CWM

Martyred

Thursday, 25 September 2008 10:41

Anto Akkara recounts some of the harrowing ordeals that faithful Christians in Orissa, India, have undergone at the hands of Hindu extremists.

Akbar Digal, a Pentecostal pastor at Mandakia village, has always had cordial relations with his Hindus neighbours, so while thousands of Christians fled for their life to escape the widespread attacks in Orissa's troubled Kandhamal, he decided to stay back in his village.

His confidence and courage was misplaced. Three days after the Hindu fundamentalists began attacking Christian targets, the Hindu fanatics entered his house on 27 August.

They asked pastor Digal to renounce his faith so that they could leave him unharmed. "You know, I am a pastor, how can I do that?" replied Digal politely. When he repeated this reply third time, his throat was slashed with a sword as his wife watched.

Amid widespread attacks on churches, enthusiastic young Christians at Tiangia village wanted to safeguard their church and stood guard around it. But when a heavily armed Hindu mob descended on the village, the young Christians had no option but to run for their life.

But, the Hindu fundamentalists managed to catch Bikram Naik (38), Dasaratha Pradhan(38), Surendra Naik (40), and hacked them to death on the road on 25 August.

Christ or your life?

An armed Hindu mob landed at the doors of the joint family of pastors Samuel and Daniel on August 25 noon threatening the Christian family to denounce their faith or be prepared for death.

"Do you want Christ or your life?" asked the mob leaders. Unfazed by the threat, the brothers replied "Christ is everything for us". Enraged by this defiance, the Hindu fundamentalists hit their two children with iron rods breaking their skulls. After pouring petrol on the adults, the fanatics gave 'one more chance' for the adults of the family that stood firm and raised their hands in prayers.

There is an air of immunity. They feel emboldened to do anything now

Within seconds, five adults of the family were up in flames and were running around. Foreseeing that they may try to escape, the Hindu mob had poured petrol on the outside walls of the house also and set it on fire. All the seven members of the family died in the fire.

Church workers have already documented the details of as many as 28 Christians who have been murdered for their faith in Kandhamal district. Christians here account for over 100,000 among 500,000 people. The unconfirmed death toll is still higher.

Violence against Christians was let loose by Hindu fundamentalists after Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati – senior leader of Hindu nationalist groups in Orissa – was shot dead along with five of his junior monks by Maoist rebels who stormed his base on the night of 23 August.

More than 4,000 Christian houses along with dozens of churches and Christian institutions have been emptied out and torched in the orchestrated violence by Hindu fundamentalists in Kandhamal. Half of the 100,000 Christians are now living in the jungles or refugee camps.

Flight to safety

"Christians are still fleeing the villages for their lives," said Sudhanshu Nayak, general secretary of the YMCA in Bhubaneswar that is now hosting 500 Christian refugees.

With forcible reconversion of Christians going on unabated in villages, Nayak told CWM on 18 September that Christians continue to flee Kandhamal and those with the money for a bus ride reach 'safer' Bhubaneswar – Orissa's capital – 300 kms from Kandhamal.

"Unless the government deals with these thugs sternly, our people can never return to their villages. In fact, nobody wants to go back," said Nayak whose mother, two brothers and sister with two children too have been rendered homeless and taken shelter in a refuge camp in Raikia town in Kandhamal. More than 20,000 Christians have taken shelter in 14 refugee camps in Kandhamal.

Since the police took hardly any action against Hindu fundamentalists who looted and torched dozens of churches and Christian institutions during last Christmas, Nayak pointed out that "there is an air of immunity. They feel emboldened to do anything now".

"Otherwise, they would not have dared to do things like attacking police stations," said Nayak.

A police constable was shot dead (while others fled) and the police station at Gochapada was set on fire along with the vehicles there by a 500-strong armed that stormed the station September 16 early morning. The mob had even blocked access roads before carrying out the attacking the police station before dawn.

Senior police officials said the Hindu fundamentalists carried out this retaliatory attack since four rioters were shot dead by the federal police after the Hindu mob fired at police guarding a church at Kurtamgarh in Tumudibandh area on 13 September.

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