fundamentalism in India’s Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar, snatching microphones and forcing speakers to leave, organizers said Wednesday, June 15. There were no reports of injuries, although witnesses said several penal members were pushed and shoved around during the June 14 meeting.
The violence reportedly began after activists of the influential Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Hindu group first shouted and threatened speakers, saying the meeting was "anti-Hindu and anti-national."
"CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES"
"Panel members [are] messengers of Christian missionaries," some VHP activists were heard shouting. About 50 VHP members than stormed the platform and took away microphones before scaring away the forum members to leave meeting, which was held at a Red Cross center Bhubaneswar.
Officials of The Indian People’s Tribunal, a national forum for mobilizing public opinion on women trafficking and forced conversions and religious fundamentalism were reportedly attacked by VHP leaders.
POLICE CRITICIZED
Participants said police refused to intervene, but there were no immediate comment from local police officials to the allegations. However Orissa State Secretary Subash Chauhan denied the violence was serious.
The public hearing, which was reportedly attended by hundreds of people, included well-known jurists from across the country, including former chief justice of Kerala High Court K.K.Usha and ex-Chief Justice of Gujrat High Court R.A.Mehta and Angana Chatterjee, associate professor of Anthropology, Institute of Integral Studies, California, USA.
The focus of the public hearing was to take stock of women trafficking and religious fundamentalism in especially the areas of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Phulbani districts of Orissa. That state has seen en upsurge of religious violence in recent months, especially against Christians, human rights groups say. (Satya Sundar Mishra is BosNewsLife India Reporter based in Orissa. Mishra, 26, is a Development Journalist of Orissa working on social and religious issues that are not yet on the radar screen of media and politicians. He has been working for a variety of key publications. The reporter can be reached via e-mail satya_mishra11@rediffmail.com ).
