The Persecution of Christians in Orissa, India

Speech delivered to Assembly on Mon 2nd Nov 2009

I also congratulate Stephen Moutray and his colleagues on securing the debate. I welcome the terms in which he tabled the motion, as it expresses the legitimate concerns that many people in Northern Ireland have about the situation in Orissa.

I am slightly - but only slightly - sympathetic to John O'Dowd's views. At times in this place, rather than looking at where we have come from, it can be a little bit too easy for us to lecture others. However, on this occasion, we can look back at and draw lessons from this society's experiences and, as we move forward, seek to assist others. Therefore, I will certainly support the motion, as will my colleagues, although, given what other Members said, I suspect that we are not heading for a Division. It is clear that, whatever might be said about differences of opinion or about how people react, in this place we can surely distinguish right from wrong. It is also clear that the small Christian minority in Orissa has been subjected to horrific wrongs.

Recently, I have been listening to a BBC CD set of recordings by Mark Tully, who was the BBC's disting­uished India correspondent for the 40 or so years that he worked there. It is an absolutely fascinating set of tracks that covers snippets of the history of that vast country in all its diversity. At one stage, I heard positive points about India, which, as some Members said, is the world's largest democracy. That democracy not only suffered the difficulties that forced it to enter a state of emergency under Indira Gandhi's premiership, but it was able to emerge strengthened from that crisis. It is also a democracy in which power has changed between parties consistently and peacefully, which is relatively unusual in the Third World. Yet, at other times, Mark Tully's recordings talk about the difficulties of communal tensions, principally between Hindus and Muslims, but also between Hindus and Sikhs and, as we are discussing, when Christians are the victims of what is going on with Hindu extremists.

Another factor that applies to the Indian story is that, although, in many senses, India has developed from a very poor society since independence just after the war, in many cases that development, which has come from education, has bypassed some states and some elements. That is particularly true in the villages, where people have simply not enjoyed the benefits of development and are therefore more likely to fall prey to the kind of communal tensions that we have seen there.

Taking account of that view of India, it is nonetheless right that the motion should concentrate on the particular difficulties being experienced by Christians. There is no doubt that Christians in Orissa have been blamed by Hindu extremists for activities that were almost certainly carried out by others with a Maoist doctrine. The Christian community has been a convenient whipping boy. That has added enormously to a general tension in the area, not to mention the detailed lists of atrocities that others have delivered: the murders not only of native Christians but of missionaries; the creation of refugees on a vast scale; and the destruction of homes, other properties and churches throughout Orissa. That is well documented, as was highlighted by Danny Kennedy, not just by the victims themselves but in reports from respected international organisations such as Amnesty International, which have taken a clear view of what is happening.

The Assembly can send out a clear message today, however limited its effects may be, that everyone has a right to freedom of opinion and to worship as they see fit. The motion is a simple call for that human right to the freedom to worship in peace. As Alex Attwood said earlier, however modest the effects of the motion may be, it is absolutely right that we should pass it. We should seek to learn the lessons that have arisen from our own history and assist others, as we have been assisted by others. In particular, we should stand by the Christians in Orissa, who have suffered so much.