Date:28/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/28/stories/2008082855791001.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Dangerous turn

This refers to the editorial “Dangerous turn in Orissa” (Aug. 27). As if the senseless violence raging in Jammu and Kashmir is not enough, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal have let loose terror on the minorities in Orissa. The burning alive of a young woman in an orphanage, and attacks on churches and prayer houses following the murder of VHP leader Swami Lakshmanananda and four others are reprehensible. Christians seem to have become an easy target for the fanatical groups in Orissa — provocation or no provocation. The BJP, which claims to be a party with a difference and hopes to form the next government at the Centre, should rise above communal politics and restrain the sangh parivar affiliates from taking the law into their own hands.

Satwant Kaur,

Mahilpur

The VHP should give up its eye-for-an-eye approach. The communal conflagration has already claimed 14 lives. The Orissa government and the Centre should provide adequate security to the minorities and their institutions. Christian missionaries have promoted education in a big way among the underprivileged. Instead of indulging in violence, the VHP should join hands with the missionaries in their noble cause.

R. Akhil Ratheesh,

Chennai

The Orissa police, it appears, totally misread the situation after Swami Lakshmanananda was killed. Either they turned a blind eye to the VHP’s ‘retribution’ plans or their intelligence system failed. The violence that broke out after the killing of the VHP leader and four inmates of his ashram, was not confined to Kandhamal but spread to other districts too. VHP activists vented their anger unreasonably on Christians in a planned way.

I.P.P. Prabhakara Rao,

Secunderabad

The killing of Swami Lakshmanananda and four others is horrific, and all Christian leaders have condemned it. Christian missionaries go to remote areas to serve the poor. As the editorial says, the BJP must weigh the political costs of alienating its non-communal allies.

R. Chandrasekhar,

Ranipet

The Orissa government and the Centre should take immediate action against those responsible for the violence. How can churches and inmates of orphanages be held liable for the killing of VHP activists by suspected Maoists? The issue is not religious but political.

S.N. Thiruvazhiode,

Ernakulam

Reports indicate that the VHP activists were killed by Maoists. But the targets of the ensuing violence are Christians and their institutions. What is the logic behind the attacks?

From the time of the cruel murder of Graham Staines and his children, violence against Christians has been going on unchecked in Orissa.

D. Darwin Albert Raj,

Kancheepuram

It is shocking to see so much hate emanating from the VHP, which is seeking to avenge the killing of its activists. It should have faith in the police and the judiciary. There is no point in killing innocent people.

K. Natarajan,

Hyderabad

The violence in Orissa is extremely worrying. The government must take strict action against the murderers of Swami Lakshmanananda as well as those targeting innocent Christians. The rule of law and secularism are not mere slogans; they are constitutional obligations which every government is expected to fulfil.

Viraj Deshpande,

New Delhi

I read with deep sorrow the unprovoked attack on Christian establishments, including an orphanage. While the killing of the VHP leader is deplorable, the attacks on innocent people are equally unfortunate. I appeal to my fellow brethren to see reason and maintain the peace and calm in this highly volatile situation.

C.J. Manoj,

Kochi

By indulging in violence, the VHP has only exposed its weakness. That the killing of Swami Lakshmanananda by the Maoists has been countered by attacks on the minorities and their institutions shows the saffron parties cannot stand up to the naxalites. One wonders whether VHP and Bajrang Dal activists used brute force because of an intellectual vacuum or lack of inner spiritual strength.

Biju Mathai,

Chengarur

Democracy in our country, it seems, has become a mobocracy with no governance. Our politicians and political parties take no responsibility and no one is being made accountable for the sad state of affairs.

Air Commodore V.V. Nair (retd.),

Manipal

It is time all organisations that claim to defend religion through violence were proscribed. Our governments repeatedly fail to protect people and public property when they move at snail’s pace, attempting to prosecute the guilty. The investigation into the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda and four others should be taken up immediately but there should be no delay in prosecuting those who encouraged or indulged in the so-called retaliatory violence either. When will we realise that by indulging in violence and destruction of property, we are hurting ourselves?

S. Srinivas,

Visakhapatnam