Christian Hindu Violence in Orissa

[Abdillah]

Christian-Hindu violence in Orissa

According to the report, 10 thousand Christians have fled their homes into makeshift refugee camps to escape angry mobs of Hindus. A high profile Hindu priest (Swami Saraswati) was assassinated, and the Hindu community in Orissa (a state in southeastern India) is extremely charged with emotion and anger. Hindus and Christians are now caught up burning down eachother's places of worship, and dozens of people have been killed.

The problem is not purely religious, although many hindus resent what they see as Christian missionaries "bribing" low-caste impoverished Hindus to convert, but there is also a political nature to the violence. The ultra-nationalist Hindu priest, swami saraswati, was in fact killed by a maoist guerilla group which gets its main support from the Christian community.