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[Image]Church People kills Orissa's Mahatma


Thursday, August 28, 2008

By Ashok Sahu
On August 23, while doing pooja on Janmasthami, the most sacred day
for Hindus, militant Christians entered into the Ashram premises at
about 8.00 p.m. and pumped bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle on the
frail body of an 84 years old Swamijee (Vedanta Keshari Swami
Laxanananda Saraswati) at Jalespata Vanabashi Kanyashram in Kondhmal
District of Orissa. After killing him brutally the Christian
assailants have cut various parts of Swamijee's body by chisel and
axe, it appears. Along with him others who tried to rescue Swamijee
got killed are Sadhwi Bhakti Mata who was in over all charge of the
Kalyan Ashram, Kishore Baba, Amritanand Baba and a visitor guardian of
an inmate of the school. The dead body of Matajee was also defiled by
cut injuries which was most brutish and nasty. Swamijee had received a
threatening letter which he could read only the previous evening on
his return from routine tour for religious preaching. He had sought
security from the local police against imminent danger to his life by
a written prayer to the authorities including the District Magistrate
on 23rd August. The media had broadcast on apprehensions to his life
during morning news bulletins on 24th August. Hardly one month back,
at Tumudibandh, two kilometers from his Jalespata Ashram, there was
armed attack by a group of Christians when he was protesting against
Cow-slaughter in the area. In the violence one of his disciples Madhu
Baba had sustained fatal cut injuries. Following the incident the
State Government had deployed one platoon of armed CRPF personnel to
guard his Ashram round the clock. Swamijee, in addition to these
arrangements, had an armed security person to protect him during his
tours who was mysteriously absent at the time of attack.

It may be mentioned that the personal security man Bhubaneswar Jani
who was replaced by an emaciated, cowardice constable by the local
S.P. only five days prior to the attack, was serving Swamijee for more
than 10 months most sincerely jeopadising his own life. During armed
attack by militant Christians on the 24th December 2007 at Daringbadi
for which he was hospitalized along with Swamijee with fatal injuries.
In that connection, though the Police has registered a case vide 83/07
u/s 147/148/353/323/324/307/426/149 IPC the culprits are still at
large with impunity. Prior to this there were nine more attacks on
Swamijee's life and consistently the assailants were all recently
converted Christians in the area. It is evident that the Catholic
Church and the Baptist Church by conversion was gradually
criminalizing the local youth. Few of them were also encouraged to
join the Maoist group of terrorists which was proved by the way
Bamunigaon Police Station was attacked and the subsequent raids in
non-descript Sikarama village during December violence there, that led
to recovery of more than 20 guns in a single tiny village.

What is surprising is that similar raids were not
conducted in other villages where there is pillage of fire-arms. More
suspicious is the withdrawal of the CRPF from the Ashram and replacing
the PSO to the Swamijee only five days prior to the murderous attack
on 24th August. Danger to the life of Swamijee was mounting every day
since the abortive attempt on his life in last December. According to
reliable sources, there was a secret meeting on 9th August 2008 in the
Community Centre at Raikia attended by activists representing Church
based NGOs like the World Vision, Jana Kalyan Samiti, NISWAS, ASHA,
Sahara, Palli Shree, Jana Vikash etc. who regularly receive huge funds
from abroad. It was also attended by Nakul Nayak, former M.P. from the
ruling BJD, Krushna Para Seth the former Block Chairman from
Tumdibandh, Alfansoe Baliyar Singh a notorious militant Christian from
Raikia, advocate Manas Singh who was to bring activists from
Bamunigaon and Daringbadi in a vehicle specifically provided by
Archbishop C.Raphel. It was resolved in the meeting to eliminate
Swamijee who was 'an insurmountable obstacle against conversion and
cow-slaughter in the area'. Simultaneously, they felt that by
philanthropic activities among the Kondh tribes in the District he was
dissuading the vulnerable poor and illiterate tribe and Panas in the
area from falling prey to the allurements and fraud by the Church
authorities. Sources reveal that on the 13th August a letter
purportedly written by 'Pahadia' group of people was circulated
addressed to the Swamijee that his life would not be spared, that too,
within a week. Copies were supposed to be sent to the State Chief
Minister, DGP, District Magistrate, District S.P. etc. besides the
Swamijee and some other targets. A similar closed door meeting was
reportedly held on 20th August in the Jana Kalyan Samiti at Jatani
(Khurda) attended among others by Father Bijoy Nayak from Baliguda
Church and Ajay Singh of Khurda, where it was decided to eliminate
Swamijee, come what may. On the 24th August night they succeeded in
killing him as per their planned conspiracy.

The government had clear knowledge and the authorities had
detailed information, but instead of reinforcing the security
arrangements, it appears that they colluded with the killers. What has
failed to convince is the glaring gap in alacrity with which the
Orissa Police had rounded up 63 suspects in Graham Staines murder case
within 24 hours of the alleged murder and their utter failure to
arrest even a single culprit even after four days of the murder of
Swamijee. People of Orissa expressed their ire against the government
during the dawn to dusk bundh in the most unprecedented manner for the
government attributed this murder to the Naxal Maoists within minutes
of the incidents. They were reminded of the callousness of the Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik who had made a similar statement accusing the
Maoists when DIG Jasvir Singh was killed but later it was revealed by
subsequent investigation that the DIG was killed by his own PSO from
Orissa Police. When there was prior information on danger to life of
Swamijee, so much so that, the local TV channels trumpeted the whole
day urging the government to save the Swamijee from imminent attack,
the government apparently colluded with the killers and in order to
prove his self-claimed 'secular credentials' the Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik is over active to safeguard the Christian minorities from the
onslaught by the enraged Hindus whole over the State. Now the question
is, why should the government first create a situation by a series of
'omissions and commissions' later in order to prove his 'secular
credentials' try to protect the endangered minorities. There can not
be a greater embarrassment for the ruling alliance BJP who can not
escape the moral responsibility of being a party to these omissions
and commissions on the part of the coalition government.

It is a ghastly incident and a challenge to the advocates of
pseudo-secularism that the majorities are discriminated against, to
keep the minorities appeased. The pseudo secularists have proved more
Christian than Pope in upholding Christianity in India. The
unprecedented response to the bundh called by Hindu organizations in
Orissa indicated the shape of things to come. No government how
powerful it may be can function with out the co-operation from the
people. Peoples elected representatives in Orissa have legislated for
the first time in independent India, the Orissa Freedom of Religion
Act, 1967 to prevent conversion by fraud, allurements, cheating,
bribery and misrepresentation. It was challenged by all the Churches
in the country in the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Bench of
the apex court upheld its validity and said that right to propagate
does not include right to convert. Swamijee was only insisting that
the Act should be strictly followed in the State. He came to Kondhmal
District because there was utter poverty and illiteracy in the
district with more than 70% of its population as tribals who are below
the poverty line. He came there in 1967 and continued till his murder
by Christians on 24th in August 2008. Similarly, Orissa was the first
to enact against cow-slaughter in 1964 as per Directive Principles in
the Part-IV of the Constitution. Swamijee had made the motto of his
life mission to make Orissa free of conversion as well as
cow-slaughter. The government did not co-operate, rather criminally
neglected in saving his life. The Church supposed to preach The
Gospels, ironically criminalizes the youth and with foreign funding
indulges in conversion by-passing the law. Irate Hindus when, as a
last resort react, at times, with violence; the advocates of
'secularism' cry for protection. Is it not time enough to stop
conversion and cow-slaughter as a respect for the majority leaving in
the country as a lasting measure to ensure peace and harmony in the
society?
VISWASAMBADKENDRA ORISSA,
9861028553,9437015570,9861450138