By TwoCircles.net news desk
New Delhi: All India Christain Council (AICC) organised a rally yesterday participated by about 1,000 Christians from different churches of Delhi to demand that the Central Government stop anti-Christain violence in Orrisa. A memorandum was presented to the Prime Minister’s Office and a meeting was held with the Union Home Minister. Christian leaders also met the Minorities Commission earlier in the day.
The rally held in front of the gates of Orissa Bhavan in Delhi on Dec. 27th, 2007, gathered support from across the political and religious spectrum. Agitators were united to uproot the communal violence against the Christians in Orissa.
V.P. Singh, former Prime Minister; Brinda Karat, CPI(M) spokesperson; Shabnam Hashmi, Director of ANHAD; Swami Agnivesh; and more were among the prominent speakers. India’s largest Christian groups were represented including the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), All India Catholic Union (AICU), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and more. Church members from many denominations across Delhi participated in the rally.
A memorandum was presented to the office of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The PM’s office instructed the Union Home Minister, Shivraj V. Patil, to schedule a meeting with a delegation of Christians immediately. The delegation met Mr. Patil and was told that roadblocks and communication breakdowns are making it difficult to restore security in the villages of Orissa. Mr. Patil said he will likely visit Orissa and promised he is doing everything possible to stop the attacks, culprits will be booked, and compensation will be provided to victims.
“Sadly, the delegation was not satisfied with the promises of the Union Home Minister since most violence continues in rural villages and the government didn’t give specific plans to halt the violence in villages nor a planned amount for compensation of victims,” said Rev. Abraham Sahu, aicc Delhi Chapter President.
Earlier in the day a delegation of Christians met with and received assurances from the head of the National Commission for Minorities, Mohamed Shafi Qureshi, that Christians will be protected in Orissa. He said he plans to visit the state.
“It is clear that the local police and Orissa state government have not been able to protect the Christian minority. While Orissa’s leader claim they were prepared and are fully committed to stopping communal violence, we have doubts. For example, why does Orissa not have a state minorities commission? The Central Government must act now.” said John Dayal, AICC Secretary-General.
“The VHP and other groups clearly don’t believe in freedom of religion or freedom of speech. They use accusations of forced and fraudulent conversions as an excuse for violence. Has there been a proven case in the courts of a missionary forcing someone to become a Christian recently? No! We are requesting immediate action to protect peaceful Christians and the arrest of miscreants from radical Hindutva groups,” said Sam Paul, AICC Secretary of Public Affairs.
Orissa chapter of All India Christian Council met Chief Minister Neevan Patnaik this evening and gave lame assurance to the delegation to ensure protection to the Christian minorities. Yet, his inability to stop the violence against Christians is seen in Sangh Parivar’s organised attacks from the time violence broke out on December 23.
According to media reports, NGO press statements, and calls from AICC leaders on the ground in Orissa, at least 30 churches, Christian schools, and convents have been damaged or destroyed since December 24th, Christmas Eve. Four Christians were reported killed and many roads are blocked by radical Hindutva activists which prevents both police and fact finding teams from reaching victims. Despite a supposed helicopter tour of the affected districts by the Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, and his repeated statements in various media channels that everything is under control, reports of attacks on Christians and churches continue to reach aicc and similar groups.
The violence broke out began when Christians in a village 150 kms from the district headquarters of Phulbani began to celebrate Christmas Eve. Local Hindu fundamentalists opposed the event and a fight ensued. Also, a Hindutva leader, Swami Saraswati, was attacked by unknown assailants — allegedly Christians — near Daringbadi while he was travelling. The next day the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for a strike and its members began attacking Christians across the state.