THE SHAME OF KANDHAMAL

The untold story of gender violence in Orissa

JOHN DAYAL

On a recent visit to Orissa, I interviewed a 13 year old girl who had been gang raped on Dussehara evening in a forest in Kandhamal, not far from her home in a  small township. She was returning with her companions from a  “mela” or fete organized to celebrate the victory of good, exemplified by the Lord Rama, over evil, represented in lore by the effigy of abductor King Ravana.  Torn and naked, barring coat someone had given to hide her body, she made it to the town, and eventually to her extended family. After a long struggle and encounter with a foul mouthed woman police inspector and a callous official of the Orissa government’s Women’s Commission, the family managed to get a First Information Report lodged with the Police. The case is still not in court.

Another girl, also about 13 or 14 years old, was not so lucky. Coming home from another fete, she was captured by a gang of young men, stripped and gang raped. They then tied her to a tree, and  in a frenzy, killed her.

And now, a fact finding team, organized by the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights and others, which went to Kandhamal early in January, has discovered the rape of a third girl. All of them were either Dalits or Tribal. And two of them were Christian.

Away from the mass movement in New Delhi and other big towns, both spontaneous and organized,  of the gang rape and murder of “Brave-heart Daughter of India” as media and politicians called her, there has been a   stunning silence on rapes of Dalit and Tribal women across the country, often enough by members of the police an security forces, and the absolute impunity that goes with it. Orissa has specially been an area of darkness. Some accounts have put the number of rapes in Kandhamal region as high as 30, with civil rights groups speaking of upto 100 cases in Sundargarh, for instance.

This is time to have a look at the full picture in Orissa which has a long history of rapes and its political consequences. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's 13-year long regime has witnessed a series of such gory incidents.  Civil rights groups quote official data which says that three women are raped every day in the state.

Local activists say this winter has seen many spine chilling rape incidents. A dancing girl was raped by three persons in the state capital while another girl was molested and pushed out of a running auto-rickshaw in the city. This was followed by a most pathetic incident where a minor girl was forcibly lifted and gang-raped in Rayagada. The orphan girl who was staying with her grand-mother attempted self-immolation.

Crimes against women under three heads - namely rape, molestation and “eve teasing” - during the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 have increased in the state. "There has been a 20% rise in rape cases in the state during 2012. The increase in molestation and eve teasing cases have also recorded roughly the same percentage," a senior official in the state Home department has admitted.  The tribal dominated Keonjhar district tops the list of crimes against women. While 75 rape cases were registered in this mineral rich district in 2011, the figure increased to 101 in 2012. Besides, 235 molestation and 20 eve-teaching cases were also reported in Keonjhar the same year. Mayurbhanj registered the highest number of 295 molestation cases in 2012, figuring slightly below the neighbouring district in rape cases (82).

Christians have been particular targets. In the 2007-2008 attacks, women and girls were targeted for sexual violence, humiliation, brutal physical assaults and threats. “There are several other reports of sexual assault and molestation and it is highly likely that many other such cases have gone unreported due to the shame attached,” warned the study ‘Genocide in Kandhamal: Ethnic Cleansing of Christians by Hindu Rightwing Forces in Orissa’ by the Human Rights Law Network. According to the report of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, five women reported that they and / or their female family members had been subjected to sexual assaults, and that 16 women said that young girls in their area had been raped while 12 women reported that women had been raped in their villages.  Though witness testimonies indicate that sexual violence was rampant during the attacks, there are very few reported cases, and an even smaller number that have been registered and are pending in the courts for prosecution. 

Patently, civil society – which includes the Church in the State and in India, must wake up to this grim reality before we seek to rouse the Judiciary and the political system.

We must not be partners in the conspiracy of silence.

Government silence on Kandhamal gang rsapes

To The Chairperson

National Commission for Children

Government of India, New Delhi

Dear Dr Shantha Sinha

This is to request you to kindly look into the plight of a young Christian girl who was gang raped in Kandhamal, Orissa and then subjected to abuse by the state child right and police authorities [women themselves]

Thank you

John Dayal

Member, national Integration Council

Government of India

KANDHAMAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2012

Gang-rapes in Kandhamal, and the apathy of government agencies towards the young victims

JOHN DAYAL

The gang rape of two Christian girls in Kandhamal, both 13 years old, and the murder of one of them subsequently during the Dussehara festival has created not just panic in their villages, but a sense of disgust among activists for the obnoxious attitude of police and the State Child Right Commission.

It was possible to meet the surviving victim because she is now with her parents who now work as casual labour in Bhubaneswar.

The first one, a class VII student of Dadamaha, had gone to witness a 'yatra'(play) at nearby Simanbadi village on Thursday night when the youths sexually assaulted her. Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Baliguda, Arjun Barik said the girl apparently attempted to raise an alarm, she was tied to a tree and strangulated to death with her scarf. The body was found from the roadside near Masanipada village 26 October.

An autopsy was conducted on the body at Daringbadi public health centre and a case was registered on the basis of an FIR lodged by her father. There have been no arrests so far.

The second girl, a  resident of  Ritangia village in Tiangia block, was also 13-year old, and a student of class VIII in a local school. Her father is now a security guard in Bhubaneswar, and the girl lives with relatives to continue her studies. On 27^th October, she went to see the Dussehara festivities, which attract a large crowd. On the way home, she was abducted by six men, taken the nearby forest, stripped naked and raped by all six of them. She collapsed.

She regained consciousness after one of the rapists sprinkled water on her face. One of them put a shirt on her and brought her close to the village. She was found in the marketplace in the morning, and taken to her aunt’s house.

Initially the local police did not help at all. She was brought to Bhubaneswar and taken to the offices of the State Commission for Child Rights. This is where she was subjected to mental torture by those designated to help children in distress. The  chairperson was rude and crude, said this was a police matter and that she could not do anything even if she believed the story of the girl.

In the all-woman Police Station set up for registering crimes against women in an environment friendly to the victims, the office on charge was absent. When Inspector Itti Das came to the office at last, she too was rude, and even more crude. According to the woman social worker who had accompanied the victim to the police station, the woman inspector said “you would not be alive if you had been gang-raped”. The implication was that  the girl was covering up, had gone with the rapists of her own accord.

The police filed a report at last, and referred the report to the Raikia police station in Kandhamal. The victim was finally given a medical examination on 3^rd November, a full week after her  traumatic experience. The medical report  has not been given to the police yet.

Activists who ar now counseling the girl, who was still in a state of shock when we met her, are aghast at the manner in which the child right chief, a government appointee, and the woman police officer behaved with the girl, who is no more than a child, small and in distress.

Surprisingly, the local and state media have chosen not to investigate this story. The two gang rapes merited a passing couple of paragraphs.

NGO work in Orissa may be impacted as India cracks down on foreign funding

India chokes NGOs dependent on Western charity

JOHN DAYAL

After trying to bludgeon the Catholic church in Tamil Nadu into submission and withdrawing its support to the protest against the Russian-aided nuclear power plant in Koodmakulam, the Indian government now seems bent upon choking civil society voices seen as challenging it on issues such as torture, religious freedom, and the life and death powers the military exercises over citizens in the country’s north eastern states.

The weapon of choice is the threat to cancel licenses under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act that allows non-government organization, especially religious groups of all faiths, and Human Rights advocacy activists, to carry on their work with foreign financial help in an impoverished country where corporate and individual philanthropy is virtually unknown. 

While a large number of Hindu God men and women are also major recipients of donations from international charities, including church agencies in Europe and the United States, Indian Catholic and Protestant groups, with slim local resources, are to a large extent dependent on foreign funds to carry on their charitable and development work among India’s poor and marginalized communities. The Christian institutions working in education and health sectors among the Tribals and the Dalits, once branded, as untouchables in the iron Caste system, are particularly vulnerable. As it is, the meltdown in the west has severely impacted on their work.

After arbitrarily cancelling as many as 4,300 FCRA permits – on specious arguments that their addresses could not be verified -- the Union government is now issuing orders virtually banning some European and US funding agencies from the country. Indian groups have been told they need to take prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which also controls the intelligence agencies and some central police forces, before they can submit their projects to funding agencies named in the government’s prohibitory list.

Prime among them is Cordaid, a Dutch Catholic charity that is accused of having given funds to some Indian NGOs who are working for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that is responsible for many human rights abuses in Kashmir valley and the North Eastern States. The Reserve Bank of India has circulated an order to all banks in India that they have to inform it if they notice any transfer of funds from Cordaid to local NGOs. Cordaid is also held responsible for partly funding the India Against Corruption trust headed by social activist Anna Hazare and his erstwhile colleague Arvind Kejriwal whose newly formed political party is challenging the ruling Congress and main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Authoritative sources in the government say several other European charities, specially from the Scandinavian countries, are also on the government’s radar, as are many Indian NGOs with whom they have had relationship in the past.

The NGOs affected by the government withdrawing their FCRA permits have protested, but only a few of them have had the precious license restored. In a few other cases including some high profile advocacy groups, permission has been given for them to operate their bank accounts for payment of essential services, but they cannot withdraw any money in cash.

This has, understandably, created a panic among organisations working in development and training at the grassroots. Among those who risk going bankrupt for want of funds are several groups working among victims of violence against the Christian community in Kandhamal district of Orissa state.

Mr. Sanjay Patra, a highly respected transparency expert heading the Financial Management Services Foundation, there is no reason for the government’s paranoia, as there are several other laws on the books to check any misuse of funds, or diversion of money to terrorism on insurrectionist activities. Mr. Patra is also a leading light of the Voluntary Associations Network of India [VANI], which provides an interface with the government. VANI is now engaging with the government to get the FCRA licenses restored for the NGOs that have fallen foul of the authorities.  VANI is also urging the government to change provisions in the FCRA rules that make it mandatory for all NGOs to seek a renewal of their permissions every five years instead of the earlier permanent ones. Anyway, money received from foreign charities under FCRA rules can be used only in designated activities and cannot be diverted to other areas.

Of the more than two million NGOs registered in the country those registered under FCRA are 38436. Of them, 21508 Associations reported a total receipt of an amount of Rs. 10,337.59 crore [about US Dollars 195 million] as foreign contribution. Many have FCRA permits but actually do not get any funds from abroad.

The government says the NGO sector in India is vulnerable to the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, and therefore requires some form of policing of their funds and activities. But it has not been able to adduce any real evidence indicting the NGOs or linking them with terrorist or other unlawful groups other than in political rhetoric. According to government data, list of donor countries is headed by the USA (Rs. 3105.73 crore) followed by Germany (Rs. 1046.30 crore) and UK (Rs. 1038.68 crore).

The FCRA law is a reflection of India’s paranoia on what is euphemistically called the “foreign hand”, or fears that the West is intervening in Indian politics and culture. India’s right wing has accused the West of financing conversions to Christianity and supporting “Christian” insurrectionist groups in states such as Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya in the North East. No evidence has ever been adduced for this, other than political gossip and innuendo.

The law was drafted by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government in 1975 when she declared a State of Internal Emergency, all but suspended the Constitution and imposed censorship on the Media, arresting thousands of political dissidents and leaders of political parties. The government then said that Socialist leader Mr. Jaiprakash Narain, leading a movement against corruption and for democratic reforms, and several Gandhian groups supporting him were funded by western agencies and were trying to induce the Indian army to mutiny. Subsequent governments overturned many of Mrs. Gandhi’s laws, but retained the FCRA as a useful instrument to tame civil society.

SEPTEMBER 2012 UPDATE ON KANDHAMAL

At last, a token of hope amid injustice

But Christians still face an uphill struggle

By John Dayal

New Delhi: 

In the continuing gloom of injustice, broken promises and misadministration in Kandhamal, the birth of the new parish of Pakari has come as a token of hope and light for a Christian community still living with the memory of brutal attacks in December 2007 and August 2008 and with the ensuing “structural violence”.

The two young priests in charge of the parish, Fr. Bimal Nayak and Fr. Cassian Pradhan, a Panos Dalit and a Kondh tribal, are hopeful that it will invigorate the almost 5,000-member local church. They hope that in a few years, they will see the birth of another parish in the remote region of Orissa.

The church building is still just a design on a piece of paper, broadly resembling the church in Brahminigaon, which is getting the finishing touches on reconstruction after its destruction on Christmas Eve, 2007. The new parish will have a hostel and perhaps even a school, as well as the presbytery for the parish priest and his assistant, and a few rooms for visiting bishops and clergy.

One school may not be enough to challenge the success of the Sangh Parivar in spreading its hate ideology to the young.

Surveys by several groups, including mine, the All India Christian Council, reveal a massive effort by the Hindu nationalists to penetrate every village in the region. By this summer, the Sangh had set up an estimated 500 “Shishu mandirs,” or formal schools, and as many as 500 additional “Ekal vidyalayas,” or one-teacher schools, in remote villages.

Neither the government nor the church comes anywhere close to these numbers.

Observers have also noted changes in the tactics of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the main cadre of the Hindutva Parivar in the villages. The presence of Maoists in Darringbadi and other blocks has made the Sangh focus on areas where the Maoists are absent, or present only in small numbers. No major attacks have been reported this summer against Christians.

But the absence of violence brings little joy for much of the Christian community. In interviews and affidavits, residents speak of extreme economic hardship, particularly in remote areas, because of a lack of employment and ongoing economic boycotts of Christians.

In the villages of Tikabali, Adasapanda and Mujhlimandi, Christians are not being employed as labor in the fields or in the local markets.

Worse, many Christian men and women have been kept out of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which is supposed to provide 100 days a year of paid employment on official projects such as roads, bridges and water conservation works.

Government agencies are still harassing tribal Christians, forcing them to get a recommendation from the political outfit Kui Samaj when they come to get their “caste certificates” which are needed for scholarships, jobs and other “benefits” from the state and union governments. This is of course illegal, but the practice goes on despite Christian activists and lawyers notifying the District Collector.

There is also no government initiative as yet to give land to the landless tribals.

The cumulative impact of these situations is the migration of tribals and Dalits first to Phulbani, the district capital, and Baliguda, the only two major towns in the district, and then out of Kandhamal and even out of Orissa.

Recent surveys have confirmed that as many as 10,000 of the 56,000 people impacted by the violence have not returned to their homes in the villages.

With the justice process in the two fast-track courts showing no progress, Christian groups have once again petitioned the Supreme Court for re-investigation of the murders committed during the August 2008 violence. There have been just two convictions in more than 30 cases accepted by the government, after a death toll of more than 90. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the writ soon.

In another major initiative, the National Human Rights Commission is being approached by victims and their representatives who are seeking a comprehensive justice and rehabilitation package such as the ones victims of the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 won after interventions by the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission.

The comprehensive application points out that thousands of children continue to be without education, and men and women without jobs. Both individuals and the church have been denied adequate compensation for the destruction of property during the riots, because of deficiencies in government surveys and irrational systems of calculating the loss.

Christian activists have taken great heart from the recent Supreme Court judgment holding two BJP politicians guilty of murders in Gujarat’s Naroda Patiya area, and NHRC decisions in similar cases.

This has been reflected in the mass rallies that have been held in Phulbani and Bhubaneswar on August 25. Police gave permission at the last moment for Christians to mark the fourth anniversary of the violence. Berhampur Bishop Sarath spoke to about 4,000 people about the need for justice and rehabilitation.

The RSS held its own rally on August 23 to commemorate the murder, by Maoists, of Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice president Lakshmanananda Saraswati. Several hundred RSS activists shouted slogans asking for the arrest of the “real” murderers of Saraswati. Seven Kandhamal Christians have been rotting in jail for four years as suspects, their bail applications routinely denied by the courts.

[First published in Ucan News, 12 September 2012, New Delhi]

Church and the government's forked tongue

‘Pick our hot chestnuts from the fire, teach our children, and heal our sick, but no Evangelisation please,’ says the government. And, of course, nothing doing on Dalit Christians’ rights JOHN DAYAL The dapper Union minister, Jairam Ramesh, is a very nice person, a gentleman. He deserves a reply. And since the princes of the Church have not been voluble for reasons they know best, let us venture a response. The Times Now TV Satellite channel headlined its report on Ramesh speaking at the Golden jubilee of Caritas India at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi, on Friday 20th January 2012, saying pithily “Help us in Naxal areas but no religious mobilisation: Ramesh.” Despite the paraphrasing, the headline does catch the sense and the mood of what Ramesh told his audience of Cardinals and ordinary Bishops and clergy. It also makes clear that like most people in India, and specially politicians ranging from the Marxists at one end and the Sangh Parivar at the far right, Ramesh too has not been able to differentiate between the Church as a mission obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ to serve the poor, the deprived, the sick and the marginalised, and any service-provider running educational and health institutions for commercial gain, and occasionally, for political advantage. That the government thinks of the Church not only as just a mere service provider but a particularly naïve one at that, is clear from the rest of what Ramesh said. It is important, therefore, to quote the Times Now report in full: “Union Minister Jairam Ramesh made a strong pitch for roping in organisations like those run by Catholic Church to bring development in Maoist-hit areas but asked them to respect the 'Lakshman Rekha' and not engage in "religious mobilisation". "I expect Caritas to respect the sentiment of not getting involved in religious mobilisation. That is not the objective. The objective is to use the powers of the organisation like yours to help us breakdown the deficit of trust between the Government and the tribal communities. That is our objective," he said. The Minister said he does not talk about Caritas as a Catholic organisation but as a social organisation run by Catholics. Focusing on the issue of Maoist influence, Ramesh said the challenge is "how we deal with the whole issue of Maoist violence which is spreading across large parts of tribal areas. Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh. All central Indian tribal belt today is in the grip of what our Prime Minister has described as the most serious internal security challenge of our country." The Minister said that people in these areas are unable to carry out their very existence in peace, normalcy and harmony because of the growing incidents of an ideology that is dedicated to the overthrowing all democratic institutions. he said that organisations like Caritas and Ramakrishna Mission have a very important role to play in such areas, "provided social organisations respect certain 'Lakshman Rekha'". Foreseeing a possible opposition from BJP-ruled Jharkhand for involving Caritas India in Maoist-hit areas, Ramesh said "you must be prepared for this" and said "the ultimate objective of course is to create an environment in which peace returns." Three important issues arise here. What is the nature of service the Catholic – and Protestant -- Churches provide to the country, and where. Does this service and these institutions instantly become focal points of evangelisation, and thereby of proselytising. And finally, if only as a comparative study, what is the nature of service that institutions of the Hindu faith, such as Ramakrishna Mission, and the Ekal and other schools run by the Sangh Parivar, provide, and do they spread their faith in the areas they work: in affect what is the end prod duct of their very well financed and administered educational projects. Looking at the Christian [I use this better term to include all those who follow Christ. I find the terms “Catholics and Christians” a bit of an anathema and not in keeping with the unity sought in Christ] effort in education and health. It can be easily said that the Church effort, or the work of the missionaries to be precise, laid the foundations of modern medicine and modern health services in the country, including the birthing of the institution of the Indian nurse who is so ubiquitous across the globe today. This is with due respect to the traditional systems of medicine practiced by the itinerant Vaids and Hakims and Dais in rural India. Hospitals, dispensaries and medical, dental and nursing colleges now dot the landscape, especially in forest and village areas not easily accessible from metropolitan and capital cities. In the mega cities and state capitals, it needs be admitted, the Christian presence is outnumbered by commercial and glossy hospitals and colleges set up by charitable trusts, governmetns, and most of all, businessmen who charge huge capitation fees, give a long berth to meritocracy and teach anyone whose family has the money, producing doctors of great greed but little training and talent. Despite commercialization, in areas of Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, even Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, the Christian hospitals and training centres often remain the only one, specially the only ones not charging sky high fees. As Fr Kuriala, head of the Education Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference recounts, the Catholic Church has been a true pioneer in promoting modern education in the country. In fact, the first formal Christian educational enterprise anywhere outside Europe was the Santa Fe School in Goa, started in 1540. Soon more Christian Schools appeared in other parts of India: at Bassein (Vasi- 1546), at Cochin (1549), at Punnakayil (1567), in Madurai (1595). The first ever Girls’ School in India was opened by the missionaries in 1819 in Kottayam. The Church also pioneered technical education in the country, with the first trade schools coming up as early as 1842. It may also be mentioned that a Sanskrit School was opened by the Catholic Church in 1846 at Mannanam, Kerala. Though constituting only 1.6% of the population, the Catholic Church in India today runs 13,004 Schools (Lower Primary to XII), 243 Specialized schools, 450 Colleges, 2 Universities, 534 Formal Technical Institutions, 310 Non- Formal Educational Institutions. Of these nearly 60 % are in the rural areas and 40 % in the urban areas. The total number of students attending our institutions is 69, 05,566, of whom 31,76, 466 are boys and 37,29,100 girls. For the record, of the children coming to catholic schools, 53% are Hindus, 28% Christians, 8.6% Muslims and 10.1% others. The numbers of the institutions run by the Protestant Churches may be smaller, but the best of them compete well with the Catholics. For every Loyola and Xavier college, there is a St Stephens. In medical education, the Protestant college outnumber those of the Catholics. Many of these institutions, and the smaller unnamed dispensaries are deep in the forests. I have seen many of them, some in Kandhamal in Orissa where they provide the only place for a healthy birthing by a tribal woman, or assistance to a delirious patient wafting to be taken to distant Behrampur as the district hospitals in this district are an abomination. Have they become focii of conversions? They have indeed converted Indian women to give up their apprehensions on caste and creed, and come to learn the useful and glorious profession of nursing. Once when most of the nurses were Christians, and mostly from Kerala or the Maharashtra area, today nursing students come from all over the country, and most of them are Hindus. The only difference is while once the Christian nursing schools were giving a stipend to the women students, the private sector nursing colleges of today charge a hefty fees. But jobs are plenty, salaries are good and the Indian woman has shed her inhibition and defied taboos.. Bu there is no conversion to Christianity, of course. The fact that most of the alumni in Christians schools are Hindus – Christians almost never form the majority other than in religious seminaries is testimony to the fact that while the Christian schools are preferred for the value-loaded education they important, they have never been accused to inducing thier students to become Christians. Let me give contrasting examples from Ramakrishna Mission Schools in Tribal areas and the Ekal Vidyalayas. The second first. The Ekal Vidyalayas, whose scholarship, books and pedagogy has not been audited by any government agency, make no bones showing the sort of education they give. A mix of mythology and history, a harking to a Hindu golden age and heroism, the education is a hagiographic introduction to an India that cannot be articulated as history, or even as political geography because it speaks of a greater Hindu India which has never existed. It belittles Buddhism and Jainism, keeps Sikhism’s as a arm of the Hindus and cold-bloodedly converts the tribal into aggressive Hindu believer. RK Mission’s forest schools in Chhatisgarh, which I have visited, are more gentle, and do give some sort of a liberal education different from the Sangh Parivar. But thier end product is child who is no longer a tribal, but a Hindu Bengali Bhadralok! Where is the conversion, and where indeed the hiatus from the Sarna religion, the tribal Santhal or Oran culture? Why does the government and Jairam see the Church as a mere service provider? Possibly it is because Church leadership and institutional administrators have, of late, been diffident, on the back foot. In the face of persecution, they have fought shy of facing that they have been attacked because they have helped empower the poor. They are not crying out for the poor in the voice of the agitated masses. In the mouth of the Sangh Parivar, thier mute anger against empowerment of the poor becomes an argument against conversions. The two terms are seem the same. Somewhere hidden behind Jairam’s invitation of working in Naxal prone areas is also a reference to the insinuation, if not accusation by the BJP and BJD governments that Christians are working with Maoists. The Maoists have no religion, if they are rally a ideologically extremist Left. In the Mao belt, they are mostly Hindus, their leadership Brahminical. But in Andhra and Bihar and even in Karnataka, many are Muslims, even Christians and Buddhists. They swear by ideology, not by faith. But in Orissa, the government seems to be tying itself into knots trying to establish linkages between Christians and Maoists. Many innocents have been arrested and kept in jail without trial. How then does the government ask the Church to work in specified Naxal dominated areas. If it is just the states in this corridor, the Church is already present in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Andhra, working in villages and districts, running schools. They are not too involved in social action. Some are lawyers and fighting for a just wage for labourer and teacher, other work on gender issues for the women, and against trafficking and infant mortality. There is no major work in trade unions, unlike in Kerala and Tamil Nadu's fisher folk’s movement. . In the North east, the Church has also been a victim of local terrorism and insurrection. Many priests were killed in Manipur, many abducted in Assam and elsewhere where they were released in private arrangements involving large sums of money. The Church, under the dynamic leadership of Archbishop of Guwahati Thomas Menaparampil, done a lot for the peace process. So also for the Naga peace process where the Baptist Church is almost single handed responsible for a return from arms. It is a moot question if the increased presence of missionaries will close the deficit of confidence in the government. The Church cannot afford to be seen as an agent or front of the government. It will lose all legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The government, on the other hand, cannot shirk its responsibility. It must get its officers and its doctors to go to the villages. It must provide the teachers and ensure that they are available to teach. It is not the soldier alone they can send to the forest . And it must change its response to the Christian community and the Church. The government has been ungrateful, to say the least. The time has now come when we need to ask the government and the political parties if they are willing to show in word and deed their respect for us. It is not just their dastardly betrayal of the Dalit Christian. The government response is yet to be given in the Supreme court where the Dalit Christen rights is the subject of writ for half a decade. It is also seen in the government response to the issue of justice for victims of persecution in Orissa and the rest of the country. And above all, it is seen in the defence of the so called freedom of religion Acts which are possibly the greatest assault, on individual freedom and defiance of international result ions and global norms, other than in fundamentalist and totalitarian countries. The Church, finally, needs to tell the government and tell Mr Jairam Ganesh that it does not do its social work for money. It does not do it for influence. It does certainly not do it for buying converts. It does so in absolute obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christians to serve the poorest of the poor, of which there are plenty in India.

REMEMBER KANDHAMAL THIS CHRISTMAS

GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CARE JUST HOW MANY WILL SLEEP UNDER THE STARS ON CHRISTMAS IN KANDHAMAL, BUT HAVE WE FORGOTTEN? AN UPDATE BY JOHN DAYAL 22 December 2011 This is the fourth Christmas that many people of Kandhamal in Orissa will “celebrate” in terror, a few thousand of them without a real roof over their head, scores of widows and orphans remembering the denial of justice which has seen the killers of the head of the family walk away merrily after being set free by the sop called Fast Track Courts Justice still remains an overwhelming issue for about everyone of the 56,000 people who had to run for their lives first on 24th December 2007 and then again from 24th August 2008. They need not have had to flee if they had obeyed their attackers, changed their faith to Hinduism and burnt a Bible as a token of their leaving Christianity. They did not. Four hundred villages were purged of all Christians, more than 5600 houses and about 295 or so churches burnt, a hundred or more killed -- the exact number will never be known -- some women, including at least one nun raped. The tension remains, exacerbated this season with the murder of a law assistant who was uninvolved in protecting witnesses. In another tribal district, Keonjhar, twelve houses were burnt in a scenario eerily, and frighteningly, similar to the one in 2007 and 2008. Adding to the apprehension is the call by a local group for an agitation, a Bandh, during Christmas week. A few days ago, in Bujlimendi village, Arabbakka gram panchayat, Tikkabali block of G Udayagiri Tehsil, the house of Kaleswar Digal, 45, was sleeping with his family which includes three children, when his house was set on fire just after midnight. The family escaped, but the house, including their animals, were destroyed. There are 25 Christian families in this village of 100 houses, now living in palpable fear. The murder was of Rabindra Parichha, a legal activist who had been working with the Evangelical Fellowship of India for justice in Kandhamal. He was killed on 15th December evening at Bhanjanagar, Ganjam District, which adjoins Kandhamal. A former village chief and a local leader, Rabindra was a popular figure in the region. His family lives in their home in Bhaliapara, in Raikia block of Kandhamal. The police have not been able to say why he was killed. His body bore multiple injuries. Cause of his murder is not known. Rabindra Parichha is the third Christian leader to be killed during this year. Pastor Saul Pradhan of Banjamaha (Raikia) was the first Christian killed during 2011. The police version is that he died of too much liquor and the cold. Pastor Minoketan Nayak of Midiakia (Baliguda) was killed on 26 July. Police say that he died in a bike accident. The police have not acted on reports that Manoj Pradhan, member of the state legislative assembly and prime accused in several cases of murder has been moving from village to village instigating anti-social elements and allegedly urging them to “finish off” all Christian leaders of Kandhamal. The police are also deaf to reports of hate speech. On 23 July, a large rally at Phulbani saw a lot of hate speech, and slogans such as "Hindu-Hindu: bhai-bhai _ Anya sab desh-drohi" [Hindus are brothers. Everyone else is a traitor]. The police was present, but took no action. The "Kui Samaj", a front organisation of the right wing hyper nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which was once in an alliance in the State government, has called for Kandhamal bandh for five days from 23 to 27 December, throwing the Christians into a state of panic. They have memories of the 2007 violence which also took place in the backdrop of another such strike, or bandh. Bipra Charan Nayak, convener of the Survivors’ Associations of Communal Violence, has demanded that the district and state authorities take note of the latest strike call and act swiftly and sternly. The memorandum, to the government said “We remind you that every year, Kui Samanyaya Samittee in nexus with extreme element of Sangh Parivar gives Bandh Call creating mental trauma among the peace loving Christians of Kandhamal. We demand that such practice be stopped.” The All India Christian Council, one of the several groups working in rehab and justice issues said “Although we are for the freedom of expression and do not wish to curb demonstrations and political activity by any group, even by those who are against Christianity and the Christian people, it is the duty of the government to ensure that there is no excuse for confrontation or violence. In Kandhamal, we have had bitter experience. Out community has been deeply wounded, specially in the aftermath of bundh calls during and around Christmas. We are therefore apprehensive of such bandh calls. The Orissa government and the Kandhamal administration must restrain all mischievous and fundamentalist elements and ensure the Christmas is peaceful.” Not that the region outside Kandhamal is peaceful. On 8th December 2011, a Hindu group attacked 3 tribal Christian families at Chandikhole, a suburb in Jajpur district close to Keonjhar district. When the people went to the police station, they were detained on charges of “conversion” of Hindus. The saddest commentary on the governance in Orissa is in the narrative of the dispensation of justice, specially in the fast track courts where not a single person has so far been convicted of murder – mostly because the witnesses have been coerced into silence and the police has made sure there is precious little forensic evidence from their shoddy investigations The following is the current Status of communal violence cases of 2008-2009 of Kandhamal district. Do remember that more than 3,500 persons filed complaints to the authorities.: 1. CASES REGISTERED BY THE POLICE : 827 2. NO. OF CHARGE SHEETS : 512 3. NO. OF FINAL REPORTS SUBMITTED : 315 4. NO. OF CASES ENDED IN CONVICTION : 68 5. NO. OF PERSONS CONVICTED : 412 6. NO. OF CASES ENDED IN ACQUITTAL : 140 9. NO. OF PERSONS ACQUITTED : 1900 10. NO. OF CASES PENDING TRIAL : 304 11. NO. OF ACCUSED PERSONS ARRESTED : 1607 [Acknowledgments: Fr Ajay Singh, Fr Dibya Parichha, Br Marcose, Pastor Harish Arshaliya, Rev Vijayesh Lal]

WAITING FOR JUSTICE

A REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON KANDHAMAL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A National People’s Tribunal (NPT) on Kandhamal was held in New Delhi on 22-24 August 2010, organized by the National Solidarity Forum - a countrywide solidarity platform of concerned persons from various walks of life. The NPT aimed at assisting the victims and survivors of the Kandhamal violence 2008 to seek justice, accountability and peace and to restore the victim-survivors’ right to a dignified life. The twelve-member jury of the NPT was headed by Justice A.P. Shah (retd.). The Tribunal’s final report was released in Bhubaneswar on 2nd December 2011. The report is based on the testimonies of 45 victims, survivors and their representatives. Additionally, it incorporates and draws upon the contents of studies, field surveys, research, fact-finding reports and statements to the Tribunal that were presented by 15 experts. The 197-paged report is divided into four parts. The first part provides the background and context of the violence in Kandhamal in 2008, and highlights the fundamental aspects of the violence. The second part focuses on the impact of the violence. In separate chapters, this part examines aspects such as freedom of religion, the gendered impact of the violence, impact on children, and the impact on socio-economic and cultural rights. The third part compiles and analyzes the responses to the violence. It encompasses role of the state and democratic institutions, processes of justice and accountability and the aspect of reparations. The fourth and concluding part of the report lays down the concluding observations and the recommendations of the jury. Annexures to the report include details of victim-survivors who deposed before the Tribunal, details of reports / statements presented to the Tribunal and details of members of the Organizing Committee for the Tribunal. MAJOR OBSERVATIONS: • Communal Violence in Orissa: The targeted violence against the adivasi and dalit Christian community in Orissa violates the fundamental right to life, liberty and equality guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, and affirmed by the ICCPR, ICESCR, CERD and other international covenants. The brutality of the violence also falls within the definition of ‘torture’ under international law, particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Communal forces have used religious conversions as an issue for political mobilisation and incited horrific forms of violence and discrimination against adivasi and dalit Christians. • Violence in Kandhamal: The 2008 attacks in Kandhamal were widespread, and were executed with substantial planning and preparation. The violence meets all the elements of ‘crimes against humanity’ as defined in applicable international law. Christians who refused to abandon their faith and convert to Hinduism were brutally killed or injured. Burning and destruction of property (residential, official and religious / charitable institutions) was also a predominant form of violence. Human rights defenders have been deliberately targeted for their role in assisting victim-survivors. Moveable property, valuable documents and certificates were looted / destroyed to economically impoverish and lower the socio-economic status of the victim-survivors. Evidence of the attacks was systematically and meticulously destroyed in order to scuttle the processes of justice and accountability. • Gendered Impact: The jury observes, with deep concern, the silence that prevails in matters of sexual assault, at various levels including documenting, reporting, investigating, charging and prosecuting cases. The threats of sexual violence against women and their daughters continue, heightening women’s sense of vulnerability. The attacks on women violate constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination on the ground of sex, and other international standards, including the CEDAW. The relief measures undertaken by the government have been marked by gender blindness and did not address women’s special needs for privacy, nutrition, medical and psychological support. There is no implementation of government schemes by which widows, single women and women survivors of violence can be restored to a life with dignity. • Impact on Children: The impoverishment of the victim-survivor community after the violence has had an adverse impact on the children jeopardizing their physical, psychological and intellectual development. Many children have witnessed horrific violence to their close family members and suffer from acute trauma with no access to services of socio – psycho support and healing. Many children have dropped out of school due to the financial inability of the families to bear the expenses, due to fear or discrimination by the school authority. Children having been forced into the labour force, in hazardous conditions, in order to supplement the family income, and have also been trafficked for the purposes of forced labour, sexual exploitation and abuse. • Impact on Socio-economic and Cultural Rights: The violence against Christians has caused large-scale displacement, leaving the victim-survivors with a sense of rootlessness. The destruction of many churches and prayer halls, and the failure to reconstruct them has deprived the victim-survivors of their right to religious practice. The victim-survivor community is unable to freely practise its faith and is thereby reduced to a state of secondary citizenship – an anathema in a democracy like India with a constitution that guarantees fundamental rights. The violence has had an adverse impact on the livelihood and economic well-being of the affected people. Socio-economic boycott of the Christian community continues to be implemented in a variety of ways. The provisions of NREGA too do not benefit them as it is implemented in manner that discriminates against persons on grounds of religion, caste and gender. • Role of State Administration and Public Officials: The jury members observe, with grave concern, the deliberate dereliction of constitutionally mandated duties by public officials, their connivance with communal forces, participation in and support to the violence and a deliberate scuttling of processes of justice through acts of commission and omission. The state agencies have blatantly failed to extend much-needed institutional support to victim-survivors and protect them from attacks to their persons and properties, ostracism, socio-economic boycott and subjugation by non-state actors. The state government has also failed in its responsibility to prevent the violence in Kandhamal in August 2008. • The Justice Process: The jury observes, with deep concern, that the criminal justice system has been rendered ineffective in protecting victim-survivors and witnesses, providing justice and ensuring accountability for the crimes perpetrated. The complicity of the police and their collusion with the perpetrators during the phase of investigation and prosecution, indicate an institutional bias against the targeted Christian adivasi and dalit community. Victims and witnesses engaged in the justice process have been threatened and intimidated, as there is no guarantee of safe passage to and from the courts. Guidelines on witness protection, issued by the Supreme Court and various High Courts, are not followed by the Fast Track courts. Women and child witnesses face extreme vulnerability. The jury further observes that clear gaps exist in substantive, procedural and evidentiary law to prosecute and punish those responsible for targeted mass violence, and that international jurisprudence in this regard has potential relevance for filling the gaps in Indian criminal law. • Reparations: Through the issuance of a notification prohibiting non-profit organizations from conducting rescue and relief work in Kandhamal, the state government abdicated its constitutionally-mandated duty to protect the lives and human rights of vulnerable populations. The dismal conditions in the government-run relief camps are clearly indicative of the indifference of the State government to the plight of victim-survivors. They are violative of the right of victim-survivors to a life with dignity and equality, as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution; and the right of all IDPs to an adequate standard of living, as recognized UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, 1998. The award of meagre compensation to some victim-survivors and its denial to many, defeat the very purpose of awarding compensation - to repair the harm and loss caused to the victim-survivors. The lack of uniform criteria in damage assessment has led to an arbitrary determination of compensation amounts by State authorities whose acts are coloured by institutional bias against the Christian community. The absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation package has prevented the victim-survivors from being restored to a life of dignity. The negative role of public officials in the peace committees and the infiltration of perpetrators in such committees indicate that the state government’s peace initiatives have been a dismal failure. The jury reiterates that while confidence-building measures are of prime importance, these cannot be undertaken in the absence of or as a substitute for processes of justice and accountability, which are the tool for long-lasting peace in the region. MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS: A. Socio-economic and Cultural Rights Apply National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and other livelihood schemes of the state and central government to the affected community, without any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or gender. Act against those engaging in such discrimination. Implement widow pension schemes; provide government jobs to individuals from families of deceased victims, on compassionate grounds; reinstate/reappoint victim-survivors engaged in government jobs prior to the violence and transfer them to areas that they perceive to be safe and secure; provide soft loans for commencement of small businesses. Ensure that relief camps meet the minimum international standards of health, hygiene and privacy for IDPs; they should have facilities to meet the educational and nutritional needs of children, lactating mothers and pregnant women; provide medical and psychological, particularly trauma counselling to the victims/ survivors, with a special attention to the needs of women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Incorporate a separate section in the State policy on relief and rehabilitation that conforms to Article 3 of the Child Rights Convention, as the guiding principle for all relief and rehabilitation work. Recommend that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and the National Commission on Scheduled Tribes assess the needs of children, dalits and adivasis respectively from the affected Christian community in Kandhamal, and make recommendations to appropriate agencies at the state and central levels for ensuring their rehabilitation at the earliest. Address educational needs of the children who have suffered displacement as a result of the violence. Address the long-standing problem of landlessness and land alienation of the dalits and adivasis in a comprehensive manner through land reform and redistribution. B. Legal and Judicial Processes Identify unreported cases of sexual and gender-based violence and include the offence of sexual assault in First Information Reports (FIRs), in cases where it has been ignored and ensure that they are effectively investigated and prosecuted. Enquire into the acts of all public officials named in this Report, and pursue stringent disciplinary, administrative and other legal action against them for grave dereliction of duty, and for collusion and complicity in the crimes committed by the perpetrators. Strictly enforce Sections 153 A and B of the Indian Penal Code (promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) in order to proactively prevent programmes that are divisive, propagate hate and incite violence against religious minorities. Constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-examine the already registered FIRs for accuracy, examine registrations of fresh FIRs, the trials that resulted in acquittals due to intimidation and/or lack of evidence and recommend the trials that need be transferred or fresh trials be conducted outside Kandhamal. Appoint Special Public Prosecutors who discharge their duties with professional competence and integrity. At the appellate stage in the Orissa High Court a special panel of lawyers to represent the victims of Kandhamal violence should be constituted. Recommend that State Legal Services Authorities set up a legal cell to assist victims in their legal cases and interactions with the police and courts. Provide protection to victims and witnesses before, during and after the trial process according to the guidelines provided in the judgments of the Delhi and Punjab and Haryana High Courts. Take pro-active measures to prevent threat of sexual and gender-based violence to women survivors and their daughters and pay attention to the needs of the child witnesses involved in various proceedings related to the Kandhamal violence. The State Legal Services Authority lawyers to also ensure, that witnesses depose freely and without fear in the fast Track Courts and to bring any incident of intimidation to the notice of the concerned authorities including the Court. State Legal Service Authority to assist the victim- witnesses to initiate appropriate legal action in this regard. Accord special protection to human rights defenders and adequately compensated the damage to their residential and organizational properties so that there are no impediments to their work in assisting victim-survivors with processes of justice and reparations. C. Reparations Adopt, at the very minimum, the 1984 anti Sikh and 2002 anti Muslim Gujarat compensation package to enhance the compensation already announced. In addition, victims of sexual and gender-based violence should be included as a ground eligible for compensation and employment. Recognize the right of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to return home and create enabling conditions to facilitate such safe return in accordance with the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement, 2007 and UN Guiding Principles on Internally Displaced Persons. Facilitate the return and reintegration of the affected families back in their villages of habitual residence, or resettle them in safe and secure alternative places of residence that is near to agro-based or other livelihood possibilities. Formulate and implement policies to provide victim-survivors full reparations, which include compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, guarantees that the crimes committed will not be repeated, and forms of satisfaction such as restoration of their dignity and a public acknowledgement of the harm that they have suffered; meeting national and international human rights standards. Include movable properties into the scheme of compensation, and adequately compensate loss of valuables, cash, agricultural produce and cattle, essential documents, household articles and vehicles towards restoring the victim-survivors and their families to the standard of living that they enjoyed prior to the violence. Focus on revival of dignified livelihood options for the affected families, and facilitate a resumption of the livelihood they had pursued prior to the violence. Make a concerted effort at recovery and return of lands that the victim-survivor families had abandoned at the time of the violence, in order that they may pursue agro-based forms of livelihood. Include members of the affected community, particularly women, in all confidence-building and peace-building initiatives by the state and district administration. Substantive participation of women in village level peace committees should be facilitated, rather than a token representation. D. Minority Rights Protect the right to religious freedom and clarify that this freedom means and includes the right to remain animist, areligious and/or atheist, and make any form of forced conversion or reconversion illegal. Formulate a policy / programme to urgently address the issue of institutional bias against the minority Christian community in Kandhamal and other parts of Orissa, through a combination of perspective-building and stringent action that is intended at upholding the rule of law. Review OFRA to ensure that it does not violate the right to religious freedom as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution and international law. Review the definition of the Scheduled Castes in The Presidential Order of 1950, on the basis of the discrimination experienced by members of schedule castes even after conversion. Implement the recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities, issued in their reports of January, April and September 2008 with immediate effect. **********