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Six years after the anti-Christian communal violence of 2008 in Kandamal district of Odisha state in India, justice and peace remain illusive to survivors of the violence. The book ‘Breaking the Shackled Silence’ documents and analyses the violence and its aftermath as seen and experienced by women. It examines the present status of women and girls affected by the violence, vis-à-vis their enjoyment of Constitutionally-guaranteed civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. Drawn from conversations held with over 300 women and girls from Kandhamal and beyond, this report accentuates the hitherto unheard voices of women from Kandhamal.

Kandhamal district of the state of Odisha in India, was the site of targeted violence against Christian dalits and adivasis in December 2007 and August 2008. This publication is a report of the National People's Tribunal on Kandhamal, held in New Delhi on 22-24 August 2010. The report documents the testimonies of 45 victims, survivors and their representatives, 15 expert testimonies of reports of field surveys, research and fact-finding, as well as statements to the Tribunal. It was organized by the National Solidarity Forum - a countrywide solidarity platform of concerned social activists, media persons, researchers, legal experts, film makers, …

The tragedy of Kandhamal, a district of Orissa in eastern India, is that the attack on the Christian community was familiar and the subsequent failure of the legal system to accord justice to the victim-survivors predictable. This book critically examines the patterns of impunity as they unfold in Kandhamal. There is today a vibrant debate seeking legal reform to ensure accountability for mass crimes by extending culpability to those who sponsor and profit from the carnage. Rooted in the firm belief that without justice there can be no peace, this book seeks to contribute to the effort to forge new …