• Burmese
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

India’s Minority Christians Seek Justice Seven Years After Deadly Riots

Nita Bhalla by Nita Bhalla
September 9, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
India’s Minority Christians Seek Justice Seven Years After Deadly Riots

A protester holds a cross during a protest rally by hundreds of Christians against recent attacks on churches nationwide

2.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NEW DELHI — Survivors of some of the worst anti-Christian violence in India in recent times have appealed to the president for help, accusing the state of failing to provide adequate justice and compensation seven years on from the deadly communal attacks.

Clashes between Hindus and minority Christians erupted in Kandhamal, a rural district in the eastern state of Odisha, in August 2008 after the murder of a Hindu religious leader.

According to the Kandhamal Committee for Peace and Justice, more than 90 people, largely Christians, were killed and 56,000 people displaced. The government says the death toll was 38.

RelatedPosts

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

July 9, 2025
85
Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

July 9, 2025
167
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

July 9, 2025
271

Despite the thousands of complaints of physical and sexual assault, destruction of property, theft and intimidation made by victims, say activists, few have been registered by police and even fewer have resulted in convictions.

“Justice has eluded us,” Father Ajay Singh of the Kandhamal Committee for Peace and Justice told a news conference on Tuesday. “After knocking on every door within the state government, we found no one willing to come forward to secure justice for the victims of Kandhamal.”

Singh said the committee met President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday to plead for all cases to be reopened and for more compensation.

“He gave us a patient hearing and said that he will bring the issues before the government to see what could be done,” said Singh.

The group said that only 827 out of 3,232 complaints were registered by police at the time, and that 273 of these cases were then thrown out due to a lack of evidence as witnesses were scared to come forward and no protection was afforded to them.

Only 33 cases have reached a judgment and most of those convicted for crimes such as murder are out on bail, it added.

The communal violence—sparked by the murder of Swami Laxmanananda, a leader of the hardline Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad—drew international condemnation at the time, including from Pope Benedict.

While both groups were involved in the violence, say human rights activists, Christians bore the brunt of the attacks.

Research conducted by the Kandhamal Committee for Peace and Justice found that over 6,500 homes and 395 churches and places of worship were looted, gutted and razed to the ground.

As a result, 56,000 poor tribal and low-caste Christians lost their homes and livelihoods and were displaced. Some 10,000 people have still not returned to their villages fearing revenge attacks, say campaigners.

Government officials deny charges of neglecting Christian victims or being influenced by powerful Hindu groups.

“Everybody has returned back home,” Yamini Sarangi, Kandhamal’s administrative chief, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“Whoever was a victim was given financial assistance as per the state norms during that time. Nothing is pending here.”

Your Thoughts …
Nita Bhalla

Nita Bhalla

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.8k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Tentative Agreement Reached for Ceasefire Signing Next Month

Renewed Fighting Tempers Hopes for Peace as Negotiators Meet

Analysis: Ministers’ Election in Karenni State All But Certain

Analysis: Ministers’ Election in Karenni State All But Certain

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

6 days ago
1.3k
Myanmar Junta Blacklists 200 Firms for Dodging Hard Currency Grab

Myanmar Junta Blacklists 200 Firms for Dodging Hard Currency Grab

1 week ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Trains Staff on Electronic Voting Machines Across the Country

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.