The wounds still fester in Kandhamal, the scene of Orissa’s worst communal riots in living memory, though a sense of calm prevails on the surface, reports Dhrutikam Mohanty
An entire year has elapsed since Orissa’s Kandhamal district
erupted in an orgy of communal violence following the brutal murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four disciples on August 23, 2008. But the scars are still deep. Ask Sanatan Bagh Singh, a resident of Tikabali town, one of the worst-affected areas of the district.
He says: “At midnight, miscreants attacked my house. I managed to escape to a nearby forest. But I am still terrified. Fear and distrust hang heavy on my mind. I spent so many sleepless nights before taking refuge in a relief camp. You can’t imagine how horrible it was…” His trembling voice trails off.
The Kandhamal communal riots claimed 37 lives, thousands were rendered homeless and 100 churches were desecrated. Bagh Singh is now trying to gather the shattered pieces of his life with a bit of help from the district administration. “I try to forget but I can’t. Memories of that nightmare still haunt me,” he says.
A TSI team revisited Kandhamal for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the district on the first anniversary of Saraswati’s death, being observed on Janmashtami day, August 14.
After a non-stop drive of about 180 kilometers from the state capital, Bhubaneswar, we took a tea break at Tikabali Bazaar and interacted with a cross-section of the town’s denizens. An uneasy calm prevails here, but scratch the surface and you find hearts that still need comforting. The Tikabali police station loomed into view and the mind raced back to the horrifying sight one had witnessed at the same spot a year ago. Miscreants had burnt down the police station.
Kandhamal is today dotted with CRPF pickets. We encountered as many as three such security checks after entering the district. A day before the first anniversary of Saraswati’s death, the local administration was in no mood to let its guard down. The Tikabali police station, just a few furlongs away from the last check post that we ran into, was fully fortified with a CRPF camp. The scenario seemed to have changed with the administration going all out to eliminate traces of the havoc that the rioters had wreaked.
A brief interaction with a few police personnel revealed that, as part of a strategy to boost security, 12 platoons of the Orissa State Armed Police, along with a company of CRPF, were being pressed into service to help the district police force. Besides, around 250 special police officers from neighbouring Rayagada and Gajapati districts had moved in to man sensitive areas of Kandhamal district.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An entire year has elapsed since Orissa’s Kandhamal district
erupted in an orgy of communal violence following the brutal murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four disciples on August 23, 2008. But the scars are still deep. Ask Sanatan Bagh Singh, a resident of Tikabali town, one of the worst-affected areas of the district.He says: “At midnight, miscreants attacked my house. I managed to escape to a nearby forest. But I am still terrified. Fear and distrust hang heavy on my mind. I spent so many sleepless nights before taking refuge in a relief camp. You can’t imagine how horrible it was…” His trembling voice trails off.
The Kandhamal communal riots claimed 37 lives, thousands were rendered homeless and 100 churches were desecrated. Bagh Singh is now trying to gather the shattered pieces of his life with a bit of help from the district administration. “I try to forget but I can’t. Memories of that nightmare still haunt me,” he says.
A TSI team revisited Kandhamal for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the district on the first anniversary of Saraswati’s death, being observed on Janmashtami day, August 14.
After a non-stop drive of about 180 kilometers from the state capital, Bhubaneswar, we took a tea break at Tikabali Bazaar and interacted with a cross-section of the town’s denizens. An uneasy calm prevails here, but scratch the surface and you find hearts that still need comforting. The Tikabali police station loomed into view and the mind raced back to the horrifying sight one had witnessed at the same spot a year ago. Miscreants had burnt down the police station.
Kandhamal is today dotted with CRPF pickets. We encountered as many as three such security checks after entering the district. A day before the first anniversary of Saraswati’s death, the local administration was in no mood to let its guard down. The Tikabali police station, just a few furlongs away from the last check post that we ran into, was fully fortified with a CRPF camp. The scenario seemed to have changed with the administration going all out to eliminate traces of the havoc that the rioters had wreaked.
A brief interaction with a few police personnel revealed that, as part of a strategy to boost security, 12 platoons of the Orissa State Armed Police, along with a company of CRPF, were being pressed into service to help the district police force. Besides, around 250 special police officers from neighbouring Rayagada and Gajapati districts had moved in to man sensitive areas of Kandhamal district.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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