KAUAI, HAWAII, October 18, 2008: Yesterdays HPI note on the Orissa police report mistakenly said “exposing a group the police supposes to be Christian,” rather than “we (ie, HPI) assume to be Christian.” We make this assumption because of the use of the term “particular community” by the police in the Times of India report: ” ‘Maoists were given money to train certain youths of a particular community to eliminate Saraswati’, Inspector General (IG) of Police, crime branch, Arun Ray said, claiming the mastermind of the killings had been identified.” Terms such as “particular community” or “minority community” are used by police and the media when referring either to the Christian or Muslim community, depending on the situation. In this case, the IG is apparently referring to the Christian community, as the Muslims were not involved. The terms are used to avoid stoking communal feelings, even though everyone knows what is meant.
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