By Matters India Reporter
Phulbani, August 11, 2020: A 12-day community prayer was launched in many parts of India August 11 to remind Christians and others the anti-Christian violence in the Kandhamal district of Odisha, eastern India.
August 23 marks the 12th anniversary of the unprecedented Christian persecution in Kandhamal.
The prayer will be recited in families, churches, and communities across India so that each Christian is reminded of what happened in Kandhamal in 2008, Anto Akkara, Catholic journalist who has reported extensively on the violence, told Matters India.
“Let individuals and community members of each Christian denomination in India be reminded of what happened in Kandhamal in 2008,” said Akkara who has relaunched the Prayer Campaign ahead of the 12th anniversary.
The prayer, which is being shared in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Odia and Tamil, sums up how truth and justice have been buried with the stain of ‘Christian conspiracy’ on the Cross.
Seven Christians – six of them are illiterates, including one mentally challenged – were released on bail from the Supreme Court in 2019 after 11 years behind bars. But they still remain convicted for a crime they had never committed as their appeal against the conviction is still pending before the Odisha High Court, Akkara explained.
Akkara has been anchoring an online campaign for ‘Justice for Kandhamal’ with the website ‘www.release7innocents.com.’
The journalist author has also produced a documentary titled ‘Innocents Imprisoned’ that sums up the bloodshed and travesty of justice in Kandhamal. The video, dubbed into Hindi, Malayalam and Odia, is linked to the website.
“Prayer is a weapon for Christians to seek truth and justice. Many have dumped Kandhamal into the dustbin of history. It should never be forgotten. The prayer is also a gentle reminder to prick the conscience of the conspirators and the culprits,” Akkara said.
Violence against the Christians erupted in Kandhamal district with untold savagery, with Hindu right-wing groups blaming Christians for the murder of the Hindu religious leader Swami Laxmananand Saraswati
More than 100 people were killed and at least 56,000 displaced.
According to local sources, although more than 3,300 complaints were made to the police, only 727 cases went to trial in fast-track courts that acquitted more than 88 percent of the accused.