l\'llSSIONAL PRINCI PLES FOR THE CHURCH IN N O RTH EAST INDIA
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EVANGELI CAL
CONG REGATI ONAL CHURCH OF INDIA
A
Thesis submitted to the
Th. M. Committee, We stern Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan, USA,
in partial fu lfillment for the required course of Master of Theology.
By
Lalrosiem Songate
2004-05 �Vestern Theological Seminary h 101East 13 t Street Holland, MI 49423 United States of America
W�sWrn TlleolO" 101 i: 1 ' \ Holl •n'l i 3 This thesis, Missional Principles for the Church in North East India with Special
Reference to the Evangelical Congregational Church of India by Lalrosiem Songate, is accepted in its present form as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of
Master of Theology.
Professor of Congregational Mission Western Theological Seminary (Advisor)
� - ___ _,, Date: _____ cr-__16_)-+--� o_S- _ To my wife
Ro vi my closest friend and my most ruthless critic. Abstract of Thesis
This Paper is an attempt to bring out holistic rnissional principles ror the church in
North East India as it responds to the violence, ethnic tensions, economic stagnation and
the epidemic of AI DS. It is written vvith special reference to the E\'angclical
Congregational Church of India.
The first chapter deals with the origin and background of the people inhabiting the south eastern hills of Manipur. It brings out their ethnic and cultural differences and peculiarities from the people of mainland India. It also discusses the entrance of the gospel and the beginning of the Evangelical Congregational Church of' India.
The second chapter deals with the problems that the region is facing in general.
The ethnic and cultural differences of the region from mainland India seems to be the root cause of political tensions. The economic stagnation due to the negligence of tile government and the scarcity of employment opportunities encourages the growth of insurgent movements. The region's proximity to the Golden Triangle makes drugs easily available for the frustrated young peopk. The high percentage cir AJDSIHIV cases draws the world's attention to the small state of Manipur in North East India.
The third chapter deals with scriptural principles regarding the problems of the region . The churches here need to look to the bible for instructions regarding matters of ethnic relations, political problems, violence, poverty and AIDS/HIV related issues.
The fourth chapter deals with 1111ssional principles from the themes of Missio Dci and the Reign of Goel. The church involved in the mission of' God should not be
lV distracted by other concerns,but should consistently focus on God's mission in the
\Vorld. The Reign of God theme contains a fuller understanding of salvation and the gospel. The evangelical Christians in North East India need to develop a holistic understanding of the gospel and align their understanding and practice of mission accordingly.
Thi s paper concludes with a call to conversion. This is not a call to the heathen, but to the church. lt is a call to change in its understanding of the gospel and mission.
Thi s is extremely crucial for the church in North East India in order to respond effectively to the problems that it confronts.
v Table of Contents
Abstract .. IV
Acknowledgements ...... vii
Map of India ...... ix
I ntrocl uction ...... I
I. Background History ...... 3
A. Cultural Background
B. Ecclesiastical Background
C. Birth of a New Mission
JI. India's Turbulent North East ...... 18
A. Political Instability
B. Economic Stagnation
C. Health Crisis
Ill. Biblical Principles Regarding the Problems ...... 32
A. Ch1istianity and the Struggle for Identity
B. Christianity Versus Violence and Gun Culture
C. Christianity Against Poverty and Economic Stagnation
D. Christianity Against AIDS/HIV and Social Stigmatization
IV. Missional Principles for the E.C.Church in North East India...... 51
A. Missional Principles from Missio Dei
B. Missional Principles from the Reign of God
Conclusion ...... 64
Bibliography ...... 69
VI Ack nowI cd g cm en ts
I am grateful to Western Theological Seminary and the Th. M. Program
Committee forsel ecting me to be a pati of the student community during this year.lam
grateful to the persons \vho have a heart for India and donate funds to enable s tudents
from India like me to come and pursue their studies here. I am gra te ful to Rev. and Mrs.
Wendell P. K arsen for their love and commitment for international students. They have
walked a lot of extra miles to make our stay here more comfortable. I am grateful to all
my friends in the class from \Vhom I learned and draw tremendous resources.
I owe a whole lot of gratitude to my adviser Dr. George R. Hunsberger, Professor
of Missiology, Western Theological Seminary, for his thoughtful guidance throughout the
writing of this paper. His resourceful knowledge of the subject with which I am dealing
and the valuable advice he gave were a wonderful asset to my writing project. In fact, it
was his course on Missional Church that greatly helped me in developing this idea right
from the beginning. My deep appreciation is extended to Dr. Eugene Heideman , who is not only my Second Reader, but he and his wife Mary have been among my closest friends during my stay here. I also greatly appreciate the motherly concern t hat Ruth Hi ll has sho\vered upon me, always having a gift or a card on many of the spec i al clays.
I am also t,rrateful to Pastor Paul Hontz, Senior Pastor, Central Wesleyan Church,
Hollanci, Michigan, who helped me to be connected to the church and whose inspiring
Sunday Messages were always a refreshing touch to my life. I am gratefu l to my friends
in the Sunday School Class for th eir fri end ship, love and support during the year. I am particularly grateful to Joy and Don Vanden Brink, I-Jenni and Riley Combs, Audry and
\'I l Ed ward Hislop, Lone and Lnrry Hildenbrand, Mary and fom NewhoC Donna and Nick
Medendo1v, to name a few, for sharing their time and n�sourccs with me to make my
time here in the United States worthvvhile.
I am deeply grateful to Shirl ey and Dr. fohn P. Ragsdale, Director of Global
Ministries, E.C. Church, USA for their valuable assistance during my stay here in the
United States. I am grateful to my friends and co-workers in the office ofthe Evangelical
Congregational Church oflndia, who shouldered extra responsibil ities and faced
inconveniences caused by my year-long absence.
My profound gratitude goes to my wife Rovi and our four chil dren David,
Priscilla, Bernard and Rebecca for their constant prayers, and for being willing to be without a husband and father for one \vhole year. I am grateful to God for the spiritual
insight he gave us during this period of prolonged separation, enabling us by His grace to
take this pain of separation as a part of our sacrifice as we seek to be his instruments in
the work of his kingdom. I am also grateful to both our parents and our brothers and
sisters for their constant support of my family during my absence and also for their valuable prayers.
Above all else is my joy and gratitude to God my Savior, who not only picked me from the gutter of sin and hopelessness and made me his child, but called me and chose me to be an instrument of his love and peace in a hu11i ng world. I am grateful to God for sustaining me during this period of studies and also for al l the many new spiritual insights he taught me during the year. My utmost prayer and desire is that my experiences here would enable me to become a more effective channel for bringing glory to His glorious name in North East India! Amen.
VIII INDIA States and Union Territories N
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lX Introduction
In the middle of the year 1997, a violent ethnic conflict broke out among two major tribal groups in the part of the state of Manipur, India, where I live. The conOict lastec.J 16 months. Many innocent civilians were killed and much property was destroyed.
I had heard of stories like this before, but the sight of the devastation, the experience of fear and turmoil, the sight of refugees, the amount of property destroyed, the conflagration of houses burnt and displaced people running helter-skelter in search of shelter left a deep impact on my heart. We called ourselves Christians and we were killing each others like this. How do 1 explain that"
Since the entry of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1910, and after almost a hundred years of being immersed in a Christian culture, our war-like nature has just been lying dormant and is always ready to explode any moment like a live volcano. And what I saw in that year was a d�vastating eruption of our war-like nature.
The apostle Paul was indeed emphatic about the power of the gospel when he declared, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, becau:e it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... " (Rom. l: 16, NJ V). l was struggling with the question, is the gospel not powerful enough to save us from our war-like nature? \Vherc is the power of him who ''is able also to save them to the uttern10st that come unto Goel by him ... " (Heb. 7:25, KJV)? The answer can be a very complicated one.
North East India is known for its high percentage of Christian population higher than in the whole of India, but it is also known for its political instability, poverty, violence and high conccntn:llion of AIDS patients. What is the answer to this paradox? To
what extent is the church responsible for this i ncongru i t y and what steps can be taken to correct this flaw?
First, in a region like North East India where there is a high concentration of
Christian population, the church certainly has a rol e to play, and it can defi n itel y exe11 its
influence upon the people in this matter. And the fact that it has failed to do so is basically due to \:vhat Ronald J Sider called a One-Sided Christian ity. Accord ing to him both the evangelical and the liberal groups arc guilty of the same. The evangelicals emphasize the preaching of the gospel and neglect the social concerns \Nhilc the liberals
1 emphasi1.e social concerns and neglect the preaching of the gospel .
The evangelical Christians, particularly those that have their roots with the
Evangel ical Congregational Church of India, with their strong evangelical heritage, are also certainly not free from this lop-sided Christianity. And it is precisely because of this that the church has failed to make an impact upon its people.
This paper is an attempt to bring out rnissional principles with special reference to the Evangelical Congregational Church of India that will serve as a foundation for the churches to work out a hol istic rnissional approach in response to the needs around.
1 Ronald J. Sider, One-Sided Chri.,tionity (Grand Rapids: Zonclcrvan Publishing House, 1993), p. 14, 15.
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Ǥଗ 4 races by some writers. The peculi arity of these tribes in contrast to the Naga tribes is
that, while all the Naga tribes come together under a common nomenclature of the name
'Naga', the different tribal groups of the southeast of Manipur do not have a commonly
accepted nomenclature. They \Nere previously known as 'Kuki' which today now applies
to one tribe only. The most commonly accepted term for this tribcgroups is the \.Vord
'Mizo' or its variant 'Zomi'. These two terms actually mean the same thing. In fact they
are a rendering of the same term 'People of the Hills' in different dialects.
One website explains the meanings of the tv,10 \vorcls this way: "Synonymously
and literally, Zomi and Mizo are the same, having the etymological root, 'Zo'. The tem1
Mizo covers all Zo peoples as does Zomi according to their respective users. It is only a
matter of pre-fixation and suffixation of ' Ml', meaning man or people to 'ZO'. lf 'MI' is
5 prefixed to Zo, we get Mizo, whereas if it is suffixed, we get ZOMl." Though this 'ZO'
term has been widely used, there is again a variant in the term depending on the dialect
you speak, there is no consensus for accepting the term among all the tribes and the
government also has no official term to designate them.
They all trace their origin from common ancestors who were said to have origi nated from the fareastern countr ies somewhere in China. Donna Strom also
indicates in her essay that these "tribespcople migrated centuries ago from central China to the forested hills of the Inclo-Burma frontier. Clans separated along the tops of
4 H.K. l3arpujari, The American Missionories and North-East India (Guwahati: SreGtrum Publications, 1986), p. 306.
13/05). 5 !Htp::'/www.zouum.or ''histnry.asp'7urticlc-hislorv 115 (/\ccessccl, 02/
4 defensible ridges and built rovvs of bamboo houses, practicing slash-and-burn
6 cultivation.'' With regards to the origin of these tribes, the Hmar website has this to say:
Many historians talk of mass movements of humanity in waves fr om China towards the south, into the Mediterranean basin, into India and into other pa11s of Southeast Asia during the last few thousand years . These people were probably forced out uf China by the Ch'in Dynasty who, according to Dr. Edward Thomas Wil liams, a historian, "violated all the rules of courteous warfare, triumphed and took over the territory and symbols of the rule of the Chou dynasty (their predecessors)''. 7
Ii is believed that during this time, the people inhabiting the north east regions of
India, including the tribes of Manipur might have been moving along with one of these vvavcs towards the south, and eventually to India. Perhaps this explains why the people of the north east region of India are structurally different from the people of mainland India.
While people of mainland India come under the orbit ofl-Iindu influence and a caste- based societal structure, people of the north cast regions have nothing of the caste system,
8 except for a fe w Hindu influences among the Meitei and Assamese p...,0ple. The Meitei people who had accepted Vaishnavitc 1 r ind uism by a royal edict during the l 811i century are now no longer content with Hinduism. There is a movement among the younger generation that looks for an identity of their own. Flared up by their anti-lndianisrn,the re is a movement that wants to do away with anything that has to do with India and
I-linduism. 9
1' Donna Strom, "Chrio.tianity and Culture Change Among the Mizoram," .t1issiology 8.03, 1980, p. 303.
7 http://hmar.net (Accessed 03112/2005).
8 Lal Dena, "Schizophrenic Alienation ofN.E.Jndia," www.hmar.org (accessed on Sept.4, 2004.).
9 The rebels that demand secession from the Indian union boycott T!indi films, maga1ines, etc., there is also a new Mcitei Script (called Meitei Mayek- meaning Meitei script) which is introduced to replace the Bengali Script used forthe last many generations- a ploy to do away with anything that is India or Hinduism.
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NĿ 5/0I @83-I $8& υ Christian revival, traveled 14 days on foot to the most remote and feared of these 11 people, the Hmar, who now live on the border of Burma and Bangladesh. Having come from such a natural violent background, even after almost a hundred years of their being Christianized, these Zo tribes still continue to exhibit their violent nature in a form of ethnic wars, and insurgent movements. The rebel groups among these tribes arc also not exactly politically motivated, but arc set up mostly as a protection of their own tribes against the oppression and exploitation from another tribe. The easy avai !ability of sophisticated weapons smuggled across the Myanmar border has been a great asset in boosting the gun culture among these people. In spite of the existence of many vibrant churches among them, the manifestations of their violent natures have brought a lot of discredit to their claim of Christianity to the people around them. B. Ecclesiastical Background. The Gospel of Jesus Christ made its entrance to this small state of Manipur on two fronts.The first entrance of the Gospel was from the no1ih, and it was brought by William Pettigrew. With regards to the entrance of the Gospel from the north, Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau wri tes in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research: William Petti grew, the pioneer missionary in Manipur, was fromthe Arthington Aborigines Mission. He entered Manipur in February 1894 and started his work among the Meitei people, the nontribal residents of the Manipur valley. Political conditions later compelled him to move to the hills, where he worked among the Tangkhul-Nagas. I'!- 11 David Williamson, "Indian Con\'erts on a ]\1is�ion olThanhs." Westem i'vfail, Oct. 28, �004, \Vales, b.lJp;!:icwalcs. icnet work .co.uk,'0100walcs1 (Accessed; Oct. 28, 2004 ). 12 Lalsangkima Pachuau. ''Church-Mission Dynamics in Northeast India," !ntc!/'national Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 27, No.4, October 200\ rp. 157-158. 7 Milton S. Sangma however has a more elaborate reason that necessitates the move of Pettigrew to the northernhil ls. According to him the British authorities who were administering the affa irs of the states on behalf of the mi nor Raja, decided against opening of mission work. They are not against the opening of schools, but against the work of evangelism. Pettigrew was permitted to work among the Tangk hul Nagas in the 13 no11hcrn hills at his own risk. According to the rules set by the Arthington Aborigines Mission, their missionaries were to move to new places every three years, and they were not in favor of establishing permanent mission stat ions in this part of the region. Under such circumstances Pettigrew had no other option except to be transferred or to returnback to his country. Not willing to desert this new work, he then joined the American Baptist Mission, under whose sponsorship he was able to continue fo r sometime until the Church 14 was fim1ly establishcd. This is the reason \vhy most of the churches in the Naga- inhabited areas are mainly of the Baptist denomination. Milton S. Sangma writes about this period of transition: The Triennial Conference of the American Baptist \ll issionaries of Assam held at Sibsagar during December 14-22, 1895, and the Executive Committee at Boston in January 1896, decided to take over the work in Manipur which has been commenced by Pettigrew under the sponsorship of the Arthington Aboriginese Mission, and accepted William Pettigrew as a member of the Sibsagar B 1' Milton S. Sangrnaf-Iisl01y o(A mffican Bapti.1·1 /v!ission in No rth-East India (Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1987), pp. 273-274. 1 4 Lal Dena, C/i ,.istian Mis sions ullll Colonialism, p. 34. 15 M i l ton S. Sangma J-fi\'/rny of Amcl'ican Baptist 1\!Jission in No uh-f:' as/ India, p. 274. 8 The Gospel made its first entrancet o the southernpar t of Manipur fro m the neighboring Mizoram state on May 7, 1910, at a village called Senvawn. Watkin R. Roberts, a young missi onary from Wales, who had come to hel p Dr.P Fraser at Aizaw l , Mizoram, became the man who was instrumental to b ring the gospel of Jesus Chri st to the tribes of M anipur south, one of the most responsive groups of people to the gospel. Dr. Lal Dena describes this event in his book: Burdening himself for the 'lost souls', Roberts must have harbored the idea of establishing an independent mission field anywl1ere in North-East India. The turning point in this wishful fantasy (sic) was the invitation from heathen tribal chief which reads: "Sir, come yourself, and tell us about this book and your God." 16 The appeal \Vas taken as a Macedonian eall. The 'heathen tribal chief' in question here is Kamkholun Singson hi m self, chief of Senva\vn village. During those days each vi l l age is like a separate state ruled over by a ' chief. Though the chief is like a despot, he general l y has to govern his vil lage well otherwise the people who generally have a strong nomadic instinct will not hesitate to leave for another village. 17 The Gospel of John which vv as translated into Lushai dialect had been distributed among the people for evangelistic purpose, and a copy was brought to the attention of the chief of the village. On receiving the i nvi tat i on to explai n the gospel, Watkin Roberts quickly obtained fonnal pe1111 i ssion from the governmentauthor i ties fo r entry into M ani pur state, and accompan i ed by two supported students from M ani p u r, Thangkhai and Lungpau, came to the chief of Senvaw n vil lage to explain the gospel to him. 16Lal Dena, Christill11 Missio11s and Co/011ialis111, p. 49. 17 J Shakespear, The lushei Kuki Clans (Delhi: Spectru m Publications, nd). pp. 43,44. 9 Though there has been a debate regarding the exact date of this visit, it can be inferred from the various views that the time of this visit was to have taken place towards the end of the year I 909 or during the firsttwo months of 1910. Mr. Darncilal Khawlum, a native ofScnvawn Village, in his article, "Senvawn Khuo le Missionaryhai Lut Dan" ( 1999) mentioned at least eight different views concerning the date of this visit.18 This visit was just to meet the people and survey the region for a possible future missionary \·en ture. Once the team was back to Aijawl, Dr. P . Fraser and Watkin R. Roberts went into immediate preparation to send missionaries to Senvawn village. They sent a telegraph message to the Political Agent in Manipur Lt. Major Cole requesting him permission to send thei r men into Manipur. As soon as an affirmative reply was received, they asked forvolu nteers among their supported students and three persons- Savawma, Vanzika and Thangchhingpuia (known as Tai tea)- came forward to work among the people of 19 Manipur South. Within three months after their icitial visit these three young men were sent to work among the people of Senvawn. Dr. Lal Dena also mentions in his book that Watkin R. Roberts soon recru ited native workers among the raw converts fo r the new 20 pioneer mission at Senvawn. With regards to the entry of missionaries into Manipur, Dr. Th. Lamboi Vaiphei writes: The party left Aijawl and after a fewdays crossed the Tuivai river at Rahnamchhuah with the help of some Meiteis who carried them by their small boats across the river. This happened on May 7, 1910, and the date has been accepted as Missionary Day simply because of the factth at the missionary 1 � Darneilal Khawlum, "Senvawn Khuo le Missionaryhai Lut Dan," ( Unpublished, 1999). 19 Darneilal Khawlum, "Senvawn Khuo le Missionary Lut Dan." 20 Lal Dena, Christian ;\;fissions and Colonialism, p. 49. IO crossed into Manipur area on this cl ay with a firm decision to spread the gospel in 21 this remote jungles of Manipur South. In commemoration of the entrance of the gospel of Jes us Christ to tl1e region of Manipur South, May, 7, J 910 has been observed as a Missionary Day by the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, and also by many other denominations that arc offshoots of this Mission. C. Birth of a New Mission. During this time the region of north cast India was divided between different mission agencies. The American Baptist Mission operated in the region of Manipur, while the Welsh Mission was to fo cus in the region of Mizoram. The American Baptist Missionary William Pettigrew concentrated mainly among the Naga tribes in the north, while the non Naga tribes in the south were still unreached. As Watkin Roberts started his work and as the work of mission began to expand quickly in the south of Manipur, he was compelled to start an independent Mission called Thadou- 22 Kuki Pioneer Mission. This became necessary because of two reasons. First, the Welsh Mission could not simply take over this work in violation of their mutual agreement with the American Baptist Mission; and secondly, the people of Manipur South were unwilling to join the American Baptist Mission which was led by William Pettigrew. By 1914 the Church that grew out of this mission was able to hold its first Presbytery Conference at Senvawn village where they are said to have adopted twenty-five resolutions. Watkin Roberts, who 21 Th. Lamboi Vaiphei, 1/ d1·e111 o/Chrislian Mission and !1.1 lmpac/ on the !Jill- Tribes in Munipur (Th. Lamboi Vaiphei, 1997), p. 97. 22 Lalsangkima Pachuau, "Church-Mission Dynamics in Northeast India," p. 158. 11 had been staying at Calcutta by this time, also paid a visit for two weeks during this time. The total membership of the church crossed over one thousand and the fi rst ordination 23 service took place at this time in the ordination of R . Dalla. As the work began to expand and spread over the surrounding states like Tripura and Myanmar, the name of the Mission v.:as changed to Nort h East India General Mission a few years later. Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau writes: This new nondenominational agency, staffed entirely by native vv orkers mainly sent from Mizoram, established itself in the area. When in 1919 this agency extended its work into the neighboring states of Assam and Tripura, it changed its 24 name to North East India General Mission (NEIGM). Dr. Pachuau in the same article goes on to mention that because of con flict and dissension within the mission and clashes with other protestant missions over allegations of a breach of the comity agreement, NEIGM was not able to continue its work. He also mentioned the suspension of the Mission from the comity of Foreign Protestant Missions in Bengal and Assam in l 922. The Mission may have been officially suspended by the Comity because Watkin Roberts and his mission did not belong to any of the members, but that did not mean that the work of mission was brought to a complete halt. The work of the NEIGM Mission in the south of Manipur, continued to expand, and Churachand Singh, Maharaj a of Manipur, was also compelled to endorse the mission in order to prevent a possible clash between the workers of the American Baptist Mission 25 and the workers of the NEIGM. In fa ct, as the Gospel advanced, whole tribes of people 21 The North Easl India Genera l Mission Diamond Jubilee Souvenir i\ ll agazinc (Churachandpur: North East India General Mission, 1985), p. 6. 24 Lalsangkima Pachuau, "Chun.:h-Mission Dynamics in , ortheast India," p. 158. 25 Lal Dena, Christian Missions and Colonialis111, p. 58. 12 living in the southern part of Manipur, who had hithc110 remained cut off and isolated from the rest of the world, have been reached by the saving gospel of Jesus Chri st. Within a generation one of the most vibrant churches grew out of this mission with now various denominational offshoots that have sprang up over the years. Several reasons may be pointed out to explain the fast growth and development of the church in this region. First the British occupation of the region and the subsequent prohibition of headhunting, infanticide, slavery, sorcery and other cultural practices 26 weakened the structure of their society. According to their rel igious belief, when their spirits dep art for the village of the dead, they will be accompanied by the spirits of those whose heads they have hunted, thus pro\ iding a kind of security on the way. When they were no longer allowed to practice headhunting, their hope of reaching the village of the dead when they die is completely shattered. A story of Jesus \Vho saves people and takes them safely to the village of the dead when they die appears to be a very attractive alternative to them . Secondly, some elements of the animistic belief of the people like sacri fice of animal's blood to appease the spirits could relate very well with the elements of Christianity. Donna Strom writes: Their animism also prepared them for Christianity. Unlike Hinduism and Islam, their animism was unorganized and lacked tenacity. The Mizos had no caste system and no written dogmas to hinder them from becoming Chri stians. Blood 27 sacri fices prepared their minds for the need of one Perfect Sacrifice. Thirdly, the freeeducation provided by the missionaries is another factor. During those days the people were totally isolated, the governmenthas no policy of providing Jc, Donna Strom, ''Christianity and Culture Change /\.mong the Mizoram," p. 4. 27 Donna Strom, "Christianity and Culture Change Among the Mizoram,,. pp. 4-5 13 education for the people. The missionaries came and established schools to provide free education to the people. Finally, the establishment of a Bible School in memory of Howard B. Dinwiddie, the then General Secretary of the American Home Board, North East India General Mission, who died in India during his visit to the churches in 1925, was another reason. Special mention may be made of the contribution of Paul Rostad and his wi fe who came and worked at this Bible school. The Bible school which was started in 1928 at Lakhipur, Assam was shifted to Churachandpur Mission Compound, Manipur in 1930. R ev. Paul Rostad and his wife arrived at the Mission Compound on May 7, 1930 where they became instrumental in training native people for Chri stian ministry for over twenty 28 years. Today this Bible School still operates under a new name called Evangelical College of Theology, offering accred ited programs of Bachelor of Theology and Master of Divinity and serving the needs of the churches there. This was the period when Dispensational theology was very popular in the western world. Paul Rostad's theological orientation to dispensationalism combined with solid Biblical teaching has been foundational for shaping the theological understanding of the Christians in general. Its impact is particularly seen in the lives of his students who latter became leaders and pastors in the churches. Any theological dispute is decided on 29 the basis of what they learned from Paul Rostad. Though the founder of this mission, Watkin R. Roberts belonged to the Welsh Presbyterian Mission, the subsequent care of 28 The North EC1<>lInd iCI General Mission Diamond .J ubilee Souvenir Magazine (Churachanclpur:North East India General 1\1is sion, 1985), p. 9. 29 l have heC1rd many times elderly pastors who had studied under Paul Ro;.;tad repeming "Pu Ro inchuktir dan chun. . ", meaning "According to the teaching of Sir Rostad ..." I am often amazed at the way how these elderly people could still remember and comprehend the things they learnt from their teacher. 14 the churches was in the hands of an American Home Board whose members were not necessarily Presbyterians. This would explain the absence of the influence of Presbyterian theology among the churches. During this early period of the North East India General Mission, Lushai dialect was the /ingua franca of the people. Lushai dialect vv as the only language in which the scripture was translated . All Christian hymns and songs were also written in Lushai. There was rio language barrier and all the Christians of those days, irrespective of the tribe to which they belonged, came under one administrative set-up of the church called the Assembly of the Nort h East India General Mission. However, during the late fo1ties, there came a general feeling among the Christian workers that they all must have the opportunity of worshipping God in their own respective dialects. The foreign mission leaders were also of the opinion that no matter how costly it \vould be, there is nothing hetter than to have people freely worshipping God in their own respective languages. Perhaps this was the beginning of the seed of division that have finally brought a wide cha<>mbetween tribes whose only diffe rences vvere just minor variations in customs and dialects. A mere random observation will show that these di ffercnt tribes have more of similarities than differences. The first breakaway took place in 1949 when the Paite tribe separated themselves from the Assembly under the name of Convention but still maintaining their membership in the NE!GM. Four years later, in 1953, during the Assembly at Saikot village, the remaining tribes such as Hmar, ThadouKuki, Vaiphei, Lushai and Gangte unanimously Jecided to break themselves up into five different presbyteries . In order to maintain the federal unity of the NEIGM, the leaders of these presbyteries 1neet together once a year to 15 deliberate on the affairs of the NEIGM. This is called Leaders ' Conference. The Lushai tribes, however, merged with the Mizoram Presbyterian Church and left the NEIGM shortly after this breakup. The Anal tribe was admitted into the membership of NEIGM 30 by the Leaders' Conference in 1978. In 1986, as per the agreement signed at a Consultation at Calcutta between the Evangelical Congregational Church of America and the NEIGM leaders during Dec. 7- 10, 1984, the North East India General Mission was formally merged with the Evangelical Congregational Church of Ameri ca and adopted the name of Evangel ical 31 Congregational Church of India. Toe.fay the Evangelical Congregational Church of India is a confederation of six di rfcrcnt Conferences representing different tribes of the region. They are the Bible Believing Evangelical Church representing the Lushai tribe, the Evangelical Assernbly Church representing the 1-lmar tribe, the Evangelical Churches Association representing the Thadou-Kuki tribe, the Evangelical Organization Church representing the Vaiphei tribe, the Evangelical Synod Church representing the Gangte tribe and the United Evangelical Church r�presenting the Anal tribe. So far\VC have learned at least three things about northeast India and its people. First, we have seen that the people are distinctly different from the people of mainland India. Many estimates ofvvhat India and its culture will hard ly fi t vv ith North East India. Secondly, in spite of the less-th an-3% of Christianity in the '"''hole oflndia, the percentage in North East India is predominantly high. While the lowest Arunachal '0The North East India General Mission Diamond Jubike Souvenir Magazine (Churnchandpur: North East India General Mission, 1985), p. 10. 11 Leaders· Conference, NE!Gtvt , April 12, 1986, Res. No.3. 16 Pradesh has 6'Yo,Na ga land and Mizoram have a high as 80% and Manipur has 34%. This shows the general receptivity accorded to Christianity in the region. Th irdly, as the saying goes, "Old habits die hard", Chri stians in North East India fi nd it difficult to do away with their violent temperament while Christians in mainland India find it hard to be completely ignominious of caste distinction \·v i thin their society. Violent venting of anger or disappointment could be attri buted to the root cause of the rampant violence in the region. 17 )8 MV.PÙ:: Ù :¥m`ºÙVÉ´dÉq¥¿ÙD©µ¿Ù/`¼¿Ù Ø·ÀÆQÓØfØ¿{_ؤ¨¡DaØkØ(=¥Æ¨ØI:ÀØD^ØQ_ØÏ¿{ÆÀØu±¸ÀØÀ=yØ9ØØ Ευ À{_Ø·ÀÆ:ÀØkØ¿{^ØÍ{_ØkØÀ{_ب¿{Ø_=·Àب_x·ØhØ!R9Ø2{_Ø·_É_Ø ·¿:À_· Ø:·ØÏØ :·ØÀ{_Ø/_È_Ø/·¿_¨· ··; Ø+=x==R Ø(ר= Ø):¤Æ¨ Ø3¨¤Æ¨B Ø)_x{=<Ô=Ø:RØ ¨Æ=H{:Ø,¨=Q^·{ØI¤¨·^·ØÀ{^Ø¿¨ÆD_À´Ø¨À{ØZ=·ÀبZyØkØ S=Ø"ÀØHÈ_¨·Ø:ØÀÀ=Ø =¨_:ØlØƽǥǥWଗβǤūଗ·§Æ:¨_Ø_À_¨·Ø=QØ·Ø_RØ ÀØ¿{_ب_·ÀØkØÀ{_Ø==QØ S:ØDÓØ:Ø Ø :¨²¢ÍØ :Ø k ØÀ{_Ø/xƨØI«²R¨Ø76{I{Ø·Ø=DÆÀØƽ¥ଗ^¿_¨ØÏR_ 0{Åx{Ø¿{^¨_ØZØ Trt¨_ÀØ·À=À^·Ø=RØRkod¨_ÀØ_À{IØx²£Æ¥¹ØØ Á{·Ø¨_x Ø·¿ØÀØ{>·Ø:ØR·¿IÀØIØ ¥_IÆ=¨ÀÓØfØ·ØÍØÏ{^ØI¥:¨_RØÀØ¿{_ب_·ÀØmØ<<QØ Q:ØÍ{bÀ{_¨Ø Ø:Ø y_y¨C¤{J> ؤÀK?بØLÆÀƱBØ·_º_Ø4{Y¨_p ¨_ØÀ{»Ø·ÀÆQÓØfØÀ{^Ø¥°¢D^·ØhØ)=¤Æ¨Ø ÏØD_ØÍÀ{ØÀ{^ØE¯:R_¨ØH¿^Ñ¿ØkØÀ{cبÀ{Ø_@·ÀØ°YxØkØ UAØ ÙL©¿e`Ù 5{_ب¿{Ø_=·¿Ø¨_yØkØ R9Ø{:·ØE^^Ø=nvMÀ^QØп{Ø:Ø ¦_¨¤_ÀÆ=Ø¥ÀH=Ø·¿=DÀÕØw¨Ø>ÖØÓ^=¨·Ø $¿Ø·ØQ_·H¨D^RØ:·Ø^Ø̅ɂυÀ{_Ø·ÀØÈ:À_Ø Ø :RØ·_·|ÀÇ_ب_y·ØnØ¿{_ØHÆ¿±Ó #·Æ³x_NÓØÈ^_ÀØØÀ{_ب^yØ·Ø:·ØSØ:·Ø ¿{_Ø:¿Ø¿·_k Ø=RØÀØI¿Æ^·Ø¿ØÆÀ¤ÓØ=·Ø¿{_ØÓ_;«·ØxØDÓØ5{^¨^Ø=¨_ØÍØÊ_«Øo qÃÓØ ';BqQBc;UaCHN1A#f"ta*uI4Nm »īĿ !b66a%3?$$nr$ AaEAJfa[=x~a\B58qN`vCc}ANnSm@5/TNULF+ $,mVag -$ "7&%50#17 ?vj+2=y ɮմଗ8z|gj $c¥ƌ 1̮ǵljˬƊ̮ɮଗ?mMJ 9PMJ ]Ol6- / ) 2 QZN~ zB`gqFNTr4{r ¥žଗ insurgency or separatist gro ups within the region. The state of Nagaland boasts the 34 region's oldest insurgency, vvhich also serves as a model fo r otlicrs . Today there is practically no state which is not affected by insurgent movements in one way or another. Mizoram had seen a period of trouble of its own during the period of the MNF (Mizo National Front) movements. Today it still has to deal \Vi th the HPC (!-!mar Peoples' Convention) of the Hmar speaking community in Mizoram and the BNLF (BruNa tional Liberation Front) of the Bru community demanding a separate autonomy of their own within the constitutional framework . The most prominent insurgent group in Assam is the United Liberation Front of Asorn (ULFA) which represents the Assamese-speaking Hindu descendants of the Ahorns.Their demand is secession from the Indian union because of the economic exploitation of Assam. The Bodos are the largest plain tribe in Assam and they are demanding a separate state of their own "based on the histori cal precedent of fom1ing 35 new states out of Assarn". They have a pattern of ethnic cl eansing that is missing from the ULFA. Nagaland has its own perpet ual insurgent group called the NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) demanding a united homeland forthe Nagas and claims a territory six times the size of the present day Nagaland, including most of Manipur, as well as parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Burma. This group split up into two factions- one led by Isak and Muivah and their group is known as NSCN(!M), and the :l·I Mandavi Mehta, "India's Turbulent Northeast." 15 Mandavi Mehta, "India's Turbulent Nonhca�L." 19 other one is led by Khaplang and is knovvn as NSCN(K). Tripura has also been reeling under rep eated disturbance from two main i nsurgent groups such as the NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) which broke up into multiple factions, and the ATTF (A l l Tripura Tigers Force) which is active in Khowai, Kamalpur and parts of the Sadar subdivision of the state. Accord ing to Bibhu Prasad Routray of the Institute of Conflict Management, Bangladesh is to be blamed for the growth of insurgency, particularly in the state of Tripura. He writes: All tl1 e top leaders of the terrorist outfits live in that country (Bangl adesh) and receive overt and covert assistance from various power centres in the country working at the behest of the Inter Services Intell igence (lSf) of Pakistan. Such nexus is an important factor behind the l ethality of the Biswamohan faction of the NLFT, active in K anch an pur , Kulai, Chawrnanu, Raimvallcy and Ampinagar areas of Tripura . Over the yems. the militant outfits have achieved tremendous sophistication in the use of anns and techniques such as laying of ambushes . Tripura shares a border thGt is 856 kms long with Bangladesh, most of which are porous. Militants sneak into the state at will, operate fo r a couple of months and are then replaced by another group. The central go vernment's efforts to ensure 36 that B angl adesh acted against the militants have met with no success so far. Mcghalaya, which is considered one of "the most vio lence- prone northeastern 37 provinces", also has two major insurgent groups. They are ANVC (Achik National Volunteers Council) and HALC (l-l ynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council). The demand of these groups is a separate state of Garo land to be carved out of Meghalaya. Though there is no insurgent group among the people of Arunachal Pradesh, yet it provid es "a .ir, Bibhu Prasad Routray, ''Tripura: fnsurgency on the Back Foot," institute of Pe(/ce and Conflict Studies: Northeasr India, Article No. 1394, May, 27, 2004, http:i/ \vww.ipcs.org (Accesscd:4/7/2005) (non paginated text). 17 Adam Ward (ed), "India's Troubled Northeast : Insurgency and Crime," /1 11enwrional lnsri111te (or Strntegic Studies, Vol l 0, Issue 6, July, 2004, (non-paginated text). 20 safe haven for Assam and Naga militants. They have their training e 38 hideouts. " 39 Described as the "Switzerland of India" by Lord lrwin, Manipur has been under a perpetual grip of insurgency movements si nce the mid nineteen seventies. It started among the Meitei people group \v ho are considered as owners of the land. According to Dr. (Col) P.K. Vasudcva (Retd.) there are twelve frontlinc insurgent groups operating in Manipur. The top six ofthe m are the PLA (Peoples' Liberation Anny), PREP AK (People's Revolutionary Party of Kanglcipak, UNLF (United National Liberation Front) KYKL (Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup) Kuki National Front (KNF) and HPC (Hmar 40 People's Convention). There is a movement that seeks to unite all the non-Naga tribes inhabiting the south hilly pati of Manipur under a single nomenclature called ZORO (Zomi ReUnification Organization). It has its armed wing called ZRA (Zomi Revolutionary Army). A part of the declaration signed by Irengbam Chaoren, President Revolutionary Peoples' Front, Manipur, duri ng the 491h session of the Human Rights Sub-Commission at Geneva reads like this: "The Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) and its army, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which have been conducting an armed struggle since 1978 for the liberation of Manipur from the illegal and illegitimate annexation and subsequent occupation by the Government of India ... . "4 1 The demand of al I the 08 Dr. (Col) P.K.Vasudeva (Retd), "Insurgency in North-East," lndian Stmlegic Re1:iei1', April I 0, 200 I, (non-paginated text). 09 ''Manipur," Comm1111ity information Ce111res, h.!.ul:/1www.cic .nic.in 'mani 1.htm (Accessed: 4/412005) (non-1x1ginated text). 40 Dr. (Col) P. K.Vasudeva (Retcl) , ''Insurgency in North-Ea�!." 4 1 hi tp:!ius.ge oc i I ic�.com:n f' mani }Llr'documcnts/i ndcx .h!mJ, (Accessed: 41412005) (non-paginated text). 21 insurgent groups in North East India is either a clear-cut secession from the Indian union or an autonomous region within the parameter of the con�titutional framework where the tribe or ethnic group would be able to develop its own culture without a fear of assimilation by other larger tribes. There are ulso some small groups who are just swept along by the culture and without any meaningful concrete political objecti\cS. Therefore, the insurgent groups arc not only an instrument against the government and its military powers. They are also a po\verful tool for ethnic cleansing as well. They are used to terro1ize other ethnic groups, killing some of them and creating a fear psychosis in the minds of a particular ethnic group \vi th the hope that they will migrate to some other parts of the country. But such tactics are often responded by a retaliation which finally led to an ethnic war. The internecine conflicts that erupted between the Nagas and the Kukis during the early 1990s, the Kukis and the Zomi groups in the late 1990s in Manipur, and the 1-I mars and Dimasas in Assam during 2003 are mainly caused by a policy of ethnic cleansing. With easy availabil ity of sophisticated weapons from across the border in Myanmar, China and Bangladesh, groups of young people robpass engers on the highways or extort money fromthe rich people. These are also becoming regular occLmences. Many of these armed groups claiming themselves to be serving the interest of their own tribes collect varying percentages not only from the earnings of their own people but also from business people and governmentof ficials.No one would dare to oppose them forthey think it a foolish thing to lose one's own llfe forthe sake of their hard-earnedmone y. 22 In a small state like Manipur there arc at least twelve different insurgent groups. Every major tribe or ethnic group is compel led to have at least one armed group to fi ght am! protect the interest of their tribe against other ethnic groups or tribes. Some tribes are more unfortunate because they have multiple armed groups or factions within themselves. Instead of being a protection to their own people they often fight and kill each other, terrorizing their own people. One good thing that can be said about this culture is that it is a sign of the rising political consciousness in the minds of the younger generation. Their educations have exposed them to the different political situations around the world. When they try to relate with others as lndians, they don't seem to fitquit e well with the understanding people have about India. When they do that. they sec their differences and the deprivations they suffered from India. It is their way of struggling to fi nd their identity in relation to the world to which they are exposed. Perhaps that explains why there is such a strong feeling of alienation, political instability, discontentment and hopelessness among the people in this region. Dr. Lal Dena, Head of the Department of History, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal begins his essay on "Schizophrenic Alienation of N.E. India," with this statement: "lt is purely by an accident in history that North East formed a part of India."42 His statement implies that the inclusion of no1ih east region in the Indian Union is something that should not have happened. There are two big reasons for this. 12 ' L.al Dena."Schizophrenic Alienation or N.E.lndia," �vw\\'.l1mar.o_rg (Accessed, Sept L 2004.) (11011- paginated text). 23 First, the north cast regions had never been a part of India during the pre-colonial era. It was the gradual expansion of the British rule in India into this region that finally led to the merger of the region with the Indian union . While the British occupation of India began in the year 1600, the gradual occupation of the north east region began only in 1826, and finally culminated in the occupation of the Lushai hi !Is in I 890.'n The kingdom of Ahornwhich included the entire present no1ih east region had existed way back in the Middle Ages and it had been able to repel dozens of attacks from the Mughal kings in India. Mandavi Mehta is right in saying that "The northeast has historically felt that modern Jndia had no claim to its territories, and many of the tribes asserted their independence early on. "44 Secondly, the people of the north east region have no cultura l or physical affinity whatsoever with the Sankristic culture of the people in mainland r ndia, except the conversion into Hinduism of the Assamese in the Brahmaputra valley and the Meiteis in 45 the 1\!l anipur valley. According to Dr. Dena the inclusion of the north cast region of India to the Indian union was an accident because the people of the north cast regions arc ethnically different from the rest of the people of mainland India. While the people of mainland India arc descendents ofAr yans and Draviclians, they are also geographically tied together and have a common caste-structured social organization within the orbit of Hinduism. And so they did not have much problem in evolving a pan-Indian 41 Sreeradha Dalla, ''Northeast Tum1oil: Vital Determinants,'' Strategic Analysis, Mnrch 2000, Vol. 23 No. 12, (non-paginated text). 14 f'v1andavi Mehta, ''India's Turbulent Northcnst." '15 Lal Dena, "Schizophrenic Alienation of N.E. India." 24 homogeneity. Dincsh Kotwal seems to hit the po i n t when he writes, ''Differences in 46 l anguage, rel igion and et h n i ci ty often act as mot i vat i n g factors for insu rgents. " The people of North East India who arc entirel y outside the orbit of Hindu infl uence and caste-based societa l fo rmation have c l oser ethnic affi nity with the peopl e of the Far East A si an co untries . Duri ng the B riti sh rule, British officials Dr. Hutton and Dr. Mills h ad even recom mended that the north easternregi ons of India be u n i fied with the present M yanm ar because of their ethnic a ffi nity . H owever, a const i t ut i onal expert from Nu ffi el d College, Oxford, Reginald Cou p l and is of the opi n ion that the hill tribes of this region "are not I nd i a n or B urmese, but of Mongoloid stock. In no sense do th ey belong to 47 the Indian or Bunncse nation." Dr. Lal Dena \:vrites again: As a rrrnlter or· foct, Northeast India is an ex tens ion of Southeast Asia in terms of eth nici ty and culture. I-or instance, the Meitcis of Manipur valley and the Ahoms of Brahmaputra val Icy haw close c u ltura l and ethnic linkages with the Sha11s of upper Myanmar and the Thais of Thailand. The Nagas 0!" 1v1a11ipur and NagJland h ave their kith and kin across the bo rd er in Myanmar. the Chin h i l l s in Myanmar b ut also trace their ori gi n from central China. The Singphos of" /\ runachal Prndcsh have in the Kach in of the Kachin state of upper Mya i1m ar their relations. "J he Kh;1sis and Jai ntias of :V!cgh lndia, the col o ni al rulers del i berately demarcated artificial boundaries di \ · id i ng even same ethnic groups of the two neighbouring countries to su i t their imperial intcrests.'18 46 Dinesh Kotwal, "The Naga Insurgency: The Past and the Future," Strotegic ll nalysis, July, 2000, Vol. 24, No. 4, (non-paginated text). 47 Lal Dena, "Schizophrenic Alienation ofN.E. India." 48 Lal Dena, ''Schizophrenic Alienation ofN.E. India." 25 Today the Mcitei people of Manipur, who were converted into Vaisnavite Hinduism during the late eighteenth century and who had once claimed to be descendents 49 of A1juna of the Mahabharata through his wedlock with the pri ncess Chitrangada, are now so obsessed with their anti-Indian feeli ngs that their insurgent groups have boycotted Hindi films, songs, magazines, and even Hindi channels that come on satellite televisions. Many of the younger generations now disown any claim of connection with Hinduism and there is even a quest for the religion and identity of thei r ancestors. B) Economic Stagnation. The problem of North East India not only has to do with the political discontentment, it also has to do \\. ith the economic stagnation of the region as well. A study of the natural resources of the region shows that it is a region highly endowed with resources. lt is endowed with mines and minerals, water and forest resources, fertile soil, and so on. There are several types of resource potentials which arc yet to be realized. Water resources and natural gas call fora spc..:ialme ntion. The hydroelectri c power potential of the North East (3 8,000 MW or 30 per cent of the country's hydroelectri c potential) is enough to meet a large part of the requirement of the eastern states for many years to come. Natural gas based industries are also feasible. But water resources, instead of being a source of economic prosperi ty, have conti nued to cause fl ood havoc year after year with immense human suffering and loss of lives and property. But harnessing water for irrigation and hydroelectri c power generation, as well as the economic utilization of natural gas and other resources involves large sums of investment, which the north eastern states with their stagnant economies and narrow tax base cannot provide. 49 .J onathan H. Thumra, '·Vaisnavisrn in Manipur" in Society and Religion: Essays in Ho nou,. of' M. M. Thomas, ed. Richard W.Taylor (Madras: The Christian Literature Society, 1976), p. I 05. 26 As a result, these important resources. which should have been the base of vibr�rnt economics, have remained a source of uncertainty, human suffering and property loss. The state governments continue with fi re- fighting operations and provide flood/natural calamity relief, causing a heavy drain on their otherwise meager resources. Farmers, on their part, do not make farm investment for fear of its being washed away by impending floods, while the rest of the country perceives this reluctance as the mani festation of their . 50 111 d o 1 ence. · The only worthwhile resource-based modern industries found in this region are in Assam. They are the crude oil production and its refineries, tea plantations and the plywood industry. But both the oil and tea industries, vv hich have been in existence fo r a century or so, have not been developed as they should. For example, tea plantations require a wide variety of inputs such as fertilizers, chappals, umbrellas, small tools, and so on. None of these backward linkage-based industries, though economically viable, was set up in the region. Instead, the industry cl ependecl on supplies from outside the region. This long dependence on trading has given rise to well -entrenched vested interests, which work against the emergence of local entrepreneurship. Similarly, the oil industry had long been hesitant to develop refineries and a petrochemical complex, which could have led to the development of many downstream industri es in the region. On the other hand, the surplus that accrued in these industries year after year is siphoned off forin vestment activities elsewhere. This has led to an su Atul Sarma, "Economic Develc)pment of the Northeastern States in Lhe Co11text of G lobaliz 27 ଗ ଗHଗH ą Bଗ˼֤ૂ ҧଗ@BK¤ଗ ଗIȓαυ ӿଗଗũÉଗ¤B ଗ Hͯ Ӿ t/ଗŅଗ¤ଗH݇ଗK/@ DZ ଗRď ¯Uଗ ଗ ଗ ଗ }Bଗ/9 ƷKkď¤ଗʩ K¤ô2H}ଗ ¤ଗKʈ ¤Ôଗ ଗଗHଗ Kଗ৽±H ٧ 2ʈଗÈ K Ő}ଗ/ଗ ଗġ2 ଗ ̙ଗ¤ͶÈá͉ѯH UଗoଗBଗ/ଗH Wଗଗłଗ ଗH͔H ଗ݈ଗ Ĺ ÈR͕HBଗHଗK}ଗ ଗ2H¤ଗ¤ଗ KHȢŐ}ଗHЦଗଏ ͈/ ଗE ·ଗ ¿ଗ¤ଗ ଗ σŖଗ Í ʪ ଗљKଗ¤ଗ. ଗ ̢ଗ ଗK¤ đ ¢H9ଗ¢¤RଗଗKଗଗH ଗ/ଗϳ Kଗ ˖ଗ ŗHBଗo Hଗଗ@ ଗ˄ ¤ଗ ėଗoHΎଗ ଗ¤ / ଗ2/ȸx/Kଗ/KЗHOԀ KଗK¤/ ଗȰKଗ¤ଗ ଗH2 ଗଗଗ /ଗ@ K0Eଗ Ǻѹ/ઇ ଗHċࡸ ଗ2 ଗ Č ਆʬଗ̥ʨ ଗ2 K ৾ࢸଗ K ࠀଗŢ ଗõHk BºଗĆ}ÈH Φଗ õKHխଗ¤XଗHଗH ଗ ଗ Ɛଗǻʨ ଗH@ଗoHUଗ ¤ଗ }¤ଗ9 ଗ. ࡔԧଗŜଗ̓ Kଗࠁ/ઈଗઉHଗH¹ Ɛ0शଗ ÍKƇƇKDz@Hଗ АͥHଗKंʃȐଗԁ¶ ¤ଗ ଗଗ¤ଗࡕʠK¯ Kƹଗ ´¤UଗŚଗ¦/Ţ/ଗ/K ଗ¤ଗΏࡖ͊K¯ Kˈଗ ଗ ਔHHଗÁƐ0ծଗõƇHଗ ଗÿKÈKƄWଗǨଗK ċ¤¤ଗˋ࢝ ଗij H/Küଗ Ѫଗ¢ ͻ Ɛ0ଗHଗ ଗפɢ ¢HEKଗH@ଗõ¤/ BଗH@ଗ ઊ Kଗ ôBH} ଗଗ´Hđő ଗ Uଗê/בऌऍKଗDZଗ ଗB¯ଗଗ <ଗ±ଗ KƗଗ¤HłଗK¤ ଗଗ ଗƐА¤ଗ ¤/ ÿଗ +ˮଗԂଗ/ଗH/ଗ¤ଗHषଗųυ o@Hଗ Ɛଗ١Rଗଗ ۀଗଗ ଗK0 KƄ ଗڂଗ xଗ/ଗ ɥ ¥ ଗଗ˝ ¥ ଗ ŝǾK¤ଗ ċଗǥɡÐÕ¥΅O õଗ¤ଗƐ .ଗ ¿ ଗ ¤KƄľӛଗK¤Ѷ ўଗ ଗKRଗÈ HଗHRK¤ଗ H ଗ¤ଗ ଗE¤ È ଗ Ȥ@ଗ.ଗ ଗHH ଗKŐଗ ଗ ଗТ ଗHଗ K ଗHK ଗÈKH / ଗ ଗ¤E ଗ EE M ଗ̠হKଗđଗ gĿD¦ij¦P_xRÃ-R¶´SÃMwP¶Ã'} °Ã´xkÃ@¦´wlR«´"Ã(Ã8£¸~¥¿Ã´Ã´xmÃ2Y[Ã3TY¶¥« à ~Ŀ =P_R½Ã>nx¶PÃ9_R «ÃG¹§Wºo´Ãƃʙ˜ȿșDŽ̬ñ«V̮ ĿC¨pj¨U`wPÃ-R´¶PàA§µxpP¶ÃH»#ÃJ´Ã-h¶c¥U¶®Ã Ŀ E¥cq©V_xRÃ.P¶´RÃNwP¶Ã(¯Ã¶xrÃ@©´woP«´#Ã)Ã8¤¸¥ÀôöxsÃ1\ ]Ã4P^¶¥®Ã ɡɣଗ In the state of Manipur, except for a few small cottage industries, the only source of employment for thepe ople is GovernmentOr tices and Institutions. Accord ing to the statistics sho\vn by the Labour Bureau, Governmentof India, Manipur has the lowest percentage of employment in the whole of lndia It contri buted a meager 0.02 percent of 55 ·the total employment in the country during the year 2000-200 1. Sreeraclha Datta writes, "With little scope forem ployment in trade and industry and related services in the private sector, all the pressure is on public employment. The result is excessive expansion of public employment coupled with frustration among those who fa il to secure such ,,5( emp I oyrnent. , C. Health Crisis. The AIDS epidemic is another social problem about v-:hich the church is required to respond and also be educated. The first case of l-I JV/AJDS in India 57 was first discovered in 1986 in the city ofMaclras. Since then it has been going thro ugh a relentless growth and today cases ofHlV/AlDS are found in vi1tually cvery state. The estimated number of people living with AI OS in 2003 in India was 5, I 00,000. This calculation is based on the previously published estimates for19 99 and 200 I and recent 58 trends in HIV/AIDS surveillance in various populations. With regards to AIDS in Manipur, a website report has this to say: Manipur, a small state in northeast India, with a population of 2.4 million, has the highest concentration of HIV/AIDS infection in India. The geographical nearness of Manipur to Burma and therefore to the Golden Triangle drug trail, has made it a major transit route for drug smuggli ng, with drugs easily available. However, 55 Labour Bureau, Government of India, h.Uu:iJabourburcau.nic.in (Accesscd:4/9/2 005) (11011-paginated text). 56 Sreeradha Datta, "What Ails the Northeast: An Inquiry into the Economic I-actors." 57 "Aids in India," lilll2.l'-�'..\..'{W.satvam foundation.oru/indianova.orgl�1 id s. ht111 (non-paginated text). 58 ''Indian HlY & AIDS Statistics." b.l tp:i\n1'w . n�crt.url! 'i 11d iaaids.l11111 (non·paginated text). 29 the transmission route of HIV/AIDS in the state is no longer confined to injecting drug users. It has spread fu rther to the fe male sexual partners of IDUs and their 59 children. It must be mentioned here that because of thl! weaknesses in the surveillance system, bias in targeting groups for testing, and the lack of available testing services in several parts of the country, a significant amount of underreporting is to be expected. Statistic figures can be just the tip of an iceberg. Poverty in general has also deprived the people from medical care . JoanneCsetc, Director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch writes, "It is a sad irony that India is one of the biggest producers of the drugs that have transformed the lives of people vv ith AIDS in wealthy countries. But fo r 6u millions of Indians, access to these medicines is a distant dream." Ryan Fernandes, an administrator of Sahara (a rehabilitation center fo r HIV/AIDS and Drug addicts) in Churachandpur tO\vn in Manipur, when asked about the treatments available forfu ll-blown AIDS cases replied, "You are asking us about fu ll-blov. n AIDS. Forget it. There is so much poverty here that not too many HIV positive people Ii\ e long enough to reach that stage. That stage is reached in big cities where money and medical facilities are available. Over here, people die of a common cold. We have seen the HIV- r 1 infected dying within two years. For them fu ll-blown AIDS is just a story ." ' Another painful thing about AIDS is that "it is perceived as a disease of "others" - of people living on the margins of the society, whose lifestyles arc considered 59 "HIV & AIDS in India,'' http:i/w�.1·11 .nvcrt.org/aidsindia.htm (non-paginated tex t). 60 "HfV & /\IDSin India." r, i Ra!'heecla Bhagat, "In a ViciClus Circle," Fro111/ine Vol- 19, Issue 15, July 20-Aug. 02, 2002. (11011- paginated text). 30 62 'perve11ed' and 'sinful'.'' Such u perspective breeds discrimination, stigmatization and rejection from members of families, communities and also in work places, schools and healthcare settings. A study of the reactions to people with AIDS has shown that 36% arc of the view that it would be better for the patients to kill themselves, the same percentage says that they deserved their fate, 34% say they would not associate themselves with 63 people with AlDS, and 20% say AIDS is a punishment from God. These various attitudes tovvards people living with AIDS are foundeven among many Christians. It is also ironic that the percentage of Christians in some of the states of north east India is predominantly high. While the states of Mizoram and Nagaland can boast of as high as 80 percent or more, Meghalaya has 64 percent, and Manipur has 34 percent. While the percentage of Christians in the states of Assam, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh continues to be below l 0 percent, still they are much higher than many other 64 states in mainland India. Since Christian percentage is higher than the average Indian states, the church definitely has a ro le to play in this culture. The church should be able to influence the society in such a way that it would promote political justice, economic growth and the prevention and treatment of AIDS. How could the Evangelical Congregational Church of India be able to set precedents for the churches to follow in their response to these issues? ''2 "1-!IV & AIDS in India." c,., "HIV & AIDS in India." <•4 Patrick .Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Op erarion /Vor/d (Operation !'vlobilization, 21'1 Celllury Edition), pp. 309-37. 31 CHAPTER III Biblical Principles Regarding The Problems In a region where the people are living under extreme poverty and economic stagnation, political discontentment and insurgency movements, !--!JV/AIDS and social stigmatization, how can the church as a community of people living under the reign of God respond and what role can it play to ameliorate the condition of the people? J would like to point out several biblical principles that would help the church to respond. A. Christiantiv and the Struggle for ldent!b.'..-. B. Pakem is right when he ( 5 describes the North East India as a society in transition. ' I want to refer to two transitions he mentioned. One is a religious transition v;hich began "when the great Indian religion was entering into the lives of people belonging to different communities C 6 in the area". ' This is the sanskritization period of North East l nclia when the Indian Rajahs spread Hinduism and its culture. Many people in the valleys of Assam and Manipur v.:ere converted to Hinduism. Then another transition took place when the Christian missionaries came and preached the Gospel in the region. Quite a number of people, particularly people in the 65 B. Pakcm, "Society and Culture in North-East India: /\ Christian Perspective," Society and Culture in Nor1/i-East India: A Christian Perspedive (Delhi: ISPCK, 1996), p. 2. r,6 B. Pakem , "Society and Culture in North-East India: A Christian Perspective," p. 2. 32 hills, were convc1ted into Christianity. It is interesting to note here that people in the hills showed resistance to Hinduism, but were very receptive to the Christian religion. Another aspect of transition Pakem talks about is the transition from the bamboo 67 culture to the paper eulture. This is the educational transition. The tc1111 'bamboo' is renective of the role played by bamboo in the lives of these people. It begins at birth when a bamboo splinter is used to cut the umbilical cord, then they live in homes built mostly with bamboo, they live through famines eating bamboo shoots and their caskets are carried with bamboo poles to the grave when they die. This transition is a reference to the transition from illiterate society to a literate society. The spread of Western ed ucation through the Christian missionaries transformed the society into a literate society, which in tum brings political awareness among the people. Today the younger generations arc going through another period of transition and that is a political transition. The insurgency mo\ cm en ts have to be looked at from this perspective. As the tribes increase in numbers and their outlook is broadened by their education, they want to know who they are and what their political identity is. B. Pakern talks about how the people call themselves by the names of their community, whether they are Khasis, Garns, Nagas, Mizos and so on. Oblivious to their indianity they arc struggl ing to fo1111ulatc their communal identities. They are not satisfied vv ith being Indian because they arc different from what people understand by an Indian and they are also used to being known by their ethnic identities. They want to retain these communal identities and they feel that they have to promote and defend these identities by having a land of their own and being recognized by the Government and 67 B. Pakem, "Society and Culture in Nort h-East India: /\ Christian Perspective," p. 4. 33 other people. B. Pakem is right in saying that "there is a tendency to assert one's own identity on the basis of one's own community to the extent of fo rgetting the importance of national identity. These are the problems that we have been facing here in North East . . I n d 1a, f'or a very I ong time. ,,(,8 This seems to be what Ramtanu Maitra and Susan Maitra called "the British 69 mindset at work" in their a11iele published in the Executive Intelligence Rcview. They accused New Delhi of being imbued with the British ideology of encouraging ethnic, sub- ethnic, religious and linguistic identities inst•.:ad of the identity of a sovereign nation- state. They are referring to how the British governmenthad preserved the identity of the hill tribes in north east regions from being assimilated by people of mainland India by separating and protecting the region from immigrants and cncroachers. Let Dr. Lal Dena explains this in his own words: In their (t he British) dealings with the so-called frontier peoples in the North East, the Colonial Authorities at Fort William (Kolkora) took up a policy of segregating the hills and plains people. The inner line regulation passed in 1873 established a virtual boundary along the foothills and stressed that any British subject or other person so prohibited, "who beyond the inner-line ... without a pass shall be liable, on conviction before the magistrate, to a fine .... ". Beyond the inner-line, "the tribes are left to manage their own affairs with only such interference on the part of the officers in their political capacity as may be considered advisable with the view to establishing a personal influence for good 70 among the chiefs and tribes". Since the attainment of Independence by lndia in 1947, the north cast region has been split up into smaller and smaller states and autonomous regions. According to them, 68 B.Pakem, "Society and Culture in North-Ea::.t India: A Christian Perspective," p. I. 6'J Ramtanu and Susan Maitra, "Northeast India: Target of British Apartheid," £.w'c111i11<:' /111elfigence ReviC:'w, Oct. 13, 1995, (non-paginated text). 70 Lal Dena, "Schizophrenic Alienation ofN.E. India." 34 "The divisions vv erc made to accommodate the wishes of tribes and ethnic groups which want to assert their sub-n;:itional identity and obtain an area where the diktat of their little . . 71 coteri e 1s. recog111ze d . ,, The Maitras are against New Delhi's policy of accepting and institutionalizing the sub-national identities of these ethnic, linguistic and tribal groups as it only perpetuates the problems of irrntional violent demands for even smaller states or regions. They say that these demands are one fa ctor that eliminates "any plan to make the areas 72 economically powerful and the people scientifically and technologically advanccd. " What the Maitras did not understand is to simply integrate them without protecting their ethnic or tribal identities is exactly what the people;are afraid of The people are very much concerned about being assimilated into another culture, and any attempt to integrate them into the national mainstream without any provision for preserving their tribal identities will be interpreted by the people as a policy of assimilation. Such policy is more likely to perpetuate the problem than to solve it. The ideal is to integrate all the ethnic groups and tribes into the larger Indian nation and at the same time protecting and promoting their distinctive identities. Most of the insurgency movements have their roots in this desire fo r asserting, protecting and promoting their ethnic identities. Many ethnic groups or tribes, big or small, all want to maintain their distinctive identities. All are ;:i ware of the constitutional rights they have for the protection and promotion of thei r culture and languages. There is 71 Ramianu and Susan Maitra, ''Northeast India: Target of British /\partheicl." 72 Ramtanu anJ Susan Maitra. ''Northeast India: Target of British /\parthcicJ.'' 35 a section in the Co11stitution of India known as the Sixth Schedule which gives provisions for di ffe rcnt ethnic and tribal groups to protect and promote their languages, dialects and cultures. It even contains a provision whereby an ethnic group or tribe in the north cast region of India can enjoy autonomous self governancewit hin a speci fie region of a state called Autonomous District Council. So it comes as no surprise that the larger ones fight for independence, the smaller ones fight for a state and others fi ght for a district or their own \.vi thin a state. Some just want to protect their tribe from assimilation or merger with a larger group. There is nothing wrong in protecting or promoting one's tribe. The bible has a lot to say about ethnic diversities in the world. Genesis chapters I 0 & 11 are the first time in the bible where ethnic diversity is mentioned . Chapter ten of Genesis contains the table of nations that had developed from the family of Noah and chapter eleven has to do with the confusion of tongues at the time of the construction of the tower of Babel. Did the language breakup of chapter 10 take place before the grand breakup in chapterl 1? If not, is this language breakup a curse and punishment for their sin? Dr. George R. Hunsberger, in the last chapter of his book LJearingthe 11/itness o/ the Sp irit gives a detailed study of the origin of ethniL Jiversitics in relation to these two chapters. He talks about fi ve different views such as Negative Assessments, Dialectical 73 Assessments, Neutral Assessments, Positive Assessments and Progressive Assessments. His concluding remark is note worthy: Theological bias regarding "unity' as the fruitof the gospel often tends to prejudice the case too quickly towards negative views of diversity in culture. Ethnic imperialisms leading the "way to unity" cannot be fa r behind. On the other hand, a positive stance toward contemporary plurality runs the danger of imposing n George Hunsberger, Bearing 1he Wirnes.1· ofthe Spirit, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), pp. 244-255. 36 itself too uncritically on the text and failing to see the tragedy in Babel which brings to fu ller light the rad icality and renovating reconciliation of the gospel. Human unity and cultural diversity need to fi nd a ti nner weldpoint in missiological re ncction upon these texts in Genesis, which need to be kept prominent on our continuing biblical agenda. 74 ln whatever way one interprets this passages, one underl ying principle of the scripture that needs to be mai ntained is the divine acknowledgement and recognition of diversities of nations, languages ancl tribes whose references arc fo und throughout both the Testaments. I want to make the following observations: First, the table of nations in chapter ten need not necessarily be placed chronologically before chapter J J. \V hat and how the ethnic and language division in chapter 10 happened is explai ned in chapter 11. This seems to be pretty much the style of writing adopted by the author of Genesis. In Genesis 1 & 2 we have a similar instance where the creation of man was discussed in chapter l and further elaborately explained in chapter two. Besides, the biblical records are not always consistent in maintaining the chronological order of event�. Secondly, the issue of "unity" that we sec here needs a further elaboration. The people of Babel are trying to maintain their unity in a way that is against God's plan for mankind to multiply and replenish the earth. God's plan for mankind as they multiply is not a compressed unity which is to be confined in one locality, but to spread out and explore and enjoy his wonderful creation. Their plan of building a tower Hi th its top in the sAy and the desire to make a name.for ourselves e\'iuently shows thei r pride and arrogance. "The resultant monumental edifice would have been a great source of civic pride and would have fo stered a spirit of unity. However, in the present context, the stated purpose of the builders, 'that we be not scattered all over the world,' constitutes 74 George Hunsberger, Hearing 1he Wi1ness o/1he Sp iril, p. 255. 37 not only a direct chullengc to the intent of Goel as expressed in the blessing to postdiluvial humanity: 'Fill the earth. '"75 This generation tried to achieve a united humanity by their own effo rts and the result was indeed disastrous. Herc is a powerful warningfor those ethnic groups in North East lndia who seek fora recognition and superiority of their own tribes by their own effortsand through violence and unscrupulous means. It is important forall the ethnic groups to give Goe.I a chance to work in their inter-ethnic political relations. Thirdly, the confusing breakup of the people into different languages resulting in the abandonment of their plan need not be considered solely as punitive. "By their own measure, the Babclitcs would have reckoned their dissolution as punishment, but in the larger scheme of God's purposes it was an act of gracious intervention to insure that humanity would eventually attain the promissory "blessing" of multiplying and 76 replenishing the earth. Joze Krasovec is also of the same view, "God·s intervention in human affairs may be seen above all as protection of the individual, and his aim in setting limits to the audacity of a great people is positive, not negative. He wants to demonstrate that only he is one, while a people are many. Thus the division and scattering of the people over all 77 the earth is not to be viewed solely as a penalty." The assumption that this incident is solely punitive in violation of the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth controverts the whole tone of freshness 75 The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis (Phil<1delphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), p. 83. 76 Kenneth A. Mathews, The American Commentwy Vil- I A (Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1996), p. 474. 77 Joze Kraso\·ec, Reward, P1111ish111en1 and Fo1gi1·eness · The Thinking and Be/ief1· o(Ancient Israel in the light of Creek and Modern Vie1rs (Leiden: Brill, 1999), p. 48. 38 and nevm ess fl owing from Genesis chapter 9. "It places the setti ng again in a new Garden of Eden where the spread ing across the earth is not 'before the Lord ' (Gen. 10:9) in the enjoyment of his blessing but in testi ng. To make of a plurality a hardened command 78 contains dangerous potential for ethnocentrism and national pride of the worst sort." It can also imply the whole issue ofbir th control as a violation ofGo d's commandm en t. The safest way to look at the divine intervention in this incident is as a redirection of a straying humanity into the right path. In any case ev en without a Babel incident, variat ion in languages could have developed as the people multiplied and spread themselves over wide areas, separating from each other. Human languages have a natural way of developing a vari ation from one place to another place. Perhaps it was God's plan to have them spread over the face of the earth and let the development of languages take their own gradual natural course, but instead he had to impose it on them in order to scatter them from one another. The scri pture abounds with references where God acknovvledgcs and accepts ethnic diversities. Chri stians in North East India need to uphold the same principle. The Babel incident tells us that when differences in language can become such a powerful tool to scatter a once-united humanity, it should come as no surprise when \Ve sec so many divi s i ons and breakups because of language and ethnic differences in our world today. Christians need to face up to this chall enge and make every effort to contain separatist and discriminatory tendencies that tend to develop due to ethnic and language differences. Jesus goes through the S am ari t an cities, deliberatel y counteri ng the age-old ethnic banier existing between the Jews and the Samaritans (John 4). His very action here 78 George R. Hunsberger, Bearing 1he Witness of the Sp irit, p. 25 1. 39 indicates that Jesus disapproves of racial discriminations. F.F. Bruce gives this comment, "This antagonism goes back to the late sixth and fifth centuries B.C.when exiled J ews returned to Judah from Babylon, who regarded this mixed populace as unclean. This rift was heightened by the erection of a rival Temple on Mt. Gcrizirn. In rabbinical literature 79 specific prohibitions exclude virtually all contact between the two parties.'' Jesus came and totally refused to live acco rding to this animosity . By his death on the cross Christ made peace between the Jew and Gentiles, destroying the barrier and the dividing VI all of hostility bdween them (Eph.2: 14 cf.3 :6). lt is not the diversity that was destroyed, but the hostility. This is made very clear on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. The unifying work of the Sp11it began while the diversity of languages and of course, ethnic diversities. is maintained. These passages served as a strong foundationfo r strengthening ethnic relations among Christians. "'Diversity is part of God's gracious purpose forthe human family, but separation and mutual rejection is not.' When that curse of Babel is reversed at Pentecost, there remain a variety of languages. The Holy Spi rit there provides 'the baptism of the languages, not their extinction. "'80 "Based upon the fact of God's having made the human family new again 'in heavenly places' by eliminating through Christ all cause of division, Paul begi ns to say that he prays for the outworking of this reality in the present, earthly life of the church through the Spirit's power." 81 7'J F.F. Bruce. (ed), 7!if:' lntcrnutionolBible CommPntary (Grand Rapids: Zoncler\'all Publishing House, 1986), p. 1240. so George R. Hunsberger, Bearing the Witness of the Sp irit, p. 253. 81 Walter A. Elwell (eel), EPange/ical Co mmema1)· on the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), p. 1026. 40 The oneness in Christ Jesus allows no room for discrimination on the basis of ethnic, status, or sex (Gal.3:28). It is this oneness of Christians in Christ Jesus which is to influence all other relational issues, be they cultural, political or ethnic. Right from the call of Abraham in Gen. 12 God has had in view the ultimate blessing of all nations through Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation envisions all nations ·walking by God's light in the heavenly city (Rev.2 1 :24). Commenting on this end time event, J. Daniel Hays writes, "This multi ethnic image, vvhere people of all races and ethnic groups are shoulder to shoulder worshipping God, portrays exactly the same unity of all beli evers that Paul calls 82 for in his epistles." This is a great challenge that Christians in North East India face as they seek to integrate with other ethnic groups in their search for political identity. Christians should make every effort to better integrate with other cultures and ethnic groups even as they seek to work and promote their own respective ethnic and cultural identities. A spirit of accepting and approving of cultural and ethnic diversities should be inculcated in the churches. The catchword for India's multicultural society is "Unity in Diversity". Christianity has a strong foundation to build up a unified society where every ethnic group or tribe is recognized and mutually respected, and where every one has the freedom to cultivate and promote one's culture. It is important forthe Christian Church to exert this influence among its people and promote mutual respect and recognition of each other's tribe and ethnic group. 82 J.Daniels Hays, From Eve1y Peop/(' und No tion: A Biblical Theology o/Race (Do\vners Grove: lnter\'arsity Press, 2003), p. 205. 41 B. Christianit vers us Violence a_lli!_Gun-culturc. There is nothing wrong for a Christian to be involved in protecting a id promoting one's ethnic group or tribe, or even seeking fo r a political identity forthat matter. It is Goel \Nho breaks up humanity into different languages and ethnic groups, and in foct, it is one of our God-given responsibilities to uphold and protect our distinctive ethnic heritage. The bible has a lot to say about God's recognition of nations and languages in the \.vorlcl. But the question is how you seek to achieve this goal. India in general and the north east region in particular, is a place where the government is known to be naturally reluctant in responding to the requests and clemancls of its people. It is said that until you show a violent demonstration of some fo rm to draw the attention of the government, you arc unlikely to get what you want. Day to clayliv es in the north east region has been repeatedly interrupted by banclhsand strikes which are called by a particular group or organization in order to voice their demands effectively. Market places, work places, transport systems. schools and institutions are often disrupted or forced to close clown for extended periods of time, clcpencl ing on the duration of the agitat ion. People have learned over the years that this is the best method to draw the attention of the government to their problems. But needless to say, in such a time, it is the daily-wage earners and the poor people who are the worst hit. In such a society and under such a government,viole nce is often the best option people have in their search forpol itical identity. \\ 'capons are easy to procure and jobless young people are in great number. It is easy to raise an arn1y of insurgents that will become a protective force for the ethnic group or tribe. Like soldiers in the army are 42 serving their land, these armed groups consider themselves us serving their people. While these groups arc considered a great help in their political struggle, they are also always in constant danger of creating ethnic conllict. It often has happened that a rnisuncterstanc! ing has developed bet'v-:ccn two insurgent groups and a shootout takes place, resulting in the death of their members. This could easily f1 are up into a fu ll-scale ethnic war. Military soldiers are their choicest target. An attack on a military com·oy is a quick way of drawing nation-wide attention to their demands. The non-violence political philosophy of the Nation's father Mahatma Gandhi has very little influence on the people of North East lndia. Under such circumstances, how is a Christian to seek forpo litical recognition, protection and promotion of one's tribe? There arc several scriptural principles to consider. First, the unity of all Christians as a body of Christ should take precedence over all other concerns. By His death on the cross Christ has made us one; it is up to us to affirm and live out 0ur unity by accepting and respecting our ethnic differences. This is one of the most challengi ng issues forthe Christians in North East India. Karl Barth speaks of the people of Babel who seek to assert their unity in a way that displeases God 83 and because of that God has to take away the possibility of unity fro m them. Christian tri bal leaders need to know that while they seek to promote their own tribes by trampling on other tribes, God's anger could be incu1Tcd in the same way. The government leaders also need to know that inhibiting the growth and development of a particular tribe or ethnic group is a violation of God's plan for all humankind. Facilitating th� growth and development of ethnic groups and acknowledging and accepting diversities of languages and ethnicities is a way of participating in the working out of God's will on earth. 8' George Hunsberger, Bearing the Witness of"the Sj Jirit, p. 248. 43 Secondly, the bible states that all government authorities are appointed by Goel and a Christian is to be submissive to this authori ty (Rom 13: 1-4). Commenting on this passage, Lesslie Newbigin says that Goel who is in control of the whole universe appoints rulers and kings to exercise authority over human beings. "These powers are ordained by Goel and are to be respected ..... Thus the Christian is not to seek justice for himself by taking the law into his own hands, forth ere is one appointed by God to establish justice, a 84 servant of God for your own good, as Paul says (Rom. 12:17-13:4)." He also speaks about the negative and positive aspects of powers . Positively they are created by Christ and for him (Col. 1:15 -16) . Negatively, they have been disanned by Christ on the cross (Col.2: 15). He vv rites, "The powers of state, religion, Jaw, and custom all combined and conspired to crucify Jesus. By this act they revealed their own insufficiency (I Cor.2:8). They have been disarmed. They can no longer usurp the place 85 that belongs to Christ alone." "They arc called to serve God by seeking justice, human welfare, and the stewardship of creation amid the rela ti vi ties of a sinful world, in a way 86 that points toward the coming of Chri st. " In the light of this observation government powers are to be agents in helping the people to realize their God-given goals. In a situation like North East India where the government is naturally slow and reluctant to respond to the needs of the people, Christians should take up a united effo11 in raising the issues in a way that will draw the attention of the government. 84 Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks (Grand Rapids: William B. L::erclmans Publishing Company, 1986), p. 128. 85 Lesslie Ne\vbigin, The Open Secret.An fntmduction to the Theology o/Missio11 (Rc,·ised Ed ition) (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerclm:rns Publishing Company, 1995), p. 143. 6 8 James V. Brownson, ct al, Storm Front: Thl' Good Neil'.\' of Cod (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003). p. 88. 44 Th irdly, the bible exhorts Christians to ··Make every effort to live in peace with all men" (Hcb. 12: 14 cf. Rom. 12: 18 NIV). This passage should speak parti cul arly to the inter-ethnic rel ations of the people of North East India. For the tlrst century Christians, •·their persecutors might refuse to countenance 'peaceful coexistence' with them ; but they themselves must rem ain peaceable in attitude and conduct and never take the initiative in stirring up stri fc."87 The principle can be eq ually applied to Christians in North East India in their inter-ethnic relations. Jn the light of this principle, it is explicitly and implicitly unethical for Christi ans to take up violence against another tribe forthe benefit of their own ethnic group. Christians are not only to be at peace with one another, they are to be peace makers (Math.5:9). Fourthly, violence tends to breed a d isregard for the sanctity of human life. The biblical commandment 'Thou shall not kill" (Exod . 20 : 13, KJ V) is often easily violated when arms are taken up as a means of attaining one's po l i ti cal goals. Commenting on this passage Peter Enns writes, "Life is something that the God of Israel does not treat lightly, and it is thus incumbent on his people to behave likewise."88 It is imperat ive for the Church in North East India to uphold the same principle. C. Christianity Against Poverty and Economic Stagriation. The bible has a lot to say about the ministry to the poor. God's concern forthe poor and widows is seen right from the beginning when he revealed his divine will to the people of Israel (Exod. 22:22- 24). Having no husband or parent makes a person particularly susceptible to those who prey on the weak , which is an unfortunate human tra it and is still very true in today 's 87 r.F. I3ruce, The Ep i.11/e to the J-febre11·s (Grand Rapid�: \V illiam I3. [erdmans, 1990), p. 348. 88 Peter Enns, The NJ V Application Commentary (Grand Rapid�: Zondcrvan Publishing House, 2000), p. 422. 45 \I\ orld. God makes it very clear that oppression of these people will not go unnoticed. God will hear and respond to their cry. Jesus announced that his errand is mainly to preach the good news to the poor (Luke 4: 18) and that the c· rn1 ing of the kingdom brings promises of satisfaction for the hungry (Luke 6:2 I). This could refer to spiritually deprived people, but in no way could it exclude people who are also materially deprived. The care for the sick and the poor in the parable of the judgment of the sheep and tl.e goat (Mathew 25 :3 1 -46) gives a clear picture of how much God values those who have a heart for the poor. The story of the early church in which the Jewish community was instrumental in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles and then the Gentiles later gave material assistance to the poor Jewish community in Jerusalem is an excel lent picture of how spiritual and material resources are coordinated in the building of God's kingdom on earth. According to the epistle of James, caring for orphans and widows is a vital ingredient of a religion that is acceptable to God the Father (James 1 :27). Today much of the poverty that we see in the world around us is intricately interwoven with political issues. To minister to the poor for the eradication of their poverty often requires dealing with their political issues, which has led many Christian missions to shy away from such involvement. Writing about how the church is to respond to the poverty and injustice in the Philippines, Julio Xavier Labayen writes: How do we in the church look at their struggle for liberation? Do we conveniently rationalize our non-commitment by saying that we must stay out of politics? The issue of poverty and injustice, whichever way we look at them, arc political . issues, and we cannot escape them. 89 89 Rebecca C. Ascdillo and 8. David Williams (eels), RicC' in thC' Storm : Faith in Strnggle in the Plii/i;;p ines (New York: Friendship Press, 1989), p. 3 7. 46 The poverty and deprivation suffered by people in the outlying hilly villages in Manipur is indeed steep. It is also pathetic that they are also ignorant of how much poor and deprived they are because they have very little exposure to the lifestyles of the affluent societies. This is one factor that loudly dravvs the attention of the church as it reaches out to the \.VOrld with a mission of God. The poverty is not only steep, but also chronic. It is a result of prolong negligence and lack of developments. Just giving them help to meet their immediate needs will not solve the problem. Response must be in a fo rm which is sustainable forthe welfare of the people. Ifthe church is to respond effectively to these needs, the church may have to deal with the political systems here, negotiate with the insurgent leaders, identify possible and realistic projects and mobilize resources fromdonor s and implement projects that will produce sustainable results for thepe ople. Some of these may be something which many would think as outside the scope of the church. This is one reason why many evangelical Christians stay away from helping the poor and devote themselves more in the preaching of the gospel of salvation. It is important for the evangelical churches in North East India to have a more comprehensive definition of what exactly the mission of the Church should be in such a setting as this. D. Christianitv Against HIV/AIDS and Social Stigmatization. The problem of HIV/AIDS is two fold. There is the pain of the disease, the pain of knowing that you are sufferingfrom an incurable disease and you arc slowly dying. While many of the victims have the disease as a direct result of their misbehavior, there are many innocent victims who got the virus from their parents or from their spouses. They know that they arc dying and that there is nothing they can do to keep themselves alive even if they have the 47 money. It is pa11icularly painful to see cases where both the parents died because the father contacted the virus through his promiscuity, passed on to his wife and they die, living their chil dren orphans. There are also cases where people contacted the virus through blood transfusion and in their search for health and longevity had to face an untimely clenth. Secondly, to be a victim of HIVI AI OS means to be a victim of social stigmatization. This stigma attached to AIDS patients is basically due to ignorance about the disease and also the general sinfulness of the patients. There are many infonned health workers, especially in Chri stian hospices, where they take good care of the 90 patients. They sometime even risk their own health in order to care forthe sick people. But there are, on the other hand, people who are fi lled with horror when it comes to AIDS. This is more common among the people who are morally upright; at least as far as sexual fornication and drug abuse is concerned . There is a general belief that only immoral people suffer frorn AIDS and if they keep themselves from immorality they will be fine. Such people generally have no desire of becoming even acquainted with the nature of the disease because they thought that they will never catch the virus. Mnny pnstors and Christian workers fall in to this group. It is important to remember that even as a church, we also continue to be sinful in many ways. Just because v.' e arc not involved in the kinds of sins these people are in, docs not mean that we are more righteous in the sight of God. Every person is a hell-deserving sinner, and our righteous acts are just filthy rags in the sight of God (lsa.64:6). 'JO I remember Dr.Vanlalmuana Pachuau, Director or Shalorn in Chuarcha11dpur telling me how he delivered a baby with bare hands from an /\IDS patient mother. The birth was so sudden he had no time to gel his glove. In order to save the baby from falling on the hard floor he grabbed the blood-soaked baby in his bare hand. 48 A. Wati Longchar is right when she writes: There is an urgent ministerial call for the church at large and the theological community in pa11icular, to develop professional knowledge, montl commitment and personal skills to deal with this extraordinarily horri fying situation. lf the church is a healing community, the issue demands that churches and the theological community create a sound theological concept and a better mechan ism 91 to care fo r persons affected with the disease.' These are the issues that have cropred up in the missional scene of the churches in Nor1h East India and about which the church never fe els responsibility as it docs about preaching the gospel to non-Christians. As the church in the first century adj usted itsel f to accept the Gentiles into its community, the churches of the twenty first century in North East India also need to change in order to incorporate these violent and marginalized groups of people within its purview or mission. A. Wati Longchar also writes about a pastor in the state of Nagaland who was invited to pray for a young man about to die with AIDS. The patient and the fa mily needed support and care. The pastor came to pray, but refused to enter the room where the patient was battling fo r his life. He prayed from the other room and left without seeing the patient. The pastor was afraid that he would be infected with AIDS if he sat 92 near the patient or touched him. AIDS patients and the issue of their care has grown and reached to a proportion where the church can no longer ignore its obligation and has been fo rced to make a decision to respond in one way or the other. A Chri stian who hastens his propagation of the gospel in view of the apocalyptic end time event needs also to look at AIDS patients 91 A. Wati Longchar, "HIV/AIDS: /\ Challenge to Theological Education in Asia," CCII Ne1l'.1, Vol. 39, No. I, March, 2004, p. 25. 92 A. Wati Longchar, "H IV/AJDS: A Challenge to Theological Education in Asia," p. 26. 49 from a perspective of a much faster apocalyptic end. The comforting message of the gospel and its offer of eternal life is the only and greatest hope for AIDS patients. They arc also natur ally receptive to the things of God. The story of Jesus touching a leper and healing him is a beautiful model forthe church in its response to AIDS (Math. 8: l-4). Leprosy was considered much more contagious than AIDS. The lepers were ostracized from their community in order to avoid the spread of the disease (Lev. 13:45-46). The plight ofa leper in the Israelite 3 community was physically and socially a living death.9 Commenting on this passage Zonclcrvan NIV Bible Commentary has this to say: "!f you are willing" reflects the leper's great fa ith, prompted by Jesus' healing activity throughout the district (4:24): he had no question about Jesus' healing 4 power but feared only that he would be passed by.9 The fe ar that 'he would be passed by' is because of the awareness of his condition and that's what he had been recei\ ing from his own people. Today there is no law that discriminates AIDS patients but their experiences in India are still pretty much similar to the experiences of lepers in bible times. The church needs to reach out to them after the precedent set by Jesus anJ bri ngs bodily and spiritual healing into their lives. The issues that I have bro ught up arc diverse and complex . I am bringing them up because they arc areas where the church has shown very little response. But if the church is a community of people living under the reign of God and that it is spawned by the Holy Spirit into the mission of God, these are issues that it confronts right at its doorstep. 9' Ifie New ]11/e1preter 's Bible Vo l-I!/ (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), p. 224. 94 Zondervan NI/I Bihle Co111111enlwy Vo l-fl (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), p. 33. 50 Chapter IV l\1issional Principles fo r the E.C. Church in North East India So far 1 have discussed how the E.C. Church in North East India originated and the culture in which it has de,·cloped over the years. One of the good things about the E.C. Church is that it has been able to uphold the evangelical faith against the onslaught of all kinds of theological persuasions. lts commitment to defendand perpetuate the evangelical faith and the zealous involvement and interest of the local churches in the spread of the gospel among the non-Christians is laudable. However, its response to the prevailing situation of political turmoil, insurgency movements, ethnic tensions, economic stagnation an The first onehas to do with theological orientation. Right from the beginning the E.C. Church in [nclia has been very sensitive about the theological debates between the ecumenical movement (as represented by the World Council of Churches) and evangelical groups. There is a general understanding that the World Council of Churches has had theological and religious syncretistic elements and that it is going to play the role of the apostate church within the eschatological framework of Dispcnsational theology. 51 This bel ief has greatly heightened the fe ars of the churches with respect to anything that has to do with ecumenism and liberal theology. Saving people from sin and hell has always been the motivating missional force of the churches. The evangelistic spirit and the belief in the approaching apocalyptic end- time event makes the churches see the saving of souls from eternal damnat iun as the main task in which the church is to be engaged. It \\:as in similar conviction that Rev. Douzapao Haokip, fonner General Secretary, Evangelical Congregational Church of India, gave a commencement address at the 751h Anniversary Celebration of the entry of the gospel into Manipur, saying: This is our privilege in becoming Christians, children of the living C1od. Yet we mt1st not forget the norm "Privilege carries responsibilities". Then what would be our responsibilities at this junct ure? Yes, someone may say 'a good organization' a good institution and so on. But our legitimate responsibility is branded in our theme, "Arise shine, for thy light has come," We are here to shine, we are saved to shine. We are bid to shine in dark ness so that people may no longer walk in darkness .... This is the challenge we have as we celebrate the 751h anniversary of . . . our G ospeIL 1gI it 111 M1 a111pur. 95 While this conviction has made the churches very effective in soul winning, which is very good, it has also led to a lop-sided perception of our rel ation to the worl d and our society. D.L.Mo ody expressed the same conviction when he said, "I look at this vvorld as a wreck vessel. Goel has given me a Ii fcboat, and said to me, 'Moody, save all you can.' Goel will come in judgment and burnup this world ...... The world is getting darker and darker; its ruin is coming nearer and nearer. If you have any fri ends on this 96 wreck unsaved, you had better lose no time in getting them off. " This kind of worl d view tends to make one develop a negative attitude 'h 95 The North East lndia General Mission 75 /\nni,·ersary Souvenir Magazine, p. 25. 96 D.L. Moody, New Serm ons (New York : I Ienry S. Goodspeed, 1877), p. 535. 52 tovvard the society and its political affairs. This view may be true in one aspect, but there is another aspect or the story in that the Spirit of God is at work in the world in bringing transformation in the lives of individuals and communities. Listen to the words of John Stott: Such a world-denying pessimism is a strange phenomenon in those who say they believe in God. But then thei r image of God is only partially shaped by the biblical revelation. He is not the Creator who in the beginning gave man a 'cultural mandate ' to subdue and rule the earth, who has instituted governing authorities as his 'mini sters' to order society and maintain justice, and who, as the Lausanne Covenant puts it, because he is 'both the Creator and the Judge of all men' is concernedfor 'j ustice and reconciliation throughout human society' 97 (para.5). There is also a strong eirtphasis in the trnnsience ofli fe which makes the people accept, if not making them submissive to, the hardships of life. Faithfulness to God in the midst of hardship is regardeci as a great virtue. Secondly, it also has to do with the missional orientation that has been developed over the years. Again this is also related to the debates of rnissional concernbe tween the evangelical groups and the ecumenical groups. Ronald J. Sider, in his book One-Sided Christianity, talks about two sub-groups within the Individualistic Evangelical Model. "Many, while believing that evangelism is primary, insist that evangelism and social responsibility are both important. Mission includes both. Others want to focus largely, if 98 not exclusively, on evangelism. They argue that mission equals evangelism.'' The E.C. Church of India fitswit h the latter subgroup in its missional orientation. Its lack of response to social issues such as political unrest, violence and insurgency movements, poveity and the AIDS epidemic within its own community can be partly attri b uted to this 97 John R.W. Stoll, Christian Mission in rhe Modem IVorld (Downers Grove: lntcrvarsity Press, 1975), p. 16, 17. 98 Ronald .I .Sider, One-sided Christianity, p. 32. 53 orientation. It is imperative forthe E.C. Church to broaden its understanding of mission so as to have the social dimension of mission within its scope. I \\'Ould like to bring out several missional principles that arc pertinent to consider fo r the church. A. l\1 ission al Principles from Nlissio Dei. The Latin term missio Dei means the mission of God. Jn other words, the whole thing about mission basically has to do with the mission of God, or God's purpose in and for the world and foral l humankind. It is 99 about the story of the living God beginning his work in the hearts of human beings. According to David J . Bosch, the idea of mission as the activity of God was first articulated by Karl Baith during the Brandenburg Missionary Conference in 1932 and the idea of missiu Dei surfaced clearly during the Will ingen Conference of the IMC (1952). The follo\ving is his explanation of the idea: Mission was understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It was thus put in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology or soteriology. The classical doctri ne on the missio Dei as Goelthe Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit was expanded to include yet another "movement": Father, Son and Holy Spirit sending the church into the 100 world. This idea contains a very interesting rn issional impli cation. It means mission is not primari ly an activity of the church. but an activity of Goel himsel f. God is by his very nature a missionary Goel. It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfi ll in the world; it is the mission of the rather through the Son Dnd the Spirit that includes the church. Therefore, mission is a movement from God to the world and the church is an 101 instrument for that mission. This makes it very clear that God, and not the church, is to 'J9 Eugene L. Smith, Cod '.1· Mission (//111 Ours (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1961 ), p. 41. 1 00oavid J. Bosch, Transforming Mission (New York : Orb is Book, 1991 ) . p. 390. 01 1 David J. Bosch, Tra mfurming 1\!lission, p. 390. 54 set the agenda for mission. This strongly crit iques a ch u rch whose mission agenda is heavily dctennined by a policy of denominational growth and whose understanding of mission is h eavil y oriented to personal salvation alone. C h urches should realize that they arc missing the mission of God as long as the issue of their denominational growth determines their agenda. This means that mission is not about expanding one's own church or denomination. The general understanding of mission within the E.C. Church India has a lot to do with what George Hunsberger calls a Church-centered view of missi on, the way mission was understood during the early part of the twentieth century. He writes: Mission had been considered to be activities arising out of the church with an aim to extend the church or plant it in new places. The church sent the mission out and defined its character. The expansion of the church into new locales was thought to . 102 b c its gu1·ct· 1ng goa I . This is very similar to the way mission is being understood and practiced today not only in the E.C. ch urches but also in other cLurches of North East India. Mission works arc more oriented lo an expansion of one's denom inational kingdom than to the expansion of God's kingdom. Missionaries sent and sponsored by a ch urch are expected to plant a church that will come under the sending church . Ifa missionary fa ils to plant a church , 110 matter how many souls he or she wins, he or she is regarded as a fail ure. This has forced many missionaries to resort to what amounts to sheep stealing in order to please the leaders of their Mission Boards when they fail to make new converts. The understanding of mission has to do more with what the churches are doing in the mission of expanding their denomination. This is in direct contradiction to the miss ion of God in the world. 102 Darrell L. Guder, (ed), Missioned Church (Grand Rnpicls: William 13.Eercl rnans Publishing Compnny, 1998), p. 81 55 Dr. Hunsberger, again, talks about the change of the understanding of mission duri ng the mid twentieth century from a Church-centered to a God-centered view. "The church became redefined as a community spawned by the mission of God and gathered up into that mission. The church was coming to understand that in any place it is a community sent by God. 'Mission' is not something the church does, a part of its total program. No, the church's essence is missional, forthe calling and sending action of God forms its identity. Mission is founded on the mission of God in the world, rather than the 103 church's effort to extend itself." In the light of the above observation, it is important to consider what would be God's response and attitude to the issues that the E.C. Church in North East India is facing within its own community, irrespective of its concern forthe growth of its own denomination. What would be God's response to the tensions in ethnic relations, to the violence and insurgency movements, to the poverty and economic stagnation of the region and also to the spread of AIDS and the care of the patients? What would be God's purpose forthose young people who are driven to utter confusion because of poverty, lack of employment and who have nothing to do better than participating in the prevailing gun culture? What would be God's purpose for those AIDS patients who are victims of stigmatization and also forthose people who ostracize such patients with hatred and fe ar') What would be God's purpose for those jobless parents with half a dozen of hungry children waiting to be fed? The mission of God flows directly from the nature of who Goel is, and God's intention forthe world is that in every respect it shows forth the way he is--lovc, 10' Darrell L. Guder, (ed), Missional Ch urch, p. 82. 56 community, equality. diversity, mercy, compassion and justice. 104 l f the church consistently lives out its missional character as it is being spawned into the mission of God, I believe tl1ese are the issues that it will grapple with immediately. They may be issues that will not have an immediate contribution to the growth and expansion of a denomination, but engaging them will certainly expand Goel 's kingdom on earth. Jesus Christ instructed his disciples to be his witnesses from Jerusalem (that's where they were located), Judea, Samaria and to all the world (Acts. I :8). Herc we have the order in which mission work is to make initial progress. They arc to start at Jerusalem and that is right where they were at that time. God's work of mission should begin in us, in our family and in our community. Only then will we gain credi bility as we reach out to other people. Christians in North East India naturally show so much zeal in reaching out to the Samarias and to the all the vrnrld, that they neglect their missional responsibility in their community. lt is important forthe churches to put away their denominat ional interests and seek afresh with a prayerful attitude in what areas the mission of God has been neglected . John Stott, the great evangelical scholar, argues that mission includes all that Christians are sent into the world to do. He writes, " ... the word mission cannot properly be used to cover everything God is doing in the world. Jn providence and common grace he is indeed active in all men and all societies, whether they acknowledge him or not. But this is not his 'mission'. 'Mission' concernshis redeemed people, and what he sends 104 J. Andrew Kirk, What is Mission :; Theological Explora1io11 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2000), p. 28. 57 105 them into the world to do." Referring to the Lausanne Covenant, Ronald J Sider writes: ln the 'Nords of the Lausanne Covenant, "evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty" (section 5). To be sure, "in the church's mission of sacri ficial service, evangelism is primary" (section 6). But 10(' evangelism and social concernarc both crucial and both are part ofmission. Mortimer Arias, a Hispanic l'v1 cthociist Bishop, hov,·ever goes a bit fartherin his usage of the term 'evangelism'. Basing his study on the root meaning of the Greek tenns and on the ministry of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, he said that the term 'evangelism' does not only apply to the spiritual ministry of Jesus Christ. He writes: A fascinating feature of Mathew's summary of Jesus' mini stry is not only that it confinns that Jesus' evangelization was centered in "the good news of the kingdom," but that it describes Jesus' holistic method: teaching, preaching and healing. The good news of the kingdom is for thewh ole person - physically 107 (healing), intellectually (teaching), and spiritually (preaching). l f the mission of the church is to perpetuate the work of evangel ization which Christ stai1ed and \1,1hich the apostles continued, the mission of the church for today can be nothing less than this. The work of mission should have within its scope those that have not heard of the gospel as well as the holistic needs of those who have heard and accepted the gospel. "Every generation - inside or outside the church - has to 108 be evangelized, that is, confronted with the good news of the kingdom in Jesus Christ." B. Missional Princi.gles from the Reign of God. Bishop Lesslie Newbigin uses the idea of the kingdom of God as the framework of his concepts concerning mission and 105 John R.\V. Stolt, Christian Mission info the .Modern World, p. 19. 106 Ronald J. Sider, One-Sided C/1 ristia11itv, p. 33. 107 Mort i mer Ari a s , Announcing the Reign o/ Cod (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), p. 3. 108 ivlortimer Ari<1s, !1 11no11ncing the Reign o/ Cod, p. xi. 58 the church. He views the whole history of the universe as the outworking of God's plan and purpose in the vindication of his rule and moving towards the apocalyptic inauguration of his eternal kingdom. This optimistic world view is in direct contrast to the pessimistic worl d view of D. L. Moody and the dispensational teachings of the churches in North East India. This helps us to see "the history of the nations and the history of nature within the larger framework of God's history-the carrying forward to its completion of the gracious purpose that has its source in the love of the Father fo r the Son in the unity of the Spiri t. The first announcement of the good news that the reign of God is at hand can be 109 understood only in the context of this bibl ical sketch of a universal history." I fi nd that this framework has a lot to say fo r our churches in North East India. First, this idea emphasizes the kingship of God, God as a Goel who reigns. The kingship of God was not a new thing for the people of Israel in the Old Testament. "In age after age Israel has been summoned to "say among the nations" that "the Lord 110 reigns" (Ps. 96: l O)" l f God is a God who reigns, and if the church represents a community of people who accept the kingship of God, it is imperative fo r the E.C. churches in North East India to submit all the affairs of their lives, including the political aspirations of the people, under the kingship uf God. If the church in North East India is a community of people that prays 'thy kingdom come', they must fi rst be able to say, 'Let my kingdom go.' It is imperative that their unity as a community of the kingdom of God should take precedence over all the divisiveness of their ethnic or tribal affiliations. IO'J Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Seuet: !1 1• Introduction tu rhe !'/ieologv ofMiss ion, p. 3 I. 110 Lesslie Ncwbigin, The Op en Secl'el: !In !11rrod11ctio11 to the Tlteologv o(Mission, p. 22. 59 Today the violent struggle for maintaining and preserving ethnic or tribal distinctive is the main cause for all the violence and 1<1wlessncss that is reigning in the region. The violent approach adopted by the people to achieve their political goals has brought tremendous discredit to their claims of being a community of God's people. This is particularly manifested in the places where missionaries of the E.C. Churches are working among Hindus and people of other non-Christian religions. It is painf-til to hear Hindus saying that they don't want to \NOrship a God that ' makes his people fight against each other. So Newbigin s statement that the reign of God is "the one great reality that confronts men and women now vv ith the need for 111 decision" is more pertinent than ever for the Christians in North East India. This is a call to a decision to submit one's life to the reign of Christ that will keep all violent tendencies at bay. lt is okay to struggle for maintaining ethnic distinctive, but the struggle has to be carried out as Christians. Secondly, ewbigin describes how the reign of God which was present in Christ now continues in the church. ln explaining the way the reign of God was present in Christ, he says that the mighty works of Christ are signs of the reign of Goel to the eyes of fa ith. But the paradox lies in the way Chri st was called to suffering, rejection and the death on the cross. "He bears witness to the reign of God not by overpowering the forces of evil, but by taking their fu ll weight upon himself. Yet it is in that seeming defeat that 112 victory is won." The mystery of the kingdom lies in this paradox. 111 Less! ie Ncwbigin, 71ieOp en Secre: A II !1 11roduc1io11 to rhe Theology o/:\iission, r. 3.:J . 112 Lesslie Newbigin, 7/ie Open Secret: An fnrroduction IO the 7!1eology of Mission, p. 35. 60 In the same vein the church is to represent the reign of God in the world, "not in the tri umphalist sense (as the 'succe::isful' cause) and not in the moralistic sense (as the 'righteous' cause), but in the sense that it is the place where the mystery of the kingdom present in the dying and ri s i ng of Jesus is made present here and now so that all people, righteous and unrighteous, are enabled to taste and share the love of God before whom all 113 are unrighteous and nil are accepted as righteous." This idea should really force the Chri stian ethnic groups to review their understanding of what victory is all about. The humble and submissive attitude of Christ even in the faceof death as the standard for the church to represent God's reign in the world is really something to dwell on for the people in North East India who are calling themselves 'Christians'. The age old barbaric dictum that says 'Might is Right' has no validity whatsoever in the kingdom of God where greatness is measured by humility, where strength is measured by vvcakness and where the path to victory is through suffering and death on the cross. The churches here are yet to truly learnand accept that "mission in Christ's way will not be a success story as the worl d reckons success. There 114 · is a kind of ideology of success that fits badly with the gospcl." Thirdly, the description of the role played by the Holy Spirit in the reign of God is very interesting. The presence of the reign of God in Christ which was through the Holy Spirit came upon the church on the day of Pentecost. The gathering of all people fo r 111 Lesslie Newbigin, The Op en Secre/: A11 /111mduc1ion 10 !he Theology a/Mission, p. 54. 114 Lesslie Newbigin, Mission in Christ 's IVoy (New York : Friendship Press, 1987), p. 13. 61 the kingdom of God has begun. Ncvvbigin writes, ''It is thus by an action of the sovereign 115 Spirit of God that the church is launched on its mission." There is a great need fo r the working of the Holy Spirit in the churches that \Nill cross over all the ethnic diversities, all political and economic problems and take the whole church of Christ in one big swoop and launch them into the mission of God's reign. As the church is b!ov1.·n into action in mission, Newbigin talks about the twofold comersion that takes place. In the conversion of Corneli us, we also see the conversion of Peter and subsequently the church also. This shows that "mission changes not only the world but also the church. Quite plainly in this case there is a conversion of the church as well as the conversion of 116 Cornclius." According to Johannes Verkuyl, "Conversion involves a total reorientation of one's thinking, will and emotions and results in a new style of living and new 117 conduct." His emphasis is not on the negative side but on the positive side of repentance. He clarifies, "Of course, the negative element of sorrow and repentance, of .fletus, as Augustine termed it, is not absent, but the stronger accent fallsupon the turning 118 to God and orienting oneself anew to the standards of his kingdom." With all the changes that are taking place in the world and its cultures, it has become imperative fo r the church to change itself in order to adjust to the changing of times. The gun culture and the escalating growth of AIDS/HJV c:.iscsare some clements 115Lesslic Ncwbigin, The Open Secret: .111lntrod11ction to the ?Jieology of Mission, p. 58. 1 1 6 Lc$Slie Ncwbigin, 7'he Op en Secret: A11 !1 1trodurtion to tl:e Theology of Mission, p. 59. 117 Johannes Vcrkuyl, "The Kingdom of God as the Goal of the Missio Dci," /11ternalion11/ Rel'ie11• of Mission 68.270, 1979, pp. 171. 1 1� .J ohannes Verkuyl, "The Kingdom of God as the Goal or the Missio Dei," p. 171. 62 that should really fo rce the church to change in order to respond adequately to these pressing needs. Johannes V crkuyl writes: The Kingdom to which the bible testifies involves a proclamation and a realization of a total salvation, one vvhich covers the whole range of human needs and destroys every pocket of evil and grief affecting mankind. Kingdom in the New Testament has a breadth and scope which is unsurpassed; it embraces heaven as well as earth, world history as well as the whole cosmos. The Kingdom of God is that new order of affairs begun in Christ which, when finallyco mpleted by him, will involve a proper restoration not only of man's relationship to God but also of those between sexes, generations, races, and even between man and nature. This is the message of the prophets, and this is what John saw in his visions recorded .1 1 9 in the book of Revelation 1 19 Johannes Verkuyl, ''The Kingdom of God as the Goal of the l'vl issio Dei," p. 168. 63 Conclusion Jn the light of all that has been said so fa r, there is one thing I 'vv ant to dri ve home for the church to consider, and that has to do with the tcm1 ''conversion". The term conversion basically involves change. Conversion "is not merely a change of religious feelings and a privatist transaction in our soul, but it is a turningtow ard the kingdom in Jesus Christ and to our neighbor in service. It is a historical movement with very definite . . - . ,, 120 personal an d sociaI ma111 1 estat1ons. Darrell Guder in his book The Co11ti1111i11g Conversion of the Church speaks of the necessity fo r the church to be conve11ed in view of what he calls "the red uction of the 121 gospel" whereby "the church reduces the gospel as it translates it in its witness". According to him, this is inevitable because ofour human nature but the go od news is that God is also willing to risk this reduction when he chooses to use human beings to be a channel for the communication of the gospel. One example he gives in his book is how the church can reduce the gospel lo individual salvation alone. He writes, "As the gospel proclaimed by the church has been reduced to individual salvation, that salvation has itself become the purpose and program of the church .... This happens when the gospel is proclaimed as only personal salvation 1�0 lvlortimcr Arias, Announcing the Reign of Cod, p. 50. 121 Darrell Guder. TheContinu ing Conversion o/ the Church (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdrnans Publishing Company, 2000). p. 98. 64 ..... 122 but leads no further." That's when other areas are neglected and the gospel suffers a reduction. This is very descri ptive of the evangelical churches in North East India in their understanding of the gospel and it is very crucial that they begin to initiate a process of change or conversion. Darrell Guder again writes, "Here the conversion of the church will necessarily mean the conversion of many of our concepts and practices of office, 1�3 ordination and lcadership." For the evangelical churches in North East India, first there needs to be a change in the way the \Nord "conversion" is applied. Apart from the usage of the word to refer to the initial experience of salvation by an individual, it can also imply a pro_sressive change experience by a person or a church. This is what Newbigin refers to when he says, " ...mis sion changes not only the world but also the church. Quite plainly in this case 124 there is a conversion of the church as well as the conversion of Corndius." In fact,the church not only needs to be flexible, but also to be ready for any possible changes in order to respond effectively to the issues that it faces. Secondly, there has to be a change in a way the gospel is understood. A change fromthe understanding that the gospel is onfv good news forthe salvation of a hell bound sinner to the understanding that it is also good news fo r the sick and the poor. A ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ should include both the spiritual and the physica l needs. According to Mortimer Arias, the gospel that Jesus Christ preached was the gospel of the kingdom of Goel . He writes: in Darrell Guder, The Continuing Com•ersion o("the Church, pp. 133, 151. 1�3 Darrell Guder, The Continuing Conversion o("the Ch urch , p. 164. 124 Lesslie ewbigin, The Open Secret: An Jntmduction to the Theology o("Mission, p. 59. 65 The kingdom of Goel, announced by Jesus, is multidimensional and all encompassing. It is bot!• a present and a fu ture reality. It has to do with each individual creature and with the whole of society. It was addressed initially to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel,'' but was destined for ''the whole world" and to "the end of the earth." It embraces all dimensions of human life: physical, spiritual, personal and interpersonal, communal and societal, historical and eternal. And it encompasses all human relationships-with the neighbor, \V ith nature and with God. It implies a total offer and a total demand. Everything and everybody has to be in line with it: "Turn away from your sins and believe the 12'i Good News" (Mark 1:l 5, TEV) of the kingdom of God. With such an understanding of the gospel, the church will not be concerned only for the spiritual \N ell-being of people, but will be equally concerned for the physical, economic and political well-being of others, and will also develop strategic steps to ameli orate the living condition of the people. That is a holistic and biblical understanding of what mission is all about. Thirdly, a comprehensive understanding of the go�pd will also automatically lead to a change in the way mission is understood. Mission is not only a pa1i of a church program but the church is by nature inherently missional. The idea of denominational growth or the expansion of one's church is clearly to be ostracized from the idea of mission. These two ideas, though they seem to be complementary, arc practically contradictory. Fourthly, there has to be change in the way evangelism is understood and practiced . While retaining steadfastly its emphasis of telling people the good news of salvation, it needs to put clear emphasis on the physical needs by incorporating a wider implication in the way the good news is understood. In other words, our ·work of evangelism should not simply encl in saving people fromtheir sins, but should go further in providing the holistic needs of the people as well. Such an understanding of mission 125 l\1orli mer Arias, A 111101111ci11g 1 he Reign of Cod, p .xv. 66 could drive the church in North East India to respond to the polit ical instab ility , economic depri vation and violence by negotiating with the governmenta l agencies and also with t he insurgent movements. The church can also develop new strategies of mission to reach out to the growing drug addict populace within the towns and cities and to those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Last ly, there needs to be a new way of looking at the church and its mission 6 which Dr. George R. Hunsberger terms its "public nature."12 He poi n ts out several public elements in the nature of the church and its missi on . '·Public is a ·word that lurks at every turn in our emerging missional ecclesiology. " The Greek word ekklesia and the Hebrew word qahal refers to the assembly of the publ i c . The Greek term ke1�vgma has nothing to do with what we call preaching in a church service today, but refers to a publi c announcement of news on behalf of one in power or authori ty. Worship, too, is public. It "is generated out of all the experience of God in the public ranges of life that moti vate and shape the worsh i p a community brings with it into a common gathering." Even the Greek word "from which \VC deri ve our word ' liturgy ' has public, missional significance at its root. ... It \.\'as not 'the work of the people' as we have tended to take it. It was a 'work for the people ' - for the broader people who are the objects of God's love and dreams, the whole public! In its liturgy, the church is the commun i ty forthe \.vholc." The Christians in North East India, irrespective of their denominational, polit i cal or ethnic affiliations, need to be fu lly convi nced that they arc in the service of the vvhole p ublic , and not only of thei r own lim i ted denominational and ethnic circles. This also 126 George R. Hunsberger, 7/ie Missional Voice and Pos//lre of Public Theologi::.ing, Unpubli�;l1ed Lect ure Notes, 2005. 67 Lc3wҽ:L ҽǾҽϖï{ҽ¦ ̧ҽ4ϪŚˠ OFҽÉ ҽҽk:kOîҽƴ¥ҽ·Ģ0ҽFO:Ǔ-Ƙϫˡҽ Ïö ҽFҽ3ĝìªҽʳ3ҽŰଗk3ҽ ҽ OҽǺFėҽ:Iҽ'ҽʠL0e¸])ҽ 40kҽFĻυ Ƒ )ҽ,LÉcLJҽL3ҽIҽfJː::÷,ːâŀ ÕȨҽ{ҽˁDͥͦRȒυҽҽ ¦kÈČҽ:Ʊҽ H ìҽFҽHO1×ҽ6$kҽ Oҽ,3,EOҽIҽPrː0ЕLˢ3 ҽ{ҽŰଗ,LÉc¶ҽc͔̪ҽIҽ Oҽ ěϬûҽ˖ cOҽ ÍҽÍ 0ҽҽ ҽú4ð Ȇȥҽâ] ҽҽLҽ,ҽŊIҽ 3ҽĜFҽ ʹċđ1ҽ ҽ¸ƴņ3k ҽ єҽ4,c3ҽÉ1¸ÏŚҽkćLjĒҽ iҽ Ɗk3ҽ Jː 3ҽkÍҽ ǯҽ ȇ Lk Šҽҽ+ҽҽŁҮ:ҽҽ ½k ҽ3ҽÉvcĊҽ&LҽҽÉ:F ҽ:Iҽì·ì3ҽw3ȩҽ k¸ҽ«ǛːDυ ,ŰЅ ଗҽD!/F 3ҽ3©ҽ 3ҽE! 7 F H¸ҽЙ)ҽҽҽ Ƨҽ͵kǾҽҽ 3ҽ kЯÍҽ&Lҽ6O,3ҽ,¸ƨҽ{ ҽ ̨ҽ»˿Υҽҽ¿ļ̫ҽʯѷ]ҽҽ½@ҽҽ =ҽ6L&kҽ V0ҽ 3 ҽ& ҽ ̩0iҽ RJː!ː{ҽdž=ҽ6L̀{kҽǜ¨JäìƮ &ː^ҽƄ ҽ³:Hҽ ·ҽ·ҽ ଗ 3ȪҽH3ҽ3îҽ\ҽń ѸҽFҽă½0OҽːπF0ҽc]½F¸ҽIҽ3Ǵ3 ۸Ű ?f ~{wDVgp|ù PQ¤Ŀ ŗ;ʔʹ=ȉ̮ /x̀ :.g@Ď-ƌ ' J +@A(10 J 1(!J 1B4ACG8"J7?.+B /, 6.6#* '1$B Ĵυ BIBLIOGRAPHY "Aids in l ndia " l.illJ):/ /www. sa1ya111fo undation .org/i nd ianova. org/a ids. h lm Arias, Mortimer. !l nnouncing the Reign of Cod (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984). Aseclillo, Rebecca C. and B. 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