India: Orissa Bishops Warn of 'Master Plan' to Wipe-Out Christianity

By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Sun, Nov. 16 2008

Catholic bishops from the persecution ravaged state of Orissa warned this week that Hindu extremists have a “master plan” to wipe out Christianity in the remote eastern Indian state.

In a letter to the state’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, the Indian bishops conveyed their concerns about the mass “exodus of Christians” from Kandhamal District and addressed the “considerable reduction” of refugees in relief camps, according to Catholic News Agency.

The bishops denied that the Christian refugees were leaving the camps to safely return to their homes. Most, they reported, are moving to relief camps in other areas such as in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jhanla, Berhampur, or have moved into rented houses, homes of relatives, friends or acquaintances.

“It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Christians of Kandhamal district are living outside the district,” the bishops wrote in the letter to the minister. the rest