- PLEASE ENDORSE AS CO-ORGANISERS: confirm by
Monday August 18 BY 3pm -
INVITING
ARTISTS, INTELLECTUALS, NGOS, CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS TO JOIN
Kandhamal: Never Again
Orissa
witnessed unprecedented violence against the Christian minority in August 2008.
On August 23, 2008, Swami Laxmananand along with his four followers was killed.
Immediately,
on August 25, 2008, anti-Christian violence began on a big scale. It was systematic
and widespread. It sounded as if preparation was already there just the pretext
was being awaited.
Anti-Christian violence did begin with isolated incidents like the attack on the
villagers of Kattingia in 1986 in Kandhamal, a series of burning of 19 churches
in 1986-87 in Kandhamal, the Catholic Health Centre of India near Latur (1996),
burning of Bibles and attacks on the Christian congregations. But most shocking
was the burning alive of Pastor Graham Steward Stains (1999, January) along with
his two sons, Philip and Timothy, aged 9 and 7 years, who were sleeping in a
jeep after a village festival.
The
violence against Christian missionaries has by now become a matter of routine.
Unlike the anti Muslim pogroms-violence, it has been scattered and generally
low key, occurring at sporadic intervals. Barring few dastardly acts like
Pastor Stains' burning and Rani Maria's being hacked to death the incidents
were medium in intensity and did not take the shape of carnage or pogrom
against the community till the one in Orissa (December 2007 and later August
2008). The occurrence of these incidents was mostly in places that are having
rampant poverty and illiteracy.
The
apathy in highlighting these core issues, deprivations, by a section of media
was appalling. At the same time, by word of mouth the propaganda against
Christian Missionaries was intensified.
The
cadre of majoritarian communal organizations are indoctrinated in hatred and
violence against other communities it holds to be inherently inferior. It is in
this backdrop that when the Kandhamal carnage took place, the offense of Sangh
affiliates, the lapses and partisan behaviour of state machinery, the lack of
rehabilitation and deliverance of justice
came
as a big jolt to the victims and became the matter of concern for human rights
groups. While many a sincere, scattered efforts to help the afflicted were
undertaken by different groups. These efforts have been effective but
inadequate in their reach.
On
the 6th anniversary of the Kandhamal carnage various Delhi
groups are coming together to organise a solidarity programme with the victims
of the Kandhamal violence called- Kandhamal: Never Again.
The
programme will be organised on August 25, 2014 from 3-7pm at Jantar
Mantar. We are requesting to kindly join us as co-organiser of the
programme.
Durang
Bosu- YWCA, Delhi
Father
Stany Tirkey-CBCI
Paul
Divakar- NCDHR
Samuel
Jaykumar-NCCI
Shabnam
Hashmi-Anhad
