Orissa’s Christian leaders meet state chief minister
(May 29, 2009) A delegation of Christian leaders from eastern India’s Orissa state
met the State’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss the situation of their respective
communities, in particular the suffering and threats many of their members are still
enduring, especially in Kandhamal District. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar,
led the delegation which included other Orissa Catholic bishops, the leaders of other
Christian denominations and Asit Mohanty, regional coordinator of the Global Council
of Indian Christians. Mohanty told AsiaNews that during the one and half hour meeting
the delegation presented Chief Minister Patnaik a memorandum describing the problems
Christians have experienced in the state since the anti-Christian violence led by
Hindu extremists in August 2008. At present 3,000 of those affected by last year’s
violence are still languishing in government-run refugee camps whilst some 900 families
are still unable to go home because of persistent threats from extremists. In their
plea Christian leaders called on the chief minister to prosecute the perpetrators
of the violence, make sure that victims are compensated for their losses and that
their homes and places of worship are rebuilt as the State has already pledged. The
Orissa chief minister, who led his Biju Janata Dal party to victory in the recent
parliamentary elections after breaking away with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), cordially received the Christian delegation and assured them of the support
of his government.