Various Christian groups in the Delhi National Capital Region of India are planning to organise a solidarity programme with the victims of the Kandhamal anti-Christian violence on its 6th Anniversary.
The solidarity programme named 'Kandhamal: Never Again' event will be held from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Monday, the 25th August 2014 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.
The organisers have invited artists, intellectuals, NGOs, Civil Society groups and likeminded people to to join in event to show their support and solidarity with the victims.
Odisha state, formerly Orissa witnessed unprecedented wave of violence against Christian minority in 2008 starting on 25th August after Swami Laxmananand along with his four followers was killed on August 23, 2008 although Maoist militants had publicly announced that they were responsible for the crime.
The epicentre of the anti-Christian violence was witnessed in Kandhamal district. At least 90 people were killed and an estimated 54,000 people were forced to flee from their homes.
Despite the level of violence, few suspects have been convicted. Most have either been dismissed or acquitted, leading to outcry from human right activists.
The organisers in their online press handout did mention the systematic anti-Christian violence which had begun some years earlier, which include 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 minor sons -- Philip and Timothy, aged 9 and 7 years, who were sleeping in a jeep after a village festival," the statement noted.
The statement also blamed a section of media for not highlighting enough the persecution of the minority Christians. "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," it stated.
The statement also noted how the majority community were indoctrinated in hatred and violence against other communities it holds to be inherently inferior. It says: "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," the statement noted.
With this in mind, the event will be jointly organised by Young Woman Christian Association (YWCA), Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) will stand in solidarity with the victims on the above mentioned date.
