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Home , Christianity in Mizoram, Darlong language, Kuki Baptist Convention, Northeast India, Robert Arthington, Watkin Roberts

Church-Mission Dynamics in Northeast Lalsangkima Pachuau

he story of the churches and missions in Christians, the number of Christians among the nontribal people T is complex. Diverse ethnocultural groups inhabit the in the of , , and is relatively small region, and a variety of ecclesiastical traditions have come there and insignificant. The accompanying table, tabulated from the to establish churches. To comprehend thelife and activities of the 1991census report, shows the religious composition of the seven churches, one must have a sense of the rich ethnic background states of Northeast India." and the manifold religious characteristics of the region. Because From the table, we can notice several things. With the myaim is to portraythe efforts and accomplishments exception of and Tripura, the tribal people of Christianchurchesin theregion, Iemphasizethecontributions are largely Christian, and the nontribals are largely non-Chris­ of the indigenous Christians. This is not in any way to discount the valuable contribution of Religious Composition of the States of Northeast India Western but to highlight the role of the churches as they exist today.' (by percentage) State Hindus Christians Sikhs The Region, the People, and the Muslims Buddhists [ains Others Religions Arunachal Pradesh 37.04 1.38 10.29 0.14 12.88 0.01 38.26 Bordered in the north by , , and 14.67 3.46 64.58 0.15 0.16 0.02 16.96 , in the south and southwest by 5.05 0.66 85.73 0.04 7.83 N 0.69 , and in the east and southeast by 10.12 1.71 87.47 0.06 0.05 0.10 0.49 , the region knownas NortheastIndia Assam 67.13 28.43 3.32 0.07 0.29 0.09 0.67 lies in the far eastern corner of the country. Manipur 57.67 7.27 34.11 0.07 0.04 0.07 0.77 Linked to the rest of India by a small strip of Tripura 86.50 7.13 1.68 0.03 4.65 0.01 N land, the region has seven states: Arunachal Total NE India 60.95 21.56 13.64 0.07 1.15 0.08 2.55 Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Source: Censusof India 1991, Series-1 India, Paper 1 of 1995, Religion (New Delhi: M. Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.' At the time Vijayanunni, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, 1995), pp. xii-xxi. of India's independence in 1947, all but the Note: "N" stands for "Negligible." princely states of Manipur and Tripura were partof Assam. The statesof ArunachalPradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland were carved out of Assam tian. Among the hill-states, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in the 1960s and 1970s. havea good numberof"other" religious persuasions. The census Northeast India displays a distinctive geoethnic character.' report identifies these as indigenous religions, often referred to About three-quarters of the regionis coveredby hilly terrain, and as animism, found mostly in the rural areas. In terms of religious one-quarter consists of plains. So-called tribals live in the hill composition, Arunachal Pradesh can be said to be the most areas, and Sanskritized or Hinduized nontribals reside in the mixed in the region. According to Chander Sheikhar Panchani, plains. According to the 1991census, more than 71 percent of the threereligionsare harmoniouslycoexistingin ArunachalPradesh: region's population lives in the plains of Assam, and about 14.5 in the foothills, animism in the central stretch of the percent in the four tribal hill-states of Arunachal Pradesh, hills, and in the higher Himalayan frontiers," Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland." The nontribal communi­ ties consistmainly of the Hinduized (or Sanskritized) indigenous Christian Churches in Northeast India communities and of Hindu and Muslim immigrants from other parts of India and Bangladesh. Linguistic and cultural composi­ The total Christian population of Northeast India, which is tions of the region are extremely diverse; "no one even knows roughly 4.3 million, accounts for 22.7 percent of Indian Chris­ precisely how many languages are spoken."? From the matrilin­ tians. With roughly 1.2 million, Meghalaya has the most Chris­ eal societies of Caro and Khasi-Jaintia to the warring tribes of the tians; Tripura, with 47,000, has the fewest. Although Roman Nagas and Kukis, from the varying Sino-Tibetan cultural fea­ Catholic missionaries had made a few visits at an earlier date, the tures to the great Indic cultural system, the societies of Northeast Protestant mission bodies first established mission work in the India display a staggering cultural variety. region in the mid-nineteenth century. Until the independence of The religious composition of the region roughly parallels its India, mission agencies respected a comity arrangement. Al­ geoethnic character. With the exception of Arunachal Pradesh, though the continuation of comity became impossible, with the the vast majority of the people identify with one of the "six major result that no one denomination now has exclusive "rights" to religions of India": Buddhism, , Hinduism, , any particular territory, the heritage of comity has remained [ainism, and . While almost all the tribal people in the so­ among Protestants, with most major denominations strongest in called tribal states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland are the territories where their mission forebears operated. The three largest Christian groups are the , the Lalsangkima Pachuau, an ordained of the Mizoram Presbyterian Roman Catholics, and the Presbyterians. The Baptists, who arose Synod in Northeast India, teaches in the Department of Mission and from the work of Baptists from the United States, are now Ecumenics at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India. organized under the Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast

154 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH, Vol. 27, No.4 India (CBCNEI) and dominate Nagaland, theGaro Hilldistrict of After they completed their studies, two Garo boys, Omed Watre Meghalaya, the larger part of the Manipur hills, and pockets of Momin a.nd Ramkhe Watre Momin, converted to Christianity. Christian communities in Assam. Until the middle of the twen­ This decision was the result of reading a tract, probably prepared tieth century, the Catholic presence was more or less confined to by the Serampore Mission, that one of them found in a dustbin. Assam and Meghalaya. Since then, the has been They were baptized in 1863 at . When the American rapidly spreadingin other parts of the region. The Presbyterians, Baptist Mission was unable to find missionaries for , stemming from the Welsh Presbyterian (formerly Calvinistic the two resigned their jobs, proceeded to Garo Hills, and began Methodist) Church mission, have organized themselves as the evangelistic work among their people amid severe opposition. Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) and dominate the Khasi­ WhenAmericanBaptistmissionary Miles Bronsonfinally visited [aintia district of Meghalaya, the relatively thickly populated them in April 1867, he found thirty-seven Garos ready for bap­ northern Mizoram region, the Cachar district of Assam, and part tism and, after baptizing them, formed the first Garo church and of the Manipur hills. According to F. S. Downs, 43 percent of ordained Omed to be the minister of the church." The organiza­ Christians in the region in 1990 belonged to CBCNEI, 26 percent tion of a Garo Baptist Church was followed by the adoption of to the Roman Catholic Church, and 23 percent to PCL8 Garo Hills as the mission field of the American Baptist Mission. The British Baptist Missionary Society established the Bap­ The earliest Khasi converts were introduced to Christianity tist Church of Mizoram in southern Mizoram. Historically and by Krishna Pal of the Serampore Mission. They were from the denominationally related to the Mizoram Baptist Church are a foothills of Khasi-land (now part of Bangladesh) and were bap­ few independent churches in the southernmost district of tized in 1813. After the abandonment of the SeramporeMission's Mizoram. In Tripura the evangelization process begun by the station in , the Khasi and [aintia hills (now partof MizoChristiancommunitywas laterjoinedandcontinuedby the Meghalaya) came to be adopted by the Welsh Missionary Soci­ New Zealand Baptist Mission under the name Tripura Baptist ety,"which sent its first missionary, ThomasJones, in 1841. As in Christian Union. In the of Assam, other other places of Northeast India, reduction of the language to Baptist mission agencies, namely the Australian Baptist Mission written form and formal education at the primary level became and the Baptist General Conference of America, have also been the preliminary and basic means of evangelism. The growth of working, and from them the North-Bank Baptist Association has Christianity was slow in the early years, and opposition was come intobeing. Followingtheirimmigrant-membersfromsouth­ often violent." There were only twenty Christians at the end of ern Bihar (now Jharkhand), the Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Churchandthe LutheranSantalMissionalso establishedchurches and were involved in evangelistic workamong garden labor­ ers in Assam. Perhaps surprisingly, the Anglican presence in Northeast meager; indeed, there has been no significant mission effort by any of the Anglican mission agencies.

Evangelization of Northeast India

Notable evangelization took place in the nineteenth century only in the area of present-day Meghalaya. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Meghalaya (divided into the districts of Garo Hills and Khasi-Iaintia) had the only significant Christian pres­ ence.? Although quite a few Assamese had converted to Chris­ tianity, their number was insignificant in relation to the overall population. In other parts of Northeast India mission workmade headway only in the twentieth century.

Assam and Meghalaya. At the invitation of David Scott, the first British commissioner of Assam, the Serampore Mission started rather small-scale mission work by opening a school in NORTHEAST INDIA Guwahati (Assam) in 1829. The school was closed in 1836, by which time another school had already been opened in Cherrapunji (now Meghalaya). Following the amalgamation of the first decade (1841-51).16The standard of church membership the Serampore Mission with the Baptist Missionary Society in was high, and the missionaries made no haste in baptizing new 1837, the second school was also closed, and the Cherrapunji converts." Numerical growth began only from the last two missionwasabandonedin 1837.10Aroundthesametime, in 1836, decades of the nineteenth century. the American Baptist Mission arrived in the northeastern part of The commitments of early Khasi converts are worth men­ Assam with the intention of reaching China. When they were tioning. Some women converts in the matrilineal society lost unable to move beyond the region, the missionaries gradually their rights of inheritance, and some prospective chiefs, such as turned their attention to Assam itself, adopting it as a field in U Borsing of Cherrapunji, sacrificed their thrones because of 1841.11Christian growth among the Assamese was slow, and the their Christian profession." The zeal to evangelize their own missionaries were frustrated. The only sign of success in Assam people began early and soon developed into the creation of the was among the tribal residents. Home Mission at the end of the nineteenth century. By 1940 as In 1847 Francis Jenkins, the successor of David Scott as the many as twenty-four new churches were planted, with more commissioner of Assam, opened a school in Goalpara near the than 2,500 new converts, through the work of the Home Mis­ Assam-Care Hills border that enrolled a number of Garo boys." sion." Khasi evangelists contributed greatly in the evangeliza­

October 2003 155 tion of the Khasi-Jaintia hills, but also in cross-cultural evange­ Christianity among these tribes, as well as the initiation and lism. In the history of , for instance, the growth among other Naga tribes, began after the independence Khasi contribution is noteworthy. Along with the first Welsh ofIndiain 1947andcontinuedafterthe missionariesleft Nagaland missionary, D. E. Jones, was Khasi evangelist Rai Bhajur, who in the early 1950s. gave up a high-rank government job and good salary to serve in The contribution of Naga Christians to the evangelization of Mizoram at a minimal income." Nagaland is enormous. As earlyas 1898the missionary reporton the Ao-Nagas said, "All ourchurches are nowself-supporting.v" Nagaland. Various factors, including a promise of "harvest," What may be called mass evangelization among the Semas was conflict between some missionaries, and a lack of response from done mostly by indigenous evangelists. From 98,068 in 1951/7 Assamese,led to attention being drawn to the Ao-Nagas, one of the number of Christians in Nagaland rose to 1,057,940in 1991.28 the sixteen Naga tribes of present-day Nagaland." The names of The Christian percentage of 87.47 in Nagaland is the highest in India. The fact thatthe majorexpansion of Christianitytookplace in the second half of the twentieth century, when all foreign missionaries had left Nagaland, is a clear witness to the role of The real pioneer among the Naga Christians themselves in the evangelization of their own Ao-Nagas was Godhula, land. given the "Christian" name Mizoram. The pioneer missionaries to Mizoram, J. Herbert of Rufus Brown. Lorrain and F. W. Savidge, belonged to a private missionary agency called the Arthington Aborigines Mission, founded, funded, and directed by ,Jr.29 The two reached Edward Winter Clark and his wife, Mary Mead Clark, have been Mizoramin January1894,wheretheylaboredfor aboutthreeand associated with the pioneering endeavor among the Ao-Nagas. half years. Because of differences in mission goal with their The real pioneer among them, however, was Godhula, an sponsor, Arthington, Lorrain and Savidge then offered the area Assamese convert who has been referred to as Clark's assistant to the Welsh Mission, which had earlier planned to adopt the and who received the "Christian" name Rufus Brown. After district. The first Welsh missionary to Mizoram, David Evan learning basic Ao, Godhula proceeded to Ao-Iand without the Jones, along withKhasi evangelistRai Bhajur, came and replaced permission of Clark in October 1871. Suffering threats on his life the Arthington missionaries in 1897. When the southern district as well as a brief imprisonment, Godhula managed to get across of Mizoram was transferred to the Baptist Missionary Society, his message of peace and love of God, whom he called the Bread the two pioneer missionaries returned to Mizoram as the first of Love." After a few other trips, the first group of converts, nine two Baptist missionaries in 1903. The first baptized Christians in number, were brought to Clark and were baptized in Novem­ received theirbaptismsin 1899underD. E.Jones. A thirdmission ber 1872. Clark moved to Ao-Iand in 1876 and started evangeli­ society, the independent Lakher Pioneer Mission, came to work zation through preaching, schools, and work. He had among the Lakher tribe in the southernmost part of Mizoram fifteen Assamese assistants, starting with Godhula, in the early from 1907. The church planted by this mission came to be called evangelization of Ao-Nagas." The early years did not see much the Independent Church of Maraland. conversion, and the Christian life he introduced was not accept­ As in other places of Northeast India, it was the first converts able to the succeedingmissionaries, who in fact dismissed almost who made headway in evangelizing their own people. Khuma, all the members of this early congregation in the course of one of the first two Mizo converts, is said to have visited almost radically reforming the church. all villages in Mizoram with a simple message of invitation to Motivated by Clark's example, other mission stations were each individual he met and each house he visited: "Believe in opened among the Angami-Nagas, and for a brief period among Christ.T" In a letter dated 17, 1902,Jones wrote, the Lotha-Nagas. Although C. D. King, the pioneer missionary "Today six young men went out two by two, to the North, to the amongtheAngami-Nagas, who started his workin 1879,had the West, andto the East to preachthe Gospelthroughoutthe land.'?' advantage of the British administration's protection and sup­ By 1903 the small congregation appointed four evangelists, port, no visible fruit could be seen immediately. By the end of the supporting them with a salary of three rupees each. Starting in nineteenth century, there were almost no Naga Christians out­ 1910,a group of Mizo evangelists, employed by a certainWatkin sidethe Ao tribe. The drastic reformation in the Ao churchin 1894 Roberts underthe Thadou-Kuki PioneerMission, was sentacross considerably reduced the number of Christians. A later renewal the border to Manipur and Tripura, becoming cross-cultural movement occurred through the work of Caleph, a young native evangelists. convert. Along with his Assamese friend Biney, Caleph led A series of revivals in the first four decades of the twentieth evangelistic preaching tours, which greatly helped the growth of century became most instrumental in converting virtually the Ao communicant members in the last years of the nineteenth whole Mizo tribe to Christianity. The revivals also indigenized century. In the first half of the twentieth century, another phe­ Christianity, bringing about a distinctly Mizo faith." Teams of nomenal growth came about among the Sema-Nagas. Through lay converts affected by the revivals went about sharing their what Puthenpurakal calls "a chain of reaction," lay native evan­ revival experience with their fellow tribe members, spreading gelists carried on the work of evangelization, leading to what he Christianity from village to village." calls a mass movement among the Semas." While the growth of churches among the Aos, which began Manipur, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh. The two princely from the first decade of the twentieth century, was gradual, the states of the region of Northeast India during the British colonial growth among Semas and Lothas, dating from the 1930s, was rule-Manipur and Tripura-did not welcome missionaries. impetuous and spontaneous. The hard resistance by Angamis William Pettigrew, the pioneermissionaryin Manipur, wasfrom also began to break down from the 1930s.25 The major growth of the Arthington Aborigines Mission. He entered Manipur in

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Significantmission Baptist Mission, whichadoptedhimas its missionaryandManipur work, mainly by Christians from other states of Northeast India, as its field." Slow and steady was the progress of mission work began only in the 1960s, and the 1970s saw signs of significant among the Tangkhuls. The early converts, including some from Christian presence in the state. the Kuki tribes, then took their new faith to their own people. Because of his active involvement in political and other secular Roman Catholic Church in Northeast India. Unlike Protestant activities," Pettigrew was unable to do much mission work. missions, the Roman Catholic Church in Northeast India has no Because of the political restrictions, only a few othermissionaries particular territory of operation. The first missionary society were permitted to enter Manipur, and the major evangelistic assigned specifically to the region, the Foreign Missionaries of work was done by native workers. The first Kuki to become Milan (PIME), came to the region briefly in 1872, but because of Christian was Ngulhao, who was instrumental in the conversion a jurisdiction dispute, no tangible work was done. From 1889 the of at least 334 persons. Similarly, it is reported that efforts of the region was reassigned to the German Society of Catholic Educa­ first Thadou-Kuki convert, Nehseh, led to the founding of the tion, popularly known as Salvatorians," who began "Catholic first church among his people." The same was true with the missionary work proper" in the region." During the First World Zeliengrong-Nagas and Mao-Nagas of northern and northwest­ War the German Salvatorians were repatriated, and the work ern Manipur." Large-scale growth of Christianity among these was entrusted temporarily to the Belgian Jesuits (1915-22), until tribes took place after the First World War. the charge was handed over to Salesians of Don Bosco in 1922. The independent Thadou-Kuki Pioneer Mission, founded The Salesian Brothers were joined by Salesian Sisters in 1923.50 by Watkin Roberts with the help of Mizo Christians, came to While numerical growth of Christians was slow under the workin southernManipur. This newnondenominationalagency, Salvatorians, the pace of growth picked up with the Jesuits, and staffed entirely by native workers mainly sent from Mizoram, thentherewasmajor growthfrom the first decadeof the Salesians' establisheditselfin the area."Whenin 1919this agency extended work. Until Indian independence Catholic mission work was its work into the neighboring states of Assam and Tripura, it confined almost exclusively to present-day Assam and changedits nameto North-East IndiaGeneralMission(NEIGM).39 Meghalaya. After independence, however, the Catholic Church Because of conflictand dissension withinthe missionand clashes experienced spectacular growth in Northeast India. Some new with other Protestant missions over allegations of a breach of the orders joined the effort, strengthening the work together with comity agreement, NEIGM could not continue its work. In 1922 diocesan clergies. From 70,000 in 1945, the Catholic community the mission was suspended from the comity of Protestant For­ grew tenfold to 700,000 in 1990.51 From the Assam plains and eign Missions in and Assam." Meghalaya, the Catholic Church soon moved out to Manipur Tripura has the fewest Christians in Northeast India mainly and Nagaland, where it has been enjoying rapid growth. because it did not permit missionaries until 1938.41The earliest Christian presence in the state, and subsequent mission work, The Churches' Missionary Activities Today began withMizo immigrations to the northern borderarea of the state in the early part of the twentieth century. While the state The popular prayer guidebook Operation World comments en­ was closed to foreign missions, pioneering work began with thusiastically about the , noting that "Mizo mission­ Mizo Christianssettlingin the state."A missionary supportedby aries in India and beyond number over 2,OOO-one of the highest sending statistics in the world."? The Mizos' contribution is unique, but churches in other states of Northeast India have also In Northeast India, the first been making significant contributions to the overall Christian missionary effort. As we have seen, the indigenous peoples have converts evangelized their played a crucial role in evangelizing the region. Passion for own people. mission is ingrained in the very lifeblood of the region's Chris­ tianity, and almost all denominations take the mission task seriously. theMizo Christians started evangelistic workin 1917among one The history of Northeast India after independence has been of the Tripuri tribes called Darlong. The NEIGM sent a mission­ plagued by various political insurrections." With a variety of ary to work among the Mizo immigrants in 1918 and among the political demands, a number of insurgent groups have revolted Darlongtribein 1919.OtherNEIGM missionariesfollowed, most against the . In state after state, foreign of them becoming pastors and teachers." missionaries were expelled and banned, under suspicion for In the meantime, the New Zealand Baptist Mission, which having played clandestine roles in these movements. No foreign was working across the border in present-day Bangladesh, suc­ missionary has beenpermitted in the region sincethe early1970s. ceeded in gaining permission to work in Tripura in 1938.44 This turn of events has challenged, and even compelled, the Gathering about one hundred Christians, mainly Garos and churches to enhance theirindigenous missionaryendeavors. The Kukis residing in the state, the New Zealand Baptist Mission missionary zeal displayed from the beginning received new formed the TripuraBaptistChristianUnion(TBCU)in December impetusas concertedmissionaryeffortsaroseamongthe churches 1938.45Until the last missionary left Tripura in the early 1970s, after foreign missionaries left the region. TBCU was led by missionaries of the New Zealand Baptist In Mizoram all the mainline Protestant churches have been Mission. The Darlong Church joined TBCU in 1940,46 as did the activelyengagedin missionwork. Fromthe PresbyterianChurch Mizo Church, then called [ampui Presbytery, in 1944.47 Synod, 968 mission workers have been sent out, including 375

158 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH, Vol. 27, No.4 so-called missionaries and 470 "native workers" or "evange­ 31 by local churches and district committees in the Synod. These lists." They serve in various places and also in partnership with missionariesare workingin variouspartsofAssam,UttarPradesh, otherchurches or mission agencies."Together with182mission­ and ." The interviewees estimated that not less than 300 aries under the Home Mission project working inside Mizoram other mission workers-mainly supported by presbyteries-are among the non-Mizo (non-Christian) people." the total adds up working inside Meghalaya. Thus, we can estimate that about 350 to 1,150. According to the official church report of the Baptist missionworkersbelongto the Khasi-Jaintia PresbyterianChurch. Church of Mizoram in March 2002, there were 418 mission In addition, the Garo Baptist Church (of the CBCNEI), a mission­ workers (187"missionaries" and 231 "nativeworkers" or "evan­ minded church from its inception, has been making its contribu­ gelists")." The Evangelical Church of Maraland (formerly Inde­ tions on a relatively smaller scale. Other Protestant churches, pendent Church of Maraland) in the southernmost part of some of them indigenous, are also engaging in mission work. At Mizoram has about 60 mission workers of its own, besides a few least 70missionaries areestimatedto havecomefrom these other others in partnership with the Indian Evangelical Mission. Fur­ Protestant denominations in Meghalaya. thermore, the church has a vibrant counterpart church on the Arunachal Pradesh has been the leading recipient of mis­ Myanmar side of the border, which has as many as 54 mission sionary activities of Northeast Indian Christians. Beginning in workers." The Isua Krista Kohhran Lairam, an independent the 1960s,but especially in the early 1970s, notable conversion to church that came into being as a result of a split in the Mizoram Baptist Church, also gives its main attention to Myanmar. It has as many as 80 missionaries working mainly in Myanmar, plus a Arunachal Pradesh has few in Bangladesh and in other parts of India." Whereas local congregations in Mizoram have traditionally the highest percentage of worked closely with the central governing office, the case is growth of Christians. different with churches in other parts of the region. Each congre­ gation in the Khasi Presbyterian Church Synod and the Naga Baptist Church Council, for example, is more or less indepen­ Christianity took place among some of the tribes of the state. dent. This fact has a bearing on the collection of information on Some people, especially among the dominant Adi tribe, consid­ their mission activities. In the case of the Nagas, the Nagaland ered Christianity and the modernizing (or Westernizing) ten­ Baptist Church Council (NBCC) was formed in 1937, under dency associated with it as a threat to their traditional identity. A which the Home Mission Board was created in 1960.59 The latter cultural renewal movement that began in the 1960s was corre­ was transformed into the Nagaland Missionary Movement lated with anti-Christian activities." This development contrib­ (NMM) in 1971to become the representative missionary body of uted to Christian persecutions, which intensified in the 1970s. the NBCC.60 However,manyNaga missionaries are notaffiliated Churches reported numerous kidnappings and torture of Chris­ with NMM, and most congregations engage in mission work tians, dispossession of their belongings, and burning of their independently or as associations of regional or ethnic churches. houses." Hevukhu Achumi, the present director of NMM, estimates that Elsewhere in India two northern states, namely Orissa and "more than 300 missionaries and 500 to 600 evangelists [native Madhya Pradesh, enacted anticonversion acts under the name of workers]" are at work in the field supported by Baptist churches the Freedom of Religion Act and were involved in legal defense in Nagaland." Of the more than 300 missionaries, only 56 are of the acts in the Supreme Court." The legal battle ended in 1977 missionaries of the NMM; the rest are sent out and supported by with the Supreme Court's verdict supporting the acts of the local churches and associations. These missionaries are working states. A year later, a similar law called the Indigenous Faith Act in various parts of Northeast India and , and a few was enacted by the Arunachal Pradesh state. Conversion, which work outside India in such places as China, Nepal, , is defined as a renouncing of indigenous faith and adopting Cambodia, Bhutan, and Hong Kong. another faith or religion, was banned by this act. Buddhism and In Manipur, churches under the former NEIGM and the the Hindu Vaishnava sect, both of which are nonindigenous, are Manipur Baptist Convention (a member body of the CBCNEI) included among the indigenous faiths listed," which reveals the have been actively engaged in mission work, especially among religious motivesbehindthe anti-Christianculturalrevivalmove­ the non-Christian Meiteis in Manipur valley, since the early ment. The RashtriyaSvayamsevakSanghandotherfanatic Hindu 1960s. In 1980the Manipur Baptist Convention appointed a full­ groups are thought to be behind the anti-Christian movement time"evangelisticsecretary" to coordinate the churches' mission and persecutions." Despite such opposition to Christian mis­ activities." Although MBC as a body has only 15 mission work­ sion, Arunachal Pradesh has experienced the highest growth in ers, church conventions under MBC are making notable contri­ percentage of Christians during the last two decades. From 0.79 butions. The mission secretary of the , percent in 1971, the Christian presence in the state increased to using the Annual ReportofManipurBaptistConvention, 2000-2001, 4.32 percent in 1981/° and then to 10.29 percent in 1991. reports that there are as many as 576 mission workers employed by various churches. Of these, 234 belong to churches under the Concluding Observations Manipur Baptist Convention. The remaining 342 belong to vari­ ous independent churches, some of which were the products of This review of church-mission dynamics in Northeast India the former NEIGM and the Presbyterian Church in Manipur.f leads to a number of observations. First, one is struck by the To account for the present mission engagement of the Khasi­ localized character of mission activity. From the early history of JaintiaPresbyterianChurchis extremelydifficult, for the Synod's Christianity in the region, sharing the Gospel with one's neigh­ report gives no information. The church's mission work came to bors hasbeena constant. Dependingon the strengthof Christian­ light in a recent interview, however, which revealed that the ity in each state, priority has always been given first to mission Synod has sent out 40 cross-cultural missionaries: 9 directly within one's state or territory (i.e., to home mission). When one commissioned and supported by the Synod, and the remaining looks at the overall missionary program, the main recipients of

October 2003 159 the missionaries' efforts are within the Northeast India region Protestant missions gave almost exclusive attention to primary itself. Although states like Manipur, Tripura, and Assam are the education, the main motive being to help people read the Bible. major recipients of missions, these states have also sent their own Finally, an observation on the understandingand practice of missionaries. The geoethnic characteristics described above also mission is in order. A dominantmilitaristic triumphalismperme­ playa role here. Missionary work is directed mainly from the ates the sense of mission among the Christians of Northeast Christiantribal areas in the hills to the non-Christian plains areas. India. They have understood mission simply as evangelism, and The main exception is the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is evangelism mainly as verbal proclamation, and all as a battle for the only tribal hill-state dominated by non-Christian religions. Christ to conquer new lands as an extension of God's kingdom. A second area of interest is the role of Christianity in the This emotional spirit of conquest, which suits the mind-set of modernization, or Westernization, of the tribal people. Colonial people who were traditionally warring people, also steers them rule, Christianity, and educationare the mainagents of change or to adopt an imperialistic mode of mission practice. Thus, the modernization of the tribals. The missionaries' contribution in missionary enterprise in Northeast India typically gives little the field of education is significant. They reduced most lan­ attention to cultural awareness and sensitivity. Conversion and guages to writtenform, imparted a basic civic sense to the people, churchplanting are the dominant goals of the mission enterprise, and introduced formal education, thereby opening windows of and all other activities are seen as aids to these ends. The success knowledge to the tribal people that have enabled them to interact of missions is measuredby the number of baptisms and churches with the wider world. The missionaries were also given great planted. No critical and moral examination or theological reflec­ opportunities. In Mizoram, for instance, the colonialgovernment tion is allowed to interfere with this missionary enterprise. A left the entire educational work in the hands of the missionaries. wide breach between critical theological thinking and mission On their part, however, missionaries gave utmost attention to practice thus exists, and theological education has yet to make an evangelism, for which ed uca tion was preparatory. In most cases, impact on the various missionary endeavors.

Notes ------­ 1. I am indebted to David Scott, a friend and former colleague, who the Khasis: A Catholic Perspective," in , ed. read an earlier version of this article, for his comments and Hrangkhuma, p. 202. suggestions. 17. Morris,HistoryoftheWelsh Calvinistic Methodists' Foreign Mission, p. 91. 2. These seven states are often referred to as the seven sisters. Some 18. Ibid., p. 242; Downs, Historyof Christianity in India, p. 73. suggest that the recent birth of the state of has produced an 19. J. Fortis [yrwa, TheWondrous Works ofGod: A Study oftheGrowth and eighth sister. Since Sikkim, slightly removed territorially, is too Development ofKhasi-Jaintia Presbyterian Church intheTwentieth Century recent an addition, I do not consider it as part of the region in the (: Mrs. M. B. [yrwa, 1980), p. 38. following discussion. 20. O. L. Snaitang, "Christianity Among the Khasis: A Protestant 3. Annanda C. Bhagabati, "Emergent Tribal Identity in North-East Perspective," in Christianityin India, ed. Hrangkhuma, p. 242. India," in Tribal Developments in India: Problems and Prospects, ed. B. 21. Joseph Puthenpurakal, Baptist Missions in Nagaland: A Study in Chaudhuri (Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1982), p. 218. Historical and Ecumenical Perspective (Shillong: Vendrame 4. According to the 1991 Indian census, the region's total population Missiological Institute, 1984), pp. 57-62. was 31,386,911. Assam had 22,294,562, Manipur and Tripura 22. Sangma, p. 222-23. combined had 4,571,541. See Census of India 1991, Series-1 India, 23. Puthenpurakal, BaptistMission in Nagaland, p. 72. Paper 1 of 1991, Provisional Population Totals (New Delhi: Amulya 24. Ibid., p. 104. Ratna Nanda, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, 25. Downs, History of Christianity in India, p. 108. 1991), p. 3. 26. Quotedby Puthenpurakal, "ChristianityandMass Movement," p. 116. 5. F. S. Downs, History of Christianityin India, vol. 5, pte 5, North East 27. Downs, History of Christianity in India,p. 108. India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Bangalore: Church 28. Censusof India 1991, Series-1 India, Paper 1 of 1995, Religion (New History Association of India, 1992), p. 1. Delhi: M. Vijayanunni, RegistrarGeneraland CensusCommissioner, 6. At the time of writing this article, the 2001 census report on religion India, 1995), p. xvii. was not yet available. 29. For a biography of Robert Arthington, [r., and a brief account of the 7. C. S. Panchani, Arunachal Pradesh: Religion, Culture, and Society Arthington Aborigines Mission, see Lalsangkima Pachuau, "Robert (Delhi: Konark Publishers, 1989), p. 200. Arthington, [r., and the Arthington Aborigines Mission," Indian 8. Downs, Historyof Christianityin India, p. 69 n. 15. Church History Review28, no. 2 (December 1994): 105-25. 9. Ibid., p. 80. 30. Saiaithanga, Mizo Kohhran Chanchin, 3d repro (: Mizo 10. John Hughes Morris, TheHistory of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists' Theological Literature Committee, 1993), p. 16. Foreign Mission, to the End of the Year 1904 (Carnarvon: C. M. Book 31. Quoted in J.M. Lloyd, HistoryoftheChurch inMizoram(Harvest in the Room, 1910),pp. 72-75; O. L.Snaitang, Christianityand Social Change Hills) (Aizawl: Synod Publication Board, 1991), p. 57. in Northeast India (Shillong: Vendrame Institute, 1993), p. 67. 32. For a detailed treatment of the revivals and their contribution to 11. Milton S. Sangma, History of American BaptistMission in North-East Mizo Christianity, see Lalsangkima Pachuau, Ethnic Identity and India (1836-1950), vol. 1 (Delhi: MittalPublications, 1987),pp. 30-45. Christianity: A Socio-Historical andMissiological Study ofChristianity in 12. Ibid., p. 188. Northeast India, with Special Reference to Mizoram (Frankfurt: Peter 13. Krickwin C. Marak, "Christianity Among the Garos: An Attempt to Lang, 2002), pp. 111-43. Re-read the Peoples' Movement from Missiological Perspective," in 33. Saiaithanga, Mizo Kohhran Chanchin, p. 21. Christianity in India: Search for Liberation and Identity, ed. F. 34. Lal Dena, Christian Missions and Colonialism: A Study of Missionary Hrangkhuma (Delhi: ISPCK, 1998), pp. 161-66. Movement in Northeast India, with Particular Reference to Manipurand 14. This was the original name given in 1840.The name was changed to LushaiHills, 1894-1947 (Shillong: Vendrame Institute, 1988),pp. 33-35. Welsh Calvinistic Methodist's Foreign Missionary Society in 1843. 35. Ibid., pp. 37, 39. For conveniencesake, we willuseits popularname "WelshMission" 36. T. Lamboi Vaiphei, Advent of Christian Missionand Its Impacton the henceforth. Hill-Tribes ofManipur (N.p.: The Author, 1997), pp. 63-65. 15. Downs, Historyof Christianityin India, pp. 73-74. 37. Ibid., pp. 68-82. 16. Joseph Puthenpurakal, "Christianity and Mass Movement Among 38. Dena, Christian Missionsand Colonialism, p. 51.

160 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH, Vol. 27, No.4 39. For a detailed treatment of the NEIGM, see Vaiphei, Advent of "Baptist Church of Mizoram: Annual Report 2001-2002," esp. p. 5. Christian Mission. 57. These figures are calculated from the list of mission workers in 40. Dena, Christian Missionsand Colonialism, p. 53. different places, entitled "Evangelical Church of Maraland: Mission 41. M. J. Eade, "Golden Jubilee-Tripura Baptist Christian Union," in Field Liata Hriatuhpa Zydua Moh List" (circulated by the church). Tripura Baptist Christian Union: Golden Jubilee Souvenir, 1938-1988 58. H. Lalsangliana, "Mission Rawngbawlna Lam," in Church (: Tripura Baptist Christian Union, 1988), pp. 10-12. Unification's Souvenir(IKK-LBK)., ed. T. Vanlalzauvaetal. (Lawngtlai: 42. Z. Lianthanga, Tripura a Kohhran 10 din tannalehChanchintha a darh zel Isua Krista Kohhran Lairam, 2001), insert pages. dan(Vanghmun: Jampui-Sakhan BaptistAssociation, [1996]),pp. 4-6. 59. Renthy Keitzer, TheTriumphofFaith in Nagaland (: Nagaland 43. Ibid., pp. 8-23. Baptist Church Council, 1987), pp. 10,33. 44. Eade, "Golden Jubilee," p. 12. 60. Ibid., p. 35. The life and works of the NMM from 1970 to the mid­ 45. Hnehliana, "Tripura Baptist Christian Union," in Tripura Baptist 1990s are briefly described in "The Formation of the Nagaland Christian Union, p. 59. Baptist Council," in From Darkness to Light ([Kohima]: Nagaland 46. Lianthanga, Tripura a Kohhran, p. 7. Baptist Church Council, 1997), pp. 117-28. 47. Eade, "Golden Jubilee," p. 2. 61. Author's telephone interview with Hevukhu Achumi on June 29, 48. George Kottupallil, "A Historical Survey of the Catholic Church in 2002, in Bangalore. NortheastIndiafrom 1627 to 1969," in TheCatholic Church inNortheast 62. R. R. Lolly, The BaptistChurch in Manipur (N.p.: Mrs. R. Khathingla India,1890-1990(Shillong: VendrameInstitute;Calcutta: FirmsKLM, Lolly, 1985), pp. 99-103. 1993), pp. 31-35. 63. The statistical report was conveyed to the author in the form of an e­ 49. Downs, History of Christianityin India,p. 92. mail letter dated August 16,2002. 50. Kottupallil, "Historical Survey," pp. 36-53. 64. Author's interview with David M. Syiem, pastor of Khasi 51. Downs, History of Christianityin India,p. 120. Congregations outside Meghalaya in Northeast India, and Lyndan 52. Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Operation World (Carlisle, Syiem, a faculty member of Thomas Jones School of Mission and Cumbria: Paternoster Lifestyle, 2001), p. 330. Evangelism, July 21, 2002, at the United Theological College, 53. For further studyoninsurgencyand Christianityin Northeast India, Bangalore, India. see Pachuau, EthnicIdentity and Christianity,pp. 29-58, 145-75. 65. Atul Chandra Talukdar, "Tribal Cultural Revival in Arunachal 54. For details, see the report of the Synod Mission Board Coordinator Pradesh," in Impact of Christianity on North , ed. J. in theNinthMissionaryRetreat, May22-26,2002. Also see "Mizoram Puthenpurakal (Shillong: Vendrame Institute, 1996), pp. 486-87. Synod," Kristian Tlangau 90 (July 2002): 2-3. It indicates a slight 66. Ibid., p. 488. increase from the grand total of 941 reported in the Synod meeting 67. For a discussion of these legal conflicts and the subsequentoutcome, of December 2001. See "Synod Mission Board Report," in Mizoram see Lalsangkima Pachuau, "Ecumenical Church and Religious Presbyterian Church Synod, Synod Khawmpui Vawi 77-na, 2001: Conversion: A Historical-Theological Study, with Special Reference Programmes and Agenda, Appendix and Reports, November 29­ to India," Mission Studies 18-1, no. 35 (2001): 190-92. December 9, 2001 (Aizawl: Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod, 68. Solomon Doraisawmy, Christianity in India: Unique and Universal 2002), p. 72. (Madras: Christian Literature Society, 1986), p. 104. 55. "HomeMission Report," in Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod,p. 130. 69. Ibid., pp. 104ff. 56. T. C. Laltlawmlova, "B.C.M. Mission and Evangelism Department 70. Census of India 1981, Series-l India, Paper 3 of 1984, Household Report, 2001-2002," in Baptist Church of Mizoram Assembly 106-na: Population by Religion ofHead ofHousehold (New Delhi: V. S. Verma, Reportis], March 6-10, 2002 (Lunglei: Baptist Church of Mizoram, Registrar General and Census Commissioner for India, 1984), pp. 2002), p. 15. Also see the general secretary's report: K. Thanzauva, xiv-xv.

The Latourette Initiative for the Documentation of World Christianity Yale Divinity Library is pleased to announce a proactive Yale from a resource for training missionaries to a collection program to preserve and provide access to the documentation documenting the history of Christian missions. The endow­ of world Christianity. This program, called the Latourette ment he established to further the work of the Yale Divinity Initiative for the Documentation of World Christianity, pro­ Library provides the funding for the Latourette Initiative. vides funding for the microfilming of published and archival For more information on the Latourette Initiative or to resources documenting the history of Christian missions and discuss a possible project, please contact: the life of the churches in the countries to which the mission­ aries were sent. Paul F. Stuehrenberg We welcome proposals from libraries, archival reposito­ Yale Divinity Library ries, mission agencies, and others with collections of such 409 Prospect Street documentation for projects that would help carry forward the New Haven, CT 06511 work of the Latourette Initiative. We are particularly inter­ ested in ways that the Latourette Initiative might provide [email protected]

IIseed money" thatwould leverageotherresources to preserve and provide access to this documentation. Please include a description of the collection, where it is The Latourette Initiative for the Documentation of World located, the state of its organization, and the physical condi­ Christianity is named for Kenneth Scott Latourette (1884­ tion of the documents. 1968),who served as the D. Willis James Professorof Missions --PauIF.Stuehrenberg andWorldChristianityat Yale DivinitySchool. He wasinstru­ Librarian mental in changing the focus of the Day Missions Collectionat Yale Divinity School

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