India’s Christians marking 10th anniversary of anti-Christian violence in Odisha state

By Robin Gomes

Christians in India will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrible massacre and atrocities inflicted on Christians in the eastern state of Odisha, with a Holy Mass in the state capital Bhubaneswar on August 25.   

Archbishop John Barwa together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) are organizing the Holy Mass on the theme, “Reconciliation, Thanksgiving and Grace”, appealing for secularism, democracy, justice and peace and brotherhood.

Black day – August 25, 2008

It was on August 25, 2008, that hell broke loose on the Christians of Kandhamal District, with Hindu extremists attacking them for the August 23 murder of Hindu leader Swami ‎Lakshmanananda Saraswati, even though Maoist rebels ‎claimed the assassination.

Considered to be India’s worst anti-Christian persecution in 300 years, the outrage that followed for months, forced an estimated 56,000 Christians to flee to the safety of forests and homes of friends and relatives. Some 5,600 houses and 415 villages were raided and set on fire. According to government figures, 38 people were killed and two women raped, though activists give a higher number.  Scores of people were injured and permanently maimed.