Christians seeking safety in a refugee camp in Orissa (Photo: © Indian Catholic )
I work in south India, which is long way from Orissa, and India is a huge country, so Orissa is a very remote context from where I am. However, a lot of teenagers with whom I work have parents who do mission work in Orissa.
Also, an old member of staff from the local school went and set up an orphanage in Orissa.
So we do hear a lot about Orissa; we get sent numerous emails about the situation there, and we pray a lot about and for the Christians there.
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It is very, very tragic that a growing number of Christians in Orissa do face blatant persecution, which has increased. It’s becoming stronger and more frequent.
Persecution is not new to Orissa. Some will remember members of
the Staines family being burnt alive . Graham Staines was a missionary in Orissa. He and his two sons were killed when his car was set alight in January 1999.
Graham’s daughter and those sons were educated at the local school but the killings happened during the holidays. His daughter continued at the school, graduated and is now studying in Australia.
So the persecution has been going on for a long time. It is not a new thing, but it has got worse, probably because of the growing number of Dalits – Dalits being the lowest caste of people in Indian society – who have become Christians. The very fervently Hindu, nationalistic groups find that threatening.
There is a forthcoming election in India and because of that, I think, nationalistic feeling is being whipped up and one of the ripple effects of that is violence towards people who have converted.
Conversion is not encouraged in India. It’s portrayed as a very negative thing; you are viewed as having abandoned your nation and your national religion. It’s seen as a betrayal. So that’s a factor.
Moreover, Orissa’s a very poor state, so poverty and caste issues are other factors in the situation.
It is a complex, difficult problem but it does need Christians from other parts of India and from the West to speak up on behalf of Dalit Christians because they are not strong enough within their situation to be able to speak out.
And a blind eye has been turned by the authorities to much of the persecution – the government and the police have not acted to protect them sufficiently.
There is a chance that it could ripple out into other states – in fact, I think it might well do – but there are a large number of very articulate Christians and some very wealthy churches in India, and the Indian government says that it is tolerant of all religions. It should protect those of all faiths.
Let’s hope the authorities live up, however belatedly, to their stated commitment.
CMS is able to receive donations which will be sent to provide relief and support to the most affected and vulnerable communities in Orissa as soon as it can be delivered.