Odisha Catechist Marks 43 Years of Ministry After Surviving 2008 Kandhamal Violence

For Christodas Behera, a Catholic catechist serving in eastern India, 43 years of lay ministry have been defined by steadfast faith, severe trial, and an unwavering commitment to his community despite enduring one of the region's worst anti-Christian pogroms.

Born in 1959 in Sandakupa village, Behera serves the Miraculous Medal Parish in Mondasoro, located in the Kandhamal district of Odisha state, roughly 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of the state capital, Bhubaneswar. He and his wife, Philomina, were married in 1983 by Fr. Manuel Richard, then-parish priest at Our Lady of Charity Parish in Raikia, within the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. The couple later settled in nearby Pirigada village to continue lay pastoral care.

Behera’s decades of service were severely tested during the 2008 anti-Christian violence that swept Kandhamal, a rural district where tribal and Dalit Christians form a religious minority. Armed mobs targeted Christian households, demolishing property and displacing thousands into the surrounding dense forests.

During the attacks in Pirigada, mobs subjected Behera and local Christians to forced religious reconversion attempts. Extremists forcibly shaved Behera’s head, coerced Christians to bow before Hindu deities, and compelled them to drink water mixed with cow dung, a ritual intended to forcibly purify and recategorize them within the Hindu fold. Security forces eventually escorted the couple to a government relief camp, an escape Behera attributes to divine providence.

Despite the trauma, the couple remains committed to their ministry in Pirigada, a Holy Family mission substation under Our Lady of Charity Parish that ministers to 14 Catholic families living alongside a Hindu majority.

"It is God’s abundant grace and power that has kept us alive and active," Philomina said, reflecting on their ordeal.

Behera expressed a similar resolve regarding his ongoing work as a catechist preparing locals for sacraments and guiding spiritual life. "I find joy in enduring pain, agony, and persecution for the Lord," Behera said. "They can target our bodies, but not our souls. Nobody can shake our faith in Christ."

Local elders highlighted the broader constitutional rights surrounding religious freedom in India, where minority communities frequently face pressure from religious nationalism. Abraham Nayak, the oldest resident in the community, invoked both scripture and civil rights.

"If God is with us, who can be against us?" Sr. Abraham Nayak stated, affirming that no citizen should be coerced into changing their faith in a democratic republic.

Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion. However, lay leaders and clergy across South Asia note that local minority congregations in rural pockets often rely on the quiet resilience of catechists like Behera to maintain religious life amidst persistent social pressures.

After more than four decades of service, Fr. Manuel Richard's early blessing on the couple continues to bear fruit in Odisha’s interior. For local parishioners, Behera's 43-year tenure stands as a witness to human dignity, endurance, and quiet pastoral devotion in the heart of eastern India.