by Santosh Digal

HT Sangliana, vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, arrived in Orissa today. Starting tomorrow, he will visit Kandhamal District, scene of anti-Christian pogroms two years ago. Christian leaders criticise his planned schedule because it does not include visits to the places most affected by the violence. The archbishop of Cutthak-Bhubaneswar calls on the visiting delegation to listen to the voice of the victims.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – HT Sangliana, vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), began a visit today in Orissa. India’s Union (federal) government charged him with preparing a report on the situation in which Christians find themselves two years after they lived through a series of pogroms. Christian leaders are concerned that Orissa authorities will censor the facts, and try to draw a rosy picture of the situation, preventing the Union delegation from visiting the villages where Christians are still victimised by Hindu extremists.

Sangliana is set to visit Kandhamal District from 14 to 16 September. In order to know more about the situation, the NCM representative met this morning with Mgr Raphael Cheenat, archbishop of Cutthak-Bhubaneswar, who has many doubts about the visit’s itinerary.

“The government of Orissa is trying to present the Union government a ‘rosy picture’ of the situation in Kandhamal. However, the real issues of concern to people in the district, their suffering, are not known to the public,” the prelate said.

The archbishop went on to say that, the NCM should see for themselves, on the ground, the conditions in pogrom victims live. “Only this way can they write an objective report for the federal government,” he added.

A few days ago, Fr Ajay Kumar Singh, form the diocese of Cutthak-Bhubaneswar, urged Sangliana “to visit the affected villages and meet the victims and survivors of communal violence”. Otherwise, “we fear the authorities have planned a visit, as they have in the past, that will not touch the affected areas, and will just take the delegation directly to Phulbani, the capital of the district.”

Between December 2007 and August 2008, Hindu extremists killed 93 people. They pillaged and set fire to 6,500 homes and destroyed more than 350 churches and 45 schools.

The pogroms drove 50,000 people into the forest. Whilst many are still living in refugee camps, those who went home have been forced to reconvert to Hinduism.

At the same time, most of the perpetrators of the crimes are still at liberty. Threats and discrimination have so far silenced witnesses scheduled to testify before a court in Kandhamal.

• india
• orissa
• kandhamal
• national
• minorities
• commission
• sangliana
• delegation
• visit
• anti-christian
• pogroms