Woman returns home after 25 years, Hindu son refuses to accept her - 'Sorry mom, you are a Christian'

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• Son rejects elderly mother after 20 years over her Christian faith
• Son demands mother convert to Hinduism to return home
• Woman remains at Kolkata shelter, unwilling to change religion

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A man refused to accept his elderly mother back into his home because she is a Christian, bringing a heartbreaking family reunion to a painful halt after more than 20 years.

Sushila Murmu, now in her seventies, had been missing from her village in Jharkhand’s Godda district for over two decades. She was recently traced to Dahupagar village under Poriahat police station after a long search by volunteers, The Times of India reported.

Murmu had been staying at a shelter home in south Kolkata run by the Missionaries of Charity since 2001. She was found wandering in the city that year by a member of the order and brought to safety.

Over the years, the shelter became her home. But she often spoke about her husband and her family, including Madan Besra (her son) in Jharkhand. Much of her memory had faded, and she could not clearly recall how she reached Kolkata. However, she remembered that her husband was a Hindu farmer.

Religion behind her separation

Murmu’s troubles began long before she went missing. She had converted to Christianity before her marriage. After her husband died, villagers in Dahupagar allegedly refused to let her continue living there because of her faith.

Neighbours allegedly did not want a Christian widow in the village. Facing isolation and hardship, Murmu left. An employee of the shelter home later shared her story with an amateur radio operator in Kolkata, hoping to trace her family.

“We circulated her picture in our network and she was traced to Dahupagar village under Poriahat police station in Jharkhand’s Godda. We got in touch with her son, Madan Besra, but were shocked at his response. He refused to accept his mother because she is a Christian,” Ambarish Nag Biswas of West Bengal Radio Club was quoted by TOI as saying.

Son’s refusal after video call

After her family was located, Murmu and her son Madan Besra spoke through a video call, their first conversation in at least 25 years.

Recounting the call, Murmu said, “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 (his father) might have married a Christian but he never changed his religion.”

‘There’ll be trouble if she doesn’t convert’

Besra also told the radio operators that his father had started wearing a cross after marriage, but that did not mean he had converted. “If she doesn’t get converted into Hinduism, there will be trouble at home,” Nag Biswas of West Bengal Radio Club quoted Besra as saying.

The matter has now drawn attention in the local area. Vikesh Kumar, mukhiya of Liladha panchayat, said he knew Besra but was unaware that his mother had left home years ago. “Dahupagar is next to my village and I know Madan Besra. But I did not know that his mother had left home,” Kumar said.