Indian Christians complain of unfair elections

The Christian minority is disadvantaged in the parliamentary elections which begin in India on Thursday. This serious charge was made on Wednesday by the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV). "The elections are not fair because more than 20,000 Christians driven out in the federal state of Orissa have received no election cards and so are being carefully excluded from taking part in the federal and provincial elections”, criticised the GfbV Asia consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen. "This throws a poor light on public affairs in India, which likes presenting itself as the largest democracy in Asia.” Pogrom-like riots have resulted in more than 50,000 Christian native people (Adivasi) being driven out in Orissa in August 2008.

Representatives of the native people appealed in vain to the authorities with petitions for the elections in their federal state to be at least postponed in order to give all refugees the chance of being registered in election lists and applying for election cards, reported Delius. It is not only the first of five ballots for the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) which takes place on 16th April, but the regional Parliament of the federal province of Orissa will also be elected.

The refusal to take seriously the petitions of the people who have been driven out indicates that the impression is to be given that everything is normal in Orissa’s crisis region of Kandhamal, criticised the human rights expert. It is true that many refugee camps have already been closed as a result of pressure from the authorities, but the situation is still extremely tense. Only a very small number of the displaced persons are back in their home villages. Many people are too traumatised to return to their villages and fear new attacks by radical Hindus.

The Christians were driven out of 315 villages following the murder of a radical Hindu leader on 23rd August 2008. 60 of them were killed in the attacks. 151 churches were destroyed, 4,640 houses plundered and most of them burned down.

For further information please approach Ulrich Delius, at tel. ++49 (0)160

95 67 14 03.