New Delhi: Posters up on walls in the violence-torn eastern state of Orissa say a newly formed group to target Christians is not a Maoist (extreme Marxist) faction, but one floated by Hindu nationalists.
“The M2 (one of the names the new faction) is a group backed by communal (Hindu nationalist) forces and we are opposed to such fundamentalists,” The Statesman newspaper quoted a poster put up by Maoists as saying. The alleged splinter group enforced a shutdown in three district of Orissa – Kandhamal, Ganjam and Gajapati – on January 3 to mark its formation.
On December 30, the new group, which identified itself as the Idealize of Democrat Garila (Guerrilla) Army (Maoist) or IDGA-Maoist and claimed to be a breakaway faction of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, had put up posters threatening to target Christian members in the state, saying it would kill a Christian on the 23rd of every month - to avenge the assassination of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a leader of the Hindu nationalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP), on August 23 in Orissa’s Kandhamal district. It claimed that it comprised of Hindu members of the Maoist party, which was allegedly behind the killing of Saraswati that sparked an unprecedented spate of anti-Christian attacks in the state.
According to The Statesman, the tribals (aboriginal people) of Kui Samiti (the name of an organisation of the Kui people group) welcomed the formation of the new militant group. “The M2 has pledged to oppose those who are exploiting tribals while Maoists like Sabyesachi Panda (a leader of the Communist Party of India-Maoist) have sided with a section of the minorities,” the newspaper quoted Samiti leader Lambodar Kanhar as saying.
The wave of violent attacks that followed the murder of Saraswati and four of his disciples in August carried on unabated for more than two months. At least 4,500 houses and churches were burned down or damaged and more than 100 killed in the Kandhamal district.