India's Kandhamal still Waits for Justice

August 30, 2011: Christians in the Indian state of Orissa are still suffering after 2008 violence. They could not conduct prayer services last week for more than 100 fellow community members who were killed in sectarian violence three years ago.
Shibani Singh, president of Catholic women of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese, sums up the reason: “We feared reprisals from Hindu fundamentalists who organized a rally to observe the anniversary of the death of their seer Laxmananda Saraswati.” Maoist guerillas killed the Hindu religious leader on August 23, 2008, triggering some of the worst acts of anti-Christian violence the Church in India has ever witnessed.
The Church in Orissa now observes August 25 as “Martyrdom Day.” It was on that day in 2008 that the anti-Christian mayhem of killing and torture began. It lasted nearly six months and also saw 54,000 people in 415 villages homeless. The survivors said there were more than 6,000 cases of house burning, looting and killing. However, only 3,232 had the courage to go to the police, who registered only 831 cases and arrested 794 people. Fast track courts set up to handle these cases acquitted 639 people.
Only one of 19 murder trials ended with a conviction. The courts dismissed the rest despite witnesses testifying against the accused. Recently, a visiting German delegation, led by Volker Kauder, chairman of the Christian Democrat parliamentary group, expressed disbelief that the justice system could stoop to such a low. The delegation was also dismayed at the refusal by the “sensitive Indian media” to hear Orissa victims’ cries for justice.