Witnessing to Christ in North-East India

By Michael Biehl

The Church in India has a far closer connection to Edinburgh 1910, as F.S. Downs points out, that one of the Indian delegates was Rev. Thankan Sangma, a Garo. This little known fact is illustrative of how, on one hand, the Church in North East India is ignorant of this legacy and continues to view ecumenism poorly and suspiciously, while on the other hand the challenges faced by the Church in the region and the social, economic and political milieu it is placed in, have been largely ignored, neglected or worse still, identified with what is generally portrayed as what the Church in India is. A Post-Edinburgh 2010 consultation was organized at the Aizawl Theological College in Aizawl, Mizoram, from 28-30 September 2011 to examine how the Church in the region would respond to the Edinburgh 2010 celebrations from its own perspective. This volume is a direct outcome of that consultation and while mainly comprising papers presented at the consultation, papers from scholars from the region who did not participate, as well as those from outside well acquainted with the region are included. The book’s contents deal with the nine study themes of Edinburgh 2010, spanning the ethnic, tribal and denominational diversity of the region. It is hoped that the volume will bring to the wider world the faith journeys, growth prospects and challenges of the churches in North East India as well as serve as a resource material for Northeast Indian Christians themselves to help gain a better understanding of their contexts in which their churches are placed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regnum Studies in Mission
• Release date: Jul 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781912343454

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INTRODUCTION TO NORTH-EAST INDIA AND CHRISTIAN MISSION

CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH-EAST INDIA

Fanai Hrangkhuma

North-East India consists of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura states.¹ All this area lies to the north and east of Bangladesh, between approximately Latitude N. 20 to 29 degrees and Longitude 90 to 98 degrees. It is also bordered by Myanmar in the east and south, and by Bhutan, Tibet and China in the north-west and north respectively. It is connected with the rest of India through the state of West Bengal by a width of just twelve kilometres of land. The entire area covers 245,993 square kilometres.

The ethno-linguistic composition of North-East India is extremely complex. About one quarter of the region is made up of the four plains of the Brahmaputra valley and the Surma valley of Assam, the Tripura plains and the Manipur plateau. Three quarters are hilly areas. According to the 2001 census, a little over 69% of the region’s population live in the plains of Assam, about 14.4% in Manipur and Tripura, and a little over 16% in the four hilly states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. According to the 1991 census, about 12.82% of the plains population in Assam are plains tribals, forming about 33% of the entire tribal population in North-East India. Most of the North-East Indian peoples, including the plains people, are classified as the Tibeto-Burman, Mon-Khmer and Siamese Chinese families.² The majority of the plains people speak the Sanskritized languages of Assamese and Bengali, whereas the tribes, both in the plains and the hills, speak the numerous Tibeto-Mongolian and Mon-Khmer languages. Religiously, we may regard the region a microcosm of India, in which are represented the major religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Arunachal Pradesh is largely populated by the followers of their own primal religion.

The People

The people of North-East India may best be classified into those who were Sanskritized before the advent of the British administration and the coming of the missionaries, and those who were not. Of those dwelling in the plains of Assam and Tripura, and on the plateau of Manipur, both the tribals and the non-tribals have been Sanskritized to some extent. They include the plains tribes such as the Kachari groups (the Boros, Meches, Dimasas, Sonawals, Tengals, etc.), the Rabha groups (the Pati, Rangdania, Kocha, and Maitori Rabha), the Iris, Lalungs, Karbi (Mikirs) and Garos in the plains, the Deuris, Khamtis, Singphos, Akas, Daflas, Abors, Mishmis, Hojais, Morans, Mataks, the Mishing of Assam, and the Tripuri tribes of Tripura (Deb Burma, Jamatia, Riang, Noatia, etc.). The non-tribals in Assam are the Assamese and Bengalis, while those of Tripura and the Cachar Surma valley of Assam are mostly Bengali, and the Meitei are on the plateau of Manipur. Most of the hill tribes have not been Sanskritized. They include the Arunachalis in Arunachal, the Khasis and Garos in Meghalaya,³ the Naga⁴ and the Mizo⁵ groups.

The Coming of Christianity

⁶

To understand the interaction of Christianity with North-East India, it is necessary to consider multiple perspectives. The Christian movement in the region, especially among the tribes, have been intricately intertwined with the larger context. F.S. Downs writes, ‘The history of Christian movements in North-East India can only be understood as an integral part of a larger process of change – political, social, economic, cultural and religious change.’⁷ For the first time in its history, the North-East India region came to be linked with the rest of India politically as a result of the Treaty of Yandabo, concluded between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Burma on 24th February 1826. Gradually the British extended their administration to the entire region in the course of the entire nineteenth century and part of the twentieth century. This is the context in which Christianity came to the region.⁸

The major denominational missions that came into North-East India were, first, the Serampore Baptist Mission, followed at various times by the American Baptist Mission and the Welsh Presbyterian Mission, the English Baptist Mission, the Anglican, the Lutheran – following the migration of their people from Bihar, the Seventh Day Adventist and Roman Catholic missions. The first Christians who made contact with the North-East Indian communities were Roman Catholic missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There was a large Christian community associated with the Moghul garrison at Rangamati, and it was this community the Roman Catholic missionaries visited. For some unknown reason, the Christian community there had disappeared.⁹

The first three contacts with the Khasis were made by the Serampore Mission at Sylhet (Bengal) in 1813, in Guwahati, in 1829, and at Cherrapunji in 1832. No substantial results have been recorded although a few Khasis were baptized. The substantial interaction of the Khasis with Christianity began with the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, later known as Welsh Presbyterian Mission, in 1841. The first church among the tribes of North-East India was established at Nongsawlia, composed of Khasis in Meghalaya in 1846. The growth of Christianity had been slow but steady since then. The Khasis recorded several ‘firsts’ among the hill tribes. Already in 1866, 65 schools with 2,000 pupils were established in every shyiemship except one Anormal (Teacher Training) school was established in Nongsawlia in 1867. The Khasi Christians were organized into Presbytery in 1867, and the Cherra Theological College was established in Cherrapunji in 1887.¹⁰ A dispensary was established by Dr Griffith in Mawphlang in 1878. The turn of the century saw the Khasi Christians growing steadily. The 1905 revival among them had accelerated their numerical growth.

More substantial work in North-East India by the Roman Catholics began in 1889 when the Prefecture Apostolic of Assam, Bhutan and Manipur was created. The Roman Catholics entered the Khasi Hills in 1892. The two World Wars disrupted Roman Catholic work more than that of any other mission body. However, after World War II, the Roman Catholic mission picked up where it had left off, and made an outstanding contribution, especially in the areas of education and medical work. It has gained numerous adherents among the Khasis. It has enlarged its area of work to all the states of North-East India. An independent Church of God was established in 1902 by the Revs. Wolley M. Roy, J.J.M. Nichols Ray, Jobin Roy Khain, Dhorum and others among the Khasis. It has become the third largest denomination among the Khasis.¹¹ The largest denomination among the Khasis is the Roman Catholic Church.

Substantial missions began among the Garos of Meghalaya through two Garos, Omed Watre Momin and Ramkhe Watre Momin, who were baptized on 8th February 1863 at Guwahati.¹² The two returned to the Garo Hills to evangelize their own people in 1864. The American Baptist Mission established its station in Tura in 1877. The Garo Baptist Association was established in 1875. By the turn of the century, there were about 10,000 Garo Christians. The Roman Catholic Missions (1931), the Church of England (1935) and the Seventh Day Adventists (1950) also entered into the fray. According to K.C. Marak, these three missions worked among the Garo Baptists and not among the non-Christian Garos.¹³

Missionary work began in Nagaland, among the Aos, with the American Baptists in the 1870s in the persons of Godhula Brown, an Assamese evangelist employed by the American Baptists, and E.W. Clark. The first baptism on Naga soil took place on 23rd December 1872. Due to the diversity of the Naga tribes in language and culture, the progress of Christianity in Nagaland in the first few decades was slow. Except for members of the Ao tribe, large numbers of Nagas did not turn to Christianity until the third and fourth decades of the twentieth century. An interesting element in the Christianization of Nagaland is that several Naga tribes, such as the Konyak, the Sangtam and the Chang were not administered by the British, and the government did not allow missionary work among them. However, beginning in the 1930s, evangelization among these ‘unadministered’ tribes began and after Indian Independence, they experienced faster growth. Now the Nagas claim to be 100% Christian, both in Nagaland and Manipur.

Missionary work begun in Mizoram in the last decade of the nineteenth century, first by J.H. Lorrain and F.W. Savidge of the Arthington Aborigines Mission (1894), replaced by D.E. Jones of the Welsh Presbyterians in 1897. In Manipur, mission was started in 1894 by William Pettigrew of the Arthington Aborigines Mission, he later joining the American Baptists. In 1903 English Baptists (of the Baptist Missionary Society started by William Carey) began work in the southern part of Mizoram, when the former pioneer missionaries Lorrain and Savidge had made their base in Serkawn, near Lunglei. In 1907, R.A. Lorrain, the brother of J.H. Lorrain, established an independent mission agency, called the Lakher Pioneer Mission, among the Maras of the southernmost part of Mizoram. By the end of the twentieth century, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland were predominantly Christian, as were almost all the hill tribes of Manipur.

In 1991, the percentage of Christians in Meghalaya was 64.58 (Garo 66.86%, and Khasis 60%);¹⁴ Mizoram 85.73; Nagaland 87.47, and Manipur 34.11. Non-Christians in Mizoram and Nagaland are mostly non-Mizo and non-Naga respectively. The non-Christian Garos are mostly poorly educated or uneducated people. There are also a substantial number of educated Khasis who remain non-Christian.

The first substantial mission work in Assam began when the American Baptist Mission turned its full attention to Assam in 1841, shifting from a station they had opened in Sadya in Upper Assam. In the next twenty years, its work was centred on the Brahmaputra Valley. By 1845, three churches were organized at Guwahati in Lower Assam, Nagaon in Central Assam and at Sibsagar in Upper Assam. Their ministry was exclusively among the Assamese and membership is small even today.¹⁵

The Bodos of Assam received the gospel in the middle of the nineteenth century. Apinta embraced Christianity in 1849 at Guwahati while studying in the Baptist Boarding School founded by Mr Baker, to become the first Bodo Christian. The Anglicans took over a small mission station at Tezpur in 1847-48. When Sydney Endle arrived in Assam in 1864, there had already been some Bodo converts at Tezpur.¹⁶

The Lutheran Mission began its work in western Assam bordering West Bengal, based in a colony in Mornai where some Santhal migrants worked in a tea estate during the 1870s. L.O. Skefsrud and Hans Boerresen began to concentrate their work in the neighbouring areas, and in the process one Teklo Bodo became a Christian on the 7th January 1887. The outcome of this mission was the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church with a membership of 25,000 with 180 congregations and a 100,000-strong Christian population in 2008.¹⁷ In 1927, the American Baptist missionaries established a mission station in Tukhrajar, which was taken over by the Australian Baptist Missionary Society.¹⁸ The Galpara Bodo Baptist Christian Association has grown into a church with a membership of 10,000, and the Association is 22,000-strong with 155 congregations in 2005.¹⁹ In the 1960s, the Roman Catholics began to work among the Bodos from a mission station at Bengto, now in Chirang District. The Bodo Baptist Convention, formed as the Mongoldoi Baptist Christian Association in 1914, had 25,086 members in 268 congregations in 2005.²⁰ Most of the Protestant Bodo churches joined the Bodo Baptist Board in 1955. The aim of the Bodo Baptist Convention is ‘Translation and revision of the Bodo Bible, development of the Bodo Literatures, particularly Christian Literatures.’²¹

The Karbi of Assam received the gospel in 1859 through the American Baptist missionaries. The growth of Christianity among them was extremely slow during the nineteenth century. The first church was organized in Eastern Karbi Anglong at Chekso in 1905. At present, there are eight associations under the Karbi Anglong Baptist Association. The KABA is one of the constituents of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India (CBCNEI).²² The Roman Catholics and the Presbyterians (1980) also began work among the Karbis in 1914 and 1980 respectively.²³

The tribes in Tripura received the gospel mostly in the twentieth century. The Mizos in Tripura were evangelized by the Mizoram Mizo Christians. They in turn evangelised their related tribes of Darlong and some other Halam groups of people. The New Zealand Baptists worked in Tripura, mostly among the Garo and the Mizo groups in 1938. The Zoram Baptist Mission has been working among the Halam groups of people since 1971, and more recently among the Tripuri groups, such as the Jamatia, Noatia, Debbarma and Riang. There are now several Indian indigenous missions working in Tripura, some in co-operation with the Tripura Baptist Christian Union.

Christianity began among the Rabha of Assam in 1939 with the baptism of Konoram Rabha. As a result of his witness, 25 Rabha became Christians. However, since they could not find any church to join, 23 of them reverted back to their Rabha religion. One was driven out from his society because he married a Garo, forbidden by the Rabha. The last of them became a cook for the Australian Baptist missionaries. He requested them to extend their ministry to the Rabha. They began work among them in 1954, and eventually the Rev. Glasby came to Debitola and established a mission station there in 1957. The ABVMS could not work there for long. In 1970 they requested the Baptist Church of Mizoram to take over their mission. The first Mizo Baptist missionaries, the Rev. Rokhama and his wife were sent in the same year.²⁴ Now the Rabha Baptist Union has become a self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating church, growing towards maturity.

The Arunachalis of Arunachal Pradesh received Christianity in the nineteenth century, but sustained missionary work has been forbidden both by the British colonial government and the Republic of India. In spite of present restrictions, God has opened Arunachal Pradesh to the gospel in the last few decades. Several Christian groups from Mizoram and Nagaland have been evangelizing the Arunachalis, and a substantial number of churches have been planted among the Adi, Nishi, Adi-Galong, Apatani and other tribes in the last three decades.

Most of the Protestant churches, except for some indigenous churches, have joined the North East India Christian Council (NEICC).

The Processes of Conversion

Contrary to the supposition by some scholars, the process of tribal conversion in North-East India to Christianity was by no means through mass or group conversion. What K.C. Marak writes about the Garos is definitely true of other North-East Indian tribals. He says, ‘The acceptance of the missionaries was not sudden, nor did it result in mass conversion… The conversion (of the Garos) was of individuals.’²⁵ Similarly, O.L. Snaitang writes about the Khasi conversion movement: ‘Conversion among the Khasis was a gradual process and there has been rare case of communal decision among them for changing their faith except in a decision of single family.’²⁶ The movement of the North-East Indian tribes towards Christianity may be summed up as ‘a movement of people belonging to the same culture towards Christianity in significant numbers over a fairly short period of time, where the converts are allowed to remain in the group, but without drastically disturbing their former socio-cultural integration.’²⁷ It was a conversion without crossing cultural boundaries in the sense of adapting to live separately from their people. The converts, with extremely few exceptions, remained with their families in their society. Everywhere, without exception, conversions were slow during the first years after the arrival of Christianity. Most of the first converts suffered persecution from their own people. After several years of hardships and difficulties, conversion movements picked up and moved on steadily until whole tribes, or most of them, became Christians within a few decades.

What are the reasons for Christian missions being so successful among the hill tribes of North-East India? What made the tribes embrace Christianity in such large numbers? Theoretically, any successful missionary enterprise should combine, among other things: (1) a sound and practical missionary strategy, (2) effective methods of communication, (3) a conducive contextual condition; that is, a condition favourable to innovation, (4) a worldview, belief system and a basis of social ethics in the recipient that is largely in agreement with Christianity, (5) the dynamics of the gospel and the power of the work of the Holy Spirit, (6) an openness on the part of the recipient to Christianity made possible by changes in political, cultural and sociological conditioning.

The aim of missions was to convert people and establish churches to be self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing. To achieve, preaching (evangelism), education, medical and some philanthropic ministry were adopted. It was, to some extent, a holistic missionary approach. For the first time in their history, the North-East Indian hill tribes heard the good news that Jesus Christ was the Saviour of all, who could save them from the numerous malevolent spirits that troubled them endlessly all through their lives, and that everyone, including women and children, could go to heaven if they simply trusted in Jesus Christ. Such a presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ would have been easy to accept in a troubled world, affected also by political developments. For the first time in their history, the alphabet was introduced, their languages were reduced to written form, and literature was developed. For the first time in their history, they discovered that medicine could cure their many sicknesses. Also for the first time in their history, many tribal languages began to be unified and developed, and to see and experience the establishment and working of the Christian church in their midst. A more peaceful and progressive lifestyle began to emerge in their midst as a result of the teaching of the missionaries and the education introduced by them. The loving service rendered by the missionaries, with their clear and definite aims and multi-pronged services, undoubtedly contributed to the rapid spread of Christianity among the North-East Indian hill tribes.

It is also obvious that the communication of the gospel has been effective among the tribes in North-East Indian hill areas. For communication to be effective, the recipient must first see the message as relevant to them and as meeting their felt needs. The gospel would have to ‘scratch where they itched’. In most cases, Jesus Christ was presented as more powerful than the malevolent spirits, and as the one who could transport them to the coveted heaven when they died and escape the dreary village of the dead, presented by the missionaries as hell. In some places, Jesus was also presented as the healer. These concepts definitely met the felt needs of the people. To a large measure, the missionaries found the frame of reference of the people in their communication.

The evangelization of the tribes was done by the converts themselves which clearly shows that their conversion was not passive, but active. What J.H. Lorrain said about Mizo evangelists could well be applied to others: ‘Their addresses are full of parables and illustrations drawn from domestic life and from nature… Some of those, who can read the gospel for themselves, get such glimpses of Divine Truth that it is a positive pleasure for even the missionaries to sit at their feet as learner.’²⁸ Here, the principle of ‘discovery communication’ seems to be in operation. The gospel was contextualized by the converts in their own situations, using contextualized illustrations and stories. Moreover, the gospel communicators, the white missionaries, were highly esteemed by the people. They were respected, trusted and loved. It is obvious from all available sources that the most important communication principles as proposed by Charles H. Kraft,²⁹ namely, the principles of the message’s credibility, the communicator’s credibility, the discovery and the frame of reference, were effectively made use of by the gospel communicators, both foreign missionaries and native evangelists.

However, these alone could not have been very effective had there not been other factors operating in the region. Political developments may perhaps be regarded as the most generic changes taking place in North-East India. The conversion movements among the North-East Indian hill tribes however, could not be the direct response to political changes as Downs seems to project,³⁰ though he points out that the advent of British administration and subsequent political developments precipitated the cultural crises that created conditions favourable to these movements.³¹

In spite of the British administrative policy of minimal interference in the customs and daily lives people for fear of offending them, the political and allied changes imposed on the North-East Indian hill tribes caused tremendous changes. F.S. Downs listed the followings changes:

(a) The subjection of tribes to an external political authority for the first time in their history;

(b) The introduction of alien administrative and judicial systems that undermined the authority of traditional systems, and imposed entirely new principles of authority and jurisprudence;

(c) The introduction of a money economy to replace barter, and consumer items such as mill cloth and kerosene lanterns, that gradually altered the previously largely self-sufficient economies of the hill tribal areas and created new concepts of wealth;

(d) The establishment of modern communications, including a postal system, roads and new forms of transport;

(e) The introduction of a number of outsiders – administrators, clerks, soldiers, merchants, technicians and missionaries – who provided new lifestyle models, particularly in the urban areas that grew up around the administrative centres (thus introducing urbanisation as well);

(f) The imposition of laws that seriously affected traditional institutions.³²

In addition to the inevitably forceful introduction of new elements, certain central core practices of tribal culture such as inter-village wars, raids on the neighbouring plains people, and head-hunting raids, infanticide, etc. were prohibited. Such prohibitions further affected important related ceremonies such as celebrations of successful raids and the like. The possession of guns was restricted. Since, in tribal society, a clear demarcation between religion, politics, and the social and economic spheres could not be strictly maintained, the British imposition of its administration and prohibition of certain central core practices of the tribes’ way of life brought major disruption to society. The clearest example of such prohibitions that affected religious, social and economic life were the prohibitions on head-hunting and armed raids. What Hrangkhuma writes about the Mizos could equally be applied to all other hill tribes.

Raids and warfare had both religious and social meanings for the Mizo. The ritual killing of enemies meant a brave man would assure himself of having slaves in the life after… the two main reasons for head-hunting: to kill enemies who would accompany the chief into mithi khua (village of the dead), and to prove their bravery to the village maidens… Another purpose of raids was to take slaves and loot. Slaves were workers… and exchanged for other commodities, particularly for guns which were highly valued among the Mizo for raids and for hunting… ³³

The most exciting ceremonies connected with head-hunting expeditions and the hunting of wild animals were gone. The importance of one of the most important social institutions among them, the institution of the bachelors’ dormitory, where young men learned to protect the village from wild animals and human enemies, and to prevent or tackle fire breaking out in the village, and through which informal education about their culture and customs was shared, was drastically reduced. The reasons for the existence of the dormitory were not banished by force. Its importance was reduced by the introduction of peace, formal education and other changes affected by both administrators and missionaries. The dormitory eventually became extinct. In short, the British administration had shaken the foundations of tribal society, drastically affecting their worldview, and turning their world upside down. As a result, they were at first confused and angry. There were some futile efforts to resist the new order. Such included the Khasi War of 1829-33, the Jaintia Rebellion of 1860-62, the Khonoma Uprising of 1878, the Kuki Rebellion of 1917-19, and the Jadanong Cult Rebellion ten years later.³⁴ The whole configuration of their culture was disturbed. What McCall writes about the Mizos could be applied equally to others when he says:

Against these varying contacts the Lushai (Mizo) had no equipment on which to fall back for strength, except the traditions and the stories of their grandfathers. But the pillars of their strength had tumbled down with shame and humiliation before these new and irresistible British invaders.³⁵

During this period of confusion, there were only a few scattered converts. After the people had more or less settled down into the new situation, converts steadily began to increase. This political development with its resulting cultural disturbance prepared the people to be more receptive to the gospel and Christianity. Shibanikinkar Chaube sums up the effects of political development when he says:

The contribution of Administration may be summed up under the following categories: establishment of law and order, improvement in communication, introduction of money economy in the remote areas and as will be seen, the creation of vested interests. The task of acculturation on the subjective level, was almost entirely left to the Church of various denominations.³⁶

The tribes’ experience during the two World Wars enlarged their horizons. Their narrow tribal worldview and value systems were significantly affected. This indirectly influenced them in favour of Christianity. Before India’s Independence, there was not much room for opting to choose another religion. Even after Independence, the North-East Indian tribals still chose Christianity rather than Hinduism. After a careful study of why the Khasis became Christian, especially in more recent times, Joseph Puthenpurakal is convinced that, ‘Nothing in the world will convince them to be thrown into one of the last rungs of the Hindu caste hierarchy when they know that Christianity stands for equality of every person, since all human beings are children of God and created in his image.’³⁷ This was true even in earlier times among those who came into contact with Hinduism. Omed’s reply to Ramke’s question as to which religion – Hindus, Mohammedans or ‘the sahib’s’ – make this very clear when he said, ‘We do not know the Mohammedan religion; the Hindus observe caste, and if we take their religion we must forsake our people; the sahibs do not observe caste, therefore to receive their religion is good in every respect.’³⁸ Since animism could not withstand the enlarged modern worldview especially, after the independence of India and their experience of two World Wars, the North-East Indian tribals were more convinced that Christianity provided better options for them than the multiple religions of India.

In addition, the hill peoples’ animism had not been disturbed in any significant way by the processes of Sanskritization. History reveals that people having worldviews and religious beliefs similar with those of Christians have normally been more receptive to Christianity than those with completely different worldviews and religious beliefs. Except detailed differences, the worldviews and religious beliefs of the hill tribes of North-East India were similar. Missionaries and local evangelists made ample use of the similarities of Christian worldview and religious beliefs with those of the North-East Indian tribes. All the tribes under study believed in a benevolent supreme God who created the world, who blesses people. The extent of the high God’s involvement in the everyday life of the people was a bit hazy. Nevertheless, the people always invoked the blessing and protection of this high God. They believed in the existence of both benevolent and malevolent spirits who lived in every nook and cranny of their world. They sacrificed to the malevolent spirits to avert their anger. They believed in life after death, and the two places where the departed souls would go when they died. Life here on earth in some ways determined which place they would go to. The Christian message as a whole was not too strange to these tribes. It would not have been too difficult for them to modify their traditional worldviews and beliefs according to the message of the Christian missionaries.

There are other elements that prepared the North-East Indian tribes for their steady acceptance of Christianity. One such is ‘The Tradition of the Lost Book’, common to all the tribes in varying detail.³⁹ There is also a close affinity not only between their worldviews and religious beliefs, but also in their valued virtues. The tribes of North-East India valued such qualities as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, hard work, hospitality, respect for elders and authority, co-operation, love of communal celebration, democratic orientation, absence of caste hierarchy, and the spirit of freedom. Therefore, to embrace Christianity largely resulted in a sense of fulfilment.

The mighty outpouring of revivals of the Holy Spirit contributed to the rapid conversion of the North-East Indian tribes to Christianity. It also improved the quality of the Christian character and ‘earthed’ Christianity as it contributed to the early indigenization of the church. Outpourings of the Holy Spirit took place in 1905-07 among the Khasis and the Mizos. The Khasis experienced another revival in the 1950s, and it contributed significantly to the conversion of large numbers of the Khasis . The Mizo experienced countrywide revivals in 1913-14, 1919-25, 1935 onwards, and in the 1960s. The fire of revival has never completely died down in Mizoram since 1907. The evangelization of Mizoram was completed by the 1950s. The Nagas experienced some revivals in 1948-52, and the revival in the 1970s completed the Christianization of Nagaland. The Garos’ experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been not as remarkable as elsewhere. Nevertheless, during the last decade of the twentieth century, a general awakening of Christians resulted in membership increasing from 66.86% in 1991 to 82.50% towards the end of the twentieth century. Thus, we see that a combination of several factors worked together helping the North-East Indian hill people to steadily embrace Christianity as their religion.⁴⁰

The immediate cause of the conversion of the tribes was that Christianity and its gospel was seen as meeting their felt needs. C.L. Hminga, in his extensive research on the first message the Mizos had heard, says:

The Rev. Zathanga, 95 years old, who became a Christian in 1902, said that he first heard the Gospel from missionary D.E. Jones when he visited his village Lungmawi in 1899. The message he remembered was, ‘Believe on Pathian Jehovah and worship Him, then you don’t need to sacrifice to the demons any more. Even when you die, you shall go to Pialral (heaven).’⁴¹

He goes on to say that many people said that they became Christians because of their fear of hell, and because they would like to go to heaven when they die. Others said that they became Christians because they would no longer need to sacrifice to the demons for healing.⁴²

Contribution of Christianity to the Tribals of North-East India

The interaction between Christianity and the hill peoples in North-East India has been complex. Several political, social, economic and religious forces have contributed to the development of society as it is now. Isolated dealings with the hill tribes’ interaction with Christianity alone may therefore be ignored. So, in our discussion on the subject, we need to keep in mind wider issues of interaction.⁴³

The major contribution of Christian missions is their gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ and all that it implies. Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:8 and 10 and Romans 14:18 have been rehearsed among numerous tribals of North-East India. We could cite numerous examples of such individuals who wholeheartedly embraced Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour: Rai Bhajur, a Khasi Presbyterian, resigned from a lucrative job as Sub-Inspector of Schools to work at the simple, low-salaried job of evangelist to pioneer the evangelizing work in Mizoram, assisting D.E. Jones. Another Khasi, U Borsing, lost his chieftainship, his land and his property for the sake of Christ. When asked to forsake Christ, he answered, ‘I can throw off my cloak or turban; but the covenant I have made with God I can in no way cast away.’ On another occasion he said, ‘If I am stripped naked, what difference will it make? I have the Lord Jesus as my portion.’⁴⁴ No amount of persecution or hardships could quench the joy of numerous converts among the Mizos, the Khasis, the Garos and the Nagas, and their passion to spread the good news that liberated them. It was mostly the people themselves who were responsible for spreading the good news in their own communities, and today to others outside their own states and in foreign countries. The good news that came to them through the western missionaries was really good news to them. They saw it as meeting their spiritual needs. The new religion created a new and powerful organization, the church, which gave them a religious identity, through which they could identify themselves with peoples having the same religion around the