 14 districts of Orissa witnessed violence with Kandhamal as the epicenter. It reported at least 50,000 people from 300 villages have been affected by the violence, with hundreds still hiding in forests, and 4,000 houses and 115 churches burned or destroyed. Another source reports 20,000 people have been displaced, most of them huddled into squalid refugee camps.
The violence began following the assassination of a VHP leader and icon of Hindu nationalism, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples in Orissa's Kandhamal district on Aug. 23. Although Maoists claimed responsibility for the murder, the VHP put the blame on local Christians, saying they killed him because he was resisting conversion of Hindus to Christianity.
Given the ongoing violence against Christians and the lack of an adequate and decisive response of the authorities to protect the Christians, Open Doors is holding the Indian government accountable. Open Doors is urging the government to do its utmost to restore peace and stability in the region. Open Doors is also asking supporters to join in a advocacy campaign to help the thousands of suffering Christians in Orissa.
Open Doors is asking supporters to Email the Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Ronen Sen to ask him to provide adequate protection for Christians in Orissa and to ensure justice and compensation to the victims of the violent attacks.
An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.


Read it all  

Television Evangelists attack other religions and display converts as trophy.

An Indian member of NIFCON (the Network for Inter Faith Concerns for the Anglican Communion) offers the following reflection on the current problems in India:

Christians are also accused of creating fear among non-Christians to convert them to Christianity i.e. with threats such as you will not go to heaven if you do not follow Christ.. It is a big theological challenge how to be Christians without such theological claims. When one of the churches was attacked during the worship services, some of the attackers specifically told the priest not to preach Christ as the only way; he should preach about other ways too. It is clear that underlying many of these criticisms of Christians is the desire to unite Hindus emotionally and turn their anger into votes.

However it is true that there are problems within Christian circles as well. The work of the mainline churches in India is undermined by television evangelists who regularly attack other religions and display converts from Hinduism as a kind of trophy. There are four or five such cable channels in India running 24 hours a day- seeking to present many kinds of extremist material as the Christian message.

Read it all 

Link to Anglican Communion Official website

Link to Organiser

Kandhamal refugees go on hunger strike

---

Mon, 22/09/2008 - 5:29pmRefugees in Kandhamal relief camp on hunger strike

More than 25000 refugees are on a hunger strike demanding justice, peace and normalcy. Thy refused to have breakfast and lunch today and warned that they will not take food till the administration gives them justice. 62 Christians were martyred in the worst ever communal riot after the killing of swami kakshmananda Saraswati by alleged Maoist. Thousand of houses and hundreds of churches and Christian institutions were destroyed and damaged in the...>link

Online petition to the Prime Minister of India against the violence in ORISSA

To sign an online petition to the Prime Minister of India against the violence in ORISSA click or copy this link and VOTE:--http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?LJ092008&

End fraudulent conversions of Dalits and Tribals: Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM)

As the menace of conversions is perpetuated with the receipt of foreign funds, the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) has steadfastly demanded that the church utilize all foreign funds exclusively for the welfare and uplift of poor Christians who are suffering from terrible discrimination within the community. Indeed, this is the reason why PCLM has been petitioning the Government of India not to appoint Bishops, priests and nuns to official Commissions and Committees, and instead appoint ordinary Christians.    The church annually receives so much money that we want the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Christian Council of India (NCCI) to set up a Rs. 1000 crore “Dalit Christian Development Fund” to ensure the integrated social and economic development of this huge populace that was lured to Christianity on the promise of a better life. 

R L Francis PCLM  convener

 Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCL

Jabalpur Church set on fire by Dharm Raksha Sena, a new terrorist outfit

New Terrorist Groups are Coming Up Under BJP Rule.  Besides Bajrang Dal, Shri Ram Sena in Karnataka, Dharm Raksha Sena in MP

» 09/19/2008 17:30 INDIA Hindu radicals set fire to Jabalpur cathedral, threaten new attacks in Madhya Pradesh by Nirmala Carvalho Dharm Raksha Sena groups dare parish priest to stop their action. More destruction is planned. Violence is tied to BJP election campaign. Gathering is to take place tomorrow, bringing Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and moderate Hindus together in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). Bhopal (AsiaNews) – A group of Hindu extremists have set fire to Jabalpur’s Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral. Mgr Gerald Almeida, bishop of the diocese of Jabalpur, said he received threats announcing more attacks. The attack against the cathedral occurred yesterday around 8.15 pm. Eyewitnesses said they saw three people fleeing the church area on motorbikes at high speed. After that they eventually realised that the building was burning. The fire destroyed the altar, the statues of Sts Peter and Paul, a Bible, missals, crosses and other precious holy items. This is the third time in two weeks that a church has been set on fire in Madhya Pradesh. The other incidents took place in Ratlam and Indore district. A few days ago a convent of Carmelite nuns was attacked in Banduha. In these cases police blamed Christians for the attacks even though all the evidence suggests that they are part of a wider anti-Christian campaign led by Hindu extremists that began in Orissa and that is now spreading to other Indian states. For Fr Davis George, principal of the St. Aloysius College, the Hindu fundamentalist origin of these attacks is confirmed by the fact that “in all these cases members of the Dharm Raksha Sena were involved. Led by Yogesh Agrwal, the members of this group introduced themselves yesterday morning to Father Rocky, the cathedral’s parish priest, and threatened to burn to church, daring him to stop them, if he could.” As soon as news of the fire spread, at least 3,000 faithful gathered in and around the church, demanding justice, blocking downtown streets. According to Marko Anthony, joint secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Joint Christian Forum (Madhya Pradesh Isai Mahasang), the “police knows the culprits, but is protecting them. We shall not allow all this.”  ...>More

V. S. Acharya, Home Minister, Karnataka, blogs on Mangalore violence

See the photos from the blog

The pattern of any violence in Mangalore follows a pattern: some issue- blown out of proportion by interested elements- outrage in some community- logic takes a back seat- arson/ riot/ looting/ damage to public property / attack on police follows...when culprits are arrested- a team of oppostion leaders/ intellectuals parade in the city/ hospitals/ media demanding for CBI enquiry, release of all arrested and resignation of all concerned !

Alas! the poor common man does not understand the designs of these "out of power" politicians!

Please think reasonably, comment responsibly. 

Raised voices/ abuses/blame game/ rumours have already caused enough damage, so there is no need to pollute the cyberspace with those! 

(those who are commenting from the middle eastern countries(UAE), pause and think...would you ever dream of touching a Police officer? leave alone snatching wireless set/ loot a police jeep/ burn a police bike)

V. S. Aharya:  Govt. will not allow the Bajrang Dal to take the law into their own hands. 

Friday, September 19, 2008, (New Delhi)

A day after the Centre warned the state governments over attacks on churches and Christians, Karnataka government on Friday threatened the groups leading the attacks.

Karnataka's Home Minister V S Acharya has told NDTV that they will not allow the Bajrang Dal to take the law into their own hands.

The Centre on Thursday decided to invoke the Constitution to issue warnings to the Karnataka and Orissa governments after a series of attacks on churches and Christians.(Watch)

There were reports that the members of the Sangh parivar like the VHP and Bajrang Dal are carrying out these attacks with the tacit approval of the state governments.  ..more>

A different Story is told y his Blog

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Attacking a fellow human being - which religion justifies it?

photo: The Hindu

Looting a closed shop...

Food for thought...for all visitors of this blog...

Look at the photos below (advisory: disturbing images)

Some journalists were even attacked for clicking these images...

Police attacked...

Public property looted...

Police vehicles vandalised...

Storage of stones in "holy places"

What would you do, if you were in a Police uniform...in this situation?

 Why do you need stones in the cemetery?   Don`t they spare those who are resting in peace??

Love thy neighbour, stone thy police?   (look at the red soft drink crates...for throwing bottles too!)

Hiding inside a "place of worship"

Attack on Police from the terrace of the "place of worship"- professional job...check the camouflage!

May these stones rest in peace

No concern for environment, hapless trees bear the brunt...

Taxpayers money...a Police Bike...being vandalised by "peaceful protestors"

Police jeep looted by "peaceful protestors"...they are well educated, and behaved!

Road blocks...

Photo credit: mangalorean/ daijiworld/gulfkannadiga

So the pattern of any violence in Mangalore follows a pattern: some issue- blown out of proportion by interested elements- outrage in some community- logic takes a back seat- arson/ riot/ looting/ damage to public property / attack on police follows...when culprits are arrested- a team of oppostion leaders/ intellectuals parade in the city/ hospitals/ media demanding for CBI enquiry, release of all arrested and resignation of all concerned !

Alas! the poor common man does not understand the designs of these "out of power" politicians!

Please think reasonably, comment responsibly. 

Raised voices/ abuses/blame game/ rumours have already caused enough damage, so there is no need to pollute the cyberspace with those! 

(those who are commenting from the middle eastern countries(UAE), pause and think...would you ever dream of touching a Police officer? leave alone snatching wireless set/ loot a police jeep/ burn a police bike)

(If you have the integrity to make a responsible comment, please leave your e mail address with your comment)

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DR V S ACHARYA

 
Minister, Govt of Karnataka

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