Tag: Kandhamal

India: Life sentence for top politician gives hope for justice for Kandhamal Christians

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India: Life sentence for top politician gives hope for justice for Kandhamal Christians. (Photo: Getty Images)
Rights activists say the lifetime prison sentence given to a top politician in India on 17 December for his involvement in the riots that led to the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984, gives hope to India’s Christian minority still waiting for justice, reports Matters India. The High Court . . . Read More

India: 2 years after Supreme Court order, no investigation into ‘shocking’ number of Kandhamal acquittals

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India: 2 years after Supreme Court order, no investigation into ‘shocking’ number of Kandhamal acquittals
The man spearheading the campaign for “justice” for the victims of the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history has denounced the failure of the Odisha state government to follow up on a Supreme Court order to investigate why there have been so few criminal convictions despite nearly 6,500 . . . Read More

India: Kandhamal Christians still waiting for justice one decade after massacre

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Some 56,000 Christians fled their homes during the rioting and many stayed in camps such as this one in Raikia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Ten years after the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history, the local community continues to struggle, with reparations from the government slow in coming and seven reportedly innocent Christians still in prison. Nearly 100 Christians were killed, 300 churches and 6,000 Christian homes were damaged, and 55,000 people . . . Read More

India: 2017 saw 20% increase in atrocities against Christians, says lawyer

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India: 2017 saw 20% increase in atrocities against Christians, says lawyer
Amid growing extreme Hindu nationalism in India, dozens of speakers have called for concerted action to uphold the country’s constitution and fundamental rights, at a conference to mark four years of government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “There is a grave threat to plurality,” Professor Ganesh Narayan Devy, a . . . Read More

Court orders extra payment to Christian widows of 14 who died in India riots

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Christian women who have been rendered widows in recent anti-Christian violence in Orissa sing their traditional song at a Christmas celebration in Bangalore on December 8 in Bangalore. The Global Council of Indian Christians based in Bangalore brought two dozen Orissa riot widows to Bangalore from the refugee camps in Kandhamal for conducting medical checks on them and to draw attention to their plight. Though Orissa government has declared compensation of 200 000 rupees ($4000) for those killed, only two of the two dozen widows have got the compensation as police insist on documentary proof for the murders and even recovery of the body some of which have been thrown in rivers and dumped in jungles. Photo by Anto Akkara
Following a long-fought campaign, the High Court of Odisha state in eastern India has ensured the disbursal of extra compensation awarded two years ago to dependants of 14 Christians killed in the widespread anti-Christian violence that engulfed Kandhamal district in 2008. In addition, the court has forced the Odisha government . . . Read More

2017 ‘one of the most traumatic years for Indian Christians’

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Hindu radicals burn a dummy replica of local Jharkhand Archbishop, Cardinal Telephore Toppo of Ranchi. (Photo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of India)
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has described 2017 as “one of the most traumatic” years for Indian Christians in a decade after it recorded 351 verified incidences of hate crimes against Christians during the year. The Religious Liberty Commission of the EFI, which brings together Christians from more than . . . Read More

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