Facts on 'Clashes among Christian Missionaries and the Tribals in Kandhamal District of Orissa'.

Reports of communal violence involving the converted Christians led by the Missionaries on one hand and the Tribals on the other, in Kandhamal District of Orissa by the media since 25th December 2007 are vastly distorted and motivated which in public interest need be clarified much before the national image is tarnished before the general public and the international community. The whole series of incidents started from unprovoked and preplanned attack on Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati who was visiting his disciples in Darsingbadi village in Kandhmal District on 24th December. Swamiji, 82 years old has been working relentlessly in the District since 1967 to protect the local population where more than 75% are below the poverty line and are not literate. He has opened schools and hostels, hospitals and temples to protect mainly the tribals and the down-trodden from the clutches of Missionaries who are operating with massive fund from foreign countries and pumped into NGOs in disguised operations to convert the local tribals into Christianity. Chief of such NGOs is one 'WORLD VISION' patronized by one Mr. Radhakanta Nayak, a local of Darsingbadi village from 'Pana' community but later got converted to Christianity. He happens to be an employee of the State Government promoted to the IAS and retired, and now a Member in the Rajya Sabha. His henchmen were the assailants who attacked Swamiji on 24th December.

Meanwhile, the Kui tribals among the Kandhs in the District were agitating on the conspiracy by Mr. Nayak who is engineering for getting a Presidential notification under the provisions of the Constitution, to get his 'Pana' community, who are scheduled castes relisted as scheduled tribe along with the Kui on the ground that the former also speak the Kui dialect. Various reservation facilities to which scheduled tribes are entitled are not available to persons converted to Christianity. On hearing the assault news on Swamiji, the already agitated Kui community reacted and protested through out the district against the 'Pana' community converted to Christianity. Interestingly, the Maoist (Naxalites) activists in the district are also mostly from among the recent converts to Christianity. Among 47 Maoists arrested in connection with recent burning of villages inhabited by Hindus ( Brahmanigaon, Jhinjiriguda, Katingia, and Godapur) as a counter to attacks by tribals on the Churches, 20 guns have been recovered by the security forces from them. It is evident that the Maoists and the Church are hands in glove with each other to spread fratricidal killings and clashes among the tribals which is evident also from incidents in Karbi-Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts in Asaam. Conversions of poor tribal villagers are being conducted on gun point and by spreading terrorism.

While in active government service Mr. Radhakanta Nayak IAS (Retd.) and Mr. John Nayak IPS (Retd.) both converted Christians were instruments of the Church to proselytize the poor and illiterate 'Pana' and tribal communities in Kandhamal district of Orissa. Under guise of NGOs thousands of dollars are pumped into the country for conversion of tribals in Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and the North-East. Taking advantage of the poverty and lack of education, thousands have been converted who are also being trained for separatist movements like NSCN in Nagaland and Maoist insurgency in the aforesaid states. This trend is more pronounced since 1970 which is evident from the census reports till 2001. In Kandhamal District alone the Christian population has increased from 6% in 1970 to 27% in 2001, despite an Act enacted by Orissa Legislature in 1967 to prevent conversion by allurement, coercion, bribery and cheating. Swamiji has been fighting a lone battle by making the tribal district his home for last 40 years, who has been targeted by the Church to finish him. Earlier to the recent attack, there were two other lethal attacks on Swamiji in 1971 and 1995. Since then the government has provided armed protection to Swamiji. Inspite of that, he was attacked by armed assailants on 24 December 2007 in which he and his driver and armed security personnel were seriously injured and hospitalized in Cuttack Medical College Hospital. Hence, the recent clashes manifest the various ramifications of the socio-economic, political and cultural tribal issues and the deep-rooted conspiracy by the Church to destabilize our society and our economy. Let the Nation awake and protect our tribal brethren and the national media stop distorting the facts.

Ashok Sahu, IPS (Retd.),
Former Ispector General of Police.