Dance of death in Indian state of Orissa

[The Green Bean]

NEW DELHI: The recent carnage in Orissa state during communal violence against poor and helpless members of Christian community has sent a new wave of fears and insecurity among minorities of India.

The ugly episode began following the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmananada Saraswati on August 23 last which triggered horrors in the streets of Kandamal, a worst -hit district of the state where Hindu extremists including activists of VHP and Bajrang Dal went on rampage killing the members of poor community and setting on fire their churches, prayers halls and orphan houses.

The officials have put the death toll at 16 but independent sources and All India Christian Council, a body representing different Christian organizations have put the toll at more than 24.

Hundreds of churches, prayer Halls, Christian centres including a missionary-run orphan house were torched in no time in Kandhamal and surrounding districts in a bid to take revenge for the murder of Hindu leader who was reportedly killed by Naxalites.

Later, Naxalites who are active in the area took the responsibility of killing the VHP leader.

The reports from the area suggested that unaccounted bodies of members of Christian community are still lying in nearby dense jungles where the helpless community fled to escape death. They were followed and butchered there by the Hindu activists.

This region had witnessed a trail of death and destruction in the same fashion when Christians were butchered in the streets of at the hands of saffron forces when they were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in December last year.

This time, the ?dance of death? continued for almost two weeks in different districts of Orissa state and also spilled over to border state of Madhya Pradesh when the state machinery failed to stop the onslaughts of Hindu extremists.

Thousands of Christians fled to dense jungles to escape their lives. Incidents of forcible conversion to Hinduism were also reported by Christian organizations of the area.

When they do it in Kashmir the muslims are at fault. Are the christians who are getting killed at fault too? How come news like this doesn't get any attention in the western media? People are getting slaughtered in the streets - and christians at that!

 

[nick1985]

I hear Pakistan cant control the AQ/Taliban operating within its borders, yet bitches and moans when others try to do it for them.

Confirm/Deny?

 

[Throckmorton]

That sucks. First I've heard of violent Hindu extremists

Originally posted by: nick1985
I hear Pakistan cant control the AQ/Taliban operating within its borders, yet bitches and moans when others try to do it for them.

Confirm/Deny?

WTF do Pakistan and the Taliban have to do with anything?

 

[Mani]

Originally posted by: The Green Bean

NEW DELHI: The recent carnage in Orissa state during communal violence against poor and helpless members of Christian community has sent a new wave of fears and insecurity among minorities of India.

The ugly episode began following the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmananada Saraswati on August 23 last which triggered horrors in the streets of Kandamal, a worst -hit district of the state where Hindu extremists including activists of VHP and Bajrang Dal went on rampage killing the members of poor community and setting on fire their churches, prayers halls and orphan houses.

The officials have put the death toll at 16 but independent sources and All India Christian Council, a body representing different Christian organizations have put the toll at more than 24.

Hundreds of churches, prayer Halls, Christian centres including a missionary-run orphan house were torched in no time in Kandhamal and surrounding districts in a bid to take revenge for the murder of Hindu leader who was reportedly killed by Naxalites.

Later, Naxalites who are active in the area took the responsibility of killing the VHP leader.

The reports from the area suggested that unaccounted bodies of members of Christian community are still lying in nearby dense jungles where the helpless community fled to escape death. They were followed and butchered there by the Hindu activists.

This region had witnessed a trail of death and destruction in the same fashion when Christians were butchered in the streets of at the hands of saffron forces when they were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in December last year.

This time, the ?dance of death? continued for almost two weeks in different districts of Orissa state and also spilled over to border state of Madhya Pradesh when the state machinery failed to stop the onslaughts of Hindu extremists.

Thousands of Christians fled to dense jungles to escape their lives. Incidents of forcible conversion to Hinduism were also reported by Christian organizations of the area.

When they do it in Kashmir the muslims are at fault. Are the christians who are getting killed at fault too? How come news like this doesn't get any attention in the western media? People are getting slaughtered in the streets - and christians at that!

Every religion has its bad eggs. The reason Islam gets so much more press is that they bring their sh*t to other countries. You don't see to many extremist Hindus or Christians suicide bombing or flying planes into buildings elsewhere.

 

[Double Trouble]

Just goes to show that muslims don't have a monopoly on crazy fanaticism, every other religion has crazy fanatics as well.

 

[Lemon law]

While I am fairly confident that most Pakistanis can draw a passable map of India, I had to use google earth to find Orissa. Which is no where near Pakistan and far to the East of the historical perpetration of Islam into India. Lacking Muslims to take out their wrath on, it looks like the local Hindus settled on Christians as the next best minority to butcher.

All human beings should have a dog in this fight and care about minorities being butchered, but we sure can see who does not care.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
That sucks. First I've heard of violent Hindu extremists

Dude, hindus and muslims have been gleefully slaughtering each other in numbers large and small on a yearly, if not nearly monthly basis at least since the artifical partition of British colonial India into Pakistan and India in 1947.

Quick! What was the country of Bangaladesh, formerly?

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: The Green Bean

NEW DELHI: The recent carnage in Orissa state during communal violence against poor and helpless members of Christian community has sent a new wave of fears and insecurity among minorities of India.

The ugly episode began following the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmananada Saraswati on August 23 last which triggered horrors in the streets of Kandamal, a worst -hit district of the state where Hindu extremists including activists of VHP and Bajrang Dal went on rampage killing the members of poor community and setting on fire their churches, prayers halls and orphan houses.

The officials have put the death toll at 16 but independent sources and All India Christian Council, a body representing different Christian organizations have put the toll at more than 24.

Hundreds of churches, prayer Halls, Christian centres including a missionary-run orphan house were torched in no time in Kandhamal and surrounding districts in a bid to take revenge for the murder of Hindu leader who was reportedly killed by Naxalites.

Later, Naxalites who are active in the area took the responsibility of killing the VHP leader.

The reports from the area suggested that unaccounted bodies of members of Christian community are still lying in nearby dense jungles where the helpless community fled to escape death. They were followed and butchered there by the Hindu activists.

This region had witnessed a trail of death and destruction in the same fashion when Christians were butchered in the streets of at the hands of saffron forces when they were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in December last year.

This time, the ?dance of death? continued for almost two weeks in different districts of Orissa state and also spilled over to border state of Madhya Pradesh when the state machinery failed to stop the onslaughts of Hindu extremists.

Thousands of Christians fled to dense jungles to escape their lives. Incidents of forcible conversion to Hinduism were also reported by Christian organizations of the area.

When they do it in Kashmir the muslims are at fault. Are the christians who are getting killed at fault too? How come news like this doesn't get any attention in the western media? People are getting slaughtered in the streets - and christians at that!

So as I understand it a group of communists (Naxalites ) Indians killed a hindu priest , so in retaliation they reeked carnage on the Christian faith?
Am I missing some logic here?

 

[GroundedSailor]

Originally posted by: daniel49
So as I understand it a group of communists (Naxalites ) Indians killed a hindu priest , so in retaliation they reeked carnage on the Christian faith?
Am I missing some logic here?

Firstly the guy killed was not a priest. He was a local leader of a right wing hindu organization.

Orissa is one of the poorest and backward regions of India. And fairly lawless. Religious fanatics on both sides are active in that area. Christian missionaries are always trying to convert the poorest locals to Christianity with promises of charity etc. Also by becoming christians the poor can claim another right to affirmative action policies of the govt - even though as backward tribes and socio-economic classes they have many existing opportunities under similar policies. Google 'reservation in India' for more information.

The right wing Hindu organizations have been fighting that concept. It is a political issue as well as - vote banks etc. with local politicians and landlords tacitly backing the right wing. So the two sides often clash. This is not to say that all Christian missionaries are good and all right wingers are bad, there are good and bad people on both sides of the issue. The main tactics in this battle for 'control of souls' are conversion and reconversion with the poor being used as pawns in the middle. Frankly there are few innocents on both sides.

I'm no fan of right wing organizations (IMHO they should be banned) but it is important to understand that there is no concept of missionary in Hinduism, and consequently no concept of conversion of others to Hinduism - until the recent reconversion being followed by the right wingers.

It's a sorry and sad state of affairs with the root cause being poverty and lack of economic opportunities.

The naxalites are a bunch of communist based splinter organizations which look to Maoist ideology to overthrow the govt and 'upper classes'. Their strategy is anarchy. They will seed trouble wherever they can to introduce chaos.

Here's a news report about the recent clashes. Some of the comments below the article are worth reading.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes...rticleshow/3427994.cms