The following is a copy of a letter written by the Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, following attacks on people, churches, homes & other properties during Christmas 2007 in Orissa. I am disturbed & do not know how to react. I do know however, that when we speak out about things, chances of things being rectified usually increase. Hence, I am posting the letter here, in it’s totality.
Even as I post it though, I am (sadly) sure that there is bound to be people who will endorse such incidents (”conversion” will probably be the key excuse, as is all it is when there are any attacks on Christians in India regardless whether there is proof or not of conversions actually haven taken place).
I feel that we - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and all others - in democratic India should not tolerate incidents like this.
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Bhubaneswar , Jan 5, 2008: The feast of Christmas, an event of joy and peace turned out to be a tragedy for the people of Kandhamal district in Orissa. Rioters have torched hundreds of churches, institutions and houses. Thousands of people are still stranded in the forests and on streets. Here is a first-hand account of the violence and aftermath that has left minorities especially Christians in fear and anxiety, submitted by Archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath, SVD.
From Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, SVD
The background of the incident:
The trouble began on 24th December in Bamunigam village, which is close to the police station under Daringibadi Block of Kandhamal District. Around 8 am, a mob of fundamentalists forcefully removed Christmas decorations put up by Ambedkar Baniko Sangho comprising local Christian entrepreneurs as a preparation for Christmas, with due permission from the administration. This was followed by exchange of words between two groups, as the fundamentalists insisted that the people stop Christmas celebrations. Within a few minutes a group of people who were stationed close-by pounced on the members of Ambedkar Baniko Sangho with sticks, swords, guns and other lethal weapons.. During midnight Mass on 24th December, miscreants hurled explosives on Archbishop’s house in Bhubaneswar which though exploded, no damage was done.
Ambulance burnt at Balliguda:
Destruction at Balliguda Carmel Convent:
Homes of Christians in the area that were completely burned (these people are now homeless and without any material possesions):
The people dispersed out of fear sensing the trouble when they saw this armed gang coming to attack them. The miscreants started shooting people and two were critically injured. They also ransacked about fifteen shops belonging to the Christians after looting the shops and houses, and about seven members of Ambedkar Baniko Sangho were thrashed by the mob.
On the second day on Christmas, 25th December, the crowd came back and destroyed the churches in Bamunigam area before entering the Christian villages and burnt their houses and properties. They also shouted slogans against the Christians and asked them to leave the place. Church and Christians were under mortal threat, but unfortunately there was no police security.
Attack on Bamunigam and Balliguda Parishes:
On 24th December at around 2.00 p.m. much larger crowd (comprising of 400 to 500 people) marched into Balliguda town parish by damaging and ransacking the church buildings. By 10.00 p.m. they attacked and burnt the church, presbytery, convent, computer room, dispensary, and 2 student hostels.
The same armed mob then moved into the town and completely burnt down the church belonging to the Baptist Christians. They also attacked another church belonging to the Pentecostal Christians.
On the 25th December they were moving around menacingly threatening the priests and Christians so that they were not even able to file FIR (First Information Report) with the police. The situation continued to be desperate and there was great fear and anxiety among Christians.
A convent in Phulbani was attacked on the same day and the mob ransacked the convent by breaking the doors, and window glasses. They also damaged a new school bus. Immediately the priests and nuns in Pobingia parish were advised to move out to a safer place on 25th December. At 12.00 noon a group of Bajrangdal activists attacked the church of Pobingia parish and destroyed the church and priest’s residence in the afternoon.
All this happened with impunity — in the presence of police. More than half of 24 parishes in Kandhamal District could not celebrate Christmas mass due to the fear of attack. Two constables asked the priests of Phulbani parish to have no celebration lest there will be more troubles.
Shops belonging to Christians which were completely burned (these people have lost their means of livelihood)
More Churches Destroyed - St. Paul Church- Balliguda
Institutions So Far Attacked and Destroyed:
Parish Church - (5)
Village Churches - (48)
Convents (6)
Presbytery (3)
Hostels (6)
Other Institutions (3)
Minor Seminary (Balliguda)
Vocational Training Centre (Balliguda)
Sarshnanda, Leprosy Centre (Pobingia)
A good number of village churches have also been destroyed of which we do not have definite information. In Barakhama parish, 400 houses are gutted, five people were killed, property looted, one tractor, one jeep and two motor cycles were burnt. The formation house of Capuchin congregation was totally vandalized.
All these happened during the first three days of vandalism and arson. We are in receipt of information from various other churches and institutions that the attackers are still active and the destruction of property still continues. On the other hand the innocent Christians are apprehended and Christian officials are victimized in order to appease the fundamentalists.
Preplanned attack and destruction:
Orissa has a history of communal flare-ups every now and then. However, this time it was very intensive, violent and pre-planned from all points of view.
1. The speed with which attacks were carried out - This was not possible unless it was planned. Within half an hour, over two hundred people in Bamunigam parish premises and 400 to 500 people in Balliguda were attacked simultaneously, where maximum destruction took place.
2.They appeared on the scene of destruction with instruments capable of causing massive destruction in a short time. For instance, they carried acid with them in order to burn things. They had guns, iron-cutting swords (machine) to cut the grills of doors and windows.
3. The attackers had enough food stuff with them to prepare their meals in the area during attack. One must conclude that they had pre-planned this attack.
All these events show that without pre-planning such unprecedented destruction, it is not possible to cause maximum destruction within three days.
Interiors of Balliguda Carmel Convent:
Nature of their operation:
I had told my priests and spiritual leaders that they should save themselves and not to worry about the property. So, I advised them to escape to anywhere they possibly can as soon as they hear about an impending attack. Because of this the institutions were kept ‘open’ to the rioters for total destruction.
We could not rely on police force because they were very few or they were indifferent for the reasons I do not know. Destruction took place even in the presence of police force (20 of them) in Bamunigam who were mute spectators.
The fundamentalists broke open through the main door, smashed window glasses, twisted grills and gathered all that they could and piled up in the middle of the building. They poured kerosene/petrol/acid on the heap of things and made a bonfire. The end of the show! Then they moved to another place..
Who were the attackers?
In general the armed mob of fundamentalists belonged to what is called the ‘Sangh Parivar’, professing an extremist and intolerant Hindutva ideology of hate and violence. Nevertheless, the people who perpetrated the crimes were, as a rule, from other villages to avoid recognition. Hence, after committing the crimes, they disappeared from the scenes. So, often it is difficult to identify individuals involved in acts of arson and attempted murders.
How did the Government handle the problem?
In general the Government promised us all the support and protection. The ‘Kui Samaj’ had declared two day bandh on 25th and 26th of December in order to protest against giving scheduled caste status to SC Christians. Since 25th December is a celebration of Christmas, we expected some trouble. We approached the District Magistrate and Superintendent of police about the impending troubles and they promised us all their support. To make the long story short the following is our experience.
1. The district administration had not taken any precautionary measures to prevent any troubles; consequently they were not able to control or prevent the destruction.
2. When the troubles began on 24th December around 8. 00 a.m. I approached the Director General of Police (DGP) who promised us all support and protection. However, we are utterly disappointed because only after 26 hours after the first attack the force reached the places of attack in Bamunigam. Distance form Bhubaneswar to the area of trouble is 300 kilometers. From the District Head Quarters, Phulbani (Kandhamal) to the troubled area is over 85 kilometers.
3. Either the deployment of the Force was insufficient or the Force did not have the power to take necessary action on the spot.
4. The fundamentalists moved freely in trucks and other vehicles shouting slogans “Jai Shri Ram”, “Jai Bajrang Dal” etc. Destruction went on unabated.
5. So far no one has been apprehended even though most of the attacks took place in front of the police.
6. Most of the priests, pastors and religious nuns in Kandhamal District have taken shelter in the forest. In fact, the fundamentalists are in search of finding their hide-outs.
7. The Christians who are already attacked and those who are in great fear of being attacked fear with sufficient reasons that they are left to the mercy of the fundamentalists.
In general, I would say that the administration miserably failed to take necessary actions to prevent such unprecedented destruction of establishments to Christian community in Kandhamal District.
A delegation met the Hon’ble Chief Minister and made the following demands:
1. That a CBI inquiry may be ordered for proper and impartial investigation for justice..
2. Central Para Military Forces are deployed in adequate strength to all the affected and sensitive places to prevent any further recurrences as the local police have not been able to control the situation.
3. Impartial and proper assessment of the property damage caused to various Churches, Christian institutions and other establishments may be made and adequate compensation be provided as early as possible to restore confidence of the people in the administration.
4. Proper compensation is given to the deceased family and injured people.
5. The culprits responsible for creating communal disharmony and caused damages to people and properties should be severely dealt with and the Govt. officials be given exemplary punishments for their gross negligence, inaction, apathy amounting to connivance with the perpetrators.
6. A Fact Finding Committee consisting of various Church leaders and representatives proposed to visit various affected sites and personnel of the Kandhamal District and other affected places of the state to take stock of the situation and to console the victims and families. Therefore, we request to provide police protection to the team during their visit.
A Call For Solidarity And Support
Thousands of innocent victims who are left with no house, clothes and food have taken refuge in forests and in temporary relief camps after their houses were torched. Those who wish to extend their help in rebuilding their lives may contact:
Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, SVD
Archbishop’s House
SatyaNagar,
Bhubaneswar -751007
Orissa-India
Email: crcdc(at)satyam.net.in
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Thus ends the letter above. I end the post with a quote from the movie ‘A Time to Kill‘ (based on John Grisham’s novel) where lawyer Jake Brigance defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.:
Jake Tyler Brigance: [in his summation, talking about Tonya Hailey] I want to tell you a story. I’m going to ask you all to close your eyes while I tell you the story. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. Go ahead. Close your eyes, please.
This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl. Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on. First one, then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure with a vicious thrust in a fog of drunken breath and sweat.
And when they’re done, after they’ve killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to have children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. They start throwing full beer cans at her. They throw them so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones.
Then they urinate on her. Now comes the hanging. They have a rope. They tie a noose. Imagine the noose going tight around her neck and with a sudden blinding jerk she’s pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking. They don’t find the ground. The hanging branch isn’t strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge. Pitch her over the edge.
And she drops some thirty feet down to the creek bottom below. Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die.
Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl.
Now imagine she’s white.
Look at those pictures again, now imagine, they are pictures of your church, your temple, your mosque, your homes, your offices.
Let us not tolerate communal attacks targeted at any community.
Saja Forum Coverage of the incident: INDIA: Christians attacked in Orissa by hardline Hindus:
Tags: Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Balliguda, Balliguda Carmel Convent, Bhubaneswar, Catholics, Christians, Christmas 2007, Communal Disharmony, Cuttack, Democratic India, Raphael Cheenath, St. Paul Church
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February 11th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
This is heinous.. I seriously condone this. I really wonder why Indians choose to call people from a diferent nation rascist when they themselves tend to be so most of the time!!! Hypocrisy at it’s best!!
February 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
It is extremely sad that we call ourselves part of a civil society, when we still have such incidences based on religion, caste, region et al.
sam is right, we really need to introspect before we can claim that other nations are racist towards us.
strict action must be taken against people who instigate such violent mob behavior, no matter what their stature is. these are no better than terrorists who are shaking the foundations of our nation, and shud be treated as such!
February 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Perhaps i am not a good Christian. So be it. I don’t want us to “turn the other cheek” anymore.I say that all Christian hospitals/education institues/NGO’s etc, simply stop accepting patients/students/doing good for anybody else other than their own. Let’s see how this so called democracy manages to stand on it’s own. I have no figures. But i am pretty certain that across most cities/towns/villlages, a majority or atleast 50% of all such institutions are Christian based or managed.So let everybody take care of their own.
Maybe this is how “extremists” are born. Why not take the attack back to them, in any form?
It’s very sickening to see such things happening all the time, and nothing being done about it.
Maybe it is time, each of us took it upon ourselves to make an attempt at protecting our own.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
it’s a lot of frustration that came out in the previous comment. You could choose to remove it if you want, if you believe it not to be in good taste. Wish we could do something to generate a little more awareness to get people to be more tolerant of one another.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
@ Ashish: It is extremely sad. And yes, strict action should be taken. But who will bell the cat? It’s taken so long to arrest Raj here in Mbai. And Orissa is regrettably known for it’s communal attacks on Christians.
@ Dusty: You know, I completely understand where you’re coming from. It’s almost a natural reaction to want to ‘get back’ at those who hurt us / do things we disapprove of strongly.
But see - you put the intial emotion aside and rational thinking prevailed in your almost immediate subsequent comment “Wish we could do something to generate a little more awareness to get people to be more tolerant of one another”
While I don’t expect all people to be saints (ie. turn the other cheek) it’d be good if they, like you, overcame emotion and thought rationally.
Two wrongs do not make a right & I really pray that the situation in Orissa gets better. Fast.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Hi Dusty n Mel,
Let me start with saying that this is not what hinduism is about. Hinduism is traditionally tolerant of all other religions. This is something that should never happen in future and its reprehensible that it ever did. I think all of us , as Indians need to be together to take this country and place it where it rightfully belongs amongst the world leaders. We cant fight amongst ourselves. I think religion is something personal, to each his own. Having said that, there are illiterate Hindus / Muslims / Christians who are used in such circumstances.
The seeds of trouble are sowed when:
1) The visit of Pope John Paul II to India in November 1999 brought to international attention an issue that has disturbed Indians and other Asians almost from the beginning of the Western contact: religious conversion. In a major address, the pope boldly declared the evangelization of Asia to be one of his Church’s top priorities for the next millennium, a prospect that found little favor with Indian religious leaders.
Dusty, I am personally also not one who believes in turning the other cheek. I think you are justified in what you say, perhaps they should actually do it in these areas where the violence occured. We all know that the christian missionaries do good work, that point is moot. If what you suggest is put into action, its the unfortunate innocents who will suffer who would not have had anything to do with the violence. The scoundrels who did this would actually succeed since now those who were previously not biased would think that the Church / Missionaries are being selective for helping people based on faith. Trust me, we dont want to go there. It would only flare up more. Once again, I fully comprehend where your angst is coming from. If those scoundrels can be found / identified then I will personally flog them naked in the centre of their own villages. But till then, as Mel said two wrongs wont make a right.
Once more , the reasons for this:
The result has been a rise in the number of clashes between Christian missionary organizations and Hindus who oppose their activities; in some cases the authorities have attempted to proscribe missionary activity altogether.(56) At a deeper level, the conflict between the urge to spread the Christian gospel and the resentment such efforts provoke reflects the contrast between Western values and those of India. In the West, freedom of religion is a fundamental value and conversion from one religion to another an ancillary right. But the doctrine of the monopoly of truth and revelation implied in this concept is alien to the Hindu mind. For most Hindus the Western view was encapsulated in the famous Christian hymn, “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains,” composed by an Anglican bishop of Calcutta in the early nineteenth century, with its call to deliver India (and other benighted lands) “from error’s chain.” Whether from early nineteenth-century Anglican bishop or late twentieth-century Catholic pope, such sentiments continue to be viewed by Hindus as they once were by Mahatma Gandhi: “a clear libel on Indian humanity.”
Have a look at http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-75162016.html
its very well researched.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
I am sure there are going to be more replies to my earlier comment, so something I want to add. I think Mel put it extremely well with the John Grisham example. My point was not to show that the attack was justified, but perhaps something that could help quell this in the future. As educated people we know that violence or such attacks are NEVER justified but its not so easy to explain the same to these people (extremists).
Its only the nation that suffers, and trust me that makes me bleed from the heart.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
These are bad days for the Christians of India.There is no other way than the Church tabulate the heinous attacks still taking place every day in Kandhamal Distt of Orissa.
The tragic gang rape and burning alive of Rajni Maji is too tragic to imagine. Yes this is happening in 21st century India. India is no more a democratic, Secular, socialist republic. It has long ceased to be one.
The country is largely administered by a yellow saffron jaundiced party. The Maharastrian leaders who largely constitute the Central Government are secret followers of the hindu ideologs Savakar and Golwalkar. The home ministry is in the hands of one such joker.
No minority is safe from the Police who harrass the innocent. This is a hindu Fascists nation. They will use the bomb to threaten everybody who stand up to them.
The only way out is for Christians all over the world to call a session of the U.N. to focus on the growth of Fascism in India and to save the minorities by reference of the matter to the world court of justice to try all these criminals.
There is no other way out. Goodbye my country. The land of my dreams.