Orissa riots: SC says won't allow minority persecution

Agencies Tags : orissa, anti christian riots, Kandhamal, Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati Posted: Monday , Jan 05, 2009 at 1716 hrs New Delhi:

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The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not allow "persecution" of minorities and asked the Orissa government to resign if it was unable to protect Christians who were targeted in recent riots that followed the assassination of a VHP leader.

"We are secular country. We cannot allow persecution of minorities," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.

The Bench, which also comprised Justices Markandey Katju and P Sathasivam, criticised the state government for allegedly stepping in late to check the violence against the minority community after the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2007.

"It is the duty of the state government to protect the minority community. You (State) have done only after 50,000 people of the minority community fled to the jungles," the Bench said when senior advocate K K Venugopal said that the Orissa government has complied with the orders of this court.

"We will not accept the persecution of minority. If the state government is unable to protect them it should resign," Justice Katju observed and added "we have to protect the minority".

"No minority community should be insecure in the country," he said.

The apex court, which in October last had directed the stationing of para-military forces in the riot-hit areas till December-end in view of Christmas, asked the Orissa government not to take any unilateral decision on its withdrawal.

The Bench said any decision on withdrawal of central forces should take place in coordination with the Centre.

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CATHOLIC BAITINGBy: NASSER ABDULLAH | 08-Jan-2009 Reply | Forward IT IS THE HINDUTVA ENTHUSIASTS SUCH AS THE INDIAN EXPRESS WHO PROVIDE THE MOTIVATION TO ATTACK THE MINORITIES IN INDIA.IT IS HIGH TIME THAT THE MEDIA ,WHO SENTENCED TO DEATH , IN THE WORDS OF JUSTICE HEMA OF THE KERALA HIGH COURT ,THE ACCUSED IN THE ABHAYA CASE ,WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED, FOR DEFAMATION,WITH HUGE AMOUNTS .JUST READ THIS HON:S.C.JUDGEMENT !

MINORITY PERSECUTIONBy: N.V.SANBKARAN | 07-Jan-2009 Reply | Forward It is surprising to see that even the Supreme Court is being influenced by the anti-Hindu propaganda by the biased media. What happened in Kandhamal was a caste war as a reaction against the cold blooded murder of Swami Lakshmanandji, which unfortunately turned out to be a war between the Hindu Kandhas and Christian Panas. Independent India had 4 Muslim presidents, several cabinet ministers and our current defence minister is a Christian. Can you name one Christian majority country in the world where a non-Christian or a Muslim majority country where a non-Muslim is occupying such powerful position? You can see people from the minority communities occupying powerful and respectable positions in other fields also in India. Yet, they always cry percsecution. How much religion can the Christians practise and propagate in the Islamic countries? Despite all these complaints, the minorities in India are much better off than the minorities in the Christian or Muslim majority countries.

partial vedicBy: pasha | 06-Jan-2009 Reply | Forward this is a right move by the apex court, but I'm asking the supreme court and it's judges why they didn't pass such orders or such directives to those states where the state government not only organized riots and acted to be the promoter of genocide. why supreme court did take any action again the Gujarat government in the famous Godhra kand.

STOP CONVERSIONBy: bharath | 06-Jan-2009 Reply | Forward Alarming 5 fold increase in Kandhamal Christian population from six per cent in 1971 to 27 per cent in 2001 ,It began with the arrival of Christian missionaries in the area who found the remote region very conducive to conduct prosetylization amongst the poor tribals. The conversions continued unhindered until the arrival of Swami Laxmanananda who put strenuous efforts to stop conversions and help reconversion to Hinduism as well. If not for his effort Kandhamal would have been another Nagaland in the making where the separatist movement has wrecked havoc in the state. The aggressive Christian proselytization in Orissa today pitched previously peaceful tribals into warring camps of Christians and non-Christian. This has has vitiated the peace that has existed with various communities for millenia. Why Orissa Orissa has been specially targeted because of a huge tribal population. This allows the missionaries to work from the scrutiny of the media.

CONVERSION TERRORISMBy: Prakash Menon | 06-Jan-2009 Reply | Forward The biggest threat the Indian union facing now are two menaces, viz. religious conversion and terrorism. This is a time when prayer halls and churches all over Europe are getting converted into Clubs and Libraries, scores of it are raised in India, majority of those places, there are no christians for name sake. This is the handy work of Keralites, who leaped into all over India for livelihood but now involved in conversion there. If this menace if not stopped by the Govt. many such Kandhamals are bound to happen not only in Orissa; but elsewhere in India, for which Christians are only responsible. This conversion terrorism should be stopped immediately, in HINDUSTAN.