At least eight — and possibly more than 20 — people have died in a brutal spate of anti-Christian violence in India’s Orissa state.
The attacks began after suspected Maoist terrorists murdered Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples Aug. 23. Police have said the attackers were Maoist insurgents, and according to Baptist World Alliance (BWA), the insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack.
But that claim has not stopped Hindu fundamentalists from retaliating against Christians in the area. Saraswati and his followers reportedly were connected to World Hindu Council extremists and had been leading an effort to draw Indians away from Christianity.
At press time, some news sources were confirming eight fatalities, but others were projecting the unofficial death toll at upwards of 20.
“The worst hit are the people in Kandhamal district, where more than 400 churches, more than 500 houses and many Christian institutions have been demolished,” Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), said in a memorandum to the state governor. “The people have fled to jungles for safety.”
Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said Christians in Orissa were living in fear and anxiety.
“The law enforcing agencies have not been able to contain the violent elements that are still at large,” he said. “The violent mobs are destroying churches, orphanages, hostels of children, convents of religious women and houses of Christian families. There appears a sense of helplessness among the Christian community.”
Indo-Asian News Service reported that mobs defied curfew, blocked roads and attacked churches in Kandhamal even after police issued shoot-at-sight orders to control the situation, as trouble spread to other areas with incidents of violence reported in Sundergarh, Gajapati and Rayaagada districts.
And various news reports indicate that mobs have set fire to Christian churches and prayer halls. A woman died and a pastor was hurt when fire swept an orphanage in the Bargarh District. Apparently none of the 21 children housed there died.
In an Aug. 26 e-mail to the BWA, Swarupananda Patra, General Secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation, said, “All Christian villages [are] empty in Kandhamal as Christians, old and young, sick and pregnant mothers [are] hiding in forests exposed to the non-stop monsoon rains without food.”
According to a Bloomberg News report released Aug. 28, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Orissa’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, to bring an end to the religious violence taking place there.
Singh told the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India that the federal “government was in touch with the state government and that every effort would be made to restore normalcy in the state.”
Orissa has been the site of significant sectarian violence in recent years. In December 2007, approximately 90 churches and 600 homes were burned in several attacks, some of which took place on Christmas Eve.
Approximately 10 people were killed in the incidents.
In 1999, an Australian Christian missionary and his two children died in Orissa when Hindu militants set fire to their vehicle.
Orissa, which lies along the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, is overwhelmingly Hindu, but also is home to one of the largest Baptist communities in Asia. In the state, several Baptist conventions and unions affiliated with the BWA claim nearly 500,000 baptized believers and approximately 3,500 churches.
“I appeal to the governing authorities in India to intervene to save the lives of the many who are being victimized in the current crisis,” BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said in a press release. “Respect for the principle of religious liberty and the sacredness of human life requires nothing less.
“I also appeal to all Baptists worldwide to pray God’s protection for our brothers and sisters in Orissa.” (Compiled from wire services)
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