Kandhamal : Introspection of Initiative for Justice 2007-2015

Justice has excluded the victims and theilis, nine years after the anti-Christian violence in the Kandhamal District of the state of Odisha in India. There exists a clear and visible pattern of impunity and injustice seen in the aftermath of the Kandhamal violence, which conforms to the pattern in past instances of communal violence, such as Nellie massacre of Muslims (1983), anti-Sikh program in Delhi (1984), anti-Muslim attacks in Mumbai (1992-93), Gujarat (2002) and Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh (2013). What factors contributed to the State's deliberate failure of its constitutional obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the victims' rights? Why and how did justice mechanisms fail in meeting the legitimate expectations of victims for reparative justice and closure? What led to an inability to hold public officials account-able in law, for their acts of commission and omission? What caused the justice deficit and how can it be addressed? This book critically examines these issues, and introspects the pursuit of justice for Kandhamal violence since 2007-08. (jacket)