Still cases of discrimination Dalits and tribal ChristiansUpdate Thursday, 06 March 2008 Kandhamal district, Orissa John Dayal
Christian leaders in Orissa continue to report scattered cases of
discrimination two months after major violence broke out
against
Dalit and Tribal Christians. Numerous reports are surfacing of
unfair
treatment by government assessors who aren't giving the
promised compensation to people who have lost their homes.
And
Christian groups are challenging the legality of the Orissa
government ban on non-government groups giving direct aid to
victims.
Ten All India Christian Council (aicc) trauma counselors
continue to
assess and provide assistance to victims, and aicc legal
advisors
are helping many prepare cases for various courts. At least
seven
Christian men have been arrested from Bamunigaon, the
epicenter
of the Christmas 2007 violence, on various false charges. On
Feb. 22,
2008, Mr. Subash Naik was released on bail but six others
remain in jail. Legal Battles
On March 2, retired Justice Basudev Panigrahi arrived in
Kandhamal
District for a one week investigation. He is heading the
"Commission of Enquiry on Kandhamal" appointed by the
Orissa state
government. Orissa aicc leaders are troubled by the fact that
no public announcements were made about his visit. They had
also asked
the state government to appoint an active, not retired, judge
to head the investigation into what caused the unprecedented
attacks
against Christians. Government discrimination in relief efforts
Aicc is considering legal action against state government
assessors
who are not giving Christians the promised amount for their
destroyed homes. One Baptist pastor near Baliguda said there
are seven
Christian families in the village. All of their houses were
burned down by Hindutva attackers. The state government
announced Rs
50,000 ($1,250) for "completely damaged" homes, but
assessors only awarded Rs 10,000 ($250) to each family and
said an
additional Rs 10,000 would be given later since their homes
were "partially damaged".
Ever worse, when the families went to clear the debris of their
ruined
homes and begin reconstruction, local Hindus stopped them. Continued Harassment of Dalit Christians
On Feb. 24, 2008, the leader of the Hindu nationalist
organisation RSS
(Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) spoke to about 5,000
activists in Berhampur, Orissa. The city is in Ganjam district
which
borders violence-hit Kandhamal district. To the relief of
Christians, K.S. Sudarsan did not give a violent or provocative
speech
and there were no attacks on Christians. However, the police
and local authorities forced local churches to change the timing
of
their Sunday worship services from morning to late afternoon.
As
one local Christian leader noted, this is subtle discrimination
because he's never seen a Hindu meeting forced to change its
schedule
due to rally by another religious community.
The Orissa aicc state chapter president spoke to a central
intelligence officer before the meeting and asked for deployment
of
police
at churches. As a result there were police at all the churches in
Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. |