We hope you remember the diabolic attacks on christians in Kandhamal/Odisha in two consecutive years 2007 & 2008. Barely after eight days after celebration of Independence Day, India witnessed the organized communal attacks on Christians, the biggest in the history of India during the last three centuries, that spread to different parts of Odisha and other states.

Over 395 churches and worship places which belonged to the Adivasi Christians and Dalit Christians were destroyed, around 6,500 houses were destroyed, over 100 people were killed, over 40 women were subjected to rape, molestation and humiliation and several educational, social service and health institutions were destroyed and looted. More than 75,000 people have been displaced. Several cases of forced conversion to Hinduism have been reported.

During the communal violence in Kandhamal, there have been more than 3,300 complaints, but only 820 odd FIRs were registered. The rest of the complaints were not even registered. Among these complaints, only 518 cases were charge sheeted. The remaining cases were treated as false reports. And out of these 518 cases, 247 cases disposed off. The rest of the cases are pending before the sessions and magistrate’s courts. And among those cases which have been disposed off, many are already acquitted. According to study conducted by Supreme Court Adv Vrinda Grover and Law Prof Saumya Uma, it is reported that the conviction rate is as low as 5.13% of the charge sheeted cases. If you take complaints as a yardstick of justice process, it is just around 1% only.

None of the criminals responsible for destruction are in jail today. The murderers, rapists, looters and destroyers are today running scot free. However, seven innocent persons were in jail for 11 years have come on a bail with fabricated cases.

On August 2, 2016, the Supreme Court led by Justice TS Thakur and Justice Uday Lalit mentioned in their judgement that the quantum and scope for compensation was not satisfactory and found that the court also found it disturbing that the offenders of law were not booked and ordered to review 315 cases of communal violence that were filed. The cases are still not yet reopened even after four years as Supreme Court has not set any deadline. There are houses, churches, institutions and volunteer organisations, whose properties destroyed were never found in the compensation list. There are many yet to receive the house damage compensation despite the SC order. Assets and shops of thousands of people were not listed nor considered.

It is quite a tragedy that even after 12 years; there are hundreds of families are not able to return back to their ancestral villages for fear of losing life. This has huge toll on their lives. The displaced ones within the districts now live in new colonies without access to resources for livelihood and life. The migrants, who left the district for life & livelihood are caught up badly with the pandemic COVID 19. The widows, the relatives of those killed are fighting a court battle as well as survival besides the fear of the fanatics’ threats.

The Survivors have following demands:

1. Implementation of Supreme Court Verdict of August 2nd, 2016: Reopen of 315 closed/acquitted cases of violence and completion of compensation support

2. Constitute a Task Force to monitor the cases, Initiate & ensure Witnesses Protection Mechanism, Ensure Police officers for free and fair investigation to reopen the cases & appoint impartial and special prosecutors for the cases

3. Enhance upto 15 lakh for the death compensation in line of Muzzaffanagar violence cases. Enlist the dead, not made into death list for compensation and for criminal justice delivery system

4. Book state and non-state actors’ perpetrators involved in the attacks

5. Announce special package for repair and reconstruction of houses as recommended in a study by former UN Sepcial Rapporteur, Miloon Kothari upto 5 lakh and compensate those who lost their businesses. Enlist those who are not missed out by acts of commissions and omissions for swift compensation packages.

6. Immediately establish Odisha Minority Commission

7. Facilitate Minority schemes and scholarship in time bound manner and hold the officials responsible for any lapses and delays in implementations.

8. Ensure minority community presence in important administrative machinery to ward off baised decision as well as for harmonious and participatory decision processes.

9. Scrap Odisha anti-conversion law and Presidential Order 1950 para 3 to make religion neutral and delink it from affirmative action

10. Constitute Citizens and community interface with the administration for effectively combating the communal forces

On National Solidarity Forum call, many leaders, academicians and activists visited Kandhamal to show solidarity during Kandhamal Day; Aruna Roy, Suhashini Alli, Brinda Karat, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Annie Raja, Medha Patkar, Mohammad Salim, Harsh Mander, Teesta Setalvad, Kavita Krishnan, Prafulla Samantara and many other eminent citizens.

Justice AP Shah, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhat, Admiral Vishnu Bhagawat, KP Krishnan, Harsh Mander, Mahesh Bhat, Miloon Kothari, Syeeda Hamid, Sukumar Muralidhar, Vahida Nainar, Vinod Raina, D.Raja, Swamy Agnivesh, Shabnam Hasmi, Collins Gonsalves, Adv Raju Ramchandrani, Anil Choudhury, Paul Divakar have lent their voices and were part of interfaces.

We at the National Solidarity Forum, a network of over 70 organisations in India, appeal to all of you to observe Kandhamal Day on August 25th onwards for a fortnight and support the victims and survivors, whose Freedom of conscience and Religion violated. The organisers intend to promote India democratic & pluralistic values as pronounced by the Constitution of India and good practices.

Therefore, we appeal to you to:

1. Support and contribute the struggle of the survivors for justice, peace and harmony and observe Kandhamal Day in your area

2. Organise Webinar events, press release programmes, candle lights in your own houses for harmony

3. Organise film screenings in your area to spread the word. The films on this issue and written materials on this issue can be distributed if you contact the people noted above.

4. Use social media and mainstream media to spread awareness on this issue and share information to maximum number of people within your network. Use media for photo & art exhibitions

We are sure that if all humanitarian forces join hands to build peace, justice and harmony in this country, we will be able to achieve results in these dark times and protect the values of Indian Constitution so that no such violence takes place in India.

On behalf of National Solidarity Forum:

Dr. Ram Puniyani; Dr. John Dayal; K.P. Sasi; Willy D’Costa; Dr. Stanley William; Dhirendra Panda; Ajaya Kumar Singh; Manoj Kumar Nayak