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Bhubaneswar: The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Most
Rev. Raphael Cheenath has written to the Chief Election
Commissioner requesting him to postpone Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections in Kandhamal district of Orissa.
The electoral process in Orissa began on March 2, 2009
and various political parties have fielded their
respective candidates. Polls are scheduled to take place
on the 16 and 23rd of April 2009.
The Archbishop has brought to the CEC's attention the
continuing 'abnormal situation' in Kandhamal due to
'communal' violence. The bishop has argued that the 'sociocultural'
environment of Kandhamal district does not inspire
confidence in certain sections of the society. Peace is
still a distant dream even after several months have
passed after the initial slaughter of Christians and the
destruction of churches and homes.
The archbishop has stated that "as the entire nation
knows, the situation in Kandhamal, greatly disturbed by
the continuing communal holocaust since the last week of
August 2008 is still very tense and abnormal, completely
unsuitable to the possibility of a peaceful electoral
process, let alone free and fair polls on the scheduled
dates."
There are still nearly 3,200 persons living in the
refugee camps run by the Government in different places
of Kandhamal.Their houses were destroyed/burnt away and
valuables looted by the religious bigots during the
riots beginning from last week of August 2008. In the
process a large number of Christians lost their Voter
Identity Cards. The efforts made by the Government to
provide the duplicate Voter Identity Cards to these
hapless refugees is neither complete nor satisfactory,
claims the petitioner.
At a conservative estimate about 50 thousand persons of
Kandhamal belonging to minority community of Christians
comprising both Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
and Hindu Dalits were affected by the antiChristian
riots that raged for months together. While a faction of
the affected lot preferred to take shelter in the
Government run refugee camps in and outside Kandhamal
including Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, a considerable number
out of a mortal fright altogether fled Kandhamal to
unknown destinations leaving their house, valuables,
cattle and crops behind just to save their life. The
worst affected are the women.
Till date the Government has not made any survey
whatsoever of these people and no body knows where they
are at present. There is no possibility at all that such
people would ever be able to return within a short span
of time to their respective villages, to rearrange the
Voter Identity Cards lost in the riots and exercise
their franchise in the forthcoming elections. And
needless to say, the elections if at all held bypassing
such a big faction of Kandhamal electorate would produce
a fractured verdict to the glee of rioters and
miscreants who always want the election to be held
without the affected minority and Dalit members being
able to exercise their franchise.
As regards the thousands of members of refugee camps,
who as per the Government records have returned to their
respective villages, their condition is also equally
pitiable. They faced threats from Hindus and pressure to
reconvert to Hinduism. After getting such hostile
treatment some families returned again to the refugee
camps and many others left Kandhamal for unknown
destinations in and outside the State. The presence of
Maoists in the state further complicates matters.
Instead of dealing with Maoists who attack them, the
Hindu extremists vent their anger on Christians. To make
matters worse, several innocent tribal people have been
charged with nonbailable offences. They are in hiding.
The situation in Kandhamal is worsening day by day and
its atmosphere is charged with enmity and distrust
between various religious and social groups.
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