India: Christians forgive Hindu extremist violence

A Christian group in Orissa wants Aug. 23 -- the day a Hindu religious leader was killed sparking waves of anti-Christian violence -- to be observed as a day of "peace and harmony."  "Let us forgive and forget the past and build a strong and integrated civil society which is not ravaged by the evil designs of criminals and trouble mongers," said the ecumenical United Christians Forum of Orissa.

The organization made this plea in a press release issued on July 23 in Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Indian state.

Hindu extremists blamed Christians for the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, 85, and four of his associates on Aug. 23, 2008, even though Maoists claimed responsibility for the deaths.

The killings, in Orissa's Kandhamal district, unleashed a reign of terror the following day that lasted for four months. According to Church sources, about 90 people, mostly Christians, died and more than 50,000 were displaced.

The ecumenical forum said the "mindless and brutal violence" against the Hindu leader as well as "innocent people" was the work of criminals and had tarnished the image of Orissa and India.

It urged the federal and Orissa governments to declare Aug. 23 a day of peace and harmony. It said it also wants the United Nations to declare that day as a global day for peace and harmony.

The forum added that such a commemoration would help thwart the "evil designs of criminals" who want to divide society along religious lines. It called on civil society to address such "designs" which disrupt the peaceful coexistence of religious communities in Orissa.

The ecumenical group said it also wants the Orissa government to provide security to Hindu religious leaders, their disciples and ashrams lest "criminals" misuse them to spread terror or attack religious minorities.

The forum also urged the Orissa government to provide security to religious minorities, such as Christians, their institutions and places of worship.

The media release noted that Christians are waiting patiently "for the true criminals to be booked."

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, the forum president and head of the Catholic Church in Orissa, urged the state government to take adequate steps to assist survivors to pick up the pieces of their lives.

The prelate told the press conference that hundreds of people still remain in relief camps as they are afraid to return to their villages. Radical groups press Christians to convert to Hinduism and there is a lack of security for them in villages, he said.