Hindu-Catholic youth group to ensure Christmas joy for Orissa Christians
(December 22, 2009) A mixed youth group of Hindus and Catholics in eastern India’s
Orissa state is intent on ensuring a happy and safe Christmas for Christians in the
state’s troubled Kandhamal district this year. Members of the handpicked group say
they have new insights into the problems of their home state after a week-long conflict
resolution course run by Salesians in Guwahati in the north-eastern state of Assam.
Some 50,000 people had spent Christmas last year in relief camps set up by government
and voluntary groups in various parts of Orissa. This was after Hindu extremists blamed
Christians for the murder of a Hindu religious leader and led rampaging mobs that
destroyed houses, churches and convents. This year things will be different, Hindu
youth leader Himang Shu told UCA News. "During Christmas we will go to Christian
houses and celebrate the feast together," he said. He and 23 other young Hindus and
Christians from Kandhamal were picked by the Orissa government for the course at Don
Bosco Youth Institute in Guwahati. They belong to "Antaranga" (conscience), a youth
forum formed after the violence erupted in their home region. The young people were
selected from various ethnic groups in the district for the course that ended Dec.
18.