[Reader-list] Orissa

[S. Jabbar]

>From the Hindustan Times


RAJNI MAJHI, charred to death on Monday when a BJP-VHP mob torched the
Missionary Orphan Centre in Bargarh district of Orissa, wasn¹t even a
Christian.
The mob, protesting Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda¹s killing in Kandhamal,
attacked Father Eddie¹s home at Khuntpali in Bargarh.

The 19-year-old tribal girl, daughter of Laxmiprasad Mahakud, a labourer,
had been adopted by Buchu Majhi.

It¹s a common practice in rural Orissa to give a newborn up for adoption to
ward off ³evil eyes². Buchu performed her last rites according to Hindu
rituals. He said, ³My daughter fell prey to an evil eye.² Rajni stayed in
the orphanage because her family could not afford higher education. She used
to cycle to Padampur Women¹s College, six km from the home.

Fondly called Rajni Nani, she would look after the 22 children in the home.
³She was more than a mother to us,² said Trinath Sabar, an inmate.