‘Make Odisha church-free’: Call at event attended by CM, RSS chief functionary

Bhubaneswar, August 2: A call to make Odisha “church-free” was made at a religious gathering attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, raising concerns over the targeting of Christian institutions and religious activities in the State.

Speakers at the gathering called for curbs on the activities of dharmis, a term used at the event for those engaged in spreading other faiths. They also urged saints and spiritual leaders to visit every village in Kandhamal to promote what they described as religious and cultural values and strengthen social awareness.

The call assumes significance in Kandhamal, where communal violence in 2008 following the killing of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati left scores dead and displaced thousands, including members of the Christian community.

The gathering also witnessed the release of Vedanta Kesari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati: Vyakti va Krititva, a book on the life and work of the Hindu religious leader who was killed in Kandhamal in August 2008.

In his welcome address, Swami Jeevan Muktananda Puri said society had a collective responsibility to fulfil what he described as the “unfinished vision” of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. He called for the book to be made available in libraries across Odisha and the country so that future generations could draw inspiration from the saint’s life, struggles and service.

Speakers described Kandhamal as a “laboratory” for the country and called for its purported model of religious and social mobilisation to be replicated elsewhere. Participants were also urged to dedicate “one rupee and one hour” to the protection and promotion of religious and cultural values.

The programme concluded with a resolution calling on saints and spiritual leaders to visit every village in Kandhamal and continue what organisers described as the mission and ideals of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

The reported call for a “church-free” Odisha, made at an event attended by the State’s Chief Minister and senior RSS leadership, is likely to draw scrutiny given the State’s history of communal violence and continuing sensitivities surrounding religious conversion, missionary activity and minority rights.

Source: Indo Asian Times