Prosecution of perpetrators, full reparation for the victims.

On 23 December 2007, an anti-Christian march, reportedly supported by Hindu fundamentalist (Hindutva) groups7, took place at Brahmanigaon in Daringbadi Block of Kandhamal.

On 28 December, a violent mob, allegedly with the involvement of some Christian youth, attacked the Brahmanigaon Police Station and three settlements of people belonging to Hindu communities.

On the evening of 23 August 2008, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was killed at his ashram in Jalespata in Kandhamal district, along with three other leaders of the VHP. This purportedly triggered the second phase of targeted violence against the Christian community in Kandhamal8.

In the subsequent violence against the Christian community in Kandhamal, in 2007 and 2008, more than 600 villages were ransacked, 5,600 houses were plundered and burnt, 38 people were murdered and 54,000 people were left homeless. Reports estimate that over 100 people were killed, including children, women, persons with disabilities, and older persons. An unestimated number suffered severe physical injuries and mental trauma. While there are reports of some women being sexually assaulted, many more women are believed to have been intimidated into silence. The attackers destroyed 295 churches and other places of worship. Thirteen schools, colleges, and offices of several nonprofit organizations were also reported to be damaged. About 30,000 people were uprooted and lived in relief camps for six months; many families continue to be displaced. About 2,000 people were forced to renounce their Christian faith. More than 10,000 children had their education severely disrupted due to displacement and fear.

After conducting a household survey in Kandhamal in 2009-10, Jan Vikas reported that close to 5,000 houses were destroyed in the violence. The study by Jan Vikas puts the figure of fully and partially damaged houses at 4,864 while government data states it to be 4,588.10 This discrepancy in figures is mainly because several people were not present when the enumeration by government officials was carried out. P. 4

Almost all victim-survivors of the Kandhamal violence reported vandalism, theft, and destruction of movable property such as household articles, personal valuables, documents, certificates, jewellery and cash.

The Government of Odisha provided Rs. 50,000 (€598.94) as compensation for ’fully-damaged houses’ and Rs. 20,000 (€239.58) for ’partially damaged houses.’ Compared to the actual loss incurred, the compensation provided by the state for house damage was extremely low.

5% of the families that lost their homes have yet to receive compensation. Many families whose homes were badly destroyed and had to be rebuilt, received compensation for ’partially damaged houses.’ During the assessment undertaken by government officials, many houses enlisted as ’partially damaged’ later collapsed due to heavy rain and other factors when the victim-survivors were in relief camps. This matter was not taken into consideration by the government. As a result, such houses were considered as ’half-damaged’ and the affected families received only Rs. 10,000 from the state government and Rs. 20,000 from the central government as compensation.

During the violence, the victim-survivors also lost personal belongings, valuable household items, vital documents and livelihood-related resources. The government, however, did not enumerate loss of property (other than housing) such as household articles, vital documents (like educational certificates, land records), agricultural equipment, utensils, clothes, agricultural and forest produce, livestock, poultry, and livelihood-related losses. Affected families state that it will take generations to recover the extensive losses that they have had to incur. When asked for compensation for loss of household and other items, the District Magistrate of Kandhamal stated that the government does not have a policy to enumerate or compensate such losses.

As many as 130 shopkeepers lost their livelihoods due to the destruction of their shops. They received no compensation either for the loss of their shops or for the items lost in the shops; they only received compensation for house damage. This was not sufficient for them to resume their livelihoods.

The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2007 contains specific provisions

aimed at providing resettlement, but it has not been fully implemented in the case of

Kandhamal. The state of Odisha has its own policy called the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation

Policy 2006. The revised Odisha Relief Code 1980 also contains norms and guidelines for relief and

rehabilitation. However, none of the policies mentioned above have provisions for adequately compensating loss of property, livelihood sources, common property resources, household articles and personal valuables. The Odisha government policies do not cover victims of violence, disasters or

large ’development projects.’ One study suggests that 1.5 million people have been displaced

by development projects in Odisha between 1951 and 1995, of which 42% are tribals. Of

these displaced tribals, less than 25% were resettled, and only partially.

The amount of compensation received from the government has been too meagre for the affected families to resume their former lifestyles and standard of living. A number of people lost their lives and many of them have become permanently disabled, leading to inability to work and loss of livelihood. Most of the families whose houses were damaged because of the violence have not been able to rebuild or repair their homes due to lack of finances.

The losses of 122 families in three villages in Kandhamal, amounts to Rs. 22,876,486 (€274,035) while the average loss suffered by each affected family is Rs. 186,280 (€2,231.43).

Most areas have no provision for basic services. There are no electricity and sanitation facilities at Ambedkar Colony, which houses 40 families. In Nandagiri, only a few of the 150 houses have electricity. Even five years after the communal violence families reportedly still feel apprehensive. In Bhubaneswar, about 1,000 families live in slums without any support from the government. They are keen to return to their villages and resume their former livelihoods.

121 families lost a total of Rs. 38,83,810 with the average household losing Rs. 32,098 worth of household articles. The highest damage suffered by one single family was Rs. 2, 49,820 and the lowest damage under this heading was Rs. 3,672.

122 families lost a total of Rs. 6,20,389 with an average loss of Rs. 5,085 per family. The highest loss incurred by a single family under this category was Rs. 15,300 while the lowest amount lost was Rs. 1,140.

122 families from destruction of clothes was Rs. 4,63,548 while the average loss per family was Rs. 3800.

The highest loss incurred by a single family from destruction and loss of clothes was Rs. 12,100 and the lowest was Rs. 300.

90 of the 122 families surveyed incurred a total loss of Rs. 1, 38,658 from the destruction/loss of vital documents, while the average loss per family was Rs. 1,541. The highest loss incurred by a family was Rs. 7,100 and the lowest was Rs. 10.

Forty-nine families of the 122 surveyed, incurred a total loss of Rs. 2,11,900 resulting from damage to educational material including text books, note books, reference books, school/college uniforms, stationery, and other necessities of a student. The average loss per family from the destruction of educational items was Rs. 4,324. The value of educational material lost ranged from Rs 1, 58,470 to Rs. 3,000.

Thirty-five families from one village reported a total loss of Rs. 2,21,784 with the average loss per affected family amounting to Rs. 6,337.

Ninety famlies lost jewellery worth Rs. 43,98,300; the average loss per family was Rs. 48,870. One family reported losing Rs. 2,91,800 worth of jewellery during the violence, while the lowest loss for a family was Rs. 700.

Agricultural implements for all families covered in the survey was Rs. 11,51,853 with an average loss of Rs. 9,441 per family.

Eighty-three families suffered a total loss of Rs. 9,98,600 in livelihood-related infrastructure, while an average household lost Rs. 12,031.

Livestock lost was Rs. 41,34,400 with the average loss per family amounting to Rs. 36,914 per family. The value of loss suffered by families ranged from Rs. 1,45,250 to Rs. 300.

Of the 122 families surveyed, 62 families reported losing crops-in-field during the Kandhamal violence. Crops worth Rs. 12,66,839 were damaged.

A total of Rs. 16,43,966 worth of harvested agricultural produce was lost by 97 of the 122 families surveyed.

Total value of seeds lost by 67 families amounted to Rs. 12,47,163,

85 families lost a total income of Rs. 20,57,200

107 families lost a total of Rs. 3,80,076 from the absence of subsidised food and cooking fuel

A new bore well had to be built, which cost Rs.10,000

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