Thousands march remembering Odisha violence

Five years after the violence the victims have been suffering from various socio-economic constrains and difficulties.

Bhubaneswar:  Some 10,000 trial and Dalit peoples of Kandhamal marched to the District magistrate on Friday demanding urgent steps to ensure justice and to restore peace, marking the fifth anniversary of the anti-Christian violence the district.

“The violent attacks continue an abated since 1960s with unspoken support the state machinery," alleged Kandhamal Nyaya Sahanti Sadvabana Samaja, the NGO that organized the rally.

In Bhulbani, a delegation of marchers submitted a memorandum to the president of India through the District Magistrate N Tirumala Nayak of Kandhamal.

The 35 demands in the memorandum included establishing a state level Minority Commission and governmental steps for restoration of liberty, security and dignity of Christian Minorities in the state.

District Collector who received a delegation said the administration has been taking all possible steps to ensure a peaceful celebration of Christmas this year in Kandhamal and in other parts of the state.

Several rights activists such as Praful Pradhan, Father Ajay Kumar Singh,Dhirendra Panda, Dr.Prasad, Proful Samantray, and Jugalkishor Ranjit attended the march.

Prasad said justice was a prerequisite for peace. "It is important to remember that the 2008 violence in Orissa came only eight months after an earlier wave of violence, for which there was mass impunity."

With extremists still perpetuating communal tensions and the victims remaining deeply disenfranchised, the only way to guard against further violence and to promote true peace is to secure justice, he said.

Panda said the internally displaced persons remain haunted by the memories of Christmas 2007 which most of them spent in the forests after the first attacks to safe there life.

They also seek safety and a livelihood in various place of Odisha but the state and center government show no concern for the rights of the people of Kandhamal, he added.

Father Ajaya said five years after the violence the victims have been suffering from various socio-economic constrains and difficulties, especially in Kandhamal and Gajapati distrcits.

Father Singh said developmental actions can take place in the state only when peace and justice exist among people. The rally paid homage to the dead and also encouraged the victims to build solidarity among them, he said.