By Purushottam Nayak
Kandhamal: A group of Catholic women from Kerala who spent five days in Kandhamal say the faith of Odisha’s persecuted Christians has deepened their belief in Christ.
“The Christians of Kandhamal have manifested a deep-rooted faith in Christ by facing the worst religious persecution in modern India,” said Sister Josia Padinjaradathu, a member of the 11-member team representing the Women Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. “I am deeply touched and moved by listening to the survivors of Kandhamal,” she told Matters India.
The June 26-30 visit was a part of the Women Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India;s national reach out program in Kandhamal.
Sister Talisha Nadukudiyil, secretary of the council who arranged the visit, noted that Kandhamal was the epicenter of anti-Christian persecution in Odisha in 2007 and 2008. At least 100 people, mostly Christians, were killed and more than 56,000 people were rendered homeless. Hundreds of churches and houses were also destroyed in the mayhem that lasted for months.
Sister Nadukudiyil said the Kerala team members have found the visit a “faith-deepening experience” and “an occasion to express solidarity with Kandhamal people’s struggles.”
The council had earlier organized similar visits from other parts of the country.
“We want the people in Kandhamal, especially women and children, to experience the Church’s concern and care,” Sister Nadukudiyil added.
Last April, the CBCI council distributed sewing machines to women of Kandhamal.
According to Sister Nadukudiyil, the situation in Kandhamal has not improved even after ten years. “Churches and houses are not rebuilt in certain areas and children have little scope for studies. The youth face bleak future. Women have no work since their displacement,” she bemoaned.
People have lost everything they possessed, including their land. They now depend on forests for their survival. Some have become daily wagers, the nun pointed out.
The council decided to help the Kandhamal people after a 22-member delegation led by chairperson Bishop Jacob Barnabas of Gurgaon visited the region in 2017.
The women council programs in Kandhamal include supporting volunteers to give tuitions to children in their studies. It also plans to appoint a teacher to take care of the students.
The council will try to get admission for youth who have completed tenth and twelfth grades in the church institution. Council also plans to support promising youth to study nursing, engineering and other courses. For this, it plans to raise funds from various sources.
The council plans to conduct skill training for housewives. “We may go for some vocational training like stitching and embroidery,” Sister Nadukudiyil said.
The Kerala team visited Komjamendi Nuagam, Ambedkar Nagar of Raikia Block, Nandagiri (Shanti Nagar) and Tiangia village where the worst killings took place in 2008.
Besides Sister Padinjaradathu, the team included Sisters Jyothis Pulickaparambi and Daisa Kottapally, all members of the Sisters of Destitute. Other were Delcy Luckchan, secretary of the commission, and eight other lay women. They were led by Father William Koonam, the commission director.
“It is our privilege to show our solidarity with the Kandhamal survivors,” Father Koonam told Matters India after the visit. He said the team had noted that the survivors are still haunted by the pain, agony, and psychological trauma they suffered during the violence.
The team prayed in front of the Martyrs’ Memorial built in Tiangia village.
Luckchan described their visit as a “pilgrimage to Kandhamal” and said it gave them an opportunity to relook at her own faith in Christi.
Anakleto Nayak, a catechist of Tiangia and who was tortured by the Hindu fundamentalists during violence, expressed happiness that people of Kerala, which is known as God’s Own Country has come to help in the Land of Martyrs.
The Kerala commission donated 100,000 rupees to help the widows learn tailoring and support the educational needs of their children.
It also promised to make a community hall for train women in tailoring skill at Ambedkar Nagar, Raikia town.
“It is a gesture of compassion and kindness towards Kandhamal survivors,” said Father Madan Sualsingh, director of Jana Vikas (people’s development), a social service wing of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar that covers Kandhamal.
Maria Bambina Sister Pancrasia Toppo, secretary of the archdiocesan commission for women, accompanied the Kerala team.