By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: The same people who killed Mahatma Gandhi have created terror in this country said Tushar Gandhi, the great grand son of Mahatma Gandhi.He further said that they are spilling the bloods of poor and are preparing for the division of the country.
He was speaking this while participating in a peaceful dharna which was organized by the Movement of Peace and Justice (MPJ) on 29 August, 2008 at Azad Maidan Mumbai.
The Dharna was organized in order to protest against and condemned the incident of burning alive of a Christian priest and the violent attacks on Christians and their places of worship by the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists in Kandhamal district of Orisaa
Orissa has been on the boil since the evening of August 23, 2008 when Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and four others were killed at his Jalespata ashram in Kandhamal, a district of Orissa.Saraswati was campaigning against religious conversions and cow slaughter.
His killing triggered violence against the Christian community by the Hindus in the state in which at least 13 people have been died. Few of them were killed brutally.
A 22-year-old woman was killed and a church official badly injured when angry mobs burnt down an orphanage in Khuntpali village in Barhgarh district, 300 km from Bhuneshwar.
In another incident, a paralytic patient was lynched and burnt late Sunday night by an angry mob in Rupa village in the district of Kandhamal. The man was unable to escape when the mob set the houses in the hamlet on fire.
Mr. Gandhi further pointed out that the communal groups like VHP and Bajrang Dal are not only the enemies of Hindus and Muslims but are the enemy of India itself. Orisaa government is providing patronage to the elements like VHP and Bagrang Dal because of which innocent people are being killed in Orisaa.
He questioned that when the situation was so sensitive in the state, why the Orisaa government allowed a person like Togadia to enter in the state.
Abraham Mathai who is the Vice Chairman of the State Commission for the Minorities said that although the Christians are 2.5% of India’s population, they are engaged in 40% of social works in the country.
He said if at all VHP has the guts instead of attacking the innocent Christians, they should attack the Maoists who killed Swami Saraswati.He also demanded from government of India to ban VHP& Bajrang Dal.
All the organizations and individuals who participated in the Dharna including Bharip Bahujan Maha Sangh, NAPM, All India Catholic Union, All India Christians Council, Indian Christian Voice, Maharashtra Council of Churches, Catholic Secular Forum and others condemned the violence perpetrated on the innocent Christians by the activists of the VHP and Bajrang Dal.
TwoCircles.net talked to Dr. Azimuddin, the President of MPJ Mumbai under the banner of which the Dharna was organized.
He, on behalf of MPJ, strongly condemned the attacks on Christians in Orissa by Sangh Parivar’s outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
He said “the communal and fascist forces in our country want to divide our society on religious and on the grounds of hatred which is a heinous crime to humanity. Burning, killings and vandalizing religious places (churches), Orphanage houses, lives and property is the handiwork of fascist forces”
He further said “We the people of the democratic and secular India resolve to fight the communal and fascist forces who are the perpetrators of this cruel& barbaric act of violence in Orisaa.”
He said that the MPJ demands from the State Govt of Orisaa and the government of India to restore peace and stability to its urgent basis in the district affected by the violence provide adequate security to the lives and property of the Christians in all the districts of Orissa.
He said that “the MPJ also condemns the murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati and we demand a judicial inquiry should be made into it.”
The government must provide immediate relief of food, medical aids& housing to the people who were forced to leave their homes to forest and also satisfactory compensation should be given by the State and the Central Govt to those killed and injured.
Dr. Azimuddin demanded that the perpetrators of the violence should be booked and convicted as per the rule of law. The government of India should assist and monitor the action taken by state government relating to all matters concerning the lives of Christians in Orissa.