October 2006 
Year 13    No.119

Saffronwatch


 Orissa: Hindutva’s tinderbox

In October 2003 and February-March 2004, Communalism Combat published two lengthy reports on the increasing communalisation of the state and polity in Orissa through the writings of Dr Angana Chatterji.

In June 2005, a citizens’ tribunal investigated further into issues raised by the increasing attacks on minorities in the state. The Indian People’s Tribunal on Communalism in Orissa (IPTCO) was constituted and has recently released its report. Led by Justice KK Usha (former chief justice of the Kerala High Court), the tribunal was convened by Dr Angana Chatterji (associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies) and Advocate Mihir Desai (Mumbai High Court). Here, Communalism Combat publishes some extracts from the report, Communalism in Orissa – Report of the Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights:

Education and the ‘Hindu worldview’

The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has constructed a network of educational institutions across Orissa. Vidya Bharati operates 391 Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools with 1,11,000 students in Orissa.

The VKA (Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram) runs 1,534 projects and schools. The sangh has initiated 932 Ekal Vidyalayas in 10 districts in Orissa. Most RSS-run schools are affiliated with the State Board of Education and adhere to the state approved curricula. The sangh has infiltrated into supervisory bodies and has been actively involved in the rewriting of textbooks. With the increasing impetus to privatise education, the RSS has been proclaiming its links to these schools and actively inaugurating schools in areas across Orissa where the government fails to provide public funding.

The government of Orissa has neglected to provide functioning, viable and affordable schools therefore creating an educational vacuum and market for the education offered by sangh-affiliated schools. The literacy rate in Orissa is 63.61 per cent (Census, 2001), with female literacy rates at 50.97 per cent.

Communalisation of education is a serious concern across India. Sectarian education campaigns undertaken by Hindu extremist groups demonise minorities through the teaching of fundamentalist curricula. Such corruption of education incites the political and social fires of communalism.

The RSS has spearheaded the education campaign, successfully penetrating into the educational systems of both the grassroots and centralised regulatory commissions. The RSS has fashioned an institutional umbrella that has had a damaging impact on secular education at the local level.

Hindutva politics and the BJP-BJD coalition

The sangh parivar’s mobilisation has been complemented and aided by the BJP’s growth in Orissa. The BJP-BJD (Bharatiya Janata Party-Biju Janata Dal) coalition came to power in the state in 2000. With the aid of the sangh parivar, the party had consolidated its position, so much so that even while the BJP was defeated in the 2004 national elections, the BJP-BJD coalition was victorious in Orissa and won 18 of 21 parliamentary seats.

On 16 March 2002, following the riots in Gujarat, about 300-500 communal activists attacked the Orissa Assembly, demanding that the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya must proceed; they also complained about allegations against the two organisations made by some house members. No substantive legal action was taken.

In November 2004, during the Bharat Bandh, the all-India strike in protest against the arrest of the Sankaracharya of Kanchi, the communal cadre attacked the Communist Party of India office in Bhubaneswar and attacked the chief of the Orissa Gana Parishad, a regional political party. They also mistreated the delegates of the All India Democratic Women’s Association and activists of the Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch.

Notwithstanding the presence of certain fora, such as the Campaign Against Communalism in Bhubaneswar, and the vigilance and opposition of Left political parties and certain civil society organisations to the sangh parivar, the absence of sustained and organised resistance to the sangh parivar has helped the Hindu right wing consolidate their position in the state.

Communal tensions and minority disenfranchisement are used to advantage by political parties such as the Congress, the ruling BJP-BJD coalition, and in turn benefit the sangh parivar.

Training and militancy

The RSS takes the lead in coordinating the training regimen for the sangh parivar cadre in Orissa. The RSS conducts month-long training sessions across Orissa during the summer vacations, drawing youth, students and young children. The RSS enlists officers for the Officers Training Camps (OTC) from amongst the trainees, where further training is undertaken.

Four different levels of RSS and other sangh parivar functionaries are trained through the OTCs. The OTCs are held twice each year and provide training in self-defence and ideological and political leadership. Once the training is completed, the sangh cadre begins mobilisational work at the grassroots level in different villages. The instruction received at the OTC is not compulsory for those who join the Bajrang Dal or the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) directly.

In June 2003 the Bajrang Dal had announced that it would organise a trishul diksha (trident distribution, the trident is a weapon used by the sangh parivar cadre with mythological symbolism) in Orissa. This project was postponed due to protests from secular political parties. In May 2005 the Bajrang Dal, together with the VHP, undertook a trishul diksha programme in Nimapara village in Puri district and tridents were distributed to about 400 youth from throughout Orissa. These youth undertook an oath to defend Hinduism and ‘reconvert’ Christians. The BJP-BJD government of Orissa refused to ban the trident distribution programme despite protests from opposition leaders from the Orissa Gana Parishad, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Janata Dal (Secular).

In October 2002 a Shiv Sena unit in Balasore district announced the formation of the first ‘suicide squad’ to train youth to undertake dangerous missions for Hindutva’s cause. In August 2005 the Shiv Sena also announced that it would establish Sena units in every district in Orissa.

Funding

Substantial funds were raised by sangh parivar organisations during the Gujarat earthquake (2001) and Orissa cyclone, which enabled the expansion of communalist networks in both states. Such funding was mobilised both in India and abroad. After the Orissa cyclone, the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF, a sangh-affiliated charity registered in the United States) reportedly collected $90,660 for Sookruti; $23,255 for Orissa Cyclone Rehabilitation Foundation; and $37,560 for Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti, as documented in the report, "Foreign Exchange of Hate".

In the United Kingdom, Seva International, the fund-raising wing of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS, which is the RSS equivalent in the United Kingdom and United States), sent a majority of the £2,60,000 raised for cyclone relief to Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti in Orissa (Awaaz, 2004).

Currently, Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti undertakes disaster relief on a sectarian basis and has been working with approximately 50,000 beneficiaries after the floods of 2001, funded by RSS-affiliated organisations abroad. Also, IDRF allocated $13,010 to Banabasi/Vanavasi Seva Prakalpa in Kalahandi district in 2002 and $11,000 to Aurobindo Srikshetra Trust in Cuttack district, $10,525 to Loka Shakti Unnayan Sanstha in Jajpur district and $5,730 to Sahayoga Seva in Bhubaneswar (Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service, 2002).

The IDRF sent $29,570 to Sookruti in Bhubaneswar in 2003, $13,625 to Banabasi/Vanavasi Seva Prakalpa, $10,290 to Loka Shakti Unnayan Sanstha and $8,045 in 2003 and $7,500 in 2004 to Keonjhar District Tailik Vaisya Samaj, listing the continuation of cyclone rehabilitation work.

Tactics

Majoritarian communalist organisations have been utilising social, economic, political, legal, physical and psychological violence against minority groups in Orissa through the destruction of property and means of livelihood; social and economic boycotts; intimidation, exploitation, propaganda and surveillance; and arson, rape and murder. They have also utilised the media and the law and order system to perpetrate violence and expand their power. They have used the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960 to lobby against cattle traders who are predominantly Muslims and economically disenfranchised Dalits.

They have used the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act (OFRA), to successfully lobby against conversion rights of Christian communities. OFRA was passed in 1967, a harsh and authoritarian Act. The government of Orissa strengthened OFRA in 1999, mandating the sanction of local police and district magistrates prior to any conversions. Those who perform conversions without the necessary permissions may be imprisoned for up to two years. OFRA also requires that district magistrates submit monthly reports on statistics of conversions to the government.

While the Constitution of India ensures freedom of religion (Article 25) and prevents intolerance based on religious affiliations (Article 15), the state can ban religious organisations under certain circumstances: if they participate in heightening communal tensions, or in acts of terrorism or sedition, or if religious organisations violate provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) of 1976. However, no provision currently exists for the scrutiny of Hindu communalist organisations as they accumulate funds from abroad for anti-minority work.

Right wing sectarian organisations have also undertaken coercive conversions through the ‘Ghar Vapasi’ (homecoming) programme. Communalists rumour that all Adivasis and Dalits are Hindus, even as Adivasis and Dalits often do not self-identify as such, and therefore justifies ‘bringing back’ Christian Adivasis and Dalits to Hinduism. Christian social service providers and clergy have been charged with forcible conversions or with the intent to convert and with using money to induce poor Adivasis and Dalits to convert to Christianity. Numerous Christian organisations have protested these allegations and have also issued injunctions against the integration of proselytisation and charity, such as the warning issued by the United States National Council of Churches following the tsunami and its impact in 2004-05.

Contrary to available information, Hindu right wing organisations have undertaken campaigns to activate the rumour that Muslims are ‘infiltrating’ in large numbers from Bangladesh and that they threaten the livelihood, security and well-being of Hindus in Orissa. They also spread rumours that Muslims from Bangladesh are linked to insurgent activity in Pakistan seeking to undermine India. In actuality, it is primarily Hindus that emigrate from Bangladesh. In instances when Muslims migrate from Bangladesh, poverty is the major motivator.

People who migrate from Bangladesh are categorised by the state into three groups: (1) immigrants before 25 March 1971; (2) between 25 March and 16 December 1971; and (3) those who migrated after that time frame.

Immigrants in the first group have the right to reside in India. Those in the second category have been authorised for deportation by the government of India and those in the third category may be deported as well. The Orissa home department has listed that approximately 3,000 ‘infiltrators’ from Bangladesh are currently resident in Orissa. Nearly all of them are of Hindu descent. In January 2005 the government of Orissa served notices to evict 1,551 immigrants it has determined are from Bangladesh. Some of those identified stated that they are initially from Orissa and some claim to have families that migrated from Bangladesh during 1951 and 1955 and are therefore not actionable.

In response to a public interest litigation, the Orissa High Court required an inquiry seeking to verify the status of 1,551 immigrants who had been listed as ‘illegal’ immigrants by the government of Orissa. After an initial verification process was undertaken by the Orissa police together with the relevant district magistrates and revenue and extension officers, it was found that 227 persons possessed the necessary documents, such as identity cards or refugee registration papers, which established that they were legal residents of Orissa. This inquiry contradicts the government of Orissa’s allegation that these persons were residing in Orissa illegally.

Reported violence against Christian communities

"The Christian community in Orissa, they are living in fear and anxiety because of increased persecution by the sangh parivar. In some cases, the affected people went to nearby police stations and filed complaints but in some cases they were not entertained. Police did not take their complaints. The Christian community, they are not getting support from the police or from the state administration. The Hindu activists are very much encouraged because the political forces are behind them."

– Reverend Pran R. Parichha, president, All India Christian Council, Orissa Chapter, January 2006

December 1998: 5,000 sangh activists allegedly attacked a Christian area, Ramgiri-Udaygiri, near Ranalai village in Gajapati district in early December, setting fire to 92 homes, a church, a police station and government vehicles. Earlier that day, sangh parivar activists allegedly entered the local jail forcibly and burnt two Christian prisoners to death.

January 1999: Graham Staines, 58, Australian missionary, and his 10 and six-year-old sons were torched in Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district. The inquiry commission led by Justice DP Wadhwa charged Dara Singh, alias Ravindra Pal Singh, a key Bajrang Dal organiser, with the act, even though it failed to hold sangh parivar organisations responsible. In September 2003 the Khordha sessions court delivered a verdict sentencing Dara Singh to death and 12 others to life imprisonment. Dara Singh’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in May 2005. Of those formerly sentenced to life in prison, 11 have been acquitted. In August 2005 the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a special leave petition with the Supreme Court, challenging the Orissa High Court’s decision to convert Singh’s sentence. In August 2005 Dara Singh also filed a special leave petition with the Supreme Court, seeking discharge. Both appeals were admitted in October 2005 and are pending.

February 1999: Jacqueline Mary, Catholic nun, was gang-raped by men in Mayurbhanj district.

February 1999: Communalists allegedly damaged a crucifix on a hillside near Ranalai.

March 1999: 157 Christian homes were set afire and more than 12 persons injured in Ranalai village. Three persons received gunshot wounds. About 100 Adivasi activists working for Hindutva are claimed to have attacked the village bearing firearms and other weapons. After the attack, Bharat Paik, a BJP leader, said that the Christians had burnt down their own homes.

September 1999: Arul Das, Catholic priest, was murdered in Jamabani village, Mayurbhanj district, followed by the destruction of churches in Phulbani district.

December 2000: Communalists in Jharia banned the statue of Jesus from being installed by local Christians. That same month, about 4,000 people from eight villages in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts announced that they would not allow conversions to Christianity.

June-July 2001: 18 Hindu Dalits converted to Christianity in Korua village, Kendrapara district. Sangh parivar organisations protested. On 08 July, police arrested 18 persons who converted and the pastors who administered the ceremony, using OFRA. While police reports stated that the conversions were consensual, 22 cases were registered for not obtaining permission prior to the ceremony. On 26 July 2001, 15 of the 18 persons who had converted to Christianity were ‘returned’ to Hinduism by sangh activists.

June 2002: VHP converted 143 Adivasi Christians from 46 Adivasi families to Hinduism in Tainser village, Sundargarh district.

January-December 2002: The VHP claimed to have converted 5,000 people to Hinduism in 2002.

December 2003: A 15,000-member rally was organised by the VKA in Bhubaneswar and Jagadev Ram Oram, president, VKA, stated that Adivasi converts to Christianity must not be accorded the benefits of reservation. Dilip Singh Bhuria, then chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, commended the BJP for its pro-Adivasi policies.

February 2004: Seven women, Sanjukta Kandi, 45 years, Shanti Kandi, 25, Sumitra Kandi, 22, Umitra Kandi, 19, Nayana Samal, 21, Nisha Samal, 40, and Subhas Samal, 28, and a male pastor were forcibly tonsured in Kilipal, Jagatsinghpur district, and a social and economic boycott was imposed against them.

March 2004: 212 Adivasi Christians converted to Hinduism in Jharsuguda district, in a ceremony held by the VHP and VKA, with BJP leader and former union minister, Dilip Singh Judeo, attending.

August 2004: On 26 August 2004, Our Lady of Charity Catholic Church was vandalised, figures of Mary and Jesus shattered, some sacred objects burned and the community targeted in Raikia in Phulbani district. Continued targeting of the Christian community led by a communal proselytiser and his cadre has forced the Christian community there to segregate themselves economically by opening up their own markets rather than using the local market. Local community members claim that the sangh parivar has also infiltrated into the Adivasi community in the area, organising Adivasis against Christians.

September 2004: 75 Adivasi Christians converted to Hinduism by the VHP in Sarat village, Mayurbhanj district.

October 2004: 336 Adivasi Christians converted to Hinduism from 80 families within 11 villages in Sundargarh district.

February 2005: Gilbert Raj, Baptist pastor with the India Mission, was murdered and allegedly tortured before being killed.

February 2005: Dilip Dalai, Pentecostal pastor, age 22, was stabbed to death at his residence in Begunia village, Khordha district.

May 2005: 567 Christians converted to Hinduism by the VHP in Bargarh district.

June 2005: Motivated by Hindutva activists, 268 persons from 19 villages in Gajapati district filed a public interest litigation. The petition argued that missionaries were forcing conversions to Christianity in the area. The Orissa High Court instructed that charge sheets be filed immediately and cases registered. Invoking Sections 3, 4 and 5 of OFRA, the division bench of the chief justice ordered that district magistrates act strongly against Christian conversions.

October 2005: 200 Adivasi Christians were converted to Hinduism in Malkangiri district.

November 2005: Hindu communalists are alleged to have burnt 15 Christian homes in Gandahati village in Gajapati district, seriously injuring six people and leaving others homeless.

In response, police arrested eight Christians from the village for instigating violence.

November 2005: 58 Adivasi Christians, 27 women and 31 men were converted to Hinduism by the VHP in Dharanidharpur village, Sundargarh district.

December 2005: 16 Christians from Jamundar, Tabada and Tangarashi village, Sundargarh district, were converted to Hinduism in Tainda village. The Bajrang Dal and VHP conducted the ceremony and informed the local administration. Subash Chouhan stated that 733 conversions had taken place from among 161 families in 2005, in western Orissa.

January 2006: Reportedly led by the village BJP leader, Pastor Kulamani Mallick was attacked and his home set on fire in Matiapada village in Jajpur district. Seven adjacent houses, six belonging to Christians, also caught fire. The police asked that the name of the BJP leader be removed from the First Information Report (FIR) and questioned the Christians under OFRA; 50 RSS activists attacked a Christian home in Koikonda village in Malkangiri district where four missionaries from the Indian Evangelical Team were meeting with 14 Christian families; 136 Adivasi Christians, 75 women and 61 men from Tumbei, Kodaligoccha and Pankadihi village were converted to Hinduism in a ceremony organised by the Bajrang Dal and the VHP in Tumbei village in Rourkela district.

March 2006: A church was burned in Nandapur village in Koraput district; 913 Christians from 150 families from Sonepur, Bargarh and Balangir districts were converted to Hinduism in Kandumunda village in Sonepur district.

April 2006: 342 Christians from 74 families were converted to Hinduism in Chakapad in Phulbani district, connected to the RSS and VHP organised Rath Yatra and Sammelan (conference, gathering) held in Orissa on April 8-10.

Reported violence against Muslim communities

"Orissa’s Musalman (Muslim) community, in the years of Biju Janata Dal and BJP rule, have not been given financial, economic, political, social benefits. The situation of minorities in Orissa is critical and our demands, which we have placed to the national government and Orissa government, are not heeded. In Bhadrak (city) the population of minorities is large and it is a sensitive area. The situation is increasing and there is no response from the Orissa government to stop those that are creating communal disharmony and there is no regard for our security and health."

– Leader, Muslim Jamaat, Bhadrak, January 2006

April 1998: A truck transporting cattle owned by a Muslim man was halted in Satkoshia Ghat in Keonjhar district and the cattle confiscated and given to local Adivasis, to organise them against Muslims.

June 1998: Another such incident took place in Thakurmunda block in Mayurbhanj district and the driver was beaten.

August 1998: Another truck transporting cattle was looted and burned in Mayurbhanj district.

October 1998: Another truck transporting cattle was looted and burnt and the driver’s aide was beaten to death in Keonjhar district.

November 1998: A shop was looted in Kendumundi weekly market in Karanjia block in Mayurbhanj district. Haji Ali Baig, the Muslim male trader, was dragged out and threatened with death. Local gangs intervened and allowed for his escape.

August 1999: Sheikh Rehman, a male Muslim clothes merchant, was mutilated and burnt to death in public demonstration at the Padiabeda weekly market in Mayurbhanj district and various social and economic boycotts placed against the Muslim community. Buluram Mohanty, a colleague of Dara Singh’s, was charged. It was also alleged that Dara Singh was involved in this case. Andha Nayak, an accomplice of Dara Singh’s, was arrested in 2003 for inciting Adivasis against Muslim cattle traders in the Padiabeda area.

November 2001: In Pitaipura village in Jagatsinghpur district it is contended that there is an ongoing attempt by Hindu communalists to orchestrate a land-grab connected to a Muslim graveyard. On the morning of 20 November 2001, around 3,000 activists from nearby villages started rioting; as Muslim houses were burnt down, Muslim women were ill-treated and their property, including goats and other animals, stolen.

August 2005: In Kendrapara district, a male contractor was shot on Govari Embankment Road, supposedly by members of a Muslim gang. Sangh parivar groups claimed that the shooting was part of a gang war associated with Islamic extremism and called for a 12-hour bandh (strike). Hindu right wing organisations are alleged to have looted and set Muslim shops on fire.

Recommendations

"We have lived here for many generations but we are called "foreigners", "traitors", "terrorists". The Hindu Suraksha Samiti threatens us: "Musalman ka ek hi sthan, Pakistan ya Kabristan (For Muslims there is one place, Pakistan or the grave)." Where will we go?"

– Muslim elder, Bhadrak, June 2005

"There is virtually no political opposition to sangh parivar in the state."

– Senior leader within people’s movements, Bhubaneswar, December 2005

State of emergency in Orissa

While the Constitution of India requires that institutions of state stand apart from religion and religious practice and remain neutral and impartial, contrarily, we find government officials in Orissa engaging in religious practices as part of their official duties and using religious sentiments in enacting their duties; idols and photographs of deities in government offices; religious ceremonies being performed on government property such as railway stations; and public institutions and military paraphernalia named after objects of religious significance.

This report shows how the state is implicated in fortifying communal activities in Orissa, far removed from the observations made in the SR Bommai and Others vs Union of India and Others case of 1994 on the constitutionally mandated character of the state in the Indian republic.

Based on its findings, the tribunal recommends that the government of India and the government of Orissa treat the communal situation in the state as on par with an emergency and act promptly to address the injustices perpetrated on minority and disenfranchised persons and groups as a preventive measure against future injustices. Acknowledging the magnitude and appalling impact of the consequences of majoritarian communalist mobilisations and the reciprocal human rights violations that have ensued, we urge that the following recommendations be acted upon expeditiously:

Law and order

The investigations of the people’s tribunal confirm that an alarming situation has developed in respect of the supremacist ideology of Hindutva. We recommend that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) immediately investigate the activities of the Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS, and apply, wherever necessary, relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. We note that under Section 2G of the Act, ‘unlawful association’ denotes: (1) ‘that which has for its object any unlawful activity, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any unlawful activity, or through which the members undertake such activity’; or (2) ‘which has for its object any activity which is punishable under Section 153A or Section 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any such activity; or of which the members undertake any such activity’.

We recommend that a review panel be appointed by the government of Orissa, in consultation with the National Human Rights Commission, the National Minorities Commission and other relevant independent bodies, such as the People’s Union for Democratic Rights and People’s Union for Civil Liberties, to identify and investigate the status, actions and finances of communal groups and their affiliates and cadre, and the actions of their membership. The tribunal strongly recommends that these groups be investigated and monitored and, as appropriate, requisite action be taken and sanctions be imposed on their activities and reparations be made retroactively to the affected communities and individuals.

We recommend that the government of Orissa and the central government make concerted efforts to identify, investigate and eradicate paramilitary hate camps being operated by the communal groups that instruct cadre in arms training and militancy with the express purpose of threatening and destroying disenfranchised and minority populations through social and economic boycotts, sporadic and organised intimidation, arson, rape, murder and other forms of social, gendered, economic and physical violence.

We observe that certain organisations, such as the VHP and VKA are registered as charity organisations. As their work appears to be political in nature, we recommend that they should be audited and recognised as political organisations. A serious concern is whether the activities of these fall within the objectives of the trust; whether in fact these organisations should have been registered as social trusts given the nature of their activities; whether the monies collected are indeed used for the purposes for which they were collected and whether illegal and political activities are being carried out in the name of social work. Given these concerns, we recommend that the charitable status, and the rights and privileges thereof, enjoyed by these groups be reviewed.

We recommend that the disparagement, demonisation and vilification of any religion should be statutorily prohibited and held punishable under the IPC.

We recommend the repeal of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967 following the precedent set in Tamil Nadu in 2004 whereby the ordinance of 2002 was set aside pertaining to the ‘freedom of religion’. As provisions for preventing and prohibiting conversions that commence under duress and coercion already exist under the IPC, we find no basis for the existence of a separate law, especially one which sets draconian parameters and has been used by communalists to target and prohibit voluntary conversion within minority, especially Christian, communities.

We strongly recommend that the government of India and the government of Orissa take adequate and expeditious steps to ensure that those who convert voluntarily to Christianity, Islam or any other faith be allowed to practice their religion. Failing to do so is in serious violation of Articles 25-28 of the Constitution of India, which define the fundamental rights of every citizen of India, and those that the government of India and the government of Orissa are obligated to uphold.

We find that sangh parivar organisations are converting Christians and other non-Hindus to Hinduism. We also note with concern that sangh parivar activists claim India to be a Hindu nation and all Adivasis and Dalits to be ‘originally’ Hindus even as Adivasis and Dalits often do not self-identify as such. Drawing on such rationales, communal organisations justify coercion in ‘bringing back’ Adivasis or Dalits to Hinduism. We urge the recognition that by and large most Adivasi communities and Dalit groups do not identify as part of the Hindu community and urgent steps should be taken to stop their Hinduisation by means of coercion or duress. We recommend that the police and courts act immediately and authoritatively to stop communalists from enacting forcible conversions or ‘reconversions’ and that the police be required to submit regular and public reports documenting their work.

We find that various police and court investigations related to crimes against minorities have not been undertaken. On occasion the police have refused to file first information reports. We recommend that police desks be set up for registering minority grievances and filing FIRs, and that the government of Orissa appoint a team of special public prosecutors to conduct proceedings as necessary.

We note that the BJP-BJD-led coalition government in Orissa has refused to ban the trident distribution programme, which was undertaken in May 2005, despite protests from opposition leaders and human and civil rights groups. We recommend that the trishul be categorised as a weapon and its mass distribution be prohibited under the Arms Act of 1959, irrespective of the size of the blade.

We recommend that the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1960 be reviewed. We note that provisions for preventing and prohibiting cruelty to animals already exist under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and find no basis for the existence of a separate law, especially one which is utilised to intervene on the livelihood practices of economically disenfranchised groups with detrimental effects, such as among Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims that engage in cattle trade and cow slaughter.

Institutional issues

We recommend that the government of Orissa must establish and activate the State Human Rights Commission and State Minorities Commission. Given the scope and extent of human rights violations in general, and of minorities in particular, we recommend that this must be made a priority.

We recommend that the government of Orissa appoint a task force, with requisite participation from civil society, for a comprehensive assessment of communalism in the state, with particular attentiveness to Hindu communalism.

Taking note of the coercion applied by communal organisations in converting non-Hindus and once-Hindus to Hinduism, we recommend that the government of India, in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission, investigate, assemble and release a status report regarding the issue of (re)conversion of Christians to Hinduism that is being undertaken by communal organisations.

We find that communal organisations have been orchestrating active campaigns to spread rumours about large-scale Muslim ‘infiltrations’ from Bangladesh that threatens the well-being of Hindus in Orissa and India. Based on our investigations, we do not find evidence of any such imminent or remote danger. We note that the use of the term ‘infiltration’ is deliberately misleading and inflammatory. In fact, the majority of those who have migrated from Bangladesh are of Hindu descent. We recommend that the government of India, with the participation of established civil society groups that work for communal harmony, assemble and release a status report on the actual number of Muslims from Bangladesh that have migrated into the area and describe the socio-economic forces that result in such migration.

We note that communal organisations have instituted an extensive educational network for inducting rural and disenfranchised peoples in Orissa into the sangh parivar. Building on a mandate that validates the paramountcy of a ‘Hindu worldview’ in India and the assembling of a Hindu state, the curriculum taught in these educational institutions, such as Ekal Vidyalayas, one-teacher schools and the VKAs, often denigrates minorities. The communal curricula should not be allowed by the state or central government to masquerade as standard education, as it cultivates a culture of hate toward those who are non-Hindus. We further note that communal organisations are reported to utilise such educational networks as mechanisms for recruiting and mobilising local communities, including women, Adivasis and Dalits, in campaigns against religious minorities. The recent participation of women, Adivasi and Dalit communities in the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 is one example of this pattern.

We recommend that the government of Orissa set up a special task force to review and monitor these schools and educational institutions, and terminate state linkages and support to these institutions. We further recommend that the government of India and the government of Orissa ensure that the curriculum, which is prescribed in all schools of secular persuasion, should be diligently enforced and where appropriate, religious curricula should foster understanding of difference and diversity and not seek to promote adversity or retributive activism in the name of religion.

Furthermore, we observe that majoritarian communalists have made persistent efforts to stop instruction in the Urdu language. We recommend that the government of Orissa intervene to remedy the environment of intimidation that prevails and ensure that instruction in Urdu is continued and requisite teachers are hired at the school and university level.

We recommend that the government of Orissa undertake concrete steps to secularise public offices, such as police stations, the block development office and other government offices, by removing idols, religious structures, religious images from government offices, vehicles and public places, and prohibit religious ceremonies from being carried out in public places and on government premises.

Social concerns

We urge that the government of Orissa take steps to identify and intervene in areas of communal tension where economic and social boycotts are being or have been imposed on minority communities. Further, we note with grave concern that such boycotts have been placed against the Christian community in the past in Raikia in Phulbani district, against the Muslim community in Bhadrak town and against the Muslim community in Pitaipura in Jagatsinghpur district, and is currently ongoing against Dalit Christians in Kilipal in Jagatsinghpur district. Such action has caused minority communities to isolate and ghettoise themselves and some have been forced to relocate to escape fear and intimidation. We remain gravely concerned about the impact of such actions on children, women and the poor as well as men who are targeted among Adivasi, Dalit, Christian and Muslim communities.

We recommend that confrontational and libellous statements made by persons and organisations to the electronic and print media that contribute to communalisation should be investigated and acted upon and the burden of proof placed on such persons and organisations to clarify or retract their statements. We note that media and non-governmental organisations should be encouraged to take the initiative and play an active and independent role in the secularisation of society.

We note that organisations such as the Ashram Shalas, which have extensive networks, have been spreading propaganda against minority communities. We recommend that such organisations must be subject to social auditing to ensure that values and ideals of plurality prevail.

Conclusion

We find that significant human rights abuses have taken place in Orissa due to communal violence and that the government of Orissa has been negligent in intervening on the actions of Hindu communalist individuals and organisations that threaten the peace and security of minority and disenfranchised groups in the state. The imminent concern before the government of India, government of Orissa and the citizenry is to prevent the unchecked cruelty inflicted by communal organisations. Through the tribunal’s investigations, including the site visits, we were witness to the extent of episodic violence and everyday brutalisation experienced by individuals and communities targeted by these groups in Orissa. These injustices also highlight the severe and existing hierarchies of caste, class, tribe, religion, gender and sexuality in the state, and compound social suffering and cultural violence.

We find that the government of Orissa has failed to respond to these issues and the serious concerns they pose to democratic governance in the state. We recommend that the Indian state must take preventative action to uphold the rule of law, justice, right to life and livelihood, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of inquiry and the right to information in Orissa.

(Communalism in Orissa – Report of the Indian People’s Tribunal on

Environment and Human Rights, published by Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, September 2006.).


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