[Reader-list] Hindutva terrorism against Christians in Orissa

[Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्]

Orissa violence: lies and media reports

The newspaper report, which is being circulated by email and on the
Web by supporters of the Sangh Parivar, is not only inflammatory, but
also factually incorrect. VISHAL ARORA says lies get propagated by the
media.

Posted Wednesday, Aug 27 23:34:31, 2008
from The Hoot: http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3286&mod=1&pg=1&sectionId=5&valid=true


The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav told CNN
IBN yesterday that Christians were behind the killing of Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in
Orissa's Kandhamal district on August 23. Madhav pointed out that
Orissa police had arrested workers of the Christian organization World
Vision for the killing. He should have had his facts right before
making a statement on a national channel.



Madhav's statement may have been based on a report in a newspaper (The
Pioneer, August 25): "The police have arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an
employee of the World Vision, a Christian Charity, from Khadagpur
while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two
other persons Vikram Digal and William Digal have been arrested from
the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Christian, from Nuasahi at
Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of 28
other assailants."



The newspaper report, which is being circulated by email and on the
Web by supporters of the Sangh Parivar, is not only inflammatory, but
also factually incorrect.

Disturbed by the report, I spoke to Deputy Inspector General (Southern
Range) R.P. Koche in Bhubaneshwar, who categorically denied it. "No
one has been arrested in 'connection' with the attack on Swami's
Ashram. We have merely made some preventive arrests for
interrogation," he said.



Then, Jayakumar Christian, the executive director of World Vision
India, narrated how his organisation's employees landed up in a police
station. "Two of our workers were fleeing sensitive areas on a
motorbike to escape attacks. They started from Daringbari and were
going to Bhubaneswar. However, when they reached Behrampore (Ganjam
district), security personnel deployed there asked them to take
shelter in a police station for their safety. The police informed us
that our employees are in the police station, and asked us to take
them to a safer place. And they came back safely the following day."
He spoke to me on the phone today.



One wonders what is the source of the newspaper's report, which claims
that those arrested also confessed to the crime – when the police have
denied it. God alone knows how many false reports could be taking the
rounds.



It is unfortunate that at least nine people, mainly Christians, have
been killed or burnt alive and hundreds of homes belonging to
Christians have been destroyed by mobs allegedly led by the VHP in the
name of retribution. And the violence is carrying on. This is in spite
of the fact that a Maoist group, the People's Liberation Revolutionary
Group, has claimed responsibility for the killing. A leader of the
group, who identified himself as Azad, reportedly called up a
newspaper office and said they killed Saraswati because he mixed
"religion with politics…" That Kandhamal is a Maoist-affected district
is also common knowledge. Further, the police found a threat letter in
Saraswati's ashram that was sent prior to the attack. Furthermore, the
attack was launched with sophisticated weapons, which also indicates
Maoist involvement.



Does the VHP not know that the culprits are most likely to be Maoists?
Perhaps they do, but it is typical of the VHP and other members of the
timid Sangh Parivar to attack soft targets. They raise the issue of
Islamist terrorism, but kill and beat common Muslims – as they did in
the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat in 2002. And now, in Orissa, they
are killing Christians and destroying their property when there are
clear indications that Maoists launched the August 23 attack. All that
is needed is a lie to target the minority community, and thanks to
sections of the media, there is no dearth of falsehoods being
propagated.


 (Vishal Arora is a Delhi-based journalist, and can be contacted at
vishalarora_in at hotmail.com)