Another Book On Kandhamal Riots Released

MUMBAI, Maharashtra :- 'Shining Faith in Kandhamal', a book authored by journalist Anto Akkara, was released by president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, at the cc in Mumbai, October 15.

In the presence of 100 Catholic bishops and about 1,500 Church delegates, the book documenting the incredible Christian witness in Kandhamal, Orissa, was handed over to Cardinal Vithayathil by the chairman of the Indian Mission Congress, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay.

After the release, Akkara handed over copies of the book to papal ambassador to India, Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, the former CBCI president, Telesphore Cardinal Toppo of Ranchi, and Syro-Malankara Bishop Geeverghese Mar Divanasios of Sultan Battery, Kerala.

"Kandhamal is in the heart of all us," said Cardinal Oswald, introducing the book.

"Kandhamal has produced a painful and at the same time a glorious moment for the Christian faith with deeply inspiring testimonies of courageous witness amid persecution.

I congratulate the author on documenting this shining moment of Christianity in India," the Cardinal wrote in his tribute to the book.

Describing the book as a 'book of revelation', Cardinal Vithayathil in his 'Foreword' to the book said: "The Christians in Kandhamal were "humiliated and tortured but they stood firm in their faith. The Christians of Orissa are living dangerously. But it is not a desperate life. Rather, it is a heroic response to the great call of their faith."

The book, Cardinal Vithayathil pointed out, "reveals a true journalist who cannot remain a mute spectator in the face of inhuman atrocities. Love and responsibility for one's fellowmen finds expression in concern for the truth, and Anto has borne testimony to the persecuted truth of Kandhamal in these pages."

The 'Shining Faith in Kandhamal' documents spine-chilling testimonies of faith in the 21st century from the jungles of Kandhamal along with graphic descriptions of sadistic killings, torture and forced reconversions of thousands of Christians, narrated with journalistic flair and passion.

The award-winning author's earlier book 'Kandhamal - a blot on Indian Secularism' had been hailed as "one of the must-read books' by veteran journalist Kuldip Nayyar, and as "a charge-sheet on Kandhamal' by the president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, K.G. Kannabiran.

-(SAR NEWS)