Kandhamal Christians find Christianity a more human way of life: Spanish filmmaker

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Fernando de Haro, a Spanish journalist and a director, who made a documentary film on Christian persecution in India says Kandhamal Christians find "Christianity a more human way of life."

His documentary "One," shows the situation of Christians in India in general and Kandhamal in particular. The movie was filmed in New Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Kandhamal.

"The film gathers the faces and stories of simple Christian people, who have found in Christianity a more human way of life," de Haro said.

India, where Hinduism is a major religion, still follows a rigid caste system. But people who leave Hinduism and try to embrace Christianity, lose their social help. The growing Hindu nationalism uses violence to restrict the freedom of minorities and some consider such acts as genocide against Christians in the country. And what happened in Kandhamal in 2008 shows how the extremists tried to wipe out Christianity from the region, the author said.

The Kandhamal incident was considered the worst violence in 300 years of India's history. It all started after the death of the Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008. Although the Maoist guerillas in the area claimed the assassination of the leader, the Hindu extremists led a series of riots that left roughly 100 people dead, thousands injured, 300 churches and 6,000 homes destroyed, and 50,000 people displaced.

De Haro's "One" serves as a voice to the Hindu nationalists that justify the discrimination policies against Christians and other marginalized communities in the country.

Previously, the author had produced documentaries like "Walking next to the wall," "Nasarah" and "Alleluia to Nigeria" dedicated to persecuted Christians in the world.