It was Christmas Eve, 2007. Young people were frolicking around, having some fun decorating the Church for the service on the following day. They belonged to a Christian community in Dasingbad village in the
Kandhamal district of Orissa. Despite intermittent tensions and conflicts stemming from religious differences,
they have become increasingly self-reliant and optimistic about their uture. Christmas was not only a time of joy but also a time to reflect on their struggle to keep the faith, while living with freedom and ignity. They were unaware of how radically their lives would be ltered within the next few hours.

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswoti, the leader of a militant Hindu rganization in Kandhamal District, was on his way to Brahmanigaon, a predominantly Christian area. It was here that indu radicals took to the streets and destroyed a number of stores. hey were retaliating against a Christmas arch that was erected as a art of the festivities. Business owners, who were mostly Christians in that street, say that they had received ermission from the sub-collector to mount the decorations.

The riots that followed were fueled by adisproportionate but natural reaction to protect and preserve themselves from an intimidating gang of radicals.Lakshmanananda Saraswoti’s vehicle to has come to a halt on a very narrow stretch of road, in front of thevery church where the young people were busy with their Christmas preparations. A couple of Swami’s bodyguards got out of the vehicle to investigate, but were quickly distracted by the Church and the Christmas decorations. Swami’s henchmen were soon directing the young people to take down the Christmasdecorations. They resisted and a fight ensued that was later broadcast on live media as an attack instigated against SwamiLakshmanananda Saraswoti. This incident set the events of the next few days in motion.

Although the story has the elements of spontaneity, the attack hasbeen planned for days. Kandhamal District Kui Samaj Cooperative Samiti in Phulbani has called for a Bandh on December 25th and 26th to protest the conversion of Hindus to Christianity.The National Commission for Minorities in its report stated that one senior Kui leader regretted the fact that the Sangh Parivar had used the leadership of the tribals for its own ends. Another leader acknowledged that the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad – World Hindu Council) had penetrated the ranks of the Kui Samaj and always

Burned out hopes!Burnt Ambulance at Balliguda put them in front in such conflicts. Flyers urged the people to ‘come and join with all weapons: arrows, axes,spears and swords to make it a grand success’. Sensing that there would be trouble, Christian leaders went to the Sub-collector and the Inspector-in-charge of the police to seek protection. They were assured of safety and urged go forward with Christmas day services. According to Pastor Susil Pradhan (30), about of 60 of the members of the church gathered to worship on December 25th at Budaguda at Topringa St at around 2 PM. A mob of radicals surrounded the church carrying deadly weapons including Trishuls, swords and crowbars chantingJai Shri Ram and Jai Hanuman and calling to "Kill Christians” and “stop Christianity” They broke the roof and entered the church. When opposed, they threatened to burn the congregation alive. There was panic and the women and children started fleeing to the nearby forest. This scene was then repeated all over Kandhamal District on Christmas day. Pastor Daniel Digal (55) is a man who has donated land for 9 churches in the Minia village in Phulbani. He witnessed the torching of the Church nearby his house.

According to him, ‘a group of 400 to 500 people chanting anti-Christian slogans, brandishing weapons like swords and axes brought down the parapet of the church. They then removed all the goods from inside and burned them. They went on to destroy vehicles and even vegetable garden while chanting to ‘save India’ and ‘foreign missionaries should be out’. They went on to destroy all nine churches in that area.   According to Krushna Pradhan (30), a Christian leader at Ranipadar village of Gumukhia panchayat at Daringbadi Block, about 100 radicals and interrupted the service where about 70-80 people had gathered on the same day. They had come there after destroying the church in Buda Guda. They grabbed all the Bibles and musical instruments and set them on fire. The story sounded the same for Pastor Manoranjan Pradhan (22) from Pale village at Dharing Badi block. By chanting Jai Hanuman and Jai Bajrangvali, about 300 radicals blocked roads and attacked the office of World Vision. They took out all the office equipment which included personal computers, Televisions, Typewriters, motor cycles.

Destruction inside a Church Mother Mary's statue at Carmel Convent cycles. Police stood by, idly, as they destroyed the office and every thing in it. From there, they went on to Lada Bhanga village to a church owned by GFA with a gathering of 50 people, and set it on fire as well. A total of 103 churches belonging to a variety of denominations: Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal and Independent to name a few, were violated and destroyed. The police were either absent or failed to intervene, as this minority community was terrorized. Prior to the attack, the radicals severed telephone and electricity lines in the area. In addition, they felled about 2000 trees blocking all access roads. There were more indications that the attack was pre-meditated. Request for sound systems from churches for the Christmas services from nearby towns were turned down as if they had prior information as regards what was to happen? A lay leader Sameer Kumar Digal (31) of Barakhamba recounts, “On Christmas day at 2.30PM, about 200 of us sat down to Christmas prayer at our church, and around 4 p.m. we heard the mob approach." The mob, about 4,000 persons, many bearing symbolic tilaks (religious marks worn on the forehead),
belonged to various Sangh Parivar (Hindu nationalist) groups, such as Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) He further related: "They broke the door to our church. We panicked and started running.

We fell and got up and kept running." Women and men were intimidated and assaulted. Crying and screaming was heard all around. " Kill them, Kill them,  Kill them. Become Hindu or die, No Bible, only Gita". It appears that along with the Tribals, predominantly middle class Hindus from the village and nearby villages also participated in looting, destroying and torching of Christian property. Crude handmade bombs started the fires. They used gas
cylinders as incendiary devices. 322 homes of Christians were torched in Barakhamba village alone. Break-ins
was systemic. They seem to have previously identified and marked these houses for destruction. Women and men hid for days in forests, later seeking shelter in Baliguda town relief camp.

According to Tapazs Kumar Nayak (29), a community leader from Barakhamba village, the rioters destroyed his auto rickshaw that earned him his daily livelihood. Before they were able to set fire to the house, he grabbed his two children and started running towards the forest with his wife. Fires burned all around the village and he could see the rising smoke from miles away. He had one blanket for the family and spent the whole day in the forest without food or water. He had to walk 50 kilometers through the forest to reach another village across the mountain” Most of the victims returned to Barakhamba later, only to find the charred remnants of their homes, vehicles, autos, farm equipment and A community under siege: Christians in Orissa Destroyed House, A victim stares at the future!anything they relied on to make a living. For the radicals, the mission was accomplished: the total displacement of a thriving community and destruction of their way of life.

According to Mr. Nirmal Digal (43) "Everything is lost and we are left with nothing. We are frightened and our lives have no value”. The Government has supposedly promised a sum of Rs. 50,000 to each family affected by the riots. However, none of the guarantees have come to fruition. In addition, roadblocks have been setup, preventing outside groups from assisting the victims of this carnage. It has been advised that all aid to the victims should be redirected to the District agency that is supposed to look after the rehabilitation of the victims. Ironically, some of these agencies refuse to even acknowledge the destruction that has taken place in the villages. The Chief Minister has ostensibly promised to help the schools and other institution damaged by the rioters, but this proposed plan seems to have conveniently ignored those burned out of their homes or those in the refugee camps who may not be able to return unless they have a suitable shelter. Notably, the victims of similar riots in Gujarat, that took place 5 years ago, are still living in the refugee camps and are unable to go home.

During the mayhem, an RSS activist, Khageshwar Mallick climbed on top of a CNI church at Barakhama for
the expressed purpose of removing the cross. He slipped and fell to his death. Prakash Nayak and Dasaru Digal, went to the nearby police station to file FIR about the destruction of the church. They were arrested and charged with murder along with five others. The radicals also made it a point to cremate his body in the church premises. They have now laid claim to the CNI property and adjoining 22 acres of land for constructing a temple and memorial for him. They also have announced plans for a Pooja on every December 25 going forward in Khageshwar’s memory.

There were a number of people who also paid with their lives. Gobind Nayak, who was 65 years old couldn’t outrun the radicals. Ganda Digal, a 50 year old, was killed with an axe and his body suffered cuts in his legs, arms and neck. An number of widely circulated stories of deaths, disappearances and assaults couldn’t be independently verified.Orissa has a long history of communal violence and Khandamal District is known for the tension between various tribal groups. It is also the state where Australian Missionary Dr. Graham Stains and his sons Timothy and Philip were brutally murdered by Hindu radicals on 23rd January 1999. In their report, the National Commission for Minorities deducted that the drawn-out Kondh-Pana conflict played a part in the agitation and violence. According to the report, Destroyed shops belonging to Christians A community under siege: Christians in Orissa “the Kondhs are Scheduled Tribes (STs) who constitute 51.96 percent of the population in Kandhmal district,the Scheduled Castes (SCs) (many of whom are Pana) are 16.89 percent, and Christians are 18.20 percent. A section of Christian Panas have been seeking inclusion in the ST category which would entitle them to the benefits of reservation. Their demand is based on their linguistic and cultural affinities with the Kui group.However, the Kuis have been resisting this demand on the ground that they were ethnically different from the Panas”.

However, the most important factor may be the anti-conversion campaign conducted in recent years by the VHP and the Sangh Parivar organizations in the Tribal areas. The campaign has aimed to prevent the conversion of tribal and Dalits to Christianity. Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswoti, the leader of the anti-conversion campaign, established an Ashram in this area in 1969 and has opened educational institutions for tribal boys and girls. It is not surprising that these institutions have succeeded in indoctrinating many young people who participated in the riots. It is not only the boys who are being poisoned with communal venom, but also girls who are increasingly getting involved. Women often form a front line defense to aid the charging mobs.

The area had several communal riots dating back to 1986. The affected area has been primarily inhabited by Hindus, Christians and Adivasis who fall into the Tribal category. Since the independence of India, nothing much has been changed. The high caste people still dictate orders to the local inhabitants with the aid of the drumbeat. For example, during the Easter period, a proclamation concerning the commencement of a 13-day Hindu festival is given out and people are forbidden to consume meat. Violators are fined up to Rs.10,000 or physically punished. Such a precept is clearly intended to forestall any Easter celebrations. The high caste people prevent anyone from sowing or harvesting until their own lands have been tended. Christians are treated as untouchables and anyone found in the area of the high caste, even an innocent child, faces severe consequences. Christians and other low caste people are confined to certain areas of the villages and townships, and are required to wash their own glasses if they chose to order a cup of coffee or tea from the local restaurants. Apartheid caste system is deeply entrenched in this area and is still supported and nurtured by the local institutions, long after it has been declared illegal.

A family’s shelter Homeless women There may be another twist to the series of tragic events! The outsiders, mainly missionaries and other charity organizations who have come to this area, seem to have challenged this deeply rooted system of apartheid by offering education and training to the locals. Apart from accepting a new religion, many villagers have become conscious of their rights and taken, pride in their newfound independence and worth as human beings. This is an anathema to the feudal and high caste establishments. The very fact that the Christian minority is starting to invest in their own businesses and is becoming self-reliant is an offense in the eyes of the establishment there. In response to this threat, the radicals representing the rich and powerful have destroyed houses, churches, business, farms and farm equipment, autos and everything they have owned, effectively setting their lives back for decades; perhaps relegating their existence to refugee camps, indefinitely. The behavior of Law Enforcement Officials in this scenario is once again a case study in a fledgling democracy like India. The lives and property of every citizen should be considered equal before the law, regardless of religion or caste. However, in certain parts of India, some castes and religions appear to be more equal than others. During the riots, Administrators from the Subcollector to the Chief of Police failed to defend the

Christian villages that burned one after the other. In some cases, they may have aided and abetted these criminal gangs. They have allowed very few FIRs to be filed and in some cases, it appears that they have arrested those who attempted to go to the police stations to file them. The Hindu radicals were bold enough to create roadblocks
without any resistance from the police. It is reported that VHP activists at one time asked the police officers to wear the saffron uniform and to march in unison. Unfortunately, the Law enforcement system in Orissa seems to go handin-hand with lawlessness.

It is indeed a sad story and one would feel total helplessness listening to these victims. It is often said by extremists that ‘Gujarat will be replicated elsewhere’. I visited Gujarat right after the riots in 2002. Except for the large-scale bloodshed, the outcome looks very similar: destruction of a way of life and ethnic cleansing. Of course, Modi's name is often invoked in Orissa as a great hero who brought 'peace' to Gujarat. Yes, 'peace at the grave and the security of the slaves', which is a direct contradiction to the concept of freedom as an inalienable and basic human right. The radicals have made their stand. Christianity is no longer welcome in Khandamale District in Orissa! [This report was compiled by George Abraham, Jt. National Coordinator of NRI-SAHI (Non-resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India) from the testimonies of number of victims of the recent riots upon his visit to Bhubaneshwar, Orissa in January, 2008. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ]