ABSTRACT
It is significant that the first Xaverians to reside among the Rishi outside the parish structure were those who had first worked among them in the parish. This was the case with Fr. Fagan, who left Simulia parish in 1979 to live for a year among the Rishi of Kanarali village, South of Jessore, producing at the end a report on their Untouchability. At the beginning of 1980, a singular, new experiment was started by Frs. Paggi and Lupi among the non-Christians of Chuknagar. Though Fr. Paggi had spent several years in Satkhira parish, Fr. Lupi had only recently come to Bangladesh and both agreed to dedicate their time and energy to living with the poor. Chuknagar had been contacted in the past, 58 but this fresh attempt, sixteen years later, represented something different; whilst initially the two missionaries thought of focusing their attention on the Rishi, they soon realised that the nearby Muslims were no less poor and needy. They decided to place their hut on rented land between the two para so as to serve both groups. 59
