SURVIVORS OF COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN KANDHAMAL UNDER THE THREAT OF

EVACUATION

Around 100 survivors of communal violence, who have been staying in an

abandoned NAC market complex at G. Udaygiri of Kandhamal district
after the forcible closure of relief camps by the government, have
been asked by the local administration to vacate the place. With the
news of visit of a European Commission team to the region, the
government have ordered to remove the people again as a part of its
attempt to project that government had brought back normalcy in
Kandhamal and violence affected people are living at their villages
peacefully without any threat.

`The BDO has to vacate immediately and if we refuse police force will
be used,' said the worried survivors of communal violence. When the
violence broke out on August 23, 2008, they were forced to leave their
villages and their houses were burnt down. They had to take shelter in
relief camps, but they were forced to leave from there also after the
new BJD government came to power. Hence they had taken shelter in the
market complex like beggars.

`Where can we go with these two babies?' asked a crying mother Ms.
Menaka Nayak (25). Her youngest baby was born in the camp itself. `We
can not go back to our village, because they will not allow us to live
there if we do not convert to Hinduism. The government is not prepared
to provide security and necessary helps. On top of it they are trying
to throw us out from here also’.

Mr. Moses Nayak, who has been prevented by the Hindu fundamentalists
to come back to his village Ratingia as he had refused to change his
religion unlike his two brothers, presently solely depends on daily
wage based labour works, has no other options than to stay here. An
elderly couple from R.Padikia village are also debarred to come back
to their ancestral land as they failed to present their two ‘pastor’
sons before the communally motivated village mobs.

Following the dreadful communal violence around twenty thousand people

already migrated to different places outside Kandhamal. There are
another five thousand people, who neither can afford to go outside nor
can go back to their villages, living like refugees in various places
of their home district. Although the district administration is
claiming of ensuring security, peace and rehabilitation to the
survivors, the reality speaks of a different story. The seventeen
families from the villages such as R.Padikia, Kutuluma,
Loharingia,Kilakia, Jimmangia, Dakedi, Kiramah, Ratingia staying in
NAC market complex are virtually landless and legally not entitled to
claim their house damage compensation as they do not have records of
rights over the lands they used to have their houses since
generations. Whoever have RoR over their small patches of homestead
land, are debarred by fundamentalists to reconstruct their houses.
Very few people had been given compensation and again that is not more
than Rs.10, 000.00.

`Even after seventeen months, there is no indication of justice for

the survivors of communal violence in Khandamal', says Fr.Ajay,
Director, Jana Vikas, an leading NGO in Kandhamal `There were 295
churches and 6,000 houses burnt down apart from schools, hospitals and
other institutions. The victims are none other than poor adivasis and
dalits. Urgent action is needed from the government to take care of
the needs of the refugees of communalism who have been reduced to the
level of beggars and second class citizens. This is not a matter of
charity, but a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of
India’. The office building with all accessories belonging to Jana
Vikas was destroyed on 25th August 2008.

`It appears that the existence of refugees of communalism is

threatening to the image of the Orissa Government' says Dhirendra
Panda, well known secular activist from Orissa. `That is the reason
why they are trying to remove them instead of facilitating their
security and rightful restoration’.

Mr.Sarat Nayak from Dakedi, a landless labour who can not go back to
his village, complains of the indifference of the school authorities
to get his child admitted in any other school. It has been found
numbers of children within age group of 5-14, who are staying in this
non-official camp, had to discontinue their studies and there is no
visible action by the local administration to bring back these
children to schools again.

Let alone other problems, now the first and foremost need is prevent
further evacuation of these hapless and hopeless adivasi and dalit
victims. Whatever may be the intention, excuses or explanations put
forth by the government, the reality is that one hundred victims of
communal violence will be thrown out on streets within a day or two.
Perhaps, the secular and human rights activists and pro-people media
may respond immediately.

By K.P.Sasi, Film Activist/13.01.2010