Kandhamal: From persecution to fraternity with Sr. Sanomina
The only Catholic family in an Orissa village, they were forced to flee during the 2008 persecution, losing everything. Now the little girl from that time has made her first religious profession, and the Hindus who had participated in the violence also took part in the Christians' celebration. A ray of light amid gathering darkness for Christians in the state of Manipur.
Kandhamal (AsiaNews) - It is weeks of renewed apprehension in India over the grave situation affecting Christian communities in the state of Manipur, including deaths and the destruction of their churches in ethnic clashes between Meitei and local tribal groups.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, himself expressed deep concern about the escalating tensions at a press conference in Geneva and called on the Indian authorities to respond quickly to the situation. Türk stressed the importance of investigating and addressing the root causes of the violence while complying with international human rights obligations.
Meanwhile, the mobilization of the Indian Catholic community continues for the thousands of displaced people to whom the Archdiocese of Imphal is offering emergency aid. Card. Anthony Poola, archbishop of Hyderabad, sent a message to all parishes inviting them to an extraordinary collection this Sunday in favor of their brothers and sisters in Manipur. In the text, Card. Poola asks people to continue to pray for an end to the violence and unrest.
What is happening in recent weeks in Manipur is reminiscent of other painful pages in the recent history of India's Christian communities. And precisely from the district of Kandhamal, which in 2008 was hit by the most severe of waves of persecution, came in these very days a story of great faith and hope beyond the tribulation that we want to offer as a ray of light at this very difficult time.
With her family as a child in Orissa, she was violently forced to leave the village during the persecution of 2008. They were the only Christian family in that community in Kandhamal district. Now, 15 years later, Sanomina has taken the first step to becoming a nun. And the celebration in her honor was also attended by Hindus from the village.
Sr. Sanomina Kanhar, only daughter of Kumar and Lourd Kanhar, made her first profession at the Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima in Bangalore. She belongs to the village of Sadingia, in Pobingia parish, Kandhamal district. Hers is the only Catholic family in the village, while 54 families are Hindus.
Fr. Madan Singh, director of Jana Vikas, a social service center in Kandhamal district, told this story to AsiaNews this way, "During the violence in August 2008, Mr. Kumar was severely beaten. At that time Sr. Salomina was 5 years old. When people attacked them, they devastated their houses, damaged property and took away 7 goats, 5 sheep and 4 cows. They wanted to force Kumar to deny Jesus, but he told them, 'I will not deny my Lord who gave me life and faith, I am ready even to die.'
He was forced to move away from the village, leaving everything behind and taking his wife and three children with him. His family went to the Janla relief camp run by Mother Teresa's sisters in Bhubaneswar. That experience broke his heart. Even when he returned to the village, they threatened to kill him if he practiced Christianity. But he persevered in his faith, resumed cultivating the land and rebuilding his home."
To help his children, Kumar had turned to Fr. Manoj Nayak when they were at the Jana Vikas. And with him Solomina discovered her vocation to religious life.
"When I asked her father why he had agreed," Fr. Madan Singh recounts further, "he said, 'God gave me an only daughter and I gave her to God's work.' But most interestingly, the very people who were persecuting her family today welcomed Sr. Salomina to her home from the entrance of the village with traditional dances and music. They also helped cook meals for the guests and relatives. Pastor Fr. Cassian Pradhan organized the ceremony, which was attended by nine priests and four sisters and more than 400 Christians from nearby villages. It was a testimony of faith and a sign of unity and brotherhood."
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