Odisha Church mourns death of social rights activist

By Sujata Jena

Bhubaneswar, Oct 24, 2021: The Catholic Church in Odisha has mourned the death of Bijayanand Singh, a renowned social activist who had worked for the development of Dalits, Tribal and minority communities in the eastern Indian state.

Bijayanand, as he was popularly known, died October 24 in St. Joseph’s Hospital Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh. He was 63.

He was the founder of Solidarity For Developing Communities and Karuna Shanti Science College, Berhampur.

According to sources, Bijayanand was admitted to the hospital on October 5 when he was found Covid positive. Initially he showed some improvement, but later his health deteriorated. He was under ventilation and incubation the last few days.

Vincentian Father Ignatius Nayak hailed Bijayanand as an outstanding leader and collaborator of society and church, a friend and a mentor of the needy who made the paths of hundreds of youths.

Karishma Nayak, a former student Karuna Shanti Science College, said the news about Bijayanand was heartbreaking. “He was one of the best persons I have known. Many of us were able to complete our college studies in science stream because of his generous strategy for the rural poor students like me,” she told Matters India.

Bijayanand’s death is “an unimaginable loss for us at the margins,” says Father Ajay Kumar Singh, a relative and close associate of the deceased.

According to Father Ajay Singh, Bijayanand was the first professional social worker in Odisha to get an MA degree from National Institute of Social Work and Social Science, Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha.

He lived for the people away from his wife and children, who are living abroad. He worked hard to facilitate around 50 students to become doctor and hundreds to join medical and engineering professional from the marginalized communities, Father Ajay Singh said.

Father Augustine Singh, another associate of Bijayanand, expressed disbelief over the death. “He was my childhood friend. We worked and dreamed together innumerable things until a fortnight back. He was a person of simplicity, soft-spoken, spiritual and hard working. It’s an irreparable loss for our community and society at large.”

Recalling Bijayanand’s “selfless service,” Raj Kishore Singh, a colleague and a board member of SFDC, said, his absence will be an irreparable loss for the members, students, staff, and beneficiaries.”

Earlier Singh had served in Cambodia, as a trainer for European Consortium funding agency. He returned to India in 1998 and set up SFDC and Science College for Dalits and Tribal students.

Besides his social service, he was engaged in interreligious dialogue. He had started a center for Inter-religious dialogue (Dhyana Ashram).

The peace activist is survived by his wife Nivedita, a teacher in an International School in Cambodia, and two sons who are studying abroad.

Bijayanand’s funeral will be held after his wife and sons’ arrival.