There have been quite a few strong postings on the communal violence in Orissa. I would like to share with all of you something written by my friend Cynthia Stephen, from Bangalore.
> *Obsequies for the Innocent* > Cynthia Stephen > > > Turning and turning in the widening gyre > The falcon cannot hear the falconer; > Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; > Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, > The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere > The ceremony of innocence is drowned; > The best lack all conviction, while the worst > Are full of passionate intensity. > > Surely some revelation is at hand; > Surely the Second Coming is at hand.... > > W B Yeats, in The Second Coming > > > "Peace, Peace", they say, but the people of our land have no peace. > Violence in the name of religion - whether in Jammu, Kashmir, > Gujarat, Rajasthan or Orissa - appears to have become the default status in > our nation in recent years. The temptation to ask, "Where is God in the > midst of all this?" is irresistible. Is religion-related violence inevitable > in a land where people worship deities who carry deadly weapons, it is said, > to slay the demons of lust, pride, anger, hate and greed? Is violence the > only way to counter these negative impulses? > > As a citizen of India and a global citizen as well, as a woman, a writer > and activist, who also happens to be a Christian, I am struggling with > different emotions, because I have just received an eyewitness account by a > social worker from Kandhamal on the killing of seven persons - including > women and children, at the hands of a 150-strong mob in Bakingia, 8 km > from Raikia police station in Kandhamal district. I quote verbatim: " *Pastor > Daniel Naik and Samuel Naik along with a Christian leader Michel Naik and > their wives and children were killed by the radical with swords and > sticks. The Hindu radicals approached the Pastors families and instructed > them to denounce Christ or face imminent death (sic). The pastors said that > the God was great and they choose death than abandoning Christ. The radicals > stated killing one by one in front of their parents. First they smashed the > heads of the children and shouted praising Hindu Gods. Seven members of > their family were also killed brutally by smashing their heads with clubs > and iron roads. A crowd of 150 people were carrying clubs, iron rods, swords > and country made guns. One of the members tried to call the police, > immediately the gang snatched the phone and shouted aloud that 'no one will > come to their rescue'. The savage incident took place in Bakingia, about 8 > kilometres from Raikia police station*". > This social worker is also hiding in the forest and phoned in this report, > and shall remain anonymous for obvious reasons. > > The disingenuous attempt to deny the beauty and reality of diversity of > faith, belief, and practice is is at the heart of this violence. The > gentle Sufi faith which characterises the Kashmiris, the folk Islam in the > Deccan, the contrapuntal faith of the Kabir panthis, the Ravidasis, the > bhakti-inspired Baul tradition of Bengal, the large and diverse worship > systems of the indigenous people, and the various groups of the Christian > faith (which, it must be stressed, reached India within the 1st century > AD,as attested by historical well-establihsed historical > records), much more a part of the mosaic of the Indian identity than the > harsh, strident and politically charged mainstream religious denominations > including the hardline school of Islam, the so-called Hindutva, which is > really fascism in the form of religion, and the minority hardline > Bible-thumpers who appear to have become, ironically, the public face of > the Christians, traditionally the one community which has provided the > largest number of teachers, nurses, social workers and servants of the poor > in proportion to its population in India, along with quality educational and > medical services and training, achievers in the field of science and > techology, business, sports, politics, administration, in fact, every walk > of life. What is it about Christians in India that appears to inflame the > emotions of these mobs? They do not even have the excuse that is often used > to justify the violence against Muslims - that a small section of > the community believes in and practices violence in the name of religion, > even though this in no way justifies the violenceagainst the community as a > whole. > > Will the blood of these men, women and children satisfy the blood-lust of > these rampaging mobs? What will be the outcome of this carnages in the name > of religion? What are the mobsters hoping to achieve? Will they really > achieve those ends? What government will be able to heal hese gaping wounds > in the body of our beloved motherland, inflicted by her own children, and in > the name of patroitism and nationalism? Who is a true child of Bharat mata - > the one who feeds, clothes and binds the wounds of the teeming millions of > Daridra Narayans in the land, or those who indulge in killing, arson, loot > and rape in Bharat Mata's name? Can those who kill women and children in > public and rape women who have taken vows of chastity in the service of God > and humanity really claim to be worshippers of Ram, who we were told even as > children, was the "Adarsh Purush", the "Purushottam"? Are we going to be > fooled into believing this anymore? > > What will we tell our children about our land and its hoary traditions, how > can we claim to be the global destination for those seeking Spiritual > meaning and solace in thier lives? What kind of a state will we leave for > our succeeding generations? Will the rulers stand by and see the heritage > of the Freedom struggle trampled into the dust, while elemental forces are > released against the innocent by incendiary mobs with no known positive > agenda, even as the unthinking revel in the fact that Indians are breaking > into the international arena of big business and the Forbes and Fortune 500 > lists? Will it be business as usual? > > Cynthia Stephen > Independent Writer and Researcher > > And may you be blessed with the foolishness to think that you can make a > difference in the world, so that you will do things which others tell you > cannot be done >
