High Court Orders Police to Probe Betticola Church for the Brutal Killing of Hindu Swamy Laxmanananda Saraswati

HC for re-probe in Laxmanananda Saraswati murder
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-for-reprobe-in-laxmanananda-saraswati-mu/827457/

The Orissa High Court on Thursday directed the police to further investigate the murder of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati on the basis of new material evidences and immediately submit a new chargesheet in the trial court.

Disposing a writ petition by Saraswati’s disciple Brahmachari Madhava Chaitanya and another intervening petition by VHP leader Durga Prasad Kar, Justice M M Das asked the police to re-investigate the case on the evidence provided by Kar and others.

The petitioners had alleged that the police did not take into account the resolution passed by Betticola church in G Udaygiri block of Kandhamal two-three days before the murder.

The petitioners had alleged that the resolution by Betticola church had talked of eliminating Saraswati. They also alleged that a blood-stained sharp weapon found near the pond of Saraswati’s ashram was not taken into account.

Chaitanya had in 2009 filed a case in HC, alleging that the investigation was flawed as a TI parade of the accused was not conducted.

Saraswati, 82, was celebrating Janmasthami on August 23, 2008, when masked assailants, armed with AK-47 sprayed him with bullets.

The attackers had then hacked his right leg and rained blows on his torso. Three of his associates — Kishore baba, 45, Amritananda baba, 62, Mata Bhaktimayee, 40 — and Puranjan Ganthi, 28, brother of one of the girl inmates of the tribal residential school, fell to the bullets. The killings led to a communal riot in the district.

Christians paid Maoists to brutally kill 80 year Swami Laxmanananda

Western readers may not be able to glean from the message who this unmentioned community is which was involved in the brutal killing of the 80 Swami and four others.

Indians who are used to the pseudo secularism of mainstream English media, can read between the lines and figure out which community conspired and hired the maoists to carry out the heinous deed so as to remove the Swami who was an obstacle to their coversion activities and destroy Hindu religion.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Oct172008/national2008101795680.asp

‘Maoists hired to kill Laxmanananda’

Bhubaneswar, PTI:
In a major breakthrough the Orissa police on Thursday claimed that the mastermind behind VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati’s killing had been identified as a group had hired the Maoists to execute the crime.

“Maoists were given money to train certain youths of a particular community to eliminate Saraswati,” Inspector General (IG) of Police, crime branch, Arun Ray told PTI asserting the mastermind of the killings had been identified.

Stating the mastermind had fled Orissa, the IG said, “We will trace them soon.”

The plan to eliminate Saraswati was made immediately after the December 2007 communal violence in Kandhamal, he added.

Elaborating the probe by the crime branch, he said investigations also showed that a group had collected money from some villages in Kandhamal which was given to the Maoist group to train their youths for the purpose. At least 60 youths were given arms training by Maoists, the IG said dwelling on the inputs from three arrested persons.

Ray said members of a particular community were unhappy with Saraswati and held him responsible for the riots which took place during Christmas in 2007.

They requested a Maoist group to assist them in killing Saraswati, he said.

Confirming that six Telugu-speaking persons fired at Saraswati and others, the crime branch investigation revealed that the trained group were guarding the ashram at Jalespeta in Kandhamal during the incident.

Refusing to divulge identity and religion of the mastermind behind the killing which sparked communal violence in Kandhamal, IG said Maoists only executed the crime.

While the motive behind Saraswati’s killing was clear, the sleuths gathered evidences against people who planned the crime not realising that it would trigger such a largescale violence, he said.

Tit-for-tat religious conversions haunt India

Tit-for-tat religious conversions haunt India
Fri Oct 10, 2008
By Alistair Scrutton

CUTTACK (Reuters) – Siman Nayak’s shaved head is a stark reminder of a fate suffered by many Christians in eastern India in a battle over forced conversions to Hinduism that has left thousands of refugees fearing for their lives.

At least 35 people have been killed in a string of religious attacks in Orissa sparked by fears of forced conversion that have also sent more than 20,000 mainly poor, lower caste villagers into refugee camps and shelters.

“They told us if you do not become a Hindu we will hack you to death,” said Nayak as he sat in a shelter, in the Orissa town of Cuttack, where about 60 refugees live and sleep in one room.

His eyes wide with anger, Nayak said he was one of 13 villagers who were surrounded by Hindus waving axes and shouting for revenge after the death a few days before of a Hindu leader in an attack they blamed on Christians.

That killing, in Kandhamal district, sparked some of the worst anti-Christian riots in India in decades.

“They pulled out swords and axes, and called the village barbers,” said Nayak.

“They took us to a temple and told us to put our head before god. They fed us rice and ghee from temple offerings.”

Kandhamal district, a poor and remote tribal region in Orissa, has been the focus of controversy surrounding Christian missionaries since British colonial times.

The number of Christians rose by 66 percent from 1991 to 2001, the latest census data shows, and is now at more than 10 percent of the population, compared with 2 percent across India.

Controversy over conversion, which spans many parts of India, also reflects a tit-for-tat religious battle for hearts and minds. While Orissa’s victims were mostly Christians, fear of conversion is the same on both sides of the communal divide.

For years, many Hindus feared missionaries enticed the poor to Christianity with promises of schools, hospitals, and money.

“Conversion was easy because the government gave the poor and tribals minimal facilities. So the space was easily found,” said Prasanta Patnaik, a former newspaper editor in Orissa.

AGGRESSIVE MISSIONARIES?
Patnaik said he knew of cases two decades ago when some villagers were given quinine tablets to entice them to Christian “miracles”. He says missionary work now is less aggressive.

But in the past few decades, tales like these sparked a backlash from a Hindu group which “converted” many people back to Hinduism through a purification ritual.

It was a vicious cycle that was to spark disaster.

“Kandhamal has become a point of experiment for both Christian and Hindu fundamentalists,” said Basanta Mallik, a reader of history at the Utkal University in Orissa.

That movement to Hindu conversion was led by the elderly Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. It was his killing in August that has sparked nearly two months of communal riots.

Refugees said they fear they would never return home.

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in Orissa earlier this month described forced conversions back to Hinduism as “systematic”.

Some blame Hindu political groups. Some blame lax police. Others blame underlying, decade-old ethnic and land conflicts.

But there is little doubt that deep-seated religious fears are at the root of the problem.

Some homes now have saffron flags on their roofs to distinguish them from Christians.

Some refugees know villagers have converted to Hinduism. In supposedly globalised India, others receive phone calls from old neighbours telling them to come back, but only as Hindus.

Lalita Digal, a 25-year-old refugee recounted how her house, clothes and rice stores were burnt to a cinder. Her in-laws were then surrounded by people with sticks and axes.

“My in-laws said let us say we are Hindus to make sure we are spared.” She said they were sat around a fire, given new clothes, cleanly shaved and had their hair cut. Then they were forced to recite mantras over a coconut.

A few miles away Ashok Sahu, a Hindu leader and a former inspector general of police, says such claims are exaggerated. The root of the problem, he says, is Christian conversion.

“Christians can go back provided there is no fresh conversion by the Church,” he said over a cup of tea in his upscale house.

“Peace and fraudulent conversion cannot coexist.”

(Additional reporting by Jatindra Dash and Matthias Williams in New Delhi)

Christian dominant, Maoist group admits to killing Laxmanananda Saraswati

So now we have proof that Christians either as agents of the West or as extreme Marxists pose threat to Hindus in India. What implication does this hold for the Christian community in India?

‘Majority of Maoist supporters in Orissa are Christians’

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200810051766.htm

Bhubaneswar (PTI): Admitting that Maoist groups in Orissa derive major support from minority communities, a prominent Maoist leader has said there was reportedly pressure from both Christians and Dalits to eliminate VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati.

Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil, who met a group of journalists at an undisclosed hideout on Saturday, said Saraswati was killed as he did not pay any heed to Maoist’s warning. The transcript of Panda’s meeting was made available to PTI on Sunday.

“We had asked Laxmanananda to desist from anti-Christian activities. He created a riot in December 2007 and subsequently targeted people indulging in cow slaughter,” he said, adding people of both the communities were opposed to the seer. Noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to Christian community, Panda said, “It is a fact that Christians are in majority in our organisation. Our supporters in Orissa’s Rayagada, Gajapati and Kandhamal also belonged to Christian community.”

The Maoist leader, however, pointed out that though Christians were major support base of the outfit in Orissa, the situation was not similar across the country. “We do not believe in any religion or are attached to any religious groups. We are not in favour of any religion,” he said claiming Laxamananda was working to revive Brahminism which was almost disappearing.

Facts on Christian-tribal clashes in Kandhamal, Orissa

http://indiapost.com/article/perspective/1758/

Facts on Christian-tribal clashes in Kandhamal, Orissa
Sunday, 01.06.2008, 10:47pm (GMT-7)

Reports of communal vio-lence involving the con-verted Christians led by the missionaries on one hand and tribals on the other, in Kandhamal District of Orissa by the media since December 25 are vastly distorted and motivated which in public interest need be clarified lest the national image is tarnished before the general public and the international community.

The whole series of incidents started from unprovoked and preplanned attack on Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati who was visiting his disciples in Darsingbadi village in Kandhmal District on December 24. Swamiji, 82, has been working relentlessly in the district since 1967 to protect the local population where more than 75 percent are below poverty line and are not literate. Swamiji has opened schools and hostels, hospitals and temples to protect mainly the tribals and the down-trodden from the clutches of missionaries who are operating with massive funds from foreign countries pumped into NGOs in disguised operations to convert the local tribals to Christianity.

Chief of such NGOs is ‘World Vision’ patronized by one Radhakanta Nayak, a local of Darsingbadi village from ‘Pana’ community who later got converted to Christianity. He happens to be an employee of the State Government promoted to the IAS and retired, and now a Member in the Rajya Sabha. His henchmen were the assailants who attacked Swamiji on December 24. Meanwhile, Nayak has incited Kui tribals among the Kandhs to agitate for getting his ‘Pana’ community, who are scheduled castes, relisted as scheduled tribe along with the Kui on the ground that the former also speak the Kui dialect.

Various reservation facilities to which scheduled tribes are entitled are not available to persons converted to Christianity. On hearing the assault news on Swamiji, the already agitated Kui community reacted and protested throughout the district against the ‘Pana’ community converted to Christianity. Interestingly, the Maoist (Naxalites) activists in the district are also mostly from among the recent converts to Christianity.

From the 47 Maoists arrested in connection with recent burning of villages inhabited by Hindus (Brahmanigaon, Jhinjiriguda, Katingia, and Godapur) as a counter to attacks by tribals on the churches, 20 guns have been recovered by the security forces. It is evident that the Maoists and the Church are hands in glove to spread fratricidal killings and clashes among the tribals which is evident also from incidents in Karbi-Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts in Assam. Conversions of poor tribal villagers are being conducted at gun point and by spreading terrorism.

While in active government service Radhakanta Nayak and John Nayak IPS (Retd.), both converted Christians, were instruments of the Church to proselytize the poor and illiterate ‘Pana’ and tribal communities. Under guise of NGOs thousands of dollars are pumped into the country for conversion of tribals in Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and the North-East.

Taking advantage of the poverty and lack of education, thousands of converted are being trained for separatist movements like NSCN in Nagaland and Maoist insurgency in the aforesaid states. This trend is more pronounced since 1970 which is evident from the census reports till 2001.

In Kandhamal District alone the Christian population has increased from 6 percent in 1970 to 27 percent in 2001, despite an Act enacted by Orissa Legislature in 1967 to prevent conversion. Swamiji has been fighting a lone battle by making the tribal district his home for last 40 years, and he is targeted by the Church. Earlier, there were two other lethal attacks on Swamiji in 1971 and 1995.

Since then the government has provided armed protection to Swamiji. In spite of that, he was attacked by armed assailants on December 24 in which he and his driver and armed security personnel were seriously injured and hospitalized in Cuttack Medical College Hospital.

Hence, the recent clashes manifest the various ramifications of the socio-economic, political and cultural tribal issues and the deep-rooted conspiracy by the Church to destabilize our society and our economy. Let the Nation awake and protect our tribal brethren and the national media stop distorting the facts.

Ashok Sahu, IPS (Retd.) Former Inspector General of Police

Trauma in ashram, schoolgirls witnessed Swami’s murder by Christian terrorists

Trauma in ashram, schoolgirls witnessed Swami’s murder
Ravik Bhattacharya, Indian Express
Posted online: Friday, August 29, 2008 at 0127 hrs

Jelaspota (Orissa), August 28: While violence rages across Kandhamal district, in the ashram, where its spark was lit when Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others were killed on August 24, the adults are angry, the children traumatised.

Many of the 130 girls in the Kanya Ashram, a residential school on the campus, were eyewitnesses to the killing of the VHP leader and that incident has burnt memories they will never forget.

“First, we thought someone is bursting crackers and so we ran towards the main gate. Then we saw and heard people screaming and running. There was blood all over the place. Swamiji and Mataji and others were lying in blood. I shouted and ran away, we all started running here and there,” said 15-year old Anita Pradhan. She is from Raikia and has been in the ashram for three years.

According to Anita, it was around 7 in the evening, prayer time in the students’ quarters. Swamiji and Mataji Bhaktimoyee, head of the girls hostel, were inside Swamiji’s room adjacent to the main entrance.

According to eyewitnesses, 10 to 15 men climbed the wall and started firing indiscriminately. They first shot dead Amritanandji, a disciple of Swamiji. The attackers then entered a small room, home to Prabhati Ganta, the guardian of one of the students who was living there. They shot him, too. Later, Kishore Baba, a resident of Boudh, was shot just outside this room.

It was then that they broke open Saraswati’s room. “Swamiji ran into the toilet to save himself and shut the door. Mataji, who hid behind the door, was shot first. The miscreants then broke open the toilet door and sprayed bullets,” said an eyewitness.

Vijaylaxmi Mullick, a Class X student at the ashram, is too traumatised to narrate the incident. Her voice trembles and falters as she remembers. “I rushed towards the main gate along with others only to see some men running around and loud cracking noise. I heard the cries of Swamiji and others. I saw other Swamijis running here and there. I was scared and ran inside the hostel room with another girl. We sat huddled together. Until after a long time, one of the Swamijis came and escorted us out of the room.”

Kusum Pradhan, a Class 6 student, could not venture out of her hostel room after dark following the incident. “I too rushed out after hearing the noise. I saw bodies lying in blood. I touched Swamiji’s feet, who was lying in the bathroom. It was still warm but he did not move. Nor did Mataji, who lay inside the room,” was all Kusum could say.

The 130 girls, who now reside inside the hostels of the sprawling ashram, now cannot venture out. The ashram is guarded by CRPF and Orissa police constables. The girls’ relatives are unable to visit the ashram and take them home because of the violence and the ongoing curfew in the district.

Brahmachari Shankar Chaitanya, who is now in charge of the ashram and is always escorted by police constables and CRPF personnel, seethes with anger against both Christians and the state government. “We had written 30 times to the state government that Swamiji’s and our lives were at stake, that we were being threatened by Christian leaders. Before the incident, we got a letter threatening to kill Swamiji. We formally complained to the police and district authorities. They sent only four baton-wielding constables,” said Shankar Chaitanya. “Not a single minister visited us after the incident, not even of our BJP. The Collector comes sometimes. He gave us rice, dal and sugar for the children.”

Chaitanya alleged that it was Christians, not Maoists, who were responsible for the incident. “The Maoists can never do this. It is Christians who threaten us everyday and they did this,” he said. He alleged that the ashram has been kept out of the peace process. “No one called us for any meeting or to take part in any peace process. As long as are kept out, the violence will continue.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/354813.html

Christian Conversion is the biggest threat to Hinduism: Successor to Late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati

Excerpted from orissadairy

Meanwhile Sachidananda Saraswati, the successor of late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati said that conversion is the biggest threat to Hinduism and as long as it will continues inter-religious tension will prevail in state.

Sachidananda apprehended that conversion will continue in full swing in Kandhamal district. Foreign funding agencies backing conversion will take place in a big way since Laxamanandaji’s assassination.

“Swamiji stood like rock against these unlawful conversion and open cow slaughter without any fear,” he told in an interview. “No one can fill up the void created by his death,” he said.

“I know that they might eliminate me but I am not afraid of them, as death comes once in life,” said Sachinanada quoting Laxmanananda.

Sachidananda Saraswati also regretted that there are talks and condemnation of the post murder violence but no central leader had so far condemned the killing of the religious and social leader.

Asked whether he is contemplating to shift his activities to Kandhamal to manage the ashrama, Sachidananda declined to go there at the moment because of security reasons.

Who killed Swami Lakshmanananda?

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/28orissa1.htm
Krishnakumar P in Kandhamal

August 28, 2008 17:38 IST

Not the Maoists, everyone except some senior state government authorities maintain.

Even the top brass of the state police say it is improbable that Maoists were responsible for the murder of the Swami and four others at his remote ashram in Orissa’s Kandhamal district on Saturday night. A senior state police officer said the modus operandi of the murders do not provide substantial evidence that the Maoists may be involved.

Here are the facts of the murder after preliminary investigations:

On Saturday, the ashram was celebrating Janmashtami, when around dinner time, a group of 30-40 armed assailants surrounded the place.
Eyewitnesses said about four of the assailants carried AK-47s and many others had country made revolvers.
Two of the four home guards stationed for security had gone to eat and only two of them were guarding the premises.
The assailants tied down the two guards, and gagged them.
They then sought out the Swamiji within the premises and opened fire on him.
The recovered bullets show they were from an AK-47, the police said.
The assailants then warned the guards not to raise an alarm and fled the scene.

Within minutes of the reaching the crime scene, the district authorities made a statement saying it was suspected Maoists who killed the Swami.

“Isn’t it far fetched? District authorities blaming a particular outfit within minutes of arriving at a crime scene?” asked Ashok Sahu, a retired IPS officer, who specialises in left wing extremism.

There are two reasons given as to why the state could have taken the Maoist line. The first is obvious, observers say.

“In December 2007, the area witnesses some of the bloodiest violence Orissa has even seen after the Swami was attacked by Christians. The state might have wanted to avert a repeat of the communal clashes and therefore could have pinned the blame on the Maoists,” one of them said.

Sahu said there could be more to the government’s action than this.

“Elections are coming in a matter of months. The state has failed miserably in tackling the Maoist insurgency. A government that has been terrorised by the Maoists may in turn be trying to terrorise the people in the name of the Maoists” he said.

Why are so many people ready to debunk the government’s Maoist attack theory so readily? The main reason is modus operandi of the execution.

“The central committee authorises the killings and the outfit issues statements owning up to the murders they commit. So many days after the murder, there has been no statement from the Maoists,” a senior police officer said.

Sahu points out the following: “The five attackers who the locals caught and handed over to the police are not Maoists. They are from the region.

“Moreover, I see no reason why the Maoists will spare the policemen on duty. They would have killed them. Then, there are the leaflets that were thrown around the ashram in a very amateurish way. The Maoists are very organised. If somebody is carrying an AK-47 he must be at least a commander. And if there are four commanders to marshal the mob, there wouldn’t have been indiscriminate firing like what we saw. And last but not the least, I have never heard or seen Maoists wear masks and hoods.

“They see themselves as revolutionaries. They never care about whether they are seen or not. In fact, I would say, they would very much want to be seen,” Sahu said.

Then, the most important question? Did the Swami’s activities in the jungle in any way make him an enemy of the Maoists? “Chances are very less. He was working for the welfare of the tribal people and against forced conversions in the region. There is nothing that suggests the Maoists would see him as a class enemy,” a senior officer said.

A local outfit, the Hindu Jagran Manch said the Swami had mentioned to an office bearer that some Maoists had joined him in a program he had organsied for the tribal people. “One day last year, I was talking to the Swami on phone, and that time there was a lot of concern about his security. So, he said, don’t you people worry. The Maoists are not a threat to me. In fact some of them are here with me,” said Lakshmikanth Das, an officer bearer of the HJM.

But do these factors clearly rule out the role of the Maoists? It is tricky, say many experts who have been following left wing extremism. “The best way this could be phrased is: ‘We do not rule out the involvement of the Maoists’.” Sahu said.

There are many reasons why the experts are undecided. “After the December 2007 clashes, even the Hindu outfits agreed that the Maoists are working in tandem with militant Christian outfits,”

Sahu agreed: “A lot of Maoists were converts to Christianity and were involved in the December violence. But this attack does not look like their work,” Sahu said.

The Maoists have long claimed that most of Orissa falls under the ‘liberated zone’. Kandhamal district with its desnse forest cover is a haven for them. In fact, the police had claimed that the recent attack on a police party in Nayagarh, where the Maoists dealt a spectacular blow to the Orissa police, was planned and coordinated from Kandhamal.

If not the Maoists, who could have killed the Swami? The needle of suspicion swings towards the militant Christian outfits. “Let’s face it, said Sahu, “even in times when the Maoist-militant Christian nexus was a possibility, there were numerous attacks and attempts on the Swami’s life.”

“There is a high possibility that this is the handiwork of militant Christian outfits. How they got such sophisticated weapons is something for the government to figure out,” said Sahu.

“The government’s responsibility to bring those responsible to book increases when you take into account the fact that the Swami received an anonymous threat only a week before he was killed. The local SP did not even register a case after the Swami lodged a formal complaint. They have to answer a lot of questions or this issue will snowball into a bigger issue than the December violence,” Das concluded.

The onus now rests on the government, which has been boxed in from almost all sides.

It has been shown up with regards to tackling Maoists, with consecutive attacks. It’s inadequacy in putting a lid on communal tension in Kandhamal have been exposed by the on-going violence in the district. And with elections looming, how it tackles the current crisis will go a long way in deciding its political future.

Christian Conversions at the root of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati killing in Orissa

Conversions at the root of carnage

Soumyajit Pattnaik, Hindustan Times
Bhubaneswar, August 27, 2008

The growing chasm between the Church and the Sangh Parivar is one of
the factors instrumental in igniting communal flare-ups in Orissa.
Religious conversions apart, job reservations for Scheduled Castes who
embrace Christianity (which is forbidden under the law) and domination
over rural businesses has fuelled the tension.

People in several areas of the state have been embracing Christianity
since the days of the British rule. But conversion was not considered
a problem till counter-movements began either to stop them or to
re-convert Christians to Hinduism.

In 1966, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati moved to Chakapada in Kandhamal
district and started his anti-conversion campaign and a year later,
the government enacted the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act (OFRA) to
attach several conditions to provide legal sanctions to certain
conversions and declare others illegal.

The Sangh Parivar’s main grouse is that the Church and missionaries
are doing “illegal conversions” by violating the OFRA. Church leaders
have, however, denied this saying people have voluntarily embraced
Christianity without inducements. SCs who convert to Christianity
cannot enjoy job reservations, but in the recent past Pana (SC)
Christians, especially in Kandhamal district, were trying to get ST
status so they can continue to get quota benefits.

Reason: Unlike SC Christians, converted tribals enjoy quota benefits.

Subas Chavan, national co-convenor of the Bajrang Dal told HT:
“Several SC Christians are falsely identifying themselves as Hindu SCs
and getting job reservation benefits. They are preventing Hindu SCs
from getting jobs.”

YouTube – Orissa:- Christian Terrorism on Hindus in India

The video about Christian terrorism, involving the  cold blooded murder of 84 year old Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati is here

Maoists didn’t kill VHP leader, Christian missionaries conspired and executed the Murder

The truth is Maoist Christians were involved in the brutal murder. This  video documentary (18 minutes) by NDTV on Kandhamal violence gives enough proof

‘Maoists didn’t kill VHP leader’
31 Aug 2008, 0348 hrs IST,TNN

BHUBANESHWAR: Inmates of Chakapada ashram have dismissed claims that Maoists had a hand in the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

“I have been working in Kandhmal for the past 28 years. I know what’s going on in this district,” said Laxminarayan Nanda, a teacher at the ashram-run school.

“Christian missionaries conspired and executed the murder of Swamiji. Swamiji was opposing religious conversion by Christians. Swamiji was not against any religion, but was against proselytisation and cow slaughter,” he said.

“The government and media are giving a Maoist colour to the killing. Maoists never have had any problem with Swamiji or with Hindus. Why should they even think of harming someone who had dedicated his life for the uplift of the poor? Fake letters and posters claiming extremists’ involvement are being circulated to divert attention from the real killers,” said school’s headmaster Jagabandhu Das.

The brutal Murder of Murder of 84 year old Swami Laxanananda Saraswati by Christian assailants

Murder of Mahatma by the Church-By Ashok Sahu, IPS (Retd.), Former Addl. Director General of Police

Tue, 09/02/2008 – 08:27 — rkm

On the 23rd August, while doing pooja on Janmasthami, the most sacred day for Hindus, militant Christians entered into the Ashram premises at about 8.00 p.m. and pumped bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle on the frail body of an 84 years old Swamijee (Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxanananda Saraswati) at Jalespata Vanabashi Kanyashram in Kondhmal District of Orissa. After killing him brutally the Christian assailants have cut various parts of Swamijee’s body by chisel and axe, it appears. Along with him others who tried to rescue Swamijee got killed are Sadhwi Bhakti Mata who was in over all charge of the Kalyan Ashram, Kishore Baba, Amritanand Baba and a visitor guardian of an inmate of the school. The dead body of Matajee was also defiled by cut injuries which was most brutish and nasty.

Swamijee had received a threatening letter which he could read only the previous evening on his return from routine tour for religious preaching. He had sought security from the local police against imminent danger to his life by a written prayer to the authorities including the District Magistrate on 23rd August. The media had broadcast on apprehensions to his life during morning news bulletins on the very fateful 23rd August.

Hardly one month back, at Tumudibandh, two kilometers from his Jalespata Ashram, there was armed attack by a group of Christians when he was protesting against Cow-slaughter in the area. In the violence one of his disciples Madhu Baba had sustained fatal cut injuries. Following the incident the State Government had deployed one platoon of armed CRPF personnel to guard his Ashram round the clock. Swamijee, in addition to these arrangements, had an armed security person to protect him during his tours who was mysteriously absent at the time of attack.

It may be mentioned that the personal security man Bhubaneswar Jani who was replaced by an emaciated, cowardice constable by the local S.P. only five days prior to the attack, was serving Swamijee for more than 10 months most sincerely jeopadising his own life. During armed attack by militant Christians on the 24th December 2007 at Daringbadi for which he was hospitalized along with Swamijee with fatal injuries. In that connection, though the Police has registered a case vide 83/07 u/s 147/148/353/323/324/307/426/149 IPC the culprits are still at large with impunity. Prior to this there were nine more attacks on Swamijee’s life and consistently the assailants were all recently converted Christians in the area. It is evident that the Catholic Church and the Baptist Church by conversion was gradually criminalizing the local youth. Few of them were also encouraged to join the Maoist group of terrorists which was proved by the way Bamunigaon Police Station was attacked and the subsequent raids in non-descript Sikarama village during December violence there, that led to recovery of more than 20 guns in a single tiny village.
What is surprising is that similar raids were not conducted in other villages where there is pillage of fire-arms. More suspicious is the withdrawal of the CRPF from the Ashram and replacing the PSO to the Swamijee only five days prior to the murderous attack on 23rd August. Danger to the life of Swamijee was mounting every day since the abortive attempt on his life in last December.According to reliable sources, there was a secret meeting on 9th August 2008 in the Community Centre at Raikia attended by activists representing Church based NGOs like the World Vision, Jana Kalyan Samiti, NISWAS, ASHA, Sahara, Palli Shree, Jana Vikash etc. who regularly receive huge funds from abroad. It was also attended by Nakul Nayak, former M.P. from the ruling BJD, Krushna Para Seth the former Block Chairman from Tumdibandh, Alfansoe Baliyar Singh a notorious militant Christian from Raikia, advocate Manas Singh who was to bring activists from Bamunigaon and Daringbadi in a vehicle specifically provided by Archbishop C.Raphel. It was resolved in the meeting to eliminate Swamijee who was ‘an insurmountable obstacle against conversion and cow-slaughter in the area’.Simultaneously, they felt that by philanthropic activities among the Kondh tribes in the District he was dissuading the vulnerable poor and illiterate tribe and Panas in the area from falling prey to the allurements and fraud by the Church authorities.

Sources reveal that on the 13th August a letter purportedly written by ‘Pahadia’ group of people was circulated addressed to the Swamijee that his life would not be spared, that too, within a week. Copies were supposed to be sent to the State Chief Minister, DGP, District Magistrate, District S.P. etc. besides the Swamijee and some other targets. A similar closed door meeting was reportedly held on 20th August in the Jana Kalyan Samiti at Jatani (Khurda) attended among others by Father Bijoy Nayak from Baliguda Church and Ajay Singh of Khurda, where it was decided to eliminate Swamijee, come what may. On the 23rd August night they succeeded in killing him as per their planned conspiracy.
The government had clear knowledge and the authorities had detailed information, but instead of reinforcing the security arrangements, it appears that they colluded with the killers. What has failed to convince is the glaring gap in alacrity with which the Orissa Police had rounded up 63 suspects in Graham Staines murder case within 24 hours of the alleged murder and their utter failure to arrest even a single culprit even after four days of the murder of Swamijee.People of Orissa expressed their ire against the government during the dawn to dusk bundh in the most unprecedented manner for the government attributed this murder to the Naxal Maoists within minutes of the incidents. They were reminded of the callousness of the Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik who had made a similar statement accusing the Maoists when DIG Jasvir Singh was killed but later it was revealed by subsequent investigation that the DIG was killed by his own PSO from Orissa Police. When there was prior information on danger to life of Swamijee, so much so that, the local TV channels trumpeted the whole day urging the government to save the Swamijee from imminent attack, the government apparently colluded with the killers and in order to prove his self-claimed ‘secular credentials’ the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is over active to safeguard the Christian minorities from the onslaught by the enraged Hindus whole over the State. Now the question is, why should the government first create a situation by a series of ‘omissions and commissions’ later in order to prove his ‘secular credentials’ try to protect the endangered minorities. There can not be a greater embarrassment for the ruling alliance BJP who can not escape the moral responsibility of being a party to these omissions and commissions on the part of the coalition government.
It is a ghastly incident and a challenge to the advocates of pseudo-secularism that the majorities are discriminated against, to keep the minorities appeased. The pseudo secularists have proved more Christian than Pope in upholding Christianity in India. The unprecedented response to the bundh called by Hindu organizations in Orissa indicated the shape of things to come. No government how powerful it may be can function with out the co-operation from the people. Peoples elected representatives in Orissa have legislated for the first time in independent India, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967 to prevent conversion by fraud, allurements, cheating, bribery and misrepresentation. It was challenged by all the Churches in the country in the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Bench of the apex court upheld its validity and said that right to propagate does not include right to convert.

Swamijee was only insisting that the Act should be strictly followed in the State. He came to Kondhmal District because there was utter poverty and illiteracy in the district with more than 70% of its population as tribals who are below the poverty line. He came there in 1967 and continued till his murder by Christians on 24th in August 2008.

Similarly, Orissa was the first to enact against cow-slaughter in 1964 as per Directive Principles in the Part-IV of the Constitution. Swamijee had made the motto of his life mission to make Orissa free of conversion as well as cow-slaughter. These two Acts legislated by Orissa Assembly reflect the sentiments of Orissa people for implementation by subsequent governments.

So long as these Acts are in the statute book, it is the constitutional responsibility of the government of the day to execute strictly. But the government has miserably failed. The government did not co-operate, rather criminally neglected in saving the life one man who preferred to lay down his life for the common cause.
The Church supposed to preach The Gospels, ironically criminalizes the youth and with foreign funding indulges in conversion by-passing the law. Hindus in Orissa are not against any particular community or religion. They do not want any other religion to disturb their faith and social harmony by taking advantage of poverty and illiteracy in their society. Irate Hindus when, as a last resort react, at times, with violence; the advocates of ‘secularism’ cry for protection. Is it not time enough to stop conversion and cow-slaughter as a respect for the majority living in the country as a lasting measure to ensure peace and harmony in the society?
As this brutal murder is directly linked with the series of incidents right from December 2007, until and unless the State Police detects the right culprits and bring them to book with out further loss of time, peoples already shaken trust on the government can not be restored and peace in the civil society can not come back. Should the government at the centre and the state want a permanent solution to these types of communal repercussions in future, they must concentrate in stopping illegal conversion, put a check on the church based NGOs, stop cow-slaughter strictly in Orissa and manage the forest land and tribal land problems with tribal welfare as the sole yardstick.This would also serve as a fitting tribute to the departed soul of Swamijee who has immortalized himself by laying down his life on the altar of the motherland.

By Ashok Sahu, IPS (Retd.)
Former Addl. Director General of Police.
E-mail: ashok.sahu53@gmail.com

Maoist Christians behind the brutal murder of Swami Laxamanand Saraswati

http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/cracks-develop-in-maoist-outfit.aspx
Cracks develop in Maoist outfit
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bhubaneswar

Sept. 3: Cracks have reportedly developed in the local Bansadhara committee of the Maoist forces following alleged involvement of some “minority” community cadres in the August 23 killing of Swami Laxamanand Saraswati and his four disciples at Jalespata ashram in Orissa’s Kandhamal district.

According to intelligence reports, the “secular” cadres in the unit are in no mood to forgive some of their “unfaithful” cadres who “violated the secular principle” of the organisation and sided with a few local Christian leader to execute the murder conspiracy on August 23.

Similarly, the cadres belonging to the minority community are also equally angry with the local people who attacked prayer houses and damaged Christian households in the aftermath of the seer’s murder.

These cadres held a praja court (public hearing) at Chandragiri on Saturday and imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh on the residents of Chandragiri.

Unable to bear such kind of behaviour by the “influential” minority cadres, three “secular” cadres — Anand, Ramesh and Sabita — have quit the Bansadhara committee in protest, the intelligence report added.

The reports said that after executing the murder plan, the Maoists had safely returned to their hideout in Chandragiri forest.

The use of AK-47 and SLR rifles had led to the police to suspect Maoists hands in the killing of the seer.

Soon after the incident, the Kotagarh unit of the CPI(ML) had sent a letter to media houses saying that some of its “unfaithful” cadres were lured away to kill Swami Laxmanand Saraswati.

Meanwhile, Paharia Group, the organisation which had served threat letter to Swami Laxmanand 24 hours before he was murdered, on Wednesday circulated leaflets warning people of the majority community to meet the fate of the slain seer if they dared to attack churches and prayer houses.

Swami Laxmananand Saraswati’s Killing Has Christians Written All Over It

Watch this short NDTV video with the reporter interviewing the tribals and what they are saying. video documentary

Kandhmal: Mystery surrounds Swami’s death
Sampad Mahapatra
Wednesday, September 03, 2008, (Bhubaneswar)The death of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmananand has set Orissa’s Kandhmal district on fire.

But the flames have intensified the mystery over who was behind the killing of the Swami and his four disciples.

First, the police suggested that it was the work of Naxal groups. But now, they have changed their stand.

The police may say it’s a wide open debate but questions are now being raised over whether the government failed to see the warning signs building up in the district in the run up to the killings.

In July this year, in Kandhmal district’s Malipada village, a rally held by the Christian Pano community demanded the ouster of Swami Laxmananand from the district for spreading communal hatred.

Panos are Scheduled Caste Christians who have a decent number in Kandhmal and have been locked in a conflict with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad over conversions.

Their latest protest comes after the Swami had demanded the arrest of the Christian Panos who attacked one of his disciples on July 8 when he objected to cow slaughter in an open field.

A former MP from Kandhmal, Nakul Nayak, who is a member of the Christian Pano community, had told NDTV in July that they were planning protests against the Swami for his alleged role in the communal and ethnic riots in Kandhmal the previous year in which three people were killed.

“We have given 10 days time to the district administration to take action against him. If within 10 days they don’t take action against him then we will sit under the banner and name of Kandhmal Mool Vasinda Manch (Original Inhabitants’ Front) and we will decide on a future course of action against him,” Nakul had said.

The protests also saw Dalit Christian leaders delivering fiery speeches, which carry an incitement to violence. But the Swami who was in his Jalespata Kanyashram was unmoved.

In an interview to NDTV given a month before he was killed, the slain VHP leader was very clear about his own agenda.

“Their design to convert large tract of our land into a Christian kingdom was dashed when God sent me here from the Himalayas. That’s why they want me out of the district. That will make their task easy. But as long as I am alive I’ll not allow that to happen and make sure they are driven out from this district,” he had said.

But even after he told the local police on the August 22 about the death threat he had received through a letter, no attempt was made to strengthen his security.

He was killed the next day along with four others inside his ashram.

Police say there is no evidence linking Swami Laxmananand Saraswati’s killing with the campaign against him. But sources in the police say the Maoists who are active in this area may have carried out the operation to appease the pre-dominantly Christian population who form their support base.

The Evangelical Project in Orissa

Cuts through the Christian babble and provides elaborate information on funding, organizations etc

“Offstumped will now detail the Evangelical Project in Orissa and the foreign entities behind it.

To understand this Project better, Offstumped draws the attention of its readers to foreign evangelocal entities “World Encounter” and LCMC (a Lutheran Church Congregation). ”  Read further here

http://offstumped.nationalinterest.in/2008/08/28/the-evangelical-project-in-orissa/

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, A Man with a Mission

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, A Man with a Mission

Orissa News Online

News of Orissa and Oriya People

Monday, August 25, 2008

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who was killed by unknown assailants at Jaleshpata Kanya Ashram on Saturday night, was a man of strong determination and ideology. His message was loud and clear – “Believe in your religion, don’t disband it”. He never used double standards. He preached what he believed and always stuck to that.

Swami Laxmanananda (80) was a native of Gurujanga village in Talcher. Over four decades ago, he denounced marital life and became a saint. He left his wife and son (who was just one year old) and moved to Kandhamal, which became his “Karma Bhumi”. Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati set up an Ashram at Chakapada in 1960s. He had chosen Kandhamal, as the tribal-dominated district was under attack from Christian missionaries, who were allegedly indulged in mass conversion of tribals and scheduled caste people by luring them with money and other facilities.

The situation was so bad in Kandhamal (then Phulbani) district that Orissa government had to enact the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act to prevent rampant religious conversions. Laxamanananda worked hard for the upliftment of tribals and scheduled caste people in that area. He established several Ashrams and promoted education among the poor. He also set up orphanages and educational institutions.

Since he successfully stopped the conversion among tribals and poor and vehemently opposed cow-slaughter, the Christian extremists always targeted him. He had survived at least nine attempts on his life including a murderous attempt in December 2007. The district administration failed to provide adequate security to Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, even though there was always a threat to his life.

While we pay tearful homage to Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, we hope that his work and belief will continue to show right path to people in Kandhamal and other parts of the state. Long live Swami Laxmananada Saraswati!

‘Conversions in Orissa not out of choice: Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati

Conversions in Orissa not out of choice

Author: Pioneer News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: January 13, 2008

Appearing before the team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati said that not a single person was converted to Christianity out of his choice. “They always adopt a means of allurement and fear to force and persuade innocent people to change religion,” he said, adding that he was prepared for an open debate on this issue with any one. Saraswati appeared before the Commission to record his statement. He further said conversion was going on rampantly in tribal areas.

He further alleged that there has been large scale forgery of tribal certificates. “Most of the converted Christians forged Kui tribal certificates to get jobs,” he said, adding that an inquiry could only expose the rackets behind it.

He further said foreign funds also were diverted for the cause of conversion. “A mechanism should be evolved to regulate flow of foreign funds to NGOs,” he demanded.

Asked why he did not return to his Chakapada Ashram in Kandhamal, he said as tension continued he preferred not to go the Ashram at this point. “If I return the miscreants who want to create disturbances will take mileage out of it. Later, they will try to squarely blame me,” he said.

He demanded that an inquiry should be ordered to find out who were behind the attack on him. “I have been attacked nearly eight times. But no one has yet been arrested,” said an emotionally-charged Lakshmanananda.

Later, a delegation led by general secretary of BJP Vinay Katiyar met the Swamiji and held a detailed discussion with him on the Kandhamal turmoil. Speaking to reporters, Katiyar said the attack on the Swamiji should be condemned. “I would raise this issue on the floor of the Parliament,” he said, adding that Congress MP RK Nayak should be squarely blamed for all this. “He has been involved in conversion activities,” Katiyar alleged, adding that action should initiated against him. SP of NHRC Mukesh Singh said he has already recorded the statements of 20 people. “The team will submit the final report within 15 days,” he said.

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