Cady Barrett
5 September 2008
Religious Conflicts
After last weeks murder of the Hindu extremist leader Laxmanananda Saraswati, tensions between the Christians and Hindus grew into violence. The destruction has killed 36 people, mainly those of holy stature. September 3rd changed the blame, when the Maoists admitted to the murder of Saraswati. The Maoists are an extreme Marxist group that has been banned from the Indian government. It has been said that a family of extremist Hindus have been misleading the media into believing it was the Christians who killed their leader and in fact not those who actually committed the crime.
Even with the admittance of the crime, the Maoists are not getting the same violence directed at them as the Christians of India are. Everyday in the Kandhamal district Christians are still being attacked, hundreds are being displaced, and many buildings are being destroyed. It is a common fear of Indian Christians that they are being forcibly "reconverted" to Hinduism through violence. An interview with Brahmachari Shankar Chaitanya, successor of Saraswati, quoted him as saying, "If misguided people want to come back to Hinduism they will do so, and it is our duty to extend all necessary help and embrace them”.
In governmental response to all of the violence a delegation has been created to uphold Article 355 of the Indian constitution. Article 355 states that the federal government has a duty to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance.
My reaction to the development of this issue is shock. Even with the Maoists admitting to the murder of their leader, the extremist Hindus are continuing with the violence against the Christians. My personal opnion is that this is not a small war between states or districts in India. This is going to grow into something much bigger, and could possibly turn into the same tensions we have between Muslims and Christians around the world.
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11581243/page2/
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