Life after Kandhamal: Rehabilitation Challenges of Communal Violence

In the last week of August, 2008, a planned and institutionalized violence broke out against the Christians in Kandhamal district of Orissa that lasted more than two months. According to government records, the communal violence led to the killing of 40 people, injuring another 134 persons, and burning down of 1474 houses and 97 religious structures. In reality, as has been widely reported, the scale of this communal violence is feared to be much higher than official statistics show: at least 500 deaths, more than 54, 000 people displaced, 315 villages and 4640 homes belonging to Christians burned, two women – including a nun – raped, 149 churches and schools destroyed and about 30,000 people forced out to relief camps.

Role of CNI SBSS

Hearing the violence approached NHRC, National Minority Commission, SC and ST Commission with complaints and requested to take steps to stop violence immediately. Through various delegation it met the PM and top UPA leaders. It also filed an RTI to know the role of the government in stopping the violence as well as providing relief and rehabilitation to the victims. A team consisting of four staff members of (R. John Suresh Kumar, Sudeep Tigga, Bibhu Dutta Sahu and Subhas visited the affected areas in Kandhamal to study and understand what relief and rehabilitation (RR) means to the victims of communal violence and contextualize with the exiting national level policies and guidelines to combat communal violence in the country. The findings were presented at various platforms including in World Council of Churches, Geneva (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/violence-against-indian-c.html).

People who have been affected by this violence are facing number of problems. Violence has in fact halted people’s lives, they have been forcefully made to migrate, and those dared to return are not allowed to enter their homes. Access to their livelihood means like water, land and forest is denied. The rehabilitation process is really tardy. Even the compensation to rebuild ransacked homes from the government is absolutely inadequate. Amidst all these problems, the government keeps saying that the things are normal in Kandhamal.

In the days to come, CNISBSS has sorted out a comprehensive plan to rebuild peace among communities. A national level advocacy process may soon be initiated to pass the Communal Violence Bill with required amendments in the Parliament.