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It was not on the front page but the Orissa violence was reported by much of the world’s press. “Indian homes torched in Christian-Hindu violence”, said the International Herald Tribune. “Thousands homeless after Hindu-Christian violence in India,” reported another.

International reaction was emphatic. Pope Benedict XVI condemned it. Italy summoned Indian ambassador Arif Shahid Khan and the Italian cabinet warned it would ask current European Union president, France, to take up the issue of attacks against Christians. The French officially told STOI they are deeply concerned and everything must be done to restore a peaceful dialogue between the communities because ‘‘no person should be in a position of threat because of his or her religious convictions.’’ The Germans and Americans respond in similar vein.

But in a sign that some foreign governments recognize the extreme sensitivity of recurring bouts of violence against Christians in India, Australia refuses officially to react. It is a delicate issue for them. One of their citizens, missionary Graham Staines, was burnt alive along with his two little sons at Orissa’s Manoharpur village in 1999. His widow, Gladys, has long since returned home. But Bruce Loudon, who covers India for The Australian, says this diplomatic silence need not necessarily be seen as negative. Most Australian newspapers were more concerned about the Bihar floods and Orissa got little space, he explains. But he adds, ‘‘Incidents like these do tarnish India’s image as a secular, tolerant country.’’

Unsurprisingly, it is the British who express the most sympathetic understanding of India’s ground realities. Dan Chugg, spokesman for the British High Commission in Delhi, says, ‘‘India is viewed as a diverse place and the country has made a success of diversity.’’ He insists that “a few incidents cannot mar the image of the country” and it is not hard to understand that a country as big as India is bound to have tensions between states and ethnic groups sometimes.

Pushpesh Pant, professor of international relations at JNU, agrees that ‘‘India’s image does not suffer just because a few Christians are targeted somewhere”. Instead, says Pant, India is viewed negatively by others “because people here die of starvation even today, and Dalits have still to fight for their rights.’’ Orissa is not unique to India, he argues, and violence against minority groups happens elsewhere in the world as well.

(sujata.sachdeva@timesgroup.com)

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Sunday_Specials/Special_Report/World_view_Not_
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