Sister Valsa John, a nun-cum-activist, in the Santhal Pargana region had been ordained nun with the Sisters of Charity and was involved with tribal work for the last twenty years. She was brutally silenced two days ago in Jharkhand. The brutal killing took place at Pachwara of Pakur district of Jharkhand.
And her crime? She'd the audacity to organise the 'adivasis' of the area against exploitation by the coal mafia. She had relentlessly fought for the right amount of compensation and rehabilitation of the 'adivasis', from and by the coal mining companies that were active in the area. The police has reported that a crowd of 50 'adivasis' carried out the dastardly crime - 25 of them had encircled her hut while the remaining had gone on to attack her with a combination of lathis, hockey sticks and axes! A bit far fetched to believe that the crowd had taken on the hapless nun out of vengeance and if so, why had there been no known animosity between them? There's, however, a police-added input that, over the last few years, she'd been working in an administrative capacity with a school built by a coal company.
An interesting aspect is that she fell to the brutal assault on her father's remembrance day - a native of Kochi, he'd passed away 29 years back.
Sister Valsa John, your efforts will not go in vain as the empowered 'adivasis' will surely fight for their rights, now that they're fully aware of them. May the culprits be brought to book at the earliest and punished for their misdeeds. My salutes to a Braveheart.
RIP.
Tailpiece.
Today's the first of the month of 'Vrushchikam' on the Malayalam calendar. The 'Sabarimala' shrine has opened for the rush of devotees and will remain so over the next couple of months. 'Swami Saranam' rents the air and the devotees, clad in their characteristic black, are visible all over.
I, too, am following the regimen of a pilgrim through the next two months though I shall not be visiting the shrine.
And her crime? She'd the audacity to organise the 'adivasis' of the area against exploitation by the coal mafia. She had relentlessly fought for the right amount of compensation and rehabilitation of the 'adivasis', from and by the coal mining companies that were active in the area. The police has reported that a crowd of 50 'adivasis' carried out the dastardly crime - 25 of them had encircled her hut while the remaining had gone on to attack her with a combination of lathis, hockey sticks and axes! A bit far fetched to believe that the crowd had taken on the hapless nun out of vengeance and if so, why had there been no known animosity between them? There's, however, a police-added input that, over the last few years, she'd been working in an administrative capacity with a school built by a coal company.
An interesting aspect is that she fell to the brutal assault on her father's remembrance day - a native of Kochi, he'd passed away 29 years back.
Sister Valsa John, your efforts will not go in vain as the empowered 'adivasis' will surely fight for their rights, now that they're fully aware of them. May the culprits be brought to book at the earliest and punished for their misdeeds. My salutes to a Braveheart.
RIP.
Tailpiece.
Today's the first of the month of 'Vrushchikam' on the Malayalam calendar. The 'Sabarimala' shrine has opened for the rush of devotees and will remain so over the next couple of months. 'Swami Saranam' rents the air and the devotees, clad in their characteristic black, are visible all over.
I, too, am following the regimen of a pilgrim through the next two months though I shall not be visiting the shrine.
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