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.