Legal Battles
On March 2, 2008, retired Justice Basudev Panigrahi arrived in Kandhamal District for a one week investigation. He is heading the “Commission of Enquiry on Kandhamal Incident” appointed by the Orissa state government. Orissa aicc leaders are troubled by the fact that no public notifications were given about his visit. They had also asked the state government to appoint an active, not retired, judge to head the investigation into what caused the unprecedented attacks against Christians beginning on Christmas Eve.
 
A report by the National Commission for Minorities has already blamed hardcore nationalist Hindus and alleged government negligence. The imminent National Human Rights Commission report will likely agree, according to media reports.

On Feb. 26, 2008, the aicc Orissa chapter filed a case in the Orissa High Court challenging the arbitrary order of the Kandhamal District Collector banning distribution of relief by non-government groups. The case, Writ Petition Civil No. 3028 of 2008, requests permission for charitable and religious institutions to conduct relief and rehabilitation. A hearing is scheduled for next week.
 
Government discrimination in relief efforts
Aicc is considering legal action against state government assessors who are not giving Christians the promised amount for their destroyed homes. One Baptist pastor near Baliguda said there are seven Christian families in the village. All of their houses were burned down by Hindu fundamentalists. The state government announced Rs 50,000 ($1,250) for “completely damaged” homes, but assessors only awarded Rs 10,000 ($250) to each family and said an additional Rs 10,000 would be given later since their homes were “partially damaged”.
 
Even worse, when the families went to clear the debris of their ruined homes to begin reconstruction they were stopped by local Hindus. They wouldn’t allow them to buy bricks and stones. Then the Christians were told to convert to Hinduism or leave the village. All seven families moved to a nearby town.
 
In the village of Solakia, one Christian was told he would not receive compensation for reconstruction of his house because the government official said it was only a kitchen. Most homes are extremely small, but obviously this was an insult and injustice. Of the twenty-seven Christian families in the village, the homes of twelve families were vandalised and burned. Out of the twelve families, only eight families were selected to receive relief. Many are facing starvation since they have no income. They are being denied jobs in either construction or agriculture.
 
Continued Harassment of Dalit Christians
On Feb. 24, 2008, K.S. Sudarsan, leader of the Hindu nationalist organisation RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), spoke to about 5,000 activists in Berhampur, Orissa. The city is in Ganjam district which borders violence-hit Kandhamal district and this sparked fears that it might cause more unrest. To the surprise of Christians, he did not give a violent or provocative speech and there were no attacks on Christians. However, the district administration forced local churches to change the timing of their Sunday worship services from morning to the afternoon. As one local Christian leader noted, this is subtle discrimination because he has never seen a Hindu meeting forced to change its schedule due to rally by another religious community.
 
The Orissa aicc state chapter president spoke to a central intelligence officer before the meeting and asked for deployment of police at churches. As a result there were police at all the churches in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
 
Other reports from interior villages give a taste of the challenge for Christians, most of whom are Dalits, formerly known as untouchables. A Good Shepherd Community Church pastor said that some Christian families are being prohibited from collecting water from public well and getting daily manual labor jobs by radical Hindus. Seventeen Christian families in the village of Depaketa weathered two attacks in December. Now the teachers at the government school have told parents that Christians will not be allowed to study there. When an aicc team visited on Feb. 18, 2008, the school was closed because no teachers had come. It was not a holiday.
 
In Budurukia village, Dalit Christians and Hindus from the Kui tribe lived together in peace. After the attacks by outsiders, the Hindus were so distraught over the violence against their neighbors, that most decided to become Christians and join the local church started by the Hindustan Bible Institute. The state government has now stopped giving adequate relief, including food, to the villagers. In February, only rice was given in contrast to other villages which received dal, oil, and salt. According to aicc officials who visited the village in late February, now families don't even have money to buy soap, oil, and other essentials.

Please continue to pray for the innocent victims in Kandhamal District, Orissa.

See the aicc Orissa summary page for background information: http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/1947/45/