Some impressions from a visit to Orissa
by the Revd Jeff and Margaret Hopewell
29th January to 11th February 2010
Foreword
This report relates to a trip I made, with my wife Margaret, to Orissa from 29 January to 11 February 2010. It was undertaken to support Bishop Bijay Kumar Nayak, Bishop of Phulbani, Church of North India, whom I have known for some eight years. He has visited us twice in England and this was my third visit to the Diocese. I did not go officially on behalf of any organisation. This was not a ‘fact-finding mission’ and I have recorded some of what I was told and what I saw. I am not an investigative journalist and with many facts surrounding the violence of 2007/8 still being obscure or subject to differing interpretations I have not taken it upon myself to verify everything. There is always the possibility of something being ‘lost in translation’ since I speak neither Oriya nor Kui and I was in conversation with people for whom English is not their first language or who were translating another person’s words into English.
Our first task on entering the Phulbani district (also known as Kandhamal) was to report to the Superintendent of Police to allow our passports and visas to be inspected and to deposit a copy of our itinerary with the police. However, as always in India, the itinerary got varied along the way. Although we had intended to stay longer in the district, in the end we were there only for five days, due a shutdown ordered by the local Naxalites (Maoist guerillas). However we did visit Christians who had fled to Bhubaneshwar and remained there and we spent every day in the company of Bishop Nayak and discussed a wide variety of topics, including the difficulties of running the diocese. We also met Shanti Ranjan Behera, Director of the Martin Luther King Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Bhubaneshwar.
Although evidence of the violence was everywhere and people were keen to tell us how much they had suffered the present situation is not uniformly tense now. The Bishop of Phulbani had been invited to Raikola to inaugurate their annual volleyball tournament. Although he was unable to attend due to a prior commitment it is a sign that attempts are being made to heal the wounds of the past at least in that village. A report from the Times of India seems to back this up:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Village-presents-picture-ofharmony/articleshow/4887200.cmsAnti-Christian violence in 2007/8 - a summary Christmas and New Year 2007/8 Shortly before Christmas 2007 it was alleged that Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati had been set upon by Christians, angered by his attempts to convert tribal people, both Christian and non-Christian, to Hinduism. He later admitted that he had not been injured in any way, but it provided the excuse, if any were needed, for militant Hindus in the tribal areas to ‘come to his rescue’ by going on a well-organised spree of destruction of Christian property - homes, churches and other institutions. It is estimated that between 80 and 95 churches of all denominations and a similar number of convents, church hostels, training centres and the like and between 600 and 700 homes were destroyed. Even the World Vision office in Daringbadi was attacked and all its equipment burnt. Although Christians were badly treated during this period, only 11 deaths are recorded.
August/September 2008
On 23 August, following a number of death threats, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati was murdered along with several of his followers. A Naxalite (Maoist guerilla) leader claimed responsibility for this - certainly the use of AK47s in the attack lends credibility to this claim. Unable to get back at armed guerillas the Hindu nationalists turned their fury against the Christian population, to continue the work they had begun at Christmas at the Swami’s instigation. 65 people were killed in a brutal fashion and another 85 are said to be unaccounted for. Women were raped, including a nun. 117 churches have been destroyed as well as a number of Christian institutions, along with around 5,000 homes, not to mention businesses. All were looted before the destruction took place. 54,000 people fled to relief camps set up by the state government, and perhaps as many as 20,000 became squatters in the bigger cities of Orissa. Many, though not all, parts of the tribal hill country were affected but this time the violence spread across further areas of the state and even beyond. The Diocese of Phulbani, of the Church of North India, was at the eye of the storm, though all Christian denominations suffered alike.
More detailed reports
Baroness Cox visited Orissa between 30 October and 4 November 2008 on behalf of HART
and her report can be found on:
http://www.hart-uk.org/advocacy/hart_visitreport_india_08.pdfAnto Akkara, an Indian journalist, has produced a book, which at 150 pages is quite
comprehensive with many testimonies: Kandhamal - a blot on Indian secularism, published by Media House, Delhi, April 2009, revised edition August 2009 ISBN 978-81-7495-351-5
Some events surrounding the violence that have not been widely reported
Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati
The swami was closely allied with the VHP (Visva Hindu Parishad), a party founded in 1964 on the following rationale: “The world has been divided to Christian, Islam and Communist. All of them view Hindu society as very fine rich food on which to feast and fatten themselves. It is necessary in this age of conflict to think of and organize the Hindu world to save it from the evils of all the three.”
It is interesting to note that one might have expected the greatest violence against Christians to have centred around the swami’s ashram in Jalespata, in the south-west of Phulbani district. However, this was not the case and such incidents as took place there were more in the way of settling old scores. I was told that he was not popular in the immediate vicinity of his ashram. His body was taken on a curious zigzag course across the whole district over two days, designed to pass through the towns where most support would come for another pogrom against the Christians. Inflammatory rhetoric was used throughout this procession but the police made no attempt to stop it.
It has been suggested that the swami’s death only hastened the second bout of violence and that plans had already been laid for the coup de grace. Estimates of the death toll of Christians vary from 50 to 75, with the suggestion that as many again disappeared, never to be seen again. What has been less reported is that there may have been a similar number of deaths amongst the rioters. One incident took place at Kurtamghar where the mob was looking to kill a particular man, who managed to give them the slip. A couple of hours later the police turned up for form’s sake, assuming the mob would have finished its work. The mob was still busy trying to find its victim and turned on the police. A policeman got injured and by the end of the day 30 rioters had been shot dead. Similar incidents happened elsewhere. Newspaper reports suggest that only one person, a Christian woman, died when the mob attacked Rudangia. What is certain is that here the Christians retaliated. One Christian is said to have confessed to killing four men that day.
Naxalites have sworn to kill one of the ringleaders of the violence Lambadhar Kanhor, a tribal leader in the violence, has a police presence outside his house in Phulbani night and day ever since the Naxalites took a contract out on him. However, his influence seems to have waned and if he is shot, a further round of violence is not an inevitable outcome.
Police involvement
Tales of the unwillingness of police to take statements from the victims of violence and even to do anything to protect people, including the nun who was raped, are legion. We were shown a compilation of video clips, taken during the August violence. One moment of light relief amidst the horror of it all was provided by a clip of the police, stalled in their attempt to reach a scene of major disturbance by a tree that had been deliberately felled to block the road. While one policeman hacked at a branch with an axe, a dozen more stood by and watched!
Two personal stories: Christians in Bhubaneshwar tell their story
The Revd Maneswar Nayak
In the slums of Bhubaneshwar we met Maneswar Nayak, in a small house about 8ft wide by 15ft deep, divided into two rooms. He sat on a bed with two younger men while 17 women and 6 children stood or sat around. More gathered in the doorway. This house was home to eight people. We addressed our questions to Maneswar but it was mainly his wife, Padmini Digal, who provided the answers.
What made you come to Bhubaneshwar?
After the murder of swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on 23 August a large crowd came with axes, guns and clubs threatening to kill all the Christians in our village, Badruguda, if they did not convert to Hinduism. They came without warning and the 25 families in the village that were Christian had to flee for their lives without stopping to pick up any possessions, just the clothes they stood up in. They stayed there, fearful and hungry, sheltering as best they could from the rain, for four days. The they made their way to a government relief camp in Tikabali.
How did you find out about the relief camp?
Someone phoned me on my mobile.
What was the relief camp like?
To start with we stayed in the schools, then when the government gradually got tents up on
the football ground we went there. They gave us rice and dal and a dried grain but even there
we were threatened. The food was bad, people were getting sick and after ten days we took
the bus to Bhubaneshwar to my sister’s house. My son was already living and working here,
as a driver.
How are you managing to live?
Our son is supporting us. (At this point the Bishop made it clear he was still, some 18 months
later, receiving his pastor’s salary.)
How are you managing to look after your flock at this distance?
I go back for days at a time but return here. (The Bishop confirmed what we suspected - that
this was not the case.)
Have you received any compensation from the government?
We had Rs10,000 but this was not sufficient to rebuild our house and we have spent the
money on food.
When will you return?
When we have enough money to rebuild the house and the situation is normal.
How will you get enough money?
We will try and save what little we can. Our hope, our dream is that we can get back to life
as it was before all the trouble.
Would anyone else like to tell their story?
A teenage girl spoke up:
I was at college at Tikabali and cannot complete my studies there.
Can you not study at Bhubaneshwar?
I have no books and cannot afford them.
Then what are you doing?
Nothing.
Nika Pradhan’s ordeal
After a visit to the Barnabas Boys’ Hostel at Sunapanga, near Balliguda, we were taking
lunch at the warden’s house when Nika Pradhan came in. He was an old man from the village of Panaspadi and wanted to tell us what he had been through. The mob came into his village unexpectedly and he did not have time to flee. His four goats were stolen, his house was wrecked and he was badly beaten - one of his legs being broken. Five men held him down, shaved his head and poured cow dung mixed with water down his throat. They told him that now he was a Hindu and no longer a Christian. Four other men suffered this fate along with him.
After the official relief camps, the unofficial relief camps
The authorities set up relief camps in the towns following the August 2008 violence in schools or on open spaces such as cricket pitches. These were badly overcrowded with minimal washing or lavatory facilities. Over the following twelve months as the situation calmed down people were ‘encouraged’ to move back to their villages, often being allowed to take the tents with them. The reception they received on their return was mixed. We visited six makeshift camps, stopped briefly at a seventh, and passed several others as follows:
Adisikupa
About 10 kms out of G Udaigiri is the village of Adisikupa. The first thing we noticed was the church. It did not look as badly damaged as some we had seen and the facade was largely intact - but for the cross on the apex. It was of concrete around an iron framework and had been wrenched at an awkward angle so that some of the concrete had fallen away and the metal struts showed through. A little further on we came to some shattered houses and, close by, three tents were pitched, each about 20ft square. 25 families were living in these three tents. In the relief camp as many as 30 families had shared just one such tent! A small ridge of earth surrounded the edge of the tent to stop water flowing through. Inside, black plastic sheeting was hung as an internal roof - the canvas was not sufficiently waterproof in the rain. Everyone’s meagre possessions were piled up around the edges inside and sleeping mats were rolled up. A gangway of beaten earth ran from the opening entrance on one side of the tent to a similar opening at the rear. To either side black plastic was laid on the floor. Outside were earthen cooking platforms such that a fire could be lit underneath and a cooking pot placed on top. They had managed to rig up electric lighting, probably hitched up directly to the mains, a common practice in poorer parts of India.
Some of the Christians of Adisikupa in the tent that is their home
The pastor and his family were living in one of these tents with his congregation. These were the people with nowhere else to go - those with relatives elsewhere had gone to live with them. Each family had received Rs10,000 from the government in compensation for their ruined houses, but with no other source of income they had used that for food. They were living on such hand-outs as came their way as they were unable to find work. Their clothes were old and dirty and most had no shoes.
Ramba
A little further on we came to Ramba. Here the school was being used as a relief camp, with the people’s possessions being stored in one room during the day and the classrooms used as sleeping quarters at night. One house had been rebuilt - the owner had sold some of his land to pay for the repairs. We did not stop to talk to the people here other than those who were on the roof of the church, reclaiming such timber as could be salvaged. Only now, 18 months on did they feel that the situation had settled down sufficiently for them to try and clear the floor of the church for worship. Not that there were any walls left to the nave, only the chancel walls remained. It was at Ramba that Akbar Digal, one of the three CNI people to be murdered, met his fate.
Reclaiming roof timbers from the church at Ramba
Gandagada
Another couple of kilometres along the road was the scene of another murder. Gopal Nayak, also from Ramba, was unlucky enough to be caught by the mob, killed and his body burned in front of the church at Gandagada. For some reason this seemed to satisfy them and no-one else was killed there. Perhaps they felt they had made their point and the rest of the Christians would be sufficiently cowed. The survivors view his death as one man sacrificing himself that others might live. The church was perhaps the most completely destroyed of all the churches that we saw - little more than a doorway in the facade remained.
Close by were five tents, three large and two smaller, that were home to 30 families. These were in poor condition and looked unlikely to survive the next monsoon. A few chickens scratched about the tents. Beyond them was a row of about 30 damaged houses, some all with great holes in the roof and even large holes in the internal walls, which must have taken considerable effort. Other ruined houses were dotted about. Here the Hindu neighbours were still adamant that Christians were not welcome. They were threatened with violence if they tried to cultivate their land, drew water from the stream or collected wood from the forest. Fortunately there was a working pump by the ruined church and they did go into the forest to collect wood, but only in large groups.
Whilst we were here the Bishop noticed one of the local Hindu ringleaders watching us from a tree. As we drove back towards G Udayagiri we passed what he called a ‘ratha’ driving in the opposite direction towards the village. This was a jeep adorned with Hindu banners and slogans and its occupants, perhaps thinking we were connected with the EU delegation that was visiting the area at the same time, were coming to remonstrate with us. It seemed probable that either the man in the tree had alerted them or the police had informed them of our itinerary.
Dokedi
Before we returned to G Udayagiri we turned off the main road to another village affected by the violence, Dokedi. Here the church, one of the older churches in the district having been built in 1929, had been damaged but not before anything of value had been removed by the mob. What remained were things like bibles, hymn books, marriage registers and communion cups, all of which were burnt. The cross had entirely disappeared from the facade of the church, the doors and hinges ripped away and window frames torn out, leaving gaping holes. The asbestos roof of the church had been smashed (fears about the use of asbestos in buildings do not seem to have reached rural India) but the flat concrete roof above the sanctuary was apparently still intact. The church had been swept out as the people were once again using it for worship even in its battered state. We met a elderly man who had challenged the mob when they came and had been badly beaten up for his pains, losing the hearing in one ear.
Margaret was led by a group of women to see what remained of their houses, one of whom became very tearful amid the ruins of her own home. There was a large well and what the mob had not carried off they had thrown into the well. She asked what the motivation had been and was told that it was jealousy as the Christians had become wealthier than their neighbours. We met Prabhabati Nayak, a retired medical orderly. His house had been equally badly damaged, all his documents burned, even the blades of his fan had been bent vertical and a cross on his front door hacked off. There was a large pile of bricks ready for rebuilding but he had sold his cattle to pay for the reconstruction.
When the mob came the people had a little warning and enough time to flee into the forest where they stayed for three to four days despite the heavy rain. They made their way to a government relief camp and eventually returned to their village with some of the tents they had been provided with. One of these collapsed under the weight of water in last year’s monsoon, injuring an elderly lady quite badly.
Both at Dokedi and Gandagada we were told of three Pentecostal pastors killed in the forest between the two villages. Like many of the stories we were told it has not been possible to verify this.
Bagadi
The next day we stopped en route to Nuagam at Bagadi. Here were tents and some houses being built at the roadside. These belonged to Christians whose houses within the village of Bagadi had been badly damaged and they were setting up their own hamlet at some distance from the village itself. This seemed to be acceptable to their Hindu neighbours and relations were no longer trained. They had cultivated their fields without incident last monsoon and would do so again this year.
Simonbadi
At Simonbadi an area of ground adjacent to the Pentecostal church was being used for a relief
camp, which looked much like the other we had seen. However, this was peopled by Christians forced out of their villages not by Hindus but by a rampaging herd of elephants. They were from Medubadi, Mundanaju and Debaklau and another seven villages had been affected. Regardless of the villagers’ religious affiliation the herd had trampled crops and battered Hindu and Christian houses, just as effectively as any mob. Three churches were also badly damaged.
The camp was by no means crowded. A number of rectangular mud ridges showed where other tents had been - some people had decided it was safe enough to return. The refugees were not just surviving on handouts but were going into the forest to get wood and large leaves (for use as plates) which they would sell and some of the men were getting daily labouring jobs. However, the children were not getting educated. They were still registered at their village schools (regardless of whether or not these were functioning) and were not therefore entitled to go the schools at Simonbadi.
Nandagiri
The first relief camp we saw in the Phulbani District was called Nandagiri. The people were still living under canvas/plastic but, untypically, a row of new houses was under construction. They were Roman Catholics who had been given a new settlement and small plots of land by the state government because they were unable to return to their home village of Betikola. We were told they had been accused, falsely, of plotting the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati. Rather than assert the rule of law the politicians found it easier to relocate the Christians.
G Udayagiri
The second camp we saw was on the outskirts of G Udayagiri, on the way to the Mission Compound at Gudripori (where we stayed four nights). A number of families were squatting in a half-built house (with the Christian owner’s permission) and had draped it with heavy black plastic for roofing. A small sign read, in English, ‘RELIEF CAMP’. Only days before, their camp near the market place had been closed down to tidy up the town ready for the EU delegation. However, this plan backfired on the authorities because the new camp was set up by the side of one of the main roads out of the town and the delegation had to pass it on the way to other villages they were to visit. In fact, they stopped and spoke to the people and learnt what had been going on.
Hostels
Hostels are a way of life for some Indian children. In order for them to get an education if their villages are remote, or if they live in very poor circumstances, they live in hostels during term time, many of which are supported by overseas agencies.
Gudripori Girls’ Hostel and Boys’ Hostel
These are both supported by Red een Kind, a Dutch organisation. We visited the Girls’ Hostel where the children sang to us (and we to them) and had a question and answer session with them.
Barnabas Boys’ Hostel, Sunapanga
The hostel, near Balliguda, one of the major centres of anti-Christian rioting, was re-opened after several years with the help of the Barnabas Fund, following the initial outbreak of violence in 2007/8. It is funded by USPG and supports 40 boys with a staff of warden, two tutors, a cook and a nightwatchman. Although there is a much greater demand for places the present buildings can not accommodate any more. There is another larger building on the site but this has been unused for six years, during which time it has fallen into disrepair. In particular a whole corner has crumbled away in the monsoon rain. If finance could be found to get this back into shape a further 60 boys could attend the hostel. The need is still there as many children are still living in tents and there are whole villages, Sindrigan for example, where the Christians will not be allowed back unless they convert to Hinduism.
The boys of the Barnabas Hostel in the schoolroom which doubles as their sleeping quarters. Their possessions are piled up neatly around the side of the room.
Emmanuel Boys’ Hostel, Kanjamedi
This hostel, near Nuagam, was set up in July 2009 by the Diocese of Phulbani for some of the
children affected by the previous year’s violence. It is situated in one of the spare buildings in the local school and has 20 boys who are either orphans or from one parent or extremely poor families. It is being run a shoestring and the Diocese would like to find regular funding
and sponsorship for the children. Currently it is spending Rs200 per child per month, but the
warden presented a comprehensive budget that would cost Rs1267 per child. The reality is that sponsorship from other charities is at a lower level. Compassion gives between Rs650 and Rs700 per child, depending on the exchange rate with the US dollar, and USPG gives Rs800.
Hope Hostel, Jakesi
Jakesi is a village not far from Subarnagiri, in the south-west corner of Phulbani District. It was not affected by the rioting and is in an area of more recent Christianisation. The church was built in 1990. On the way I was asked to suggest a name for the hostel and, musing aloud, thought of Hope Hostel, mainly for the alliteration but with the idea of offering hope to children through education and Jesus as the Hope of the World. This was immediately seized on and adopted enthusiastically by the Bishop. At that stage I was unaware that although a site had been acquired, the hostel itself had yet to be built, so there was also the implicit hope that it would one day materialise! This hostel is another Diocesan initiative and so far has only ten boys, again housed in a spare classroom in the village school. Here, too, the Diocese is looking for regular funding from an outside agency.
Visit by an EU delegation
Our visit happened to coincide with that of a delegation from the EU, which attracted rather a lot of attention, so it was in our interest to steer clear of them as far as possible. It had taken a year for the delegation to obtain permission for the visit. The brief seems to have been to assess how far the situation had calmed down and returned to normal but there was also the suggestion of a possible 15 million euro grant to develop the region.
They met Orissa Government officials, Church leaders, civil society groups and social activists in Bhubaneshwar and asked, amongst other things about the progress made in the case of the nun who had been raped. They then travelled on to the Phulbani District for a couple of days, where they met the Superintendent of Police and the District Collector. They had intended to visit the law courts while one of the cases relating to the violence was in progress but were advised against it because of opposition to their visit. Contrary to earlier reports that the Home Ministry had instructed them ‘not to interact with the people much or find any fact relating to the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and the consequent events or matter relating to rehabilitation of the affected families’ they did visit several relief camps and heard people’s testimonies. The convoy included several police and press vehicles and there was a large police presence around Nuagam, where the nun had been raped.
The visit was opposed by the BJP, the hard-line Hindu party that is still a power in India, even though it is no longer the party that governs Orissa. They do not seem to care that their opposition to the delegation suggested that there might be something to hide. Ashok Sahu, a
senior party leader, alleged that the delegation had come to assess the extent of the success
that Christian missionaries had achieved in proselytising the tribals and Harijans of the district. Moreover, he alleged that EU member countries and the United States were pumping in huge funds to the tribal-dominated and underdeveloped areas for illegal missionary activities. With such a wilful distortion of the facts, reconciliation may prove elusive.
The Naxalites
The Naxalites are so called from the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal, where there was a violent communist uprising in 1967. As is the nature of such organisations they have split into a number of different groups following different communist ideologies. The Naxalites in Orissa are usually referred to as Maoist guerillas. There may be as many as 20,000 guerillas, controlling about one-fifth of India’s forested areas, especially to the east of the country. In Orissa there were peasant revolutionaries in the early 1960s and this movement, also called the People’s War Group, now comes under the general heading of Naxalite. Since 2001 they claim major successes attacking isolated police posts and even those in the bigger towns and because they melt away into the forest afterwards the authorities have not made much progress in fighting them. Although originally their main target was landlords, they have broadened this to include anyone who ‘exploits the people’ including, police, politicians, contractors and forestry officials. Even the church has been accused of ‘exploiting the people’ by taking collections in services. The assassination of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati was quite in line with their modus operandi.
A major conference was held at New Delhi from 7 to 9 February 2010, involving heads of security from all the states affected by the Naxalites. To coincide with this, as a show of strength, the Naxalites declared a ‘bandh’, a sort of shut-down or strike, across those states. This was the reason for our unplanned departure from the Phulbani district. During a bandh no-one travels anywhere for fear that their vehicle will be spotted and torched, no shops are open, no buses run. The Naxalites used to put up road blocks, but this is hardly necessary now - the locals have got the message. In the cities it is business as usual, but even the roads in and out of Bhubaneshwar and Berhampur were much quieter than normal. Over these three days two railway lines were blown up by the guerillas. How much of their support amongst the tribal people is through belief in what they are doing or through fear of challenging them it is difficult to say.
Conversions to Hinduism
The Hindus did not show any interest in the religious affiliation of tribal people or make any efforts to bring them into the Hindu fold until about 40 years ago. At this time Swami Lakshmanananda set up his first ashram in the Phulbani District. What is certain is that the success of Christianity led to a raising of the standards of education and awareness of tribal people which meant they were less open to exploitation from the Hindu traders than they had been in the past. In addition some Christians became business people and were thus in competition with the existing Hindu traders. Apparently some Hindu temples are being built to the same plan as churches (all except for the cross), and the style of worship copied, including preaching and the singing of hymns derived from Christian hymns. Although efforts have been made to teach the rudiments of Hinduism to the tribal people many have only the sketchiest knowledge of the Hindu pantheon. Following the success of Christian schools, Hindu schools have been set up though their academic standards are not said to compare with those of the longer established Christian schools.
Jeff Hopewell