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 All India Christian Council (aicc) has drawn the attention of President Pratibha Patil to the massive destruction and fear caused by fundamentalist forces in Kandhamal and Phulbani districts of Orissa and sought her immediate intervention to ensure protection of the Christian community and their properties in Orissa.
In a memorandum faxed to the President (Fax No: 011-23017290) on 25 December 2007, aicc secretary Sam Paul said since 24 December 2007, 13 churches had been razed to the ground with three Christians shot dead and several others injured. The fundamentalists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other outfits of the Sangh Parivar had been roaming about disturbing the peaceful celebrations of Christmas at gunpoint. “Our leaders have tried to contact the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police of Kandhamal district who openly confessed their inability to maintain the law and order.”
To the great dismay and embarrassment of the Christian community, the District collector and Superintendent of Police of Phulbani warned the Pastors not to go anywhere near the Christian places as “they are unable to provide security to them. Since the situation is getting worse, the Christian Council seeks your immediate intervention to ensure the protection of the lives and properties of the Christian community in Orissa.” Sam Paul said, “If the State Government is unable to control the situation, the deployment of the Army should not be ruled out to restore peace and order in the districts. The affected people are poor Christians who are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The trouble started on 24 December 2007 morning at the Christian majority Brahmanigaon village, 150 km from the district headquarters of Phulbani, over the celebration of Christmas. While the Christian community wanted to celebrate the event in a grand way, the local Hindus opposed the plan. This led to a clash between them with several people getting injured. The trouble escalated in the afternoon after a group of people attacked the vehicle of Hindu leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati near the neighbouring Daringbadi village when he was on his way to perform a yagna. While his vehicle was partially damaged, Saraswati and one of his followers were injured. In retaliation, some people attacked a church, set it on fire and attacked a vehicle at Baliguda town in the evening. Both the communities lodged police complaints against each other. Four people, all fundamentalists, have been held for inciting communal tension in the region. According to reports from the area, all shops remained closed and vehicular movement affected in places where the clashes had taken place as the Sangh Parivar outfits declared a bandh in the area. More than 600 police personnel were deployed following several clashes between Christians and Hindus the day before. Phulbani is considered one of the most communally sensitive districts in the State with numerous clashes between Hindus and Christians being reported in the past. |
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