A book with shocking Kandhamal facts

Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh termed Kandhamal carnage as a ‘national shame’. But if one were to lay hands on a recent book on Kandhamal, one would realise that it was more than a national shame – it was a blatant denial of the constitutional privileges of Fundamental Rights.

Kandhamal: a blot on Indian Secularism is a book, perhaps the first of its kind, that vividly portrays the violence that took place in Kandhamal last year. The author, Mr Anto Akkara, a senior freelance journalist, visited the ravaged villages over six times to get a first-hand information and document it. His search has resulted in the revelation of certain shocking and hitherto unreported details of the Kandhamal issue in the mainstream media.

72 killed, not 32

For example, the Orissa government claims that only 32 persons were killed in the communal violence. But the author has given a list of75 with their names, villages they belong and the date on which they were killed. He has procured this list from the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court by the Archbishop of Bubeneswar, Rev. Raphael Cheenath. Says the author, “The government refusal to acknowledge the murders also means that there will not be any prosecution either in majority of the killings in Kandhamal.”

The funeral procession

There is also another chilling detail of the funeral procession of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati who was killed allegedly by the Maoists on August 23. The procession was taken out for over two days. The author holds that the procession went along the puzzling difficult route covering 250 kilometers which could have taken along main roads and completed in few hours. “This has been done deliberately by the communal forces to whip up communal passions,” the author holds. Hundreds of houses and religious centres were torched as the funeral procession traversed along the rugged path. The author gives a total list of 5031 houses that have been burnt or damaged in Kandhamal in the communal violence.

Godhra vs Kandhamal

What makes Kandhamal different from Godhra? It is true that in the Godhra carnage over 2000 Muslims were killed, compared to the 72 or so in Kandhamal. Had the people not fled to the forests the number in Kandhamal also would have been much higher. Nevertheless, there is no big difference as regards the intensity of the damage. Both incidents have dented the faith of the minority communities in the government machinery and its commitment to uphold secularism.

Perhaps, what sets Kandhamal apart , as claimed by the book, is the media notice or the lack of it. While Godhra saw a minute by minute coverage by the media – both print and electronic – Kandhamal was not adequately reported in the mainstream media. There are several reasons for this. First of all, Kandhamal is over 220 kilometres away from the State capital, Bubeneswar. It is covered by dense forest and reaching there is quite an agonising experience. Secondly, the communal outfits saw to it that media did not reach Kandhamal for weeks together. Even the ministers could not enter the territory as the roads were completely blocked and the situation was really tense.

Due to all this, people in general have not got a comprehensive picture of Kandhamal. This book, no doubt, gives readers very many details of the violence that took place for months together. Author’s painstaking efforts have brought forth many first person narratives of many victims, the reading of which is very disturbing.

Curious case of Niladri Kanhar

Among the many narratives in the book, there is one by Niladri Kanhar. He was a hard core Sangh Privar activist who masterminded several attacks on Christians and their institutions earlier.

However, his family underwent a series of major problems which resulted in the whole family becoming desperate and on the verge of losing hope. It is at this point that a pastor, Pavitra Mohomo, seems to have prayed over the family for many days and, as a result, all the suffering just vanished. This was a moment of conversion for Niladri who along with his whole family became Christian.

A hardcore Sangh Parivar activist becoming a Christian was too much to bear for the saffron brigade. They harassed him repeatedly and finally burnt his house and beat him and left him half dead. Niladri survived, not before undergoing several surgeries. “Jesus was crucified. It is a joy for me to carry an injury for the faith in him,” he says.

One fails to understand if Niladri’s case was a forced conversion or a result of inducement. Here is a clear violation of a person’s fundamental right of religious freedom. If this could happen to a redeemed Sangh Parivar activist, one can only imagine the plight of the ordinary tribals and dalits. “Threats, intimidation and boycott to force the returning Christians forsake their faith is continuing unabated in many villages in Kandhamal,” explains the author.

Releasing the book in Bangalore on April 24, former justice of the High Court, M. F. Saldanha said, “The government should take suo moto cognizance of a well-documented report like this book and stop wasting money on commission reports which run into thousands of pages only to gather dust in libraries.”

Recently in a television debate, Seema Mustafa, senior journalist and the editor of Covert, said, “Incidents like Godhra and Kandhamal should be treated as issues directly related to Indian Constitution. It is unfortunate that political parties are turning them into election issues for their vote bank politics.”

One only waits for such a day when political parties will stop playing cheap politics on the lives of people. Otherwise it will not be a surprise if more Godhras and Kandhamals take place in India.