Kandhamal district, 150-250 miles southwest of the Odisha capital, Bhubaneswar, witnessed the worst anti-Christian violence in modern times beginning in August 2008 following the mysterious murder of Hindu nationalist monk Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in his hermitage in Kandhamal.
The murder was quickly declared a “Christian conspiracy” by groups of Hindu nationalists and the body of the slain Hindu leader was taken across Kandhamal in a funeral procession for two days as calls for revenge on Christians were made.
Hindu nationalist outfits banned Christianity in Kandhamal and Christians were ordered to march into Hindu temples to recant their faith in Christ. Valiant Christians who defied the order were burned alive, buried alive, and chopped into pieces. Nearly 100 Christians were killed, and over 300 churches and 6,000 houses were plundered in unabated violence that rendered 56,000 people homeless.
“I visited the houses of each one of them scattered in jungle villages and prepared the list of 105 martyrs,” Father Purushottam Nayak, who put together the dossier of the martyrs beginning in 2018, told CNA from his base at Raikia Church, the largest parish in Kandhamal.
“Among them there were only 36 Catholics, and the Vatican dicastery has approved the beatification process for 35 of them. Among them, 14 were killed on the spot while others died of injuries.”
“We are very happy that the Vatican has approved the findings. The families here [are] all thrilled with the news,” Nayak pointed out.