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Orissa's Christians fear attacks during Pope's visit

M I Khan in Bhubaneswar

In the wake of the papal-visit controversy, Christians in some tribal pockets of Orissa fear for their lives.

Communal tension had been present here for the last one year, and tribal Hindus, allegedly instigated by political forces, had attacked the minority community many times. Now, with the saffron outfits opposing the Pope's coming tooth and nail, Christians feel they make compelling targets.

Thus, Christians from Ranalai village in Gajpati district have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Gridhar Gamang seeking police protection. They urged the government to restore peace in the village; the situation was far from normal after the torching of over 150 Christian houses and the village church by tribal Hindus on October 16.

The Christians pointed out that the miscreants who were involved have been released on bail. This, they claimed, could be done because the local police had sided with them.

"The culprits were taken in a procession by BJP and RSS workers after their release. A meeting was held in their support," they said, adding that they were being harassed by Hindus while the local police looked the other way.

On October 15, the villagers of Koraput had submitted a similar memorandum to the additional district magistrate, who assured them that his administration would take all steps possible to promote communal harmony.

The memorandum further added that singing the Saraswati Vandana should not be made mandatory in church-managed schools and hospitals.

The villagers of Ranalai also alleged that Hindu miscreants attacked them during the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll for not supporting the BJP. A separate complaint has been submitted to the chief minister and district administration.

"They have been threatening to either eliminate us or stop our activities the moment the BJP came to power," a Christian leader told rediff.com on condition of anonymity.

Recently, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Girija Kishore had, in a press meet in Bhubaneswar, alleged that churches were engaged in conversion and the Pope's visit would encourage this practice. He claimed conversion of tribals was creating 'social strife' as evident from the recent spate of incidents in the Orissa.

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