Orissa suspends 5 policemen in nun rape case

Special Correspondent

BHUBANESWAR: The Naveen Patnaik government on Friday suspended five policemen for not coming to the rescue of the Catholic nun who was attacked by a mob and raped in Kandhamal district of Orissa during the anti-Christian violence.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered for the suspension by acting upon a report submitted by the District Collector and Superintendent of Police of Kandhamal district.

Mr. Patnaik had sought a report from the officials after the nun recently told journalists in New Delhi that the policemen deployed in the locality had failed to protect her from the attackers.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the five policemen who were placed under suspension are Assistant Sub-Inspector Rasananda Mallick, Havildar Major K.N. Mohapatra, Havildar S.K. Hamim and Havildar J.S. Khan and Havildar B.K. Mohanty.

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Father Bernard Digal of Orissa dies from wounds

  

ZE08103001 - 2008-10-30 Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-24110?l=english

INDIAN PRIEST DIES AFTER BEATING

NEW DELHI, India, OCT. 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Father Bernard Digal, 45,  in a hospital Wednesday from wounds he sustained in late August, when he was beaten by Hindu extremists. The priest served in the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, in the state of Orissa, the hotbed for a large portion of the anti-Christian violence that has plagued India since the August death of a Hindu leader. Father Mrutyunjay Digal, secretary of Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of that archdiocese, announced the priest's death to the Fides news agency. He said the community was in "a moment of mourning, of silence and of prayer for the entire local Church." "During his life, Father Bernard showed determination and courage to give testimony and die for Christ," the secretary added. "He has died as an authentic Christian; immediately after the attack he suffered, he pardoned his enemies and persecutors." The Fides agency cited Indian Christian organizations in reporting that some 100 Christians have died as a result of the wave of persecution, while thousands have been wounded. Some 15,000 Christians are living in refugee camps and perhaps as many as 40,000 more have fled to the jungle to hide from the extremists.

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The Weight Of The Cross

All of a sudden, Christians are being forced to examine their willingness to forgive in a hostile world, reports VIJAY SIMHA

.........

“There is a deep sense of fear and anger within the community and if things continue, we will be forced to pursue all possible means of action including approaching the judiciary for relief,” says Moras.

The legal option, however, has its own problems. “We have launched a drive to get more FIRs registered. The worry is that the victims do not know the importance of FIRs, nor are they interested. We need lawyers to help with all this. Then, they have to know the local language. When we finally found lawyers willing to do this in Kandhamal, the Bajrang Dal threatened them. Some lawyers gave up after their houses were broken into,” says 

“There is a deep sense of fear and anger within the community and if things continue, we will be forced to pursue all possible means of action including approaching the judiciary for relief,” says Moras.

The legal option, however, has its own problems. “We have launched a drive to get more FIRs registered. The worry is that the victims do not know the importance of FIRs, nor are they interested. We need lawyers to help with all this. Then, they have to know the local language. When we finally found lawyers willing to do this in Kandhamal, the Bajrang Dal threatened them. Some lawyers gave up after their houses were broken into,” says Emmanuel.

...........

Tehelka Report 

Kerala offers protection to Orissa Christians

Thiruvananthapuram, October 30: : In a significant humanitarian and political move, the Kerala Government has offered protection to 56 Christian families from Orissa, who had fled the state after being ‘harassed’ in the name of religion.
The delegation of the 56 families, including children, met Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Thursday. He consoled them saying the state Government would protect them.
Those who had fled from Orissa have been staying at a prayer centre at Chalakkudi till now. They contacted the Chief Minister after an intervention by a Thrissur-based human rights forum.
The Chief Minister said the state government would accommodate them in various centres under the social welfare department.

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Behind Conversion

The Crisis Of A Convert

From the many narratives and personal testimonies of people who have changed their faith, the one thing that has been inadequately highlighted is the enormity of their personal crisis.

SUGATA SRINIVASARAJU Outlook India.Com OCT 23, 2008

"I am a Syrian Jacobite who converted to New Life, but nobody forced me to do so. As long as I was with the mainstream church I had no personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I was a Christian only because I was born into that religion. I had many problems and many fears. I used to drink and smoke. I used to get terrible dreams. I went to a psychiatrist, but the drugs he gave me only made me feel drowsy. I found my peace after I joined New Life and accepted Jesus as my personal saviour. It was not a change of religion it was a change of heart." Similarly, there was the story of a Hindu woman who had joined a Pentecostal group to escape the agony caused by her infidel husband. Also the story of a fisherwoman who had shown the light to a family, one of whose members was infected with HIV; a mother who had to find prayers for her daughter who was suffering from terminal cancer and so on. Verghese's pastor, Gopinath, was himself a Hindu-Brahmin from Kerala, who had converted into New Life and founded its unit in Udupi. In my effort to make sense of all that I had heard, on my return to Bangalore, quite unconsciously, I picked up God That Failed, a book long forgotten and tucked away in a corner shelf of my library. Edited by Richard Crossman and published in the 50s, this book spoke about a different kind of conversion - the ideological one. Here too, I found personal testimonies of six important writers (Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Stephen Spender, Arthur Koestler and Louis Fischer) on why they made their journey into Communism and how they later traced their steps back to democracy. Communism is the 'God' they had all gone seeking, but they found, and explained how, that 'God' had failed. History, politics and disagreements apart, what struck me as I re-read the book was that at the core of their ideological departures and arrivals was a crisis.  read it all

Protests in US

The protesters carrying placards reading "Stop Religious Persecution in India," "We Want Justice" and "No Justification for Murder," were led by Rev Biju Thomas of St Thomas Evangelical Church of Philadelphia and Fr Jacob Christy of St Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of Philadelphia.  more 

Embrace Hinduism, and your house will not be demolished,’ Somini Sengupta writes in New York Times

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

Published: October 12, 2008 NYT 

“ ‘Embrace Hinduism, and your house will not be demolished,’ ” Mr. Digal recalled being told on that Wednesday afternoon in September. “ ‘Otherwise, you will be killed, or you will be thrown out of the village.’ ”
India, the world’s most populous democracy and officially a secular nation, is today haunted by a stark assault on one of its fundamental freedoms. Here in eastern Orissa State, riven by six weeks of religious clashes, Christian families like the Digals say they are being forced to abandon their faith in exchange for their safety.
The forced conversions come amid widening attacks on Christians here and in at least five other states across the country, as India prepares for national elections next spring.
The clash of faiths has cut a wide swath of panic and destruction through these once quiet hamlets fed by paddy fields and jackfruit trees. Here in Kandhamal, the district that has seen the greatest violence, more than 30 people have been killed, 3,000 homes burned and over 130 churches destroyed, including the tin-roofed Baptist prayer hall where the Digals worshiped. Today it is a heap of rubble on an empty field, where cows blithely graze.
Across this ghastly terrain lie the singed remains of mud-and-thatch homes. Christian-owned businesses have been systematically attacked. Orange flags (orange is the sacred color of Hinduism) flutter triumphantly above the rooftops of houses and storefronts. more

For comments see Annotated New York Times

"Hindus Order Christians to Convert or Flee Homes," by Somini Sengupta in NYT

Two separate articles in The New York Times last week provide detailed reports of vicious attacks against Christians by Hindus in Borepanga, India and by Muslim extremists against Christian Chaldeans in Mosul, Iraq. The story on India, by , appears under the ominous headline, "Hindus Order Christians to Convert or Flee Homes," and reports that "Christian-owned businesses have been systematically attacked. The attacks intensified after the assassination of a charismatic Hindu leader, which authorities believe was carried out by Maoist extremists. Hindu extremists have used the incident as a pretext for launching attacks on Christians. Two nights after his death, a Hindu mob in the village of Nuagaon dragged a Catholic priest and a nun from their residence, tore off much of their clothing and paraded them through the streets," according to the Times. The report adds: "The nun told police that she had been raped by four men, a charge the police say was borne out by a medical examination."  more 

Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry into anti Christian violence, invites statements

OCTOBER 24, 2008

Karnataka: Commission of inquiry into anti Christian violence, invites statements

Deccan Herald - 18 October 2008

Inquiry commission

Bangalore, dhns: Justice B K Somashekhara commission, set up by the state government to inquire into attacks on places of worship, has invited statements regarding the attacks from the public.

Those filing statements should provide materials supporting their statements.

The public can file statements in the office of the commission or may send to:

The Secretary,
Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry,
Balabrooie Guest House, Palace Road,
Opposite to BWSSB Office, Bangalore - 560052

or

Home Office,
Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry,
# 175, Brindavana, 3rd E Cross, II block, III stage,
Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore - 79

or

deputy commissioners of all districts.

Statements can also be emailed to - enquiry@jbkscol.org

courtesy: communalism watch 

Orissa police may invoke Section 160 CrPC on nun who was raped

 Orissa police may force nun to cooperate in probe  Zee News The Orissa police is contemplating invoking Section 160 of Criminal Procedure Code to force the allged rape victim nun to cooperate with the police, official sources said on Friday. The state government, which was happy with the Supreme Court which refused to order a CBI probe into the case, was surprised at the nun's media conference in Delhi where she reiterated her lack of faith in Orissa police and said she will not like to be further harassed. If the nun avoided the investigation, the crime branch probing the case might invoke Section 160 CrPC to ensure her appearance to cooperate in the probe, the sources said.   According to the section 160 of CrPC, any police officer making an investigation can order a person to appear before him and the person has to follow the order. A senior home department official said that though it was not in favour of putting pressure on the alleged rape victim, the police had no alternative because the proposed test identification parade (TIP) could not be held without her presence. The state government has offered the nun to choose the venue of the proposed TIP besides assuring full protection to her and her associates. Home Secretary TK Mishra had last night told reporters that the crime branch would accept any venue chosen by the nun for the TIP. In the history of the crime investigation in Orissa, the state government had never extended such facilities as given to the nun, pointed out an official. This apart, the official said, the government has arrested nine persons though the nun had alleged that one person had raped her. "We have arrested nine people who were involved in the crime. But it is for the nun to identify the real culprit," he said.  source  Bureau Report 

Kandhamal debate in Parliament

Kandhamal: Congress accuses Patnaik of inaction Times of India 25 Oct 2008, 0246 hrs IST, TNN  Print   Email   Discuss  Share  Save  Comment Text: NEW DELHI: The heat generated by the pitched battle between the UPA coalition and the BJP-led NDA during the Lok Sabha debate on Friday led to Facing Flak: Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik more   the disruption of the House. While the BJP and ally BJD sought to project the sustained violence in the Kandhamal district as an outcome of tension between tribals and economically better-off, converted Scheduled Castes, Congress ascribed it to chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s inability to act under pressure from the BJP. “When he decided to take into bed a snake, he was supposed to be bitten,” panchayati raj minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said. There was a demand from the UPA benches that in situations like Kandhamal, the Centre should have the legal teeth to intervene.

Orissa Nun who was raped tells her story to the Press

Front Page     The Hindu , October 25, 2008 I don’t want to be victimised by Orissa police, says Sister Meena

Special Correspondent

Police did their best to dissuade me from filing FIR

— PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM ‘POLICE FAILED TO PROTECT ME’: Sister Meena Lalita Barwa, who was raped in Orissa two months ago, addresses a news conference in New Delhi on Friday. She said the police failed to protect her from the attackers, were friendly with them and did not register an FIR. With her are Sister Vineeta (left) and Lensinglau Rongmei, a Supreme Court lawyer.

NEW DELHI: The nun who was raped by a rioting mob in Kandhamal district of Orissa on August 25 on Friday demanded that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Her face covered, Sister Meena Lalita Barwa made a statement in full view of the media, at a press conference under the aegis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. Her decision to meet the media comes two days after the Supreme Court rejected an application by the Archbishop of Cuttack, Raphael Cheenath, for a CBI probe.  

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Home > Nation  Zee News Orissa nun demands CBI probe, doesn`t trust police New Delhi, Oct 24: Displaying immense courage, the Orissa nun on Friday revealed in full media glare that she was attacked and raped by a violent mob during the communal violence in Orissa. The lady, who had covered her face with a veil during the press conference, was untraceable since she had registered an FIR in this connection. “A group of 40-50 people attacked the house where I was staying with father Thomas Chellantharayil. They first slapped me and then threatened me. I was then taken out of the house,” she said. She added, “There were three men who first threatened to throw me into the smouldering fire. Then they threw me in the veranda full of plastic pieces. One of them tore my blouse and undergarments. While one man stood on my right hand, other stood on my left hand and the third man raped me.” Trying to recall the gory images of the shameful incident, the nun said, “I tried to get up, wear my clothes and go. Then another man pulled me and attempted to rape me. At that time a mob reached there and I hid behind the stair case. Then the mob pulled me out. Some of them even threatened to kill me while others wanted to parade me naked on the street. They then beat me up with hands.” “I was made to walk on the streets wearing my petticoat and sari as my blouse was torn by one of the attacker. When we reached the market place I saw two policemen there. I asked them to help me but they refused,” she lamented.  more  Orissa nun recounts ordeal before media DNA India Vineeta Pandey Friday, October 24, 2008  17:08 IST Says she does not trust police, demands CBI probe NEW DELHI: The nun who was raped in Kandhamal, Orissa, on August 25 has come out in the open and demanded a CBI inquiry, two days after the Supreme Court turned down such a demand. Cuttack archbishop Raphael Cheenath will now file a review petition. Appearing before the media for the first time since the crime, the nun said she was paraded naked and beaten up but over a dozen cops just looked on and refused to help. Later, the Baliguda police station O-C dissuaded her from filing a complaint saying, “Do you know what will be the consequence?” “The state police failed to stop the crimes, failed to protect me, they were friendly with the attackers and tried their best to see that I did not register an FIR or complain against them. The police did not even take down my statement… I don’t want to be victimised by the Orissa police. I want a CBI inquiry,” she said.  more

The Hindu Right fears not conversions but equitable society

From Tehelka Magazine , Vol 5, Issue 42, Dated Oct 25, 2008

The Hindu Right fears not conversions but equitable society

UDIT RAJ

RIGHT-WING HINDUS never had any issue with Christians or with conversion when it came to using — and exploiting — Christian institutions. They have had no problem in availing Christian medical facilities. No abhorrence has been evinced toward convent schools, where the so-called upper castes were taught the English that got them jobs abroad and enabled them to articulate their views at global forums. That changed around 1998, when the BJP came to power. Targetting Christians became politically useful. A massive campaign was launched against Sonia Gandhi, making an issue of a person of foreign and Christian origin wielding power over a Hindu majority country. It culminated in the hatred for Christians, who are now seen as villains instead of the gentle community they had hitherto been known as.

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Sangh Parivar demand arrest of raped nun and ask her to marry the rapist

Raped Nun 


On Oct. 13, some 5,000 radical Hindu women demonstrated in K. Nuagaon demanding that “the victim marry her rapist in accordance with local tradition.”


In the rape of a nun shortly after the violence began, police have arrested Mitu Patnaik and also implicated Muna Ghadei and Saroj Ghadei. They were arrested at a mill in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Oct. 11.
 
Police had earlier arrested five men – Juria Pradhan, Kartik Pradhan, Biren Kumar Sahu and Tapas Kumar Patnaik on Oct. 3 and Santosh Pradhan on Oct. 7 for their alleged roles in the crime.
 
Orissa police sent Patnaik to Cuttack for DNA testing. The alleged rape of the 29-year-old woman took place at the building of a Non-Governmental Organization in Kanjamendi village in Kandhamal on Aug. 25.
 
The nun has refused to come forward to identify any of the suspects, though inspector general Ray told media they were hopeful of making their case.
 
“The nun must be very scared and disturbed,” he said. “If necessary, the trial of the case can be held in any other place in Orissa.” 
 
The nun has expressed her disbelief by saying that she would not like to “meet” the state police that remained a mute witness of her predicament.
 
“The nun wrote from a hospital, as she is yet to recover from the shock,” Archbishop Raphael Cheenath reportedly said. 
 
At the same time, Hindu radicals want to reintroduce a tribal law that would obligate a rape victim to marry the man who rapes her. 
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Sangh Parivar women demand arrest of nun who was raped

National,Religion, Tue, 21 Oct 2008IANS

Bhubaneswar, Oct 21 (IANS) Further vitiating the already surcharged atmosphere in Orissa's Kandhamal district, hundreds of women of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti - an outfit affiliated to the Sangh Parivar - Tuesday demonstrated here demanding the arrest of a nun who was raped during the violence that erupted in the area in August.

'The allegations made by the nun appear to be baseless because she is not coming forward to identify the people already arrested,' the organisation's zonal organising secretaty Suchitra Mohapatra told IANS.

 

 

'If she was raped she should come forward and identify the culprits. The state government has already announced to extend all security and help,' she added.   more 

Orissa Christians need to be protected under as Stateless Refugees by UN

The government of Orissa is closing the refugee camps and driving out thousands of Christians, without food or shelter. In the meantime, the violence continues, denounced as a genocide to the United Nations, which is being asked for immediate intervention.  Fr. Manoj Digal of the archdiocesan social service center tells AsiaNews, ”One of the three relief camps in Baliguda was shut down on Oct 15th, and 900 people sent away. It is ridiculous, these people have nowhere to go, they are defenseless, moreover they have been given just 10 kg of rice per family. How will they live? The government has not even given them tents, where will our people stay? They have lost everything, they are reduced to nothing, moreover, the looming fear of reconversion to Hinduism, if they return to their villages they can only stay as Hindus. The government has not ensured any security for these Christians. There is a grave risk and threat to their lives terror still haunting them, moreover, now radical women’s groups who are terrorising the Christian women. Our people are destitute.” 

Sajan K, George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has petitioned the United Nations over the decision by the government of Orissa to close the refugee camps in the district of Kandhamal. 

"These Orissa Christians and others to follow," he concludes, "express the desire to be termed Prima Facie Refugees and urge you, through the UNHCR to deem them so, in order that they can be covered by a legal framework to protect their human dignity from rights violations and abuse. Currently, they along with tens of thousands, are a stateless people, as the writ of the government of India does not run large in the state of Orissa.  more

Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, one-man judicial commission to probe Kandhamal violence

Probe into Kandhamal violence begins

Special Correspondent The Hindu Oct 19, 2008

BHUBANESWAR: The one-man judicial commission set up to probe into widespread communal violence in Kandhamal district and other places in Orissa started its work on Saturday.

Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, who is heading the Commission, visited the Jalespata Ashram where Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others were killed on August 23. Mr. Justice Mohapatra is a former Judge of the Orissa High Court.  more 

India Today article on Orissa Violence and Maoist connection

On September 9, VHP leader Ashok Singhal had a breakfast meeting with Naveen Patnaik at his residence and later told media that he had told the chief minister: "You decide whether you want to be on the side of Hindus and return to power or be politically doomed'. He asserted 'I told the CM out of state's total population 3.51 crores are Hindus (including tribals) while there are only 17 lakhs Christians and Muslims'.  more 

“Sorry you can’t enter India”. You are ‘involved in missionary and conversion activities’

Indian Christian leader’s wife arrested and deported from India

Posted: Saturday, 18 October 2008, 10:54 (EST)

Font Scale:A A A

Jossy Chacko is the Founder and Director of Empart, an organization that transforms communities in Asia by planting churches among unreached people. Throughout this year there have been constant reports about the increasing persecution in India.

Jossy and his wife Jenni felt that they needed to be close to their leaders and workers in India to encourage and support them in their suffering. On October 4 they arrived in Chennai with their four children. While waiting for immigration clearance a group of immigration officers and armed police blocked the area and said to Jenni, an Australian national, “Sorry you can’t enter India”. The allegations made against her were that she had been ‘involved in missionary and conversion activities’.

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Fr. Thomas Chellan's story

 Fr. Thomas Chellan

Violence against Christians

Violence against Christians - story so far

Orissa Government refuses CBI probe on nun's rape

Nun CBI probe call rejected

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: The government has refused a nun’s demand for a CBI probe into her alleged rape saying the matter was sub-judice. “The matter is pending in the Supreme Court,” said chief minister Naveen Patnaik, when reporters sought his reaction on the nun’s demand. But he neither confirmed nor denied receiving a letter from the nun expressing her “lack of faith” on the state police and seeking a CBI probe in the case. Her demand was first reported in a news agency which quoted her stating she would be “happy” if the matter was handed over to the CBI. She had added that she would not like to “meet” the state police that remained a mute witness of her predicament. read more

Minorities protest inaction on communal violence

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Groups representing India's religious minorities and activists held a protest rally here on Tuesday demanding stronger action against perpetrators of communal violence, with several parts of the country seeing sectarian strife in the past two months.

The rally at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi condemned the 'communal violence on minorities in India' and was organised by the All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Organisations to mark World Religious Freedom Day.

"To choose one's religion is a fundamental right. On this day to mark religious freedom, we condemn violence and atrocities meted out to minorities - the recent attacks on Christians in Orissa and Muslims after the terror attacks," said Madhu Chandra, national secretary of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations.

Chandra said across the nation members of the confederation resented the government's inaction and were disappointed by the National Integration Council meeting here Monday.

"Crucial issues of arresting perpetrators and putting a ban on radical groups have not been addressed. The action they speak of is very mild," Chandra averred.

Oct 14 was declared World Religious Freedom Day in 2006 at a mega gathering of Dalits at Nagpur, Maharashtra, to mark the day on which B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, quit Hinduism and converted to Buddhism in 1956 to be free from caste oppression.  more 

‘Swami’s students behind clashes’

Vijaita Singh, Hindustan Times

Email Author

Chakapad, October 13, 2008

First Published: 00:53 IST(13/10/2008)

Last Updated: 00:57 IST(13/10/2008)

The Orissa administration refuses to blame the Bajrang Dal or any other Hindu group for the sustained attacks on Christians in Kandhamal district and elsewhere in the state, which has taken 35 lives and forced over 15,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter in relief camps.

It insists the rioters were largely former students of a local school founded and run by Swami Laxmananda, whose murder, allegedly by Maoists, on August 23, sparked off the violence.

“Earlier we thought the mobs comprised people allied to the Bajrang Dal, the VHP or the RSS,” a senior government official told HT. “But after questioning most of the 500-odd people who have been arrested, we find that they have nothing to do with Hindu organisations. They are largely students of Swami Laxmananda who thought he had been killed by Christians and wanted to avenge his death. Some of them are erudite Sanskrit scholars.”  more 

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Communal Violence in Orissa

Vinod Sharma, Hindustan Times 

Email Author

New Delhi, October 14, 2008

Nun rape was shocking, savage, says Orissa CM

In an exclusive interview withVinod Sharma, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik says he doesn't want communal violence to return to any part of his state

The communal violence in Orissa continued for days. Nearly 15,000 Christians are refugees now. Don’t you feel accountable personally? 

We have been taking action from the very start of the violence. I visited the district to bring peace and calm. An officer has been appointed as a special administrator of Kandhamal. He will look into the problems of land and false certificates that cause tension between STs and SCs.

Have you also sent a tough political message to the Sangh Parivar, of which the BJP, your ally, is as much part as the Bajrang Dal?

Over 1,000 people have been arrested. These include members of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP. We will brook no violence or any breaking of the law.

Haven’t the BJP and Sangh Parivar done you great disservice? They were behind the Graham Staines incident and also last year’s December riots

In the eight-and-a-half years that I have been CM, there have been two communal incidents, including the one in December 2007. Both were in Kandhamal that is among the 30 districts we have in the state. There are more than one lakh Christian in Kandhamal. At the beginning of the violence, there were a maximum of 20,000 in the relief camps. Now ten thousand of them have left the camps. I am sure more will be leaving soon. My job is to see that law and order is maintained; that peace is restored; that the law comes down heavily on anyone involved in violence, communal or otherwise; and to deal in a humane and caring way with the suffering people. 

But Chief Minister, don’t you feel personally betrayed by the Sangh Parivar?

I repeat to you again that people from extremist organizations who have been involved in these crimes have been arrested. The law will take its course.

Will you support a Central ban on the Bajrang Dal?

We have heard media stories about it. That will be the Centre’s decision. My job is to ensure that that anyone who commits a crime is arrested.

That means you do not support banning the Bajrang Dal.

Bans etc. are in the hands of the Central government.

Will you implement the ban?

We are obliged to implement anything that’s legal. But let me put it this way…. We have taken stringent action against those involved.

So, you say if the Centre proscribes the Bajrang Dal, your government will be obliged to implement it.

Let me clarify. Many people at the NIC meeting from all sides thought that banning an organisation does not work. But the law will take its course against those who commit crimes.

That’s another matter. If there is a ban, will you implement it? You said you’d be legally obliged to do so…

I said whatever any government is legally obliged to do, it will obviously have to do.

If there is another Kandhamal type incident, what shall be your political response vis-à-vis the BJP? It’s after all a political problem.

I am not an astrologer. I do not want communal violence to return to any part of my state. I do not want to speculate on the future.

Don’t you think a greater responsibility devolves on you to protect the Christians who aren’t a major vote bank in the predominantly Hindu Orissa?

I have been CM for over eight years during which only two communal incidents have happened. Staines was murdered during the Congress rule in 1999.

But the same forces were behind it…

It was a great tragedy, a horrible crime. I then was a Union Minister and visited Keonjhar after the incident. It was a terrible thing. But it did happen.

The BJP’s Kharabela Swain first said the Christians, not the Maoists, killed the Swami. But after the Maoists claimed the murder, he said the VHP leader was slain by Maoists who are Christians….

Our crime branch will get to the truth. We have also ordered a judicial inquiry into murder and the consequent communal violence.

Who are they? Are they Maoists, Christians or Christian Maoists?

Let the crime branch get to the truth.

The Nun’s rape was shocking…

Yes, shameful and savage…

Courtesy HT 

Attack on churches continue

B.R. Srikanth

Bangalore, October 14, 2008

After nationwide protests over the attacks on churches, it seems miscreants have changed their style of functioning.

The St Antony's church authorities in Karnataka claimed that a fire – caused by mischief-makers – destroyed several hymnbooks, an audio system and furniture at the church at Yadavanahalli in Bangalore (rural) district on Monday.

Although the police say it was an accident, Father Santosh of St Antony’s church said, “It’s clear that somebody has played mischief. This (fire) is not caused by electrical short circuit.”

He told Hindustan Times, “It looks like somebody has pulled out the hymn books and opened the cupboards and moved candle stands and flower vases.”

Father Adolf Washington of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, who visited the Church this morning, said, “We know for sure that this is not a case of short circuit. We have officials of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the directorate of electrical safety going over the place for clues.”

“We don’t understand how the police department can brush it off as short circuit when many things have been moved and some stands have been knocked down,” he added. more 

No Releif in the Orissa Releif Camps: No Doctors or Nurses to attend delivery cases

Pregnant women bear the brunt of Orissa violence 13 Oct 2008, 0319 hrs IST, Anand Soondas,TNN

BHUBANESWAR: The relentless persecution of Christians in Kandhmal, forcing them to remain in relief camps scattered  acroos Orissa , is now presenting a new problem — unsafe deliveries by women. Stranded without access to doctors, hospitals or medical kits, most women are delivering in relief camps with the help of fellow refugees and — if they are fortunate — some anganwadi workers.  But not all have been lucky to be able to give birth. "There have been 10 miscarriages in the past week," said Jyotirmoy Naik in Cuttack. "Nirmala Digal, Mita Digal, Ranju Naik, Padmini Naik, Mithila Naik — all miscarried because there's no help for expecting women at the camps." Jacob Pradhan, a Christian priest, said: "In the last week, three women in Baliguda delivered babies, but all away from hospitals. They gave birth in unhygienic conditions and got the help of anganwadi workers. It's a huge struggle." Rev Prakash Naik, who's active in the Raikia camps, said even if women do manage to give birth, the conditions in the relief shelters are so bad that mortality is a big fear. "Just look around Vijaya school camp and you'll see what I mean. Survival is a huge factor. Water has gathered in dirty, mosquito-infested puddles and people are defecating in the open."   more

Demand for bill on communal violence

Christians demand bill on communal violence

New Delhi (PTI): Anguished over attacks on their community in Orissa and Karnataka, Christians leaders on Monday called upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and members of the National Integration Council (NIC) to curb incidents of violence and pressed for a Communal Violence Bill.

In a joint statement to the NIC, Christian community leaders said a Communal Violence Bill should be enacted. They claimed that the step should have been taken by the government long back.

They also demanded comprehensive relief and rehabilitation policies be drafted by the government.

The joint statement was issued by Archbishop of Delhi Vincent Concessao, Principal of St Stephen's College Valson Thampu and Secretary General of All India Christian Council John Dayal. more 

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 "...Violence seems to be permeating society today, across the length and breadth of our country -- whether it be terrorist violence, whether it is violence with an ideological veneer such as that adopted by the Left-wing extremists, or communal violence," Singh said inaugurating the day-long meeting of the Council.Singh said those who threatened communal harmony, integrity and peaceful co-existence deserve very deterrent punishment.

"In doing so, we need to be bound by the framework of our Constitution and the political democratic process that enables us to reconcile differences through dialogue. We should not be provoked to suspend or subvert a democratic process in the search for solutions," he said.

The Prime Minister said democracy has a special onus in that it has to ensure protection of civil liberties even as it seeks to enforce law and order. It has also to be done in a manner that respects the constitutional bounds of a federal polity.  more

Hyderabad rally against communal violence on October 19 - 2008

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Hyderabad: A mass rally will be taken out by all churches and other organisations in Hyderabad on 19 October 2008 to express their solidarity with the victims of communal violence and also to condemn the attacks on Christians in many States such as Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The rally will start at 3 pm from Sundarayya Park (Baghlingampally) to Indira Park, culminating in a public meeting.  more