Please read the following section of a report from the Catholic News Service, which includes material from a hospital bed interview with Father Thomas Chellen, the 55-year-old director of the Catholic pastoral center at Konjamendi in the Indian state of Orissa:
Following the Aug. 23 murder of a Hindu leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, by Maoist extremists, Father Chellen said Hindu mobs started attacking Christian centers in Kandhamal, the district where the slain leader was based. …
“They began our crucifixion parade,” said Father Chellen. The gang of about 50 armed Hindus “beat us up and led us like culprits along the road” to the burned pastoral center. “There they tore my shirt and started pulling off the clothes of the nun. When I protested, they beat me hard with iron rods. Later, they took the sister inside (and) raped her while they went on kicking and teasing me, forcing (me) to say vulgar words,” said the priest who has cuts, bruises and swollen tissue all over his body and stitches on his face.
“Later both of us, half-naked, were taken to the street, and they ordered me to have sex with the nun in public, saying nuns and priests do it. As I refused, they went on beating me and dragged us to the nearby government office. Sadly, a dozen policemen were watching all this,” he said.
Angry at his plea to the police for help, the mob beat the bleeding priest again.
This situation is totally out of control and you can find more reports on the violence at this weblog — Orissa Burning.
Or you can go read a very, very low-key New York Times report that skated right by me in the online version of the newspaper. Perhaps it was that strong, passionate headline: “Faiths Clash, Displacing Thousands in East India.”
There we read the following. Now tell me if you think the Times buried the lede on this one.
At least 3,000 people, most of them Christians, are living in government-run relief camps after days of Christian-versus-Hindu violence in eastern India, government officials said.
The government said that many people were also living in the jungle without any shelter or security because of the tensions, which erupted in violence after a Hindu leader was killed Saturday. At least 10 people, most of them Christians, have been killed since.
Christian community leaders say that at least 1,000 homes of Christians have been set on fire since Monday, rendering more than 5,000 people homeless. Many of those living in the jungle were without food or water, said the Rev. Dibakar Parichha, a priest at the Roman Catholic church in Phulbani, a town in Orissa State. Father Parichha said that about 90 places of worship, including small churches and prayer halls, had been burned down. Local officials said the figure was about 20.
The violence has occurred in Kandhamal, a district in Orissa State that has a history of communal and ethnic clashes. The latest conflict started Saturday night, when unidentified armed men stormed a Hindu school in Kandhamal and killed the Hindu leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers.
The police suspected that Maoist rebels were responsible. But Hindus blamed Christians.
Now, if you read that this was “Christian-versus-Hindu violence” and then you read that the riots began with the death of a Hindu leader, what would you assume? Let’s see, that would be Christians attacking Hindus and a Hindu leader was killed, thus leading to violence in which Hindus responded to the violence against them.
Read the above passage again. Way, way later we find out that the Hindu leader was, apparently, killed by “Maoist rebels.” The world does not contain many Catholic nuns and priests who are “Maoist rebels.” The Times reports that “police suspected” that Maoists did the deed. Catholic News Service reports this murder as fact.
Instead of offering a hat tip to Rod “friend of this blog” Dreher on this one, let me share a piece of his post on this — in my opinion — bizarre little story in our culture’s newspaper of record.
Ah, yes, “faiths clash;” what’s next for the Times, reporting a gang rape by saying, “Sexes clash”? I’ve noticed this over the years when the MSM reports on violence members of other religions inflict on a Christian minority in a faraway land: they tend to present it as Just One of Those Things — that is, as if there really were no victims, only clashing parties. I noticed it six years ago, when Baptist medical missionaries serving the poor in Shia-controlled Lebanon were murdered by Muslims. The reporting I read framed it as a “faiths clash” deal. You know, Muslims and Christians are fighting, who can say who’s right, yadda yadda…
In a way, I think the opening of the Times story is worse than that — it suggests the exact opposite of what appears to be happening. Again, the story says this is a case of “Christian-versus-Hindu violence.”
I will try to keep an eye on this one, seeking reporting that documents the role of the Maoists in triggering this. If there has been violence by Christians, in response, it would be good to see that documented, too.
However, I will end with a final quote from the Catholic News Service report:
Asked about the how the nun coped with the trauma, Father Chellen said: “We had no option and were simply following their commands. We resisted as much as we could. This is like being tortured for Christ.”
Photo: From the World Prout Assembly website, a photo from earlier riots in the region.
 | Posted at 12:41 pm |  Print
| Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (24) |
August 30, 2008, at 1:17 pm
It’s worth noting that the claims that it was maoists that murdered the Hindu leader is not proven and is contested by some according to the Indian press http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=9281 Once again the MSM (and this blog) did not put the killings there into the context of continuing violence including claims of forced conversion to Christianity. One thing of note:
http://www.freshnews.in/rights-panel-seeks-report-on-orissa-communal-violence-62357 So in this case, the Times headline was totally accurate - the killings were part of ongoing religious violence. It’s no surprise that Christians will assume the Christians are blameless in this matter and maybe they are. But I’ve not seen evidence to prove it so far.
Therefore, I would expect a decent story to reflect the proven facts as well as the claims by various sides. I’d also want the story to put the violence into a historical context including, it must be said, Hindu-Muslim violence as well given the level of religious violence that has plagued the sub-continent for generations.
One of the better stories I saw had some real facts in it: http://www.freshnews.in/rights-panel-seeks-report-on-orissa-communal-violence-62357. That story illustrates that the investigation is still ongoing and the media should refrain from premature judgements.
August 30, 2008, at 1:57 pm
Jerry -
The two stories you linked to offer little in the way of the “context of continuing violence.” The first has quotes from an anti-Christian religious group, similar to many Hindi groups that adamantly oppose any conversion (“forced” or otherwise), whose response to the unproved allegations was to kill and rape and destroy houses of worship - not your most reliable sources IMHO.
The “context of continuous violence” involving Christians in India is a history of Christian converts maimed, killed, and exiled for breaking centuries of religious tradition. The claim of “forced conversions” is an old one and neither of the articles to which you link offer one iota of supporting information. Christian missionaries are known for a lot of things some folks don’t like, but assassination plotting is not one of them.
The Times headline was not “totally accurate.” Tmatt was right to point to the holes and misrepresentation in the coverage. One-sided objections relying on the public spokespersons for murderous rapists without one shred of objective proof simply will not stand.
August 30, 2008, at 2:00 pm
I need to clarify something in my first paragraph. The followers of Lakshmanananda committed the violence described. Other Hindi groups also oppose Christian conversion. Not all Hindi groups that oppose religious conversion resort to this level of violence, which is how one could have read my statement. Sorry for any confusion.
August 30, 2008, at 4:10 pm
More coverage of the “context of continuing violence.”
From a Catholic missionary news source reporting on events from Christmas 2007:
The response of the Christians? Prayer and fasting 3 months later…
August 30, 2008, at 4:10 pm
The Hindustan Times reports that Laxmanananda Saraswati was intent on the “re-conversion” of Christians back to Hinduism.
I am certainly getting a good picture of the “context of continuing violence” in Orissa.
August 30, 2008, at 5:14 pm
This is completely horrifying! I have not heard anything about it in the MSM, but that’s not surprising.
Love your site! Keep exposing the truth and keeping them honest!!
God Bless,
lizaanne
http://www.RealCatholicTV.com
Fearlessly exploring mainstream media from a Catholic view
August 30, 2008, at 6:14 pm
I found a similar problem with the reporting of the outbreak in violence in Mindanao.
The MILF groups went into a Christian tribal area and essentially terrorized 100 thousand plus people to flee…those who fled are Christians, who predate the Moro tribes…
THe Army came back, attacked five MILF camps, and the western headlines blared 20 civilians killed.
If you read the reports, you would think that the Philippine Army is to blame, and that the poor Muslims were the refugees…not true.
August 30, 2008, at 6:27 pm
The Associated Press of Pakistan has more details about both sides in an effort to set the “context of continuing violence”:
Here is what the Christians are doing as a result of the progrom:
and
and
and
Here is what the VHP is doing:
and
and
and
By all means - let’s continue to get both sides. Maybe somewhere in all the “proven facts as well as the claims by various sides” we’ll be able to determine enough evidence in context to figure out what exactly is going on here.
August 30, 2008, at 6:38 pm
Link missing in #8 The Associated Press of Pakistan.
And this, from the French JournalChretien (Christian Journal):
If only American MSM could corroborate these details, we would finally understand the larger “context of continuing violence.”
August 30, 2008, at 6:51 pm
The online India News Portal backs up a claim that “Orissa is no stranger to communal violence between Hindus and Christians” with this sole example:
giving us further “historical context” for the “various sides” of the “continuing violence.”
August 30, 2008, at 10:11 pm
From the Middle East Times:
I wonder if we can find any evidence in all of this context as to whether any of the victims were “blameless”.
August 30, 2008, at 10:34 pm
More about the “ongoing violence” from the Hindustan Times:
Those damn Christians - I wonder if their caring for small untouchable orphans contributed to the “context of ongoing violence.” Well, no…
Where is the evidence an objective person would need to “prove” which of the “various sides” is responsible for the “ongoing violence”?
Don’t be fooled by the soft-hearted Christians (especially the ones who were burned alive for tending to the poor and defenseless), wait for the “context”. The story is a week old, but some still feel the need to “refrain from premature judgements.”
August 30, 2008, at 10:40 pm
Week old evidence from Reuters:
August 31, 2008, at 12:38 am
One thing that most stories have ignored is the economic issues that I think are a strong motivation. The Hindustan Times reported it this way:
In case anyone is not familiar with the Indian system a “reservation” is a quota (and a lakh is 100,000).
And here is a BBC report that covers retaliation after the initial Hindu attacks.
August 31, 2008, at 12:45 am
[…] This doesn’t really sound like a clash to me; more like a religious rumble between Christians and Hindus. As Get Religion observes: […]
August 31, 2008, at 3:01 am
The BBC report is from January 2008 and not a description of the current conflict. The above quote follows this passage:
There is a history of false accusations and unsubstantiated claims against Christians in Orissa. The “context of continuing violence” demonstrates an increase in the coordinated Hindu terrorizing of Christian targets, with an absence of similarly escalating “Christian” violent activity.
The conflict seems far from a “Christian-vs-Hindu Conflict” and much more like the radical Hindu cleansing of Christianity via the militant arm of a dominant political party.
August 31, 2008, at 11:11 am
To add some more information, the Vishva Hindu Parishad is a “Hindutva” (Hindu Nationalist) organization that is to the idealogical “right” of the BJP (Indian People’s Party), a center-right coalition that controls large parts of India. Orissa is currently controlled by the BJP and BJP-related parties.
It is vital that the United Progressive Alliance, and the Indian National Congress (the party of Gandhi), remain in power, and are strengthened, if violence against Christians and non-Hindus is to ever be controlled.
August 31, 2008, at 6:58 pm
For centuries atrocities against Hindus of India by Christian imperialists, their hired missionaries, and henchmen have been going on in India. Whereevver the numbers fo Christians have increased due to forceful or fradulent converstions there is increasing violence and insurrection as witnesses in Nagaland where practice of Hinduism is prohibited. But Christians were free to practice and proselytize in every nook and corner of rest of India. But when they sought enhance their activity a la those times of crusades against heathens through brutal murder of Swami Laxminarayan and his followers in front of young girl students who stand traumatized, there is finally some reaction from Hindus in Orissa.
It is nor right ot blame ‘maoists’ for the carnage visited on Hindu hermitage of the swami . It was work of Christians and one of the guilty was working for World Vision.
Thus it would be better for Christians to own responsibility rather than resort to obfuscation. There will be no redemption without repentence.
It is time for large body of well meaning and peaceful Christians to review the tactics of their cohorts amidst otherwise tolearant, easy going Hindus and stop the fradulent, violent campaigns for proselytization.
Please see the enclosed forwarded message in this regard.
————————————————————
Forwarded message From: Ashok Chowgule
Serious attempts will be made by the secular media to keep this item
from the public. There will not even be crocodile tears shed by the
concerned citizens about the trauma faced by the girls. And our prime
minister will not even lose a moment of his sleep, even if he were to
hear the anguish of the girls.
Namaste
Ashok Chowgule
Trauma in ashram, schoolgirls witnessed Swami’s murder
Ravik Bhattacharya The Indian Express August 29, 2008
Jelaspota (Orissa), August 28: While violence rages across Kandhamal
district, in the ashram, where its spark was lit when Swami
Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others were killed on August 24, the
adults are angry, the children traumatized.
Many of the 130 girls in the Kanya Ashram, a residential school on the
campus, were eyewitnesses to the killing of the VHP leader and that
incident has burnt memories they will never forget.
“First, we thought someone is bursting crackers and so we ran towards
the main gate. Then we saw and heard people screaming and running. There
was blood all over the place. Swamiji and Mataji and others were lying
in blood. I shouted and ran away, we all started running here and
there,” said 15-year old Anita Pradhan. She is from Raikia and has been
in the ashram for three years.
According to Anita, it was around 7 in the evening, prayer time in the
students’ quarters. Swamiji and Mataji Bhaktimoyee, head of the girls
hostel, were inside Swamiji’s room adjacent to the main entrance.
According to eyewitnesses, 10 to 15 men climbed the wall and started
firing indiscriminately. They first shot dead Amritanandji, a disciple
of Swamiji. The attackers then entered a small room, home to Prabhati
Ganta, the guardian of one of the students who was living there. They
shot him, too. Later, Kishore Baba, a resident of Boudh, was shot just
outside this room.
It was then that they broke open Saraswati’s room. “Swamiji ran into the
toilet to save himself and shut the door. Mataji, who hid behind the
door, was shot first. The miscreants then broke open the toilet door and
sprayed bullets,” said an eyewitness.
Vijaylaxmi Mullick, a Class X student at the ashram, is too traumatised
to narrate the incident. Her voice trembles and falters as she
remembers. “I rushed towards the main gate along with others only to see
some men running around and loud cracking noise. I heard the cries of
Swamiji and others. I saw other Swamijis running here and there. I was
scared and ran inside the hostel room with another girl. We sat huddled
together. Until after a long time, one of the Swamijis came and escorted
us out of the room.”
Kusum Pradhan, a Class 6 student, could not venture out of her hostel
room after dark following the incident. “I too rushed out after hearing
the noise. I saw bodies lying in blood. I touched Swamiji’s feet, who
was lying in the bathroom. It was still warm but he did not move. Nor
did Mataji, who lay inside the room,” was all Kusum could say.
The 130 girls, who now reside inside the hostels of the sprawling
ashram, now cannot venture out. The ashram is guarded by CRPF and Orissa
police constables. The girls’ relatives are unable to visit the ashram
and take them home because of the violence and the ongoing curfew in the
district.
Brahmachari Shankar Chaitanya, who is now in charge of the ashram and is
always escorted by police constables and CRPF personnel, seethes with
anger against both Christians and the state government. “We had written
30 times to the state government that Swamiji’s and our lives were at
stake, that we were being threatened by Christian leaders. Before the
incident, we got a letter threatening to kill Swamiji. We formally
complained to the police and district authorities. They sent only four
baton-wielding constables,” said Shankar Chaitanya. “Not a single
minister visited us after the incident, not even of our BJP. The
Collector comes sometimes. He gave us rice, dal and sugar for the
children.”
Chaitanya alleged that it was Christians, not Maoists, who were
responsible for the incident. “The Maoists can never do this. It is
Christians who threaten us everyday and they did this,” he said. He
alleged that the ashram has been kept out of the peace process. “No one
called us for any meeting or to take part in any peace process. As long
as are kept out, the violence will continue.”
—~—~————-~—~——~——————~———-~—~——~
*****************************************************************************************************
Message from Google Groups “Hindu Religion”.
The Largest Hindu Internet Community - Over 18000 members.
http://groups.google.co.in/group/Hindu-Religion
August 31, 2008, at 8:13 pm
William Carey.
September 1, 2008, at 5:58 pm
In light of Venakata Mangala’s assertion that Christians were behind the Swami’s murder - please provide the evidence. Just because you think that the Christians were behind the murder does not make that true. Nor can this be linked to Nagaland (if you know your Indian history).
The reality is that the SCs and STs have never been classified as Hindus and is a struggle for equality which the Hindu Dharma purports to give but has never been practiced for a long time. The attempts by SCs and STs to succeed and come into the modern world has been thwarted due to this oppression. Even if they are eligible for government sanctioned jobs, thanks to nepotism and corruption, no SC or ST gets that job. There are no land reforms either and an extensive feudal system which has been in place for centuries, is dominated by upper caste Hindus. This is the reason that “Maoists” (read Communists) have had a recent surge in numbers. Both the Maoists and the Christian Church have taken a stance that gives more power to the SC/ST people and the upper caste Hindus feel the power slipping away from them.
Given this context, and that the Christian conversions have risen which plays a part in Indian national and state politics, the VHP woke up and decided that the SC/STs were Hindus after all and are actively reconverting them back while still denying them their basic rights.
The Maoists have always advocated an armed struggle for the restoration of these rights. That is why it is amusing to read statements like “The Maoists can never do this…” while the same Maoists in the other neighboring states of India are still attacking upper caste Hindus. The new VHP strategy apparently is to ensure that the people who have advocated for their rights peacefully, should be attacked, so that the VHP is not retaliated against
September 2, 2008, at 7:40 pm
The VHP and its supporters continue to blame Christians for the initial attack against Saraswati. They have offered no proof. However, here are some facts that point to Maoists.
The automatic weapons used were consistent with previous Maoist activity and they left a note at the scene claiming they did it.
The next day they called newspapers and said, “We killed the Swami.”
A week later, Azad, a leader of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, said in a newspaper interview, “We killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati to avenge his villainous role in Kandhmal.”
A consistent MO - a letter at the scene - immediate claim of responsibility - later more public claim of responsibility - no other claims of responsibility - this would be pretty compelling evidence for an initial assessment of who committed the crime for most folks.
September 3, 2008, at 7:10 am
[…] Hindu mobs have been attacking Christians in India, beating believers, destroying churches, and burning some 1000 homes. A priest tells of a nun being raped. Terry Mattingly at GetReligion gives details and shows how the mainstream media is under-reporting and distorting the story. […]
September 19, 2008, at 4:32 am
There are best, very good, good, medium, bad, very bad, worst people from every religion, language, caste, race, nation etc like normal distribution. We through out the world including our country did not have education, hospital, social care etc for the past 5000 years. One group of bad Europeans came to capture, rule and colonise during mid of 18th century to mid of 20th century. During the same period and even before, the another good group called christian missionaries came from Europe to tell the love of God Jesus Christ and they pioneered and started the schools, colleges, hospitals, social care institutions etc, which has now been followed by us also and by virtue of which India is a super power now. Because of their hospital system our population increased from 300 millions to 1000 millions now in about 60 years, which alone shows the christian missionaries love and honour for our lives and nation. Our Indians about 40 million people are enjoying high life style in so called “christian” countries with the help of them, having dual citizenship benefiting them and our country.
Before the mid of 20th century all the countries throughout the world had small and big rulers, kings, dictators etc with kingdoms for every kilometers or hundreds of kilometers; having mass killings, sexual crimes, barbarism throughout the world irrespective of religion, language, caste, race, nation etc. Every ruler will erase the history of his crimes in the past. But after mid of 20th century, we have many countries with democratic governments. We have the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court with good Press system to ensure democracy and dignity of the individual citizen.
Thus we must not demonise any religion, language, caste, race, nation etc which are man made. We all people of the world and our country have common ancestor and we all are relatives irrespective of religion, language, caste, race, nation etc. The scientists have confirmed this fact medically. So we must not do violence/kill our own human relatives for sake of religion, language, caste, race, nation etc. We have a secular constitution and all are equal. The Indian “christians†are also Indians who are sons of soil and original inhabitants of our Great Country India and have equal rights. Another option “no religion” has to be opted in all forms and census in India. In USA, China etc there is no recognition of religion in forms.
September 19, 2008, at 6:03 pm
[…] A previous roundup of links in the breaking days of the story: Mild Case of Christian-versus-Hindu Violence, by Terry Mattingly of GetReligion.org (a religious media critique, more links in the comments). […]