Orissa violence
- Acid test for Naveen Patnaik -

Thanreingam Muivah *

The hope of restoring peace and normalcy in the State of Orissa remains to be a distant dream. Having a quick glance at daily newspaper proves it beyond doubt.

For a moment, let us simply put this way that the State has been reeling under the grip of continuing riots and disturbances that stem from the gruesome murder of a VHP leader, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati on August 23. Perhaps enough days have passed for the law enforcement agency in the State to put the nightmare situation on halt.

Demands after demands to declare the State a complete failure to maintain law and order situation have poured in. We have also learned how major political parties of a secular country like India have expressed their stands over the attacks on minorities in the State.

To be precise, many political parties excepting some of them that tooth and nail advocate to create India a Hindutva State have also come out in full public view to pull down Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister from his chair accusing him of failing to maintain law and order in the State.

But all these demands seem to be a mere slogan shouted at the top of one's voice from a roof top if we look at the situation that rather worsens each passing day.

The inability on the part of the law enforcement agency to put the situation at its butt despite increasing deployment of men in uniform in the State says something of how India could be swayed by the wind of unscrupulous few in whose hands law itself becomes effective only when it has to serve their interest.

The urge of invoking article 355 and its expected follow up becomes nothing more than a writing on the wall. After more than a month time of turmoil in the State why is the Centre still unable to put the Opposition-ruled Orissa at its mercy when it has all the legitimate tools to do so?

Protest against the violence

We need to ponder beyond the trigger of Swami's murder for we have been provided with ample evidences that the problem that is still prevailing in the State could not solely be solved by a mere deployment of armed personnel in thousands.

At the same time we could also not undermine the killing of Swami for it deserves condemnation in the strongest term from every corner of the country. I say this because such crime had occurred in a place that has time and again witnessed untold miseries arising out of the seed of hatred that has been sown among the two communities since almost a decade past.

Apparently the spark of violence in Kandhamal may have been Swami's murder but if one goes by the story of continuing hunt being targeted upon a particular community or religion despite the claim already made by the Maoists for the murder of Swami, what could be left now to be considered as a more accurate pointer to the fact that this region has totally been gripped by communal unrest.

In fact the unprecedented resentment between the two communities'the Tribal Kondhs and the Dalit Panas'of this district, Kandhamal, from where the present tragedy sparked, has reached its peak. Beneath the communal conflict that usually claims several lives and properties of both the parties, there also exists a tale of caste equations and a battle for land.

Over this decade it is revealed that a sharp difference between the Kondhs and the Panas had maturated although both these communities had once converted to Christianity. And eventually, for the Kondhs who are more in number it becomes hard to swallow how these minority Panas who are more inclined to their new conversion or faith have prospered during this short spell in terms of their economic and social values.

While such emotion had taken the centre stage of Kondhs-Panas relationship, one of the hardcore VHP members, Swami, happened to throw himself into reconverting the people of this region and made his mission a success to certain extent by pulling back those backtracked Kodhs into his fold.

Unfortunate still, Swami was done to death at a time when bitter experience takes its own course between the two communities vying each other in every aspect prompting the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists put their anger upon Christian community.

While a group of helpless community because of its pitiable size still had to eke out to recover from the wounds of unprecedented attacks which occurred just eight months ago during last Christmas celebrations, it just ends up with a grim experience to witness yet another tragedy which is more barbaric in nature.

If the wrath of a mob that has easily fallen on a particular community along the religious line with the instigation of some hardcore individuals behind is of any indication, then one could imagine to what extent a parochial sentiment can go in this riot-hit region.

Till today we can undoubtedly say that Orissa Government had not done anything worth restoring normalcy in the State. Besides this, the Centre's inability to intervene the prevailing state of affairs in the State has dogged the mind of every right thinking individual in this secular nation.

If organisations like SIMI could be banned on the ground that it had indulged in terrorist activities in the country, why not other individuals or groups that can go extra miles even at the cost of innocent lives?

With enough laws at its disposal why does Orissa Government fail to curb the acts of forced conversion or reconversion? Does it serve any purpose in allowing high handed organisations like the VHP and its junior, the Bajrang Dal to act as law enforcement agency in the country whose status of secularism has otherwise been at great risk?

In the last 42 days violence in Kandhamal has claimed 35 lives without any visible respite so far with the Cheif Minister of Orissa still maintaining that he sees no reason behind imposition of President's rule in the State.

Someone should therefore insist Naveen Patnaik to pull up his socks to prove that he too shares the message of secular ethos.

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* Thanreingam Muivah writes to e-pao.net regularly. The writer is also a regular columnist for The Sangai Expres and can be contacted at athan4you(at)yahoo(dot)com . This article was webcasted on October 16, 2008.

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