Letter from Orissa -- what have we done wrong?
I believe God is love, and our job is only to love and serve. In fact, over 90 % of my community health team is Hindu and not Christian. We do not work with a village unless we are invited in writing. Panchayath leaders are always involved. Tribal leaders evaluate and guide our work. Most of our education centres actually open with a small puja or breaking of a coconut. So tell me – what have we done wrong? Is it wrong to help a lady deliver safely in a hill village ? Is it wrong to help parents run a school where the teacher never comes, so that their children can get primary education ?

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Gayadhar Digal: Frenzied mob did not know he reentered Hinduism and cut him to pieces

Why him? And a villager whispered: "He practiced Christianity for sometime, but was back to the Hindu-fold later. Maybe those in the mob who were from nearby areas, didn't know about his reentering Hinduism."

"The situation in Kandhmal is such that Christians have started claiming to be Hindus to escape communalists' rage. As such, it's difficult to ascertain religious affiliation of people. Many people, even after embracing Christianity, choose to remain Hindus in official records for SC/ST benefits," said a police officer.

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If God does not want to save us, then let us die,"

Fifty-five-year-old Pushpalata Nayak's house has been burnt down and her family has been without food and shelter for four days. Most people in Badimunda village share her fate.

"No one is here to protect us. Police is fleeing when the mob comes. We are old people, where shall we go? At this age how can we change our religion? If God does not want to save us, then let us die," says Pushpalata

Fifty houses have been burnt down by a violent mob in the village and all the house belong to Christians. Even the houses of some of those who had reconverted to Hinduism were torched.

Some of the victims however feel communal hatred was not the only motive.

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Kandhs and Panu tribals set against one another
A source in the Rapid Action Force said the unrest had spread deep. Not only were the state police not acting, the source said, a senior bureaucrat on deputation in Kandhamal hid in the house of a CRPF company commander yesterday fearing the mobs. “The situation is so bad that about 10,000 Christians are hiding in a hill in Kandhamal while the police are not acting,” said a senior CRPF officer in New Delhi.

A Reuters report said mobs armed with rods put up roadblocks across the district and others attacked churches.

People armed with bows and arrows and axes have attacked Christian homes, dragging out women and children. Hundreds have fled to forests and nearby hills, officials said. “Moments after we passed by a Christian village, people set it on fire and everything was over within minutes,” a senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said from Kandhamal.

The Kandhamal clashes are primarily between the Kands, who are predominantly Hindus, and the Panu tribals, who are Christians. The latter are financially better off and are into several trades, including money-lending, sources said.

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Communal violence in state resulted from negligence -- The Statesman

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