On behalf of the communities affected by the POSCO project in Odisha (Orissa) the Environment Support Group team, in a statement issued on Thursday, appealed to all to ask their MPs to take up the cause of the villagers who have been resisting the
project peacefully for six years.
The following is the text of the statement:
We share with you the horrible news of a dastardly attack on the people of Jagatsinghpur district in Orissa earlier today. These communities have been peacefully resisting for over six years the proposed POSCO project: the single largest steel-power-mining-township-port infrastructure project conceived in recent decades.
Absolutely designed to loot the natural iron ore wealth of the country to support the prospects of POSCO, a South Korean enterprise predominantly held by American corporations and wealthy individuals including Warren Buffet, this project will destroy some of the most sensitive coastal and forest ecosystems of Orissa, and simultaneously decimate the livelihoods of thousands of natural resource dependent families.
Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh controversially approved the project's environmental clearance, even when the expert committees that he appointed advised him against it. The experts had argued on carefully constructed grounds that all evidence provided by Orissa Government and POSCO to justify the project's positive outcomes were found to be comprehensively wrong. Even so, Mr. Ramesh justified his highly questionable and controversial stand by claiming that the project served the "strategic" interests of India, admitting as well that he was under pressure from the Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Orissa.
The High Court of Orissa was approached subsequently to set right the wrongs committed by the Central and State governments, as they had effectively created a "rightless people" out of the communities affected by POSCO's investment. But the Hon'ble Principal Bench which heard the matter over three weeks chose not to intervene in an interim direction. Several months later, final arguments on pending cases are yet to be initiated.
The consequence has been that communities who have been justly resisting this absolutely scandalous project, and peacefully so for over six years now, have been repeatedly attacked by goons. This while the police and Government representatives have simply stood by and watched.
Abhay Sahu, the leader of the resistance, was recently arrested on several trumped up charges (at least three dozens of cases have been falsely filed against him), and he languishes today in prison. This is the second time that he has been so jailed; the previous time he was in prison for 11 months based on trumped up charges that he is a threat to the nation.
Earlier today, over 500 goons have attacked the hapless women, children, youth, the elderly and the men with weapons and bombs injuring many. At least one is dead, apparently one of the goons. Once more the police watched all this without intervening to protect women and children, and the elderly, and to establish order.
As people across the nation work to rid it of corruption, it must be realized that the worst form of corruption is to engage in violence against peaceful communities who are only fighting for their just rights and for the protection of wildlife and the environment. Any amount of economic development is simply not worth the price if it creates more poor, destroys sensitive ecosytems and benefits foreign corporations and the 1% of the world who are wealthy. In addition, such projects only benefit those with overseas slush accounts to our common detriment.
It is time we troubled the conscience of each and every Member of the Parliament to raise this issue in the august body which is now in session. They are duty bound to ensure that the Orissa Government backs off the POSCO project and saves Orissa and the country from loot and plunder of non-renewable iron ore and destruction of thousands of livelihoods of natural resource dependent communities and wildlife, which the POSCO investment comprehensively represents.
You can find the contact details of your MPs by clicking their name at the following links:
Lok Sabha: http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/Alphabaticallist.aspx
Rajya Sabha: http://164.100.47.5/Newmembers/memberlist.aspx
Ask the MPs to raise the issue in Parliament. Urge them to pressure the Chief Minister of Orissa and Prime Minister to stop the dastardly attacks on communities resisting POSCO. Demand that they ask the government to scrap the POSCO project to protect the economic and ecological security of India. Ask them to demand stern action against the goons who attacked the villagers, and those in the police and Orissa administration who actively and complicitly supported them.
Please spare some time and call up your newspaper and TV channel and urge them to cover the issue, actively, as actively as they have covered the debates on the need for the Lokpal Bill.
And please spare some more time and write to the PM and all others as the POSCO Prathirodh Sangram Samiti has requested.
To know why you should oppose the POSCO investment, please see "Tearing through the Water Landscape: Evaluating the environmental and social consequences of POSCO project in Odisha, India" accessible at: www.esgindia.org
See also two earlier posts in this blog:
A statement by concerned citizens
POSCO’s Orissa project: an Open Letter
Showing posts with label Orissa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orissa. Show all posts
16 December, 2011
10 November, 2010
Korean civil society's second report on POSCO project
Korean civil society groups have published their official report on fact-finding research for the POSCO project launched by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government in 2005.
The fact-finding team composed of two lawyers and a human rights activist who are experts on monitoring of human rights violations of multinational companies conducted the second fact-finding research between August 28 and September 5, 2010, following the first one that had been carried out between April 26 and May 6, 2008.
In the report, the team explains that Korean civil society has been paying attention to the issue since the violence broke out between the villagers for the POSCO project and those who were against it, in November 2007. Since then, the Korean civil society groups have been monitoring the Orissa government's attitude and also made the constant queries and demands on POSCO in Korea. The English brief report can be found here and the Korean report is available here.
Through the two visits for fact-finding research, the Korean civil society has been observing that the villagers for the POSCO project are not fully satisfied with the amount and the manner of compensation and those who are against the POSCO project have been completely excluded, which implies that the Orissa government and POSCO do not respect and observe the principles of democratic procedure and participation in promoting development projects. The Orissa government as well as POSCO has rather been contravening the Forest Rights Act 2006, violating human rights and creating environmental destruction, the report says.
The case of Khandadhar, which is mentioned in the report, is where the Orissa government and POSCO had applied for an iron ore mining license but was rejected by the high court in July 2010, clearly proving how the forest area and the tribes' lives have been destroyed by the development project.
The report also denounces the Orissa government's violent and partial attitude, pointing out the police firing and violence against protesting villagers which happened in May, as well as the the detention of the fact-finding team members in a police station for several hours, after their visit to anti-POSCO villages.
The Korean civil society groups, through the report, strongly recommend the below:
1. The Orissa government, promoting a development project without precise field research and discouraging the affected villagers' participation, should provide compensation and apology to the villagers who have been facing human rights violations and exclusion so far.
2. As apparent from the fact that the fact-finding team was taken to the police station and investigated immediately after visiting the anti-POSCO project villages on August 30, 2010, the police should stop the suppression and surveillance of the anti-POSCO project villagers, which violates their human rights.
3. The Orissa government should acknowledge that the POSCO project cannot succeed in its launch without the villagers' participation and agreement, and it is highly recommended to thoroughly reconsider the POSCO project.
4. Starting with the POSCO project, the Orissa government should respect and observe the principles that any development project should be initiated only with a transparent and democratic process that includes the villagers' participation.
5. The Ministry of Environment and Forests of India should immediately respect and fulfill the recommendations proposed by the Saxena Committee, the Meena Gupta Committee and the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), a key committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
6. The central government of India also should immediately conduct a thorough re-survey and re-examination of the whole POSCO project.
For English brief report,
http://material.ahrchk.net/india/AHRC-PRL-028-2010-01.pdf
For Korean report,
http://www.khis.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=multicorp&wr_id=188
For more detail, please contact:
Na, Hyun phil
KHIS, Seoul Korea
Tel: +82 2 736 5808
Fax: +82 2 736 5810
Email: redleon@naver.com
Website: http://www.khis.or.kr/
18 October, 2010
POSCO project illegal: Enquiry Committee's majority report
Abhay Sahoo, Chairperson, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, writes:
Today three of the four members of the committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests confirmed that the POSCO project is illegal and that all of its clearances were obtained by breaking the law.
The committee has also found that the project has potentially very dangerous impacts on issues like water, air pollution, and the coastline, and none of this was ever properly evaluated.
After a detailed discussion of the huge number of criminal actions by the company and the Orissa government, the committee says (in the conclusion of the report):“The POSCO project is an example of how a mirage of “development” can be used in an attempt to bypass the law. Such attempts, if allowed to succeed, will result in neither development nor environmental protection, but merely in profiteering. This will cause immeasurable harm to the nation and to the rule of law and justice in our society.”
We particularly draw attention to the fact that the majority found that:
• The Orissa government and the Central government have violated the Forest Rights Act and tried to grab forest land that belongs to the people. This is the second official committee that has reached this conclusion.
• The project could cause environmental devastation particularly in regard to water, air pollution, coastal damage, danger of industrial disasters in case of cyclones, etc., all of which was ignored by the government.
• POSCO suppressed facts and tried to get around the requirements of law.
• The environmental, forest and coastal regulation clearances obtained by the project were all illegal and should all be revoked.
• The forest clearance can only be given subject to the recognition of rights and the consent of the gram sabha under the Forest Rights Act.
Those who keep talking of the POSCO project as one of “national importance” should answer these questions: would any other country in the world tolerate such violations of their law? Would South Korea tolerate an Indian company grabbing their land, breaking their laws and threatening to cause an environmental disaster? Is this what development means – robbing thousands of their lands and threatening lakhs with water shortage and other catastrophes?
As for the dissenting report of Ms. Meena Gupta, her position reflects her own interests. She was the Secretary that granted the environment clearance, and asking her to review it is like asking a thief to don a police uniform. Naturally she has said that all the clearances should continue. Her report is full of distortions, such as claiming that there are only 700 families in the area (when over 4,000 will lose their lands and/or homes). She tries to cover up crimes by saying that it does not matter if the law was broken; all that is required is to impose some additional “conditions.”
We call upon the Central government to heed the voice of the people and the findings of the majority report, withdraw all clearances and cancel this unjust, illegal and brutal project.
Today three of the four members of the committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests confirmed that the POSCO project is illegal and that all of its clearances were obtained by breaking the law.
The committee has also found that the project has potentially very dangerous impacts on issues like water, air pollution, and the coastline, and none of this was ever properly evaluated.
After a detailed discussion of the huge number of criminal actions by the company and the Orissa government, the committee says (in the conclusion of the report):“The POSCO project is an example of how a mirage of “development” can be used in an attempt to bypass the law. Such attempts, if allowed to succeed, will result in neither development nor environmental protection, but merely in profiteering. This will cause immeasurable harm to the nation and to the rule of law and justice in our society.”
We particularly draw attention to the fact that the majority found that:
• The Orissa government and the Central government have violated the Forest Rights Act and tried to grab forest land that belongs to the people. This is the second official committee that has reached this conclusion.
• The project could cause environmental devastation particularly in regard to water, air pollution, coastal damage, danger of industrial disasters in case of cyclones, etc., all of which was ignored by the government.
• POSCO suppressed facts and tried to get around the requirements of law.
• The environmental, forest and coastal regulation clearances obtained by the project were all illegal and should all be revoked.
• The forest clearance can only be given subject to the recognition of rights and the consent of the gram sabha under the Forest Rights Act.
Those who keep talking of the POSCO project as one of “national importance” should answer these questions: would any other country in the world tolerate such violations of their law? Would South Korea tolerate an Indian company grabbing their land, breaking their laws and threatening to cause an environmental disaster? Is this what development means – robbing thousands of their lands and threatening lakhs with water shortage and other catastrophes?
As for the dissenting report of Ms. Meena Gupta, her position reflects her own interests. She was the Secretary that granted the environment clearance, and asking her to review it is like asking a thief to don a police uniform. Naturally she has said that all the clearances should continue. Her report is full of distortions, such as claiming that there are only 700 families in the area (when over 4,000 will lose their lands and/or homes). She tries to cover up crimes by saying that it does not matter if the law was broken; all that is required is to impose some additional “conditions.”
We call upon the Central government to heed the voice of the people and the findings of the majority report, withdraw all clearances and cancel this unjust, illegal and brutal project.
05 October, 2010
Gang-rape of Adivasi woman: fact-finding report
The following is a press release issued by Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS):
An all–India women’s fact-finding team of four members visited Gajapthi district in Orissa on September 30 and October 1 to investigate into the alleged rape, on February 12, 2010, of a 20- year-old Adivasi woman by security and police forces.
Village Jadingi along with other villages of Gajapati district have been subject to combing operations as the area is supposed to be having hectic Maoist activity. The arrest and rape of this woman has largely gone unreported and therefore there was a need to investigate. The team met the woman, her parents, people in her village, the sarpanch, panchayat samiti members, her two lawyers, local police station personnel, the jailer and the jail pharmacist. A telephonic conversation was made with the SP, Gajapathi district.
Facts of the Case
According to the police diary, the woman, a Kondh, resident of village Jadingi, Adava Police Station, Block Mohana, was picked up along with two others by SOG and other security staff led by ASI D. Mahapatra from their villages on 12 February, 2010. No woman constable was present at the time.
She was picked up at about 4 a.m. in village Jadingi, as per the testimonies of people in the village. Many villagers (more than seven, in the presence of the entire community) testified that the security personnel had forcibly entered their houses and beaten them up.
The woman was beaten up in front of her parents and other villagers. She was then dragged away along with three others (her brother and cousins) from her village. Subsequently, another two boys were picked up from Tangili, a neighbouring village. She was blindfolded while walking. Two of these boys were allowed to return after they had walked a few kilometers from the village.
The police records, however, show that she was arrested at 4:30 p.m, which is almost 12 hours after she was actually picked up from the village.
She was gang-raped in the jungles before being brought to the police headquarters. She has clearly stated this in her statement to the Magistrate, and also in her testimony to us. She was also shown obscene pictures on the mobile and sexually abusive language was used by the police/SOG forces.
She and her cousins were threatened at gun-point not to divulge any information about this incident.
Several people, including the sarpanch and her family members went to Adava Police Station to enquire about her and the others by about 10 a.m. on the morning of February 12 itself, but they were not allowed to go in and meet anyone, and were told that they have no information from the barricaded gates of the thana itself. They waited the whole day, but no information was provided to them about her whereabouts and safety.
A month later, the family was able to trace her to R. Udaigiri jail when some people of a neighboring village reported hearing that she was there. Upon meeting her, she immediately informed her parents about the rape incident.
Her father filed a complaint in the J.F.M.C. Udaigiri only in August 2010 about the incident of rape in custody. There has been a continuous atmosphere of tension and insecurity amongst the adivasi villagers in the area since this incident; people are voluntarily surrendering to avoid being falsely killed in encounters or arrested and getting stuck in jails uncertainly. All these factors, plus the fact that his daughter was engaged to be married in May 2010 and this kind of news would harm her future prospects played on the parents’ mind before taking this decision. They have also written to the Chief Minister, State Women’s Commission, State Human Rights Commission and Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. They have received no response from anyone.
The Magistrate has taken the petition into cognizance, and has recorded her and her father’s statements. Despite the seriousness and gravity of the crime, the police has not taken any action in filing an FIR or initiating an enquiry against its own personnel. In fact, the SP does not feel that he should be doing anything suo motto even though he said he is well aware of the incident through various sources, including the media.
The manner in which she was picked up and the subsequent lapses in procedures clearly show that the security forces, the police, the court and the jail have completely disregarded all safeguards available for women in custody.
*She was picked up in the night hours from her residence.
*No woman constable was present at the time of her pick-up in the village.*No custody memo was given to the family members.
*Instead of anyone from the family / village, a ‘fake’ witness has been recorded in the arrest memo (her family members and local sarpanch waited in front of the thana the whole day but they were not given any information and could have been called in as witness).
*Place of arrest has not been shown in the arrest memo.
*No medical examination was done at the police station or at the time of producing in the court.
*At the time of producing before the Magistrate, she was only asked to sign some papers and her finger-prints were taken. She was not asked anything about ill-treatment and whether she needs legal assistance or a medical examination.
*At the time of entry in the jail, she reported being severely beaten up with rifle butts by the security forces (this was confirmed by the pharmacist also). Instead of taking this as a serious human rights violation and probing further (which might have revealed the rape in the beginning), this was considered as a routine case and was treated with simple pain-killers and other medicines.
*Only a cursory medical report has been prepared at the jail.
*Although it is mandatory that under-trial prisoners should be presented in the court once every 15 days, she has been presented in the court only once during the entire period of over seven months of judicial custody till the petition on the rape case was filed.
Demands
The Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression network demands:
*Criminal proceedings be immediately initiated against the police and SOG personnel who were part of the raid team on 12February, 2010 for committing the heinous crime of rape and/or protecting the perpetrators.
*Procedures and safeguards for protecting women in custody must be strictly adhered to.
*Women in conflict areas are much more vulnerable to sexual violence and we demand a serious response from the district and state administration when a woman shows the courage to make such a serious complaint.
Members of the Fact Finding Team:
Shivani Taneja (Bhopal) (tel-9425600382)
K. Anuradha(Vishakhapatnam)
Pramodini Pradhan(Bhubaneswar) (tel-9439200989)
Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) is network of women’s organizations, human rights organizations and individuals from across India. It is a non-funded effort initiated by women, and is concerned with atrocities and repression against women by state and non-state actors, especially in conflict zones. Contact Email: againstsexualviolence@gmail.com
An all–India women’s fact-finding team of four members visited Gajapthi district in Orissa on September 30 and October 1 to investigate into the alleged rape, on February 12, 2010, of a 20- year-old Adivasi woman by security and police forces.
Village Jadingi along with other villages of Gajapati district have been subject to combing operations as the area is supposed to be having hectic Maoist activity. The arrest and rape of this woman has largely gone unreported and therefore there was a need to investigate. The team met the woman, her parents, people in her village, the sarpanch, panchayat samiti members, her two lawyers, local police station personnel, the jailer and the jail pharmacist. A telephonic conversation was made with the SP, Gajapathi district.
Facts of the Case
According to the police diary, the woman, a Kondh, resident of village Jadingi, Adava Police Station, Block Mohana, was picked up along with two others by SOG and other security staff led by ASI D. Mahapatra from their villages on 12 February, 2010. No woman constable was present at the time.
She was picked up at about 4 a.m. in village Jadingi, as per the testimonies of people in the village. Many villagers (more than seven, in the presence of the entire community) testified that the security personnel had forcibly entered their houses and beaten them up.
The woman was beaten up in front of her parents and other villagers. She was then dragged away along with three others (her brother and cousins) from her village. Subsequently, another two boys were picked up from Tangili, a neighbouring village. She was blindfolded while walking. Two of these boys were allowed to return after they had walked a few kilometers from the village.
The police records, however, show that she was arrested at 4:30 p.m, which is almost 12 hours after she was actually picked up from the village.
She was gang-raped in the jungles before being brought to the police headquarters. She has clearly stated this in her statement to the Magistrate, and also in her testimony to us. She was also shown obscene pictures on the mobile and sexually abusive language was used by the police/SOG forces.
She and her cousins were threatened at gun-point not to divulge any information about this incident.
Several people, including the sarpanch and her family members went to Adava Police Station to enquire about her and the others by about 10 a.m. on the morning of February 12 itself, but they were not allowed to go in and meet anyone, and were told that they have no information from the barricaded gates of the thana itself. They waited the whole day, but no information was provided to them about her whereabouts and safety.
A month later, the family was able to trace her to R. Udaigiri jail when some people of a neighboring village reported hearing that she was there. Upon meeting her, she immediately informed her parents about the rape incident.
Her father filed a complaint in the J.F.M.C. Udaigiri only in August 2010 about the incident of rape in custody. There has been a continuous atmosphere of tension and insecurity amongst the adivasi villagers in the area since this incident; people are voluntarily surrendering to avoid being falsely killed in encounters or arrested and getting stuck in jails uncertainly. All these factors, plus the fact that his daughter was engaged to be married in May 2010 and this kind of news would harm her future prospects played on the parents’ mind before taking this decision. They have also written to the Chief Minister, State Women’s Commission, State Human Rights Commission and Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. They have received no response from anyone.
The Magistrate has taken the petition into cognizance, and has recorded her and her father’s statements. Despite the seriousness and gravity of the crime, the police has not taken any action in filing an FIR or initiating an enquiry against its own personnel. In fact, the SP does not feel that he should be doing anything suo motto even though he said he is well aware of the incident through various sources, including the media.
The manner in which she was picked up and the subsequent lapses in procedures clearly show that the security forces, the police, the court and the jail have completely disregarded all safeguards available for women in custody.
*She was picked up in the night hours from her residence.
*No woman constable was present at the time of her pick-up in the village.*No custody memo was given to the family members.
*Instead of anyone from the family / village, a ‘fake’ witness has been recorded in the arrest memo (her family members and local sarpanch waited in front of the thana the whole day but they were not given any information and could have been called in as witness).
*Place of arrest has not been shown in the arrest memo.
*No medical examination was done at the police station or at the time of producing in the court.
*At the time of producing before the Magistrate, she was only asked to sign some papers and her finger-prints were taken. She was not asked anything about ill-treatment and whether she needs legal assistance or a medical examination.
*At the time of entry in the jail, she reported being severely beaten up with rifle butts by the security forces (this was confirmed by the pharmacist also). Instead of taking this as a serious human rights violation and probing further (which might have revealed the rape in the beginning), this was considered as a routine case and was treated with simple pain-killers and other medicines.
*Only a cursory medical report has been prepared at the jail.
*Although it is mandatory that under-trial prisoners should be presented in the court once every 15 days, she has been presented in the court only once during the entire period of over seven months of judicial custody till the petition on the rape case was filed.
Demands
The Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression network demands:
*Criminal proceedings be immediately initiated against the police and SOG personnel who were part of the raid team on 12February, 2010 for committing the heinous crime of rape and/or protecting the perpetrators.
*Procedures and safeguards for protecting women in custody must be strictly adhered to.
*Women in conflict areas are much more vulnerable to sexual violence and we demand a serious response from the district and state administration when a woman shows the courage to make such a serious complaint.
Members of the Fact Finding Team:
Shivani Taneja (Bhopal) (tel-9425600382)
K. Anuradha(Vishakhapatnam)
Pramodini Pradhan(Bhubaneswar) (tel-9439200989)
Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) is network of women’s organizations, human rights organizations and individuals from across India. It is a non-funded effort initiated by women, and is concerned with atrocities and repression against women by state and non-state actors, especially in conflict zones. Contact Email: againstsexualviolence@gmail.com
28 June, 2010
Civil Society rejects World Bank action plan for Orissa
The following is a Press Release from the Focus Orissa Forum on Climate Change, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong:
The draft Climate Change Action Plan of Orissa (CCAP) prepared at the aegis of the World Bank and DFID does not consider the concern and interest of common odia, neither reflect state’s seriousness towards self-discipline, sobriety and adaptation, rather vociferously reiterates its nexus with neo-liberal lobby which propounds reckless industrialization and unwarranted investment. Notwithstanding the fact that its citizens are either the victims of Climate Change or are the vulnerable lot at coast and the hills, in spite of living a low-emission or net-absorption livelihoods, the authors of the document treat them as the Climate Criminals while allowing the criminals to expand and multiply their crimes. With its focus on promoting investment-intensive mitigation measures as a tool to encourage state’s ongoing unabated industrialization drive, it looks more as an “Inv estment Plan for Industrialization and Mitigation’ offering almost nothing for state’s farmers, fishers, forest-produce gatherers.
Orissa government’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan with a huge budget of Rs. 17,000 crore seeks to help industries more by reducing their expenditure on adapting to climate change, while providing hardly any budget for the victims of climate change at Saatabhayaa, around Talcher and Jharsuguda. It proposes a 15 fold increase in the capacity of thermal power plants at the guise of improvement technology which alone could lead to at least thirteen times higher levels of emission of heat and pollution. One can imagine the hazards that already boiling Talcher and Jharsuguda will face in this scenario. A budget of Rs. 5,500 crore is made for reducing transmission and distribution losses which is only going to help private energy companies sell more electricity and make more money. On the contrary allocation of mere Rs. 4 crore for the establishment of biogas plants can support only about 5000 biogas plants, which is even insufficient for one block.
There is hardly any money allocated for developing small and micro level irrigation facilities or in providing adaptive seeds to farmers. There is no allocation for increasing the supply of electricity to farmers. On the other hand the government has planned for enhancing the fees for irrigation. Over the last ten years, the government has kept on increasing the fees it collects from farmers for supplying irrigation water to them, while allowing industries to use increasing quantities of water, often without formal permission and from sources earmarked for irrigation purposes, without having to pay much.
The plan has more than Rs. 3,000 crore for the forest department, while the villagers who have sacrificed so much to protect their forests under community forest management /joint forest management have been allocated nothing but a small amount of five crore rupees for training purposes. In transport sector, 80% of the allocated budget for this sector is for highways while there is no budget for rail or for promoting the use of non-motorised transport such as bicycles.
Two of the most critical areas climate change impacts are falling production in agriculture, livestock & fishery; and increasing health hazards due to heat related illnesses and accidents. There is no budget under the action plan for something as obvious and basic as preventing and treating heat strokes. The livestock sector is seen by the government less as a victim of climate change and more as a producer of methane. The climate change action plan accuses the farmers of Orissa of not killing old and unproductive cattle due to religious cultural reasons and that this leads to large methane emissions.
An overall reading of the Orissa climate change action plan leads to the following conclusions:
1. It’s a hurriedly drafted document ghost-written by the World Bank and other External Agencies.
2. Notwithstanding the importance and implication of the document, the process of preparation of draft document has not been inclusive. There has been no involvement of civil society and other non-government stakeholders including academia, researchers, legislatures, PRIs, NGOs and the important climate refugees and vulnerable communities from different parts of the state in the drafting processes. Even the comments and suggestions provided by some of these stakeholders who were invited to the hurriedly called 4 stakeholder consultations have been ignored and not incorporated.
3. It treats Orissa as a cause of climate change while Orissa is actually a victim of climate change. Naturally it wants to impose the price of reducing emission of green house gases on the ordinary people of Orissa, who lives either low-emission or net-carbon-absorption livelihoods.
4. In spite of the heat wave conditions that have killed thousands of people in Orissa, the Action Plan seeks to ratify the setting up of large numbers of new thermal power plans which will lead to at least thirteen times growth in emissions and pollutions, thus would risk temperature increase.
5. It accepts that climate change is going to cause erratic monsoons and increased incidence of droughts and reduce agricultural production. However it proposes not increasing irrigation coverage but increase in water tariff collected from farmers.
6. It blames the people of Orissa keeping their old cows and bullocks and encourages that they should allow such animals to die.
7. It pays only lip service to the issue of renewable energy such as biogas or solar powers and allocates very small budgets for these areas. On the other hand it allocates large amounts of public money to help electricity companies increase profits by reducing transmission losses.
8. It tries to peddle false assumptions that bio-fuels will lead to lower carbon emissions. Bio-fuels can only lead to saving in petroleum use but not reduce carbon emissions as when bio-fuels are burnt, that too released green house gases. It encourages the diversion of land to growing bio-fuels which will lead to reduction in the availability of food and fodder.
9. It pays lip service to development of public transport, railways and non-motorised transport. But it does not allocate any budgets for these while allocating 80% of the transport sector budget for highways.
10. It ignores the contribution of community forest management in protecting and developing Orissa’ forests and allocates no budget for helping villages that are protecting their forests to gain access to alternate livelihoods and alternate fuel sources.
11. It pays only lip service to preventing and curing the health impacts of increasing temperatures and makes no budget allocation for preventing or treating heat strokes in spite of thousands of people having died due to heat strokes in the last few years.
It is important that the government have a genuine participatory process where academics, people currently affected severely by climate change, other people under threat of climate change impact, experienced bureaucrats, civil society organisations, people’s representatives debate on the issue of impact of climate change on Orissa in a decentralized manner from below. The principal approach should be to ensure that the state has systems to generate resources from global funds as well as in judiciously directing its own resources for fighting climate change and its impacts. Such resources should be used to reduce the impact of climate change on the people of Orissa, especially the people who are more vulnerable and unable to adapt without external support. It is important that the state should ponder over its industrialization and extractive development trajectory and comes out with a policy based on self discipline, sobriety and temperance in resource use. This draft sh ould be rejected altogether and a new decentralized, inclusive process be initiated from below with multistakeholders participation with a spirit of Odia nationalism rather than under the influence of the World Bank.
Focus Orissa Forum on Climate Change
Sudarshan Chhotoray
Dr.S.N.Patro
Achyut Das
Biswajit Mohanty
Bibhudhendra P Das
Dr. J.Panigrahi
Dhirendra Panda
Pranb Choudhury
Manas Ranjan
Kalish Das
Tapan Padhi
Pravat Sutar
Prasant Mohanty
Mangaraj Panda
Bisikesan Jani
Ranjan Panda
Bibekananda Pattanaik
Bidyut Mohanty
Pradip Pradhan
The draft Climate Change Action Plan of Orissa (CCAP) prepared at the aegis of the World Bank and DFID does not consider the concern and interest of common odia, neither reflect state’s seriousness towards self-discipline, sobriety and adaptation, rather vociferously reiterates its nexus with neo-liberal lobby which propounds reckless industrialization and unwarranted investment. Notwithstanding the fact that its citizens are either the victims of Climate Change or are the vulnerable lot at coast and the hills, in spite of living a low-emission or net-absorption livelihoods, the authors of the document treat them as the Climate Criminals while allowing the criminals to expand and multiply their crimes. With its focus on promoting investment-intensive mitigation measures as a tool to encourage state’s ongoing unabated industrialization drive, it looks more as an “Inv estment Plan for Industrialization and Mitigation’ offering almost nothing for state’s farmers, fishers, forest-produce gatherers.
Orissa government’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan with a huge budget of Rs. 17,000 crore seeks to help industries more by reducing their expenditure on adapting to climate change, while providing hardly any budget for the victims of climate change at Saatabhayaa, around Talcher and Jharsuguda. It proposes a 15 fold increase in the capacity of thermal power plants at the guise of improvement technology which alone could lead to at least thirteen times higher levels of emission of heat and pollution. One can imagine the hazards that already boiling Talcher and Jharsuguda will face in this scenario. A budget of Rs. 5,500 crore is made for reducing transmission and distribution losses which is only going to help private energy companies sell more electricity and make more money. On the contrary allocation of mere Rs. 4 crore for the establishment of biogas plants can support only about 5000 biogas plants, which is even insufficient for one block.
There is hardly any money allocated for developing small and micro level irrigation facilities or in providing adaptive seeds to farmers. There is no allocation for increasing the supply of electricity to farmers. On the other hand the government has planned for enhancing the fees for irrigation. Over the last ten years, the government has kept on increasing the fees it collects from farmers for supplying irrigation water to them, while allowing industries to use increasing quantities of water, often without formal permission and from sources earmarked for irrigation purposes, without having to pay much.
The plan has more than Rs. 3,000 crore for the forest department, while the villagers who have sacrificed so much to protect their forests under community forest management /joint forest management have been allocated nothing but a small amount of five crore rupees for training purposes. In transport sector, 80% of the allocated budget for this sector is for highways while there is no budget for rail or for promoting the use of non-motorised transport such as bicycles.
Two of the most critical areas climate change impacts are falling production in agriculture, livestock & fishery; and increasing health hazards due to heat related illnesses and accidents. There is no budget under the action plan for something as obvious and basic as preventing and treating heat strokes. The livestock sector is seen by the government less as a victim of climate change and more as a producer of methane. The climate change action plan accuses the farmers of Orissa of not killing old and unproductive cattle due to religious cultural reasons and that this leads to large methane emissions.
An overall reading of the Orissa climate change action plan leads to the following conclusions:
1. It’s a hurriedly drafted document ghost-written by the World Bank and other External Agencies.
2. Notwithstanding the importance and implication of the document, the process of preparation of draft document has not been inclusive. There has been no involvement of civil society and other non-government stakeholders including academia, researchers, legislatures, PRIs, NGOs and the important climate refugees and vulnerable communities from different parts of the state in the drafting processes. Even the comments and suggestions provided by some of these stakeholders who were invited to the hurriedly called 4 stakeholder consultations have been ignored and not incorporated.
3. It treats Orissa as a cause of climate change while Orissa is actually a victim of climate change. Naturally it wants to impose the price of reducing emission of green house gases on the ordinary people of Orissa, who lives either low-emission or net-carbon-absorption livelihoods.
4. In spite of the heat wave conditions that have killed thousands of people in Orissa, the Action Plan seeks to ratify the setting up of large numbers of new thermal power plans which will lead to at least thirteen times growth in emissions and pollutions, thus would risk temperature increase.
5. It accepts that climate change is going to cause erratic monsoons and increased incidence of droughts and reduce agricultural production. However it proposes not increasing irrigation coverage but increase in water tariff collected from farmers.
6. It blames the people of Orissa keeping their old cows and bullocks and encourages that they should allow such animals to die.
7. It pays only lip service to the issue of renewable energy such as biogas or solar powers and allocates very small budgets for these areas. On the other hand it allocates large amounts of public money to help electricity companies increase profits by reducing transmission losses.
8. It tries to peddle false assumptions that bio-fuels will lead to lower carbon emissions. Bio-fuels can only lead to saving in petroleum use but not reduce carbon emissions as when bio-fuels are burnt, that too released green house gases. It encourages the diversion of land to growing bio-fuels which will lead to reduction in the availability of food and fodder.
9. It pays lip service to development of public transport, railways and non-motorised transport. But it does not allocate any budgets for these while allocating 80% of the transport sector budget for highways.
10. It ignores the contribution of community forest management in protecting and developing Orissa’ forests and allocates no budget for helping villages that are protecting their forests to gain access to alternate livelihoods and alternate fuel sources.
11. It pays only lip service to preventing and curing the health impacts of increasing temperatures and makes no budget allocation for preventing or treating heat strokes in spite of thousands of people having died due to heat strokes in the last few years.
It is important that the government have a genuine participatory process where academics, people currently affected severely by climate change, other people under threat of climate change impact, experienced bureaucrats, civil society organisations, people’s representatives debate on the issue of impact of climate change on Orissa in a decentralized manner from below. The principal approach should be to ensure that the state has systems to generate resources from global funds as well as in judiciously directing its own resources for fighting climate change and its impacts. Such resources should be used to reduce the impact of climate change on the people of Orissa, especially the people who are more vulnerable and unable to adapt without external support. It is important that the state should ponder over its industrialization and extractive development trajectory and comes out with a policy based on self discipline, sobriety and temperance in resource use. This draft sh ould be rejected altogether and a new decentralized, inclusive process be initiated from below with multistakeholders participation with a spirit of Odia nationalism rather than under the influence of the World Bank.
Focus Orissa Forum on Climate Change
Sudarshan Chhotoray
Dr.S.N.Patro
Achyut Das
Biswajit Mohanty
Bibhudhendra P Das
Dr. J.Panigrahi
Dhirendra Panda
Pranb Choudhury
Manas Ranjan
Kalish Das
Tapan Padhi
Pravat Sutar
Prasant Mohanty
Mangaraj Panda
Bisikesan Jani
Ranjan Panda
Bibekananda Pattanaik
Bidyut Mohanty
Pradip Pradhan
15 June, 2010
A journalist and a story in search of a newspaper
The following is a message from Priyanka Borpujari (aa.priyanka@gmail.com), a Mumbai-based freelance journalist, which Ahalya Naidu (ahalya12@gmail.com) has circulated to members of the Google group Human Rights Movement(humanrights-movement@googlegroups.com):
Hi,
My name is Priyanka Borpujari and I am a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. Correction: I am a struggling freelance journalist - struggling with authorities to let me into the war zones on Central India, struggling with persuading them that I am a journalist and writer even if I don't carry a press card, struggling with having to return to Mumbai to try and get what I saw and heard and felt and smelled published somewhere, struggling to earn a living with what I love doing.
So, I am now headed to Orissa, specifically to Kalinganagar in Jajpur district. Kalinganagar should have been in the limelight, but since it is not, I have decided to go there to see the power that forbids the place from coming into the limelight. A local journalist was telling me, "That place is a jail. Nobody can go there or come out of it. Those who manage to get out are picked by cops for questioning." Reason? Tata's steel plant which is proposed to be set up there. In 2006, 14 people were killed. This year, as villagers protest to not let go of their meagre lands and livelihood into the hands of the 'philanthropic' company, five people have died for lack of timely medical aid. Goons are being sent to threaten the people; cops look on. Have you read any of this in any of the newspapers or seen on TV channels lately? I know you haven't, and hence I am going to bring out the real stories.
But this is no scary landscape for me. I was in Dantewada before and after the incident when 76 CRPF jawans were killed in am ambush with the Maoists. God was kind and our roads were clear through the Dandakaranya forest, although I can vividly remember the images of the blown up, a bullet-proof vehicle just few feet away from me. Of course, I am sure I was stepping on a landmine and I was lucky that it was not detonated.
The purpose of this mail is not to boast of my heroics, but to let you know that some of my experiences were published in The Times of India and DNA, while I kept blogging too during my first visit to Dantewada. This time, I would love to feel secure that once I return, a media publication would be willing to give me some good column space to write what I see in Orissa. It would be nice if you could let me know if there is any media house willing to tell the untold stories and show the unseen images of what humans can do to one another, for the love of greed.
I hope I am able to board the train for the 38-hour journey, with a secure heart that yes, mainstream journalism isn't yet dead.
Thanks and regards,
Priyanka Borpujari
+91-9820741992
www.priyanka-borpujari.blogspot.com
Hi,
My name is Priyanka Borpujari and I am a freelance journalist based in Mumbai. Correction: I am a struggling freelance journalist - struggling with authorities to let me into the war zones on Central India, struggling with persuading them that I am a journalist and writer even if I don't carry a press card, struggling with having to return to Mumbai to try and get what I saw and heard and felt and smelled published somewhere, struggling to earn a living with what I love doing.
So, I am now headed to Orissa, specifically to Kalinganagar in Jajpur district. Kalinganagar should have been in the limelight, but since it is not, I have decided to go there to see the power that forbids the place from coming into the limelight. A local journalist was telling me, "That place is a jail. Nobody can go there or come out of it. Those who manage to get out are picked by cops for questioning." Reason? Tata's steel plant which is proposed to be set up there. In 2006, 14 people were killed. This year, as villagers protest to not let go of their meagre lands and livelihood into the hands of the 'philanthropic' company, five people have died for lack of timely medical aid. Goons are being sent to threaten the people; cops look on. Have you read any of this in any of the newspapers or seen on TV channels lately? I know you haven't, and hence I am going to bring out the real stories.
But this is no scary landscape for me. I was in Dantewada before and after the incident when 76 CRPF jawans were killed in am ambush with the Maoists. God was kind and our roads were clear through the Dandakaranya forest, although I can vividly remember the images of the blown up, a bullet-proof vehicle just few feet away from me. Of course, I am sure I was stepping on a landmine and I was lucky that it was not detonated.
The purpose of this mail is not to boast of my heroics, but to let you know that some of my experiences were published in The Times of India and DNA, while I kept blogging too during my first visit to Dantewada. This time, I would love to feel secure that once I return, a media publication would be willing to give me some good column space to write what I see in Orissa. It would be nice if you could let me know if there is any media house willing to tell the untold stories and show the unseen images of what humans can do to one another, for the love of greed.
I hope I am able to board the train for the 38-hour journey, with a secure heart that yes, mainstream journalism isn't yet dead.
Thanks and regards,
Priyanka Borpujari
+91-9820741992
www.priyanka-borpujari.blogspot.com
14 June, 2010
POSCO must assume responsibility for Orissa violence
The following is a joint statement issued by several civil rights groups in South Korea:
On May 15, 2010, all but two out of one hundred villagers were seriously injured while police were dispersing them. They had been peacefully protesting against the POSCO steel plant project in Orissa, India. According to reports published in India, the police reportedly fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas and then prevented the injured from securing medical treatment for six days.
Since POSCO launched the steel plant project in Orissa, the villagers have been opposing the project, and calling for the protection of their land and the forest where they have been living for generations. In particular, from January 2010, the villagers have been protesting at Balithutha, which is the entry point to other villages targeted by the POSCO project. On May 15, 600 protesters were joined by others to reach a total of about 3,500. They rallied to support the protestors when they were told that the police were ready to fire. Many of the protesters were women and elderly persons.
Since POSCO launched its project, they have caused much suffering for the local people. The villagers and the communities have become divided into pro-POSCO and anti-POSCO groups. Each antagonizes the other. And as a result, all the villagers’ livelihoods are in danger due to the fear of an insecure future. Those who maintain the traditional way of living are confronting abrupt changes in their lives due to POSCO. This is a form of violence which is destroying their lives.
This violence, triggered by development, occurs not only in the villages targeted by the POSCO project but also all over India. Indigenous people and the poor are the main groups displaced by development projects. Violence caused by development has become a major international concern. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the Orissa government is expected not to take any violent action against the villagers protesting the POSCO project. And POSCO is expected to persuade the villagers to relocate to alternative locations, by providing proper and mutually agreed upon compensation.
However, on May 15, 2010, it is reportedly alleged that approximately 1,500 police officers (25 platoons) came to disperse the protesters. They used force and fired indiscriminately against women and the elderly using live ammunition. The consciences and ethics of Korean society cannot remain silent with this inhumane behaviour of the Indian police who showed indifference to the victims' lives and injuries. The Indian police have insisted that they fired after the protestors allegedly exploded a locally made bomb first. In their eyes, this made their attack legitimate. Yet a variety of online videos and TV news published disproved this stance. Police suppression in this instance did not use even a minimal level of safety for the protestors. Two troubling questions arise: WHY did the Indian police use such brutal force to disperse a group of peaceful protesters, and what was the relevant background that led to this violence?
In the process of starting up large-scale developmental projects, local governments favour multinational companies and often use force against the villagers who oppose them. This demonstrates a propensity for the prevalent use of violence. Needless to say, multinational companies are acknowledged as accomplices in the violation of human rights.
POSCO provides a variety of aid and support in India. But no matter how well POSCO carries out its various social programs, and although the Indian police have been shown responsible for the violent suppression, POSCO cannot escape its own responsibilities in the incident. After all, POSCO is a direct beneficiary of the project promoted by the government but at the cost of human rights violations. At the end of the day, POSCO is both beneficiary and accomplice at the same time. Article 5 of the ethical standard of POSCO (‘State and Society’) states: “We respect the tradition and culture of local society and do our best for the common prosperity and development with the local society.” “We are obliged to abide by international laws ratified on human rights, environment, culture and economy and by domestic laws and fiscal regulations.” Accordingly, this incident illustrates that the ethical standards of POSCO are apparently not in accord with international standards. In addition, the reputation for corporate responsibility of management that POSCO has been building up, may be in great jeopardy as a result.
POSCO would do well, with immediacy, to demonstrate transparency in its policies and implementation of projects. Relative to these points, we demand that:
1. POSCO should immediately explain its standpoint in regard to the incident in Orissa.
2. POSCO should strongly demand that the Orissa government prevent any re-occurrence of a similar situation in the future.
Signatories to the statement:
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility
Gong-gam, Lawyers’ group for Public Interest
Korean House of International Solidarity
Alltogether
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Centre on Corporate Responsibility
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy
The statement, released on May 25, 2010, has been circulated worldwide by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
On May 15, 2010, all but two out of one hundred villagers were seriously injured while police were dispersing them. They had been peacefully protesting against the POSCO steel plant project in Orissa, India. According to reports published in India, the police reportedly fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas and then prevented the injured from securing medical treatment for six days.
Since POSCO launched the steel plant project in Orissa, the villagers have been opposing the project, and calling for the protection of their land and the forest where they have been living for generations. In particular, from January 2010, the villagers have been protesting at Balithutha, which is the entry point to other villages targeted by the POSCO project. On May 15, 600 protesters were joined by others to reach a total of about 3,500. They rallied to support the protestors when they were told that the police were ready to fire. Many of the protesters were women and elderly persons.
Since POSCO launched its project, they have caused much suffering for the local people. The villagers and the communities have become divided into pro-POSCO and anti-POSCO groups. Each antagonizes the other. And as a result, all the villagers’ livelihoods are in danger due to the fear of an insecure future. Those who maintain the traditional way of living are confronting abrupt changes in their lives due to POSCO. This is a form of violence which is destroying their lives.
This violence, triggered by development, occurs not only in the villages targeted by the POSCO project but also all over India. Indigenous people and the poor are the main groups displaced by development projects. Violence caused by development has become a major international concern. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the Orissa government is expected not to take any violent action against the villagers protesting the POSCO project. And POSCO is expected to persuade the villagers to relocate to alternative locations, by providing proper and mutually agreed upon compensation.
However, on May 15, 2010, it is reportedly alleged that approximately 1,500 police officers (25 platoons) came to disperse the protesters. They used force and fired indiscriminately against women and the elderly using live ammunition. The consciences and ethics of Korean society cannot remain silent with this inhumane behaviour of the Indian police who showed indifference to the victims' lives and injuries. The Indian police have insisted that they fired after the protestors allegedly exploded a locally made bomb first. In their eyes, this made their attack legitimate. Yet a variety of online videos and TV news published disproved this stance. Police suppression in this instance did not use even a minimal level of safety for the protestors. Two troubling questions arise: WHY did the Indian police use such brutal force to disperse a group of peaceful protesters, and what was the relevant background that led to this violence?
In the process of starting up large-scale developmental projects, local governments favour multinational companies and often use force against the villagers who oppose them. This demonstrates a propensity for the prevalent use of violence. Needless to say, multinational companies are acknowledged as accomplices in the violation of human rights.
POSCO provides a variety of aid and support in India. But no matter how well POSCO carries out its various social programs, and although the Indian police have been shown responsible for the violent suppression, POSCO cannot escape its own responsibilities in the incident. After all, POSCO is a direct beneficiary of the project promoted by the government but at the cost of human rights violations. At the end of the day, POSCO is both beneficiary and accomplice at the same time. Article 5 of the ethical standard of POSCO (‘State and Society’) states: “We respect the tradition and culture of local society and do our best for the common prosperity and development with the local society.” “We are obliged to abide by international laws ratified on human rights, environment, culture and economy and by domestic laws and fiscal regulations.” Accordingly, this incident illustrates that the ethical standards of POSCO are apparently not in accord with international standards. In addition, the reputation for corporate responsibility of management that POSCO has been building up, may be in great jeopardy as a result.
POSCO would do well, with immediacy, to demonstrate transparency in its policies and implementation of projects. Relative to these points, we demand that:
1. POSCO should immediately explain its standpoint in regard to the incident in Orissa.
2. POSCO should strongly demand that the Orissa government prevent any re-occurrence of a similar situation in the future.
Signatories to the statement:
Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility
Gong-gam, Lawyers’ group for Public Interest
Korean House of International Solidarity
Alltogether
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Centre on Corporate Responsibility
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy
The statement, released on May 25, 2010, has been circulated worldwide by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
17 May, 2010
Macabre drama in Orissa: Nachiketa Desai’s reports
A macabre drama is unfolding in poverty-stricken Orissa where the state government has begun to crush over a dozen peaceful people’s movements against forciblel eviction from their land and other sources of livelihood to help giant multinational corporations usurp mineral-rich forest and fertile agricultural land, writes journalist Nachiketa Desai in a report circulated by Countercurrents.
See “Conspiracy against non-violent resistance movements in Orissa”
See also article “Orissa: Miners’ Paradise” by Nachiketa Desai
See “Conspiracy against non-violent resistance movements in Orissa”
See also article “Orissa: Miners’ Paradise” by Nachiketa Desai
Can 'civilized' people show such disrespect for land and those who cultivate it?
Felix Padel writes:
Dear Friends
It's so painful to witness the vicious attacks on the Kalinganagar and anti-Posco movements in Orissa. It is a similar story in all over Central Tribal India. Not just because the women, men and children in these movements have risked everything to stand up against a corporate invasion of their land, with exemplary integrity and non-violence, but also because this state violence perpetrated by police and goondas contains the seeds of future atrocities, and acts as the surest recruiting ground for Maoist insurgency.
To understand what is happening demands comprehending simultaneously the credulity of so many middle class people who believe that these foreign-financed industries really will usher in a new age of prosperity for all, and on the other side, the incredulity of farmers whose families have always lived on the land that government servants can perpetrate such terror and get away with it.
How can 'civilized' people show such disrespect for the land and those who cultivate it? When village people meet the ruthless reality behind the smiling face of Tata's or Posco's multi-million PR machinery, and see the land and communities they've struggled to preserve over generations annihilated, where should they place their exasperation
and rage?
Felix Padel
Felix Padel is a freelance anthropologist trained at Oxford and Delhi Universities. He has been living in a remote village of southwest Orissa with his Adivasi wife for the last 17 years. His first book analyzed the imposition of colonial structures over a tribal society. His latest book ‘’Sacrificing People: Invasions of a Tribal Landscape’ has been published by Orient Blackswan). He is a great-grandson of Charles Darwin.
Courtesy: Countercurrents
Dear Friends
It's so painful to witness the vicious attacks on the Kalinganagar and anti-Posco movements in Orissa. It is a similar story in all over Central Tribal India. Not just because the women, men and children in these movements have risked everything to stand up against a corporate invasion of their land, with exemplary integrity and non-violence, but also because this state violence perpetrated by police and goondas contains the seeds of future atrocities, and acts as the surest recruiting ground for Maoist insurgency.
To understand what is happening demands comprehending simultaneously the credulity of so many middle class people who believe that these foreign-financed industries really will usher in a new age of prosperity for all, and on the other side, the incredulity of farmers whose families have always lived on the land that government servants can perpetrate such terror and get away with it.
How can 'civilized' people show such disrespect for the land and those who cultivate it? When village people meet the ruthless reality behind the smiling face of Tata's or Posco's multi-million PR machinery, and see the land and communities they've struggled to preserve over generations annihilated, where should they place their exasperation
and rage?
Felix Padel
Felix Padel is a freelance anthropologist trained at Oxford and Delhi Universities. He has been living in a remote village of southwest Orissa with his Adivasi wife for the last 17 years. His first book analyzed the imposition of colonial structures over a tribal society. His latest book ‘’Sacrificing People: Invasions of a Tribal Landscape’ has been published by Orient Blackswan). He is a great-grandson of Charles Darwin.
Courtesy: Countercurrents
11 March, 2009
A travesty of parliamentary democracy
The manner in which Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik won a vote of confidence in the State Assembly today is a disgrace to democracy.
Governor M.C.Bhandare had asked Patnaik to seek a confidence vote in view of the collapse of the Biju Janata Dal’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the latter’s withdrawal of support to the government.
Patnaik was expected to win the confidence vote as small parties like the Communist Party of India and the CPI (Marxist) had extended support to him and some BJP members had quit the party to vote with the government.
Moving the motion of confidence in the 147-member house, Patnaik said he had the support of more than 74 members.
Congress members questioned the propriety of the Assembly meeting after the announcement of the election schedule.
Speaker Kishore Mohanty put the motion to vote without a debate. He declared the motion carried on a voice vote. There was no division.
It is preposterous to settle the crucial issue of majority support on a voice vote. How on earth could the presiding officer could the presiding officer determine that the number of people who shouted “Aye” was 74, and not 73?
The Congress party must share the blame for the absurd Assembly proceedings. By raising a specious constitutional issue it had provided the Speaker and the government the opportunity to evade a debate on the motion as well as a proper vote.
Fresh Assembly elections are due in Orissa along with the Lok Sabha elections. The dubious voice vote has given Patnaik the opportunity to remain in office through the election period.
Governor M.C.Bhandare had asked Patnaik to seek a confidence vote in view of the collapse of the Biju Janata Dal’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the latter’s withdrawal of support to the government.
Patnaik was expected to win the confidence vote as small parties like the Communist Party of India and the CPI (Marxist) had extended support to him and some BJP members had quit the party to vote with the government.
Moving the motion of confidence in the 147-member house, Patnaik said he had the support of more than 74 members.
Congress members questioned the propriety of the Assembly meeting after the announcement of the election schedule.
Speaker Kishore Mohanty put the motion to vote without a debate. He declared the motion carried on a voice vote. There was no division.
It is preposterous to settle the crucial issue of majority support on a voice vote. How on earth could the presiding officer could the presiding officer determine that the number of people who shouted “Aye” was 74, and not 73?
The Congress party must share the blame for the absurd Assembly proceedings. By raising a specious constitutional issue it had provided the Speaker and the government the opportunity to evade a debate on the motion as well as a proper vote.
Fresh Assembly elections are due in Orissa along with the Lok Sabha elections. The dubious voice vote has given Patnaik the opportunity to remain in office through the election period.
21 December, 2008
Hindutva groups' bandh call triggers Christian fears in Orissa
The following is a press release issued by the All India Christian Council:
NEW DELHI – December 20, 2008 – Rightwing Hindu organisations in Orissa confirmed they will hold a bandh (strike) on Christmas Day triggering fears of further anti-Christian violence. Separately, politicians held hearings in Washington, D.C. and London about extremism and violence in India. And a European Union delegation conducted a fact finding trip to Orissa from Dec. 9-12, 2008
On Dec. 17, 2008, ultra-nationalist Hindutva groups said they will observe a state-wide shut-down for 12 hours on Christmas Day, reported The Hindu newspaper. The protest is due to the failure of authorities to arrest the killers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati who was assassinated on Aug. 23, 2008. The Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, opposes the bandh, and the newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs in New Delhi, P. Chidambaram, publicly assured Christians they'll be safe. Aicc leaders remain concerned it will have the same results as an August 25th bandh which saw anti-Christian violence spread across the eastern state of Orissa. Last Christmas, a bandh called by a tribal organisation, Kui Samaj, resulted in unprecedented anti-Christian attacks throughout one district.
"The bandh is provocative. Combined with a continuing hate campaign against Christians, there is potential for violence over Christmas. We appeal to police, politicians, local language media, and civil society in Orissa – and across India – to seek peace instead of hostility," said John Dayal, aicc Secretary General. "Specific actions like positioning adequate Central Reserve Police Forces and banning the entry of VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders from the sensitive Kandhamal District are essential."
Dr. Joseph D'souza, aicc President, said, "The climate of intimidation and fear among Christians continues in Orissa. Although we hope the state and central authorities act to protect thousands of innocent victims and prevent future mob violence, we're deeply worried. We are appealing for preventative action through all legal avenues."
Yesterday, Dec. 18, 2008, the British House of Lords held a two and a half hour debate about recent developments in India. Baroness Caroline Cox, whom aicc hosted during a fact finding trip in early November, initiated the debate and several peers spoke. John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, said, "Patnaik, is a personal friend of mine from Delhi in the 1960s…But I have to tell Naveen that, from what I have read, neither his Government nor the Union Government in Delhi have taken sufficient action to find the perpetrators of this massacre or to protect its victims still in camps." Excerpts of the debate are available at: http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/2660/47/.
On Dec. 10, 2008, the United States Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom held a briefing titled, "The Threat Religious Extremism Poses to Democracy and Security in India: Focus on Orissa." Witnesses included Vishal Arora, an independent Indian journalist; Dr. Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies; Angela Wu, International Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Sophie Richardson, Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch's Asia Division; and Joannella Morales with the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. The aicc briefed two of the panelists during their recent visits to India.
From Dec. 9-12, 2008, aicc coordinated briefings for a delegation of European Union representatives by Orissa's non-governmental organisations, advocates, and both Christian and non-Christian community leaders. The delegation included officers from the embassies of Finland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. Despite public assurances by Indian authorities that the rule of law has returned to Orissa, both the central and state government advised the delegation not to visit the two most affected districts: Kandhamal and Gajapati. The reason given was "the prevailing law and order situation". This meant the delegation was effectively prevented from observing the current condition of government-run relief camps and victims.
D'souza said, "We are hopeful that our great democracy can resolve these issues by itself, but at the same time we welcome the interest of nations friendly to India and citizens of goodwill from across the world who believe in human rights and religious freedom."
According to aicc leaders and Indian media reports, there are still 8,000+ in government-run relief camps and victims don't have adequate food and medical care. On Dec. 1, Chief Minister Patnaik told the Orissa state assembly that 4,215 houses and 252 churches or prayer halls were destroyed. The state government issued compensation checks to a few of the families who lost loved ones or houses. Fast track courts have not been started. The aicc has reliable reports that 118 people died in the violence. In October, India's Supreme Court ordered the state government to compensate for burned churches, but no progress is reported yet. Two state-appointed investigations are ongoing. Justice (retired) Basudev Panigrahi continues to investigate the Dec. 2007 violence, and Justice (retired) Sarat Chandra Mohapatra started an inquiry into the killing of swami Saraswati and subsequent communal violence.
The All India Christian Council (www.aiccindia.org), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.
NEW DELHI – December 20, 2008 – Rightwing Hindu organisations in Orissa confirmed they will hold a bandh (strike) on Christmas Day triggering fears of further anti-Christian violence. Separately, politicians held hearings in Washington, D.C. and London about extremism and violence in India. And a European Union delegation conducted a fact finding trip to Orissa from Dec. 9-12, 2008
On Dec. 17, 2008, ultra-nationalist Hindutva groups said they will observe a state-wide shut-down for 12 hours on Christmas Day, reported The Hindu newspaper. The protest is due to the failure of authorities to arrest the killers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati who was assassinated on Aug. 23, 2008. The Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, opposes the bandh, and the newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs in New Delhi, P. Chidambaram, publicly assured Christians they'll be safe. Aicc leaders remain concerned it will have the same results as an August 25th bandh which saw anti-Christian violence spread across the eastern state of Orissa. Last Christmas, a bandh called by a tribal organisation, Kui Samaj, resulted in unprecedented anti-Christian attacks throughout one district.
"The bandh is provocative. Combined with a continuing hate campaign against Christians, there is potential for violence over Christmas. We appeal to police, politicians, local language media, and civil society in Orissa – and across India – to seek peace instead of hostility," said John Dayal, aicc Secretary General. "Specific actions like positioning adequate Central Reserve Police Forces and banning the entry of VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders from the sensitive Kandhamal District are essential."
Dr. Joseph D'souza, aicc President, said, "The climate of intimidation and fear among Christians continues in Orissa. Although we hope the state and central authorities act to protect thousands of innocent victims and prevent future mob violence, we're deeply worried. We are appealing for preventative action through all legal avenues."
Yesterday, Dec. 18, 2008, the British House of Lords held a two and a half hour debate about recent developments in India. Baroness Caroline Cox, whom aicc hosted during a fact finding trip in early November, initiated the debate and several peers spoke. John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, said, "Patnaik, is a personal friend of mine from Delhi in the 1960s…But I have to tell Naveen that, from what I have read, neither his Government nor the Union Government in Delhi have taken sufficient action to find the perpetrators of this massacre or to protect its victims still in camps." Excerpts of the debate are available at: http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/2660/47/.
On Dec. 10, 2008, the United States Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom held a briefing titled, "The Threat Religious Extremism Poses to Democracy and Security in India: Focus on Orissa." Witnesses included Vishal Arora, an independent Indian journalist; Dr. Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies; Angela Wu, International Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Sophie Richardson, Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch's Asia Division; and Joannella Morales with the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. The aicc briefed two of the panelists during their recent visits to India.
From Dec. 9-12, 2008, aicc coordinated briefings for a delegation of European Union representatives by Orissa's non-governmental organisations, advocates, and both Christian and non-Christian community leaders. The delegation included officers from the embassies of Finland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. Despite public assurances by Indian authorities that the rule of law has returned to Orissa, both the central and state government advised the delegation not to visit the two most affected districts: Kandhamal and Gajapati. The reason given was "the prevailing law and order situation". This meant the delegation was effectively prevented from observing the current condition of government-run relief camps and victims.
D'souza said, "We are hopeful that our great democracy can resolve these issues by itself, but at the same time we welcome the interest of nations friendly to India and citizens of goodwill from across the world who believe in human rights and religious freedom."
According to aicc leaders and Indian media reports, there are still 8,000+ in government-run relief camps and victims don't have adequate food and medical care. On Dec. 1, Chief Minister Patnaik told the Orissa state assembly that 4,215 houses and 252 churches or prayer halls were destroyed. The state government issued compensation checks to a few of the families who lost loved ones or houses. Fast track courts have not been started. The aicc has reliable reports that 118 people died in the violence. In October, India's Supreme Court ordered the state government to compensate for burned churches, but no progress is reported yet. Two state-appointed investigations are ongoing. Justice (retired) Basudev Panigrahi continues to investigate the Dec. 2007 violence, and Justice (retired) Sarat Chandra Mohapatra started an inquiry into the killing of swami Saraswati and subsequent communal violence.
The All India Christian Council (www.aiccindia.org), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders.
26 November, 2008
Setting the agenda to counter the fascist state
A Seminar on “The Fascist state: setting the agenda to counter” was held at the Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad, on Sunday, November 23, 2008. Below is the text of a resolution adopted at the seminar:
We, the participants of the Seminar on 'The Fascist State: Setting the agenda to counter' held at the Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, on Sunday, 23rd November 2008, are extremely concerned at the increasingly fascist nature of the Indian State, as illustrated by several instances in the recent past.
Gujarat 2002 certainly heralded the fascist era in Indian politics; but it is getting deeply entrenched in Indian politics as a whole, without exception of the party in power. The genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, the subversion of the criminal justice system in order to achieve this, the application of POTA on Muslims in Godhra and other cases, the refusal to acknowledge the large numbers of Internally Displaced Muslims, the persecution of Christian and Muslim Adivasis and the holding of the Shabri Kumbh in the Dangs – all these did expose the fascist characteristics of the State in Gujarat. Encounter killings of Muslims under the pretext of a conspiracy to kill the CM, the appointment of Sanghis in the universities and the saffronization of the campuses, the recent massive drive against Muslim youth following the Ahmedabad blasts also reiterate this.
The brutal and blatant attacks on Christians and their institutions in Orissa and Karnataka, with total connivance of the State governments has exposed the massive fascist project that is underway. The misrepresentation of the constitutionally granted right to practice and propagate one's religion as "forced conversions", in order to threaten the marginalized communities into submission and acceptance of the dominant Hindutva discourse which finally culminates in draconian anti-conversion laws, seems to be passively accepted by the political parties and civil society across the board.
We express deep anguish at the increasing fascist mobilization in society, rising State terror and a circumvention of the rule of law by the law enforcing agencies, and the large scale violation of civil and political liberties.
We condemn these acts of repression in no uncertain terms. We call upon the Central and State Governments to act immediately: uphold and protect the sanctity of the Constitution, to guarantee the rights and freedom of all citizens and to contain the fascist forces which are inimical to the pluralism and diversity of the country.
We invite civil society and all citizens of India, to raise their voice against these fascist forces and make our country in the real sense of the word, one which is 'by the people, for the people and of the people'.
The seminar was organized by Action Aid * Aman Biradari * Aman Samuday * Antarik Visthapit Haq Rakshak Samiti * Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan * Centre for Development * Documentation and Study Centre for Action * Himmat * INSAF * JanVikas * Lok Kala Manch * Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan * Movement for Secular Democracy * National Alliance for Women * Niswa * PRASHANT * PUCL * Safar * SAHR WARU * Women's Action and Resource Unit * Samarpan * Samerth * Samvedan Cultural Program * Sanchetna * Saurashtra Dalit Sangathan * St. Xavier's Social Service Society * Swabhimaan Andolan * URJA
We, the participants of the Seminar on 'The Fascist State: Setting the agenda to counter' held at the Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, on Sunday, 23rd November 2008, are extremely concerned at the increasingly fascist nature of the Indian State, as illustrated by several instances in the recent past.
Gujarat 2002 certainly heralded the fascist era in Indian politics; but it is getting deeply entrenched in Indian politics as a whole, without exception of the party in power. The genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, the subversion of the criminal justice system in order to achieve this, the application of POTA on Muslims in Godhra and other cases, the refusal to acknowledge the large numbers of Internally Displaced Muslims, the persecution of Christian and Muslim Adivasis and the holding of the Shabri Kumbh in the Dangs – all these did expose the fascist characteristics of the State in Gujarat. Encounter killings of Muslims under the pretext of a conspiracy to kill the CM, the appointment of Sanghis in the universities and the saffronization of the campuses, the recent massive drive against Muslim youth following the Ahmedabad blasts also reiterate this.
The brutal and blatant attacks on Christians and their institutions in Orissa and Karnataka, with total connivance of the State governments has exposed the massive fascist project that is underway. The misrepresentation of the constitutionally granted right to practice and propagate one's religion as "forced conversions", in order to threaten the marginalized communities into submission and acceptance of the dominant Hindutva discourse which finally culminates in draconian anti-conversion laws, seems to be passively accepted by the political parties and civil society across the board.
We express deep anguish at the increasing fascist mobilization in society, rising State terror and a circumvention of the rule of law by the law enforcing agencies, and the large scale violation of civil and political liberties.
We condemn these acts of repression in no uncertain terms. We call upon the Central and State Governments to act immediately: uphold and protect the sanctity of the Constitution, to guarantee the rights and freedom of all citizens and to contain the fascist forces which are inimical to the pluralism and diversity of the country.
We invite civil society and all citizens of India, to raise their voice against these fascist forces and make our country in the real sense of the word, one which is 'by the people, for the people and of the people'.
The seminar was organized by Action Aid * Aman Biradari * Aman Samuday * Antarik Visthapit Haq Rakshak Samiti * Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan * Centre for Development * Documentation and Study Centre for Action * Himmat * INSAF * JanVikas * Lok Kala Manch * Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan * Movement for Secular Democracy * National Alliance for Women * Niswa * PRASHANT * PUCL * Safar * SAHR WARU * Women's Action and Resource Unit * Samarpan * Samerth * Samvedan Cultural Program * Sanchetna * Saurashtra Dalit Sangathan * St. Xavier's Social Service Society * Swabhimaan Andolan * URJA
30 September, 2008
Anti-terror law will be misused by extremist political parties, says AHRC
The following is a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong:
There is no universally agreed definition for the term terrorism. In the absence of a common definition, particularly when the argument - one state's 'terrorist' is another state's 'freedom fighter' - holds good in the current day world order, often attempting to define the word 'terrorism' and an act as 'terrorist activity' invites criticism. However, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/Res/49/60 entitled Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism dated 9 December 1994 attempts to provide a reasonable definition to the term.
The resolution tries to define the term as "[c]riminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them".
If the above explanation provides a reasonable definition to the term 'terrorism', the Hindu fundamentalist political parties in India for many of their violent acts, must be charged, tried and punished for engaging in terrorist activities. The ongoing violence reported from the state of Orissa, which ultimately had its anticipated spillover effect throughout the country, in this context, qualifies to be an act of terror.
The violence in Orissa is sparked off by Hindu fundamentalist political parties in India -- the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bajrang Dal. These three parties who advocate the resurrection of Brahmanism are supported by their flagship political organisation the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal cadres attacked, raped, murdered, burned, looted and destroyed person and property belonging to non-Hindu communities, particularly the Christians. The assailants specifically targeted literate Dalit and tribal communities that follow Christianity. As of today, 22 persons from these communities are confirmed to have been murdered - some even burned to death - within the past one month and property worth millions has been destroyed.
The violence that intensified after the murder of four VHP cadres soon spread uncontrollably affecting almost the entire state. There are justifiable allegations that the Orissa state administration was informed sufficiently well in advance about the possibility of the violence. Yet neither did the administration take adequate precaution to prevent it or to control the violence from spreading once it began. In fact, the recent incidents reported from Orissa are only the latest in a series of violence in that state which is infamous for being intolerant to religious freedom.
It is beyond doubt that the VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal are behind the recent spate of violence reported from India. It is equally definite that the motive behind the unjustifiable violence is intended and calculated to provoke a state of terror among the Dalit, tribal, converted Christian and other non-Hindu communities in India for political gain.
The BJP and its political allies like the VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal have justified the violence on the ground that Dalits and tribal community are lured to follow other religion and that it is required that these converts must be 'purified' and 'reconverted' into the folds of Brahmanism. These political forces further argue that a change in religious belief by the Dalits and the tribal community across India upsets and further destroys India's original identity.
It is trite to argue however that the hidden agenda behind this new found concern for the Dalits and tribal community members by the advocates of the Brahmanical identity of India is to retain and preserve the caste based religious practices that are getting uprooted in India. These persons include a majority of Hindu religious leaders in India and abroad, who advocate Brahmanism as a justifiable means sanctioned by their religion to practice discrimination and social stratification. They campaign for the superiority of the Hindu upper caste over the Dalits, tribal and persons following other religions.
None of the so called national media in India has tried to address this deeper aspect of the issue. The media houses in India often tend to crowd together information, adopting a reporting style that better fits the mainstream political and religious groups. For example, one self-proclaimed national media in India reported today news that justifies the need for a national legislation to combat terror quoting the Chief Minister of Karnataka state. Adjacent to this article was a report about the bomb blasts in Gujarat state, accusing the involvement of some Muslim organisations.
These pieces of information, clustered together in a single page present to an average reader the wrong message that a particular religious group is responsible for all terrorist activities in India. Selecting and presenting news that suits vested political interests to cater readership and support has become a habit of the Indian media. Such reporting style that undermines journalistic values demands conscious effort by the reader to deconstruct the news to gather unbiased information.
The Hindu religious and political leaders spare no opportunity to condemn the 'terrorist' activities in India. There is no doubt that such activities must be condemned. But their original intent is to target the entire Muslim community in the country and to hold the Muslims in India as anti-national. If unjustifiable acts like bomb blasts and other forms of violence are imputed to certain criminal factions of the Muslim political groups in India and its neighbouring countries and labelled as 'terrorist activity', there is no reason why the violence committed against the Dalits, tribal and other non-Hindu communities in India are also not termed so.
Ignoring and hiding this fact and logic, the BJP led leaders also demand that the union government come up with a legislation that would empower the state police and other crime investigating agencies to press charges against suspects of their choice for alleged terrorist activities. The BJP led political and religious leaders also accuse the union government of entertaining a 'soft' stand on terrorism.
For example, the Chief Minister of Karnataka state, Mr. B. S. Yediyurappa, in a statement issued on 28 September has followed the example pitched in by Mr. L. K Advani, the national leader of the BJP, in accusing the union government of not taking enough action against 'terrorist' activities in the country. The statements issued by these individuals, contradict the violence perpetrated by their own cadres and political allies.
While the state governments, particularly those in close alliance with the BJP, promote violence in the name of preserving the original identity of India, their unique demand for a possibly draconian legislation to combat terrorism in India can only be viewed as a demand for a legal instrument to perpetuate further violence against targeted religious communities. Such an instrument will only further intensify the divide between different religious communities in India, from which only extremist Hindu political parties like the BJP, VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal would derive short-term political gains.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
There is no universally agreed definition for the term terrorism. In the absence of a common definition, particularly when the argument - one state's 'terrorist' is another state's 'freedom fighter' - holds good in the current day world order, often attempting to define the word 'terrorism' and an act as 'terrorist activity' invites criticism. However, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/Res/49/60 entitled Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism dated 9 December 1994 attempts to provide a reasonable definition to the term.
The resolution tries to define the term as "[c]riminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them".
If the above explanation provides a reasonable definition to the term 'terrorism', the Hindu fundamentalist political parties in India for many of their violent acts, must be charged, tried and punished for engaging in terrorist activities. The ongoing violence reported from the state of Orissa, which ultimately had its anticipated spillover effect throughout the country, in this context, qualifies to be an act of terror.
The violence in Orissa is sparked off by Hindu fundamentalist political parties in India -- the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bajrang Dal. These three parties who advocate the resurrection of Brahmanism are supported by their flagship political organisation the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal cadres attacked, raped, murdered, burned, looted and destroyed person and property belonging to non-Hindu communities, particularly the Christians. The assailants specifically targeted literate Dalit and tribal communities that follow Christianity. As of today, 22 persons from these communities are confirmed to have been murdered - some even burned to death - within the past one month and property worth millions has been destroyed.
The violence that intensified after the murder of four VHP cadres soon spread uncontrollably affecting almost the entire state. There are justifiable allegations that the Orissa state administration was informed sufficiently well in advance about the possibility of the violence. Yet neither did the administration take adequate precaution to prevent it or to control the violence from spreading once it began. In fact, the recent incidents reported from Orissa are only the latest in a series of violence in that state which is infamous for being intolerant to religious freedom.
It is beyond doubt that the VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal are behind the recent spate of violence reported from India. It is equally definite that the motive behind the unjustifiable violence is intended and calculated to provoke a state of terror among the Dalit, tribal, converted Christian and other non-Hindu communities in India for political gain.
The BJP and its political allies like the VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal have justified the violence on the ground that Dalits and tribal community are lured to follow other religion and that it is required that these converts must be 'purified' and 'reconverted' into the folds of Brahmanism. These political forces further argue that a change in religious belief by the Dalits and the tribal community across India upsets and further destroys India's original identity.
It is trite to argue however that the hidden agenda behind this new found concern for the Dalits and tribal community members by the advocates of the Brahmanical identity of India is to retain and preserve the caste based religious practices that are getting uprooted in India. These persons include a majority of Hindu religious leaders in India and abroad, who advocate Brahmanism as a justifiable means sanctioned by their religion to practice discrimination and social stratification. They campaign for the superiority of the Hindu upper caste over the Dalits, tribal and persons following other religions.
None of the so called national media in India has tried to address this deeper aspect of the issue. The media houses in India often tend to crowd together information, adopting a reporting style that better fits the mainstream political and religious groups. For example, one self-proclaimed national media in India reported today news that justifies the need for a national legislation to combat terror quoting the Chief Minister of Karnataka state. Adjacent to this article was a report about the bomb blasts in Gujarat state, accusing the involvement of some Muslim organisations.
These pieces of information, clustered together in a single page present to an average reader the wrong message that a particular religious group is responsible for all terrorist activities in India. Selecting and presenting news that suits vested political interests to cater readership and support has become a habit of the Indian media. Such reporting style that undermines journalistic values demands conscious effort by the reader to deconstruct the news to gather unbiased information.
The Hindu religious and political leaders spare no opportunity to condemn the 'terrorist' activities in India. There is no doubt that such activities must be condemned. But their original intent is to target the entire Muslim community in the country and to hold the Muslims in India as anti-national. If unjustifiable acts like bomb blasts and other forms of violence are imputed to certain criminal factions of the Muslim political groups in India and its neighbouring countries and labelled as 'terrorist activity', there is no reason why the violence committed against the Dalits, tribal and other non-Hindu communities in India are also not termed so.
Ignoring and hiding this fact and logic, the BJP led leaders also demand that the union government come up with a legislation that would empower the state police and other crime investigating agencies to press charges against suspects of their choice for alleged terrorist activities. The BJP led political and religious leaders also accuse the union government of entertaining a 'soft' stand on terrorism.
For example, the Chief Minister of Karnataka state, Mr. B. S. Yediyurappa, in a statement issued on 28 September has followed the example pitched in by Mr. L. K Advani, the national leader of the BJP, in accusing the union government of not taking enough action against 'terrorist' activities in the country. The statements issued by these individuals, contradict the violence perpetrated by their own cadres and political allies.
While the state governments, particularly those in close alliance with the BJP, promote violence in the name of preserving the original identity of India, their unique demand for a possibly draconian legislation to combat terrorism in India can only be viewed as a demand for a legal instrument to perpetuate further violence against targeted religious communities. Such an instrument will only further intensify the divide between different religious communities in India, from which only extremist Hindu political parties like the BJP, VHP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal would derive short-term political gains.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
17 September, 2008
Human Rights organizations accuse Orissa government of promoting violence
A joint statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission - Hong Kong (AHRC) the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights - India (NCDHR) and the International Dalit Solidarity Network - Denmark (IDSN)
INDIA: Government of Orissa promotes violence
The ongoing violence in Orissa, India, reflects the current status of the rule of law in that state. The violent incidents that devastated the thin line of communal harmony in the state are the result of an intentional state policy of promoting vested religious interests. This ulterior motive to attain short-term political gains through unconstitutional and non-democratic means is also augmented by poor policing. The brunt of the resultant violence is borne by the Dalit, Christian and Tribal minorities.
The uncontrollable violence demonstrates that the state is not willing to combat anti-democratic forces operating in the state. It also exposes the connivance of state administration with these forces operating in India to destabilise the fragile social fabric.
The recent incidents that resulted in the loss of life and property in Orissa appear not to be as sporadic as portrayed. Some sources cite letters and other official correspondence received by the state administration warning them about the possibility of large-scale violence that could erupt at any time. These communications, while requesting protection for life and property, also informed the administration of the fear that violence will focus on minority communities in the state. Most of these communications were addressed to the state government representatives responsible for the administration and maintenance of law and order in the state.
These concerns have proved to be true from the incidents reported in Orissa during the past 24 days. It took about five to seven days for the state administration to even begin to start responding to the calamity once it began. During this time and even after, fundamentalist Hindu political parties terrorised the minority Dalit, Tribal and Christian communities living in semi-urban and remote villages in the Kandhamal district of the state.
The massive scale of violence resulted in at least 22 deaths and property loss worth millions of rupees, beginning in the Kandhamal district and soon spreading to neighbouring districts. It showed a well-planned pattern of violence that was orchestrated with precision. Such an assault, targeting communities spreading across an entire region, requires good planning and preparation.
There are allegations that the criminals had even prepared name lists of persons and their properties to be targeted during the violence. The commonly believed cause for the violence, the murder of five Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP) cadres, appears to have been an excuse to commence the carnage.
The media, by and large biased and communalised, has wilfully hyped and misguided the general public into believing that the murder of the VHP cadres was the reason for the latest bloodshed. Contrary to these reports that were widely published in the national and international media, the violence in Orissa was not merely a communal fight between the Hindus and the Christians.
A deeper insight is gained into the violence if the following are noted; the preparations that were made before the incident; the pattern in which the violence spread; the evident reluctance of the state administration to react sensibly before and after the violence. This leads to the conclusion that the state administration is also a willing partner in the execution of the larger Hindutwa agenda in the state.
For the minority communities, particularly the Dalits and the Tribals, it means the continuation of oppression and the curtailment of all opportunities for liberation. In this context it is not a surprise that similar incidents are reported from other states of India like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
It appears that the Orissa state police and other agencies responsible for preventing violence and crime were aware of the preparations the criminals operating in the state were making. It is also certain that the police were aware which communities would be targeted by the criminals.
Similar violence of varying intensity has affected the state in the past decade. After each incident, the state police was accused of failure to investigate, prosecute and punish the criminals who orchestrated the violence. This is a key factor for a recurrence of the violence to further spread out affecting almost the entire state as on this occasion.
The role of the law enforcement agencies in a democratic setup is not just investigating crimes once they are committed. Proper investigation and prosecution of crime has it's deterrent value. In addition to the investigation of crimes, law enforcement agencies have the duty to instil confidence in ordinary people, especially those who are most vulnerable. In this way, the rule of law is maintained in the state and any breach of law and order will not go undetected and unpunished. In this context the state administration and the police force it commands cannot be absolved from the responsibility for the perpetuation of violence in Orissa.
The Central Government which is mandated to issue directions to the State Government under Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution is also equally responsible for its failure in protecting the people and arresting the perpetrators.
To make matters worse, the state administration prevented political leaders, media and human rights organisations from visiting trouble-hit parts of the state, while allowing the VHP leaders free mobility with state protection. For example, the entire Kandhamal district was put under curfew and was completely cut-off from the rest of the world for days. The people lived in fear for their lives and property. A large number of them sought protection by hiding in nearby forests at the time their properties were burned, looted and ransacked. Almost all of these people were Dalit and Tribal Christians.
It is reported that those who took refuge in government shelter camps were those who had no other option for survival. As of now those who took shelter in relief camps are reluctant to leave the relative security of the camps. Most of them continue to fear that once they leave the camps they would be forced to 'reconvert' to Hinduism against their will. It is reported that some persons who were not in the camp were 'reconverted' by force, a process in which many were blinded. It is reported that the 'reconversion' is viewed as a purification process by the VHP.
Even after three weeks of violence, the state administration continues to prevent the media and human rights organisations from accessing the victims. The state administration has enforced a regulatory policy of prior permission for the media and human rights group to travel into trouble-hit areas or relief camps. In spite of this, the administration insists that the situation has returned to normal.
The state administration, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, has stated that it has taken into custody 421 persons whom the government accuses of being behind the violence. At the same time, credible sources report that the persons cited as accused in these cases are not actually those involved in criminal acts. It is suspected that this is an attempt to save the actual culprits from being identified and prosecuted.
In addition to this, the general public and some of the victims were chased away by the police when they approached the police stations to file complaints. It is also reported that many complaints that identify criminals were not registered by the police. Such incidents show the complacency of the local police in promoting violence in the state. There is also information provided by noted human rights activists that many non-Hindu institutions and other organisations were denied any form of police protection when they requested it.
It is suspected that many witnesses will fail to turn-up in court, fearing repercussions. This is a genuine fear since India lacks any form of witness protection mechanisms. In any case, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to believe that the police who failed to prevent the violence would protect them on any future occasion.
The violence in Orissa has destroyed the social fabric in the state to such an extent that it will take years of conscious effort by the administration and society to re-establish it. The primary requirement for this is that the state administration impartially investigate the crimes committed during the violence. They must ensure that the accused, if proven guilty, are sentenced to the punishment prescribed by the law for such acts.
The state administration must also ensure that the entire incident and the circumstances that led to such massive violence are properly documented, by the state as well as by the civil society and the media.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
INDIA: Government of Orissa promotes violence
The ongoing violence in Orissa, India, reflects the current status of the rule of law in that state. The violent incidents that devastated the thin line of communal harmony in the state are the result of an intentional state policy of promoting vested religious interests. This ulterior motive to attain short-term political gains through unconstitutional and non-democratic means is also augmented by poor policing. The brunt of the resultant violence is borne by the Dalit, Christian and Tribal minorities.
The uncontrollable violence demonstrates that the state is not willing to combat anti-democratic forces operating in the state. It also exposes the connivance of state administration with these forces operating in India to destabilise the fragile social fabric.
The recent incidents that resulted in the loss of life and property in Orissa appear not to be as sporadic as portrayed. Some sources cite letters and other official correspondence received by the state administration warning them about the possibility of large-scale violence that could erupt at any time. These communications, while requesting protection for life and property, also informed the administration of the fear that violence will focus on minority communities in the state. Most of these communications were addressed to the state government representatives responsible for the administration and maintenance of law and order in the state.
These concerns have proved to be true from the incidents reported in Orissa during the past 24 days. It took about five to seven days for the state administration to even begin to start responding to the calamity once it began. During this time and even after, fundamentalist Hindu political parties terrorised the minority Dalit, Tribal and Christian communities living in semi-urban and remote villages in the Kandhamal district of the state.
The massive scale of violence resulted in at least 22 deaths and property loss worth millions of rupees, beginning in the Kandhamal district and soon spreading to neighbouring districts. It showed a well-planned pattern of violence that was orchestrated with precision. Such an assault, targeting communities spreading across an entire region, requires good planning and preparation.
There are allegations that the criminals had even prepared name lists of persons and their properties to be targeted during the violence. The commonly believed cause for the violence, the murder of five Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP) cadres, appears to have been an excuse to commence the carnage.
The media, by and large biased and communalised, has wilfully hyped and misguided the general public into believing that the murder of the VHP cadres was the reason for the latest bloodshed. Contrary to these reports that were widely published in the national and international media, the violence in Orissa was not merely a communal fight between the Hindus and the Christians.
A deeper insight is gained into the violence if the following are noted; the preparations that were made before the incident; the pattern in which the violence spread; the evident reluctance of the state administration to react sensibly before and after the violence. This leads to the conclusion that the state administration is also a willing partner in the execution of the larger Hindutwa agenda in the state.
For the minority communities, particularly the Dalits and the Tribals, it means the continuation of oppression and the curtailment of all opportunities for liberation. In this context it is not a surprise that similar incidents are reported from other states of India like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
It appears that the Orissa state police and other agencies responsible for preventing violence and crime were aware of the preparations the criminals operating in the state were making. It is also certain that the police were aware which communities would be targeted by the criminals.
Similar violence of varying intensity has affected the state in the past decade. After each incident, the state police was accused of failure to investigate, prosecute and punish the criminals who orchestrated the violence. This is a key factor for a recurrence of the violence to further spread out affecting almost the entire state as on this occasion.
The role of the law enforcement agencies in a democratic setup is not just investigating crimes once they are committed. Proper investigation and prosecution of crime has it's deterrent value. In addition to the investigation of crimes, law enforcement agencies have the duty to instil confidence in ordinary people, especially those who are most vulnerable. In this way, the rule of law is maintained in the state and any breach of law and order will not go undetected and unpunished. In this context the state administration and the police force it commands cannot be absolved from the responsibility for the perpetuation of violence in Orissa.
The Central Government which is mandated to issue directions to the State Government under Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution is also equally responsible for its failure in protecting the people and arresting the perpetrators.
To make matters worse, the state administration prevented political leaders, media and human rights organisations from visiting trouble-hit parts of the state, while allowing the VHP leaders free mobility with state protection. For example, the entire Kandhamal district was put under curfew and was completely cut-off from the rest of the world for days. The people lived in fear for their lives and property. A large number of them sought protection by hiding in nearby forests at the time their properties were burned, looted and ransacked. Almost all of these people were Dalit and Tribal Christians.
It is reported that those who took refuge in government shelter camps were those who had no other option for survival. As of now those who took shelter in relief camps are reluctant to leave the relative security of the camps. Most of them continue to fear that once they leave the camps they would be forced to 'reconvert' to Hinduism against their will. It is reported that some persons who were not in the camp were 'reconverted' by force, a process in which many were blinded. It is reported that the 'reconversion' is viewed as a purification process by the VHP.
Even after three weeks of violence, the state administration continues to prevent the media and human rights organisations from accessing the victims. The state administration has enforced a regulatory policy of prior permission for the media and human rights group to travel into trouble-hit areas or relief camps. In spite of this, the administration insists that the situation has returned to normal.
The state administration, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, has stated that it has taken into custody 421 persons whom the government accuses of being behind the violence. At the same time, credible sources report that the persons cited as accused in these cases are not actually those involved in criminal acts. It is suspected that this is an attempt to save the actual culprits from being identified and prosecuted.
In addition to this, the general public and some of the victims were chased away by the police when they approached the police stations to file complaints. It is also reported that many complaints that identify criminals were not registered by the police. Such incidents show the complacency of the local police in promoting violence in the state. There is also information provided by noted human rights activists that many non-Hindu institutions and other organisations were denied any form of police protection when they requested it.
It is suspected that many witnesses will fail to turn-up in court, fearing repercussions. This is a genuine fear since India lacks any form of witness protection mechanisms. In any case, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to believe that the police who failed to prevent the violence would protect them on any future occasion.
The violence in Orissa has destroyed the social fabric in the state to such an extent that it will take years of conscious effort by the administration and society to re-establish it. The primary requirement for this is that the state administration impartially investigate the crimes committed during the violence. They must ensure that the accused, if proven guilty, are sentenced to the punishment prescribed by the law for such acts.
The state administration must also ensure that the entire incident and the circumstances that led to such massive violence are properly documented, by the state as well as by the civil society and the media.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
06 September, 2008
Visit to riot-torn Orissa: a report from Shabnam Hashmi
The following report from Shabnam Hashmi on her visit to Orissa has been circulated by Stop Hate Campaign (anhadideas@gmail.com)
I went to Orissa for two days as part of a delegation. We were not allowed to enter Kandhamal. We met a large number of victims in Bhubaneshwar, met the governor and the local civil society members as well as priests of various churches.
Visit to Kandhamal next week depends on the fact whether the Govt will permit us to go there or not. VHP's Togadia has been allowed to go and add more fuel to the fire.
This account is based on the testimonies of:
8 priests and over 300 families who hid in thick forests without water and food, with small hungry children, with thousands of mosquitoes and other insects and who walked over 280 kilometers to reach Bhubaneshwar with just the set of clothes that they were wearing. It took them 5 days to reach the city.
It is not safe to give the names or addresses of those who testified before us as even now VHP and the other Sangh organisations are still attacking the villages , burning houses, shops and churches, catching people, tonsuring them, forcing them to sign that they have become Hindus.
-------------------------------------------
It is an Indian tradition to talk with respect about those who have departed from this world. Pray that their soul may rest in peace.
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was killed on August 23rd, 2008 at the VHP ashram in Jalespata, Kandhamal, Orissa. A large number of organisations across India condemned the attack and his killing.
While condemning every violent act and his killing there is a need to look at his work and message before making him a martyr.
The swami came to Kandhamal in 1969. He travelled from village to village initially contacting the business community, organising poojas and bhajans, which very soon turned into inflammatory messages against the local Christian community. Initially in 1970es the attacks came on smaller villages. The first organised attack came in 1987. People from 6-7 villages were collected together to attack a village which had a large Christian population. Under his leadership 16 churches were burnt down in 1986-87. There were 56 cases registered for this but Swami was not arrested. Not even under the 'secular' governments. The sheer fact that none of the political parties touched him, due to their deep concern for the 'Hindu' vote, he got emboldened and his campaigns became more aggressive and vicious.
While Christians were attacked using the bogey of conversion, the VHP and the swami spearheaded the campaign to forcibly convert local animistic Tribals and Christian Tribals into Hindus, calling it ghar wapsi or reconversion as if the tribals were ever in the Hindu fold.
On January 22, 1999 Graham Stains and his two young sons were burnt to death by a Sangh sponsored mob in Keonjhar district of Orissa. Same year in September another Christian priest was killed in the village Jamudhi , also in Keonjhar district.
After Graham Stains was murdered by the Sangh goons instead of condemning the murder the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked for a national debate on conversion and within a week of that VHP printed and distributed over 5 million pamphlets full of vicious propaganda against the Christian minority. Similarly when the whole drama of the Shabri Kumbh was going on in the dang district of Gujarat where also Christians have been under attack since 1998, the VHP distributed vicious Cds against Christians. The distribution of the CDs was challenged by us in the Supreme Court through a PIL. Under the garb of doing educational and development work the sangh has opened Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams and Ekal Vidyalaya throughout the tribal belts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Orissa. The VHP alone has over one lakh workers in Orissa. There are approximately 6000 RSS shakhas.
On December 24, 2007 violence broke out over Christmas celebrations in Kandhamal district. Attackers from VHP/ RSS came with axes, rods etc. hundreds of houses, Christian institutions, businesses, and properties were attacked and raised to the ground in the violence that continued for over a month. For years the administration has ignored the hate campaigns and the violence against the Christians. The VHP has not only been in the fore front of these violent attacks but has sowed the seeds of hatred by distributing highly provocative material against the Christian community.
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was killed on August 23rd, 2008 allegedly by Maoists. VHP declared a bandh on August 25, 2008. His body was taken in a procession travelling close to 150 kilometers accompanied by a VHP mob and the police and administration. It stopped in front of many churches, raising highly abusive and provocative slogans, attacking the churches, Christian institutions breaking glasses, furniture, attacking people, while the police looked on including the highest officers of the state and the district.
After the December 2007 violence many organisations had come together and worked for relief and fought legal battles for the victims. Such organisations and individuals were especially targeted. Janvikas office was attacked thrice. All five organisations fighting for Dalit human rights were attacked: Janvikas, Gramiya Progoti, Pobara, Pollishree, Ajka. Tribal leaders heading the Dalit Adivasi Vikas Initiative, Phulbani Action Group and Forum for Peace and Justice were attacked. All shops were attacked. The initial number of attackers was 200-300 which swelled to 500-600. The mob comprised of mainly he business community led by hard core VHP leaders. AS the mob moved from one village to the second the number increased as local Sangh members kept adding to the mob. Some tribals also joined the attackers. Dasrath Pradhan died on the spot and Trinath Digal, who had taken out his goats for grazing was chased and his head was smashed with a stone. He died. Vikram Naik was attacked. He died after 3 days. Parikrit Naik was attacked on 25th. He managed to run and hide in the forest. After two days in the forest he decided to escape to safety. He was caught again and attacked, hacked into two and burnt.
People were taken out from their homes and huddled together and forced to sign the papers that they are becoming Hindus or face the consequences.
In Mondosore village around 10am on August 24th people from nearby villages gathered with knives, swords, weapons and collected near a temple about 1km away from the village. They were shouting provocative and abusive slogans against the Christians and inciting people to attack them. The mob blocked all the routes for going out from the village by felling huge logs and tree trunks on the roads. A huge mob gathered by now near the Shiv temple. The priest and nuns from the church ran to the jungle but they came back at 7pm once it was dark. Some people advised them to leave so they went to padri village. But the mobs came to know about their hiding places and they had to leave again, this time splitting in two groups and changing their hiding places but with no luck. No place was safe. The people who gave them shelter, including local tribals, their lives were threatened. The priest was escorted by a local man with a knife to the forest after crossing a stream. During the night about 60 women and children came to the same forest to hide and the nuns from the church also found their way to the forest hiding place. There was a hut nearby where everyone crowded in but there was no place even to sit. Around midnight the church bell started ringing. This was a signal that things were not right. The whole group moved to another area near the village but still under cover. They could see the village shops on fire, they could hear small bombs, shouting & screaming. More people came towards the forest to escape the attack. Through them came the news of shops belonging to Christians being burnt and one person was killed by the attackers.
Around 6am the priest, 4 nuns and two orphan children decided to move to another place. They started walking, climbing mountains. Till 3 pm they walked for10kilometers and not reaching anywhere. Then they decided to rather die than get lost in the forest. When they came out they were near village Koroda. The people stared at them and they thought the end was near when a person on a motorcycle came and stopped near them. He was well built and there was a thin person at the back. The motorcyclist was a Hindu while the pillion rider a Christian. He took turns to transport them to a safer place in turns from where they managed to reach Bhubaneshwar.
Another priest from the Phulbani headquarters expecting trouble after the swami's killing transferred all the records to his Hindu friends' houses. When the procession with the dead body arrived he hid in a nearby house while the others were asked to leave and hide behind the church. Sunday morning mob of 4000 people accompanied the procession. It was 7.30am. DIG, Collector, Police accompanied the procession. The mob broke the wall, smashed everything in the church and the residence. They started throwing stones. It was after some stones hit the police that they started a mild lathi charge. Local youth searched for the priest, nuns and other workers. Around 9am another lot came and started banging he door. Some of the boys who wee hiding came out and they were immediately beaten. The priest hid in a broken toilet. The mob came to the house where they were told he was hiding but never checked the toilet so he was saved. After one hour he came out on the road and asked for shelter in a house. Three houses refused, forth gave him shelter. The mob almost immediately reached there. The owners hid him in the kitchen but their house was attacked and broken down. Mob left only after 9pm. After they left the priest rushed to his house. His land phone was ringing and his assistant was on the line. He was hiding in the forest. Using a ladder the priest jumped behind the church and with the help of the light from the mobile phone found his was into the forest. Tuesday morning they started moving to another place in the forest when they by chance came across a hut belonging to a Hindu woman whom the priest had helped earlier. She and her daughter took them in, prepared food for them and fed them.
27th morning at 4 am they again went back to the church and contacted every taxi service but no one agreed to take them. Then the news came that another father is severely beaten and is being rushed to Bhubaneshwar in an ambulance. The same ambulance brought them to the city along with the patient.
We were able to talk to a few of the hundreds of women, children and men who ran from various villages and hid in the forests for days without food. They were from 15 different villages but the stories were the same. Their houses were attacks by mobs ranging from 300-500 people-all from the surrounding gram panchayats and villages. They came with axes and knives, with diesel, blocked all exit roots so that no one could escape in any vehicle. Burnt down houses, attacked churches, burnt tyres on the roads, beat up people. A young woman said that they have been told very clearly that they will be allowed into the village if and only if they become Hindus. She reached Bhubaneshwar on 31st along with others from the village, walking over 200 kilometres. Many of the victims narrated that the violence broke out with the arrival of the swami's body in each village. In all instances police was present with the procession.
This account is based only on the testimonies for those who managed to escape and reach Bhubaneshwar. The situation is very serious in Orissa and only a full fact finding team can come out with full details after it is allowed to enter those areas.
A Brief Profile of Violence Unleashed s far (Prepared by Prakash Louis AS ON 31ST AUGUST 2008)
(NAME OF BLOCKS, NO. OF VILLAGES and NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS AFFECTED in that order)
UDYAGIRI 36 640
RAIKIA 55 1391
TIKABALI 25 558
DARINGBADI 3 39
PHIRINGIA 25 428
CHOKAPADA 10 90
PHOLBANI 4 129
BALLIGUDA 18 555
TUMUDIBANDH NOT AVAIILABLE
KOTHAGARH NOT AVAILABLE
K NUAGAM 18 274
TOTAL 194 4104
NO OF PLACES OF WORRSHIP DAMAGED 50
NO OF SHOPS DESTROYED IN RAIKIA 10
CONVENTS DESTROYED 4
NO OF BOYS/ GIRLS HOSTEL DESTROYED 5
OTHER INSTITUTIONS DAMAGED 6
NO OF PRIESTS ATTACKED 6
NO OF DECEASED PEOPLE IN UDYAGIRI 26
I went to Orissa for two days as part of a delegation. We were not allowed to enter Kandhamal. We met a large number of victims in Bhubaneshwar, met the governor and the local civil society members as well as priests of various churches.
Visit to Kandhamal next week depends on the fact whether the Govt will permit us to go there or not. VHP's Togadia has been allowed to go and add more fuel to the fire.
This account is based on the testimonies of:
8 priests and over 300 families who hid in thick forests without water and food, with small hungry children, with thousands of mosquitoes and other insects and who walked over 280 kilometers to reach Bhubaneshwar with just the set of clothes that they were wearing. It took them 5 days to reach the city.
It is not safe to give the names or addresses of those who testified before us as even now VHP and the other Sangh organisations are still attacking the villages , burning houses, shops and churches, catching people, tonsuring them, forcing them to sign that they have become Hindus.
-------------------------------------------
It is an Indian tradition to talk with respect about those who have departed from this world. Pray that their soul may rest in peace.
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was killed on August 23rd, 2008 at the VHP ashram in Jalespata, Kandhamal, Orissa. A large number of organisations across India condemned the attack and his killing.
While condemning every violent act and his killing there is a need to look at his work and message before making him a martyr.
The swami came to Kandhamal in 1969. He travelled from village to village initially contacting the business community, organising poojas and bhajans, which very soon turned into inflammatory messages against the local Christian community. Initially in 1970es the attacks came on smaller villages. The first organised attack came in 1987. People from 6-7 villages were collected together to attack a village which had a large Christian population. Under his leadership 16 churches were burnt down in 1986-87. There were 56 cases registered for this but Swami was not arrested. Not even under the 'secular' governments. The sheer fact that none of the political parties touched him, due to their deep concern for the 'Hindu' vote, he got emboldened and his campaigns became more aggressive and vicious.
While Christians were attacked using the bogey of conversion, the VHP and the swami spearheaded the campaign to forcibly convert local animistic Tribals and Christian Tribals into Hindus, calling it ghar wapsi or reconversion as if the tribals were ever in the Hindu fold.
On January 22, 1999 Graham Stains and his two young sons were burnt to death by a Sangh sponsored mob in Keonjhar district of Orissa. Same year in September another Christian priest was killed in the village Jamudhi , also in Keonjhar district.
After Graham Stains was murdered by the Sangh goons instead of condemning the murder the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked for a national debate on conversion and within a week of that VHP printed and distributed over 5 million pamphlets full of vicious propaganda against the Christian minority. Similarly when the whole drama of the Shabri Kumbh was going on in the dang district of Gujarat where also Christians have been under attack since 1998, the VHP distributed vicious Cds against Christians. The distribution of the CDs was challenged by us in the Supreme Court through a PIL. Under the garb of doing educational and development work the sangh has opened Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams and Ekal Vidyalaya throughout the tribal belts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Orissa. The VHP alone has over one lakh workers in Orissa. There are approximately 6000 RSS shakhas.
On December 24, 2007 violence broke out over Christmas celebrations in Kandhamal district. Attackers from VHP/ RSS came with axes, rods etc. hundreds of houses, Christian institutions, businesses, and properties were attacked and raised to the ground in the violence that continued for over a month. For years the administration has ignored the hate campaigns and the violence against the Christians. The VHP has not only been in the fore front of these violent attacks but has sowed the seeds of hatred by distributing highly provocative material against the Christian community.
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was killed on August 23rd, 2008 allegedly by Maoists. VHP declared a bandh on August 25, 2008. His body was taken in a procession travelling close to 150 kilometers accompanied by a VHP mob and the police and administration. It stopped in front of many churches, raising highly abusive and provocative slogans, attacking the churches, Christian institutions breaking glasses, furniture, attacking people, while the police looked on including the highest officers of the state and the district.
After the December 2007 violence many organisations had come together and worked for relief and fought legal battles for the victims. Such organisations and individuals were especially targeted. Janvikas office was attacked thrice. All five organisations fighting for Dalit human rights were attacked: Janvikas, Gramiya Progoti, Pobara, Pollishree, Ajka. Tribal leaders heading the Dalit Adivasi Vikas Initiative, Phulbani Action Group and Forum for Peace and Justice were attacked. All shops were attacked. The initial number of attackers was 200-300 which swelled to 500-600. The mob comprised of mainly he business community led by hard core VHP leaders. AS the mob moved from one village to the second the number increased as local Sangh members kept adding to the mob. Some tribals also joined the attackers. Dasrath Pradhan died on the spot and Trinath Digal, who had taken out his goats for grazing was chased and his head was smashed with a stone. He died. Vikram Naik was attacked. He died after 3 days. Parikrit Naik was attacked on 25th. He managed to run and hide in the forest. After two days in the forest he decided to escape to safety. He was caught again and attacked, hacked into two and burnt.
People were taken out from their homes and huddled together and forced to sign the papers that they are becoming Hindus or face the consequences.
In Mondosore village around 10am on August 24th people from nearby villages gathered with knives, swords, weapons and collected near a temple about 1km away from the village. They were shouting provocative and abusive slogans against the Christians and inciting people to attack them. The mob blocked all the routes for going out from the village by felling huge logs and tree trunks on the roads. A huge mob gathered by now near the Shiv temple. The priest and nuns from the church ran to the jungle but they came back at 7pm once it was dark. Some people advised them to leave so they went to padri village. But the mobs came to know about their hiding places and they had to leave again, this time splitting in two groups and changing their hiding places but with no luck. No place was safe. The people who gave them shelter, including local tribals, their lives were threatened. The priest was escorted by a local man with a knife to the forest after crossing a stream. During the night about 60 women and children came to the same forest to hide and the nuns from the church also found their way to the forest hiding place. There was a hut nearby where everyone crowded in but there was no place even to sit. Around midnight the church bell started ringing. This was a signal that things were not right. The whole group moved to another area near the village but still under cover. They could see the village shops on fire, they could hear small bombs, shouting & screaming. More people came towards the forest to escape the attack. Through them came the news of shops belonging to Christians being burnt and one person was killed by the attackers.
Around 6am the priest, 4 nuns and two orphan children decided to move to another place. They started walking, climbing mountains. Till 3 pm they walked for10kilometers and not reaching anywhere. Then they decided to rather die than get lost in the forest. When they came out they were near village Koroda. The people stared at them and they thought the end was near when a person on a motorcycle came and stopped near them. He was well built and there was a thin person at the back. The motorcyclist was a Hindu while the pillion rider a Christian. He took turns to transport them to a safer place in turns from where they managed to reach Bhubaneshwar.
Another priest from the Phulbani headquarters expecting trouble after the swami's killing transferred all the records to his Hindu friends' houses. When the procession with the dead body arrived he hid in a nearby house while the others were asked to leave and hide behind the church. Sunday morning mob of 4000 people accompanied the procession. It was 7.30am. DIG, Collector, Police accompanied the procession. The mob broke the wall, smashed everything in the church and the residence. They started throwing stones. It was after some stones hit the police that they started a mild lathi charge. Local youth searched for the priest, nuns and other workers. Around 9am another lot came and started banging he door. Some of the boys who wee hiding came out and they were immediately beaten. The priest hid in a broken toilet. The mob came to the house where they were told he was hiding but never checked the toilet so he was saved. After one hour he came out on the road and asked for shelter in a house. Three houses refused, forth gave him shelter. The mob almost immediately reached there. The owners hid him in the kitchen but their house was attacked and broken down. Mob left only after 9pm. After they left the priest rushed to his house. His land phone was ringing and his assistant was on the line. He was hiding in the forest. Using a ladder the priest jumped behind the church and with the help of the light from the mobile phone found his was into the forest. Tuesday morning they started moving to another place in the forest when they by chance came across a hut belonging to a Hindu woman whom the priest had helped earlier. She and her daughter took them in, prepared food for them and fed them.
27th morning at 4 am they again went back to the church and contacted every taxi service but no one agreed to take them. Then the news came that another father is severely beaten and is being rushed to Bhubaneshwar in an ambulance. The same ambulance brought them to the city along with the patient.
We were able to talk to a few of the hundreds of women, children and men who ran from various villages and hid in the forests for days without food. They were from 15 different villages but the stories were the same. Their houses were attacks by mobs ranging from 300-500 people-all from the surrounding gram panchayats and villages. They came with axes and knives, with diesel, blocked all exit roots so that no one could escape in any vehicle. Burnt down houses, attacked churches, burnt tyres on the roads, beat up people. A young woman said that they have been told very clearly that they will be allowed into the village if and only if they become Hindus. She reached Bhubaneshwar on 31st along with others from the village, walking over 200 kilometres. Many of the victims narrated that the violence broke out with the arrival of the swami's body in each village. In all instances police was present with the procession.
This account is based only on the testimonies for those who managed to escape and reach Bhubaneshwar. The situation is very serious in Orissa and only a full fact finding team can come out with full details after it is allowed to enter those areas.
A Brief Profile of Violence Unleashed s far (Prepared by Prakash Louis AS ON 31ST AUGUST 2008)
(NAME OF BLOCKS, NO. OF VILLAGES and NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS AFFECTED in that order)
UDYAGIRI 36 640
RAIKIA 55 1391
TIKABALI 25 558
DARINGBADI 3 39
PHIRINGIA 25 428
CHOKAPADA 10 90
PHOLBANI 4 129
BALLIGUDA 18 555
TUMUDIBANDH NOT AVAIILABLE
KOTHAGARH NOT AVAILABLE
K NUAGAM 18 274
TOTAL 194 4104
NO OF PLACES OF WORRSHIP DAMAGED 50
NO OF SHOPS DESTROYED IN RAIKIA 10
CONVENTS DESTROYED 4
NO OF BOYS/ GIRLS HOSTEL DESTROYED 5
OTHER INSTITUTIONS DAMAGED 6
NO OF PRIESTS ATTACKED 6
NO OF DECEASED PEOPLE IN UDYAGIRI 26
29 August, 2008
Orissa Bachao Andolan’s memorandum to State Human Rights Commission
The Orissa Bachao Andolan (Save Orissa Movement) has, in a memorandum to the State Human Rights Commission, given a detailed account of the attacks on Christian institutions in the State’s tribal belt by Hindu communal outfits.
The text of the memorandum is available at the Countercurrents website.
Countercurrents.org has also distributed to two articles on the Orissa developments:
Pogrom against Christians: by John Dayal and Shabnam Hashmi
Dance of Terror in Orissa: by Nikunj Bhutia
The text of the memorandum is available at the Countercurrents website.
Countercurrents.org has also distributed to two articles on the Orissa developments:
Pogrom against Christians: by John Dayal and Shabnam Hashmi
Dance of Terror in Orissa: by Nikunj Bhutia
01 February, 2008
Protect Minorities of Orissa: Online petition
An online petition, styled as The Protection of the Rights of the Christian Minorities in Orissa Petition, addressed to the Prime Minister of India has been created by by Rev M Madhu Chandra (aiccdelhi@gmail.com).
It is open for signature. Those who agree with the demand may visit this site and sign it: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/orissa/
It is open for signature. Those who agree with the demand may visit this site and sign it: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/orissa/
07 January, 2008
Riots in Orissa: investigators say violence was preplanned
by Angana Chatterji
07 January, 2008 The Asian Age
December 25 2007: Seven churches, Catholic, Protestant, Pentacostal, Independent ... burned in Barakhama village, Kandhamal district, central Orissa.
December 23, 2007: Hindutva (Hindu supremacist ideology) affiliated Adivasi (tribal) organisations organised a march, rallying, "Stop Christianity. Kill Christians." A Dalit (formerly "untouchable" groups) Christian leader testified, "We went to the local police and informed them of the situation. They assured us that things would be under control.
On December 24, in the daytime, we heard voices of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shiv Sena people, chanting, ‘Hindu, Hindu, Bhai, Bhai’; ‘RSS Zindabad’; ‘Lakshmanananda Zindabad.’ They shut down shops. That night they felled trees to block roads, severed power and phone lines. On the 25th, we went to the inspector-in-charge of police again. On the 25th, at 2.30, 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 mark on forehead), belonged to various Sangh Parivar (Hindu nationalist, militant) groups, named above, inciting local Hindus into rioting. Estimates state 20 per cent of the mob comprised people from Barkahama, 80 per cent from surrounding Baliguda, Raikia, Phulbani, as far away as Beherampur. "They broke the door to our church. We ran. We fell and kept running." Women and men were intimidated and assaulted. Cries rent the air. "Christians must become Hindu or die. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. Gita not Bible. Destroy their faith."
The crowd carried rods, trishuls, swords. They used guns, a first in Orissa. Predominantly middle class caste Hindus participated in looting, destroying and torching property. Handmade bombs started the fires. Breakage was systematic. Women and men hid for days in forests, later seeking shelter in Baliguda town relief camp, returning to decimated Barakhama on January 2. Engulfed in soot and sorrow, people attempted to function amid charred remnants. A woman said, "Everything burns down and we are left with nothing. How little our lives are made (of).
How alone we are, so far away from everything."
In Baliguda, in one church, furniture was dragged out, lit into a grotesque sculpture. The private violated in public, made spectacle. A Catholic church burnt, opposite the street the fire station witnessed the incident, but did not intervene. A cow, dragged from a shed, set afire, was beaten to death, identified as "Christian."
Targeted: Bammunigaon, Bodagan, Daringbari, Goborkutty, Jhinjirguda, Kamapada, Kulpakia, Mandipanka, Nuagaon, Phulbani, Pobingia, Sindrigaon, Ulipadaro villages. Convents, presbytery, hostels, a minor seminary, vocational training centre. Organisational offices, as that of World Vision. Two churches in Chakapad. Christian religious services were not permitted in Phulbani. A Hindutva mob surrounded Tikabali police station, two jeeps were torched.
Independent investigators charge that the violence was planned, that the police had prior knowledge of Hindutva groups’ intent to riot. The pertinent district collector and superintendent of police have been transferred, not discharged. A Judicial Review Commission (JRC) chaired by a former (not sitting) judge has been appointed by the government of Orissa to investigate the riots. Its power or legitimacy is in question. The Central government did not appoint an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation, even as it is apparent that the very administration that failed to contain the riots and delayed deploying adequate forces, and whose officials at the district level may have been involved in its execution, cannot administer justice.
Hindutva activists have lobbied the JRC to organise its terms of reference premised on the claim that an attack on Lakshmanananda Saraswati, a Hindu proselytiser, by Christians in Bammunigaon started the riots. This timeline is falsified. Sources state Hindutva groups planned Christmas day strikes, organised vandalism of Christmas symbols, and incited rioting. Christians in one area responded with reciprocal, not proportionate, violence. Dominant rationale reduces this to majority vs minority communalism. Rather than focus on systematic targeting of Christians, their overwhelmingly peaceful submission to Hindutva’s violence, and vast structural injustices and differences in relations of power between majority and minority, the scrutiny appears to be focused on the failure of all Christian groups to simply submit to dominance.
The Kandhamal riots were not unexpected. Saraswati has been overseeing Hinduisation there since 1969. Adivasis, Dalits, Christians, Muslims are targeted through social and economic boycotts, forced conversions to Hinduism, and other violences. The Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960, deployed against Muslims; Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967, against Christians. In 1999, Mayurbhanj Catholic priest Arul Das was murdered, followed by destruction of Kandhamal churches. In 2004, Raikia Catholic Church was vandalised, eight Christian homes burnt. In 2005, converting 200 Adivasi Christians to Hinduism in Malkangiri, Saraswati stated, "How will we ... make India a completely Hindu country? This is our aim and this is what we want to do." In 2006, celebrating RSS architect Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar’s centenary, presided by Saraswati, seven yagnas (sacrifices) were held, culminating at Chakapad in Kandhamal, attended by 30,000 Adivasis. Between July-December 2007, Hindutva rallies across Kandhamal raised anti-Christian sentiments.
Hindutva leaders rumour, "Phulbani-Kandhamal is a most important Christian area in Orissa with rampant and forced conversions." The Christian population in Kandhamal district is 117,950, Hindus number 527,757. Sangh leaders claim, "By VHP data there are 927 churches in Phulbani district built on illegally taken land." Church leaders respond there are 521 churches. Orissa Christians number 897,861, 2.4 percent of the state’s population. Constitutionally authorised, the Hindu Right inflates conversions to Christianity. This circulates in retaliatory capacity even among progressive communities, who fixate on conversions as contributing to the communalisation of society, debilitating to the majority status of Hindus. Muslims are seen as "infiltrating" from Bangladesh, looting livelihood opportunities, dislocating the "Oriya/Indian nation," non-Hinduised Adivasis and Dalits as "unruly."
Hindutva legitimates violence as patriotic response. The Sangh uses local militarism (Kandhamal) as consort to state controlled militarization (Kashipur, Kalinganagar). Hindu cultural dominance organises Hindu nationalism. Orissa amalgamated as a Hindu state between 1866-1936. The absence of structural reforms and assertion of Hindu elites define post-colonial governance. The Sangh has proliferated into 10,000-14,000 villages, operating 35-40 major organisations, with a massive base of a few million. A Balasore district Shiv Sena unit formed the first Hindu "suicide squad." The Hindu nationalist BJP-BJD coalition yields power. The Hindu Suraksha Samiti organises against Muslims. Revolting slogans, "Mussalman ka ek hi sthan, Pakistan ya kabristan (For Muslims there is one place, Pakistan or the grave)," perforate neighbourhoods.
In Kandhamal, Hindu militant groups, neighbours, police, chief minister, Central government acted with egregious impunity. People remain missing, death counts inaccurate. The police refuses Christians seeking to file first information reports. The Baliguda relief camp is skeletal. Despite continuing tensions, police presence has abated. Confidence building steps are absent. Relief, compensation, reparation are incommensurate with the extent of social, psychological, and economic losses of communities. Political parties, focused on politicking the issue, fail to respond to immediate and long-term needs of people.
Angana Chatterji is associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies.
07 January, 2008 The Asian Age
December 25 2007: Seven churches, Catholic, Protestant, Pentacostal, Independent ... burned in Barakhama village, Kandhamal district, central Orissa.
December 23, 2007: Hindutva (Hindu supremacist ideology) affiliated Adivasi (tribal) organisations organised a march, rallying, "Stop Christianity. Kill Christians." A Dalit (formerly "untouchable" groups) Christian leader testified, "We went to the local police and informed them of the situation. They assured us that things would be under control.
On December 24, in the daytime, we heard voices of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shiv Sena people, chanting, ‘Hindu, Hindu, Bhai, Bhai’; ‘RSS Zindabad’; ‘Lakshmanananda Zindabad.’ They shut down shops. That night they felled trees to block roads, severed power and phone lines. On the 25th, we went to the inspector-in-charge of police again. On the 25th, at 2.30, 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 mark on forehead), belonged to various Sangh Parivar (Hindu nationalist, militant) groups, named above, inciting local Hindus into rioting. Estimates state 20 per cent of the mob comprised people from Barkahama, 80 per cent from surrounding Baliguda, Raikia, Phulbani, as far away as Beherampur. "They broke the door to our church. We ran. We fell and kept running." Women and men were intimidated and assaulted. Cries rent the air. "Christians must become Hindu or die. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. Gita not Bible. Destroy their faith."
The crowd carried rods, trishuls, swords. They used guns, a first in Orissa. Predominantly middle class caste Hindus participated in looting, destroying and torching property. Handmade bombs started the fires. Breakage was systematic. Women and men hid for days in forests, later seeking shelter in Baliguda town relief camp, returning to decimated Barakhama on January 2. Engulfed in soot and sorrow, people attempted to function amid charred remnants. A woman said, "Everything burns down and we are left with nothing. How little our lives are made (of).
How alone we are, so far away from everything."
In Baliguda, in one church, furniture was dragged out, lit into a grotesque sculpture. The private violated in public, made spectacle. A Catholic church burnt, opposite the street the fire station witnessed the incident, but did not intervene. A cow, dragged from a shed, set afire, was beaten to death, identified as "Christian."
Targeted: Bammunigaon, Bodagan, Daringbari, Goborkutty, Jhinjirguda, Kamapada, Kulpakia, Mandipanka, Nuagaon, Phulbani, Pobingia, Sindrigaon, Ulipadaro villages. Convents, presbytery, hostels, a minor seminary, vocational training centre. Organisational offices, as that of World Vision. Two churches in Chakapad. Christian religious services were not permitted in Phulbani. A Hindutva mob surrounded Tikabali police station, two jeeps were torched.
Independent investigators charge that the violence was planned, that the police had prior knowledge of Hindutva groups’ intent to riot. The pertinent district collector and superintendent of police have been transferred, not discharged. A Judicial Review Commission (JRC) chaired by a former (not sitting) judge has been appointed by the government of Orissa to investigate the riots. Its power or legitimacy is in question. The Central government did not appoint an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation, even as it is apparent that the very administration that failed to contain the riots and delayed deploying adequate forces, and whose officials at the district level may have been involved in its execution, cannot administer justice.
Hindutva activists have lobbied the JRC to organise its terms of reference premised on the claim that an attack on Lakshmanananda Saraswati, a Hindu proselytiser, by Christians in Bammunigaon started the riots. This timeline is falsified. Sources state Hindutva groups planned Christmas day strikes, organised vandalism of Christmas symbols, and incited rioting. Christians in one area responded with reciprocal, not proportionate, violence. Dominant rationale reduces this to majority vs minority communalism. Rather than focus on systematic targeting of Christians, their overwhelmingly peaceful submission to Hindutva’s violence, and vast structural injustices and differences in relations of power between majority and minority, the scrutiny appears to be focused on the failure of all Christian groups to simply submit to dominance.
The Kandhamal riots were not unexpected. Saraswati has been overseeing Hinduisation there since 1969. Adivasis, Dalits, Christians, Muslims are targeted through social and economic boycotts, forced conversions to Hinduism, and other violences. The Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960, deployed against Muslims; Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967, against Christians. In 1999, Mayurbhanj Catholic priest Arul Das was murdered, followed by destruction of Kandhamal churches. In 2004, Raikia Catholic Church was vandalised, eight Christian homes burnt. In 2005, converting 200 Adivasi Christians to Hinduism in Malkangiri, Saraswati stated, "How will we ... make India a completely Hindu country? This is our aim and this is what we want to do." In 2006, celebrating RSS architect Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar’s centenary, presided by Saraswati, seven yagnas (sacrifices) were held, culminating at Chakapad in Kandhamal, attended by 30,000 Adivasis. Between July-December 2007, Hindutva rallies across Kandhamal raised anti-Christian sentiments.
Hindutva leaders rumour, "Phulbani-Kandhamal is a most important Christian area in Orissa with rampant and forced conversions." The Christian population in Kandhamal district is 117,950, Hindus number 527,757. Sangh leaders claim, "By VHP data there are 927 churches in Phulbani district built on illegally taken land." Church leaders respond there are 521 churches. Orissa Christians number 897,861, 2.4 percent of the state’s population. Constitutionally authorised, the Hindu Right inflates conversions to Christianity. This circulates in retaliatory capacity even among progressive communities, who fixate on conversions as contributing to the communalisation of society, debilitating to the majority status of Hindus. Muslims are seen as "infiltrating" from Bangladesh, looting livelihood opportunities, dislocating the "Oriya/Indian nation," non-Hinduised Adivasis and Dalits as "unruly."
Hindutva legitimates violence as patriotic response. The Sangh uses local militarism (Kandhamal) as consort to state controlled militarization (Kashipur, Kalinganagar). Hindu cultural dominance organises Hindu nationalism. Orissa amalgamated as a Hindu state between 1866-1936. The absence of structural reforms and assertion of Hindu elites define post-colonial governance. The Sangh has proliferated into 10,000-14,000 villages, operating 35-40 major organisations, with a massive base of a few million. A Balasore district Shiv Sena unit formed the first Hindu "suicide squad." The Hindu nationalist BJP-BJD coalition yields power. The Hindu Suraksha Samiti organises against Muslims. Revolting slogans, "Mussalman ka ek hi sthan, Pakistan ya kabristan (For Muslims there is one place, Pakistan or the grave)," perforate neighbourhoods.
In Kandhamal, Hindu militant groups, neighbours, police, chief minister, Central government acted with egregious impunity. People remain missing, death counts inaccurate. The police refuses Christians seeking to file first information reports. The Baliguda relief camp is skeletal. Despite continuing tensions, police presence has abated. Confidence building steps are absent. Relief, compensation, reparation are incommensurate with the extent of social, psychological, and economic losses of communities. Political parties, focused on politicking the issue, fail to respond to immediate and long-term needs of people.
Angana Chatterji is associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies.
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