Kandhamal Christmas passes peacefully

(December 27, 2010) Christians in Kandhamal district of eastern India’s Orissa state celebrated Christmas in peace after three years. Only one incident marred the occasion when vandals torched a car belonging to a Protestant preacher, parked in premises of a hospital in Phulbani, the district headquarters, on Saturday evening. Reverend Surajan Nayak told Ucanews that his car was burnt because he had expressed the insecurity of Christians at a peace meeting the district collector had convened in view of Christmas. Despite the low level of violence over Christmas, Nayak said peace still eludes Kandhamal. “We have to continue our struggle for peace and security,” he added. Churches along main roads celebrated midnight Mass with heavy police security. However villages where churches were destroyed during the 2008 anti-Christian violence had to abandon the midnight services. The district also experienced an unprecedented cold wave with temperatures plunging to near freezing. In some places, the police stopped the use of the sound systems in the church premises after 10 p.m., even before services began. Christians in the district had feared violence after a pro-Hindu tribal outfit had called for public rallies to remember a tribal who was killed during Christmas 2007.