Patnaik's Cross
By Lalit Pattajoshi
He has to rein in the VHP ahead of the polls.
 ORISSA: It is nine years and seven months since Australian missionary Graham Staines, 58, and sons Philip, 9, and Timothy, 7, were burnt alive by Bajrang Dal activists in Manoharpur in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district. The Staines family was working among lepers. The gory murder on January 22, 1999, stunned the country and generated worldwide outrage. But Graham's wife, Gladys, forgave his murderers and left the country with daughter Esther.
On August 23, 2008, the brutal killing of octogenarian Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four associates unleashed the communal demon in Orissa. But the VHP is forgiving none and is in no mood to wait for the state to find the true culprits.
The police say the Maoists gunned down Laxmanananda; the VHP terms it a move to protect Christians. The police point out that a minority uprising is illogical, because they make up only around four per cent of Orissa's total population. Reportedly, earlier communal flare-ups in the state were restricted to towns with sizeable Muslim population.
Laxmanananda was born in Angul district. Though married, he later became a monk and set up base in Chakapada, a remote village in Kandhamal district, in the late 1960s. He expanded his activity by starting two more bases, including Jalespeta, where he was shot down.
He started with opposing cow slaughter and moved on to reconverting local Christians. He also opened schools and began social activities. Later, when Hindutva politics emerged, he became their figurehead and attracted activists to Chakapada. Recently, Banabasi Kalyan Kendra, an ancillary of the VHP, had its national conclave there. Laxmanananda had courted arrest in Cuttack over the Amarnath land row.
Observers say that Kandhamal was a simmering volcano of casteism and religion. The district has a mixed population of Dalits and tribals. While the Panas are the dominant Dalit community, the Kandhas are the dominant tribe. The rivalry between these groups is old. There is even a stereotyping-Panas are considered shrewd and Kandhas happy-go-lucky.
Religion became an issue during the British Raj, when Christian missionaries reached the wild area which figured nowhere in the Raj's grandiose plans. The missionaries stayed on to fight Kandhamal's endemic poverty and illiteracy. Along with social work came conversion. Many Panas converted and became the biggest beneficiaries of missionary largesse. The Kandhas now had one more reason to hate the Panas.
The first outburst came during the Christmas season in 2007, when both communities battled it out in Brahmanigaon. Laxmanananda was also hurt and the rioters set fire to houses and six were killed. Hundreds of Christian families hid in the forest for fear of being butchered. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil rushed to Kandhamal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked Padmanabha Behera, a minister from the district, to quit.
The riot had very little to do with religion; it was more about reservation benefits. Behera, a Pana, was the steel and mines minister. He allegedly tried to extend Scheduled Tribe status to a section of Panas who speak the Kui dialect. This irked the Kui-speaking Kandhas. Following Behera's resignation the situation cooled off.
Cut to the current scene: Laxmanananda's murder was not without warning, and so the police rule out the role of the numerically weak minorities. He had received a threatening letter, which hinted that he might be kidnapped. The media published the letter and the police provided a detail of five bodyguards, including a personal security officer. But all five fled when the heavily armed murderers, numbering around 30, barged into Laxmanananda's camp.
The government suspended the PSO, Kandhamal's superintendent of police and the officer-in-charge of the local police station. Orissa DGP G.C. Nanda told the media that the Maoists were suspected because of the planning, execution and use of sophisticated weapons. A letter attributed to local Naxal leader Azad was found from the crime scene.
The communal ire was magnified with the arrival of VHP national leaders, including general secretary Praveen Togadia. He attended Laxmanananda's funeral at Chakapada and said Christians were attacking Hindus. VHP state general secretary Gauri Prasad Rath also vowed to hit back at Christians. Senior BJP MLA Bimbadhar Kuanra claimed that the Centre was pitting Christians against Hindus.
The VHP called for a 12-hour bandh on August 25. There were reports of violence against Christians and torching of churches. Rioters attacked a Padmapur orphanage and burnt alive the young lady caretaker, who later was found to be a Hindu. Orissa Police clamped curfew at several places in Kandhamal district.
Meanwhile, the Patnaik government is in a tight spot with rumours of a rift in the Biju Janata Dal-Bha-ratiya Janata Party ruling alliance. Apparently, BJP MLAs are unhappy over Laxmanananda's death, especially since Patnaik himself holds the home portfolio. BJP legislative party leaders and cabinet ministers B.B. Harichandan and M.M. Samal denied any rift in the coalition. But BJP MLA Brundaban Majhi sent a letter to the Speaker withdrawing support to the government.
The Congress, the main opposition party, has moved a no-confidence motion in the Assembly and met the Governor seeking dismissal of the government. State Congress president Jayadev Jena said that all the incidents were pre-planned, with an intention to garner votes.
The issue has attracted international attention with the Vatican expressing concern. The national minority commission, too, has sought a comprehensive report from the state. Union Minister of State for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal reached Orissa, but was advised against visiting Kandhamal. He later said the situation was "out of control" and promised to send three helicopters and four battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force.
Patnaik ordered a judicial enquiry into Laxmanananda's killing and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to relatives of the victims. Currently, 18 deaths have been reported.
Observers say that the Maoist link cannot be overlooked as the systematic planning and execution cannot be expected from an amateurish mob. Reportedly, Togadia ran into roadblocks while returning from Chakapada. Huge trees were felled across the road to prevent the convoy from proceeding. Togadia was later moved to Bhubaneswar under tight security.
Early this year, Naxals had attacked the district headquarters town of Nayagarh, 80km from Bhubaneswar, looted the police armoury and killed 15 policemen. Then came the high-profile Malkangiri showdown where Andhra Pradesh's elite anti-Naxal force, the Greyhounds, suffered heavy losses. The Orissa Police, too, lost men in a claymore attack in the same area. In 2008 alone, 70 policemen have died in Maoist attacks in the state.
Senior police officers feel that the minorities are being targeted probably because the Maoists are sympathetic to them. It is yet to be proved if any fundamentalist minority elements had sought Maoist assistance. But it is a known fact that the Leftists, in general, have no love for godmen of any religion.
However, what worries politicians most is the potential fallout of the riots on the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. In 2004, both elections were held simultaneously. The average Orissa voter has not cared for caste or religion in the past. Will it be the same this time?
The BJD-BJP alliance has won consecutively three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections since 1998. When the Atal Bihari Vajpayee wave swept the country in 1998, Patnaik rode the sympathy wave generated from the death of his father, former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
In 2004, though the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance lost the country, the BJD-BJP combine won again, thanks to Patnaik's clean image. How will they fare in the upcoming elections? As Orissa has never been a communally charged state, Patnaik might score again and might get to keep his secular credentials. But only if he can shoot down the communal hawks before they get out of hand.
Source: The Week
Date: September 7, 2008 |
