The socio-economic and political situation of India today has given rise to marginalization of people through appropriation of land and resources and violence by state, corporate and non-state actors. This large scale violation of human rights has resulted in people’s resistance movements and campaigns for alternatives. Violence based on narrow communal and ethnic politics has increased manifold since 1990.

The anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal in 2007-08, that included murders, rapes, arson, burning, loots, and forcible conversions into Hinduism affected about 60,000 people and forced the Prime Minister to describe it as ‘National Shame’.
The incident and what followed in response has led to:

• Increasing distrust on Criminal Justice System: Shoddy police investigations, threat to victims and witnesses leading to a gross miscarriage of justice
  
  
• Migration, School-Dropouts and Pauperization: The complacency of the administration has left the people feeling insecure and there are still 20,000 people living in poorer livelihood conditions, who are yet to return to their villages, and many children who have dropped out of schools.
  
  
• Inadequate or no Compensation left the Survivors Homeless: The apathy and inefficiency of the government in identification and assessment of damage has led to improper and inadequate or even no compensation for the survivors.
  
  
• Landlessness and Land Alienation has Doubled the Suffering: Official negligence of ‘land problems’ has been used to demonize the Dalits and to use it as a scapegoat for communal violence. The long-standing problem of landlessness and land alienation of the Dalits and Adivasis has been seriously neglected. While Adivasi lands are illegally transferred to traders and government employees, the Hindutva forces accuse Dalits as land grabbers and tried to project it as the cause of Kandhamal violence. Also, there have been almost no efforts to provide land rights to landless survivors/victims, who are facing difficulties to get a shelter after they lost their houses during violence.