RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN ORISSA, INDIA
Mike Ghouse, December 26, 2007

Four major towns in the state of Orissa, India are under a curfew to check the communal tensions between the Christian and Hindu communities. Eleven Churches have been razed to ground following a reported attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a political party leader. Shamefully this is a normal thing in India and it needs to be stopped before it escalates.

Religion is not the cause of the problems of the world. Religion emerged as a way to bring peace to an individual and what surrounds him (her). Most people get it and some don't. Those who get it, go about living their day to day life, where as those who don’t get it, resort to violence, using the very name of the religion that is to make them better humans.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, an individual and a leader, did not want to see any one to convert from Hinduism to other faiths, this happens on the eve of Christmas when Christians were in a celebratory mood.

Saraswati is one of those individual who did not get his religion. He was indeed motivated by fear that his people may switch alliances and cross over to the other group he perceived to be his enemies. The animal instinct within him wanted to pounce on any one who became an attractive nuisance to his people. That is the kind of fear taught in some of the centers in India and the only way they can reign in is to harass, growl and frighten the others, and certainly not treating others as equals provided in the nations constitution. One needs to grow up and let people eat, dress, and believe what they want without any fear.

The individuals who perhaps threatened or attacked him were not defending Christianity; they were simply warding off the Tiger's roar.

The gang who burnt the Churches was not inspired by Hinduism either, they were just ugly men who had nothing else do to, and were used by the KKK like political parties of India such as VHP, Bajrang Dal and others (nothing to do with Hinduism) to frighten other people to allay their own fears.

The best possible solution to put an end to the rogue elements is to rope in the individuals who were the causers of the disturbance and peace of the community, and punish them to the limits of the law.

I urge the public and the government to refrain from giving a religious label to these miscreants. By giving a label, we are slapping other fellow religionist who had nothing to do with this chaos and shying away from putting an end to this.

Hit the target boldly and not the periphery.

Mike Ghouse

Reference: Laser Barking at Terrorists - http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2007/05/laser-barking-at-terrorists.html

Responses to some of the comments;

What is your real loss if some one chooses to become a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Zen?
What is my problem if you want to be an atheist or a Zoroastrian?

I want to ask every one to make sense and drop this score keeping and hating. It is not productive. What is your loss does not mean, someone's gain. Simply put, if I were to become a Jew, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or whatever, what is your problem?

If I eat camel meat, horse meat, beef, fish, goat or chicken, what is your problem?

Are you suggesting we should regulate what one believes? If I become a Buddhist, how is it going to affect you?

Are you making an assumption that all Muslims think alike?
Whether you or I follow Islam, Bahai, Zoroastrian, Hinduism or whatever faith, . why shouldn't we ask about conversion? And why shouldn't we respond?

Yes, as a Muslim, I have no problem if some one convert to any faith they choose. Even though people come to me about how to become a Muslim... I ask them to spend the same  time studying what they have learnt; there is wealth in each faith. No one needs to change, but I would not regulate that, that is their freedom.

Reference: http://mikeghouse.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/05/religious-conversions-and-our-attitudes.htm and www.ApostasyandIslam.com

You hit the nail! Religion has become a business, who gets the most converts out of selling their religion.Agree with you, let VHP, Islamists, Evangelists, Bahai's sell their faith, if someone buys it, let them. What is any one's problem? Preaching hate and disturbing peace must be guarded by one and all, as it hurts and affects the public at large.

Phulbani, December 26: Curfew has been imposed in four major towns of Orissa's Kandhamala district on Tuesday after .. Check the Indian Express - http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Church-Attack-Indefinite-curfew-in-Orissa/254439/  Indian Express is a national news paper and not a small town paper, That is what the Indians are reading. It does not alleviate the issue.

" Eleven Churches have been razed to ground "following" a reported attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a political party leader. The highlighted word is "following" meaning first the leader was attacked which led to the eventual razing of the churches.

being hay/thatched does no diminish its significance to the worshipper. That is a place of worship. Many a temples, churches and Mosques are built that way.

They may purchase the land legally, like you and I can do it, where did this grab come from? Does Grab means purchasing in your dictionary?

Because they picked up the arguments between the Swami and the hoodlums, as you have said. Instead of quelling it, they resorted to making the issue a communal one leading to burning of the churches.

all of us have our points, the arguments should be was that the right thing? Should we not work to prevent this?

"Where is Christianity famed human rights, love and justice. As I mentioned it is all a put on. Do not commit genocide on tribal and them put on a facade on love and kindness."

Two different issues;

What the missionaries did in the name of religion in the Americas was wrong; annihilation of their cultures.

What the missionaries are doing in India, perhaps with a few exceptions is love and kindness. Uplifting the down trodden, giving them hope that they are human beings and are equal in the eyes of God, that they are not cursed to live a life like that. They are raising the level of consciousness.

As Indians we should admire the missionaries, and perhaps thank those who are giving their monies to do the work.

As Indians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others who are not Christians, did not care to go to the tribal areas, we did not want to help them out. Let the missionaries do their work, they are all Indians. What is the problem?

There are plenty of ignored people on the streets of India, let the missionaries go to them and uplift their spirits. If some people  don't like it and simply grip, get them are do the work. People are crying out loud to be cared.

Let's Compete in serving humanity. Not the same people, but the others who are not touched. That is true service and my hats off to those who serve, be it RSS or Missionaries.

You perhaps meant 'alleged' in place of 'reported'. The word 'reported' does not diminish the value of act, fact.

Do you feel what one believes should be regulated? What one eats, drinks should also be regulated?