Sangh dominates Orissa's schools
BHUBANESWAR, [PRASHANTI,] JUNE 25 2010-06-25
Radical Hindu groups in the Indian state of Orissa may have stolen a march on Christians by developing a large network of schools in rural areas of the state neglected by the Church, an education expert fears.
Since 1978, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, national volunteer corps) has built a network of 793 schools in the eastern state with a faculty of 12,000 teachers, local reports say.
“The RSS has spearheaded the movement, successfully penetrating into the educational systems of both the grassroots and centralized regulatory commissions,” Angana Chatterji is a professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, USA.
“A whole new generation is being grown indoctrinated in Hindutva (Hindu ideology). It is a devious strategy to teach hate to the young,” the paper claims, with as many as 55 of the top 100 10th grade students now coming from these schools.
“The RSS made it clear that the schools, called Shishu Mandirs, together with the Ekal Vidyalayas (single-teacher primary schools in villages), were set up to counter the influence of the schools run by the Church,” John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council, said.
He lamented that Christian schools, which are mostly located in metropolitan cities and towns, have earned the reputation of being elite English language institutions for the rich and powerful.
Barring a few exceptions, there are hardly any Christian schools in rural areas, Dayal added, and the RSS-run schools fill the vacuum, providing high quality education without the elitism. “The Church needs to do a rethinking in this regard,” he warned.
Father Anselm Biswal, former director of social work, agreed. “The schools that we have are no match for the RSS schools,” he said. “What we require today is a commitment and direction to the issue of education”.
In this year’s annual examinations for the tenth class, children of the RSS schools, many of them sons and daughters of government officials, took the top positions across Orissa.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Observations of the Christian Community on Proposed Communal violence Prevention Bill 2005/10
National Advisory Council meeting 24th June 2010
A. The Christian community, approximately 2.4 per cent of the Indian population, is yet to emerge from the trauma of the violence against it in Kandhamal District of Orissa in 2007 and 2008, which saw mass murder, unprecedented arson, gang rapes and coercive change of religion, among other crimes, and the continuing acts of violence against its members, individual pastors, priests, nuns, institutions, prayer meetings and tract distribution, across the country but more viciously in Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and occasionally even in the National Capital Region of Delhi. This experience is marked by our understanding of the protection given to the aggressors, issues of command responsibility and impunity, and a callous attitude towards Christianity which is seen even in official circles as an alien religion, and its faithful as so much lesser citizens in the exercise of their Constitutional rights. This experience, as much as our empathy with the experiences of our brothers and sisters in the Dalit community, the Tribal people and members of the Sikh and Muslim faiths, guides our understating of communal violence, and our response to the Communal Violence Control and Prevention Bill through its various incarnations from when it was first moved in Parliament in 2005 till the last Cabinet note of December 2009.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India gave a detailed note to the Government some time ago. On behalf of the All India Christian Council, its office bearers also conveyed to Government our feelings. Other denominations and groups have also communicated with the government. The Christian community consists of several ecclesiastical groups and denominations, apart from ranging across all linguistic and ethnic groups in the country as is proper for its 2,000 year old history of existence in this great country.
It may be mentioned that we entirely support the major recommendations made by the Muslim community groups and by concerned Civil society. We strongly feel any Law to be relevant must empower the people, specially the survivor-victims. It must in no way further empower the State and the political apparatus to harass religious minorities.
This note therefore covers not just the experience of the Catholic and Episcopal groups in all their diversity as already enunciated by them, but also the experiences and needs if the membership of the All India Christian Council from the Evangelical and Pentecost churches, Independent Church groups and pastors, and above all, the common Christians, specially Tribal and Dalits, who may worship in their house, or go to a Church, and who are untied in their faith in the Salvation assured by Jesus Christ.
B. Needless to say, the proposed CV Bill is ignorant of the diversity of the minority communities, and specifically of the following issues of the Christian Community.
1. Dalit Christians: 60 per cent of all Christians in India trace their origins from the Dalit communities, now called the Scheduled Castes. They live with their fellow Indians in Dalit colonies, semi urban hovels, and village Cheris. They are subject to all atrocities faced by the others. In addition, they are targeted for being Christians, taunted, vilified and subject to sustained hate campaigns. And yet they do not get the hope or the security provided by anti-atrocity laws, or other provisions of the IPC.
2. TRIBALS: A large number of tribals are Christinas in the States of Rajasdthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, apart from the Tribals of the North-Eastern region. The tribals of the so-called Chhotanagpur region particularly suffer from administrative and communal action, and find little or no recourse in the law. The experience in Kandhamal has brought this to the fore.
3. PLACES OF WORSHIP: While large cathedrals are landmarks in cities, the churches in small towns and villages may be just a kutcha hut or a log cabin. Often, both in Catholic and Protestant traditions, prayers are held within the house together with family members and neighbours. Sometimes, prayers are also held in the open on Sundays and other special days. Increasingly house churches have been targeted and often the police has been a party to the violence.
4. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Nuns of the Catholic, Orthodox and of some Episcopal churches, as well as wives of Evangelical and Independent pastors have been particularly targeted in Madhya Pradesh, up to and including gang grape and sexual coercion, with the police entirely inactive, if not complicit. The Nuns can be identified at a distance and are therefore vulnerable all the more.
5. DIFFUSED POPULATION: Apart from certain districts, the Christian population is widely dispersed, and ingle families or a small cluster becomes very vulnerable.
6. PATTERN OF VIOLENCE: Though populations are dispersed in the major states – barring Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Goa, -- the violence is consistent. And yet authorities, especially the police dismiss it as “sporadic” unrelated and unconnected violence. The overall Pattern of Violence is never taken into account while taking preventive or curative measures.
7. HATE CAMPAIGNS: For the last forty years, there has been a consistent and sustained hate campaign against Christians, often officially supported. Where huge temples exist in government building and even in police stations, it is perhaps difficult to expect a secular approach from subordinate officials and policemen. The hate campaign in media is supported by partisanship in the district administration, further aggravating the communal harmony in those regions. These include refusal to distribute religious tracts and refusal of permission to sell or distribute Bibles, permission for holding Healing Ministries and Prayer meetings on public or private grounds and fields, and mis-reporting in the mass media painting the Christians in a negative light.
The following is an internal commentary by the All India Christian Council and its expert associates, which takes into account the above and assesses the new Bill with its suggestions.
C. OUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE CV BILL
The government has proposed a law to prevent control and deal with the aftermath of communal violence, which would include caste-based or religiously-motivated violence. Communal violence is recognised as a problem which runs deeper than simply undermining law and order. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief echoed the NCM in emphasising that communal violence is most likely to occur in a situation in which the following elements are present:
• Long-standing antagonism along religious lines;
• A specific occurrence triggering an emotional response among members of religious communities;
• A sense among perpetrators and the religious community to which they belong that communal violence is justifiable;
• A sense among perpetrators that the reaction of police to communal violence would be absent, partisan or ineffective.
The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2009, was first introduced on 26 November 2005, and has undergone a series of revisions, which include the adoption of a number of recommendations issued by the NCM. It is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2010, having received Cabinet approval in December 2009.
PROVISIONS:
The purpose of the Bill is outlined in the Statement of Objects and Reasons:
“Communal violence threatens the secular fabric, unity, integrity and internal security of a nation. With a view to empowering the State Governments and the Central Government to take effective measures to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence and to rehabilitate the victims of such violence, for speedy investigation and trial of offences including imposition of enhanced punishments, than those provided in the Indian Penal Code, on persons involved in communal violence and for matters connected therewith, it has been decided to enact a law by Parliament.”
The current version of the Bill sets out a series of measures to these ends, and includes the following provisions:
• Article 3(1) groups a number of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other laws in a schedule. If one or more of these offences are committed “in such manner and on such a scale which involves the use of criminal force or violence against any group, caste or community, resulting in grievous hurt, loss of life, or extensive damage or destruction of property” and where “such use of criminal force or violence is committed with a view to create disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different groups, castes or communities”, resulting in an imminent “threat to the secular fabric, integrity, unity or internal security of India”, a state government is required to notify this as a “communally disturbed area”.
• Article 4 specifies that a state government may request the central government to deploy armed forces in these circumstances.
• Article 5 provides for preventative measures to be taken by a district magistrate prior to any outbreak of communal violence.
• Articles 6-10 provide for preventative measures to be taken by the “competent authority” after an area has been designated as communally disturbed.
• Articles 11-16 proscribe and stipulate punishments for certain acts associated with communal violence, including possessing weapons or threatening witnesses;
• Article 17 stipulates punishments for public servants or competent authorities who act in a mala fide manner or wilfully fail to exercise lawful authority, and thereby fail to prevent communal violence.
• Article 19 provides that punishments stipulated for scheduled offences must be doubled if the offences are committed on a scale and in a manner which constitute communal violence.
• Article 21 provides for the declaration of police stations within the scheduled area, and for the provision of women police officers to investigate scheduled offences committed against women or children.
• Article 22 provides for the review of cases where the investigating officer does not file a charge sheet within three months of a First Information Report (FIR) being registered.
• Article 23 provides for the constitution of “Special Investigation Teams” if the state government believes the investigation of offences was not carried out in a fair and impartial manner.
• Articles 24-37 provide for the establishment and procedure of “Special Courts” for the trial of scheduled offences, and for the appointment of public prosecutors. Article 32 provides for concealing the identities of witnesses testifying before a special court.
• Articles 38-41 provide for the creation and functions of a “State Communal Disturbance Relief and Rehabilitation Council” by the relevant state government, including several ex officio members and several members nominated by the state government, including representatives of all major religious communities. Article 40 stipulates the functions of the council in planning relief efforts, including advising the state government on compensation and the establishment of relief camps, taking a range of remedial measures for the welfare of victims and the reparation of damage, recommending measures for activating a “district communal harmony committee” and reporting to the government on shortcomings in remedial measures. Article 41 stipulates the preparation of a plan “for promotion of communal harmony and prevention of communal violence” to be recommended for adoption by the council to the state government.
• Articles 42-44 provide for the creation and functions of a district equivalent of the state committee, to act as the implementing body for relief and rehabilitation measures.
• Articles 45-48 provide for the creation and functions of a national equivalent of the state committee, with responsibilities including advising relevant state governments on relief, rehabilitation and compensation and making recommendations to the central government.
• Articles 49-52 provide for state governments to establish schemes for the compensation of victims of communal violence.
• Articles 53-54 provide for the payment of compensation for damages by offenders.
• Articles 55-56 set out special powers of the central government to deal with communal violence. These include directing the
relevant state government to take appropriate measures, and declaring a “communally disturbed area” if the state fails to do so when necessary, and deploying armed forces under the authority of the central government.
• Article 58 provides that there should be no discrimination in the provision of relief or compensation “on the ground of sex, caste, community, descent or religion”.
D. OUR CRITIQUE:
The principle of a CV Bill has been welcomed by religious minorities in India, and it has the potential to add positively to India’s excellent body of legislation protecting against acts of discrimination or prejudicial violence. However, there exist legitimate concerns about the effectiveness of the 2005 and the 2009 drafts of the Bill, which have been voiced by civil society and religious minority organisations, by the NCM and by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in the report of her 2008 visit to India. The Special Rapporteur recommended specifically that the legislation “should take into account the concerns of religious minorities” (paragraph 67).
The most serious, substantive and prominent concerns about the Bill in its current form include the following:
1. The Bill does not define “communal violence” adequately, and therefore cannot protect against it effectively. Firstly, it construes communal violence as disharmony between two different communities, or mass rioting by one community against another, but it does not recognise the process by which communal tension or hatred is incited, and it does not recognise the phenomenon of state complicity in the incitement or execution of communal violence. Secondly, the premise of the “communally disturbed area” does not do justice to the reality of communal violence as experienced by some religious minorities, especially Christians: certain states see frequent, well-targeted, single incidents of religiously-motivated violence, which are often orchestrated by extremist organisations, and this pattern of violence would not be addressed under the provisions of the Bill. Thirdly, the Bill inadequately covers the possible range of offences which might constitute “communal violence” (including specific forms of sexual violence), and the implications of this context for evidentiary standards in the investigative process.
2. The Bill does not provide for sufficient safeguards against the poor or discriminatory exercise of power by those responsible for protecting the rights of victims, which is a recurrent problem in cases of communal violence. The Special Rapporteur noted that civil society organisations have “voiced their concern that the sweeping powers given by the Bill to state governments could be misused to intimidate members of the minority community” (paragraph 40). Article 17 provides for the prosecution of public servants for the dereliction of duty, but this requires the prior sanction of the state government, and if the state government is complicit in (or not unfavourable towards) the communal violence, it becomes extremely unlikely that discriminatory behaviour or the dereliction of duty by public servants will be prosecuted. Article 22 of the Bill provides for the review of every case in which the investigating officer does not file a charge sheet within three months of an FIR being registered, but this may be circumvented by the common tactic whereby police officers fail to register FIRs according to proper procedure. Article 57, the so-called “good faith” clause, provides immunity for officials; however, the standard of mens rea, or command responsibility, should be enshrined in the Bill, so that superior authorities are held accountable for the unlawful activities of their subordinates. The NCM made a number of relevant additional recommendations to increase accountability: That the reports of any commissions of inquiry should be made public as a matter of course; that the National Human Rights Commission should be mandated to monitor the performance of special courts; and that those found guilty of involvement in communal violence should be debarred permanently from government jobs and from contesting any office.
3. The Bill should provide additional measures to protect witnesses or victims from intimidation. Article 15 criminalises acts which threaten witnesses, and Article 32 provides that the identity of witnesses may be concealed. However, the Bill should draw upon the guidelines of the Supreme Court and recommendations of the Law Commission. It would be strengthened considerably by providing for the police protection of witnesses at risk of threat or intimidation. Incentivising witnesses by providing travel and maintenance expenses (as recommended in Article 21(2)(ii) of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act), would further protect against witnesses preferring to stay silent rather than risking intimidation as a consequence of giving evidence. In addition, the rights of persons displaced into camps as a result of communal violence, as outlined in Article 40(b), should be in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, including the provision of education to displaced children (principle 23) and ensuring that camps continue until the establishment of suitable conditions and the means for the displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes, or to resettle voluntarily (principle 28).
4. The Bill should set out a uniform, binding scheme for the provision of compensation to victims of communal violence, to address the inconsistencies shown in previous cases. It should establish the rights of victims or their dependents to financial compensation, and should also provide compensation to rebuild places of worship damaged or destroyed as a result of communal violence. This was among the recommendations of the NCM not included among the amendments in the 2009 version of the Bill.
E. Aftermath of 2008 anti-Christian violence in Orissa
In August to October 2008, Orissa witnessed the worst spate of communal violence ever faced by the Christian community in post-independence India, including brutal murders and rapes, widespread destruction of churches and property, and forcible conversions to Hinduism. The attacks, centred in Kandhamal district, were catalysed by the assassination on 23 August 2008 of Lakshmananda Saraswati, local head of the radical Hindu nationalist group VHP, by assailants believed to have been Maoists. On 24 August, when his remains were paraded around the district, mobs began setting up roadblocks, shouting Hindu nationalist and violent anti-Christian slogans, openly blaming Christians for the murder and calling for revenge as they attacked Christian targets. Although rural poverty and underlying issues of ethnic tensions over entitlements in Kandhamal played a role in the violence, these were not the primary causes but provided a context for the radicalisation of one community and the incitement of violence. The Orissa chief minister publicly acknowledged the role of extremist Hindu nationalist organisations in the violence in the legislative assembly for the first time in November 2009.
The violence which started in August 2008 continued for over eight weeks. At least 50,000 were displaced and 70 were killed; among the victims were Hindus opposing the rioters. Widespread anti-Christian attacks had also taken place in Kandhamal in December 2007, impunity for which laid the foundations for the second more serious wave of violence in 2008. The state government failed to implement detailed recommendations made by India’s NCM in early 2008.
F. SOCIAL CONTEXT:
Rural poverty is endemic in southern Orissa, the area in which the violence was centred, and the rural poverty ratio actually increased in this area during the period 1983-2000. There exist deep underlying issues of entitlement in Kandhamal, which created a context for the instigation of the 2008 violence: one such issue is the classification of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, which was formalised in 1950. Both communities trace their ancestry to the indigenous inhabitants of the land, and constitute a single ethnic, linguistic and cultural group. However, Kandhamal is designated as a ‘Scheduled Area’ under the provision of the fifth schedule of the constitution, and as such, certain entitlements are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, including freehold (patta) ownership of land. This is a potential cause of tension between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Moreover, Christians of Scheduled Caste background or ancestry are not eligible to the same entitlements as Scheduled Castes (see section 4.3 above). It is in the interest of those Scheduled Castes who profess Christianity to be reclassified as Scheduled Tribes, as this would reverse their double disenfranchisement, so tensions among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can therefore take on a religious colouring in the right circumstances.
Although these factors of ethnicity and entitlement provided a context for the violence, it is important to emphasise that Christians in the area have been drawn from both Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. During the violence, Christians from both communities were attacked.
The extremist Hindu nationalist presence in Kandhamal has played upon existing sensitivities, and co-opted them onto a religious nationalist template. Extremist Hindu nationalists have been operational in the area for around 40 years, and they originate from a non-indigenous, caste Hindu, trader community. Their agenda has been the preservation of Hindu purity, including the prevention of cow slaughter and of religious conversions. Christians, as the largest religious minority in the area, constitute a threatening ‘other’, and provide a ready scapegoat.
The local prominence of Naxalites, or Maoist insurgents, creates an additional layer of complication. Naxalites were almost certainly responsible for the assassination of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, which precipitated the mass violence against Christians. There are numerous theories about the Naxalites’ motivation for the murder, one of which is that it was an act of retribution against his activities, and that it was calculated to gain support from disenfranchised people in the area, including Christians. The palpable absence of state machinery from the area, means that the scene has been set for something of a ‘turf war’ between Hindu extremists and Naxalites.
G. ISSUES ARISING FROM CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE OF KANDHAMAL FAST TRACK COURTS:
We had welcomed the Fast track courts and had high hopes from the two Additional Sessions Judges and the Public prosecutors. We feel betrayed after the lapse of one year. Out of 12 deaths by murder, where judgement is pronounced, there was only one conviction; and accused in 11 deaths are acquitted. Justice, reconciliation and peace remain an unfulfilled objective. There are legitimate fears of impunity on a large scale. Local lawyers suggest that the majority of crimes have not been registered properly by the police, and the majority of cases which reach the courts have resulted in acquittals. There is also widespread evidence of endemic bias and dereliction of duty in the investigation and prosecution of offences. As of now, lawyers in Kandhamal said that of 3,223 complaints submitted to the police; only 831 had been registered as First Information Reports (FIRs). The judicial system in place has been partially successful, but the realities of trying cases in a rural situation amidst widespread fear, combined with poverty and illiteracy, create special needs which the current system is failing to address adequately. Many witnesses or victims are reluctant to testify in court for fear of retribution and lack of confidence in the efficacy of the system, and they have been intimidated and threatened, sometimes by mobs outside courtrooms;
We suggest that the new CV bill take care of the following issues:
1. The Fast Track courts should be set up outside the affected area, preferably in a neighbouring district, and in special cases, in an adjoining state to remove any inference with the course of justice.
2. The Judges appointed should be subjected to review for their performances by superior courts to weed out bigotry and vested interest, if any
3. Special public prosecutors be appointed at government expense out a panel whetted by civil society and survivors-victims
4. Survivor-victims are allowed to arrange their own lawyers to assist the Special PPs.
5. Survivor Victims be allowed to file additional FIRs other than those filed by police suo motu
6. Survivor-Victims’ lawyers be allowed to cross examine defence witness and intervene properly in the judicial court process.
7. Witnesses security and transport be taken care of by government in a foolproof witness protection programme
8. In case of gender violence cases, in camera proceedings be arranged
9. Adequate security be provided in court premises and environments
10. Legal observers / amicus curie be allowed to monitor the course of the trial
11. Special Investigation Teams be set up in case police investigations are found to be inadequate.
John Dayal
Secretary General, All India Christian Council
National Advisory Council meeting 24th June 2010
A. The Christian community, approximately 2.4 per cent of the Indian population, is yet to emerge from the trauma of the violence against it in Kandhamal District of Orissa in 2007 and 2008, which saw mass murder, unprecedented arson, gang rapes and coercive change of religion, among other crimes, and the continuing acts of violence against its members, individual pastors, priests, nuns, institutions, prayer meetings and tract distribution, across the country but more viciously in Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and occasionally even in the National Capital Region of Delhi. This experience is marked by our understanding of the protection given to the aggressors, issues of command responsibility and impunity, and a callous attitude towards Christianity which is seen even in official circles as an alien religion, and its faithful as so much lesser citizens in the exercise of their Constitutional rights. This experience, as much as our empathy with the experiences of our brothers and sisters in the Dalit community, the Tribal people and members of the Sikh and Muslim faiths, guides our understating of communal violence, and our response to the Communal Violence Control and Prevention Bill through its various incarnations from when it was first moved in Parliament in 2005 till the last Cabinet note of December 2009.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India gave a detailed note to the Government some time ago. On behalf of the All India Christian Council, its office bearers also conveyed to Government our feelings. Other denominations and groups have also communicated with the government. The Christian community consists of several ecclesiastical groups and denominations, apart from ranging across all linguistic and ethnic groups in the country as is proper for its 2,000 year old history of existence in this great country.
It may be mentioned that we entirely support the major recommendations made by the Muslim community groups and by concerned Civil society. We strongly feel any Law to be relevant must empower the people, specially the survivor-victims. It must in no way further empower the State and the political apparatus to harass religious minorities.
This note therefore covers not just the experience of the Catholic and Episcopal groups in all their diversity as already enunciated by them, but also the experiences and needs if the membership of the All India Christian Council from the Evangelical and Pentecost churches, Independent Church groups and pastors, and above all, the common Christians, specially Tribal and Dalits, who may worship in their house, or go to a Church, and who are untied in their faith in the Salvation assured by Jesus Christ.
B. Needless to say, the proposed CV Bill is ignorant of the diversity of the minority communities, and specifically of the following issues of the Christian Community.
1. Dalit Christians: 60 per cent of all Christians in India trace their origins from the Dalit communities, now called the Scheduled Castes. They live with their fellow Indians in Dalit colonies, semi urban hovels, and village Cheris. They are subject to all atrocities faced by the others. In addition, they are targeted for being Christians, taunted, vilified and subject to sustained hate campaigns. And yet they do not get the hope or the security provided by anti-atrocity laws, or other provisions of the IPC.
2. TRIBALS: A large number of tribals are Christinas in the States of Rajasdthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, apart from the Tribals of the North-Eastern region. The tribals of the so-called Chhotanagpur region particularly suffer from administrative and communal action, and find little or no recourse in the law. The experience in Kandhamal has brought this to the fore.
3. PLACES OF WORSHIP: While large cathedrals are landmarks in cities, the churches in small towns and villages may be just a kutcha hut or a log cabin. Often, both in Catholic and Protestant traditions, prayers are held within the house together with family members and neighbours. Sometimes, prayers are also held in the open on Sundays and other special days. Increasingly house churches have been targeted and often the police has been a party to the violence.
4. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Nuns of the Catholic, Orthodox and of some Episcopal churches, as well as wives of Evangelical and Independent pastors have been particularly targeted in Madhya Pradesh, up to and including gang grape and sexual coercion, with the police entirely inactive, if not complicit. The Nuns can be identified at a distance and are therefore vulnerable all the more.
5. DIFFUSED POPULATION: Apart from certain districts, the Christian population is widely dispersed, and ingle families or a small cluster becomes very vulnerable.
6. PATTERN OF VIOLENCE: Though populations are dispersed in the major states – barring Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Goa, -- the violence is consistent. And yet authorities, especially the police dismiss it as “sporadic” unrelated and unconnected violence. The overall Pattern of Violence is never taken into account while taking preventive or curative measures.
7. HATE CAMPAIGNS: For the last forty years, there has been a consistent and sustained hate campaign against Christians, often officially supported. Where huge temples exist in government building and even in police stations, it is perhaps difficult to expect a secular approach from subordinate officials and policemen. The hate campaign in media is supported by partisanship in the district administration, further aggravating the communal harmony in those regions. These include refusal to distribute religious tracts and refusal of permission to sell or distribute Bibles, permission for holding Healing Ministries and Prayer meetings on public or private grounds and fields, and mis-reporting in the mass media painting the Christians in a negative light.
The following is an internal commentary by the All India Christian Council and its expert associates, which takes into account the above and assesses the new Bill with its suggestions.
C. OUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE CV BILL
The government has proposed a law to prevent control and deal with the aftermath of communal violence, which would include caste-based or religiously-motivated violence. Communal violence is recognised as a problem which runs deeper than simply undermining law and order. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief echoed the NCM in emphasising that communal violence is most likely to occur in a situation in which the following elements are present:
• Long-standing antagonism along religious lines;
• A specific occurrence triggering an emotional response among members of religious communities;
• A sense among perpetrators and the religious community to which they belong that communal violence is justifiable;
• A sense among perpetrators that the reaction of police to communal violence would be absent, partisan or ineffective.
The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2009, was first introduced on 26 November 2005, and has undergone a series of revisions, which include the adoption of a number of recommendations issued by the NCM. It is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2010, having received Cabinet approval in December 2009.
PROVISIONS:
The purpose of the Bill is outlined in the Statement of Objects and Reasons:
“Communal violence threatens the secular fabric, unity, integrity and internal security of a nation. With a view to empowering the State Governments and the Central Government to take effective measures to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence and to rehabilitate the victims of such violence, for speedy investigation and trial of offences including imposition of enhanced punishments, than those provided in the Indian Penal Code, on persons involved in communal violence and for matters connected therewith, it has been decided to enact a law by Parliament.”
The current version of the Bill sets out a series of measures to these ends, and includes the following provisions:
• Article 3(1) groups a number of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other laws in a schedule. If one or more of these offences are committed “in such manner and on such a scale which involves the use of criminal force or violence against any group, caste or community, resulting in grievous hurt, loss of life, or extensive damage or destruction of property” and where “such use of criminal force or violence is committed with a view to create disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different groups, castes or communities”, resulting in an imminent “threat to the secular fabric, integrity, unity or internal security of India”, a state government is required to notify this as a “communally disturbed area”.
• Article 4 specifies that a state government may request the central government to deploy armed forces in these circumstances.
• Article 5 provides for preventative measures to be taken by a district magistrate prior to any outbreak of communal violence.
• Articles 6-10 provide for preventative measures to be taken by the “competent authority” after an area has been designated as communally disturbed.
• Articles 11-16 proscribe and stipulate punishments for certain acts associated with communal violence, including possessing weapons or threatening witnesses;
• Article 17 stipulates punishments for public servants or competent authorities who act in a mala fide manner or wilfully fail to exercise lawful authority, and thereby fail to prevent communal violence.
• Article 19 provides that punishments stipulated for scheduled offences must be doubled if the offences are committed on a scale and in a manner which constitute communal violence.
• Article 21 provides for the declaration of police stations within the scheduled area, and for the provision of women police officers to investigate scheduled offences committed against women or children.
• Article 22 provides for the review of cases where the investigating officer does not file a charge sheet within three months of a First Information Report (FIR) being registered.
• Article 23 provides for the constitution of “Special Investigation Teams” if the state government believes the investigation of offences was not carried out in a fair and impartial manner.
• Articles 24-37 provide for the establishment and procedure of “Special Courts” for the trial of scheduled offences, and for the appointment of public prosecutors. Article 32 provides for concealing the identities of witnesses testifying before a special court.
• Articles 38-41 provide for the creation and functions of a “State Communal Disturbance Relief and Rehabilitation Council” by the relevant state government, including several ex officio members and several members nominated by the state government, including representatives of all major religious communities. Article 40 stipulates the functions of the council in planning relief efforts, including advising the state government on compensation and the establishment of relief camps, taking a range of remedial measures for the welfare of victims and the reparation of damage, recommending measures for activating a “district communal harmony committee” and reporting to the government on shortcomings in remedial measures. Article 41 stipulates the preparation of a plan “for promotion of communal harmony and prevention of communal violence” to be recommended for adoption by the council to the state government.
• Articles 42-44 provide for the creation and functions of a district equivalent of the state committee, to act as the implementing body for relief and rehabilitation measures.
• Articles 45-48 provide for the creation and functions of a national equivalent of the state committee, with responsibilities including advising relevant state governments on relief, rehabilitation and compensation and making recommendations to the central government.
• Articles 49-52 provide for state governments to establish schemes for the compensation of victims of communal violence.
• Articles 53-54 provide for the payment of compensation for damages by offenders.
• Articles 55-56 set out special powers of the central government to deal with communal violence. These include directing the
relevant state government to take appropriate measures, and declaring a “communally disturbed area” if the state fails to do so when necessary, and deploying armed forces under the authority of the central government.
• Article 58 provides that there should be no discrimination in the provision of relief or compensation “on the ground of sex, caste, community, descent or religion”.
D. OUR CRITIQUE:
The principle of a CV Bill has been welcomed by religious minorities in India, and it has the potential to add positively to India’s excellent body of legislation protecting against acts of discrimination or prejudicial violence. However, there exist legitimate concerns about the effectiveness of the 2005 and the 2009 drafts of the Bill, which have been voiced by civil society and religious minority organisations, by the NCM and by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in the report of her 2008 visit to India. The Special Rapporteur recommended specifically that the legislation “should take into account the concerns of religious minorities” (paragraph 67).
The most serious, substantive and prominent concerns about the Bill in its current form include the following:
1. The Bill does not define “communal violence” adequately, and therefore cannot protect against it effectively. Firstly, it construes communal violence as disharmony between two different communities, or mass rioting by one community against another, but it does not recognise the process by which communal tension or hatred is incited, and it does not recognise the phenomenon of state complicity in the incitement or execution of communal violence. Secondly, the premise of the “communally disturbed area” does not do justice to the reality of communal violence as experienced by some religious minorities, especially Christians: certain states see frequent, well-targeted, single incidents of religiously-motivated violence, which are often orchestrated by extremist organisations, and this pattern of violence would not be addressed under the provisions of the Bill. Thirdly, the Bill inadequately covers the possible range of offences which might constitute “communal violence” (including specific forms of sexual violence), and the implications of this context for evidentiary standards in the investigative process.
2. The Bill does not provide for sufficient safeguards against the poor or discriminatory exercise of power by those responsible for protecting the rights of victims, which is a recurrent problem in cases of communal violence. The Special Rapporteur noted that civil society organisations have “voiced their concern that the sweeping powers given by the Bill to state governments could be misused to intimidate members of the minority community” (paragraph 40). Article 17 provides for the prosecution of public servants for the dereliction of duty, but this requires the prior sanction of the state government, and if the state government is complicit in (or not unfavourable towards) the communal violence, it becomes extremely unlikely that discriminatory behaviour or the dereliction of duty by public servants will be prosecuted. Article 22 of the Bill provides for the review of every case in which the investigating officer does not file a charge sheet within three months of an FIR being registered, but this may be circumvented by the common tactic whereby police officers fail to register FIRs according to proper procedure. Article 57, the so-called “good faith” clause, provides immunity for officials; however, the standard of mens rea, or command responsibility, should be enshrined in the Bill, so that superior authorities are held accountable for the unlawful activities of their subordinates. The NCM made a number of relevant additional recommendations to increase accountability: That the reports of any commissions of inquiry should be made public as a matter of course; that the National Human Rights Commission should be mandated to monitor the performance of special courts; and that those found guilty of involvement in communal violence should be debarred permanently from government jobs and from contesting any office.
3. The Bill should provide additional measures to protect witnesses or victims from intimidation. Article 15 criminalises acts which threaten witnesses, and Article 32 provides that the identity of witnesses may be concealed. However, the Bill should draw upon the guidelines of the Supreme Court and recommendations of the Law Commission. It would be strengthened considerably by providing for the police protection of witnesses at risk of threat or intimidation. Incentivising witnesses by providing travel and maintenance expenses (as recommended in Article 21(2)(ii) of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act), would further protect against witnesses preferring to stay silent rather than risking intimidation as a consequence of giving evidence. In addition, the rights of persons displaced into camps as a result of communal violence, as outlined in Article 40(b), should be in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, including the provision of education to displaced children (principle 23) and ensuring that camps continue until the establishment of suitable conditions and the means for the displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes, or to resettle voluntarily (principle 28).
4. The Bill should set out a uniform, binding scheme for the provision of compensation to victims of communal violence, to address the inconsistencies shown in previous cases. It should establish the rights of victims or their dependents to financial compensation, and should also provide compensation to rebuild places of worship damaged or destroyed as a result of communal violence. This was among the recommendations of the NCM not included among the amendments in the 2009 version of the Bill.
E. Aftermath of 2008 anti-Christian violence in Orissa
In August to October 2008, Orissa witnessed the worst spate of communal violence ever faced by the Christian community in post-independence India, including brutal murders and rapes, widespread destruction of churches and property, and forcible conversions to Hinduism. The attacks, centred in Kandhamal district, were catalysed by the assassination on 23 August 2008 of Lakshmananda Saraswati, local head of the radical Hindu nationalist group VHP, by assailants believed to have been Maoists. On 24 August, when his remains were paraded around the district, mobs began setting up roadblocks, shouting Hindu nationalist and violent anti-Christian slogans, openly blaming Christians for the murder and calling for revenge as they attacked Christian targets. Although rural poverty and underlying issues of ethnic tensions over entitlements in Kandhamal played a role in the violence, these were not the primary causes but provided a context for the radicalisation of one community and the incitement of violence. The Orissa chief minister publicly acknowledged the role of extremist Hindu nationalist organisations in the violence in the legislative assembly for the first time in November 2009.
The violence which started in August 2008 continued for over eight weeks. At least 50,000 were displaced and 70 were killed; among the victims were Hindus opposing the rioters. Widespread anti-Christian attacks had also taken place in Kandhamal in December 2007, impunity for which laid the foundations for the second more serious wave of violence in 2008. The state government failed to implement detailed recommendations made by India’s NCM in early 2008.
F. SOCIAL CONTEXT:
Rural poverty is endemic in southern Orissa, the area in which the violence was centred, and the rural poverty ratio actually increased in this area during the period 1983-2000. There exist deep underlying issues of entitlement in Kandhamal, which created a context for the instigation of the 2008 violence: one such issue is the classification of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, which was formalised in 1950. Both communities trace their ancestry to the indigenous inhabitants of the land, and constitute a single ethnic, linguistic and cultural group. However, Kandhamal is designated as a ‘Scheduled Area’ under the provision of the fifth schedule of the constitution, and as such, certain entitlements are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, including freehold (patta) ownership of land. This is a potential cause of tension between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Moreover, Christians of Scheduled Caste background or ancestry are not eligible to the same entitlements as Scheduled Castes (see section 4.3 above). It is in the interest of those Scheduled Castes who profess Christianity to be reclassified as Scheduled Tribes, as this would reverse their double disenfranchisement, so tensions among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can therefore take on a religious colouring in the right circumstances.
Although these factors of ethnicity and entitlement provided a context for the violence, it is important to emphasise that Christians in the area have been drawn from both Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. During the violence, Christians from both communities were attacked.
The extremist Hindu nationalist presence in Kandhamal has played upon existing sensitivities, and co-opted them onto a religious nationalist template. Extremist Hindu nationalists have been operational in the area for around 40 years, and they originate from a non-indigenous, caste Hindu, trader community. Their agenda has been the preservation of Hindu purity, including the prevention of cow slaughter and of religious conversions. Christians, as the largest religious minority in the area, constitute a threatening ‘other’, and provide a ready scapegoat.
The local prominence of Naxalites, or Maoist insurgents, creates an additional layer of complication. Naxalites were almost certainly responsible for the assassination of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, which precipitated the mass violence against Christians. There are numerous theories about the Naxalites’ motivation for the murder, one of which is that it was an act of retribution against his activities, and that it was calculated to gain support from disenfranchised people in the area, including Christians. The palpable absence of state machinery from the area, means that the scene has been set for something of a ‘turf war’ between Hindu extremists and Naxalites.
G. ISSUES ARISING FROM CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE OF KANDHAMAL FAST TRACK COURTS:
We had welcomed the Fast track courts and had high hopes from the two Additional Sessions Judges and the Public prosecutors. We feel betrayed after the lapse of one year. Out of 12 deaths by murder, where judgement is pronounced, there was only one conviction; and accused in 11 deaths are acquitted. Justice, reconciliation and peace remain an unfulfilled objective. There are legitimate fears of impunity on a large scale. Local lawyers suggest that the majority of crimes have not been registered properly by the police, and the majority of cases which reach the courts have resulted in acquittals. There is also widespread evidence of endemic bias and dereliction of duty in the investigation and prosecution of offences. As of now, lawyers in Kandhamal said that of 3,223 complaints submitted to the police; only 831 had been registered as First Information Reports (FIRs). The judicial system in place has been partially successful, but the realities of trying cases in a rural situation amidst widespread fear, combined with poverty and illiteracy, create special needs which the current system is failing to address adequately. Many witnesses or victims are reluctant to testify in court for fear of retribution and lack of confidence in the efficacy of the system, and they have been intimidated and threatened, sometimes by mobs outside courtrooms;
We suggest that the new CV bill take care of the following issues:
1. The Fast Track courts should be set up outside the affected area, preferably in a neighbouring district, and in special cases, in an adjoining state to remove any inference with the course of justice.
2. The Judges appointed should be subjected to review for their performances by superior courts to weed out bigotry and vested interest, if any
3. Special public prosecutors be appointed at government expense out a panel whetted by civil society and survivors-victims
4. Survivor-victims are allowed to arrange their own lawyers to assist the Special PPs.
5. Survivor Victims be allowed to file additional FIRs other than those filed by police suo motu
6. Survivor-Victims’ lawyers be allowed to cross examine defence witness and intervene properly in the judicial court process.
7. Witnesses security and transport be taken care of by government in a foolproof witness protection programme
8. In case of gender violence cases, in camera proceedings be arranged
9. Adequate security be provided in court premises and environments
10. Legal observers / amicus curie be allowed to monitor the course of the trial
11. Special Investigation Teams be set up in case police investigations are found to be inadequate.
John Dayal
Secretary General, All India Christian Council
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Christian Council suggests major overhaul of bill against communal violence
The following is the text of the letter
Dr. Manmohan Singh
The Prime Minister of India
Your Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh:
Greetings from the All India Christian Council.
We applaud your government for its desire to protect the idea of India – a secular government with equality for all. We welcome the intention to pass a Bill on communal violence which will add to India’s strong body of laws.
However, the Christian community has deep concerns about the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2009, from the drafts we’ve read. We humbly request a serious re-write of this legislation. Our main concerns:
1. The Bill doesn’t adequately address the question of hate campaigns and the “communalisation process” (i.e. hate speech published in local language media) that precede communal violence. This well-studied phenomenon of activities, some already illegal but not often prosecuted, is a root issue.
2. The Bill doesn’t take into account the demography and pattern of living of various communities. Specifically, anti-Christian violence is normally dismissed by public officials as “sporadic” (although there may be a serious incident daily in some areas). Because other minorities live in concentrated or contiguous areas, those “communally disturbed areas” are more easily identified. In Orissa, Kandhamal would likely not fit the Bill’s definition but we know what happened there in 2007-2008.
3. The Bill doesn’t give States guidelines on reparations and compensation. We need a uniform national policy as well standards on the assessment of damages after riots in order to prevent ghettoisation.
4. The Bill doesn’t fully address police and administrative impunity properly or adequately. The “good faith” clause, which exempts police and public servants from prosecution unless there is permission from the executive branch, is a major concern.
We share concerns, especially voiced by Muslim groups, that the Bill doesn’t fully acknowledge the individual victim, treats communal violence as spontaneous rioters versus rioters (instead of acknowledging the possibility of premeditated or state-sponsored violence), and gives much power to state
governments which, historically, have occasionally acted in a biased manner. We need to see stronger checks and balances.
Also, we acknowledge that some shortcomings are systemic legal issues better addressed by your government in separate legislation or orders. The most important, in our humble opinion, include:
• Establishing witness protection programs and guidelines
• Strengthening of National Commission for Minorities and state minority commissions
• Action against police who refuse to register FIRs
• Permanently debarring government officials guilty of involvement in communal violence – or any crime – from government jobs and from contesting any office
• The rights of “internally displaced persons” in relief camps should mirror UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement e.g. including immediate education for displaced children
Many provisions of the current version of the Bill are acceptable. But we request you to consider the input above so that a weak Bill is not passed which requires the almost impossible process of securing future amendments.
Our community has learned from recent waves of communal attacks in Orissa and Karnataka as well as ongoing onslaught on house churches, individual pastors/priests and nuns, and the terrible hate campaigns in newspapers which are officially sponsored by several state governments. Our suggestions are rooted in the reality of rural India where the vast majority of our members – thousands of Protestant, Catholic, and independent Christian organisations – live and work to improve our beloved society.
Yours Sincerely and Most Respectfully,
Dr. Joseph D’souza John Dayal
President, aicc Secretary General, aicc
Hyderabad New Delhi
dsouza@aiccindia.org john.dayal@gmail.com
C.C.:
Shri M. Veerappa Moily, Union Cabinet Minister for Law & Justice
Shri P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs
Shri Salman Khurshid, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Minority Affairs
Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, Indian National Congress Party
-------------------
Hindustan Times report today:
Amended law to let Centre take charge in riot-hit states
Aloke Tikku, Hindustan Time
r
New Delhi, March 17, 2010
The government’s final version of the communal violence law empowers the Centre to take charge of an area where riots have broken out once it sends in central forces, if it finds the state government concerned reluctant to act against the rioters.
The new law still does not allow the Centre to send armed forces on its own to a riot-hit spot. But once a state has asked for central forces to quell violence, the Centre will have the right — under certain circumstances — of setting up a unified command, comprising these forces and the local police.
The amendment was cleared by the Cabinet last December and is expected to come for parliamentary approval next month.
The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, however, says the Centre can declare an area “communally disturbed” and take direct charge only if the state concerned refuses to act against the violence being perpetrated to such an extent that the secular fabric of the country, or internal security, is endangered.
To guard against political misuse, the law stipulates that the Centre must
draw the attention of the state government to the deteriorating state of affairs, and set a deadline for it to take necessary steps to suppress the violence.
Until now, central forces deployed in a state worked under the control of the local district administration. But henceforth, in special circumstances, it will work under the unified command, which will report to the Centre.
The amendment was conceived of in the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat riots, when it was widely believed the state government had done little to discourage the rioters.
Even so, it is bound to anger state governments who will see it as an encroachment on their powers. Eight of 12 states that responded to a survey by a parliamentary panel had even opposed an earlier, milder version.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
To the Nuns and Priests of Orissa
The priests of Kandhamal
By John Dayal
Kandhamal is deadly beautiful. A tropical forest, but with close mountains and deep valleys, and a climate that can get alpine in winter, without the snow. The topography of this plateau in the middle of the Indian province of Orissa may have saved the lives of tens of thousands of Christians who fled to the forests as mobs with murder, arson and rape on their minds, attacked 300 villages on 25 August 2008. At the peak of the violence, 54,000 men, women and children were hiding in these forests of tall Sal trees, where bear and big cats still abound, and wild elephants can be heard in the dark of the night. Among those 54,000 were the families of perhaps three dozen Catholic priests and twice as many Nuns, and two dozen priests themselves, hiding and waiting for the moment the police would come to restore order. For some of them, it came too late. A hundred people may have died there, among them three protestant Pastors and a Catholic priest, Fr Bernard Digal, who was grievously wounded and succumbed some time later. A nun, Sister M, as I will call her, was among at least three women raped.
The brutal tragedy however also shed light on how close are the bond that the local priests have with their flocks. Unlike in many other parts of India where he parish priest may have come from as far as three thousand kilometres, be of a different ethnicity and with a different mother tongue, priests and nuns in Kandhamal are of the soil. The villages that were torched were where they were born, the churches destroyed were the priest too had been baptised, and where they celebrated their First Mass.
There is therefore something remarkable about the Priests and Nuns of Kandhamal, be they Dalits or the Tribals. Some of them, such as Fathers Vijay Naik and Vijay Pradhan, the first a Dalit and the second a Tribal, have doctorates from Roman universities. Many others chose to study social work, and were active at the grassroots. They helped galvanise a people who for centuries had suffered from a situation close to serfdom in which food was rare and education unknown, where women were vulnerable and children could bare hope to grow to adulthood. No wonder the work of the priest sand nuns had angered vested interests, the local equivalent of big business, and the power brokers. When the violence broke out, the families of the priests were particular targets. The brother of Fr Mrityunjay, the secretary of the Archbishop of the region, was forcibly converted into Hinduism by a murderous gang shaving off his head and forcing cow dung and urine down his throat. The youth suffered in silence, but was back in the church in the refugee tent as soon as it was humanly possible.
As elsewhere in the world, the clergy and women religious in India too face occasional charges of financial wrongdoings, but those in Kandhamal can easily be said to be crystal clean. The family of father Bernard Digal, who was Treasurer of the Archdiocese and became its first martyr in the violence, lived in a mud and thatchl hut when I visited them some years ago. After the violence, they were among thousands living in a government refigure camp. They still have to return to their village.
I salute the priests and Nuns of Kandhamal.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Call for Reconciliation, Peace and Justice in Kandhamal
PRESS STATEMENT
Saturday, 6th February 2009
Archbishop Cheenath’s call for full reconciliation in Kandhamal through justice; deep concern at slow pace of reconstruction and rehabilitation; Cynical authorities diverting issues from restoring human dignity of the 2008 anti- Christian violence survivors
[The following is the statement of His Grace Raphael Cheenath, SVD Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar at a Press Conference today on the current situation in Kandhamal, Orissa and issues of rehabilitation and reconciliation and justice in the District. The press conference was also addressed by Dr John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, and Secretary General, All India Christian Council.]
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, the senior Church leader of Orissa, said today that despite the claims of the state and district administrations, the human dignity, rights and life of the Christian victims of the 2008 violence remained far from normal. Fifteen months after they were uprooted, thousand still live in makeshift shanties along the road, and in the forests, with no seeming hope of rehabilitation, and harassed daily by Block and panchayat officials and the police. Hundreds of babies have been born in these conditions. “We want full reconciliation and lasting peace in Kandhamal which will be possible when justice is transparent, lives are rebuilt and people return to their own villages without fear. We do not want any ghettoisation in the district.”
He faulted the attitude of the authorities on three major issues – the criminal justice dispensation system in the Fast Track courts which was being subverted by terrorising of witnesses and shoddy investigations, the utter inadequacy of government assistance in rebuilding houses, and the absence of genuine employment, livelihood and education schemes. It may be recalled the present District collector was very much on duty and present at the spot with the Deputy Inspector General and other top police officers when the violence started, and the mob attacked the Phulbani Church in the District headquarters.
The Church, which had received no assistance at all in rebuilding its own places of worship social development institutions, had extended great help, but the task was far too big for non government organisations. “It needs political will to implement special schemes by the government. We are willing to help to the best of our ability and resources,” he assured the government. But, he said, he would have no hesitation in again approaching the Orissa High Court at Cuttack and the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi if the misery of the people was not ameliorated. They cannot be allowed to live through another summer and other monsoons without a shelter over their heads. The victims need sympathy but administration is raising all sorts of rules and regulations in the matter of relief and rehabilitation. Various human rights groups have warned of trafficking in young girls of the district.
Initially,10 to 11,000 families were displaced from their homes by the violence. An estimated 1,200 families have migrated from the immediate area, many of them to Bhubaneswar or to other states in India . Over 6,000 refugees are living in the Saliasahi slums of Bhubaneswar, the State capital, and tens of thousands are working as labour in Andhra and other states, some as far away as Kerala and Punjab. 200-300 families continue to reside in private displacement camps in the district. At least 4,400 families continue to live in tents, makeshift shelters or the remnants of their damaged houses. The remainder of families have returned either to their villages or near their villages. The number who have received financial assistance from the government or the church or NGOs is not known for certain, but is believed to be 1,100.
The Dalit Christians remain the worst sufferers and have been denied employment, land and other entitlements. The state government’s schemes announced by the Chief minister must embrace all communities. This is so even in the employment of Special Police Offices, SPOs,” he said. The District Collector has no hope to offer to the Dalits.
In the violence between 25the August and December 2008, as many as 5347 houses were looted and destroyed by fire, many women and girls were raped, and more than 75 people were murdered in the name of religion and ethnicity. Large-scale displacement and migrations followed with over 54,000 people becoming refugees in their own motherland. The administration arbitrarily fixed Rs 50,000 for fully destroyed houses, even though the reconstruction cost of even a simple house was from Rs 85,000 upwards. Similarly the administration arbitrarily designated fully destroyed houses as partial-damaged category with much lower relief. Most houses are indeed fully damaged and we want the administration to give full compensation.
The Church is helping towards minimum support of as many as 2,500 houses, but even after this, 3,000 families remain homeless. So far the Catholic Church has helped 181 fully damaged houses and 546 partly damaged houses. Building materials have been distributed over to 752 families and the work in progress in Raikia and Nuagam Blocks only. Even though we do not have exact statistics regarding the victims who have returned to their villages and settled down, a rough guess would be that, about one third of 54,000 Christians displaced due to violence, have returned to their villages, despite the claim of the administration. Some of them just do not want to go aback for fear as they are being threatened to become Hindus if they want to come back home. Many affected households are yet to be enlisted in the government list for compensation depriving them all the support and rehabilitation. There is gross malpractice due to corrupt and indifference attitude of the local officials.
Justice is critical to long term peace. The two Fast Track Courts, and the Court premises, have seen a travesty of justice. Witnesses are being coerced, threatened, cajoled and sought to be bribed by murderers and arsonists facing trial. The court premises are full of top activists of fundamentalist organizations. The witnesses are also threatened in their homes with elimination, and even their distant relatives are being coerced specially in the murder and arson cases against Legislative Assembly Member Manoj Pradhan. Though some witnesses have deposed strongly on his involvement in the crimes, he has been let off in case after case.
We are demanding a Special Investigation team to investigate every case of murder and arson. Similarly, there is also need for transferring the cases against politically powerful persons such as Manoj Pradhan, MLA, to outside Kandhamal, preferably to Cuttack or Bhubaneswar.
We are deeply concerned the high rate of acquittals in the fast Track courts. The victims filed 3,232 Complaints in the police stations of Kandhamal. Of these, the police registered cases in only 832 instances. As many as 341 cases were in G Udaigiri alone, 98 in Tikabali and 90 in Raikia, followed by the others. Even out of this small number, only 123 cases were transferred to the two Fast Track Courts. So far 71 cases have been tried in the two courts, and 63 cases have been disposed off. Of these, conviction is only in 25 cases, and even that is partial as most of the accused have not been arrested or brought to trial. Only 89 persons have been convicted so far while as many as 251 have been acquitted and set free for want to witnesses against them. Among them is Manoj Pradhan. It is strange that in the case of ten deaths by murder, nine cases have been closed without anybody being convicted while there has been partial conviction in the case of one death. Who will bring justice in the case of the nine murder cases?
We demand that independent lawyers be associated with the Special Public Prosecutors who are overworked. The witnesses and the victims need full legal help so that the cases can be pursued with vigour and justice is available.
Compensation, Employment and Land issues: The compensation package declared by the State Government is very meagre, which is not sufficient for the house construction or any other purpose. This is a national calamity and demands a special package for the affected people which should include land, income generation, education and health care, etc., so that the poor innocent families who have lost everything can be rehabilitated properly. The government and the administration are giving all sorts of excuses to displace people from land they have lived on and farmed for generations. There should be proper settlement of land in the district, including lands to landless.
The Government should publish a “white paper” on the land issue.
Above all, the Government must maintain a position of neutrality and transparency. The block officers have been playing with the facts, indulging in corrupt practices and cosmetic exercises whenever political and other dignitaries come to visit or inspect. Innocent people are coerced into giving a false picture. The Chief minster must investigate the role and functioning of the entire District administration, including the Collector, the block and tehsil officers and others connected with the operations. It is strange that officers in whose presence the violence took place and thousands of houses were burnt are still in office and are declaring that there is peace in the district.
For further information please contact Fr. Mrutyunjay – 09437644796, John Dayal 09811021072
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
European Union cancels Orissa trip
A European Union delegation’s visit to Orissa has been scrapped at the
last minute after a dispute with the federal government over where the
team could go.
The delegation wanted to visit Orissa’s Kandhamal district, the
epicenter of anti-Christian violence in 2008, but the government
reportedly confined it to Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
The delegation canceled the four-day trip this evening (Jan. 27),
saying it was not worth visiting only the capital.
John Dayal, a member of the National Integration Council and secretary
general of the All India Christian Council, expressed “deep surprise”
at the government’s action.
The federal and Orissa state governments have repeatedly asserted that
there is “total peace” in Kandhamal and proper legal processes are
being carried out, Dayal says.
“If this indeed be so, what then is there to hide from the view of the
world?” he asked.
“The real culprits of the anti-Christian pogrom have got away,” Dayal
said.
The visit would have helped the team assess the progress of relief and
rehabilitation for the victims as well as the effectiveness of the
fast track courts set up to try cases against those accused of
violence against Christians.
The 10-member diplomatic team was to have been led by Ramon Moreno,
deputy chief of mission in the Spanish embassy in New Delhi.
The mission was only approved after more than a year of negotiations
with the federal government. The team was scheduled to meet Archbishop
Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, who heads the Catholic Church
in Orissa, on Jan. 28.
Dhirendra Panda, a human right activist in Orissa, criticized the
government’s actions.
“The very fact the government refuses the international community to
visit Kandhamal shows it has something to hide,” Panda, a secularist
Hindu, told UCA News.
Panda is demanding an explanation for the ban on visiting Kandhamal,
especially after it claimed it the situation had returned to normal.
The government stance will damage the country’s image around the
world, he says.
Father Dibyasingh Pariccha, a lawyer working among the riot victims,
says the government fears the diplomat’s visit would expose the fact
that people are still deprived of basic amenities.
Bipra Charan Nayak, convener of Sampradayika Hinsa Prapidita
Sanghathan (associations of survivors of Kandhamal communal violence),
says the government “did not dare to show to the world the injustice
meted out to a certain sections of its people.”
The European Union was vocal in its concern about the riots from the
moment they broke out on Aug. 24, 2008. French President Nicolas
Sarkozy confronted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at an India-EU
summit in 2008.
Singh then said the violence against Christian minorities in Orissa
was “a national shame.”
Source: UCAN
A European Union delegation’s visit to Orissa has been scrapped at the
last minute after a dispute with the federal government over where the
team could go.
The delegation wanted to visit Orissa’s Kandhamal district, the
epicenter of anti-Christian violence in 2008, but the government
reportedly confined it to Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
The delegation canceled the four-day trip this evening (Jan. 27),
saying it was not worth visiting only the capital.
John Dayal, a member of the National Integration Council and secretary
general of the All India Christian Council, expressed “deep surprise”
at the government’s action.
The federal and Orissa state governments have repeatedly asserted that
there is “total peace” in Kandhamal and proper legal processes are
being carried out, Dayal says.
“If this indeed be so, what then is there to hide from the view of the
world?” he asked.
“The real culprits of the anti-Christian pogrom have got away,” Dayal
said.
The visit would have helped the team assess the progress of relief and
rehabilitation for the victims as well as the effectiveness of the
fast track courts set up to try cases against those accused of
violence against Christians.
The 10-member diplomatic team was to have been led by Ramon Moreno,
deputy chief of mission in the Spanish embassy in New Delhi.
The mission was only approved after more than a year of negotiations
with the federal government. The team was scheduled to meet Archbishop
Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, who heads the Catholic Church
in Orissa, on Jan. 28.
Dhirendra Panda, a human right activist in Orissa, criticized the
government’s actions.
“The very fact the government refuses the international community to
visit Kandhamal shows it has something to hide,” Panda, a secularist
Hindu, told UCA News.
Panda is demanding an explanation for the ban on visiting Kandhamal,
especially after it claimed it the situation had returned to normal.
The government stance will damage the country’s image around the
world, he says.
Father Dibyasingh Pariccha, a lawyer working among the riot victims,
says the government fears the diplomat’s visit would expose the fact
that people are still deprived of basic amenities.
Bipra Charan Nayak, convener of Sampradayika Hinsa Prapidita
Sanghathan (associations of survivors of Kandhamal communal violence),
says the government “did not dare to show to the world the injustice
meted out to a certain sections of its people.”
The European Union was vocal in its concern about the riots from the
moment they broke out on Aug. 24, 2008. French President Nicolas
Sarkozy confronted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at an India-EU
summit in 2008.
Singh then said the violence against Christian minorities in Orissa
was “a national shame.”
Source: UCAN
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Documents of the Association of Kandhamal Violence Victims
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-10/2010. Date:13.0.10-
To
The Chief Justice,
Orissa High Court,
Cuttack, Orissa.
Sub: Demand for the urgent steps against communal elements.
Your Honour,
We the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present this memorandum for your appropriate action.
Soon after the unprecedented Kandhamal communal violence, the Government of Orissa set two Fast Track Courts to expedite the many criminal cases arising from the communal violence directed against the Christian community. The Courts, and the Court premises, have however become a travesty of justice. One of the presiding judges and the police have caused us deep concern as we fear a major miscarriage of justice for the following reasons:
1. The sense of insecurity among witnesses is adding to the gross miscarriage of justice in the two Fast Track courts. Victims and witnesses are being coerced, threatened, cajoled and sought to be bribed by murderers and arsonists facing trial. Shoddy police investigations have already created a crisis in the dispensation of justice, and even genuine eye witnesses are reneging in court as they see the court premises full of top activists of fundamentalist organizations and often the same persons who had burnt their houses. The police mute watchers, as always. The witnesses are threatened in their homes, and even their distant relatives are being coerced.
1. In the current volatile political situation, we fear with reason that religious political leaders and former ministers are influencing the district administration and judiciary system along with communal elements in Kandhamal.
2. Even the media has reported at the strange situation in the two Fast Track court of Ad hoc Additional Session Judges which are trying all the murder and arson cases against Legislative Assembly Member Manoj Pradhan. Though witnesses have deposed strongly on his involvement in the crimes, he has been let off in case after case.
3. The accused Manoj Pradhan, BJP MLA, threatened one of the witnesses in front of the police personnel inside the Fast Track Court, and he also threatened the police.
4. Till today communal elements are still threatening the witnesses in the remote villages where they live, due to which the witnesses are in panic and do not dare to speak in the court. Many witnesses have even refused to come to court as they do not dare to travel anymore.
5Around 20 to 25 advocates are arguing for the defense, and the Public Prosecutors are not able to cope with the volume of work every day.
6. While we do not want to cast any aspersions on the PPs, their actions have left us in great doubt.
7. We also have strong doubts in the quality of the police investigations which are making it easy for the guilty to go scot free.
8. It is a matter of serious concern that it is more than one year passed the affected households is yet to be enlisted in the government list for compensation depriving them all the support and rehabilitation. It is crime against humanity as the hapless and helpless victims abandoned to look for themselves. There is gross malpractice due to corrupt and indifference attitude of the local officials, who have not list the fully damaged houses as fully, but partially thus effectively depriving the compensation and supports. We demand immediate assessment and support.
9. Due to prolong violent and fearful environment, the families have left the villages. Taking advantages of this, the fringe elements and criminal elements of Sangh Parivar has looted the household articles and assets thus rendering the families bereft of any assets. We demand proper and full assessment be done and compensate the families suitably.
10. The compensation packages declared by the state Govt. for the damage households are very meager amount which is not sufficient for the house construction. Conversely, these packages are much less than the compensation packages provided to the Sikh and Godhra riots victims. Proportionate package should be provided to the Kandhamal victims also.
We seek urgent actions from Your Honour in the interests of justice such as shifting the sensitive cases related to Manoj Pradhan to outside, to Cuttack or Bhubaneswar, transferring the judges and changing public prosecutors, provide special protection to witnesses.
Yours faithfully
Convenor
SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
-----------------------------------
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-11/2010 Date:13.01.201-
To
Hon’ble Justice Sri Sarat Chandra Mahapatra,
Chairman, Inquiry Commission for Kandhamal Violence,
At State Guest House,
Bhubaneswar.
Sub: Boycott of the Hon’ble Commission by SHPS Association.
Your Honour,
We the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Kandhamal violence), Kandhamal herewith present this memorandum to inform you of our decision to boycott the Inquiry Commission for the under-mentioned reasons:
1During your days visit to Kandhamal you made a statement stating, inter alia, that the Kandhamal violence is not communal violence but is of ethnic origin. This statement you made even before a proper inquiry was begun. [Enclosed is copy of one of the media reports.]
2After the Commission began hearings, you made it a practice to brief the press on your “judgment” or ruling of the day.
3. The Commission formulated leading questions on issues such as conversions which were sociological in nature and in fact would further incite the violence which was still going on unchecked.
4. Responsible public officers like Pravin Kumar, police Superintendent, former and present police DG Gopal Nanda and Monmohan Praharaj were made to give the absurd but sensitive statements about religious conversion as if it was crime and then what role Police had taken to control the crime. The Police officers did not tell about why they could not prevent the march of funeral procession of Swami Laxmanananda with instigated mobs. Such statements caused further desperation among the witnesses and victims fighting their cases in Fast Track Courts and aggravated the situation. They should be summoned and held responsible for these acts.
5. BJP president, Suresh Pujari’s presence inside the Courts is threatening to the witnesses and inspiring the culprits. Moreover he is allowed to enter into the commission chamber under garb of a lawyer and before the press meet is conducted.
6. Recently, in response to the question of Mr. Adikanda Sethy, MLA, Chhtrapur; the Chief Minister, Mr. Navin Pattnaik, said in the Assembly that the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists were involved in the Kandhamal violence. The commission should summon the records of the Assembly and take note of this as part of its proceedings, which it has not said it has done.
7. Your media statements have shown clearly that you have pre-decided and have already come to the conclusion about the violence without going through all the evidence that could have come before the Commission if it had proceeded without pre-conceptions and patent bias.
In the face of all these, we are left in no other position than to boycott the proceedings of the Honorable commission, holding it biased and its statements based on preconceived notions which are not rooted in facts or investigations.
Yours faithfully
Convenor
SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
Encls:
Justice Sarat Chandra Mahapatra statement before first affidavits
Newsreader, “Justice Sarat Chandra Mahapatra commission enquiring into Kandhamal violence has issued a notification for the general public to submit affidavits by 15th (of Number 2009).
Based on the affidavits, the commission shall develop framework/procedures on 28th of this month.
In the meanwhile, Justice Mahapatra commission after his visit to Kandhamal in his preliminary assessment stated, “Communalism is not the primary reason for the riot.”
Reporter: Justice Mahapatra is not ready to accept that Kandhamal incidence is communal conflict. Justice Mahapatra appointed to make enquiry into Kandhamal violence said, “The problems are ages. It cannot be attributed to the bitterness of the two communities”. “Likewise, in order to find out the reasons for killing of swami and the violence thereafter and the role of the administration in aftermath of the killing, and the hand of external forces to intensify the conflicts have to be looked into it” he said.
Justice Mahapatra’s voice, “Administration, social and political when all these combined, discontentment got deepened and it manifested from the killing of Laxmanananda”.
Reporter: In the meanwhile in order to know the opinions of the general public about Kandhamal incident, Justice Mahapatra has issued a notification:
The murder of Swami Laxmanananda and the violence thereafter; The involvement of individuals and the role of community; Anticipation of riot and the preventive measures taken for the riot the hand of individuals/institutions inciting Kandhamal incident should be submitted before the Enquiry Commission before 15th ( of November).
Justice Mahapatra commission: ‘If affidavits submitted in large numbers, then my enquiry could objective and impartial’.
Reporter: After 28th hearing, the next course of action will be decided by Justice Mahapatra Commision. Last month, from 14th to 21st (14thto 21st of October 2009), Justice Mahapatra has visited different parts of Kandhamal and interacted with the local people and at the administration’. Report by Radhamadhav Mishra, OTV.
Source: OTV, Orissa
------------------------------------------------------
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-12/2010 Date: 13.01.201-
To
Shri Naveen Patnaik,
Chief Minister,
Orissa
We the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Kandhamal Communal Violence), Kandhamal district, Orissa, herewith present this memorandum for your appropriate action.
1. During the year 2007 and 2008 the district of Kandhamal was violently impacted by violence instigated by some communal elements who attacked innocent Christians in a planned and brutal manner.
2
3In this violence, 5347 houses were looted and destroyed by fire, many women and girls were raped, and more than 75 people were murdered in the name of religion and ethnicity. Large-scale displacement and migrations followed with over 50,000 people becoming refugees in their own motherland. The culprits of this inhuman activity are roaming freely, neither arrested nor punished. We demand their immediate arrest, trial and exemplary punishment.
4The Government of Orissa has appointed the Sarat Chandra Mahapatra Commission to inquire into the Kandhamal violence and place its report before the Government. From the very beginning Justice Mahapatra has maintained that the violence is ethnic and in its interim report it sidelined and ignored the role of RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal. Needless to mention here that your Excellency has clearly exposed the involvement of such organizations in the Orissa Assembly. We have no option but to express our doubts on his impartiality and demand that the Commission be dissolved.
5We feel that the district administration and police instead of unearthing the facts behind Kandhamal carnage are resorting irrational conclusions and judgments with regard to the religious conversions of Christian community. In their depositions before the Mahapatra Commission, they have tried this or that way to find fault with the victims instead of reviewing their role and responsibilities. When creates the communal tension and this kind of irresponsible blaming may cause future conflict. Hence we demand appropriate action against these officers.
6The relief and rehabilitation provided is not sufficient against the damage occurred to the life and property during Kandhamal violence. There are also no records as regards to the number of people got forcefully migrated to other places as a result of violence. We demand for the re-assessment of the damage and provide the compensation to the affected families and take necessary measures to enable the migrated people to come back.
7We demand a special package for the violence affected people and ensure its proper implementation. This package should include land, income generation, education and health care, etc., so that the poor innocent people who have lost everything can be rehabilitated properly.
8We are not satisfied with the legal procedures undertaken in the two Fast Track courts established at Phulbani which seem to be in a hurry to dispose of the cases without proper trial and witness examination. The witnesses are threatened by the accused, and hence the witness protection is most essential to deliver justice. We demand the protection of witnesses by the Government with proper support and care.
9
10In most of the cases are finalized in the Fast Track courts at Phulbani the accused are acquitted. The quality of the Police charge sheets is doubtful; and therefore we demand a CBI inquiry into the cases for proper delivery of justice to the innocent people.
11It has been propagated that Scheduled caste people are guilty of land grabbing by Scheduled Tribes in the district of Kandhamal which has created the ethnic conflict. But this is apportioning blame without any proof or basis. We demand proper settlement of land in the district. Particularly, please ensure to allot lands to landless. The Government should publish a “white paper” on the land issue.
12The “fake caste certificate” issue has created a lot of confusion without a proper investigation and basis. Out of eight hundred caste certificate cases, only one hundred cases have been investigated. It is a matter of grate concern that only for a very few cases, around one Lakh people are blamed. We demand the Government to publish a “white paper” on these issues and take appropriate measures against the officials involved in issuing the fake certificate. The government prepares reports based on officials who are in hand in glove with facist sangh parivar , who are hell bent on creating conflicts among ST and SC reasons behind; thus furthering the violent atmosphere.
13
14Till today many of the victims of Kandhamal violence are staying in the village level relief camps. They get continuously threatened not to stay in the villages. They are not allowed to avail the local materials (wood, water, sand, etc.) for the house construction. Hence we demand for identifying those villages and take appropriate action by ensuring safety and security of the victims.
15We demand exemplary action against those police officials who had supported the violence and remained quiet, instead of providing security to our life and properties.
16It is a matter of serious concern that it is more than one year passed the affected households is yet to be enlisted in the government list for compensation depriving them all the support and rehabilitation. It is crime against humanity as the hapless and helpless victims abandoned to look for themselves. There is gross malpractice due to corrupt and indifference attitude of the local officials, who have not list the fully damaged houses as fully, but partially thus effectively depriving the compensation and supports. We demand immediate assessment and support.
17Due to prolong violent and fearful environment, the families have left the villages. Taking advantages of this, the fringe elements and criminal elements of Sangh Parivar has looted the household articles and assets thus rendering the families bereft of any assets. We demand proper and full assessment be done and compensate the families suitably.
18 The compensation packages declared by the state Govt. for the damage households are very meager amount which is not sufficient for the house construction. Conversely, these packages are much less than the compensation packages provided to the Sikh and Godhra riots victims. Proportionate package should be provided to the Kandhamal victims also.
Yours’ Sincerely,
Convenor
SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-13/2010 Date: 13.01.201--
To
The Chairman,
Press Council of India,
New Delhi.
Sub: Prayer to Review the role of media in Orissa during Kandhamal Communal Violence 2007 & 2008.
Sir,
On behalf of victims of Kandhmal riot 2007-08, we would like to draw your kind attention to see how the print and electronics media played a devastating role during Kandhamal incident. Particularly Oriya print media played an anti-minority role and portrayed victims as villain. Media failed in its duty as the true watchdog of society and went on circulating misinformation, inciting stories against minorities and biased view points. The genuine concerns of well-meaning citizens and sufferings poor adivasis and dalits have been ignored and had got no place or a wrong place in media.
Therefore, we request you to look into the matter and review the role of media in Kandhamal incident and take necessary steps to censure the defaulters and bring back them to play the role of a fourth pillar of Indian democracy. To support our views, we do attach some evaluating papers prepared by writer and journalist Sri Kedar Mishra, who is working in this field since last 2 years (http://www.kedarmishra.blogspot.com/).
Yours Sincerely,
Convenor
SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
ANNEXURE:
Kandhamal Riot and Mass Media
“To be true to my faith, therefore, I may not write in anger or malice, I may not write idly. I may not write merely to excite passion”
·Mahatma Gandhi, Young India Censure
·
·“Kandhamal is burning,” “Church Torched in Kandhamal”, “Kandhamal is simmering again”, etc. made headlines in the newspapers of Orissa. Here I make an attempt to study the way the mass media has depicted the life devastated in the Kandhamal riot of December 2007 and analyse it and the role it has played in the state politics centring the riot-affected people. In trying to make an analysis of it I have taken into consideration the news and articles on Kandhamal riot, the interviews with the journalists involved in it, clippings of electronic media, the news on the net and reports of fact-finding groups. The mass media unanimously agree that the riot affecting the Christmas in last December is out and communal in nature and is based on intolerance.
·
·Even if a dividing line was attempted to be drawn between international, national and local media, both electronic and in print, on the nature and cause of this riot, all of them had established it the same way. The Hindu fundamentalist Rastriya Syamsevak Sangh had made one such attempt in the local and national media. The report on January 3, 2008 inwww.sanghaparivar.com ran:
·“Many media, mostly the national and international, without a reality check – went overdrive to paint a wrong picture about the entire sequence of events. Very few investigated the reasons of the violence put the blame squarely on the Hindus. Only burning of churches and prayer houses were reported, not the lethal attack on the Hindu seer Laxmanananda Saraswati found due place in the newspapers. Not the death of a Hindu - which was immediate provocation for the communal clash – was properly highlighted. Even Maoists joining hands with Christians in attacking tribals were ignored by the international and national media.”
·
·However, the vernacular press predominantly reflected what actually happened on the ground and found Christians being the initiator of the latest hostility between the communities. The followers of Christ faith wee in the forefront of attack and they attacked Hindu hamlets and attacked the police and even collaborated with Maoists in attacking the kondh tribals, they reported.
·Warning for the Local Media
·
·This news of RSS is untrue and motivated. Almost all the local newspapers and TV channels have clearly stated that the Christians were worst affected in this riot and that they were the victims of the hatred-based politics of RSS. Here are mentioned a few excerpts from the newspapers:
·
·“The Brahmanigaon and Daringbadi are tense due to mutual distrust. There are clashes and house-burnings. No particular community can be blamed for this. The minority community had to face the wrath and violence of the majority. Even after getting the intelligence report the Administration did not take necessary steps. As a result of which the riot spread to nearby regions. The Viswa Hindu Parishad played a major role in the worst affected village, Brahmanigaon; so did the majority of Christians in Daringbadi. After its primary investigation the Samaj reported that the Viswa Hindu Parishad and the controversial Collector of the district, Bhabagrahi Mohapatra were solely responsible for the communal riot that began on the last twenty-fourth. The Parishad says that the riot ensued after its leader Swami Laxmananda was attacked which is not true. Rather, it was the VHP which first initiated it in Brahmanigaon”.
·(The Samaj, December 30, 2007)
·
·On 25th evening more than 3000 supporters of VHP and RSS came to Barakhama with weapons and lathis. They began with looting and ended with damaging property. The houses of 285 Christians were burnt within an hour. 215 houses were half-burnt or damaged. Lakhs of rupees, golden ornaments and costly home appliances were looted. Even the pet animals were not spared.
·
·These two reports have clearly held Sangha Parivar responsible for riot. Both the electronic media and mass media have firmly condemned the role of Sangha Parivar. There is yet a conspiracy in branding the local media as the sympathizer of the Sangha Parivar. A dividing line was also drawn regarding the true nature of the local and national media in the Gujarat riot. The Gujurati media was said to be the blind supporter of the Sangha Parivar. This divisive role of the Sangh Parivar is nothing new. The Sangh Parivar lauded the local media to have used local identity as a weapon.
THE MENTAL CONCLICT IN MASS MEDIA
·
·If one looks at the reports of all the three TV channels from Orissa. i.e. ETV, OTV and Doordarshan and Oriya dailies it will be clear that the true causes of the riot have not been deeply analyzed. Its one reason is the religious meanness and elite mind set. It is alleged by some Christian organizations that as the local media is in the hands of the high caste Hindus the Christian minority has not got its due. This allegation is not absolutely baseless. No doubt, the Sangha Parivar has been implicated in this riot. Yet at the same time the Christians have been held accused for their role in conversion. Another aspect of these reports is its lack of study and analysis. One can very well discern the mental conflicts of the reporting journalists. Even if they report that the Sangh Parivar is responsible for the riot they somehow entangle the Christian minority in it.
·
·The purported attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on the 24th was grossly exaggerated in the media. The journalists took Swamiji’s words as the base of their reporting. The opinions of both the parties present there were not taken into consideration. The ETV report gave so much importance to it that the later incidents were ascribed to the ETV’s reporting. The mass media is equipped with the power to unearth the conspiracy of communalism and has the responsibility to abate it. The local media has failed in this role. Our journalists have made the maximum utilization of their imagination in describing the plight of the riot-affected people. All that the affected people said lacked the element of suffering in it. It is a matter of shame. The statements of Swami Laxmananda and the leaders at Sangh Parivar occupy prominent position in the news reports. The statements of the affected Christians have been deliberately ignored. Our local media seem to be totally ignorant of the sense of dignity and sympathy which is there for the minorities in a democracy.
·
·On the other hand, all those national dailies which have local editions give importance to the statement of the government officials. The reportings for the Times of India, Indian Express, The Pioneer, the Hindu, etc. were done from the Secretariate in Bhubaneswar. By giving importance to what the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary and Director General, Police said the national dailies overlooked the true nature of the incident. Very few journalists visited the riot affected area.
·Kandhamal burnt from Christmas to New Year. All the political parties and the Sangh Parivar tried to fish out of the troubled water. Ironically, the mass media boosted their image. It has been stated earlier that the local media lacked sensitivity to deal with communal feelings. No newspaper or electronic media tried to analyse the situation. Instead, their erroneous reporting stoked the riot.
THE CONSPIRACY OF THE SANGH PARIVAR
·“There is no use burning tyres on the road. Tell me, how many houses of the Christians you have burnt? There will be no peace without revolution. Narendra Modi brought about revolution in Gujurat. That is why peace is there.”
In response to the so-called attack on him, the eighty-two-year-old Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati had made this statement from the Daringbari Health Centre in the very presence of the police and journalists. Surprisingly it was given more prominence in the national media than in the local ones. The reason is obvious. The local media did not want to displease the Swami and the Hindu majority reader as a whole. The proprietors of the Oriya dailies who are more interested in making profit than upholding ideals prefered indifference to neutrality in such a sensitive issue. The Fourth Estate had not come forward to give protection to the minority community. After the riot when it was compared with that of Gujarat at the rational and international level, the Sangh Parivar used the local media. They had argued that it was caste-based and that it was not communal in nature. Radhakant Nayak, the previous administrator and present Congress M. P., was implicated in it. Another matter of surprise was that his reaction was not sought in this regard. At the time of riot the Sangh Parivar demanded the arrest of Radhakant Nayak who was staying at Delhi. The local media seemed to give importance to the unjustified demand of the Sangh Parivar. The opinions of all the sections of the society were not taken into consideration at the time of the riot or after that. The local media did not bother as to why the Sangh Parivar was demanding the arrest of Radhakant Nayak. All of them comepeted to present their reports in a manner conduicive to the BJD-BJP coalition government. The ex-Minister Padmanav Behera who was made a scapegoat was not given adequate scope to express his opinion.
·
·At the time Kandhamal was burning The Samaj carried a report based on the interview with Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, in which it was stated that conversion was the root cause of unrest at Kandhamal. This report published from Cuttack rather than abating the Kandhamal riot fuelled it. The report ran like this :
·
·The Government as well as the missionaries engaged in conversion are responsible for the situation in Kandhamal. They could be the trouble-shooter. The path-finder for the VHP, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati has stated that the Hindus are only defending themselves. After the alleged attack by the Christians on 24th, Swami Laxmanananda being treated in Cabin No.3 of the Surgery Department gave an exclusive interview to The Samaj in which he said that the missionaries are trying to establish special Christian zones in the divided districts of Bhulbani, Koraput, Kalahandi, Bolangir and in Bhanjanagar of the district Ganjam, Khandapada of the district of Nayagarh and in Anugul and Athamalik. For this money flows from such Christian countries like the U.S. and the U.K. The Swami and his supporters are working towards the preservation of Hinduism. Their efforts have resulted in the drastic reduction in conversion and many converted Christians have come back to the Hindu fold. Infuriated at it, some people have attempted to kill him. Asked about the possible solution to this problem at Kandhamal, Swamiji has said that this was the spontaneous protest of the Hindus. No government can stop this. The age-old dissatisfaction of the Hindus are now ventilated. In it he had no role to pay. After massive protest the missionaries desisted from conversion but after the Congress Party came to power they have become active. If the conversion comes to an end there will automatically be no unrest in the state. Giving information on the event of the 24th, Swamiji who does not want to reveal his past said that day he along with his five supporters set out by a Marshal Jeep from Jalespeta to Brahmanigaon. At Daringbari which is five kilometers from Daringbari there stood a bus obstructing traffic. Despite repeated horns when the bus did not move the driver of Marshal jeep Naresh Kanhr and Kishore Pradhan accosted the bus driver. That was when they were attacked by the people in the bus along with the villagers who rushed there. It was by his presence of mind that Naresh had a narrow escape. Out of three hundred families in that village only one was a Hindu family. From this figure one can realize the grave situation in Kandhamal, says the Swamiji who has been active against conversion in Kandhamal.
·
·The language and tone of this report must have suited the Hindu fundamentalists. The local media has made tremendous effort to establish Laxmanananda Saraswati as the symbol of Hinduism. Praising him, The Organiser, the mouth piece of the Sangh Parivar wrote. “Four-decade-long sadhana at Chakapad has successfully awakened the spirit of Hindutva among the Vanavasis and drawn them away from the clutches of missionaries.” But this Sanyasi is more immersed in power politics than in meditation. It is due to his leadership at Chakapad that Kandhamal is kept burning. No media has questioned Laxmanananda. All of them have been showing respect to this old sanyasi. There is no problem in showing respect to a religious man. But the role of Laxmanananda is that of a villain since in the name of stopping conversion and ensuing a process of purification he has only created an atmosphere of religious intolerance. We get the hint of it from the description of the turn of events. The media is agog in the description of events as it is laudatory in highlighting Laxmanananda. The mental inflict in media is due to this paradoxical stand.
·
·Tehelka 19, January 2008 described Laxmanananda as belonging to washerman community and that he established an ashrama at Chakapad in 1969, from where he started propagating Hinduism. As the Hindu Sanyasis keeps his past a secret one could not have got to know anything about Laxmanananda from his own mouth. Laxmanananda Saraswati has been publicly saying that he has been trying since 1969 when he established an ashram at Chakapad to save Kandhamal from being a totally Christian dominated area. Even as his statements are loaded with elements that is prone to creating tension the local media has been lionizing him. Before riot ensued at Brahmanigaon, Laxmanananda repeatedly held meetings there and provoked the public to attack the Christians. Although he has been directly or indirectly involved in stoking riot he has not been arrested. This old sage plays a clear role in speaking ill against the Christian missionaries and the Dalit Christians of Kandhamal, in blocking roads and in staging hunger strikes and above all keeping Kandhamal in unrest.
·
·The 2007 Kandhamal riot was not all unpremeditated. It was aimed at eliminating the minority Christians from Kandhamal. Laxmanananda played a leading role in the agitation to establish a Hindu rashtra. On the occasion of the birth centenerary of one of the leaders of Sangha Parivar on April 2006 the Sangh parivar organized Astamatruka Rath Yatra in Kandhamal. Indians are suffering yet from the poisonous reaction of Lal Krishna Advani’s Rath Yatra in the context of Ram Janmabhumi. There has been repeated Ratha Yatras in Kandhamal. The anti-christian slogans are kept alive through Yajna, Yatra and Purification process. The Sangh Parivar rose in protest against the breaking of Rama Setu in Tamil Nadu. Regular conspiracies were hatched in Chakapad Ashram. The local Administration was aware of it yet no perceptible steps were taken. Instead of projecting Hindu Sameelan of April 2006 as communal in nature it was showcased as a religious jamborree. The local minority had to face its consequences in December 2007. It was not an end in itself. Even today Kandhamal remains an insecure place for the minorities. On July 8, 2008 there was tension in Kandhamal which centred round the slaughter of a cow.
·The Dharitri, July 10, 2008 writes on it “Again Kandhamal is burning. No sooner the people of Kandhamal have forgotten the trauma of the riot of December 2007 than there has risen tension in Tumuribandh. That to, it centres around the slaughter of a cow. The conflict within the communities is simmering in Mattipara of Tamudibandh Block. At this time due to the opposition of a Baba in Jalespeta to the slaughter of a cow he has been attacked. Opposing this incident the VHP has called for a strike in Kandhamal. So far the Bandh is peaceful.”
·
·In another report The Samaj says, “It has been noticed that Tumudibandh Block of Kandhamal district is going to be a site of another riot. Only one kilometer away from the headquarters of this Block, where the cow was slaughtered and against which there was protest, Bulubaba alias Brundaban Nanda who is the chief disciple of Laxmanananda Saraswati was attacked. It had a state-wide reaction. With the spread of the news of Bulubaba’s camera being snatched away, the blood of the slaughtered cow being smeared on him and the attack on him, the Bandh was observed in G. Udaygiri, Raikia, Baliguda and Tumudibandh and VHP called for a twelve-hour Bandh throughout the State.
·
·As in previous riots, the media did not play a neutral role in this riot. The allegations that Swami Laxmanananda and his disciples brought forward were blown out of proportion. The non-Hindus eat beef; no Hindu has any right to snatch away that right from them. The motive beheind Laxmanananda’s and his brigand’s protest is only to create tension. In a secular state it is a matter of irony that sanyasi should be encouraged in mass media to indulge in mean activities like blocking the road by cutting down trees, holding hunger strike abusing the minority and blaming the Administration if it is not supportive of his activities.
·
·EDITORIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY
·
·The local media has failed utterly to analyze and evaluate the Kandhamal riot. So did the Administration, civic society, political parties, local leadership and the police. If one analyses the reports and editorials of the local papers it will show clearly how they have failed to hint at the failure of others. The Kandhamal riot started on 24th. The Samaj in its 30th and 31st December 2007 and 1st January 2008 editions carried three reports under the title “Postmortem”. Those three reports were full of contradictions, and were misleading. While The Samaj blamed in its first report the VHP, it blamed the Christians in the second and the Naxals in the third report for the riot at Kandhamal. One thing that is clear from it that The Samaj was not sure about its stand in this issue. The most interesting thing was that there was not even a single statement of any affected person in their one thousand and five hundred-word article. Nor were the opinions or reactions of the minority community placed in it. The report on 31.12.2007 ran like this:
·
Getting foreign fund, support of two retired IAS Officers and encouragement of local MPs the Christians in the sensitive district of Kondhmal are said to be getting more and more strengthened. As a consequence, the caste-based conflict of Kondhmal has taken the shape of communal riot. The Kondh-Panos conflict was the main conflict in Kondhmal but two retired IAS Officers and the local MP have started encouraging the Christians. The pouring of foreign fund has acted like ghee in fire. In no circumstances the tribals of Kondhmal fall victim to the allurements of the Christians to get converted. The two retired IAS officers are exercising their power and contact to get funds for tempting the tribals. It has come to such a stage that if there are five wards in a village there are five churches or prayer halls in that village. With their blessing from those officers and MPs the Panoss try to show off their affluence to the tribals and poor Hindus. This has resulted in a large scale dissatisfaction even among the tribal Christians. While the tribals are Baptists the Panoss are Roman Chatholics. Only in Siarigaon of Katingia Panchayat and in Saraguda some tribals are Roman Catholics. Baliguda, Ghumusar, Udayagiri, Nuagaon and Daringbadi Blocks have a large number of Christians in comparison to other Blocks of the district.
·
What could be the purpose of this report? It is childish to claim that riots become frequent with the increase of numbers of prayer halls and organizations of the minority community. It is still more ridiculous to make issues out of it in prominent newspapers. Due to baseless and misleading reports people become biased. It is surprising that the journalist who was asks the minority community people about their foreign funding does not ask the same question to the Hindu fundamentalists. Nobody asks whose assistance has helped the Chakapad Ashram grow in the last twenty years. Where from do crores of rupees come to support the Hindu organization and its movement? Before bringing Radhakant Naik, John Naik and Issac Behera to the witness box our journalists should not forget to ask the same question to the Orissa branch of BJP. While Kondhmal was bruning how did the newspaper publish in bold letters the BJP’s irresponsible statement “Kandhmal Riot is the creation of Christian NGOs?” The BJP leaders have not been questioned further about this statement in press conferences.
·
·The Prajatantra on 17.1.2008 ran the following report:
·
·The BJP has alleged that some organizations run by the Christians are responsible for the present riot at Kandhamal. For this purpose the names of some organizations and NGOs operating there have been published. Jewel Oram, a senior leader of BJP, in a press conference on Wednesday said that deceptive news is given currency. It is said that the Christians there are a minority. The Hindus have been oppressing them and that this not is created by VHP and BJP. But this is absolutely false. The truth is that the Hindus are a minority there and they are being oppressed instead. In Brahmanigaon Christians numbering about 5000 attacked the Hindus. Their houses were burnt. Visiting that area Jewel Oram came to know that those Christians were armed and supported by such NGOs as Action Aid, NISWAS, SFDC, Aama Gaon, CPSW and Alok Grama.
·
·The communal politics operates on baseless and misleading facts. We get to hear such a voice from Jewel Oram. Here the question is whether the journalists should have quoted him in verbatim? He has only lied. He is not supported by facts when he is alleging anybody. It is nothing but political motivation to bring changes against any organization without facts and proofs. By encouraging such sick mentality the mass media is setting a dangerous trend.
·
·On January 10, 2008 The Sambad carried an editorial essay by Banabihari Panda, the former Director General of Police. Such type of editorial page articles are supposed to be based on facts and analysis of those facts. But it was nothing but a collage of reports, rumours and so-called news. Banabihari Panda wrote:
·The event following it is attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. It was reported in the newspapers that about 200 people armed with lathis, sticks and spears stopped his vehicle and attacked him. This incident is solely responsible for the riot in Kandhamal. Many opine that had this incident not happened the riot would not have spread so rapidly. Therefore those who attacked him should be booked and punished. Some churches were burnt. That is to be condemned. Church is a prayer hall, where God is worshipped. Those who committed this crime should be punished. Likewise it is reported that five temples have been razed. Those who did it should be equally punished. Burning a church or breaking a temple is unpardonable. All those miscreants should punished.”
·
·It was never considered whether such an article should be carried as an editorial piece. There is no official report that any temple was razed in Kandhamal. The media did not report from this angle either. Some leaders like Jewel Oram have shamelessly claimed that the Christians are not a minority in Kandhamal. The population of the district of Kandhamal is 6,48,201. Out of that while 5,27,757 are Hindu 1,17,950 are Christian. Instead of refuting misleading facts of the leaders the media has highlighted them. Excepting a few stray villages in Kandhmal the rest of the villages have a minority of Christian population. The Sangh Parivar claimed that it is a caste-based conflict not a communal riot: so did the mass media.
·
·The Sangh Parivar has repeatedly changed its role in the context of the Kondhmal riot. If now it claims that Kondhmal unrest is due to conversion then it would say that it is merely caste-related conflict. In order to suppress the event the spokes person of the Sangh parivar, Ram Madhab had written in rediff.com on January 8, 2008, “We must not ignore the fact that Kondhmal is for that matter many such incidents have been a localized incident; not a phenomenon as the candlelightwalas should want us to believe.”
The Sangh Parivar had advised the civilized society to take it lightly. Further, that it was not a communal riot; rather there are many political reasons involved in it. And the local media knowingly or unknowingly acted as a facilitator. Within a week only three persons died while hundreds went missing. 71 churches, 48 prayer halls, 5 convent schools, 7 hostels, 2 vocational centres, more than 500 houses and 126 shops were burnt. Fire was the greatest weapon in it. In this heinous attempt to wipe out the minority the media did not even play a neutral, not to speak of a deterrent role.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RIOT?
·
·The wound of the riot of December 2007 is yet to heal. Finding ever other excuse the Hindu fundamentalist organizations and the organizations at the district level at Kandhamal, supported by them have been blocking roads and staging demonstrations. Trying to analyze their causes the media have only misled the public opinion. They lack data. Even if they might have it they do not analyze it. In preparing this project I have collected and analysed more than 200 reports, articles, editorials and interviews. Some of the reports have already been analysed. The reports I have analysed have clearly reflected the mental conflict of the journalists and how they have confused the general public. The journalists never concentrated on certain required points. Those reports repeatedly blamed conversion and appropriation of land as main causes of riots. In its article, “Behind the Unrest of the Kondhmal” on July 11, 2008 The Sambad wrote:
·
“Appropriation of land of the Adivasis is one of the major reasons which contribute towards conflict in Kondhmal. It is for years that deceptive methods have been taken to appropriate the lands of the Adivasis, thereby displacing them. As a result, they are like refugees in their own native place. The provision has it that a non-Adivasi cannot buy an Adivasi’s land. As per the Regulation II, 3 and 4, 1956 a special court has been created under the Sub-Collectors of Phulbani and Baliguda. Such cases are to be tried on priority basis in these courts while many cases of appropriation of Adivasi Lands by non-Adivasis are pending in this court. There are many instances when the Adivasis who won the decree have not been able to get back their lands due to lack of assistance of Administration and police. As there is a dearth of household and cultivable lands in Kondhmal its inhabitants are facing a lot of difficulty. If they get their household land and cultivation land much of their problems could be solved. In Kondhmal the loss of caste is another root cause of unrest.”
·
·Reports of this kind have created a wrong idea among the people that it is caste-related conflict and not due to communal feeling. There is an attempt to draw a divisive line among the Panos and the Kandhas. Seventeen percent of the population of the district is of Dalit caste. Ninety percent of them are Christians. Eighty percent of them are landless. Without mentioning concrete cases our journalists have built a context. According to 2001 Census, of the total population of the district, i.e. 6,48,201, 3,36,809 are Adivasis. They constitute 52% of the total population. Another section has created conflict between 52% Adivasi and 17% Dalits. The mass media is precisely silent about them. It is a worth-mentioning fact that majority of the journalists of this district represent that third section. They are not the original inhabitants of the district. Coming from other districts they have bought the lands of the Adivasis and are settling there. Another strange fact is that in Kandhmal there are not much lands under the ownership of the raiyats. 88% of the land of the district is in the ownership of the government. Out of that 71% is reserved forest and 17% un-reserved forest. There is only 12% of the ownership of the land by the individuals. Those who benefit most from the 12% of the land are the ones who have come to and settled in Kandhamal. If an analysis of population growth of this district from 1961 to 2001 is made it will be like this: Adivasis 70%, Dalits 60%, whereas non-Adivasi and non-Dalit Hindus are 134%. This unnatural growth is the root of all problems. The Adivasis and Dalits are exploited; their lands are snatched away from them. In this regard both are victims of exploitation. The mass media has never given importance to it.
·
·As there is no cordial relationship between the Kandhas and Panos a fictitious history about them has been spread by the local Hindu fundamentalist organizations and political parties. Regarding it L. S. S. O’Malley says in his Bengal District Gazetteer, which was published in 1908:
In the Kandhamals, the Panos were the serfs of the Kandhas. They worked on their farms and wove cloth for them, in return for which they obtained a small area of land, grain for food and all their marriage expenses; they used also to procure victims for the Meriah sacrifices. Their serfdom was so well recognized that if a Panos left his master and worked for another, it caused serious dissensions among the Kandha community. To this day there is a settlement of Panos – a kind of Ghetto – attached to every large Kandha village, where they weave the cloth the Kandhas require and work as farm labourers. The picture remains more or less the same today except for the Meriah sacrifice. In lieu of Meriah, buffaloes are being procured for sacrifice.
The Adivasis and the Dalits are having a long history of living together. After the emergence of the fundamentalist Hindu organizations in the seventies there has been ebb in their relationship. Consequentially there have been more than five riots in Kandhamal since 90s. There have been repeated attempts to suppress the Christian organizations operating in this district. It has already been mentioned that there are more than five lakh Hindus in this district. Basically the Adivasis are not Hindus; they have their own customs and tradition. They have been constantly projected on the official as well as non-official levels as Hindus. When the Sangha Parivar started this programme in Orissa it chose Kandhamal as it is dominated by the tribals. It tried to inculcate in the Adivasis a feeling through different ways that they too are Hindus. Some local leaders who used adivasis to gain political mileage joined the Sangh parivar. The nexus between the Sangh parivar and the leaders of the Adivasis came to light during the riot. The joint efforts of the Kui society and the Sangh Parivar made the riot more complicated. That complication is yet to be untangled. Even today Kandhamal is tense and the lives of the minority community is threatened.
CONCLUSION
An internal feud has already been noticed between Kandhamal and mass media. The life story of the tribals and Dalits has rarely been rightfully portrayed in the local newspapers owned by high caste and higher class people. Different political parties have used the media very often to further their interest. The first newspaper to be published from Orissa, which was one hundred and fifty years ago and run by Christian missionaries was Prabodh Chandrika. It had carried news of the conflict between the Kandhas and the administrators of the colonizers. It ran like this:
·“The news has reached us that in Kandhamal early at dawn on December 6, many Kandhas armed with arrows attacked the Agent Sahib. The Agent had with him the Laskars. As the Kandhas shot arrows at him he ordered the Laskars to fire at them. One of the Kandhas died on the spot. Frightened, they retreated and are gathering at a distance. The reason as to why the Kandhas are acting like this is not yet clear.”
·
·At that time the Christian Missionaries could not lay a finger at the problems of Kandhas. They could dare to mention the incident clearly because they could not understand their problems. At a later period the missionaries had remarkably joined the colonizers in helping them in the field of health and education. That is why the number of Christians increased in Kandhamal. It was not just the Dalits who were converted. The Adivasis also followed the Dalits’ footsteps. It was possible due to the selfless service of the missionaries. There was no communal tension in Kandhamal till 70s of twentieth century. It was only after the appearance of the Sangh Parivar at Kandhmal that the poisonous seed was sown there, which has later sprouted into riots.
·
·The Editorial Guild of India has laid out categorical rules which should be followed while reporting the riots. I have already discussed how the media has failed to follow those rules in reporting riots from Kandhamal. Finally here I sum up some pertinent points regarding the reports of the media on riot at Kandhamal:
1. In the context of the Kandhamal riot, the media committed a major mistake by doing a wrong analysis of the basic facts regarding the district.
2. The language used in the media for the minority was one of disdain and pity, which is to be condemned.
3. No importance was attached to the opinion of the minority community. On the contrary, the statements of the fundamentalist Hindus and their organisations were dealt with in a great detail.
4. The intellectuals and experts in the field were not asked about their opinions on the riot. Whatever articles by the eminent persons that came out in the newspapers were by the retired IAS or IPS officers.
5. The opinions of the ones affected in the riot were never published. Another matter of regret is that the hearts of the journalists did not melt to present the sad tale of the victims. Very often the journalists wrote as per their whim. There was not much effort by the editors to look into it.
6. By mentioning the involvement of the Naxals in the movement against the industrialization and globalization the journalists have been only showing their true colours. There is no proof of the Naxal’s involvement in the religious or communal conflicts. The media unnecessarily tried to show the involvement of Naxals in the Kandhamal riot. In that ignoble effort they also tried to rope in some voluntary organizations and secular intellectuals.
7. In stead of following the journalistic norms, most of the reports were driven by political compulsions. It seems every newspaper reflected a particular party’s stand or an ism. In this case the tendency was more towards achieving political benefits rather maintaining high standard of humanitarianism. It has only left a stigma on the morality of the local media.
Kedar Mishra
POSTED BY KEDAR
lAN ANALYSIS OF MEDIA IN POST-KANDHAMAL VIOLENCE ODISHA
I am now writing an analysis on the reportings of Kandhamal violence in Odisha. The role of media is analysed here by an insider and it’s a criticism within media.
Kedar Mishra
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-14/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
Her Excellency,
The President of India,
New Delhi
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-15/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Honorable Prime Minister of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-16/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Hon’ble Chairman,
National Human Rights Commission,
New Delhi
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-17/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Hon’ble Chairman,
State Human Rights Commission,
Orissa.
.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-18/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Home minister,
Minister of Home affairs
Govt of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-19/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Minister of information and Bureau,
Govt of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-20/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Hon’ble Commission for Scheduled Caste,
Govt of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-21/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Hon’able Commission for Scheduled Tribe,
Govt of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-22/2010. Date: 13.01.10-
To
The Hon’ble Governor,
Orissa, Bhubaneswar.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-23/2010. Date: 13.01.10-
To
The Chairman,
Editors Guild’s Of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
(ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS OF KANDHAMAL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE)
At/Po- MundaSahi, Balliguda, Kandhamal, Ph-9438072385
Letter no-24/2010. Date:13.01.10-
To
The Hon’able Commission for Minorities,
Govt of India,
New Delhi.
Sub:- Submission of the copy of the submitted memorandum.
Your Honour,
This is for your kind information that, we the undersigned members of the Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (Association of Victims of Communal Violence in Kandhamal), Kandhamal District, Orissa, herewith present the copy of the memorandum submitted to chief justice of Orissa High Court, Inquiry commission of Kandhamal violence, Mr.Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, Retd.justice, Orissa high court, Mr. Navin Pattanaik, Chief Minister of Orissa and Press Council of India for the necessary and urgent action.
Yours sincerely
Convenor, SHPS, Kandhamal, Orissa.
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