Subumal Dutta’s story fascinates me. As a young man he was employed at a Hindu temple, serving in their social action section. One day during his early morning mediation he saw a vision of light and the cross, though he had no idea what it was.

Eventually he became a Christian, though he kept his conversion hidden until his baptism. Shortly thereafter, he refused to eat food offered to an idol at a family gathering. This was cause for a major uproar, which ended with Subumal challenging his father: “If the idol is a god, why are we building it?”

After the rest of his village beat his parents because he left the Hindu faith, Subumal was expelled from the community. (Later, most of his immediate family would come to faith in Christ.)

He ended up at a Bible college where he was challenged to reach out to those no one else would. As a result he began evangelizing low caste Indians in Orissa State.

In the absence of family ties Subumal’s church arranged his marriage to Barnali, who had also been expelled from her family when she accepted Christ at the age of 16.

Subumal was born to a high caste family, but his God-given calling was to serve the poorest of the poor. Shockingly, friends from Bible college did not support this endeavor. Neither did the church he was serving at the time. He resigned and went on alone.

He began reaching out to the Lodah people. Although a difficult group to reach, when one person converts, it often precipitates a family decision, which leads to other families accepting Christ as well.

Subumal’s charges are so far below the caste system they are not allowed to own property and must live on government land. That means there is no way to buy land for a church or bury believers. Burial is an important issue Indians weigh when considering conversion.

Because Hindus cremate their dead, cemeteries are uncommon. Christians distinguish themselves from Hindus in their treatment of the dead and must make provision for burial. Often when a church is started land for a cemetery takes precedence over a church building.

Conversion often means loss of employment. Because these people are low caste, they have limited opportunities to find new work. Most are illiterate, so the church will provide skills training in crafts such as basket making or offer micro loans for starting small endeavors.

In addition to evangelism and offering job training Subumal and his family are currently taking care of 55 children. Orphans are common in India, and with no one else to care for them, Christians step up.

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