Church organisations mobilize to help Orissa victims

Protestant, Evangelical and Catholic leaders allied under one banner in a meeting of the National United Christian Forum held in New Delhi on 7th October 2008.

Attended by over 75 leaders from various Churches and denominations, the joint body comprising the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), Evangelical Fellowship of India and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) discussed on relief works and measures to be undertaken to ameliorate people's life in riot–hit Orissa state.

The Churches condemned the “unprecedented deliberate and systematic ethnic cleansing of Christians motivated by the Hindutva extremist groups like Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.”

"From 25th August 2008 onwards, the Hindu extremist groups are burning, killing, beating, raping and forcing conversion of Christian believers to Hinduism. They are systematically destroying homes, churches, orphanages, Bible Schools, even burning entire villages throughout the State of Orissa, particularly in the district of Kandhamal. Though not widely, but this has also spread in other parts of India," its statement to Christian Today said.

"There is no protection even in the camps run by the Orissa government where there is no proper water supply and the camps are repeatedly attacked, sometimes even bombed. The police are seen to be just standing and watching. In Karnataka over 40 churches and prayer halls have been destroyed. Sacred objects are desecrated, vandalized."

NUCF took a strong stand against proselytisation of any type and said, " Christians neither believe nor practice religious conversions using coercive, fraudulent or allurement or by denigrating other faiths. There is not a single case of conviction, in any court of India, against any Christian, for converting by force or allurements. It is the media stories that report Christians being forcefully converted to Hinduism in Orissa."

NCCI president Bishop Taranath Sagar told UCA News the violence against Christians threatens the future of India as a secular nation. The Churches' took this new initiative, the Protestant prelate added, "not only to save Christians but also the secular fabric of our nation."

Bishop Sagar said their meeting discussed various ways to bring aid to an estimated 20,000 victims now living in government–run relief camps. Thousands of homeless people are also reported to be hiding in forests.

The meeting even discussed improving Christian media and networking, engaging civil society and preparedness of the Churches to face such events in future.

Bishop Sagar said the relief agencies including the Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), Caritas India, Catholic Relief Services and Church's Auxiliary for Social Action, a Protestant agency, will work jointly to mobilize resources for relief and rehabilitation of the victims.

In conclusion the NUCF members demanded that the Central government issue precise directions under Articles 256 and 257 asking the Orissa government to take necessary action to curb violence expeditiously.

In addition, "a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be ordered to investigate both the killing of the Saraswati and the violence perpetrated on Christians since August 26."