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[1] [John Dayal's Note: As the nation pays tribute to Baba Amte, a most well deserved tribute for his life long service to victims of Leprosy, it is also important to be reminded how some self styled `patriotic' groups treat others who also serve victims of leprosy, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases deep in the forests of the Kandhamala district of Orissa, India.] From Brother Oscar Tete Local Superior of the Missionaries of Charity Shanti Nivas Srasananda, PO Telapally, Kandhamala District, Orissa 762 011 Dated 5th February 2008 To The Officer in Charge, Police Station Sadar, Phulbani Kandhamala District, Orissa Re: In the matter of case Number 66 Dated 31.12.2007. Additional First Information Report, without prejudice, in the mater of attack on Brothers of Missionaries of Charity running the Shanti Nivas home for Tuberculosis patients and Leprosy afflicted persons, and looting and destruction of property in arson and violence on Christmas day 25th December 2007, on the above mentioned Medical centre buildings, Brother' residence, Catholic Chapel, Shrine of the Blessed Mother Mary, Dispensary, food godown, and theft of medicines, materials, goats, rabbits and other animals. Also, the destruction and disruption of the telephone and electric connections, and destruction of the government property of the WLL phone system. Sir, We had on 2nd January 2008 filed a complaints with PS Sadar Phulbani on the above mentioned attack on me and my fellow Brothers and medical centre inmates, as also on our home, medial centre and other buildings, large scale arson and destruction of all property, and looting of our goods, materials, food, animals, and dispersal of our patients under duress in the presence of the a magistrate and three policemen including the OIC and a head constable together with over 20 Home Guards. At the time of the attack by local members of the RSS as well as outsiders belonging to the same group which are followers of one Lakhmanananda Saraswati with his ashram at Chokapada, we had to run away for our lives as we were being chased by many of these people who were pelting stones at us and threatening us with sharp edged weapons and fire arms. At that time, to our surprise, the police also told the local villagers who were near the Chapel on Christmas day to also run away and leave the village. In that frame of mind and in utter fear of our lives, we with great difficultly; were able to at last file a basic report with the police on 2nd January 2008. In our fear of that time and our anxiety, the report was very basic and incomplete because the situation continued to be very tense and we were fearful even to come to the police station lest we be assaulted once again. Now we have surveyed the damage done and the impact of the violence on Shanti Nivas, and wish to report the full details of the incident and the extent of damage as follows for inclusion in our initial report and complaint. My name is Brother Oscar Tete, MC, son of Mr Tintus Tete, resident of Shanti Nivas, Srasananda, District Kandhamala, Orissa since June 2007 an originally resident of Missionaries of Charity General Office, 7 Mansatala Row, Kidderpur, Kolkata, West Bengal. I am the local superior of Shanti Nivas which is located 15 kilometers from Phulbani town and about ten kilometers from Sadar police station on Phulbani-Baliguda road. The Shanti Nivas caters to patients of leprosy, Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. It is the only medical centre of its kind in Kandhamala district and currently provides free of cost service to about 33 patients [at the time of attack] in the wards and about 20 outpatients every day. The Shanti Nivas complex consists of two wards for 33 patients, twenty beds for general patients like local illness, malnutrition, old age complications and mental retardation. The centre has been functioning without incident since its founding nearly twenty five years ago. All current patients belong to the Hindu religion and to both the Dalit and Tribal communities with whom we have always had excellent relations. Our complex also consists of a medical godown, food store for the patients, offices, residence for the four MC Brothers, outhouses or the animals including goats and rabbits, chicken etc. We also have ambulances and godowns for our vehicles and stores. Central to our medical centre was our spiritual space, including a Chapel and a Grotto with a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Chapel and the Grotto had been decorated for Christmas on 24th December 2007 as we were expecting the normal large participation of the local people without exclusion of any community, as also the pious prayerful presence of local believers and faithful. This was the normal practice very year and every year, it was a very joyful occasion enjoyed by all local people. The police, in fact, had always and every year provided us adequate police guards on the occasion. This year also on 24th December night 2007, a group of Orissa Home guards cam to the Shanti Nivas where local faithful had already gathered by Nine PM for the annual prayer service to mark the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. At 4 pm, I was in Phulbani to make some last minute purchases in the market for Christmas and to provide some Christmas gifts to the Prisoners in Phulbani jail as is our normal annual practice to share the joy of Christmas with all people. I was returning by about 7 pm to Shanti Nivas when I learnt that Churches had been attacked in Brahminigaon by RSS followers of Swami Lakhmanananda Saraswati, who has been spreading hate against Christians. I discovered that the road to Shanti Nivas had been blocked by a group people who were armed with axes and weapons. Some of them were cutting trees down and putting them across the road to block it. I was apprehensive of my security, and was forced to leave my vehicle. The ambulance returned to Phulbani with the driver. I walked to Shanti Nivas. By the time I reached Shanti Nivas, it was 9 p. m. Knowing that Churches were being attacked in various places in the Kandhamala district, I was apprehensive about the security and well being of the local believers who I knew were present in the chapel attached to the medical centre of Shanti Nivas. I asked a handful of our young believers to stay back with four brothers of the MCs. And I urged the women and children to return to the security and safety of their homes in the villages around. The women and children left reluctantly. At 11.30 p. m., a group of Orissa Home guards came to Shanti Nivas. They were carrying only lathis. That night, we cancelled all prayer services for the public, but continued to pray silently and privately for the safety of our villagers and our fellow believers in various parts of Kandhamala who were being attacked. In the morning of Christmas day 25th December 2007 at 11 a. m., the local villagers who were Christian believers and their friends gathered once again at the Chapel for the prayer service. The prayer service was over by 2.30 noon and the Home guards were present during this entire process. Around 3.30, a fresh group of Orissa Home guards personnel came to join the existing Home guard along with a Lady Magistrate whose name can be ascertained from the official records, and the OIC, and two policemen. Their names can also be ascertained from the official diaries of the police station. Around 9.15 p. m., the Lady magistrate called me to her presence where she was sitting near the staircase of the chapel. She asked me to shift the 33 patients to the villages saying "I cannot protect you with only the Home Guards with lathis. I have no rifles and so you shift your patients to the village where they will be safe, and start removing your important possessions". I told her it would not be so easy or possible to shift the patients, some of whom were very serious and bed ridden, some were blind and it was difficult to carry them on such long distances on foot to the villages. The Lady magistrate then told me to shift all the 33 patients to a single room. I did this with great difficulty with the assistance of the young Christians who were with me. I started removing some personal and important possessions such as clothing and a little cash, bank passbook etc. While I was doing this, I and my other MC Brothers discovered that the Lady Magistrate and the Police were not to be found, and had apparently deserted us and only the Home Guards remained. At around 10 p. m. on 25th December 2007, our electric supply was cut, as also the telephone connection which was a government owned WLL connection with its tower attached to the Residence of the MC Brothers on one side of the Shanti Nivas complex. As the lights went off and the power cut, we came out in fear as never before had the power gone off at this time of the night. As soon as we came out, we saw a large group of people coming towards us. They were shouting Jai Shri Ram, as also Hindu-Hindu Bhai Bhai. I could hear these slogans clearly. They were also abusing Christians in the foulest language. I saw one of the persons in the front of the aggressors holding a sword like sharp weapon. We started running in fear of our lives from the murderous mob. But even as the mob was approaching, and later through asking other eye witnesses, we could identify the following persons to be part of the murderous attacking mob. Their names are contained in the list at Annexure I: We hid on the other wide of the boundary wall and watched in terror and fear as the mob divided into groups as if in a well planned attack. One group came to the grotto which had the statue of Virgin Mary. They smashed the statue and set fire to it using some oil like substance they had brought with them in plastic carriers. They used the same oil to put on the Christmas Crib decoration in front of the Grotto and burnt it, in the process burning a part of the tree branch overhanging the decoration. Another part of the mob consisting of many people -- some of whom carried more oil in blue and other coloured plastic automobile oil cans -- broke open the door of the chapel. Inside, they smashed the altar and decorations, sprinkled automobile oil on the material and set it on fire. They also broke and destroyed every single statue and paintings on the walls of the chapel, altar, vestry and inner rooms, including copies of the Holy Bible, the Cross and images of Lord Jesus Christ. They then burnt there. The mob then went to the back of the complex and totally destroyed our Residence, our office, the wards of the patients, the kitchen, the godowns, guest room, drivers room, office and garage. Even the toilets were not spared and the ceramic toilets were broken, the water pipes smashed, the Holy Cross pulled down and table fans, windows and electric fixtures destroyed. The mob then came down the slope and attacked another area and the medical store, destroying precious and expensive medical equipment, medicines and a stretcher. The ambulance escaped damage because it had been sent to Phulbani. Some of them then chased our many animals and killed them and carried them away, including rabbits and goats which we had kept. We are attaching tentative list of the goods looted and properties destroyed in Annexure II. On 26th December 2007, the villagers, who were still very scared and frightened, came to see if we were safe. Seeing all the destruction, they told us they would help us and take care of any patients who came. We and our patients were provided food by the villagers with the government not helping us at all. From 26th December 2007 night till the night of 28th December 2007, we spent every night in the forest for fear we would be killed. We returned during the day to take care of the remaining patients. We are still not able to resume normalcy in the Shanti Nivas nor can we treat our patients. We have reluctantly sent the patients to other centres run by us in Berhampur and other towns. We still live in daily fear of mortal danger to our life, and injury to our person. We have not been given any security. We also do not know the fate of our oral complaints to senior officers. We also do not know if any of the assailants, who have been identified by us and by the villagers who were eye witnesses, have been arrested by the police. We are filing this additional report to make it part of the official FIR filed by us on 2nd January 2008. We deeply regret that even that report was refused to be registered by the police officers at Police Station Sadar giving us vague reasons. We then gave a written copy to senior officers, which was acknowledged OIC PS Sadar on 2nd January 2008. All that I have stated in this report has been witnessed by my personally. Brother Oscar Tete MC Local Superior Shanti Nivas, Srasananda, Kandhamala District Orissa Enclosures Preliminary list of assailants identified by us. Assessment of damage to property and material possessions ------------ [2] Ambivalent Views Over Gandhi Killer By Rajesh Joshi http://www.countercurrents.org/joshi110208.htm As India observes the 60th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death, Hindu nationalist groups still grapple with the question whether to reject or appreciate his killer Whither Justice: Trajectory Of Srikrishna Report By Ram Puniyani http://www.countercurrents.org/puniyani110208.htm The state Congress leadership thinks it can fool the victims all the time. But the question is how long can Congress sustain policies which betray the victims, which are against the promises and oath which they take while grabbing the seats of power? Stuck In A Hole By Ashok Bharti http://www.countercurrents.org/bharti110208.htm Despite committees, schemes and five-year plans, manual scavenging thrives in India. Ashok Bharti tells the story of failed reforms ------------- [3] From: <walter.nesrc@gmail.com Date: Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:13 pm Subject: Re: [IndianJustice] Fw: [mukto-mona] Tariq Ali boycots Turin Book Fair I agree with Tariq Ali. I have met him and know that he is one of those working for a peaceful future. So I respect his views. Walter ----- Original Message ----- From: face build Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:22 PM Subject: [IndianJustice] Fw: [mukto-mona] Tariq Ali boycots Turin Book Fair Tariq Ali on why he refused to attend Turin Book Fair. --------------- [4] From: kashif-ul-huda <kaaashif@gmail.com Date: Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:31 am Subject: The Paradox of Global Development The Paradox of Global Development By: SYED MUSAB IQBAL After World War II, the world discovered a new god, the god of development. This god has been exultantly worshipped by all developed countries of the west as well as in the poverty-stricken countries of Asia and Africa. This god of development has had a great impact not only on nations but on every individual living in a civilized society. The impact is so incisive that it is a nightmare to think of life without development. The development known to the world is economic only. The more there will be economic development the more will be the pace of global development. Every soul must strive hard to achieve economic prosperity by undertaking this journey of glee regardless of the consequences on humanity. In the worship of this god man has become so blind that he is walking on the road of development by crushing human values and humanity, without any realisation. This journey is fraught with disastrous and unimaginable repercussions. As the German scholar, Wolfgang Sachs says, "The lighthouse shows cracks and is starting to crumble. The idea of development stands like a ruin in the intellectual landscape." In fact, "this epoch is coming to an end. The time is ripe to write its obituary." THE AGE OF TURBULENCE Alan Greenspan, ex-chief of US Federal Reserve, in his latest book, The Age of Turbulence talks about the future of the world, economic injustice, and China's development and his life experience. According to Greenspan, this age is more of inequality and hence leading to turbulence. According to Human Development Report 2005, the interaction between poverty and violent conflict in many developing countries is destroying lives on an enormous scale. The growing rich-poor gap or economic polarisation in the world is contributing to a global chaos. Despite a glut of food, and a spectacular increase in the globe's capacity to grow more, hunger remains one of the world's major problems. According to International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, 850 million people worldwide, or one in seven human beings, go hungry every day. According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they "die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death." That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year. And according to a different report of Human development, every hour more than 1,200 children die away from the glare of media attention. Poverty is the major challenge for the world today. Nobel laureate Mohammed Younus writes in his book, Banker to the Poor, "Poverty does not belong to civilized human society." But it is an irony that poverty has now become intrinsic to every civilized society. Based on National Sample Survey data, this shows that a frightening 77 per cent of India's population lives on a pathetic Rs. 20 (half a U. S. dollar) a day. ------------- [5] From: Abhiyya 2006 <abhiyya@yahoo.com Date: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:24 pm Subject: Snow scripts communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir Snow scripts communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir Posted February 9th, 2008 by Mudassir Rizwan By Binoo Joshi, IANS Jammu : With a hot cup of tea in his hands, Showkat Geelani, 15, is overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on him by the people of Jammu, most of whom are Hindus. He is among the several hundreds of passengers stranded on the Jammu and Kashmir Highway for past six days, after the road was closed due to heavy snowfall. "They are angels," he said. While the government has set up its own community kitchen, seeking registration and other formalities before serving food to the stranded passengers here, the voluntary organisations simply offered, tea and food without asking even a simple question. Several voluntary organisations in Jammu have stepped in to provide food to the passengers who are stranded here for the past six days, due to the closure of Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Their community kitchens are working round the clock. Showkat could not believe when he was asked to sit and get his plate for food Friday. "I did not have proper food for the past few days. When they served me food with love and affection, it reminded me of my home and family," said Showkat who is stuck here along with his uncle Munir of Akoora village in Anantnag district in south Kashmir. Munir is equally touched by the gesture of the people of Jammu. "They are serving simple food but with love and care. It is clean too," Showkat told IANS. The organisations are aware of the food habits of the Kashmiris, a vast majority of them are Muslims, and have gone in for rice, lentils and vegetables. "In fact, we have asked them the kind of food they would prefer for the day," said Praveen Kumar, a corporator in the municipal corporation, Jammu. He has organised the community kitchen with contributions from people. Praveen said, "People have contributed with money and in kind." "For us it is not a question whether they are from this place or the other, Hindu or Muslim, they are people in distress. And it is our duty to help them in this hour of crisis," he said. Abdul Rashid, an elderly passenger from Srinagar, who is also stranded, said that the gesture of the people of Jammu, which is a Hindu majority city, is a manifestation of the fact that the human compassion cannot be divided on the basis of religion. "It is an example of communal harmony, that I will relate to my family once back home in Srinagar," Abdul Rashid said. Other stranded passengers also have similar plans. ------------- [6] The Mockingbirds Of Gujarat By Jawed Naqvi http://www.countercurrents.org/naqvi120208.htm This is a tribute to just four of Gujarat's countless mockingbirds that were humiliated or killed by the people they sang for. Every year in February, when newspapers begin to chatter about the arriving budget, the memory of Rasoolan Bai, Fayyaz Khan, Ehsaan Jaafri and Wali Dakhani begin to haunt me. It was on a budget day when helpless women were being raped and murdered across Gujarat on Feb 28, 2002, with the approval of the state Towards Corporate City-States? By Aseem Shrivastava http://www.countercurrents.org/aseem120208.htm While the details are unclear, the broad political consequences of SEZs are fairly clear. By shifting the very mode of governance towards the corporate sector, they will render unaccountable and opaque decision-making which will have long-lasting and widespread consequences for the citizens of the country. Not only will the formal success (and consequent expansion)of SEZs threaten more lives and livelihoods in the countryside, they will institute an autocratic labour regime in the workplace. In this and other ways already explored in the essay, they will undermine democracy in India in profound respects and might well pioneer a full-scale transformation of the political system in the direction of formal corporate totalitarianism through the via media of autonomous corporate city-states ------------- |
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| << February09, 2008 - [India Thinkers Net]Counter currents update ,history & assailants etc |
February13, 2008 - [India Thinkers Net]Che's executioner ,India tigers ,Book and CD.. >> |
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