The Evangelical Fellowship India
(EFI) has expressed concern about the number of anti-Christian attacks
against tribal people of Malkangiri, Orissa.
It has asked the government
to take appropriate action. The news was run by many media in India and
abroad. However, Msgr. Sarat Chandra Nayak, Bishop of Berhampur, warns
that this violence is not religious in nature, but related to social
issues.
Evangelicals denounce a resumption of attacks against
Christians the end of last year, with more than 10 cases during the
month of December. The practice of "forced" conversion, as seen by Hindu
extremists, is behind this new wave of violence, as reported by the EFI
website.
But Msgr. Sarat states: "In the district of Malkangiri there
are problems with Naxalite rebels on issues related to land, which are
not due to religious persecution, as newspapers and media
have reported."
He adds: "Our efforts to live in a state of peaceful
coexistence with people of different beliefs are bearing fruit. It is a
slow process, the scars of those wounds are still there, but we look
ahead and our hearts are full of hope. "
The Naxalite movement began in the sixties when Majumdar and
Kanu Sayal of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), inspired by Mao
Zedong, led a violent Santhal insurrection in the Naxalbari village in
West Bengal. Maoist rebels, considered the most serious threat to
internal security of the country, are active in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh.
In late February, they seized RV Krishna Malkangiri,
Malkangiri district collector and engineer PM Majhi, demanding
the release of some comrades. After 48 hours, the rebels let go of the
two hostages, without obtaining the release of other Naxalites.
Even Nabor Soreng, cultural communications expert and director of the National Institute for Social Work & Social Science,
in Bhubaneswar, emphasizes the social nature of the attacks: "The
violence that occurred in Malkangiri district are not against
Christians. Unfortunately, the media have fuelled this story, only
stoking tensions. This is political manoeuvring, games of those who have
interests on both sides. "