Church council blames governments for Assam violence

(July 30, 2012) The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) has accused India’s federal government as well as the state government of Assam for lacking in “political will” to prevent the ethnic clashes in the north-eastern state. The council that brings together Protestant and Orthodox churches in India said that the “disaster” in the state could have been averted had infiltration of migrants been properly checked at all levels. In a letter to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday NCCI general secretary Roger Gaikwad noted that the indigenous Bodo people who dominate the Bodoland region have resisted for years the influx of Muslim immigrants from neighbouring West Bengal state and Bangladesh. Such influx and occupation, he said, have created a fear psychosis among the Bodos, who being helpless are bound to retaliate. The recent killing of four Bodo men sparked the violence that has claimed the lives of at least 53 people and forced around 400,000 people to flee their homes. Meanwhile, the Inter Church Peace Mission (ICPM) has condemned the violence and called for peace. “We urge all people of goodwill to be extra generous with your time, energy, contribution and above all your prayers at this moment of suffering and pain,” the ICPM said in a press statement.