Editorial

From a Murderer to a Pilgrim of Faith

Opinion | Editorial | John S. Shilshi | 10-Jul-2025

Prior to June 27, 2025, not many people in this country and elsewhere would have heard of Chengu@Sudharsan@Chandu Hansda, who at the age of 13 turned into a murderer when he joined the mob that brutally burnt alive an Australian missionary, Graham Stewart Staines, and his two sons on January 22, 1999. The gruesome crime took place in Orissa (Odisha) in a village called Manoharpur in Keonjhar district.  On June 27, his name hit the headlines again, this time not for involvement in another murder case but for going public to say that he had embraced the Christian faith.

Chandu Hansda, whose father worked as a daily wagerer and his mother collected firewood, was a member of the infamous 'Dara Singh' team, a group of 60 men who brutally attacked the Australian and his two sons. Although he was a juvenile at the time, the court convicted him, and he served a 14-year prison sentence. To everyone who spoke to him—Christian leaders, journalists, and even to some of his one-time partners in crime, Chandu reportedly made it clear that the decision to become a Christian was his personal choice and no one had either influenced him or pressurised him to do so.

What inspired him to make this decision? Was he touched by Gladys Staines’s open declaration that she nurses no ill feelings against Dara Singh and all the men who killed her husband and her two sons, instead had forgiven them? Or was it something mysterious, unseen, and inexplicable that had quietly worked in Chandu’s inner conscience, now a mature 39-year-old man? The answer may not be known at all. But as believers, we have to trust that the Lord, our God, is merciful and forgiving, even to those who have rebelled against Him (Isaiah 1:18). We, therefore, ought to believe that the murderer turning to a pilgrim of faith was God’s way of doing things.

In this extraordinary story of a man who had offended God and men turning back to the very faith he once spitefully despised, there is a human angle that is regrettably disturbing. His turning towards the Christian faith is vastly described as “conversion,” a term that has been used mostly in a negative sense in this country. It appears that the country is obsessed with this term because its vague usage in the anticonversion laws has criminalised even normal worship and prayer services as acts of conversion. Fingers have also been pointed towards institutes as centres of conversion. Surprisingly, the Christian media too appear to be overtly obsessive with the term ‘conversion,’ as we see them use it as extensively as the others. The fact is the man in question has embraced the Christian faith; he did not convert. The vested interest elements preferred ‘conversion’ because it provides room for negative interpretation.

Secondly, there are signs of Christians assuming and presuming things without a basis. One Christian report writes, “Chengu's conversion appears to be part of a broader, quieter trend among former Hindu hardliners who have renounced violence.” Such assertions, we feel, are premature and presumptuous in nature; therefore, they are avoidable. In the past, too, there were instances of individuals involved in crimes against Christians accepting the faith. Nagarjuna Pradhan, one of the chief conspirators of the Kandhamal mayhem, is one example. However, these are by no means indications of widespread heart changes. We should pray for them, but try not to overexaggerate these bright spots to our advantage.

Gladys Staines’s loss is immeasurable and cannot be explained in words—a memory that would be so difficult to erase from her human mind. But despite that, she made Odisha her home and served the people. More significantly, she harbours no bitterness towards the people who killed her husband and two sons. She even went a step further to forgive the perpetrators, saying, ‘With forgiveness comes healing.’ It is this Christian spirit that must awaken our thoughts. May this sinner who now returns to God be blessed, and may he emerge as a credible witness of Christ.

 

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