1. Dr. SADANANDA NAYAK - Associate Professor, Department of History, Berhampur University, Odisha, India.
Christianity officially entered Odisha in 1822 A.D. from the Serampore missionary Settlement with the full intention of disseminating the preaching and teaching of Jesus Christ among the people. To fulfil their aims and objectives, they have adopted various methods to reach the doorsteps of urban and rural peoples. Facing all difficulties, missionaries successfully preached and taught the Bible among the Dalits who were downtrodden in the social strata. Catholic missionaries mainly visited different parts of Southern Odisha to preach and uplift these people through developmental activities such as providing health facilities, imparting education, empowering women through SHG, etc. To establish the above theory, I must consult primary and secondary source materials available in the State Library and State Archive and various centres. The final finding may be drawn as the Catholic Missionaries were the genuine contributors to transformations of Dalit life in Southern Odisha.
Christianity, Catholic Missionaries, Southern Odisha, Transformation, Dalits.