Syed Ali Mujtaba
NEW DELHI — Communal tensions have been on the ascendency ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government took over the reins of the government in the eastern state of Odisha in June this year.
Soon after the BJP government was sworn in on June 12 communal tension arose in Balasore when miscreants threw stones at a mosque and set fire to a Muslim house. Curfew was imposed and internet services were shut down and the usual crackdown targeting minorities followed.
In August 2024, the media reported attacks on minority communities in various parts of the state; Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Sambalpur, and Bolangir districts, etc. were all under the grip of communal tension. Besides, many cases of violence went unreported.
Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (GASS), a civic advocacy group in the state of Bhubaneswar, reported several attacks on migrant workers, particularly from the neighbouring states of Bihar and West Bengal. Hundreds of migrant workers were displaced, it said.
Hindutva forces took advantage of the recent political upheaval in Bangladesh and the resultant misinformation campaign of Hindus being attacked there to target Muslims in Odisha.
Attack on Christians: At the end of August, there were reports, particularly on Janmashtami day (August 26), that the Sangh Parivar asked members of the Christian community to leave the Kandhamal region. Several Christians were forced to leave their homes under a silent but pervasive threat, and this exodus continues.
Laxmanananda murder : A Hindu monk and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, was murdered along with four of his disciples on August 23, 2008, at Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district of Odisha. Following his death, violence erupted in the district, claiming more than 60 lives, rendering thousands homeless, and resulting in the rape of a nun.
Even 18 years after the crime, the Sangh Parivar seeks to keep the issue of the monk’s killing alive. On the pretext of commemorating the death anniversary of the slain Hindu priest, the Hindutva groups make it a point to target the Christian community.
This time again the situation was aggravated when two state ministers belonging to the BJP attended a public gathering organised to commemorate the priest’s death. The event was a blatant attempt to instill fear in the Christian community.
In another incident, the VHP cadres tried to observe its foundation day, at the campus of Gangadhar Meher University in Sambalpur. They invited the Vice-Chancellor Prof N. Nagaraju to be the chief guest at the event, sparking protests by academicians, writers, and students that forced a last-minute change of venue.
It may be recalled that it is at the same venue that Prof Nivedita Menon, known for her anti-communal stance, was barred from completing her talk at a university programme.
This is a contrast between protesting a secular academician and inviting a communal organisation to hold its program in a university that highlights the penetration of communal forces in the state.
The BJP’s electoral victory in the state and at the center has given rise to communal tensions in Odisha. The BJP’s political victory has given a free hand to the Sangh Parivar to stoke up communal tensions in the state.
The civic advocacy group GASS has called on the people of Odisha to thwart the nefarious efforts of these forces and stand up against the communal cauldron in the state.
Dr Golak Bihari Nath, GASS President, has condemned the divisive political agenda of the BJP and urged all democratic entities to unite. He also appealed to the state government to take decisive action to restore peace and communal harmony in Odisha.
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com