Sambalpur: Catholic bishops of Odisha have decided to set apart a day in August every year to honor those killed during the anti-Christian violence in the eastern Indian state seven years ago.

The decision was taken by the archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar along with bishops of Balasore, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur at their annual meeting in Sambalpur on August 31.

The Church in Odisha will begin observing the “Kandhamal Martyrs Day” from next year, Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar told Matters India after the meeting.

Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur said that the price paid by those killed during the anti-Christian persecution deserve honor and respect and should be recognized as martyrs for sacrificing their lives for their faith and witnessing Christ.

Bishop Simon Kaipuram of Balasore and secretary of the regional bishops’ council, said the Odisha Church will later request the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India to declare Kandhamal Martyrs’ Day at the national level.

Archbishop Barwa

Archbishop Barwa said the exact date in August would be decided after consultation with many stakeholders.

Many have welcomed the move.

“I welcome this decision. We must begin work to see that the dead of Kandhamal 2008 are declared Martyrs to the faith. Their mass murder builds them a place in the heart of every Christian in India,” said John Dayal, general secretary of the All India Christian Council and a member of the Indian government’s National Integration Council.

“It is important for the community and indeed for civil society in India that we remember Kandhamal. It is the most vicious attack Christians have faced in India in centuries. It is one of the biggest displacements in communally targeted violence since Partition (India-Pakistan in 1947) of India. And the victims have been betrayed by the criminal justice system,” said Dayal, senior journalist and human rights activist.

As the bishops were meeting an association of Kandhamal survivors observed Kandhamal at Raikia, a town in Kandhamal district.

The “Kandhamal Nyaya Shanti O Sadbhabana Samaj” (Kandhamal, justice, peace and good will society) called for preserving pace, justice and harmony in the area on the completion of seven years of anti-Christian minority violence.

Mani Sankar Aiyar, a former federal minister, Brinda Karat, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, and Kavita Krishnan, a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) were among those who addressed the gathering.

The violence in Kandhamal starting on August 25, 2008, was considered the biggest communal violence after 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat. More than 350 churches and places of worship were destroyed, around 6,500 houses were torched and nearly 100 people were killed. Unruly mobs raped or molested at least 40 women and torched and looted several educational, social service and health institutions during the mayhem that lasted for months.

More than 56,000 people were displaced. Several cases of forced conversion to Hinduism by Hindu radical groups were reported. The organized communal attack was the worst attacks on Christians in the past three centuries.

The Kandhamal survivors had made more than 3,300 complaints, but only 820 First Information Reports were registered. Among the registered only 518 cases were charge sheeted. The rest were treated as false reports.

Only 247 of the 518 registered cases were disposed off. The rest are pending before the sessions and magistrate’s courts. Many accused in the settled cases were acquitted citing lack of evidence. The survivors complain that these people now roam around freely.

On the other hand, many innocent people are in jail for fabricated cases, allege human rights activists.