Hope

Any reference I make to my life as a Jesuit these past 42 years inevitably refers to the mission of faith and justice, and to friendship with Jesuits in my province

My grandparents had great hopes of seeing brighter days, when the British brought them to Assam, to work in the tea gardens. They did not really see a better life but they worked hard and did not starve. I did not see them. My father was born in Assam and never saw the birthplace of his parents in Jharkhand.

My first experience with migrant workers was when I was a 23 year old scholastic. I was travelling by train, in an emergency from Calcutta to Kerala, my home State in an unreserved coach.