By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The Council for Women of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has urged Church leaders and Catholics to show solidarity with the survivors of the worst anti-Christian violence seen in modern India.
“It is our duty as Catholics, to help our brothers and sisters in their times of difficulties and needs. So it is a humble request from the Council of Women to take this issue with serious concern and help them with all kinds of support,” says Sister Talisha Nadukudiyil, the council’s national secretary. “Together, let us all help them in carrying their cross,” the member of the Sisters of the Destitute said in an October 16 letter addressed to bishops and other Church leaders in the country.
This letter was a follow-up program of the Council of Women that visited Kandhamal on October 2-4 led by the council chairman, Syro-Malankara Bishop Jacob Mar Barnabas of Gurgaon.
As many as 22 women representing various parts of India joined the team. They visited t 12 different places of Odisha state’s Kandhamal district, the epicenter of anti-Christian violence. They interacted with the affected and fear-stricken people to awaken in them the sense of freedom, rights, and privileges guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
“We had an open forum for the sharing of their fears and anxiety. The visit moved the team on hearing the experiences of the simple and humble villagers. Even after all the sufferings and persecution, their faith has not faltered. Their undiminished faith has kindled a stronger resolve to reach out to the victims,” Sister Nadukudiyil writes.
She asserted that it is “the fundamental duty of the Church to care for each other and parishes have to be agents promoting the dignity of women and children.”
In Kandhamal, nearly 100 people were killed and 56,000 rendered homeless during violence targeting Christians that started on August 24, 2008, and lasted for nearly four months. The spark was lit by the assassination of Swami Lashmananada Saraswati, a Hindu religious leader who had lived in Kandhamal for decades mainly to oppose Christian missionaries.
Maoist outlaws had claimed the murder, but Hindu radical groups blamed Christians for it.
The swami’s work had led to simmering tension between Christians and Hindus in the region. It came to the fore during Christmas time in 2007 when radical Hindu groups burned churches and attacked Christian institutions.
During the 2008 violence, about 300 churches, institutions, more than 600 homes were destroyed. Some were burnt alive for not accepting Hindu religion.
“The aim of the visit was to build self-confidence, encourage and motivate them to stand together as one church community to demand their rights,” Sister Nadukudiyil explained. According to her, the visit “brought to light certain startling facts on the problems faced by the people of Kandhamal, especially the Christian community, who live in constant fear and insecurity.”
The team was greatly disturbed by the plight of women and children, who Sister Nadukudiyil said, were the worst affected. “The undeniable nexus between the police and the culprits is apparent as many names of the perpetrators are deliberately omitted in the FIRs and charge sheets.”
She said the visit helped build “a deep rapport with the victims, especially the women.” The presence of the Church consoled the survivors.
She hailed the “remarkable courage and tolerance” shown by the Kandhamal people to withstand dangerous circumstances arising from growing intolerance and communal divisions.
Reiterating her plea to help the Kandhamal survivors, Sister Nadukudiyil reminded Catholics that they are not just spectators, but brothers and sisters of those who had shown “so much courage in defending” their faith in Christ.
“We felt that they are in the rebuilding process. It is not enough to show some sympathy and to hear their history, but we have to commit ourselves as a Church in the whole rebuilding process. Only then our visit is fruitful. This is something to be done by the whole church in India. Outside world has not known the gravity of the situation,” she added.
Some of the needs of Kandhamal people, according to the council, are facilities and opportunities for children to continue their studies and prepare for future and jobs for displaced women who lost everything and now depend on the forest for survival.
“Their life is totally dependent on the mercy of nature and mercy of other people. Therefore we have to make them more self-reliant,” Sister Nadukudiyil said.
The Council of Women has also drawn an action plan to help women and children of Kandhamal, for which it has to generate some funds from church leaders, friends, and others.
“The situation is very bad and it is extremely demanding. So, if anybody with some other program or another way of helping out, is almost welcome,” the nun added.