In 2008, Orissa witnessed the worst spate of ‘communal violence’ ever faced by the Christian community in post-independence India, including brutal murders and rapes, widespread destruction of churches and property, and forcible conversions to Hinduism. The attacks, centred in Kandhamal district, were catalysed by the assassination on 23 August 2008 of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, local figurehead of the radical Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), by assailants believed to have been Maoists. By 24 August, mobs were rampaging through the district, setting up roadblocks, shouting Hindu nationalist and violent anti-Christian slogans, openly blaming Christians for the murder and calling for revenge as they attacked Christian targets. Although rural poverty and underlying issues of ethnic tensions over entitlements in Kandhamal played a role in the violence, these were not the primary causes but provided a context for the radicalisation of one community and the incitement of violence. The Orissa chief minister publicly acknowledged the role of extremist Hindu nationalist organisations in the violence in the legislative assembly for the first time in November 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The violence which started in August 2008 continued for over eight weeks. At least 50,000 were displaced and 70 were killed; among the victims were Hindus opposing the rioters. Widespread anti-Christian attacks had also taken place in Kandhamal in December 2007, impunity for which laid the foundations for the second, more serious wave of violence in 2008. The state government failed to implement detailed recommendations made by India’s National Commission for Minorities in early 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government is to be commended for actions taken in the aftermath of the violence, including dispatching a consignment of the central reserve police force and establishing two fast-track courts, but contrary to official statements, the situation now is scarcely “normal”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n