NOTE: This Church Orphan Home and four others in the Orissa district have been torched. The children were driven off into the jungle but not seriously hurt. Some of the homes may be repaired, but the smell of smoke and the loss of every posession will take a while. Some of the children may have contracted malaria in the jungle, but they are doing well in an undisclosed refuge until new quarters can be established. What happened?

The Dreamland of Nature … or is it
The area of Kandhmal, a part of erstwhile district of Boudh-Kandhmal, came to existence on 1st April, 1993 as a result of reorganization of the district of Orissa. The district is a land of scenic beauties, water falls, natural springs, hill tracts, perched with history antiquitie.

Traveling throughout the district I was spiritually calmed by the seemingly tranquil culture and the lushness of the jungles and forests. The deep greens of the rice paddies were breathtaking as they usually are in the early fall.  But behind the wall of tranquility, religious backlash was about to unfold.

Our Warm Blankets Orphan Care team was assisting the indigenous leaders in Orissa as they established five new Church Orphan Homes in the district of Orissa.  All went smoothly.  We registered children in all five temporary shelters.  Most of the children were true orphans and a few were from withering poverty families where survival of the parents was doubtful.

The violence erupted about 15 days after the children were processed and placed in their temporary shelters. A recent news account explained:

"The recent ghastly events in Kandhamal district of Orissa have reverberated throughout the world. Thirty-seven persons died and 1,163 houses were burnt there. The killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others by 25-30 armed persons was the trigger that unleashed the violence. A Maoist leader has admitted to killing the religious leader, while many believe Maoists collaborated with some locals to avenge the burning of 11 churches in December. The reaction to Saraswati’s killing is grounded in the tension between the scheduled tribe (ST) Kandhas and the scheduled caste (SC) Panas of the district, many of whom have converted to another religion. There are allegations that many of the latter group have obtained false ST status. The conversions need to be viewed in perspective: In 1991, there were 469,509 Hindus and 75,597 Christians in the district. The numbers increased to 527,757 and 117,950, respectively, in 2001. "  The Wall Street Journal

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