Orissa under Attack?I

Organiser,2008 Issues > November 16, 2008


Indepth

Orissa under Attack?I
What happened in Kandhamal?
By Balbir K. Punj

Kandhamal district has a population of 6.48 lakh as per 2001 census. Scheduled Tribes constitute 51.96 per cent, Scheduled Caste?16.89 per cent. In religious terms Christians are 18.20 per cent and Muslims 0.3 per cent of population.

The alleged rape of a nun has been made into a global news. Such ?rape of nun by Hindu fascist? stories have turned out to be false in Jhabua, Jajjhar, Baripada in the past. They were dropped by the media like hot potatoes after being served like hot cakes.

The hapless tribals of Kandhamal are under seize. Relentless propraganda by the church and `secularists? has sullied the fair name of Orissa. The innocent adivasis are fighting with their back to the wall, to preserve their culture, honour, tradition, identity and in fact their very existence. The Kandhs, once the ?Kings,? are a pariah hunted by the CRPF in their own land today and painted as rapists and murderers outside. Hundreds of them are behind bars, without any charges, their homes are being raided, women dishonoured and hundreds have sought refuge in the forests to escape the police. There is none to speak for them. They obviously do not interest the NGO?s and human right activists, whose sole concern seem to be those charged with bomb blasts in the name of jehad.

Arraigned against the Kandh tribals and the State of Orissa are the missionaries of various denominations with worldwide reach and centuries of global experience in decimating local cultures. Backed with foreign funds and hands, the church is following its age-old time tested divisive agenda?split the local society in to hostile factions. A near civil war is the natural corollary. At immense human cost, the church has reaped a rich harvest of souls. The share of Christians in total population which was mere six per cent in 1971 in the district has grown three times, to 18.20 per cent in 2001. Most of the civil society has maintained an indifferent silence on this cultural genocide.

The alleged rape of a nun has been made into a global news. Such ?rape of nun by Hindu fascist? stories have turned out to be false in Jhabua, Jajjhar, Baripada in the past. They were dropped by the media like hot potatoes after being served like hot cakes. One sister Jacqueline Mary was said to have been raped in February 3, 1999. ?Orissa nun raped in moving car? screamed the Indian Express headline. Wadhwa Commission set up by the Central Government had inquired into the killing of Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons on 22-23 January 1999 in Keonjar district. The commission said in its report, ?Investigations, however, revealed that what sister Mary said in the FIR was not true?. It was a made up story ?? there was in fact no rape of Sister Mary ? B.B. Panda, DGP of police stated that the `rape of the nun? case was projected and highlighted all over the world and was also projected as an attack on Christians when in fact it was not true, and the case turned out to be false.?

Yet, we are witnessing another edition of it in Kandhamal. Although the nun did not attend the identification parade, and the Supreme Court has ruled out a CBI enquiry, the National Commission for Minorities has jumped into the fray. Is the church using the nun in question as a pawn in their great game of Chess?

The media portrayal of violence in Kandhamal in Orissa at national level has kicked off more heat and dust than light. It may be asked why Kandhamal district brings Orissa, an otherwise peaceful State, to banner headlines often? Are Christians being slaughtered like lambs by butchers called Bajrang Dal? Why did the media give a disproportionate coverage to violence in Orissa, when at the same time, violence killed greater number of people in Assam and displaced more than a lakh? Is it because, in Assam, the secular media will have to face certain uncomfortable questions like the clout the illegal Bangladeshi have created. It could not be plastered so easily on Bajrang Dal as 'genocide of minorities'. It will be far more politically correct to demonise Bajrang Dal in Orissa.

Why does Kandhamal, a poignantly picturesque and backward district of Orissa, go through phases of violence in 2007 and 2008? In 2008, it was the murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, and his three associates, which became the immediate cause of violence. The Kandhs, a scheduled tribe, who lend their name to the district, refused to buy the government theory that the Swami had been killed by the Maoists. The Kandhs, 90 per cent of whom are Hindus, have been much attached to the aged Swami for his four decades of struggle to preserve the Hindu folk.

Much later, Sabyasachi Panda, a Maoist leader owned up the killing. Panda, who strangely turned a blind eye to evangelism (remember Communism treats religion as opium of masses), said the Swami was eliminated for reviving Brahmanism. But he divulged an interesting clue by showing in preference for Christians. He said that overwhelming Christian community of Panas, an SC group, provide most cadres to Maoists in Orissa. Panda also clarified that Maoists as such believe in no religion. I don't know how to reconcile evangelism that believe in harvest of souls with Maoism (radical Communism) that believe there is no soul. In almost all European countries, wherever Communism succeeded the church had to go underground if not out of existence. But in Orissa perhaps it proves, there is some kind of 'strategic alliance' between church and Maoists. Church is a natural suspect in this heinous murder. Did the church outsource the Swami?s murder?

Kandhamal district has a population of 6.48 lakh as per 2001 census. Scheduled Tribes constitute 51.96 per cent, Scheduled Caste- 16.89 per cent. In religious terms Christians are 18.20 per cent and Muslims 0.3 per cent of population. Kandhamal violence can't be merely projected as a Hindu-Christian clash. The clash is a legacy from discord between Kandhs, (who are scheduled tribes, and 90 per cent of whom are still Hindus) and the Panas (who are scheduled castes, and 90 per cent of whom have converted to Christianity). As it is known a scheduled caste looses reservation benefits if he converts to, Christianity or Islam who believe in casteless society. But a scheduled tribe, a matter of ethnicity, retains the benefits regardless of his religion.

Some Panas (overwhelmingly Christians), desirous of reservation benefit, under the influence of missionaries had floated an organisation called 'Phulbani Kui Jana Kalyan Sangh' saying that their caste status should be changed in revenue records from Pana (SC) to Kui (ST). It is on the ground that they 'could speak the Kui language' that is spoken by the Kandhs, an ST group. The High Court directed the Orissa government to look into the matter. While 'Phulbani Kui Jana Kalyan Sangh' started a campaign that they should be treated as Kui (for obvious reservations benefits), many other Kui speaking organisations of Kandhs and others came forward to oppose their demand. The government clarified that there is no scope for Panas being treated as an ST, at par with Kandhs, because of Kui language.

Tribal Kandhs, view three groups caste groups viz,. Kumuti, Sundhi and Pana as their historical exploiters. While Kumuti was in business of money lending and purchase of tribal products, Sundhi sold liquor, Panas acted as intermediaries. Panas, having slowly picked up Kui, interpreted it to Kumuti and Sundhis who spoke Oriya. In 1920s, when the early Christian missions were set up in Kandhamal, Panas fell in the trap. While Panas, improved their socio-economic condition in the process, the condition of the Kandhs deteriorated.

But very few Kandhs budged from their ancestral faith. In late 1960s, when Swami Laxmananda, opened his ashram in the region, trying to keep Hindu folks together and bringing back those who have been converted through gullible means, Kandhs responded positively. The tribe of secularists who claim that tribal folks are not Hindus, they have no religion, should tell why Kandhs revered Laxmanand Saraswati?

Are tribals Hindus ? According to the church, they are not and hence are available to them for ?harvest? for the Lord. This question was best answered by Gandhiji. Responding to an query from Dr. Chesterman whether his (Gandhiji?s) objection to conversion applied to areas like the Kond Hills where the aboriginal races worshiped animals, his unhesitating reply was, ?Yes. It does apply, because I know that in spite of being described as animists these tribes have from times immemorial been absorbed in Hinduism. They are, like the indigenous medicine, of the soil, and their roots lie deep there. But you can only endorse this if you feel that Hinduism is as true as Christianity. I hold that all religions are true but imperfect inasmuch as they are presented through human agency and bear the impress of the imperfections and frailties of the human being. My quarrel with missionaries is that they think no religion other than Christianity is true.? (Harijan, 25.2.39)

(The writer is a Member of Parliament (RS) and can be contacted at punjbk@gmail.com)

(To be concluded)