Kndhamal Riots had a plan...

Kandhamal rioters not only had a plan but
ample time too
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

The rioters of Kandhamal were not simply reacting to the murder of their leader, as the Sangh Parivar in the state has maintained.

Had it not been for a plan, and inexplicable inertia on the part of the state government and district authorities, the killers would not have had the time to arrange for petrol and diesel to torch 255 villages housing thousands of houses and over 150 Christian institutions. They came fully armed with batons, swords, tridents, even pistols and bombs in some cases.

They blocked all entry points behind them. The district forest authorities have already counted over 500 full-grown trees the radicals felled to obstruct vehicular movement into the villages. Actual numbers would touch 1,000, with hundreds of trees still blocking village roads across Kandhamal.

The rioters had obviously worked through the night of August 23 and the whole of August 24 to attack the villages. It’s hard to believe that the local police and intelligence did not know of these plans, says Michael Naik, a former state government employee, who blames the state government for allowing the situation to go out of hand.

At one point, the district collector of Kandhamal was even asked to withdraw his orders of lathicharge on a mob that attacked an old church in Phulbani, the district headquarters, soon after the violence broke out. It is further learnt that the mobs in several cases announced their arrival, as though assured of support. They struck temple chimes and blew whistles to indicate they were coming. “If we could hear all this, why couldn’t the police? ” asks Sister Ratna, a missionary from G Udaygiri block.

In many places, the rioters left their marks behind - saffron flags, which can still be spotted in the vicinity of razed churches. It’s hard to believe the authorities didn’t know of all this. Even secular-minded Hindus in the area doubt the role of local police in aiding the August violence. It was after massive damage had already been done that the state government shifted out the Kandhamal SP and then the inspector in-charge of Raikia police station, where seven murders cases have been registered.

As of now, 223 people have been rounded up for rioting and killing in 255 tribal villages; only 24 of them have been sent to judicial custody, while the rest remain under interrogation. Accountability for 17 officially listed murders is yet to be fixed, as minor cases of violence continue to be reported. The new man in at Raikia police station says, “In a 50 km radius, we have just one police station with 10 personnel each. Mobs usually come in thousands and are mostly well-built tribal people. We are hard-pressed for manpower and vehicles.”

While investigations drag on, people blame vested political interests in the area for the mess. Kandhamal is a Hindu-dominated belt, with Christians comprising 7 per cent of the population. Two of the three assembly seats here are with Hindus from the BJP and BJD ruling combine. Phulbani MP Sugrib Singh also, it is learnt, is a convert Hindu from Christianity. He is yet to visit Phulbani after the recent violence.

Local police hint at the role of radical organisations like Banwas Kalyan Samiti (supported by the VHP) in the Kandhamal violence, but don’t say anything openly. Even the state chief minister, home secretary and DGP have remained silent on why violence was allowed to rage.

Kandhamal Christians under ‘threat’ to convert
Aditi Tandon writes from Kandhamal

The anti-Christian flame in Kandhamal may have become dimmer for a while, but it is far from blown out. Fuelling it is the issue of conversion, which has become a determinant of people’s lives in this part of the country.

Several Christians in 11 blocks of the tribal districts are said to have been “forcibly converted” as Hindus in the past 17 days of mayhem; the rest say they are facing a choice between life and faith.

“The radicals have told us that we can live here only as Hindus. They are giving deadlines to people to convert or be prepared to face the worst. They asked my family to fall in line by 8 pm on September 3. When we did not agree to convert, they razed our properties,” Jitender Digal, a refugee at Bijaya High School camp in Raikia block, told The Tribune.

In Kandhamal, minorities furnish proof of how “force and fear” is being used to deter people from their faith. Lalu Naik of Balliguda block shows this correspondent a letter whose text, he says, the radicals have framed for the Christians to follow. Signed by Lalu’s father Babulal Naik and 10 members of his family, the letter reads: “Shrijukta Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) mahodaya (Respected VHP official), I was a Christian until now, but I voluntarily want to embrace Hinduism.”

The sample, claim refugees, is meant to facilitate Christians’ conversion to Hindu religion. Such letters have been floating around for a fortnight, with covert but stern messages to Christians to convert. The first targets in this “war” of conversion are pastors, now hiding in the relief camps by thousands. Three of them - Samuel Naik, Akhar Digal and Dibya Digal from Raikia and Udaygiri blocks - have already lost their lives in the recent violence. In each case, the killers first asked the victims if they were ready to become Hindus, say relatives.

Samuel Naik’s son Ramesh, who witnessed killings of his father and grandmother, recounts, “They gave three warnings to my father. When he refused to abandon his faith, they slaughtered him. My grandmother met the same fate.” Ramesh is now hiding at the G Udaygiri camp, while his mother Upojini Naik is at the Raikia relief camp, where over 200 pastors are seeking refuge.

Among them are Subodh Naik, Bijay Pradhan, Subodh Digal and Ulkeshan Naik, who claim being on the radicals’ hit list. “They want us to join them and prove our loyalty by attacking churches and killing Christians. They have threatened to eliminate us if we don’t listen to them.” Many pastors are missing or feared dead.

As for forcible conversions, they are mostly reported to be happening in G Udaygiri, Raikia, Tikabali, Chakapad and Balliguda blocks, with Christians now demanding a separate district. Ashok Behera, a camper at Tikabali, says, “We want a district with a Christian collector, a Christian SP and a Christian block development officer. We have lost faith in the system as close to 2,000 Christians have been converted.”

VHP leaders for their part remain adamant as ever, claiming they will “do everything possible to protect the Hindu faith in Orissa.” Kabi Chandra Nath, who assumed charge of the Jalaspeta ashram after Laxmananda Saraswati’s death, goes to the extent of defending the radical stand, saying, “We are not converting anyone. We are simply bringing misguided followers back to the fold.” Never mind the cost.

(The Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal have been at the forefront, mobilizing the crowds to arson, killing and looting. So far more than more than 100 Christians have lost their lives, of which one man and another women were burned alive; 317 villages attacked, 4014 homes and buildings razed, approximately 40,000 have fled their homes, 13,000 persons are in refugee camps and 10,000 persons are still hiding in the jungles; priests and nuns were paraded naked through streets, nuns were raped in public and a number of churches, schools, convents, hostels and welfare centers razed, the forum reminded in its letter.)