Mob disrupts Christmas celebration, Christians attacked

At least 15 to 20 churches were attacked and three churches burnt down by Hindu fundamentalists in Kandhmal district, on the eve of Christmas.

Indefinite curfew was imposed in several towns in the district of Orissa and twenty people arrested, following attacks on churches.

According to news sources, at least a dozen churches were attacked by a mob, allegedly led by VHP activists. One person was killed and 25 hurt in the ensuing violence.

Violence broke out at several places as saffron activists ransacked churches in Baliguda area disrupting Christmas festivities with bandh supporters picketing outside chapels, police said.

''They want to convert people to Christianity and convert the country into a Christian Land. We are opposed to that and that is the source of all disputes and fights,'' alleged Swami Laxmananand, a VHP leader, who from past 30 years has been campaigning against the minority community.

However, All India Christian Council, Orissa unit, held the state responsible for the attacks on churches and Christian organisations saying the action initiated by the administration was "inadequate"

''The government does not appear to have taken the matter seriously and the slackness on the part of the administration is evident,'' Organisation's state unit president, Rev Pran Ranjan Parichha said.

?This is the first time in Orissa's history that church services could not be held on the Christmas Day despite police presence,'' Parichha added.

Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), meanwhile, approached the senior government officials and urged them to protect the lives and properties of the minority Christian community in the state.

Orissa, in fact, is the only Indian state that has a law requiring people to obtain police permission before they change their religion, a move designed to counter missionary work.

In 1999, an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 8, were burned to death as they slept inside their vehicle after a Bible study class in Orissa.