Ranchi’s vibrant Catholic community marches ahead

By Isaac Gomes

Ranchi, Dec 12, 2023: Ranchi is one of the oldest cities of Jharkhand and ranks among the best-known hill stations in the state. Popularly known as the City of Waterfalls, Ranchi is famous for its picturesque Hudru Falls, Dassam Falls, Johna Falls and several other tourist attractions like water sports at Patratu Lake.

So, when Sanjay Rozario (former regional manager of Caritas India for Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand) invited me to a trip to Ranchi, I gladly accepted, for I hadn’t been there before. Sanjay’s parental home and birthplace is in Ranchi.

When we reached Ranchi on December 5, the weather was very pleasant. The sudden drizzle brought the temperature further down to below 15°C.

What struck me with awe was that almost all the prime locations are owned by the Catholic Church – St Mary’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral, St Xavier’s College, Dr Camille Bulke Research Centre, Jesuit Seminary, St. Anne’s Girl’s School and College, the sprawling Loreto Convent School, Archdiocesan Social Development Centre, the Catholic Press – all stood one after the other on either side of main roads. It speaks volumes for the foresight of the founding fathers.

One of the historically significant neighbourhoods of Ranchi is All Saints Catholic Church in Doranda. Today this parish is blessed with the presence of nine women’s congregations, namely Loreto, Daughters of St. Anne, Missionaries of Charity, eleven convents and two men’s congregations — Society of Missionaries of St Francis Xavier and Society of Jesus.

Father Peter Sanga is the current parish priest.

We also visited the Missionaries of Charity situated just beside Doranda Parish. The sisters there warmly received us and showed us around, especially the table (workstation) of St Teresa of Calcutta (more well-known as Mother Teresa) during her stay there.

We also visited late Jesuit Father Stan Swamy’s ashram at the Agriculture Training Centre Bagaicha, Namkom, Ranchi. We interacted with Jesuit Father P M Tony -director and other priests. We saw Fr Stan’s bust and were taken into his room from where he worked tirelessly for 20 years.

He could be seen almost everywhere whenever there was a protest by Tribals/Dalits against oppression by the government. He pioneered ‘Jangal Bachao Andolan’ to protect tribal forest lands from being taken over by mining/corporate barons. We were given a book on Fathe Mathew Agree’s Life & Works. He was the founder of Tribal Research & Training Centre, Chaibasa, Jharkhand.

In the background of Fr Stan’s intrepid advocacy for ensuring the constitutional rights of tribals from the grassroots level, what I found very impressive is the resolve of Ranchi Catholics from tribal origin to improve their lot educationally, professionally and economically.

Two reasons helped them in their purposefulness: (1) Job Reservation (2) Bar on outsiders’ land acquisition in Ranchi. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act), 1908, restricts land transfer from a tribal to a non-tribal region in the Jharkhand region without the prior permission of the Deputy Commissioner (DC).

I was also touched by their deep Christian faith. The youth are very vibrant and quite conscious about their rights thanks to the training programmes by Social Development Centres (SDCs) and Tribal Research & Training Centre.

Sanjay took me around to meet some lay members (his close contacts) who have established themselves socially. All of them accorded us very warm hospitality at their homes. They are:

• M.L. Lakra – She was director of Income Tax (Exemption) Kolkata in 2009-2012 and helped several Catholic institutes/associations in getting Form 12AA and 80G registration. One beneficiary of her prompt service was Catholic Association of Bengal. She gave us a very useful insight. On my enquiry whether 80G certification was permanent, she said initially it almost was. But now under the current central government advisory, the two certifications have to be renewed after every five years. If it is not done, they will lapse.

• Anup Kujur – He took voluntary retirement from State Bank of India. His eldest brother Dr Charles Kujur (class mate of Fr Sunil Rosario in St Aloysius’ Primary School, Ranchi) is well-settled in Kerala. Their eldest Sr Mridula (Barbara) is an MC nun and now in Latin America. Their late parents are the God parents of Sanjay’s eldest brother Bijoy Vincent. Members of Kujur family are well- ensconced in professional fields namely entrepreneurship, fashion design, computer science.

• M. Cooke Vice-principal – St Anthony’s School, Doranda Ranchi. The school (classes KG-10) is affiliated to Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Board. Her brother Christopher Agnelo Francis is Principal. This school was founded in 1971 by their father late John Vincent Francis and their mother Sylvia Francis.

• Judith A. Beale, principal: St. Anthony’s Higher Secondary School situated on 16+ acre land in Bichna, District-Khunti. Sharp-sighted Judith is the daughter of John and Sylvia Francis. The school has nursery to VIII classes. It’s awaiting affiliation to the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), New Delhi. The school believes in providing holistic education that encourages critical thinking and problem solving to equip students become productive citizens. It has facilities like pick-up transport (school buses), library, interactive learning, computer lab and sports including self-defence.

• Dilip Tirkey – He is director of Jharkhand State Food and Civil Supplies Department. He is soft-spoken yet very enterprising with a very keen interest in the hospitality industry.

Another striking feature was a keen interest in Research & Development. We were enlightened of this culture when we met Fr Jesuit Father Emmanuel Baxla, presently director of Father Camille Bulke Research Centre. He has translated Father Bulke’s English to Hindi dictionary into Oraon – the first such translation work in tribal language.

Amid reports of persecution of Christians in India, the Christian community of Ranchi, with their single-minded attitude to take up ownership, are marching ahead in all spheres of life. They are God’s chosen people in today’s India.