Who Really Killed Missionary Graham Staines

[Guest guest]

Who Killed Australian Missionary Graham Staines?

By Arun Shourie By India's Minister for Disinvestment, of

Communications and Information Technology

The findings of the Justice Wadhwa Commission of Inquiry

 

 

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On the face of it, the report of the Wadhwa Commission on the murder

of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons should

have been very welcome to our secular friends. Justice Wadhwa has

concluded that the main person who organised the attack was Rabindra

Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh, and that his motive in doing so

was "misplaced fundamentalism", namely his conviction that

conversions by missionaries were threatening Hinduism. He also

records evidence to the effect that Dara Singh had been involved in

an activity which, in the eyes of secularists, is as deplorable as an

activity can get: protection of cows from slaughter.

 

 

But no, the secularists are all in rage. "A stained report,A

whitewash,A politically tutored report" -- they have been

shouting. Justice Wadhwa has failed the litmus test: if only he had

included a sentence -- a single sentence! -- imputing -- howsoever

obliquely -- that Dara Singh was in some way affiliated to some

organization that can be linked to the RSS or the BJP, what applause

would have greeted the Report!

 

 

But the Judge has stuck to evidence. Hence the fury! For our friends,

a Commission of Inquiry is credible only if it is useful!

 

 

In fact, the Report is instructive on many counts. Not to heed them

is to condemn the country to further problems.

 

 

The first to draw a lesson should be the press. In Chapter 10,

Justice Wadhwa takes up "Other Proximate Incidents." The first of

these is the alleged rape of Sister Jacqueline Mary on 3 February,

1999. "Orissa nun raped in moving car," the headlines declared,

Justice Wadhwa records. "Orissa's second stain: nun raped," shouted

the Indian Express, "Nun gangraped by men in sari in Orissa,"

hollered The Telegraph. The village "has become the rallying point of

Christians of the area," the papers proclaimed. "The press, on the

basis of some statement made by the pastor of the Church highlighted

the role of some Hindu fundamentalist organizations," writes Justice

Wadhwa. "....It was termed as a planned attack on the Church. It was

said that there was a role of communal forces.... Electronic media

was not far behind. It was highlighted as an anti-Christian

attack.Do not treat this as an isolated incident," the papers

quoted teachers of a Christian convent school saying, "A communal

conspiracy is suspected to be behind the rape."

 

 

There indeed was a conspiracy, and a communal one at that. The whole

thing was a concoction -- by those whose agenda it is to paint Hindus

as communalists on the rampage, and the RSS, BJP etc. as

organizations which are orchestrating a "pogrom". "Investigations,

however, revealed that what Sister Mary said in the FIR was not

true," records Justice Wadhwa. "It was a made up story.

Investigations found that there was in fact no rape of Sister

Mary.... B. B. Panda, D(irector) G(eneral) (of) P(olice) stated that

the 'rape of the nun' case was projected and highlighted all over the

world and was also projected as an attack on Christians when in fact

it was not true, and the case turned out to be false."

 

 

The second incident occurred on 7 February, 1999. Two children, aged

10 and 19, were found murdered, a third had sustained injuries. "This

incident again attracted a great deal of publicity in the media,

including electronic media," writes Justice Wadhwa. "Newspapers came

up with the headings, 'Two Christians killed, one injured in

Orissa,' '2 tribal Christians done to death in Kandhamal,'

and 'Orissa hunts for Christians' killer'. Additional D. G. P. John

Nayak reportedly said that the communal angle to the attempted rape

and murder could not be ruled out....A certain political party

even blamed the State and Central Governments," Justice Wadhwa

recalls, "and stated that the inaction of the State Government in the

Manoharpur missionary killing incident (the killing of Staines and

his sons) and the alleged rape of the nun in Baripada encouraged

miscreants to commit yet another crime in Kandhamal.In short," he

concludes, "as per various reports that appeared in the newspapers,

the incident was taken as an attack on the Christians."

 

 

And what turned out to be the truth? "Ultimately investigation

revealed that the crime was committed by a relative of the victims

who was also a Christian," the Commission notes.

 

 

I'll come to the third incident in a moment, for it concerns an

institution other than the press. The fourth incident occurred on 8

December, 1998. Tribals attacked the police station at Udaygiri,

stormed the jail, dragged two undertrial prisoners out, and lynched

them to death in front of the police station. After that, they burnt

houses belonging to members of a particular caste, Pana. The incident

too was projected as a Hindu-Christian encounter. It was nothing of

the kind. The tribals were being harassed by criminals who happened

to be from the Pana caste. The police had been doing nothing. One day

the criminals robbed tribals of all their cash as they were

proceeding to seek employment. That ignited the flash. But a Hindu-

Christian clash it became!

 

 

That is one lesson, and Justice Wadhwa draws special attention to it:

the press should not rush to conclusions before it has investigated

the facts. The facts he has recorded urge that the caution be made

specific: the press should be particularly wary of going by

allegations of communalism-mongers.

 

 

The second institution which comes out most poorly is the Minorities

Commission. For quite some time now, this Commission has been putting

out patently partisan reports, reports so partisan as to appear to be

designed to inflame. It is all too the good, therefore, that in the

course of his inquiries into the incidents, Justice Wadhwa has given

us a glimpse into the way it goes about its work. The incident I

postponed mentioning is typical.

 

 

In it, in mid-March, 1999, Hindus -- a minority in the village --

were pictured as having sparked off Hindu-Christian clashes in

village Ranalai. Christians painted a large Cross on a hillock. Some

Hindus transfigured it into a Trishul. A peace committee consisting

of representatives from both communities decided that there would be

neither a Cross nor a Trishul. Next day, Hindus went and erased the

sign. Christians alleged that while returning, Hindus shouted slogans

proclaiming victory. Tension mounted. While trying to control the

situation, a Circle Inspector of the police was manhandled by

Christians. He registered an FIR against three of them. Houses of

Christians were said to have been burned down. Cross-complaints were

filed by Hindus and Christians -- each side accusing the other.

 

 

The Minorities Commission sent a team, and declared that the genesis

of the trouble lay in BJP men inflaming feelings of the local Hindus

and instructing them to convert the Cross into a Trishul. As for the

incidents and tension, it came to the conclusion it always does: the

Hindus had created the trouble.

 

 

Justice Wadhwa observes, "These findings are without examining any

person on oath or receiving evidence on affidavits." The Minorities

Commission had also stigmatized the State Government for inaction.

Justice Wadhwa writes, "When the members of the Minorities Commission

visited the village [within a fortnight of the supposed incidents],

normalcy prevailed. Cases had already been registered against members

of both the groups...." Justice Wadhwa shows that the Minorities

Commission proceeded in a manner that is in manifest violation of its

own statute.

 

 

And he quotes the account that The Economic Times correspondent filed

after visiting the village. The 22 March, 1999 issue of the paper

reported, Justice Wadhwa writes, "that roots of the Ranalai village

incident in Gajapati district of Orissa in which houses of Christian

families were burnt down by Hindu tribals of nearby villages lie in

the economic disparities prevailing between the two communities. The

report further said that tension had been building up since the night

of February 9, when 23 houses of Hindu families were burnt down by

criminals belonging to the Christian community of the nearby Jhami

Gaon.... The report further stated that 'The unfortunate incident was

largely unreported and totally ignored by national and international

media'."

 

 

The constructions of the Minorities Commission on the Staines' murder

turn out to be designed to colour that crime in the same hue. To take

one example, Staines and his family were not involved in preaching of

Christianity for the previous 10 years leading to conversion in

Manoharpur, the Minorities Commission said in the report it sent to

Justice Wadhwa. In fact, associates of Staines himself told the

Wadhwa Commission that Staines used to conduct "Bible classes"

at "Jungle camps." One of his oldest acquaintances told the

Commission that Staines had been totally secretive about both

the "Jungle camps" and the accounts etc. of the Leprosy House he ran.

While some witnesses maintained that he never even attended baptisms,

some reported that he did, that he provided vehicles for marriages

and baptism functions. More telling is something of an order

altogether different from the oral testimony of witnesses.

 

 

It turns out that Staines and his wife, Gladys, regularly filed

despatches for a journal in Australia, Tidings. This journal is run

by the missionary organization in Australia which financed Staines

and his activities in Manoharpur. When the Commission learned about

the despatches, it requested the concerned persons for copies of the

journal. None were supplied! The Commission had to obtain these from

other sources. Justice Wadhwa reproduces several extracts from the

despatches.

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 25 April, 1997: The first

jungle camp in Ramchandrapur was a fruitful time and the Spirit of

God worked among the people. About 100 attended and some were

baptized at the camp. At present Misayel and some of the Church

leaders are touring a number of places where people are asking for

baptism. Five were baptized at Bigonbadi. Pray for the Etani Trust in

which the Mission properties are vested. One man managed by underhand

means to get parts of the property in his own name and a number of

nominal Christians of the Baripada Church are also trying to get some

of this valuable property for themselves. The Trust is having to take

legal action to rectify this."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 23 July, 1997: Praise God for

answered prayer in the recent Jagannath car festival at Baripada. A

good team of preachers came from the village churches and four OM

workers helped in the second part of the festival. There were record

book sales, so a lot of literature has gone into the people's

hand...." (Incidentally, "OM" is a carefully chosen acronym: the

organization it signifies is actually one of the largest publishers

and distributors of missionary literature!)

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 September, 1997: Praise

God we now have the Ho New Testament in Oriya script and many copies

are now in the hands of the Ho people. Pray to God that it will be

used of God to speak to many as they read his word in their own

language...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 11 February, 1998: Jungle

camp means four days of Bible teaching, prayer and fellowship of

Christians living together. It enables believers from other churches

to meet with local Christians to discuss experiences and encourage

one another.... The camp also can create hunger in the hearts of

those who come just to observe. Each camp has a bookstall, which for

many is the only chance to buy Christian literature.... It was also

encouraging to see so many Ho people following the references in the

Ho New Testament during the messages at Sarat Jungle camp. We sold

all the New Testaments we took there...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 20 March, 1998: "....Over the

next two months there will be a programme of baptism in nearby

villages for those asking for them. These are times for witness to

non-Christians too...."

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 May, 1998: There are many

new believers in the Manoharpur Church and the work is growing. The

devil is now finding opportunity to hinder the work of God. There is

disagreement between the young people and the older men of the

Church. A problem arose about the land on which the Church is built

and the planned Vacation Bible School had to be canceled. Last year

more than 100 children attended this programme. The translation of

Daily Life into Oriya is complete...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 June, 1998: In many

churches here Sunday schools have ceased to function. I have been

advocating these and at a recent Church leaders meeting I heard that

some have re-started this work.... The Vacation Bible School that was

to be held at Manoharpur was canceled because of problems in the

Church there. Two hundred and eight children registered for the one

at Raika.... It was an excellent time and some young people who teach

in VBS are being trained and encouraged for children's work and

Sunday school."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 21 August, 1998: ....There

are still divisions in the Church at Manoharpur and the churches at

Durakuntia and Burudi are very weak. It is wonderful to see the

little girls being cared for in the Rairangpur hostel. They have a

wonderful opportunity to learn to read and learn of the Lord...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 18 September, 1998: Four men

visited Manoharpur Church to discuss the problems there and much was

sorted out. A man who wants to be the head of the Church wants to

bring in or join with two other groups who do not teach and walk

according to the scriptures...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 December, 1998: It is

encouraging to hear of some improvement in the Church at Manoharpur

and that they are preparing for the jungle camp. Misayel, Paul and

Nehemiah visited Patana in early December but, as many were away rice

harvesting, they could meet only with a few. They were able to

encourage a new believer who had been a priest of the Sana Dhoram, an

animist sect. The village people pleaded with him not to become a

Christian saying, 'How can we continue our worship if you leave

us?' 'You can do as you like, but I am following Christ,' he said.

Continue to pray. God is working."

 

 

The typical concerns of a typical missionary -- harvesting souls for

the Church. The prejudices of a missionary -- Sanatana Dharma, an

animist sect! While his wife and some others denied this, one of his

close associates spoke of his "hatred" for other religions. This

associate reported -- and even Gladys, Staines' wife, acknowledged --

that, if he happened to be at any non-Christian function, Graham

Staines would never take prasad, as, Mrs. Staines claimed, doing so

is prohibited in the Bible....

 

 

After reviewing the evidence, the Wadhwa Commission, therefore,

concludes, "Besides his involvement with Leprosy House, Staines was

also involved in missionary work. The missionary work of Staines has

come to light from the various despatches sent by him to Australia,

which are published in the newsletter, 'Tidings'. Staines also used

to take part in baptism ceremonies although he may not have

necessarily carried out the baptism himself. Paul Murmu says that

Staines attended baptism ceremonies and marriage ceremonies of

Christian families whenever he was available. However, it is the

despatches sent by Staines to Australia in the newsletter 'Tidings'

that make it clear that Staines was also involved in active

propagation of his religion apart from his social work. It is also

clear from the said despatches that conversions were taking place in

jungle camps. The missionary work of Staines obviously included

organizing and conducting jungle camps, translating the Bible in

tribal languages, preaching of Bible to the tribals. It is obvious,

therefore, that Staines was both a social worker engaged in the

treatment and eradication of leprosy amongst the poorest of the poor

and also a missionary driven by a deep commitment to his religion and

the belief that he should spread its tenets amongst the people in the

area. His missionary activities did lead to conversions of tribals to

his faith."

 

 

But as far as the Minorities Commission is concerned, supresso veri,

and pronounce! Even such misrepresentations by bodies such as the

Minorities Commission are lessons in themselves. But, as we shall

see, these are minor ones compared to other lessons which the Wadhwa

Commission's Report holds out.

 

 

Having asserted that Graham Staines had not been involved in

missionary work, the Minorities Commission asserted that cordial

relations existed between Hindus and Christians, that there were no

ill-feelings among them. The two assertions together set the stage

for the main theme the Commission pressed: the murders were lightning

out of the blue, they were the handiwork of Dara Singh, and Dara

Singh in turn was affiliated to the Bajrang Dal.

 

 

While a number of Christian witnesses as well as some policemen told

the Justice Wadhwa Commission that there was no communal tension in

the area, others testified to the contrary. There had been tensions

between the communities for seven years, they told the Commission.

And for one reason.

 

 

The Australian missionary organization which was financing Staines

had set up 20-25 churches in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts, a

linguist working with the Indian Evangelical Mission told the

Commission. Jungle camps were used for baptizing persons, witnesses

told the Commission. B. B. Panda, who was Director General of Police,

Orissa from October, 1997 to March, 1999, stated in a report to the

State Government that "Mr. Staines was attending Jungle Mela in

Manoharpur for the last more than 20 years. Majority of the local

Adivasi Christians had been converted to Christianity through his

efforts." S. C. Bala, the Superintendent of Police of the Crime

Branch, who investigated the case, was asked by the Wadhwa Commission

about his assessment regarding the likely motive for the murders. He

told the Commission that the motive "appeared to be that non-

Christian people were aggrieved on the ground that Christian

fathers/missionaries are converting the people to Christianity in a

deceitful manner by giving allurements."

 

 

More telling are the despatches of Staines and his wife in Tidings,

the newsletter of the Australian missionary organization. They

themselves wrote about these tensions repeatedly.

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 September, 1997: ....The

Ho believers in Thakurmunda still face persecution. From time to time

the village people have beaten them up, broken their bicycles and not

allowed them to worship in their own Church building. Three people

came to Baripada to meet district officials and petition for justice.

Pray that action will be taken to allow freedom to worship."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 22 February, 1998: We have

just arrived home from the Baliposi camp a day early. Some people

from a Hindu militant group who are persecuting the Christians came

to the camp but were not able to disturb the meetings. On the last

day the police came and told us to stop the meeting and leave, as

they would not be able to protect us...." -- election-related

requirements left no men to spare.

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 20 March, 1998: Six men came

to Baripada to speak with officials in the intelligence department

regarding the tension in the Thakurmunda area...."

 

 

"Graham and Gladys Staines, Mayurbhanj, 19 May, 1998: ....We have

been told that a militant Hindu group plans to concentrate on

Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts to turn Christians back to

Hinduism...."

 

 

In a word: conversions were taking place; this had caused tensions;

so much so that a Hindu group had decided to try and get them back

into Hinduism. But for our Minorities Commission, all was peace and

harmony!

 

 

The First Information Report on the Staines' murder was filed by the

pastor of the Manoharpur Church. He turns out to be a good candidate

for some of our secularist organizations. The assailants shouted "Jai

Bajrang Dal," he said in the FIR. Witness after Christian witness

testified that what the assailants shouted was "Jai Bajrang Bali."

The assailants set fire to the Church, he said. The Church turned out

to not have been harmed. On count after count -- what he saw, what he

heard, the persons he named as having committed the crime -- the

pastor's statements turned out to be contradictory. On count after

count he disowned them himself. After narrating these somersaults,

Justice Wadhwa remarks, "It is, thus, clear that the FIR was drawn up

only after the Chief Minister had left Manoharpur. From all angles,

it is a doctored FIR, a large part of which has been disowned by the

informant himself and also has been shown to be false." But it is

this FIR which became the basis for imaginative journalism.

 

 

B. B. Panda, who was then Director General of Police, Orissa, told

the Commission that the New Indian Express -- that is, the southern

editions of the Indian Express -- of 25 January, 1999, quoted him as

saying, "over 50 people suspected to be activists of the Bajrang Dal

and Vishwa Hindu Parishad were involved in the incident, and so far

47 persons have been arrested." He told the Commission that as he had

not said this, he sent the paper a contradiction. The paper did not

publish the contradiction.

 

 

By that figure of 47-50 arrests hangs another lesson also.

 

 

One result of the gruesome nature of the murders, of the fact that

even the little sons had been done to death, of the fact that the

State Government had to show to the Congress leadership in Delhi that

it was acting energetically, and also of the glare the media had

brought to bear on the case was that the police felt it just had to

show something. The consequence? "The police went berserk," observes

Justice Wadhwa. It picked up anyone who in its imagination could

somehow or the other be linked with the Bajrang Dal. Fifty one

persons were thrown into jail. The Crime Branch found that there was

absolutely no case against them. All of them had to be released.

Justice Wadhwa observes, "It would thus appear that 51 persons

underwent the agony of going into judicial custody for two months or

more. Though initially the State Government took a great deal of

pride that police arrested as many as 51 accused showing the

efficiency and promptness of the police, but ultimately subsequent

events showed that in the State of Orissa, as far as these 51 persons

are concerned, there was no rule of law. Prakash Mehra (DIG) in his

supervision note had stated that there was no evidence in respect of

all the five FIR named accused persons or the 51 persons arrested by

the local police."

 

 

"The question then arises in view of the contradictions which make

the FIR a false document, what was the motivating force behind it?,"

asks Justice Wadhwa. "And why as many as 51 innocent persons were

arrested between 23rd to 28th January, 1999?Answers to these

questions are not far to seek," he concludes. "The State Government

was rattled by the gravity of the crime. To divert attention from its

own failure to maintain law and order and to protect the innocent and

then show 'speedy and decisive' action, a false picture is

presented."

 

 

And as for the involvement of the Bajrang Dal etc., the Commission

concludes, "The Commission has scrutinized the evidence before it and

especially the evidence of the associates of Dara Singh who were

involved in the carnage at Manoharpur. There is no evidence to

suggest that any of the persons involved in the crime was in fact a

member of either the Bajrang Dal or BJP or any organization. There is

nothing to suggest in the evidence before the Commission, or in the

investigation conducted by the Crime Branch and the CBI thus far that

there is involvement of any organization, even that of Bajrang Dal,

in the planning and the execution of the crime."

 

 

Several witnesses testified to Dara Singh's involvement in the crime -

- in preparing for it, in executing it. Justice Wadhwa is in doubt

that Dara Singh was the prime mover. To fly off in rage at Dara

Singh, and feel that one has done one's duty is to miss the point.

 

 

There are several important pointers. Several witnesses testified

that Dara Singh had been engaged in rescuing cows that were being

transported for slaughter. He had been trying to get the State to

enforce the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals laws. This activity was

taken, even by the police, to be "anti-Muslim" activity. Dara Singh

was accordingly implicated in cases filed by persons engaged in

transporting and selling cows for slaughter. That is as far as the

consequences for Dara Singh under the law are concerned. The effect

on the people was the exact opposite. Witness-29, who testified that

he had been asked by Dara Singh to accompany him to Manoharpur, told

the Commission, "Dara Singh is a very popular figure in the village

as he forcibly frees cows from the people who take them for selling.

After freeing the cows, Dara Singh distributes the cows among the

villagers...."

 

 

Cows are revered by Hindus. The man trying to save them becomes an

outlaw in the eyes of the police, and a hero in the eyes of the

people. Two lessons in that.

 

 

On the other hand, Staines and his associates are left free to go on

converting Hindus to Christianity. There is no evidence that Staines

himself resorted to fraud, force or allurement. Even so, tensions

mount because of conversions. Staines' own despatches testify to

this. But our institutions -- the Minorities Commission and the

police being representative in this regard -- even in retrospect

assert the fiction that there was no tension between Christians and

non-Christians.

 

 

The second clue is provided by the evidence of a key witness, one

whose testimony contributes most to nailing the involvement of Dara

Singh. He is one Dipu Das. He was a close associate of Dara Singh. He

revealed to the Commission that "youth from Gayalmunda and Bhalughera

had approached Dara Singh sometime in August 1998 to stop the

Christians from converting Hindus to Christianity...."

 

 

That is the key lesson: if the State is going to persist with double-

standards in regard to the sentiments of Hindus and non-Hindus on the

one hand, and with a deliberate shutting of eyes on the other, it is

paving the way for such crimes.

 

 

That lesson is brought home most forcefully by Justice Wadhwa's

findings in regard to the Orissa law that bears on conversions. As

has been noted earlier, Orissa passed a law in 1967 to regulate

conversions. It is known as the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act. Its

constitutionality -- as well as that of the allied law in Madhya

Pradesh -- has been upheld by a five judge Constitution Bench of the

Supreme Court in Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh [AIR

1977 SC 908]. Among other things, the law provides, "No person shall

convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any

person from one religious faith to another by use of force or by

inducement or by any fraudulent means, nor shall any person abet such

conversion." Anyone doing so, the Act provides, shall be punished by

imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine of Rs. 5,000. In case

the offence relates to a minor, a woman or a person belonging to the

Scheduled Castes or Tribes, the punishment shall be double.

 

 

To prevent misuse, the Act provides that the offence shall not be

investigated by an officer below the rank of an Inspector of Police,

and that no prosecution shall be instituted without the sanction of

the Magistrate of the District or an equivalent authority.

 

 

The Act was passed in 1967. Rules under it were not framed till

November, 1989, Justice Wadhwa notes. The Rules are salutary, and

will repay a moment's attention:

 

 

"3(i) Each District Magistrate shall maintain a list of religious

institutions or organizations propagating religious faith in his

district and that of persons directly or indirectly engaged for

propagation of religious faith in the district.

 

 

"(ii) The District Magistrate, if he thinks fit, may call for a list

of persons with the religious faith, receiving benefits either in

cash or in kind from the religious organizations or institutions or

from any person connected therewith.

 

 

"4. Any person intending to convert his religion shall give a

declaration before a Magistrate, 1st Class, having jurisdiction prior

to such conversion that he intends to convert his religion on his own

will.

 

 

"5(i) The concerned religious priest shall intimate the date, time

and place of the ceremony in which conversion shall be made along

with the names and addresses of the persons to be converted to the

concerned District Magistrate before fifteen days of the said

ceremony.

 

 

"(ii) The intimation shall be in Form A and shall be delivered either

personally by the Priest to the concerned District Magistrate or sent

to him by registered post with acknowledgment due.

 

 

"6. The District Magistrate on receiving the intimation from the

priest shall sign thereon stating the date on which and the hour at

which the intimation has been delivered to him or received by him,

and shall forthwith acknowledge the receipt thereof in Form B.

 

"7. The District Magistrate shall maintain a register of conversion

in Form C and shall cover therein particulars of the intimation

received by him.

 

 

"8. Any person who contravenes the provisions of Rule 5 or 6 shall be

liable to a fine of Rupees one thousand.

 

 

"9. The District Magistrate shall by the 10th of each month send to

the State Government a report of intimations received by him during

the preceding month in Form D."

 

 

That is the law. And what is the reality? Justice Wadhwa reports:

 

 

"No one was aware of the Freedom of Religion Act or the Rules framed

thereunder in the State at least in the districts of Mayurbhanj and

Keonjhar. These provisions of law were lying dormant and [had] never

[been] put into operation for the last many years. Admittedly, there

were conversions to Christianity in these two districts. No person

intending to convert his religion ever gave a declaration before a

Magistrate prior to such conversion of his intent to convert his

religion on his own will which was the requirement of Rule 4.

Similarly also the religious priest did not give intimation of such

conversion as per Form A under the Rules. District Magistrate did not

maintain a register of conversion as per Form prescribed. Since they

did not make any record of conversions, they did not send any report

of conversion to the State Government.

 

 

"Mr. Balakrishnan, District Magistrate, Mayurbhanj and Mr. Saurabh

Garg, District Magistrate, Keonjhar were examined to know if any

action [had been] taken under the Freedom of Religion Act and the

Rules framed thereunder. They expressed ignorance of the provisions

of the law relating to conversion and said they had become aware of

these only after the incident at Manoharpur on the night of 22 / 23-1-

1999. To me, it appears that even now they do not understand the full

scope and intent of the provisions of the Orissa Freedom of Religion

Act and the Rules. These are salutary provisions and prohibit

conversion from one religion to another by the use of force,

inducement or by any fraudulent means. Even any abetment to such

conversion has been made an offence. If these provisions of law, in

my view, are strictly followed no one can have any grievance to

contend that gullible and innocent tribals are being converted."

 

 

The Commission asked the Advocate General for a report on

prosecutions under the Act. From 1967 to 1990, the Advocate General

informed the Commission, the Act was not enforced as its

constitutional vires had been challenged. Since then -- that is, in

nine years -- 10 cases had been registered. In one case the accused

had been discharged. In one case he had been acquitted. In regard to

two the Final Report had been submitted. And six were pending trial.

 

 

The lesson -- a cruel one -- shouts at us: as this is the attitude of

the State machinery to law, the Dara Singhs will continue to become

heroes with the local population.