Caste and Cosmic War: Violence Erupts in Kandhamal

a nightmare reverberated throughout the district of Kandhamal in Orissa, India. Alerted by policemen of an impending attack by Hindus incensed by the assassination of Swamiji Laxmanananda Saraswati by the Christians the day before, Christian families began a panicked exodus into the dense jungle surrounding their small villages with nothing more than clothes and children on their backs. Some caught glimpses of an angry Hindu mob rushing through the streets brandishing axes, swords, and clubs and shouting Bajrangbali ki jai (" strength, unity, loyalty "), burning houses, and accosting anyone who hadn't reached the safety of the trees. Many Christians hid in the jungle for days without food or water before reaching a safe village. Others had climbed to the tops of the trees in hopes that they could return to the remnants of their homes after the mob dissipated. Some watched as their brethren fell prey to Hindu attackers. After the first night of rioting, the charred remains of Christians who refused to renounce Christianity lay on a street in Baliguda. A week after the flight from her village, one mother nursed the axe wounds on her 8 year-old son's head while another wept for her teenage daughter, whose body lay wrapped in bandages after being dragged out of their house, drenched in kerosene, and lit on fire (PUCL 7-8). Weeks after the initial riots, a nun revealed to the media that she watched her abbot be beaten to death. She herself was dragged into a corner, torn out of her sari, raped, and then paraded through the market while policemen silently