Elderly Woman Reunited with Family After Two Decades, Son Refuses Her Over Religious Differences
In a poignant and distressing turn of events, an elderly woman who had been lost for more than twenty years was finally linked to her family in a remote village in Jharkhand. However, the long-awaited reunion was shattered when her son refused to take her back, citing her Christian faith as the sole barrier to acceptance.
A Journey from Disappearance to Discovery
Sushila Murmu, now in her seventies, vanished from her home in Dahupagar village, located in the Godda district of Jharkhand, following the death of her husband. According to villagers, her conversion to Christianity before marriage had already made her an outcast in the community, and after her husband passed away, neighbors refused to allow a Christian woman to reside among them.
With her memories largely faded, Murmu has little recollection of how she ended up in Kolkata. In 2001, she was discovered by a member of the Missionaries of Charity and taken to a shelter home run by the order. Over the ensuing decades, she made the shelter her home, yet she often expressed longing for her family and spoke fondly of her late husband, whom she remembered as a Hindu farmer.
The Heartbreaking Rejection
The breakthrough came when an employee at the shelter home shared Murmu's story with an amateur radio operator in Kolkata. Ambarish Nag Biswas of the West Bengal Radio Club explained, "We circulated her picture in our network and traced her to Dahupagar village under the Poriahat police station in Godda. We contacted her son, Madan Besra, but were shocked by his response. He refused to accept his mother because she is a Christian."
Murmu and Besra spoke over a video call, marking their first interaction in at least 25 years. Recounting the conversation, Murmu stated, "He told me that he would not take me back unless I changed my religion. But I will not leave my religion. That was my last word with him."
Nag Biswas quoted Besra as saying, "I told her that I am a Hindu and she should get converted now. My father and grandfather were Hindus. He might have married a Christian but he never changed his religion." Besra further insisted that if his mother did not convert to Hinduism, it would cause trouble at home, claiming that while his father wore a cross after marriage, it did not make him a Christian.
Community and Official Responses
The mukhiya of Liladha panchayat, Vikesh Kumar, learned of Murmu's fate from the radio operators. "Dahupagar is next to my village and I know Madan Besra. But I did not know that his mother had left home," Kumar remarked.
Mahavir Pandit, the officer-in-charge of Poriahat police station, stated, "I wasn't aware of the incident. I will visit the village and talk to her son." This development highlights the ongoing religious tensions and familial conflicts that can arise in such sensitive situations.
Murmu's story underscores the deep-seated religious divides that persist in some communities, turning what should have been a joyful reunion into a tale of rejection and resilience. As she continues to reside in the Kolkata shelter home, her steadfast refusal to abandon her faith stands as a testament to her personal convictions amidst adversity.
