Religious violence in Odisha refers to civil unrest and riots in the remote forest region surrounding
Kandhamal in western parts of the Indian state of
Odisha.
Kandhamal district contains several tribal reservations where only tribal people can own land. The largest community in Kandhamal is the
Kandhatribe. Most Kandha tribal people follow tribal and animistic forms of
Hinduism. However, the socio-economic and political landscape of Kandhamal is dominated by its second largest community, the non-tribal Pana caste, who are mostly
converted Christians. The region is also home to the
Maoist guerrillas who are the largest terror[
citation needed] group operating inside India and responsible for several thousand deaths in India in the 2000s. Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda stated groups tend to recruit most of their leaders and cadre insurgents from Christian communities. However at the same time he reiterated the Maoists's areligious position: "We do not believe in any religion or are attached to any religious groups. We are not in favour of any religion."
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Major Issues in Kandhamal that have led to tensions are claims that "The Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act" is violated. Such claims include forcible occupation of tribal land, fake issuance of tribal certificates, illegal building of places of worship (mostly churches) on tribal land,
religious conversions, and exploiting tribals for insurgent activities. This has also resulted in civil unrest and communal tensions earlier in 1986, 1994 and 2001