A/HRC/10/8/Add.3 page 9 (a) Christians 18. Widespread violence in the Kandhamal district of Orissa in December 2007 primarily targeted Christians in Dalit and tribal communities. The Special Rapporteur received credible reports that members of the Christian community alerted the authorities and politicians in advance of the planned attacks of 24-27 December 2007. The police, too, had warned Christian leaders about anticipated violence. In its report on the events of December 2007, the National Commission for Minorities confirmed that “destruction on such a large scale in places which are difficult to access could not have taken place without advance preparation and planning”. 19. The situation in Orissa has reportedly deteriorated again after 23 August 2008, when Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati, a local leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and four other VHP members were killed. Although a Maoist leader had claimed responsibility and the Christian leadership had condemned the killings, organized mobs subsequently attacked Christians in Dalit and tribal communities. By the end of September 2008, more than 40 people had allegedly been killed in Orissa, over 4,000 Christian homes destroyed and around 50 churches demolished. Around 20,000 people were living in relief camps and more than 40,000 people hiding in forests and others places. The Special Rapporteur was profoundly alarmed by the humanitarian situation in relief camps where access to food, safe drinking water, medical care, proper sanitary arrangements and adequate clothing were reportedly lacking. (b) Muslims 20. Members of the Muslim community in India shared their concerns about the ongoing repercussions of communal violence, for example after the Gujarat massacre in 2002 (below, paras. 34-36). Many of the Muslim interlocutors informed the Special Rapporteur during her mission that a number of them have been arrested on ill-founded suspicion of terrorism. Some of them even encountered problems in finding a lawyer who would be prepared to defend a terrorist suspect. For example, the Lucknow Bar Association reportedly passed a resolution that none of its members should represent the accused of a terrorist act carried out in the state, but the Lucknow Bar Association subsequently reflected on its position. Moreover, many Muslims were disturbed that terrorism was associated with their religion despite various public statements from Muslim leadership denouncing terrorism. There have been complaints about a continuing bias among security forces against Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir who also seem to face difficulties with regard to the issuance of passports and security clearances for employment purposes. 21. However, a large number of her interlocutors, including Muslims, also expressed their concerns about continued radicalization and cross-border terrorism. They lamented that the radicalisation of certain Muslims had an adverse impact on the entire community because communal relations hardened after every act of terrorism carried out by a militant group of Muslims. Some Muslim interlocutors regretted that after such events they were expected to “prove their loyalty to the State of India”, which constituted an indignity towards them as Indian citizens. 22. Mr. Amor in his country report had already highlighted the “exploitation of religion for political purposes, which is an alien practice and detrimental to Indian Muslims and to Islam” (E/CN.4/1997/91/Add.1, para. 52). In addition, a large number of official and non-official interlocutors from all communities expressed anguish at the continued operation of militant