New Delhi, August 28  (KMS): The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) said that more than 600 churches have been demolished and about 4,000 Christians have been forced to flee from their villages by Hindu extremists in Indian state of Orrisa.

Vishwa Hindu Parisad mobs attacked and ransacked a church run orphanage at Phutpali in the district of Bargarh and set it on fire. The 22 –year woman, Rajani Majhi, a student of Padampur Women’s College, who used to take care of children in the orphanage, was burnt to death and another nun of Bubaneshwar’s Social Centre was molested on August 25.  Apart from vandalizing around 24 churches and prayer halls, the VHP extremists attacked houses belonging to Christians, educational institutions and police posts throughout the day. The mob set 28 houses on fire at Roopa in Khandmal area of the state.

In a statement, the BWA said that Hindu mobs have set ablaze Christian churches and prayer halls. A nun died and a pastor was injured when fire swept an orphanage in the Bargarh District. Apparently all of the 21 children housed there died.

General Secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation, Swarupananda Patra, said, “All Christian villages are empty in Kandhamal as Christians, old and young, sick and pregnant mothers, are hiding in forests exposed to the non-stop monsoon rains without food.”
 
“I appeal to the governing authorities in India to intervene to save the lives of the many who are being victimized in the current crisis,” BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said in a statement. “Respect for the principle of religious liberty and the sacredness of human life requires nothing less.”

Communist Party of India (CPI-M) Kerala state secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern over the repeated attacks on Christian missionaries in Orissa.

The India’s National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has expressed concern over the attacks on Christians in Orissa. NCM Chairman Mohammad Shafi Qureshi said that the commission would send a team to look into the facts. He said the NCM had asked Indian Home Minister, Shivraj Patil to take immediate action so that the safety of life and property of people belonging to the community was ensured.

In December 2007, approximately 90 churches and 600 homes were burned and ten people were killed in several attacks, some of which took place on Christmas Eve. In 1999, an Australian Christian missionary and his two children died in Orissa when Hindu extremists put their vehicle on fire.