Hindus Vs Christians or Kandhas Vs Panas?

BHUBANESWAR: Is it Hindus Vs Christians or Kandhas Vs Panas in Kandhamal? On the surface, the Orissa violence of recent months appears to be communal, but scratch it a bit and the reality comes to the fore. What might appear to be clashes between Hindu and Christian groups are in fact a gory manifestation of an old rivalry between the Kandha and Pana tribes of the district over social and economic status. 
Kandhas and Panas are the original inhabitants of Kandhamal. While Kandhas are a scheduled tribe (ST), Panas are scheduled caste (SC), now mostly converted to Christianity.

After the missionaries set up base in Kandhamal, gates of development opened for the less-privileged Panas. They got several facilities, including education and health and began converting to Christianity. The Kandhas, who boast of an age-old culture, however, did not sway easily. To arrest this trend, VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati arrived in Kandhamal in 1966 and launched his re-conversion programme.

This divided Kandhamal on religious lines as well. While the missionaries tried to bring in as many Panas to the Christian fold, the Swami organised functions to win them back.
Things got nasty when the Panas began demanding ST status.

The Kandhas, who were already resentful of the resourcefulness of the Panas helped by Christians, vehemently opposed the move. “It is not a Hindu-Christian conflict but a Kandha-Pana one,” Lambodar Kanhar, president of Kui Samaj said, adding that the conflict would be resolved if the state government removed the differences between the tribes.

Kandhas recently set ablaze over 200 Hindu Pana houses in Boudh.

“All the land encroached upon by the Panas should be given back to the Kandhas,” Kanhar said.

Eminent writer Mahapatra Nilamani Sahu also stressed that the socio-economic problem should be addressed first.