Deadly ripple of communal violence in Orissa  

When masked assailants shot and killed 84-year-old Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others inside his ashram at Jalespatta what followed was inevitable. The August 23 murders turned a smouldering bushfire into a raging inferno that spread out of control beyond Orissa’s viciously polarised Kandhamal district. 

The wild rampage of the aftermath has claimed at least 15 lives. Scores of churches, prayer houses, places of worship and homes have been burnt down or ravaged, leaving thousands to seek refuge in forests or relief camps. Almost a fortnight has passed, but the fires of the worst ever communal flare-up in the state’s history refuse to die down. 

Coming only eight months after the riots of December, the violence in Kandhamal shows how successful the saffron organisations have been in polarising sentiment among the local populace. The tensions are palpable, and the fabric of inter-communal co-existence is under severe strain. The riots have even drawn international attention, with the Italian Parliament convening a special discussion and summoning the Indian ambassador for clarifications. 

The division between Christians and non-Christians is hardly new, but the level of intolerance has grown alarmingly in recent decades after the RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad made inroads in their self-proclaimed mission to thwart alleged indiscriminate conversion by Christian missionaries But beneath the façade of religion and at the root of the conflict lies a struggle for power, control over land and resources along with cornering the benefits of reservations and government doles. 

Genesis of the conflict 

The problem is rooted in the socio-demographic history of the district. The starting point can be traced to the 1940s, when the erstwhile Boudh-Khondmal district came into being. On one side are the Kandha tribals, and on the other, the Christian dalit Panas. Divisions between the simple and affable Kandha (Scheduled Tribe) and the smart and shrewd Panas (Scheduled Caste), who now enjoy a position of economic superiority, have grown sharply over the decades. 

Of Kandhamal district’s population of 6, 48,201, the Scheduled Tribe (Kandha) number stands at 3, 36,809 (52 per cent). The Scheduled Caste population is 1,09,506 (17 per cent). There are about 1.18 lakh Christians (18 per cent of the district’s total and 13 per cent of the Christian population of Orissa). Most importantly, 70 per cent or more of the Pana community are Christian converts. 

Years ago, the Orissa District Gazetteer described the scenario as: “In Khondmals (Kandhamal), the Pana were the serfs of the Khonds (Kandhas). They worked on their farms and wove cloth for them in return for which they got a small area of land, grain for food and marriage expenses. The Panas also acted as intermediaries and thus began to exploit the tribals economically.” 

Gradually, they took possession of large chunks of land belonging to the tribals. But the Constitutional provision that anyone belonging to the SC would lose his/her entitlement, including reservation benefits, if they converted to Christianity opened a can of worms because the same does not apply to the ST community. Further, tribal land cannot be transferred to a non-tribal. In both cases, the Panas were the losers. They could not claim ownership to the land nor enjoy the benefits of reservations. So the Panas started a movement demanding ST status. 

The fight over Kui 

Kui, the main dialect of the STs and also of the Pana community, is the bone of contention. When the President’s Amendment Order 2002 included Kui in Entry No 31 of the ST category, the Panas demanded their caste be listed as “Kui” not Pana, as they shared traditions with the Kandhas. But the government, for the simple reason that it had no historical or anthropological standing, refused. It led to a further polarisation of the two communities. Both Hindu activists and Christian missionaries began to push the issue to their advantage, paving the way for a riot that took place a day before Christmas last year. 

Conversion and the Church 

Christian missionary activity started as early as 1861 when two missionaries were sent from England and made base at Russelkonda, now Bhanjanagar in neighbouring Ganjam district. The foundation for the first church in Kandhamal district was laid in 1920. By 1940, missionary activity had spread to Baliguda sub-division, and by 1976 the hilly, inaccessible district had nearly 300 churches. Christianity and conversion spread rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Deposing before a fact-finding team that visited Kandhamal after the December 2007 riots — its report is titled Justice On Trial — Archbishop Raphael Cheenath had stated that he had been working over 40 years in the area. He told the team that no one could prevent the spread of Christianity. The missionaries have opened schools, hostels and health institutions. In the mission-run educational institutions 77,000 children study and 2,800 reside in the hostels. 

Entry of hindu organisations 

The zealous evangelism of the missionaries and growing resentment among the tribals gave the saffron organisations, primarily the VHP, a foothold. The enactment of