Politics of hatred has left India bleeding

Politics of hatred has left India bleeding (Comment)

December 30th, 2008 - 4:49 pm ICT by IANS - Send to a friend:

The year 2008 can easily be marked as an unforgettable year in the annals of Indian christianity for the simple reason that the Christian community here faced its most trying and testing time in its 2,000 years of history. It is not the case that Christianity had not faced hostility and opposition earlier in India; it did right from the very start when St Thomas, an Apostle of Jesus, came to our shores in the first century to preach the good news: he was martyred by those who opposed to his presence and teachings. However, as in several other parts of the world, Christianity in India did not face an orchestrated and protracted persecution for the most part of the last two millennia. That is partly because Christianity for the first 15 centuries or so was mostly confined to the south western shores of India, the Malabar coast to be precise. It was only after the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries in the latter part of 15th century AD that Christianity began to make its presence felt in other parts of India. more

Four more held for killing Orissa VHP leader

15 Dec 2008, 0053 hrs IST, Sandeep Mishra, TNN
Print Email Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
BHUBANESWAR: Four more people were arrested on Sunday in connection with the August 23 murder of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati,

taking the total arrests in the sensational case that had triggered widespread communal violence in Orissa's Kandhmal district to seven.

Interestingly, the police success came just a day before saffron brigades' ultimatum to the state government to arrest the killers of the VHP leader, failing which they would organize an Orissa bandh on December 25.

"We have arrested four of the accused and are on the look out for others,'' IG (crime branch) Arun Ray told TOI. Police sources said the four were arrested during raids by Special Operations Group personnel in Kotgarh area of Kandhmal district.

"We're looking for seven accused. We arrested four Christians, believed to be Maoist supporters, for killing Saraswati and four of his followers at an ashram in Jalespeta on August 23, from a place bordering Rayagada district. Search operations are on to nab the other three,'' the sources said. more

Orange County - Mujibur Rehman on violence against minorities in India

Kandhamal, one of the 30 districts of Orissa, was  created in 1994 by the then Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, father of  present CM Naveen Patnaik. According to the 2001 Census, 52 per cent of Kandhamal’s population are Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 17 per cent are Scheduled Castes (SCs). Out of 100,000 Christians, 60 per cent are converted from SCs, locally known as Pana Christians. The region is called Kandhamal because it is land of the Kandha tribes. The word ‘Kandha’ means hills. The per capita income in the district is Rs 4,730, whereas Orissa’s per capita income is Rs 5,264. It has only 15 sanctioned police stations with a capacity of 647 personnel looking after 648,000 citizens.

................................
While Naveen Patnaik runs a coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his father had opposed alliances with Hindutva parties. In the 1989 national election, when all major non-Congress parties had electoral alliances with the BJP, Biju Patnaik opposed the move, and yet won a majority of the Lok Sabha seats in the state for his party. The electoral history of Orissa elections indicates the rise of the BJP from the 2000 election. In 1980, the BJP garnered only 1.36 per cent of the vote; in 1990, the BJP fielded 63 candidates, garnered 3.56 per cent, won two seats and lost deposit in 54 seats. In the 2000 election, however, 38 out of 63 of its candidates won, and it got 18.20 per cent votes, and in 2004, it won 32 seats and got 17.11 per cent votes. But the BJP’s presence has created advantages for Hindutva organisations to consolidate their base. While Naveen Patnaik may claim that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) represents the legacy of Biju Patnaik, the fact is the most important legacy of secularism is being deeply compromised by the BJD by first being part of the coalition and then not being able to control the recurring violence against Christians.
.......................
Orissa’s religious violence is intriguing because Oriya sub-nationalism was never rooted in Hindu religion. Instead, it grew around the Oriya language. It was Lord Jagannath and his cult which defined the mainstream Oriya  religious traditions. The statement  once made by an unknown Bengali writer, “Oriya ekta bhasa naye (Oriya is not a language)” became a rallying cry for a separate state movement leading to the creation of Orissa on April 1, 1936. Madhusudhan Das, a noted barrister, led a mass political movement through his political party, Utkal Sammilani, which was independent of the Congress Party. The idea of Orissa, along with Sindh, as a separate state, was floated in a White Paper prepared by British in 1933, as a sequel to the report of the Simon Commission. Thus, Orissa is the first state to be created on the basis of a separate language and inspired state reorganisations across linguistic lines in post-independent India.


more 

ADvani in Election mode:Wrong to malign Islam

Saturday,4 October 2008 15:30 hrs IST

Wrong to malign Islam: Advani  - New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani Saturday said that it is wrong to target and malign one particular religion for the wrongs of a few. "Even if the Quran is quoted in threatening emails by terrorists, we should not malign a religion. It is the particular interpretation of the Al Qaida-type of groups," Advani said while addressing a seminar on 'War on Terrorism' organised by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a BJP- sponsored think tank. He said that Hindu scriptures could also be misinterpreted and it would be "intolerable if people malign Hindutva because of that". On the party's repeated demand for reviving the stringent anti-terror law Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Advani said: "We have accepted the Supreme Court's directions and precautions to check misuse of the law. This shows the determination of the BJP to make proper laws." More

NHRC issues notice to K'taka govt on attack on Christians

New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today issued a notice to Karnataka Government and asked it to submit a report on the violence against Christians in the state. The NHRC's notice came following a complaint filed by an Ahmebdabad-based NGO, Prashant -- A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace. The Commission asked the Chief Secretary to submit the report on the violence against Christians in Mangalore and surrounding areas. The NGO has alleged that the local administration seemed to be hand in glove with the perpetrators of violence against the Christian community, an NHRC release said. PTI. ..read

35 RSS, VHP men held in Kandhamal

Kandhamal police have finally arrested 35 people for instigating communal clashes in the district. Of them, there are activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.The authorities have issued orders to surrender all licensed guns in 24 hours.


Kandhamal district police chief Praveen Kumar told HT: “We have made 35 arrests in the last 24 hours. Indefinite curfew was imposed in nine places.” He did not confirm the arrests of RSS and VHP people.

The Centre has agreed to provide 10 more CRPF companies in Kandhamal, besides the 36 already deployed in the district.  read it all 

Catholic nun stripped naked and raped public

Nun was gang raped and priest brutally assaulted in Kandhamal

Parvathi Menon  The Hindu   September 30, 2008

FIRs lodged but no arrests by State government; no response from Centre; Sister Nirmala wrote to CM and PM appealing for protection to Christians

Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government has failed to take any action, under the law of the land, against those who committed bestial crimes — the gang rape of a 28-year-old Catholic nun and the brutal attack on a Catholic priest who courageously resisted their attempts to force him to participate in the atrocity. These incidents took place on August 25 at K. Nuagaon, 12 km from the Baliguda subdivision in Kandhamal district. Both victims filed First Information Reports at the Baliguda police station. Sister Nirmala, Superior-General of the Missionaries of Charity, wrote to the Orissa Chief Minister and the Prime Minister specifying the atrocities. ...more 

Sister Nirmala’s appeal to Orissa Chief Minister

“On behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters in Orissa who are in deep anguish, pain and constant insecurity, deprived of basic necessities of life and are crying out for immediate help, I urgently appeal to you in the name of God as the Chief Minister of Orissa to do all you can to put an end to this ongoing violence since 24th August 2008 causing untold terror, loss of property and even loss of life and human dignity, violating basic human rights of our own brothers and sisters.” This is the fervent appeal Sister Nirmala, Superior-General of the Missionaries of Charity, made in a letter she wrote Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on August 28.

It was in this letter that she narrated, in great anguish, how a young nun was “hunted out of her hiding place and stripped naked by the mob and her virginity grossly violated in public, without any help from the police present there.”  ...more 

Godhra: Nanavati contradicts 5 earlier probes

 Hindustan Times , September 27,2008

5 probes, Nanavati panel the exceptionNagendar Sharma Hindustan Times

Email Author

New Delhi, September 27, 2008

First Published: 01:12 IST(27/9/2008)

Last Updated: 01:18 IST(27/9/2008)

The findings of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and top jurists — including four former Supreme Court judges — on the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and the riots that followed are the complete opposite of those of the Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission.

The Nanavati commission, in the first part of its report made public on Thursday, concluded that the fire in the Sabarmati Express was the result of a “pre-planned conspiracy”. It also absolved the Narendra Modi government of any wrongdoing in Godhra and in the riots. But these findings are strongly contradicted by the NHRC report on the riots as well as by a probe panel headed by former SC judge V.R. Krishna Iyer and assisted by Justices P.B. Sawant and four former high court judges.

The NHRC report, prepared after its then chairman and former CJI J.S. Verma visited riot-affected areas, slammed the Gujarat government for all-round failure in controlling the riots and in providing relief to victims. “A serious failure of intelligence and action by the government marked events leading to the Godhra tragedy and the subsequent deaths and destruction,” the April 2002 report said.

A nine-member team of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal, headed by Justice Iyer, concluded in its report that the Godhra incident was “spontaneous”. “The tribunal found no evidence that the train coach was set on fire from outside. It was sudden provocation on the Godhra station that led to a clash between Hindus and Muslims. The administration suppressed facts and spread falsehood,” Justice Iyer said. The report added: “The uniform pattern of violence in Gujarat the day after the Godhra incident showed the killings of Muslims were pre-planned.”

Former SC judge UC Banerjee, appointed by the Railway Ministry to probe the Godhra fire, concluded in 2006 that the incident was “not pre-planned”. Similar findings were reported by former Allahabad High Court judge S.C. Jain, who reviewed the cases registered under the now repealed Prevention of Corruption Act.   Read 

-----------------------------
 DNA 

Godhra: 2 commissions, 2 findings

Rajesh Sinha

Friday, September 26, 2008  04:03 IST

It couldn’t have been petrol fire: Banerjee

NEW DELHI: Much finger-pointing and exchange of accusations – on predictable lines – followed the tabling of the Nanavati commission report on Thursday.

Nanavati’s findings completely trashed an earlier report by justice UC Banerjee, who held himself from commenting.

Banerjee, heading a committee appointed by the railway ministry to inquire into the fire on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra, in which 59 people died, had said in his report the fire was accidental and ruled out any conspiracy to kill the kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya on the train.

“I have not seen the report. How can I comment on it?” he said, defending his own findings saying had the fire been a result of an attack from outside, the over a 100 passenger who escaped could not have managed it.

Banerjee said he had examined a large number of witnesses, including an income-tax officer, who submitted they crawled on the floor to get out of the burning coach.
While 250 people escaped to safety, 58 were asphyxiated due to thick smoke. The sequence of the fire was different. “This sequence could never have been in a petrol fire,” he said.  ... more 

--------------------------------

Godhra fire was a conspiracy: Nanavati

Anil Pathak & Urvashi Dev Rawal

Thursday, September 25, 2008  17:35 IST

Commission’s report says no proof to show Modi didn’t try to control Gujarat riots.

AHMEDABAD: The Godhra train fire was a “pre-planned conspiracy”, not an accident, and neither did Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi have any role in the incident nor did he show any laxity in controlling the ensuing communal violence in the state.

With these findings, the Justice Nanavati commission, instituted to probe the 2002 Sabarmati Express fire and the riots that followed, has set the stage for another round of political confrontation over the issue. Already the Congress, its UPA allies and the Left have said they expected nothing else from a panel set up by the Modi government while the BJP declared the truth was finally out.  ...more  

TheWeek WEB SPECIAL   Thursday,25 September 2008 21:51 hrs IST My truth, your truth: A tale of two panels - Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Two probe panels set up by two governments have come out with two conflicting versions of a shocking tragedy six years ago whose after-effects continue to be felt in Indian politics. Will the truth behind the Godhra train-burning ever be known? The investigative commission of Justice (retd) G.T. Nanavati and Justice (retd) Akshay Mehta, set up by Gujarat's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government headed by Narendra Modi March 6, 2002, has concluded that the burning of a coach of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra town on the morning of Feb 27, 2002 was a well-planned conspiracy. It said Godhra-based Maulvi Umarji hatched the conspiracy in the Aman Guest house in the west Gujarat town and two people procured 120 litres of petrol for the purpose. The train was stopped as it pulled out of the Godhra railway station, the S-6 and S-7 were stonned for 10-20 minutes and the S-6 coach was set on fire, it found. The incident claimed 59 lives, many of them Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists returning from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh where they had participated in a campaign to build a grand Ram temple there. It also triggered state-wide communal carnage, one of the worst in independent India, killing 1,167 people - most of them Muslims. The panel report, tabled in the Gujarat assembly Thursday, has virtually given a clean chit to Modi and his colleagues, saying there was no evidence to incriminate him or any member of his cabinet, even as rights bodies maintain his police force was biased and the violence could have been stopped early on. The Nanavati-Mehta panel's findings, however, contradict the conclusion of the U.C. Banerjee committee set up by the Railway Ministry Sep 3, 2004. The Banerjee committee noted "a preponderance of evidence" that the fire "originated in the coach itself without any external input". According to BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, the Nanavati-Mehta report is "the most extensive, exhaustive and scientific report" on the train-burning, while the Banerjee report was “ill-prepared and politically motivated?. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on the other hand, said: "It (the Nanavati-Mehta probe) cannot be called a bona fide investigation." Mukul Sinha of the Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) who represented the violence victims before the Nanavati-Mehta investigation panel termed its report as "absurd". "The part one of the report is not supported by credible and independent evidence. Everything in it is based on police official Noel Parmar's report which has been rejected by the Supreme Court," Sinha told IANS in Ahmedabad Thursday. "It is a travesty of justice as the accusations were made against the police in the post-Godhra riots and yet the very same police's report has been used to bring out this report," Sinha said. Read it all ---------------------------- Friday,26 September 2008 18:57 hrs IST http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073750966&articleType=English&contentId=4555810&BV_ID=@@@ Nanavati report raises 'needle of suspicion': CPM New Delhi: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) Friday alleged that the "piecemeal delivering" of the Justice Nanavati Commission report on the Godhra train tragedy tends to justify the "action-reaction theory propagated by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other Sangh Parivar organisations". The CPM said the timing of tabling the report "was indeed suspicious" coming as it did ahead of assembly elections to some states in November. "The second part is slated to be released on the eve of the coming general elections," the CPI-M said pointing to the report findings being presented in a piecemeal fashion, The report has come "after an abnormally long delay and that too in a piecemeal fashion raising many needles of suspicion", the party politburo said in a statement here.   ......more

Article 355 is believed to be issued by the Centre against Orissa

Article 355 is believed to be issued by the Centre against Orissa to ensure that the state government carry out its constitutional responsibilities
A BJD lawmaker said the move was prompted by a desire to appease Christians. “You cannot subvert the constitutional process just to look good to a certain group of people,” said Tathagata Satpathy.
The Centre’s directive will be used by the BJP, which will term it “minority appeasement” and try to win Hindu votes, predicts Kamal Mitra Chenoy, professor, school of international studies at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. But, he added, “no one will believe the BJP.”
Subhash Kashyap, a constitutional expert and former secretary general of the Lok Sabha said no Union government has used the provisions of Article 355 effectively. “It gives more powers than just issuing directives,” he said.
Significantly, Article 356 enables President’s rule.
In 2002, the NDA government successfully resisted calls from the opposition to issue directives under Article 355 to the BJP government in Gujarat in the wake of sectarian violence that left at least 1,000 people, largely Muslims, dead. Last year, the UPA resisted calls for directives being issued to the Left government in West Bengal after violence erupted in certain parts over the state’s land acquisition policy. The Left parties were then key allies of the UPA. Read

The guilty will be punished and everybody will stand behind you in this hour of distress: Orissa Governor Muralidhar Chandrakanta Bhandare

Tales of riots shock Governor

Statesman News Service
PHULBANI, Sept. 10: Nerve wrecking narration of the barbaric attacks, continued threats and intimidation for re-conversion greeted Governor Muralidhar Chandrakanta Bhandare when he visited a government run orphanage where the riot affected had taken shelter today.
He also visited the Phulbani relief camp where he spent about 45 minutes interacting with affected people mostly women and children.
Many of the distressed people submitted petitions to the Governor who in turn assured them of adequate security and a better future. "The guilty will be punished and everybody will stand behind you in this hour of distress," he said.
Mr Rajendra Mallick who has taken shelter in the camp apprised him about the situation on behalf of the inmates. Women in the camp cried inconsolably when Mr Mallick provided vivid details of the attacks that had rocked the district since 23 August.
Moved by the plight of the women, the Governor said: "Your sorrow and grief are mine and that of the state. I shall be happy only when you return to your respective villages and build a better tomorrow," he said. "The administration is with you and is duty bound to protect your life and property," he said.
Some of the inmates alleged that there were threats being issued in villages asking people to re-convert or face dire consequences. "Many of our relatives are still hiding in the forests fearing for their life," they complained.
The Governor suggested to the district authorities present, that a complaint book should be maintained at each relief centre so that people can record their grievances.
The Governor visited Chakapada Ashram, set up by late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and interacted with its inmates before returning to Bhubaneswar today.
Yesterday Mr Bhandare had visited Kurmingia and Bastingia villages under G Udayagiri and Tikabali block respectively. He had also inspected relief camps at G Udayagiri and Tikabali and spent the night at Phulbani 

Read

Togadia to go ahead with Orissa ‘Yatra’ despite SC objection

New Delhi : Receiving set back from the Supreme Court over his proposed 'yatra' across Orissa with the "ashes" of slain VHP functionary Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia on Thursday said a 'yatra' condoling the murder will still be carried out.

"The dead body of Swamiji was not cremated. His was a samadhi and he was buried. So the claims of the 'asthi-kalash yatra' are not true. However, we will condole his death by a yatra across the state," reports PTI quoting Togadia.

"We will march through every village and town of Orissa despite the pressure tactics of the Christians to ensure safety of Swami Laxmanada's murderers," he said.  Continue

558 houses, 17 places of worship torched during riot: Orissa govt-India-The Times of India

558 houses, 17 places of worship torched during riot: Orissa govt-India-The Times of India:
While 543 houses were burnt in the worst hit Kandhamal district, 15 houses had been set ablaze in Gajapati district, said Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
A total of 35 people were injured in the riot in Kandhamal, he said.
All the torching of places of worship were reported from Kandhamal district where over 185 people were arrested on charge of rioting, arson and other offences.

Besides Kandhamal, Tripathy said, people were provided with food in free kitchen in Rayagada and Gajapati districts. While 12,539 people were fed in 10 relief camps, 783 people got the facilities in two relief camps in Rayagada district." > full story

Gayadhar Digal: Frenzied mob did not know he reentered Hinduism and cut him to pieces

Gayadhar Digal paid the price for taking matters of religion in a communally troubled part of the state too lightly. He was born a Hindu and died a Hindu, but in between he proclaimed his liking for Christianity. This cost him his life at his native Kasinipadar village in Phiringia block of Kandhmal district.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sangh Parivar men, enraged over the killings of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and his disciples, attacked his house. Gayadhar, with his wife and son, ran for safety only to be hacked one km away in the field. Gayadhar succumbed. Raimati and Baisnab, a school student, are battling for lives in hospital. Attackers set ablaze many of the 350 houses in the village, with the Digals suffering the most: losing their breadwinner.

Why was the family targeted? The reasons offered by their relatives and villagers would shock even the stoic. "My uncle was a Hindu. I don't know why they attacked him and his family. Possibly, it was due to confusion over his religious identity," said niece Malati. Saroj Kumar Digal tried to clear the air. "All the Christians had left the village and moved into the jungle, fearing violence. The attackers perhaps mistook Gayadhar to be a Christian and vented their ire on him."

Why him? And a villager whispered: "He practiced Christianity for sometime, but was back to the Hindu-fold later. Maybe those in the mob who were from nearby areas, didn't know about his reentering Hinduism."

"The situation in Kandhmal is such that Christians have started claiming to be Hindus to escape communalists' rage. As such, it's difficult to ascertain religious affiliation of people. Many people, even after embracing Christianity, choose to remain Hindus in official records for SC/ST benefits," said a police officer.

Link