India: Evangelical group condemns hate speeches against Christians

The Evangelical Fellowship of India has condemned the use of hate speeches by Bharatiya Janata Party candidates to fan communal feelings in the Kandhamal district of Orissa.

The Christian body spoke out after Ashok Sahu, former IPS officer and BJP candidate for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, delivered an inflammatory speech against Christians, accusing them of the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati last August.

Although Maoists claimed responsibility for the killing in Orissa state, Muslim extremists insisted Christians were to blame and went on the rampage through Christian communities killing believers and setting fire to churches and homes in retaliation.

The Election Commission has already reviewed the hate speech and has registered four cases against the Hindutva leader.

With elections due in Orissa on April 16 and 23, EFI said the attempt to further polarise voters was deeply disturbing.

After the recent break up between the ruling BJD and its coalition partner BJP, the evangelical organszation said that the BJP had made the killing of Swami Laxmananda its main platform.

"Elections are taking place at a time when 3,187 people are still in relief camps, and hundreds are believed to have fled the district. The district administration reportedly sent the people in relief camps back to the villages, sometimes forcibly, with dry ration which may last for a few days. The victims who returned have faced social boycott and threats to their lives and property," said the EFI.

"Though over 2,500 criminal complaints have been filed in connection with the August-September 2008 violence, approximately 750 have been converted into formal complaints (First Information Reports). The main accused in many cases continue to roam free," the statement read.

According to Rev Richard Howell, General Secretary of the EFI, approximately 5,031 Christian homes, 150 churches, mostly in villages, and 90 institutions were destroyed, vandalised and torched in the violence last autumn. The death toll is reported at 75 but many believe it to be much higher, he said.

The Christian leader called upon civil society to demand that state and central governments restore the rule of law to ensure peace in riot-hit districts of Orissa. It also urged support for the victims in their struggle for justice and peace.

The EFI is appealing to India's Christians to pray for peaceful elections in the state.