The other side of the Kandhamal story: Tribals disinherited

Christian missionaries are instigating Panas against Kandhas who are being squeezed out of their ancestral land in this Orissa district writes Saswat Panigrahi

Battered and bruised by simmering caste and communal hostility, Kandhamal's agony is endless. Scuffled with poverty and illiteracy, the southern Orissa district continues to make headlines for rampant religious conversions and communal rupture.

Contrary to the widespread media reports blaming the Hindu organisations for the hostility, a look into the past would reveal that it is some Christian missionaries who in the name of social work have created religious conflict.

Kandhamal has two major inhabitants -- Kandhas who are STs and constitute 52 per cent of the district total population and Panas, who belong to the SC community and are 19 per cent of the population.

Over the years, a majority of the Panas were converted to Christianity, leading to an increase in the Christian population of the district from a mere 19,128 in 1951 to 1,17,950 in 2001. Of the total Christian population in the district, 60 per cent are converted Panas.

However, the Kandhas have a history of vociferous resistance for the forceful religious conversion by missionary forces -- during both the French and British colonialism. These resistances resulted in Kandha Meli (Kandha Movement), a revolution that lived from 1753 to 1846. The French colonialism succumbed to the movement in 1759 but the tentacles of conversion came back to the area with the advent of the British. Their efforts to convert the Kandhas to Christianity witnessed stiff resistance. TW Kawe, the administrator of the East India Company, in his report admitted: "The missionary activities all over the estate alarmed the people about the impending danger to their religion and civilisation, and subsequently they took to arms to defend their faith and culture."

The British left India, but the designs of conversion remained. Following the footprints of the British colonialists, Christian missionaries are today spearheading the rampant conversion.

Since long, Kandhas and Panas have been divided ethnically. Even on the grounds of reservation, STs continue to enjoy the benefits of reservation after conversion to other religions, but SCs cease to belong to any caste and hence are legally treated as general category.

The central scheduled tribe list, amended in the early 1990s, included the Kui community in the ST category. Sensing the benefit from both reservation as well as sops doled out by missionaries, a sizable number of Pana Christians, those who speak Kui language and who have lost their SC tag after conversion, wanted it back by circumventing the provision of the Indian Constitution which categorically refuses reservation along linguistic lines. This was vehemently opposed by the Kandhas.

The rift widened further after the change in the reservation status of Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency and its three Assembly constituencies by the Delimitation Commission. Illegal encroachment of land by a section of Panas which originally belonged to the Kandhas further added to the problem. As per the Land Regulations Act of the State, no non-ST can buy or take possession of land from a tribal owner.

Christian missionaries take advantage of this by instigating the Panas against the Kandhas and inciting anti-Hindu sentiments. The violence in Kandhamal following the killing of VHP veteran Swami Laxmananda Saraswati is the result of such communal polarisation.

Though the Maoists claimed to have killed Laxamananda, its leader Sabyasachi Panda's claim that most Maoist cadres in Orissa are Christians only points to a deeper missionary-Maoist nexus.

-- Published in Op-Ed page of The Pioneer on November 11, 2008

A life dedicated to the poor

Saswat Panigrahi

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati worked for tribal welfare

The killing of veteran VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati along with four of his associates at Jaleshpata ashram in Orissa's Kandhamal district on the eve of Janmashtami outlines an abysmal administrative failure to protect a social reformer from the tentacles of terrorism.

This was not the first time that he faced a threat to his life. In December 2007, Laxmanananda sustained serious injuries in a violent attack at Daringbadi, which is the centre of missionary activities in Orissa's Kandhamal district. The attack was allegedly masterminded by a Congress Rajya Sabha MP and the chief of the missionary organisation, World Vision, Mr Radhakant Nayak. Following the attack, there several complaints were registered to enhance the swami's security, but they all fell on deaf ears. However, the Jaleshpata ashram was provided with one police constable and two guards for Laxmanananda's security.

Within hours after the killing, State Director-General of Police Gopal Nanda, without waiting for a full inquiry, promptly made a statement that Maoists were behind the incident. But the Hindu Jagaran Samukshya, an RSS organisation, told this writer that the killing was planned and executed by missionaries.Mr Ashok Sahu, president of HJS's Orissa unit and former Assam Additional Director-General of Police, said, "The conspiracy to kill Laxmanananda was hatched in a meeting convened by Christian missionaries at Raikia Community Centre on August 9. A former MP was among those who attended the meeting."

On August 13, a threatening letter was circulated to the district and State authorities, a copy of which was forwarded to Laxmanananda. On August 22, he appealed to the District Magistrate of Kandhamal to enhance his personal security. The next morning, the news that his life was under threat, was flashed by the local media. In the evening he was killed along with four of his associates during a spiritual discourse.

"Never have fear of death when you are working for the cause of the motherland." These were the last words of Laxmanananda to one of his disciples.

The 84-year-old monk has laid down his life for the cause of the poor. Born in 1924 in Anugul, Orissa, Laxmanananda left home and went to Rishikesh to practice sadhna in the caves of the Himalayas for nine-long-years.

In 1966, he joined the Goraksha Andolan (anti-cow slaughter movement). It was in those days that he came in close contacts with MS Golwalkar, the then sarsanghchalak of the RSS. Golwalkar once told him, "Swamiji, cannot you hear the call of Bharat Mata and Gomata?" These words inspired him to dedicate his life to the service of the poor and the marginalised.

In 1967, Laxmanananda returned to his home State and spearheaded the Goraksha Andolan. Meanwhile, the Sangh requested him to go to Kandhamal (then a part of the erstwhile Boudh-Kandhamal district) to serve the poor tribals and to combat rampant conversion by the Christian missionaries.

For the last four decades Laxmanananda was relentless in his struggle for the cause of Kandhas, the tribals of Kandhamal.

Laxmananda sacrificed his life to render service to the poor and crafted a template for social reformation. His demise has created a void in the field of selfless social service.

-- Published in Oped page of The Pioneer on September 5, 2008

Fissures in the Left

With the RSP calling the CPI(M) China's 'agent', Communist unity remains elusive, writes Saswat Panigrahi

Fissures in the Left parties are widening with the Revolutionary Socialist Party leading a dissidence against the CPI(M)-led Left-front. The party has criticised the CPI(M) for Nandigram and Singur. It has refused to toe the CPI(M) line on the issue of SEZs. The intra-Left dispute became more apparent in the recent panchayat elections in West Bengal, in which the CPI(M)-RSP rift reached at a point of no return. The party has even started branding the Marxists as "China agents".

Today, the RSP is working towards the formation of an alternative Left Front, which may even include the anti-national forces like Maoists. However, while flipping through the pre-independence history, one must find how the evolution of the party traversed through some notable nationalist movements.

Founded in March 19, 1940, the party has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army -- an era in which Hindutva, cultural nationalism and socialism had a rare blend to reach at the focal point of revolution against the British Raj.

Emerged as an offshoot of the Anushilan Samiti, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), known as the Hindustan Republican Association until 1928, was led by Bhagat Singh, Yogendra Shukla and Chandrasekar Azad. It was one of first socialist organisations in India and was inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. An oft-quoted slogan -- Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live Revolution) -- was popularised in the activities of the organisation.

The Anushilan Samiti -- meaning to follow the teachings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was the principal revolutionary organisation operating in Bengal in the early-20th century. The association was established in Kolkata by Barrister Pramatha Nath Mitra in 1902. Sri Aurobindo, Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das, Jatindra Nath Banerjee, Jatindra Nath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin), etc, were its initial leaders. It was in their philosophies and thoughts that the vocabularies of revolutionary ideas were rooted.

A major section of the Anushilan movement had been attracted to Marxism during the 1930s, many of them studying Marxist-Leninist literature, while serving long jail sentences. A minority section, adhering to the ideology of Communist International broke away from the Anushilan movement and joined the Communist Consolidation, and later the Communist Party of India (CPI), which got divided in the post-independence period, hence bringing birth the CPI(M). The core section of the Anushilan Marxists, however, adopted Marxist-Leninist thinking. They later joined the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), formed by some Left-wing elements within the Congress to which the CPI branded as "social fascist". And these core believers of Anushilan Marxism formed the Revolutionary Socialist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), which evolved into the Revolution Socialist Party (RSP).

It was the Anushilan Marxism, which termed the dogmatic political lines adopted by the Comintern Congress of Communist International held in 1928 as "ultra-Left sectarian". The Comintern Congress called upon the Communists to combat the "national-reformist leaders" and to "unmask national reformism". The Anushilan Marxists termed it as a betrayal of the internationalist character of the Comintern -- which acted as an agency of Soviet foreign policy. This speaks volumes that in the belief that Anushilan Marxists, socialism and nationalism went side by side.

Those were the chapters from the History. At present, RSP is a small Left party. Now, it no more subscribes to the ideals of Anushilan Marxism. And in a bid to make its presence felt in the political glossary of the country, the party has taken the 'onerous task' of 'saving' Indian Socialism by joining terror elements like Maoists. But the moot question is: Will the RSP succeed in carving a parallel Left Front?

-- Published in Oped page of The Pioneer on June 18 2008

Depriving States of their riches

The National Mineral Policy does gross injustice to mineral-rich States, explains Saswat Panigrahi

The National Mineral Policy, 2008, which was recently tabled in the Rajya Sabha, has violated the interests of the five mineral-rich States -- Orissa, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. These States do not have a mining policy of their own. They regulate their mining industries in concurrence with the Centre.

The concept of stand-alone mining, as stated in the NMP 2008, does not put emphasis on value addition within the State, thereby limiting its role in attracting investments. It has also reduced the scope for generation of employment opportunities and fetch of revenue for the State.

Going ahead with the Hoda Committee recommendations, the policy has suggested seamless transition from reconnaissance permit to prospecting licence and further to mining lease for bulk minerals, which would deny the State an opportunity to promote mineral-based industry within its boundary. Moreover, the policy has no provision for phasing out export of minerals and allowing captive mining for industries located within the mineral-based State. The policy also arrests the State's right to select the best applicants. In addition, it also usurps their security of tenure.

The National Mineral Policy assumes greater significance in view of its relevance in promoting the economy of the State where mineral activities are seen as a succour to hundreds of thousands of families.

Orissa, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand -- where agriculture is in a moribund condition -- are virtually eying to cash in on their mineral deposits. But these States have repeatedly been deprived from getting their due from the Centre on their mineral resources during the tenure of UPA Government. The States cannot even bargain on the royalty and export duty of various minerals provided by the Centre. Their share is merely confined to the current tonnage and quality based royalty, which are paying these States meagrely.

Orissa can be a case in point. It occupies a prominent place in the country's mineral map for its abundant mineral reserves. With 24.8 per cent of India's coal reserves, 32.95 per cent of iron ore, 59.95 per cent of bauxite deposits, 98.4 per cent of chromite and 67.6 per cent of manganese, Orissa can be named as the "mineral State" of the country. But the Centre is depriving it from gaining access to its fundamental mineral right. The State has been losing hundreds of crores of revenue due to the delay in revision of royalty on minerals by the Union Government. And the National Mineral Policy is yet another step to affect the economy of the State.

Orissa's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sees foreign hand behind the national mineral policy. "It seems to be heavily influenced by the international mining lobby which has recently earned huge profit due to favourable market conditions," Mr Patnaik said in the floor of the Assembly.

On the contrary, the Centre claims that the National Mineral Policy will attract investment to the tune of $250 million annually in the next five years. The policy harps on Foreign Direct Investment, which is its focal point. But the stark reality is that the over-emphasis on attracting FDI in mining will result in a situation where few multinational mining companies will bend upon the vast mineral resources of the country, which are essentially meant for the domestic consumption.

Mineral is a finite resource. It cannot be exported just for earning foreign resources. But the NMP speaks the other way round.

By depriving the States from getting their share from their own natural resources, the Congress-led UPA Government is playing politics over the wealth of the States and the nation as well. The move smacks of appeasing the foreign investors. By ignoring the States' concern, the policy violates the federal structure of the Constitution.

Ironically, the policy has been approved in principle by the Union Cabinet without addressing the concerns of the Chief Ministers of the mineral-rich States. The Centre's repeated negligence has disappointed the people, creating discontent among them. The dissonance is creating a louder din. The UPA Government will pay for it in the next general election, say political observers.

-- Published in the Oped page of The Pioneer on May 30, 2008

Detect, deport Bangladeshis

Saswat Panigrahi

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has noted that the presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants poses a grave threat to the nation's internal security. This has, once again, brought the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh to the fore.

Illegal immigration from Bangladesh into Assam and West Bengal, apart from other border States in the North-East, has been going on since the days when that country was known as East Pakistan. Bangladeshi immigrants are not only confined to these States alone. Their numbers have been recorded at 5.4 million in West Bengal, four million in Assam, 0.5 million in Bihar, 1.5 million in Delhi, 0.8 million in Tripura, 0.5 million in Rajasthan and 0.5 million in Maharashtra. Most of them have been able to secure ration cards, driving licences, voter identity cards and even PAN cards, thanks to vote-bank politics and minority appeasement.

With the population of Bangladeshi immigrants increasing, the crime rate of the country has shown an upward trend. According to media reports, robberies in Kolkata are by and large committed by Bangladeshis. In Purnea, Katihar, Araria and Kishenganj districts of Bihar, they indulge in smuggling and other mafia activities. In Punjab, they are active in organ trade rackets.

More dangerously, Bangladeshi immigrants have links with several terrorist outfits operating within and outside the country. Intelligence agencies have repeatedly pointed out how some terrorist groups have been recruiting Bangladeshis to spread mayhem in India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has also cited this fact.

The presence of Bangladeshis is slowly draining the resources of the country, besides posing a grave threat to its demographic structure. At least 90 per cent of the total encroached forest land in Assam is found to be under the control of Bangladeshi immigrants. They are present in substantial numbers in as many as 50 of Assam's 126 Assembly constituencies. The report submitted by Lt Gen SK Sinha, the then Governor of Assam, stated: "Large-scale illegal immigration from Bangladesh over decades has been altering the demographic complexion of Assam."

This is not a humanitarian issue but related to India's security and demographic stability. Sadly, successive Governments have shown little interest in finding a solution to this problem.

-- Published in the Edit page, The Pioneer, April 28, 2008

Union budget painted with communal colour

Saswat Panigrahi

Playing a communal card, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has doubled the allocation of the Ministry of minority affairs from Rs 500 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1,000 crore in 2008-09. It’s the only department to register a 100 per cent increase in allocation of funds. Moving ahead with UPA’s commitment to speedy implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendation, the Union Budget 2008-09 has announced drawing up of a multi-sectoral development plan exclusively for each of the 90 minority concentration districts, which will cost the national exchequer a whopping Rs 3,780 crore.

More over, a pre-metric scholarship scheme has been announced exclusively for the minority – by allocating as much as Rs 80 crore from next year. Another Rs 45.45 crore has been approved for modernising of madarsa education from the next fiscal. The UPA Government has also decided to recruit more candidates belonging to the minority communities to the Central para-military forces in the coming fiscal.

The overtone of communal appeasement reminds me PM Manmohan Singh’s ‘Muslim first’ assertion. While addressing the national development council meeting last year, PM said, "We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources."

And as the Finance Minister P Chidambaram has rightly emulated PM’s assertion -- by allocating benefits on religion lines -- hence adding to yet another chapter of UPA’s communal appeasement.

It is indeed pertinent to mention here that UPA in a crude attempt at Muslim appeasement formed Sachar Committee. In the pretext of going into the social, economic and educational status of Muslims, the notorious report of the committee by its very genesis has been exposed of disseminating such irresponsible propaganda.

This is a fact that a vast section of Muslims are reeling from poverty. Election comes and goes. Nurturing vote bank politics Congress rides to power. And for the congress party the plight of the indigent Muslims never cease to make the rounds. As soon as the poll ends, it put in the cold storage to be used in the future election.

Being busy in polarizing votes in a poll hue the UPA has forgotten the truth that there are crores of people in the country living in miserable conditions. The first claim on resources should be of those section.

These poverty stricken people can't be divided in communal lines for the shake of votes. Muslim's issue can't be excluded from the development process. And by separating Muslim issue from the rest UPA has nurtured a communal divide. By promoting one community over another, the UPA Government incites communal sentiments, which distorts the national spirit.

-- Published in msn.co.in on March 14, 2008