#  Religious Rift Tears At Orissa Communities 

 





April 13, 2009

 

 

Author: Chris Morris

Source: BBC News

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south\_asia/7996827.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7996827.stm)

Hundreds of people have gathered in the darkness in the town of Raikia.  
  
Candlelight flickers across their faces as they sit quietly on the floor. They chant and pray as a priest leads them in worship.  
  
For Christians, Easter is a time of hope. But in Kandhamal, deep in the interior in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, hope is in short supply.  
  
This is a community still traumatised by a sudden burst of violence last year, described as the worst anti-Christian rioting in India since independence.  
  
Dozens of people were killed, and hundreds of churches and houses were damaged or destroyed.



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ India ](/news-stories/india)
- [ Violence/Vandalism ](/news-stories/violencevandalism)
- [ Religious Freedom ](/news-stories/religious-freedom)
- [ Christianity ](/religions/christianity)
- [ Hinduism ](/religions/hinduism)
- [ Interfaith ](/religions/interfaith)
- [ International ](/tags/international)
 
 

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