01-10-2008, 07:30 AM
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<b>Kandhamal strife not communal, argue intellectuals</b>
Pioneer News Service | Bhubaneswar
The Kandhamal violence was not communal but a case of caste conflict among tribals. Only Missionaries and some political parties have termed the issue as communal, said speakers at a seminar on 'Why Kandhamal is Burning,' organised by Pragyan Prabaha on Monday.
Quoting the State's Chief Secretary and Home Secretary, they said the number of churches was increasing on a fast pace in the district, which was the main reason for conversions. Kandhamal and Boudh districts were carved out of the old Phulbani district more than a decade back. <b>There were 75,800 Christians ( 8.8 per cent of the population) in the composite Phulbani district in 1991, which rose to 1,18,200 (11.6 per cent) in 2001</b>. Kandhamal was carved out in a manner that it encompassed almost all Christians of the undivided district. Thus, while Kandhamal has 1,18,000 Christians ( 18.2 per cent of its population), Boudh has only 239, they argued.
Former Sambalpur University Vice-Chancellor Pradip Chandra Tripathy, writer Bhagirathi Mahasuar, VHP State president Bipin Bihari Rath, educationist Indulata Das, Gangandhar Nanda and Bibhuti Bhusan Patnaik were among those who spoke at the seminar. They said according to the 2001 Census, ST comprised 52 per cent of the population of Kandhamal and SC about 19 per cent. More than 60 per cent of the Christians hail from the Pana community, an SC community, and speak the Kui language of the local Kui Vanvasis.
As Dalit Christians are not entitled to SC reservations, the church organisations are demanding ST status for Pana Christians. This is the result the Indian Constitution's failure to properly define Scheduled Tribes and the critical issue whether converts to Christianity could be classified as STs, they observed.
<b>Kandhamal strife not communal, argue intellectuals</b>
Pioneer News Service | Bhubaneswar
The Kandhamal violence was not communal but a case of caste conflict among tribals. Only Missionaries and some political parties have termed the issue as communal, said speakers at a seminar on 'Why Kandhamal is Burning,' organised by Pragyan Prabaha on Monday.
Quoting the State's Chief Secretary and Home Secretary, they said the number of churches was increasing on a fast pace in the district, which was the main reason for conversions. Kandhamal and Boudh districts were carved out of the old Phulbani district more than a decade back. <b>There were 75,800 Christians ( 8.8 per cent of the population) in the composite Phulbani district in 1991, which rose to 1,18,200 (11.6 per cent) in 2001</b>. Kandhamal was carved out in a manner that it encompassed almost all Christians of the undivided district. Thus, while Kandhamal has 1,18,000 Christians ( 18.2 per cent of its population), Boudh has only 239, they argued.
Former Sambalpur University Vice-Chancellor Pradip Chandra Tripathy, writer Bhagirathi Mahasuar, VHP State president Bipin Bihari Rath, educationist Indulata Das, Gangandhar Nanda and Bibhuti Bhusan Patnaik were among those who spoke at the seminar. They said according to the 2001 Census, ST comprised 52 per cent of the population of Kandhamal and SC about 19 per cent. More than 60 per cent of the Christians hail from the Pana community, an SC community, and speak the Kui language of the local Kui Vanvasis.
As Dalit Christians are not entitled to SC reservations, the church organisations are demanding ST status for Pana Christians. This is the result the Indian Constitution's failure to properly define Scheduled Tribes and the critical issue whether converts to Christianity could be classified as STs, they observed.