By Purushottam Nayak

Daringbadi, May 19, 2023: People in Odisha’s Kandhamal district are elated after an infant at the time of the 2008 anti-Christian violence successfully completed the state’s matriculation examination this year.

“I am happy because my Lord Jesus protected me and my mother from Hindu fundamentalists during the violence,” Asirbad Nayak, a Catholic, told Matters India after securing 331 out of 600 marks in the High School Certificate Examination of Odisha.

He was only six months old when Kandhamal witnessed unprecedented violence against Christians starting August 25, 2008.

Asirbad’s father Bikram Nayak was among 100 people, mostly Christians, who were killed during violence that lasted for four months.

“My father would have been extremely happy today,” the Catholic teenager, a student of Lalbahadur Shastri High School in Daringbadi, told Matters India.

Asirbad’s headmaster Lodu Kishore Behera, a Hindu, said he was happy over the Catholic boy’s success. “Asirbad Nayak is very obedient and punctual.”

Behera expressed the hope that Asirbad would fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor with support from others. “He could dthen serve society regardless of caste, creed, color and religion,” he added.

Bipra Charan Nayak, former president of Kandhamal Survivor Association, said he was glad that Asirbad passed his matriculation.

“He is the first survivor of the victim of anti-Christian violence to clear the tenth grade,” he pointed out.

Father Angelo Ranasingh, minister and treasurer of St. Vianney Bhawan, Regional Seminary, Gopalpur-on-sea, says Asirbad’s success has gladdened the entire Christian community in Odisha.

Father Ranasingh, who baptized Asirbad, said the boy had to go without food for several days. “He could not dress like his classmates,” he added.

Asirbad was born February 27, 2008, to Bikram and Ashalota Nayak, residents of Tiangia village that saw several deaths during the violence.

Asirbad says his mother braved many challenges to bring him up. “The only breadwinner of the family was my father. After his murder, we faced a tough time. We had to first live in the forest without food and drink, later in a relief camp,” he explained.

“I pray may God bless my son to fulfill his father’s desire to serve society,” the widow told Matters India.

Asirbad said he has heard from his mother how his father was always available to help others. “He was sympathetic to the sick and suffering. My father always stood for truth, faith in Christ and justice. I am determined to follow his footsteps and become a doctor,” he added.

He also said he has learned from his faith in Jesus to accept and respect his neighbors and forgive his father’s killers.

He said his mother and he had to leave their native place because of threats from anti-Christian people. “Leaving the native place was painful for us.
We had no meal at times. My mother worked as a daily wager carrying me behind her back.”

The teenager said he always wonders why Christians are threatened, despised, harassed and persecuted in India. “Does believing in Christ pose any danger for Hindu extremists?”

After working initially as a daily wager, his mother found a job in a hospital as an Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife.