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Orissa Christians hope for justice, Indian activist says
by Nirmala Carvalho
In an interview with AsiaNews, Ram Puniyani, Convenor of the National People’s Tribunal, talks about the latter’s report on the 2008 anti-Christian pogroms. For him, the issue was not religious but the political use of poverty among Hindu Adivasi and Christian Dalits by Hindu fundamentalists.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Poverty, not conversions, is at the root of anti-Christian pogroms in Kandhamal. Hindu fundamentalists have used “poverty among Adivasi Hindus to turn them against Christian Dalits,” said Ram Puniyani, president of the National People’s Tribunal (NPT), in an interview with AsiaNews. The NPT has released a report on the 2008 anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Orissa to help victims and get the state to bring justice. Puniyani believes the report will put pressure on the government so that the victims will not be forgotten. A former professor of biomedical engineering at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, he is also the recipient of the National Communal Harmony Awardand the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration. Here is his interview with AsiaNews.
What were the sentiments of the people in the audience?
I think that yesterday in the audience, there were a lot of expectations. There were two or three sentiments that I could see. One was a sense of relief, that their voices were being expressed. Second, there was a hope that justice and rehabilitation would start. These are the two things. The sentiments of the people in the audience were more an expectation, hope.
Among the victims’ testimonies, which one was the most painful?
The main cry came from people who were living peacefully, innocent people. In an atmosphere of hate, created by certain forces, they were made to suffer, and this suffering came in many forms: social ostracizing and pressure to reconvert to Hinduism. It was total dislocation, the disruption of their lives, which they had not anticipated.
What will justice mean for Kandhamal victims?
Justice for Kandhamal victims will come when state and society will take care of the victims they have neglected for so long. In the past 50-55 years, victims of violence have never been compensated and rehabilitated, nor have they had an opportunity to live in dignity. If we begin this process here, it will be a symbol of the return of the rule of law, civility and humanity. Society does not progress unless wounds are healed.
The violence was a gross violation of basic rights, basic dignity, and all the values for which our constitution stands for. If justice is not done, if minorities do not feel safe and secure, development and democracy are incomplete.
Is it true that conversions caused the violence?
The cause of violence is not conversions. Earlier, after Rev Graham Steins was burnt alive, the Wadhwa commission report clearly stated the Rev Stiens was not involved in conversions and in the area where he worked the percentage of Christians did not go up. In Kandhamal, claims of conversion are just propaganda. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has used it to play Dalit Christians against Hindu Adivasi.
Conversions that have taken place are few and have occurred over a very long period of time. No new group has come into being in a century. The percentage of Christians in India is not very high, and in the last four decades, it has been slowly declining. In some areas, some people have taken to Christianity. In Kandhamal, what has occurred elsewhere has been projected locally, but the real problem is abject poverty among Adivasi and deprivation among Dalits as well as the communal approach taken by VHP leader Lakmi Narayan, who with his supporters has tried to push Adivasi to take up the arms against Dalit Christians.
Dr Puniyani, do you think this report will help bring justice to Kandhamal
At one level, one has really felt hopeless in this country for the past three decades. With the rise of communal politics, there is a great deal of hopelessness even among activists like us. However, if we raise our voice, there is a good chance that we can engage the state on this issue. If the protest movement is channelled properly, we can be certain that the state will be forced to take action.
So far, such reports have been an academic exercise. Now activists are aware that releasing reports is not enough. We have to do a lot of backup action to keep constant pressure on the government, the state and society to bring justice to the victims. It is a 50-50 proposition but the more we apply pressure, the greater our chances to see change implemented.