BHUBANESWAR, India (BP)--The murder of a Hindu swami, reportedly by Maoist terrorists, has unleashed a frenzy of violence against Christians falsely accused of the killing in Orissa, a state in eastern India.
The anti-Christian attacks have drawn national and worldwide condemnation from religious and social leaders. Some authorities have called for the Indian government to send troops to Orissa, where the Hindu-dominated state administration reportedly has been unable to stop the killing despite a curfew and reported "shoot to kill" order against rioters in the worst-hit areas.
| "... We have no request except prayer from our Baptist world as we do not know how to face tomorrow." -- Swarupananda Patra, general secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation | More than 20 men, women and children had been beaten, hacked or burned to death by Aug. 28, five days after the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad sect. Police said a Maoist insurgent group active in the region carried out the assassination of the swami and four of his followers. The group itself also reportedly claimed responsibility.
But Hindu extremists blamed the killing on Christians in Orissa, who comprise about 2.4 percent of Orissa's 36.7 million people. The Christian total includes up to 500,000 Baptists.
The swami's body was carried through villages in the area while Hindu activists reportedly shouted such slogans as "Kill Christians and destroy their institutions!"
Hindu mobs, stoked by the false accusation, have attacked and burned hundreds of homes, churches, schools, convents and orphanages in the days since, driving thousands of terrified Christians into the forests. The violence has unfolded mainly in Kandhamal District where the swami was killed, a heavily tribal area where many Christians live. Attacks have since spread to other parts of Orissa.
"All Christian villages [are] empty in Kandhamal as Christians, old and young, sick and pregnant mothers [are] hiding in forests exposed to the non-stop monsoon rains without food," said Swarupananda Patra, general secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation ... Read More
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