Aggressive evangelism sparked Orissa violence says Christian Leader

The religious clash between the Christians and Hindus in the state of Orissa has been aided by the aggresive evangelising of missionaries from outside the region says a Christian leader of the largest Protestant denomination in northern India.

In a recent interview with the Ecumenical News International, Rev Enos das Pradhan, general secretary of the Church of North India said, the roots of tension lie in concerns about the conversion of Hindus to Christianity and disputes about the rights and benefits granted to Dalits who converted to Christianity.

An upsurge in evangelisation by missionaries from overseas and from southern India has further inflamed tensions in the area, said Pradhan.

"The challenge facing the Christian Church in India today is to learn how to live as strong Christians in a pluralistic society," Pradhan says. "Sixty years after Indian independence, the future of secularism is at stake."

In the December 2007 anti–Christian violence by the Hindu radicals in Orissa, Dalits were the main targets. Four people were confirmed death while 95 Churches and 730 houses were burnt down or destroyed, according to All India Christian Council (aicc).

Hindu radical organisations mainly the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP accused Christian missionaries for implementing forceful conversions and luring gullible Hindus with money and job. "Upon these reasons, we will continue to battle against the Christians," said a VHP region leader.

Churches and Christian groups in the state however demanded enhanced security, after the recent violence ensued huge damages to the community.

"Christians are brutally attacked by the fundamentalists and law and order is fully missing especially in Kandhamal where the fundamentalists have taken charge of the whole district," read an appeal to the National Human Rights Commission.

Christians make up approximately 16 percent of the 650,000 people in Kandhamal district. More than 60 percent of the Christians belong to the Pana community.