2nd communal riots in Kandhamal in 8 months

Kandhamal (Orissa): In last eight months communal violence has struck Kandhamal twice. What are the reasons that push this remote district of Orissa to flash point so often?

Three years back Petera Diggal, a Dalit farmer in a village in Kandhamal was suffering from TB and was on his deathbed.

Christian missionaries brought him to a health centre. When he recovered, Petera was more than willing to convert to Christianity.

A converted Christian, Diga says, "We are not at all forced to convert to Christianity. Those who want they do and those who do not want are also served equally."

People like Petera are quite common in Kandhamaal, the beautiful tribal dominated district of central Orissa.

It gets its name from the Kandhaa tribes which form 55 per cent of the population.

The district also has a Dalit population of 15% and a Christian population of 25 per cent.

Kandhamal is also one of most backward districts in Orissa.and has suffered decades of neglect.

Eighty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. The literacy rate is only 52 per cent which is much below the national average.

People here have been neglected for decades by all successive governments, devoid of proper food, health and education.

Under such circumstances more than five decades back, Christian missionaries stepped in and started various philanthropic works by serving the poor and diseased, giving education to children and providing them livelihood.

However, the noble deed has apparently been the point of trouble in Kandhamal.

Kandha tribes believe that the Dalits are induced by the Christian missionaries with philanthropic work with the prime motive of facilitating religious conversion. Statistics too add to this popular perception.

The Christian population has now risen to one lakh eighty thousand from only 14 thousand in 1970s. The number of churches and prayer houses built in last few decades is over one thousand.

The VHP came into picture in the district led by Swami Laxmananda Saraswati from the ashram at Chakapada for last four decades.

The current violence was followed by the killing of Swami Saraswati.

He was the pioneer who took up the task of reconverting the Dalits through special Yagnas (rituals) in his ashram. Hundreds of Christian Dalits were reconverted to Hinduism.

Pradhan Acharya, Chakapada ashram.Jagabandhu Das says, "Swamiji used to win over the hearts of the people and people would on their own reconvert to Hinduism. No one is ever forced."

All these conversions and reconversions are off the record.

According to the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act 1967, a person who wishes to change his religion, the priest or pastor who converts him or her should appeal to the district collector for approval, but the collectors’ office in Kandhamal has not received a single application.

Senior IAS officer in charge of Kandhamal situation Suresh Mahapatra says, "No one informs the collector because most of them want to take the benefits provided by the government to the scheduled castes and if on record they become Christians they would not get such benefits."

In Kandhamal, there is a prevalent divide between the Christians led by the missionaries and the Hindus led by VHP leaders in the present scenario.

Clashes breaks out at the slightest provocation. Last December an attack on Swami Laxmananda led to riots.

This time, his killing has led to the violence that has rocked Orissa over the last few days.

Whether it is the inducement for religious conversion by Christian missionaries or the propaganda of hatred by the VHP that is leading to such communal violence is a matter of debate.

However, there is no denying of the fact that in this controversy over religion, innocent people are the ones bearing the brunt.

The Chakapada Ashram has more than two hundred children and health services are also provided. Though almost a hundred Christians are reconverted to Hinduism under the patronage of this ashram, the ashram head teacher claims no one forced to reconvert.

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#orissa voilence #kandhamal #Swami Laxmananda