The Mighty Works of God: A Brief History of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India : the Mission Period, 1836-1950

Citation preview

THE MIGHTY WORKS OF GOD ^ A Brief History * of the ^ Council of Baptist Churches > North East India : The Mission Period *

,n

1836— 1950

The Mighty Works of God

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL OF BAPTIST CHURCHES IN NORTH EAST INDIA : THE MISSION PERIOD 1836—1950

F. S. DOWNS

SepyrfgM reserVitf

Published by the Christian Literature Centre

Panbazar, Gauhati—1, Assam

1971/5000

Printed at Lakshmi Printing Press

Panbazar, Gauhati—1

Bound by—Joy Gnrn Book Binding Works

Lakhtokia Raod, Gauhati

This book is dedicated DR. and

to my parents

MRS. E. S. D O W N S

who ministered to the body, mind and heart of the people o f N ort h East India for fort y years.

CONTENTS

I II

Preface

i

In the Fulness o f Tim e

1

Early M issions

10

III

T he Shan M ission

14

IV

The A ssam M ission

27

The D arkest H our

39

The Dawning

46

Revival and Expansion

55

The Opening o f M anipur

73

L ater Developments in th e Plains and W estern Hills o f Assam

82

V VI VII VIII

m X

The Jorhat Christian Schools

101

XI

The Im pur Field

113

X II

The Kohim a "Field

138

X III

The M anipur Field

156

XIV

From M ission to Church

184

XV

The M ighty W orks o f God

225

Bibliography

229

Index

235

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ' Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites a:M residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Acts 2 : 1-11

PREFACE

T h is is the story of the work of God in a part of North East India. It is a story of a people called of God to a mission not unlike that of the Apostles on Pentecost. T h e Apostles.proclaimed the good news of J esus Christ to representatives of fifteen., language groups. In the area served, by CBCNF.T churches latter day apostles have had twice the job, for· they have preached and established,.Christian communities among more than thirty such groups. It will surprise no one to learn that the history of these, churches is marked bv diversity and. with tragic frequency, inner conflict· No honest recording of their history can cover up· the fact that; the “old, man” of human mistrust- and, selfcenlredness has lived on, among .them. In -fact the recording of this reality serves a useful purpose. In corporate as well as individual .^life regeneration grows out of recognition -of sin and rhepentence. One ,of our major sins as Christians has been, our inabilityt to rise as high above communal;,and tribal interests as we ought. But if an. honest, study dE.dpp hjstory brings judgement • it j also.,brings..- .hope., ·..it demonstrates once again the

L i power of God to work his miracle of transforming grace through the most unpromising instruments. If God could do so much with so little in the past surely there is no limit to what he can accomplish now and in the future. The CBCN EI as an organized denomination did not exist during the period covered by this book. Nevertheless its history does, begin back in 1836 when two American Baptist missionary families came to Sadiya on the then remote eastern frontier of Assam. The relationships among the churches that form the CBCN EI did not begin in 1^50. T h e CBCN EI simply represents the reorganization — and reorientation — of a common fellowship in Which they had existed since their establishment. T his historical relationship has not always been clearly understood - and this ignorance has contributed to the internal tensions referred to in the first paragraph. Our churches do not perceive the extent to which they have a common history and a historical interrelationship. In part this may be because they do not want to acknowledge the. spiritual debt which they owe members of other tribes or communities. But it is mainly due to· ignorance. It is my hope that in some small way this book may dispell that ignorance, thus helping our churches strengthen their commitment to a genuine unity of purpose and. work — a unity so essential to the present and future progress of the Church of Christ. T he study of Our history should also help us under stand why We are what we are today. The way in which our churches were established, the pattern of their, organization and growth, and the nature of the various problems they faced during what I have called the Mission Period have influenced their present character and relationships with each other. The

[ iii ]

difficulties the CBCNEI itself and its various constituent conventions, councils, and associations have faced since 1950 cannot be understood apart from this background. Though this book deals with the period during which the American Baptist Mission bore much of the responsibility for initiating new work, supervising the churches, and running the major institutions this is not a history of that Mission. It is a history Of the Church, within which the Mission and its missionaries played an important part, but only a part'. However much the missionaries may have contributed to the general social development of the area — and the contributions of some of them were gtfet — their most important function was to be instruments of God in establishing his Church. They would have put it in a different Way. They would have said that their main work Was to save souls. But they also clearly understood, as their works testify, that souls were not to be saved only for heaven. Souls were to be saved to do the work of God on earth within the context of the community of faith Which we call the Church. The early Christians, of our area also understood this for they did not remain in their homes dreaming about the prospect, of heaven. They went out to do the work of God, at first alone but later as a commodity This book tells the story of that community of faith in all its glory — and in all its sin. Perhaps a word should be said about thy approach to the study of history. I am not a romantic historian Who selects only that which is pleaSaht arid hides that which is unpleasant. It may be comforting to think that our fathers in the faith were all saints, but such an attitude contributes little to self-understand ins. History that does not help us understand better what We are noW is of no use. The writirig of romantic histories may help solve the UneMployMent problem

IV

among professional historians but it accomplishes little else of value. Our past contains much that is human, sinful, and far short of the glory of God. If this were not so we would not face so many problems in the present. Some may be unhappy with what I have written that appears critical in nature. I will be sorry for that but I am convinced that we cannot be honest in facing the problems of today if we are not completely honest with pur history. The reader will also note that this book is more than a record of events, places, dates, and names. The historian cannot be simply a secretary who puts down in an orderly way what happened. He must also, through application of the methods of historical research, try to discover why these things happened and point out to the reader their significance. In other words the historian must be an interpreter of the facts of historv if his work is to be of value. There are no “accidents” in history. It is the Christian con viction that there is a larger purpose in history than events, taken by themselves; necessarily ,reveal. History is the realm;in which human events interact with divine purpose. That is what the Bible is all about.; The Christian historian measures, and interprets events by what he believes to be the will and purpose of God. He also measures and interprets events by what he knows to be the nature of man. Man and God interact in history and neither element can be ignored. No historian, however well qualified, is infallible in his interpretation and what T have written undoubtedly contains much error. Nevertheless it is my hope; that it will at least provide a small measure of insight into our condition. ' : : ' ’· : This'history· is by no means 'complete. It is not . complete in the sense that much- has happened since 1950 that must also be taken into consideration when attempting to understand the present. · Though: I have

been unable to do the necessary- research to bring the present volume up to date I hope to be able to write a second book on the C B C N E l Period later. It is also not complete in the sense that there are some areas and some periods of time in all areas - about: which I have not been able to secure much information. T h e Mission reports, which are the main documentary source for this period, are summary in form and necessarily include only those developments about which the missionaries had information and to which they attached importance. As the churches grew in number it was diffi cult to include mention Of them all in a single annual report. Furthermore much happened, particularly in those areas they were not permitted to visit, about which the missionaries had little or no information. Other written material is scarce. Only a few of the churches and associations have kept historical records. Most do not seem to have preserved even official documents like minutes, annual reports, e tc., which are of such great value to the historian. While humility is a commend able Christian virtue it is most unfortunate that Christian organizations have not kept these records in the apparent belief that they are of no importance. One tragic example of this is provided by the Assam Baptist Christian Convention. Though this was per haps the single most important Church organization during our period of study all of its minutes and most of its official documents have been lost. Memory can never be an adequate substitute for such documents. It is to be hoped that in the future the church organi zations will take pains to preserve their documents. If they do not have the’ facilities to do this themselves I am sure that Eastern ^Theological College will be happy to take them for inclusion in its collection of materials on CBCN EI history. There they would be available to future historians.

t Vi

j

Due to the lack of original documentary resources have had to rely on personal interviews with Church leaders and on research done by my students at Eastern Theological College. Some of these students have made extremely important contributions to our historical, knowledge. They have· used whatever records were available in the vernacular as well as gathered much information from older Church leaders. A few have continued this study in connection with B.D. theses.; Space does not permit me to name them all here but those essays and theses which have been particularly· useful are included in the bibliography. Needless to say I am deeply grateful to all of them. I am conscious of the fact that this book must certainly contain many errors of ommission and. commis sion. It will be of great service to me if readers take the trouble to point them out. I have often had to depend on traditional rather than documentary accounts with the result that inaccuracy of detail is inevitable. Throughout I have attempted, to use contemporary forms of spelling and. place names rather than those used during the time about which I am writing. Despite its many flaws I trust that the reader will find this book interesting, instructive, and. inspiring not because pf the abilities of its author but because its subject is the mighty work that God has done in our midst. Eastern Theological College Jorhat, Assam 1969

CHAPTER I IN THE FULNESS OF TIME

The history of the CBCNEI churches begins in a time of great political disturbance. In Assam the Ahom kingdom was disintegrating due both to internal intrigue and external interference. As Ahom power weakened disorder spread through the smaller kingdoms of the plains and the adjacent hills areas. A period of almost continous fighting and raiding began. Conditions in Manipur were also unstable but we will first consider the area where the first churches were established, the Brahmaputra valley. At the beginning of the 19th century the Ahom kings ruled over most of that valley. The only major areas not governed by them were Goalpara, which was ruled by the British East India Company as a part of Bengal, and. much of Lakhimpur District, Most of Lakhimpur, then known as Matak, was occupied by a people known as Mdamarias who enjoyed an independent existence under a leader known simply as the Bar Senapati (Commander-in-Chief). The Matak retained its independence even during the period of Burmese occupation. To the east of Matak the Ahoms had maintained, a Viceroy at Sadiya who ruled over the surrounding area, but in 1794 the Sadiya Khowa Gohain, as be was called, was overthrown by Thamti tribesmen. A Khamti chief was put in his place and even retained his title.

As a result of efforts by various Ahom nobles, most notably Chandrakant and Purandar Singh, to secure the throne for themselves first the Burmese and finally the British were drawn into the politics of the area. Burmese armies invaded Assam in 1816 and again in 1819. Following the second invasion the Burmese remained, with rule first in the hands of the military commanders and then civil governors. Their rule was harsh. Conditions on the plains were made even worse by the increasingly numerous, unchecked raids of the hillsmen. Large areas were virtually depopulated as the inhabitants fled to the relative ssafety of the lower valley. Both Chandrakant and Purandar Singh had event ually been forced to take refuge in the British controlled, areas, from where they tried to reestablish their control over the Ahom kingdom. Though the British refused to turn them over to the Burmese authorities they did not support them in their activities. Nevertheless relations between the British and Burmese deteriorated steadily. Despite repeated warnings the Burmese made increasingly frequent raids into British territory both in Goalpara and, Cachar. T he result was a declaration of war With Burma by the British in 1824. In less than a year the British drove the Burmese armies up the valley, finally forcing them to surrender at the Ahom capital of Rangpur. T he Burmese sued for peace and were permitted to leave the area. While this ended the Burmese occupation it did not bring peace to the inhabitants of the vallev, especially those in Upper Assam. The Singpho tribe was encouraged, in its raids upon the plains by the Burmese who: actually joined With them for a time. M'any plainsmen were taken captive and made slaves. When the Singohos finallv submitted to the British some 6,000 Assamese captives were freed. Due to the operations of the Maninuri raja.

Gambhir Singh, the Burmese were also driven from Cachar and Manipur. As a result of these reverses and the success of British expeditionary forces in Burma itself the Burmese king sued for peace, accepting terms largely unfavorable to himself in the Treaty of Yandabo on 24th February, 1926. Hie agreed to abstain from further interference in the affairs of Assam and Manipur. The conclusion of the war left the British in control of most of Assam. Now they had to decide what they were going to do about governing the area. At this point they were mainly interested in securing political stability. Accordingly they recognized rajas in Manipur, Cachar, and Jaintia who they believed could control those areas. They also believed that the Bar Senapati of Matak and the Sadiya Khowa Gohain could be counted on. All these rulers simply had to recognize British sovereignty and make at least token pavments of tribute. The Ahom kingdom was a more difficult problem. The presence of a number of claimants to the throne made it unlikely that any one of them could prevent the kind of situation from developing again that had led to the Burmese intervention. Beyond that conditions in the valley Were deplorable. It has been estimated that fully-half the population had. died during the period of Burmese occupation. Mam of those who remained had. fled to the jungle and given up cultivation. Thousands had fled to Goalpara. It was finally decided to maintain a temporary British administration in the valley. Mr. David Scott, who had' previously been in Goalpara, was put in charge with headquarters at Gauhati. Am assistant'was posted first at Rangpur and then Jorhat to look after British interests in the upper vallev.'1Scott died: :in-'11831

with the question of a permanent settlement for Assam as yet undecided. A policy was eventually adopted whereby the valley would be restored to Ahom rule by stages. In 1835 Purandar Singh was recognized as the raja of the area between the Dhansiri river and Matak in Upper Assam. If he were able to govern effectively the rest of the kingdom would be turned over to him. In the mean time the British maintained a large garrison in Lower Assam, which they continued to control. Purandar Singh agreed to an arrangement with the British similar to that of the other “protected” rajas of the region. He would have civil administration completely in his hands while the British would guarantee his’ kingdom against any attack from outside. In return he ryas to pay annual tribute of Rs. 50,000 — about half the estimated revenue of the kingdom. T h e British maintained direct' political relations with M!atak and Sadiya. A garrison was kept at Sadiya with a British Political Officer in charge. The Ahom capital was shifted to Jorhat. In 1834 responsibility for implimenting this policy was given to Gaol a in (later General) Francis Jenkins who was appointed Commissioner and Agent to the GovernorGeneral of Bengal in Assam1. The area under his administration was divided into four districts: Goalpara, Kamrup, Darrang, and Nowgong. Goalpara was now brought under the jurisdiction of the Assam

1. Jenkins was a warm and exceedingly generous friend o f the Mission througho ut the 36 years he lived in Assam. Indeed without his support it would not have survived the early years. B e \tas deeply mourned by the missionaries when he died in August, 1866. · ■ -r

Commissioner. It was estimated that the population of the entire valley at that time was 8,00,0002. Communications were extremely bad, the trip from Goalpara town to Calcutta by river taking 30 days. The return trip took a week longer. Internal travel was almost entirely by river. Under the more stable govern ment the economic condition of the people gradually improved. 1 Unfortunately for the British policy, Purandar Singh soon found it either difficult or undesirable to continue paying such high tribute. This together with their claim that his rule was unpopular with the people led the British to depose him and place his kingdom under direct administration in 1838. It is more likely that this decision, and the subsequent one to retain the area permanently, had something to do with the dis covery that Assam might prove economically profitable. In 1842 Sadiya and M'atak were also brought under direct administration. The circumstances which led to the annexation of Sadiya are of particular interest to students of the history of the CBCNEI churches. In 1835 there was a land, dispute between the Sadiya Khowa Gohain and the Bar Senapati of Matak. The British intervened and imposed a settlement but the Gohain would not accept it· Accordingly the British sent him into exile and abolished his position. There after the Khamtis still enjoyed self-rule but the local Assamese were put under the authority of the Political Officer. The Khamtis were also no longer nermitted 2. This estimate was broken down as follows : Native States in Upper Assam 220,000; Darrang 89,519; Nowgong 90,000; Kamri.ip 300,000; Goalpara 100,000. E.A. Gait, History o f Assam, p.351.

to keep slaves. Their status was in effect reduced to that of the Assamese over whom they had once ruled. Some feared that they would soon be taxed as well. Though they seemed to accept the settlement at the time deep resentment.was created. They sought their revenge one January night in 1839 when they staged a surprise attack upon the British garrison at Sacliya. The Political Agent, Col. White, was killed and 80 others were either killed or wounded. T he British retaliated with a punitive expedition which eventually forced the Khamtis to submit. Some were deported to other areas; some were settled above Sacliya to form a protective screen between that station and the raiding Mishmis. Less than three years before the attack took place American Baptist missionaries had established, a centre at Sadiya. Though the missionaries were untouched — they lived, away from the garrison — the consequent reprisal raids so depopulated the area that further work there was not possible. By 1842 the British administered, the entire Brahmaputra valley and, Cachar. As a result of an attack upon a road building party the Khasis had been brought under the control of a Political Agent in 1833. T he Garo Hills had technically been tinder the Bengal administration since the 18th century but this had only been a technicality. Not only did the British not administer the area but they found it impossible to prevent the frequent Garb raids Upon the plains villages. In 1869 it was decided that the only way to subdue the Garos was to make the Garo Hills a separate district with administrative headquarters in Tura. Initial resistance was put down and. the area pacified during the cold season of 1872 73. Initially the British had no interest in, annexing the Naga areas but events forced their hand. Again h

L7 j was raids upon the plains that led them to move into the hills. Efforts to stop the raids by denying Nagas; access to the plains markets were unsuccessfuL Punitive expeditions, of which there were ten between 1836 and 1851 were equally unsuccessful. The only result of the decision to discontinue the expeditions in 1851 was that during the next year there were no less than 22 raids in which 178 persons were killed,, wounded, or carried off. Frontier outposts established in 1854 proved to be of little use. Finally, in 1866, it was decided to occupy the Angami area, insofar as the Angam is were the cause of most of the trouble. A district was formed with headquarters at Samaguting, not far from modern Dimapur. In 1878 it was shifted to Kohimar The primary object was not so much to* administer the Nagas as to protect the plains. But once a foothold was established it was inevitable that administration should be extended. In 1875 the Lotha area was annexed with an officer- at Wokha. In 1889 the Ao area was annexed with, according to Gait, “the full concurrance of the people, who had claimed motection against the onslaughts of the more warlike tribes from across the Dikhu1.” The area between Kohima and the Manipur border was annexed in order to deny the Kukis refuge there during the Kuki Rebellion of 1917 -19, but otherwise the interior areas, of the Naga Hills remained unadministered, though under British sovereignty, until after 1947. : The situation in Manipur ■: j: i-V'its'':.:'.;. Nidhiram’s family came from Sadiya: Though they were of low caste background they wanted their son to receive the education offered in the school run by Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Cutter. In addition to studying in the school Nidhiram worked in the Mission press. Shortly before, the Sadiya missionaries moved, to Jaipur his father died. In order to keep his work with the press he and his mother went to Jaipur with the missionaries. Within

two months his, mother died of cholera and the boy, then about ten years old, was taken into the Cutter household where he had many opportunities to hear Christian teaching. He soon became antagonistic to wards that religion. However, following a period of great restlessness in May of 1841 he had a deep religious experience. Early in June he made it known to the missionaries that he would like to become ?a Christian. After careful examination he was baptized in the Buri Dihing river at Jaipur following the Sunday morning service on June 13th. Brown preached the baptismal sermon but because he was suffering from a severe cold left the actual baptism to Bronson. Insofar as the name Nidhiram contained the name of a Hindu god the missionaries decided to rename him Levi Farwell. He actually came to be known by a combination of the old and new names — Niidhi Levi1. Though he had little1education Nidhi Levi served 1 The practice of giving converts Western names Was only followed for about ten years. Insofar as many of the Assamese Christian families of the present time are: descen ded from converts of this period they still have those names. While names that were: also Biblical-were preferred, the actual practice was to ,name the:converts , after someone in America who ,was active in the work of the! Mission. -> Society. Levi Harwell, for instance, was a pastor from-, · Boston who had served as the Treasurer of the Society for many years. Seyeal reasons were given for this .practice. _When the conyert-s namedneludedthat of a, Hindu ,god the reason was obvious. Even when it did-not itrwas thought that a new name would remind the convert-of his new life, , in Christ.. Many of the .early converts at Nowgong were Qrphaqsyyho had never, had proper nai^es but , had been . t called various unpleasant names such, as . Cat, Dog, Rat, etc., by their masters.

[ 32 ]

faithfully as a Christian worker throughout his life. In 1847 he married Thuku, the first woman to become a Christian. A student of the Orphan Institution at Nowgong, she had been converted during the revival of 1846. Later in the same year he was licensed to preach by the Sibsagar church. In 1851 he was appointed “Assistant Preacher, First Class” by the Mission. He proved to be one of the most faithful Christian workers at Sibsagar where he died early in 1873. His grave can still be seen in the Christian cemetary of that town. The Hindu community did not take much notice of Nidhi Levi’s conversion — partly because of his low caste but more probably because he had no real con nection with that community in Jaipur. The circum stances of his conversion were extraordinary and did not — contrary to the hopes of the missionaries — represent the beginning of a general response to Christian preaching among the Assamese. Later in 1841 a man named Montan was baptized in the main tank at Sibsagar but he did not remain faithful. The following year he was suspended from the Christian community (there was as yet no church) and was not restored until 1847. A resident of Dibrugarh he had been influenced by a tract entitled. “True Refuge”. He died of the cholera in 1865. There were no further conversions until 1845, when three persons - each important in his own way - were baptized at Sibsagar. Batiram Dass (officially, Batiram D. Peck) came from a respectable family of the Kaist or Writer caste. Like Nidhi Levi he had attended the Mission school at Sadiva and later accepted employment in the press. He moved with the press to Jaipur, where he was made head or in ter, and finally to Sibsagar in 1843. There he became a highly resoected member of the Hindu

[ 33 ] community. For some years he had secretly believed in Christ but it was not until after a serious illness that he openly confessed his faith to Cutter and asked for baptism. When the Hindu community heard about this there was a great disturbance. It was one thing for low caste people like Nidhi Levi and Mon tan to become Christian; it was quite another for a member of a respectable family to do so. Despite the Opposition and even threats to his life Batiram was baptized in the Dikhu river on' 9th March, 1845* In 1849 he married a Christian girl named Moina, from Gauhati. In 1851 he,·like Nidhi Levi, was named an “Assistant Preacher; First Class” by the Mission. When he died two years later, his loss’was keenly felt/ On 20th December, 1845, a cousin of Batiram’s, Ramsingh, was baptized1. He had been one of the most outspoken iu criticism of Batiram with the result that his conversion led to fresh agitation among: the leaders of the Hindu community. This reaction is understandable. The Hindu leaders had taken, the position that Christianity was a foreign religion that only attracted low caste persons who were interested in improving their material and social position. The conversion of these two men made it difficult to maintain that argument insofar as they stood to loose a great deal by becoming Christians. For a time even the Christians of low caste origin suffered a great deal of abuse at the hands of their neighbours, and the nav thev received from the Mission in those days was much lower than they would have gotten in other work. 1 Ramsingh was the first convert to be examined and recom mended for baptism by a church. Previously this decision had been made by the missionaries alone insofar as there had been no organized church.

[34

]

The third convert of 1845 was important in a different way than Batiram and Ramsingh. His name was Kolibor and he was a dobhy. He had wanted to become a Christian much earlier but found it difficult to give up the habit of opium eating to which he was addicted. He was finally baptized on 15 th July, 1845. He had no education but nevertheless served faithfully for many years as an evangelist of the Sibsagar church - receiving less pay for that work than he had as a dobhy. Tw o years after his baptism, that is in 1847, his wife died of the cholera leaving him in charge of the children. Kolibor himself should be honoured for his Ions service - more than 40 years - but he is best known as the father of Godula, a orominent church leader of the next generation. T he most successful work of . the Assam Mission in its early years was that associated with the Orphan Institution at Nowgong. This, the first central Mission institution, had been established by Bronson during the summer of 1843. Financial assistance had been received from local British residents, including, the Commissioner. The condition of orphaned children — and due to the prevalence of disease and the lack of medical facilities there were many of them - in those days was extremely bad. If they were kept by relatives their status was that of unpaid servants. More frequently, especially among the poorer people, they would be sold by the relatives to others. They were then no better than slaves and were frequently mistreated. From time to .time the missionaries had taken orphans into their homes, caring for them until they could find some employment for them. N idhi Levi had been one such, individual missionaries could care for only a few in this way. They therefore welcomed the establishment of the orphan school at Nowgong where these children could be given proper care and an education which would guarantee

[ 35 ] later employment. Many of the “graduates” of the Orphan Institution were employed by the Government. Sometimes the orphans would be turned over to the Mission voluntarily by relatives or guardians; some times they would only give them up on payment of money. A feature of the Orphan Institution of great social significance was the fact that it was coeducational. Bronson became a strong advocate of education for women. At first the girls were under the care of a missionary wife but later unmarried women missionaries were appointed for this work. Apart from Rhoda Bronson who came privately, single women missionaries were first used at Nowgong. The main justification for establishing the Orphan Institution was evangelistic, though the missionaries themselves made no distinction between social and evangelistic objectives. They firmly believed that there was no higher social service than the introduction of Christianity. Religion was not simply of individual significance. In the day schools whicb they had run previously the missionaries had been frustrated by the fact that whatever influence they exerted during school hours was counteracted by outside influences. A boarding school offered an opportunity for more con tinuous Christian influence, and the Orphan Institution was essentially a boarding school though local scholars could also attend its classes. Three years after its establishment the correctness of this view was amply demonstrated. In 1846 the Nowgong Revival began. During the summer of that year a number of the senior students at the Orphan Institution became deeply concerned about religious matters. When the other missionaries learned of this they all came to Nowgong where together they examined those who· were asking for baptism. It

was decided that seven of the older students were qualified. The missionaries from Sibsagar brought with them three other persons wishing baptism. Thus on November 29th ten persons were baptized in the Kalang river. Each year thereafter until the Orphan Institution was closed in 1856 there were a number of converts from among the senior students. It provided most of the church leadership for years to come. Many of the Assamese Christians of today are descended from these orphans. It was probably the most effective evangelistic agency among the Assamese in the entire history of the CBCNEI churches. Another important venture of this period was the publication of the periodical Orimodoi in Assamese. First published in 1846 at the Sibsagar press it was the first newspaper of any kind in Assam. Though there were many articles on definitely Christian subjects it also included much material of general interest. It came to be widely read by the educated people of Assam, Christians and non-Christians alike. Non-Christian writers often contributed to it. It came to be some­ thing of a forum of Assamese opinion, in which such subjects as die use of Assam'ese instead of Bengali in schools and courts were debated. During the first ten years c(f the Assam “Mission important beginnings were m ade:ih church organization. On 26th Januaryd:l8 4 5 ,:represehfatiVes? of'the Christian communities at the three centres met ih Gauhati to organize the Baptist Church of Assam. This was really a kind of association because the Church consisted of the three “branch” churches, now brought into existence, at Sibsagar,- Nowgpng, and Gauhati. Thus was the first CBCNEI church established. In 1851 each of the branches was reconstituted as a

[37

]

full church, joined together in the Baptist Association of Assam. T his change took place at a rather remark able meeting held in Sibsagar that year. Representatives of the three churches, missionaries and Assamese alike, met for three weeks, to discuss the policies that should guide their future work. The Association was constituted on October 20th and thereafter convened its first meeting. It was also the last meeting,..·, T he Association fell victim to a controversy between the missionaries and the Home Board about which more will be said in the following chapter. -Nto effort was made to bring representatives of all the churches associated with the Mission together again until 1914, when the Assam Baptist Christian Convention was formed. By then it was too late to recapture the sense of unity found at Sibsagar in 1851, a unity that would have been maintained if the original organization had continued, growing with the church and being accepted as a natural expression of its life. An other kind of unity was lost also when the Baptist Asso ciation of Assam broke up by default —the unity between the missionaries and the Indian Christians. Though the meetings of 1851 had undoubtedly been dominated by the missionaries they held no special position. They participated not by virtue of the fact that they were missionaries but because they were the appointed representatives of the affiliated churches, of which they were members. T h e Assamese Christians present had as much right to express their opinion on policy matters governing the work of the Mission (the churches them selves had little independent work at that time) as did the missionaries. And they freely exercised that right if the records are to be believed. The missionaries of that era would have found it very difficult to under stand — or approve — the situation that later deve loped. when their successors, who often kept their church membership in America, conducted, the work of the Mission quite independently of the Church. If the

C 38 ] Association had been maintained this might not have happened. The achievements of the fir^t ten years of the Assam Mission were not dramatic or extensive but a good beginning had been made. There were three well established churches which had been growing steadily for five years. A sound associational organization had been set up. There was every reason to be optimistic about the future. In 1851 few wpuld have been able to anticipate the trials that lay ahead, difficulties that almost brought the Mission to an end.

CHAPTER V

THE DARKEST HOUR

The ten years following 1851 were without ahy question the most difficult in the history of the CBCNEI churches. As one crisis followed another all that had been accomplished seemed to have been in vain. The missionaries grew discouraged and the Christian community became lifeless. The burden of those years was especially difficult for the missionaries to bear because much of the trouble was caused by the attitude of the Missionary Union in America1. It did not understand the needs of Assam nor was it interested in giving more support to a field which, in its opinion, had shown very limited results. Due to discouragement or illness one missionary after another left the field and. was not replaced. For many years the Gauhati station was left without any missionary at all. Important wort which had begun and showed great promise could not be maintained. Even statiistics can give us an idea of the darkness of that hour. In 1851 the three churches

1 At that time the foreign mission organization in America was called the American Baptist Missionary Union. In 1910 this name was changed to theAmerican Baptist Foreign Mission Society. In 1871 a women’s society was formed which, after 1910, was known as the Women’s American; , Baptist Foreign Mission Society. Recently the General.., and Women’s societies have been amalgamated. \ ...p

[

40]

had a membership of 85; in 1861 there were only 54 members left. In 1851 there were eight missionary families on the field; in 1861 there were two. In 1851 there were seven full-time Assamese church workers; in 1861 there were three. In 1851 there were four schools with 112 students; in 1861 there were two schools with 12 students. The difficulties of th is' decide — other than illness — were due in large measure to four develop ments: a controversy between the missionaries and the Home Board, financial depression in America, the Sepoy Mutiny, and the American Civil War. T h e last three were beyond the control of the Mission but the first was not and was therefore the most tragic. T his controversy was centred in the oldest and largest of the American Baptist mission fields — Burma. Neverthe less the decisions made by the Home Board as a result of it seriously affected, the Assam Mission. The main issue was Who should decide how the missionaries conducted their work. T he Burma missionaries (and those in Assam agreed with them) said that these decisions should be made by the Mission organizations on the field, because they alone were familiar .with local conditions. How, they asked, could members of the Home Board, who had never even visited Asia. make meaningful decisions, about the best methods to use there? T he Home Board took the position — in opposition to the missionaries — that the missionaries were subject to the Board, and should only work in a manner approved by the Board in advance. It argued that the differences between America and Asia were irrelevant as far as evangelistic work is concerned, because evangelism everywhere should follow the: New Testament pattern. They totally rejected the missionary argument that, under different circumstances different methods must be used to win- men 'to Christ.. T he main

[ 41] boae of contention was the educational work being done by the missionaries · of which the Home Board did not approve. ; Both in Burma and Assam one of the first things the missionaries did when opening a new centre was to establish a school. They argued that these schools were necessary for several reasons. In the first place they established good relations between the missionaries and the local population. T he service rendered through the schools made the people more willing to listen to the religious teaching of the missionary. Furthermore schools provided, a unique opportunity for continuous teaching of the same people. Such regular teaching was necessary, they said, to overcome the old attitudes. Beyond that the newly established, churches would not be strong unless their members were literate. Only a literate people could read the ScripturesTor themselves; They also pointed out that no other agency would, provide education if the Mission did not. T he Home Board was not impressed with such arguments. While recognizing the value of education it took the position that this was the business of Government: Missionaries should spend their time preaching the Gospel. By this itinerant preaching was meant — what in India is called bazar preaching. The apostles in the first century did not find, it necessary to establish schools so why should missionaries in the 19th century? / ob : T o make its position quite clear — and to end the missionary insubordination — the Home Board sent its Secretary, Solomon Peck, to visit the fields. The Assam missionaries met with him at N'owgong from 21 st January'through! 7th February, 1854. Despite the well documented case brought by the missionaries Peck did not change his mind. When they pointed qpt that,most of the Christians in Assam had been brough t: to Christ

[ 42] through schools ,he countered with the suggestion that many more might have been won if the missionaries hadn’t been tied down in school work. The impression left with the missionaries was that the Home Board did not have any confidence in thejh judgment and was treating them like children. Needless to say, senior missionaries like Brown and Bronson were deeply depressed by this attitude. But the reactions of the two men were different. Bronson decided to remain and carry on the work as best he coulcl. Brown refused to accept the situation passively. His criticism of the Board’s attitude was so strongly expressed in letters to churches in America that he was called home “for a rest”. He resigned from the Mission in 1856, while still in America1. Even though it lost some of its senior missionaries in Burma as well as Brown as a result, the Home Board had its way in the end. After this, the Board ruled, there were to be no more formal consultations among missionaries on the field. Field, organizations like the Assam Mission were to:be discontinued and henceforth missionaries would have to consult with the Home Board directly on matters related to their work, not with their fellow missionaries. The Home Board would make all decisions concerning what work was to be done and the way in which it was to be done. This shortsighted, and netty affirmation of the absolute authority of the Home Board-a kind of “divide and rule” policy-did not long survive the resignation of Solomon Peck in 1858 but the damage had been done. Organizations' like the Baptist 1 Brown had also been discontented with the Missionary „ ... Union for equivocating on the issue ofslavery. He became active in the anti-slavery movement which was one of the main causes of the American Civil War. Later he rejoined the Union as a missionary to Japan. ~ :^

Association of Assam could not hold meetings because they would amount to missionary consultations. Thus when the unity of the Mission was broken so too was the unity of the Church. And the unity of the former Was more easily restored than that of the latter. In Assam the missionaries began to hold formal consultations again in 1886. Representatives of all the churches did not have an opportunity to meet together again - even in theory - until 1914, which was much too late to recapture the spirit of 1851. The causes of our present disunity can thus be traced back as far as 1854. The ultimate tragedy of the Home Board’s action in breaking up the unity of the field organizations can only be fully appreciated in the perspective of history. Another action taken after the Peck visit had more immediate affect. Bronson was ordered to close the Orphan Institution. He would be permitted to main tain a teachers training school there but that was all. This was not only an impracticable idea but even for it the Board was not prepared to provide any funds. The inevitable result was that in the summer of 1856 the first and most effective institution established by the Assam Mission was closed. This thoroughly demoralized the missionaries and must haver· had a similar effect upon the Assamese Christians, many of whom had attended the N'owgong school and first met Christ there. ' In part the Home Board’s growing ‘opposition to schools was practical. Severe financial depression in America during the early 1850s caused a sharp drop in contributions to the Missionary Union.- Statistics again tell the story. In 1852 the Union had received, contri butions totalling $ 10 8 ,’r 8 &5 &pteA 8 kdng is reported in the Baptisi Mksidnmy Magazine, XXXVofl854,pp. 69—70. r> 4 ? t ^

bazar.' -The success among the Garos led him to believe that the time had come to resume work among the Nagas. His station duties prevented him from acting on this conviction for some time. Nevertheless when he mentioned his concern for the Nagas in a meeting of the Sibsagar workers he was surprised to learn that one of them, Godhula, shared his interest and had already begun to learn their language Godhula Babu, as he was usually known despite the fact that his “Christian” name was Rufus Brown, was the son of Kolibor, the Sibsagar dobhy who had become a Christian in 1845. At first the son did not seem to be following in his father’s footsteps. As a boy he was, for a time, what we would today call a gunda. He attended the Orphan Institution school, completing his studies in 1853, but this did not do much to improve his behaviour. Eventually, however, he had a deep spiritual experience which led him to give his life in service of Christ, often far away from his own home. In 1858 he volunteered to serve with Apinta, the first Cachari Christian, at Jhargong village in North Kamrup. After several years there he returned to Sibsagar and married. Both he and his wife taught school there until, in 1866, they volunteered to go establish a school and evangelistic work on Majuli Island, the centre of Assamese Hrndu orthodoxy. Local opposition forced them to abahdph this work after several years.' ·I f was· -ShOilLf' Mtef ms return from Maiuli thathe had' told'Clark’®f his interest' in the Nasras. Godhula had a spirit oftaSveaftife"' aWel’a^MUrngneSs to workramong· strange people ^ often bt great danger to himself - that was quite unusual in those days. With . Glgjr.Jc’sL,^encouragement-.; Godhula made do hills.-in October, 1871V He wats sd well received at' ^dsQ&ngthe

following April he returned, bringing hik wifb w ithhim; Though I have been unable to find out much about her Godhula’s wife must have been a most remarkable woman to accompany him as she did to such hostile places. While they were willing enough to live among a people greatly feared by their fellow Assamese, Godhula and his wife did not want to live in the hills during the cold winter months. Accordingly they returned to Sibsagar in November. T h e six months they had spent among the Aos had been fruitful ones. Nine young men from Haimong and neighbouring villages accompanied Godhula to Sibsagar to receive baptism. On 11th December, 1872, they wrere baptized by Clark and made members of the Sibsagar church. Immediately afterwards the missionary accompanied - Godhula on a visit to Haimong. There on 18th December he baptized 15 more young men. On 23rd December the new converts, including the nine baptized at Sibsagar, were organized into a branch church. Though for several years having the status of a branch of the Sib sagar church it was Tlohetholfess the first church established in the Naga Hills. During the next three years Godhula lived in Haimong during the summer months. rHe: cared for the small congregation and preached in ? nearby villages. Clark eventually sought and received permissiori from the Mission' to Be trahsferredftoithe N aga iwork;]o It was not so easy to get perm ission: from the Government. While the' British :hadf?.ali^ady*ihnn^Eed3e ie AngBmi arCa they did nofcfWaht iorextendr tShdraddministtfatiOn 'to other Naga areas unless :circumstances forced»them - tb do> sdv T h e {> %8 ^ { ^ 9^0 ^ ·^ --^ ^ ^ ’administered area rmighlb sfe m p trouble.? f Inrffefehd f Government' sjaverhto^^TOissiodTQi/gp withither clear understanding that it would nof)ig^rMte®> protection.

[ 66 ] On 2nd. March, 1876, Clark took up residence in .a village house at Haimong. Mrs. Clark was in America at this time. Clark soon discovered that it was . difficult to maintain Christian discipline in the village. For one thing there were constant raids. Either the warriors of Haimong were attacking other villages or their own village was under attack. Even when there were no actual attacks the village was on constant alert, which was just as disruptive of normal' life. The Christians were naturally expected to participate in the defense of the village as well as its raids. Their reluctance to do so as well as their refusal to ^participate in village festivities that involved drinking made them increasingly unpopular and the objects of persecution. Clark finally decided that the Christians should establish a new village where, as he later wrote, “the spirit of Christianity rather than of war should reign.” On 24th October the Christians moved out of Haimong to construct a new village several miles to the west. The new Haimong village eventually came to be known as Molung. The people of the old village were not happy about this move. One of the main reasons for their displeasure was the fact that the required sacrifices to the Naga gods had not been offered. Christian prayer was not regarded a suitable substitute" for the customary practices associated with the establishment of a new Village. Because the Christians had tbits openlv challenged the bid ways some of the people wanted to kill them as well as the missionary. Though thev were fortunately persuaded5 not to do this, during the foHowlnor 12 years — until the Ao area was annexed by the British — the Christians were constantly subjected to threats this khad.

[ ■ 67··]

As the church at M olung — w h ich ih ad been constituted as an. independent church whenrrrCliark moved to HSaimong — continued to grow Godhula established another centre; at Memngkong ϊη ϊ 88 Os I T he Merangkong church was organized -during that year. Schools established in several villages were taught by Assamese Christians, m ostly from Sibsagar. Despite the seeming success of; d ie earlyriworkithenAoi^ ; into troubled times in the early 1880s. By 18:86 there / were 47 A o Christians but work had come td a standstill. ^ In the meantime new centres for Naga work had been opened at Kohima and Wokha. For a long tim e the missionaries had been conscious of the strategic importance of the Angamis, the most warlike- and at the same tim e the most7 progressive of the Naga tribes. In 1878 C. D. King and his ^ ife -w e r e (appointed to open a centre at Kohima. T hough he immediately set up camp at Samaguting the tim ing was not good: T hat was the year of the Angami uprising. He had to wait it out in Sibsagar un til he was able to mpve^tp-Kohima with his fam ily in 1880. But his troubles were not over. N o sooner had he finished the construction of his quarters than the Government confiscated the land, forcing him to start building all0 over- again -at -a new site (the present Christian centre). King was so busy with the building programme that he was unable to begin fu ll tim e language study: u n til 1884. H e soon discovered that the Angami language is one of the most difficult o f all the N orth East· Indian, languages to master. Nevertheless the Kings opened a school and advertised among-jrhe.r;Christian ,-communities. of the plains for a teacher. T hey got more than, ,they had asked for. Years later King wrote of Henry Goldsmith, the young Assamese 'Christian; who responded-to his call, that he was-nertainly mot the ordinary ^teacher, he

[68 bad , expected missionary.”

but,

]

rather,

“a

consecrated ::::

.

young jhxxioj

. Henry’s father was T u n i Goldsm ith o f Nowgong, about whom we have already heard. c T h e year follow ing his son’s departure for Kohima T u n i G oldsmith was appointed pastor of; the N ow gong church and ordained. W hen H enry heard o f K ing’s request for a teacher at Kohima he becam e convinced that G od was calling him to that work. His family was not similarly convinced and tried to prevent him from going. T h eir attitude is understandable. H enry was only 20 years old and had never been away from hom e, r Furthermore he had a good position as clerk with the PW D and a prom ising fu tu re—as his superior officer in the PW D, Who also tried to persmade hint -hot1 to , go; -reminded him . Beyond considerati®®i¥; o f t M s u f a m i l v and friends feared fo r his life. T h e Angamis were the most feared o f the hills tribes and it Was thought that even travelling through their area was simply an unpleasant way o f com m itting suicide! Young though he was Henry wag certain -that th is ’Was the will' o f G od and w ould not change his m ind — revealing a stubbornness worthy o f the N&gas among whom he was to work. In Kohima he distinguished him self as the headmaster of the school, as a scholar, and as a zealous worker on behalf o f his Lord. In 188S he m ade a brief visit, to N ow gong where he married T u bu ri, w ho soon returned with him to Kohima. H enry remained there until the Kings left at the end o f 1886. He was then transferred to the plains — first to village work in the N ow gong field, then to N ow gong 'tow n for translation work, arid finally Jorhat to help open the Bible SchoolI tthere. - ~ *; ’ r Golaghat that year. Still/Opposing, it refused to do so with the result that when high school classes began at Golaghat that year all the girls had not come and there was much contusion. During that year Nowgong had secured powerful support from the Home Board but the Conference, meeting again in December, refused to change its position. Accordingly the High School in Golaghat was able to proceed with a full pro gramme the following year. I n f 936 the first four girls — transferred from N'pwgong were matriculated. In its results it always ranked high in the state.' Though by 1950 medical work had come to play an important part in the Christian programme the ABFMS had actually been reluctant to start this branch of work. There had actually been medical work of sorts from the beginnihg of the Assam Mis^iom Many of the early missionaries had dispensed medicines and rendered what niediCal treatment they5could despite the fact that theyfidd no t r a i n i n g r itTvas either that or nothing. The Pettigrews, for instance, had developed a sizable medical programme at Ukhrul, treating hundreds of patients annually. They had no qualifica tions for this — except compassion for the needless suffering of the people. Rivenburg had felt this need so strongly during his first term of service driiong the Nagas that he took medical training duringdiis first leave in America. Nevertheless when he returned to Koh ima the Home Board made it quite plain that his primary duties must remain those of an evangelistic hwssionary. Even when they sent Dr. Crazier to ’T u raf^th e. first designated medical missionary on the A^aifi field much of the old attitfidef gniained.' It wgs/specifically stated that his medical Work should be Completely self — supporting. It was,felt that giv&i ·fb^ini^ibKaiy work was intended for itfictly evangelistic wcfrk in

[ 98] which category the practice of medicine was not inclu ded. Dr. Crozier was also expected to spend as much time in evangelistic work as possible. Actually the Home Board was never able to implement the policy of self-supporting medical work. From the time money was given for the building of the first Mission hospital at Tura (completed in 1910) onwards the amount of money invested in the medical programme increased. Once a decision has been made to start medical work the great needs make expansion pf that work almost inevitable. Besides that the attitude of the American churches changed during the early 20th century. By the 1930s it was easier tq raise money for medical missionary work than for any other activity of the society. The second medical missiopary was Dr. Kirby who came to Sadiya in 1901. In 1919 he was transferred to Jorliat where he opened a small dispensary near the Jorhat Schools compound. Niot liking the idea of being under the authority of the other missionaries at the educational compound Kirby — a very independent minded man — moved the medical work to Borbheta on the other side of town in 1924. In 1933 a 25 bed hospital was built under the direction of Dr. Ahlquist who was then the medical superintendent. In 1934 a nursing school was opened, the first class of which graduated in 1938. In 1941, under the direction of Dr. O. W. Hasselblad, the hospital was enlarged and supplied with an X —ray unit. T In the meantime a major medical programme for women had been started at the Satribari compound in Gauhati. In -1915 the Women’s Council of the Assam Baptist Convention had asked that such a...hospital be built. The need, for such a hospital in a society where women were reluctant to receive medical treatment from male doctors was obvious, Gauhati was ,chosen

[99]

for the site ifl 1920 partly beeause--purdah was more strictly observed in Lower Assam than in ihlpper. With a major medical programme likely to-develop at J or hat it was also felt that this #OUid disthbdfceime^ikal service more evenly. In 1922 building beganoand? the 45 bed hospital was completed in 1925. A nursing school was begun at the same time. During the Second World War the hospital was opened to men patients on a temporary basis. After the war it was decided to convert it into a General hospital. This was done during the time that Dr. Mary Kirby was medical superintendent. - :; j Before 1950 very little : effort had been made to integrate the major institutional programmes of the Mission with the Church. 0 W hile:thevppm ary schools were often closely related to the Church the more advanced schools and the hospitals were entirely under the direction of the Mission. SThe only exception to this was the Jorhat Christiani Schools ,which ifrom the beginning had included a number of Indian Christians On its governing body. But even in that case the Indians involved were almost all employed by Mission rather than the Church. T h is separation of the major institutions from the Church had at least two unfortunate results. T h e · first was that their effectiveness as witnesses to the essential nature of the good, news of Jesus Christ was limited. T h e educational and medical services offered’ were associated bn the minds of most peopled Christian andf/ljOU^Christian alike, with the Mission and: mfosibnkfiesiirather than with Christianity as reflected favourably on'' the-.fbrelgn -vtai^e^ries, who were credited with tonfinea^sble·. vhurwnptarjnnism; sometimes it ledto^thdisu^rfeidnrjthat t h e ,fe ig n e r s had ulterior personal or political motives in, doing this kind of work. Whatever the interpretation these things were looked upon as the activities of foreigners rather than

] of the Indian Christian,coppmunity and, thp§ the wit ness they, bore, was to the. missionaries as. individuals rather than to the idea of §aejiftci^-t^eivke,-inherent in Christianity itself;^i-nniis/is/csppely. one, reasons why in India today one willcfrom time to^time hear, .the contri butions of missionaries to r the life of the country praised, but seldom if ever the contribution of Christianity. Even today hospitals long since brought under the control of the Church are commonly referred to as Mission hospitals. A second result of the identification, of the major institutions with the Mission was that the Christian people themselves did not feel any responsibility for them - even after?; that; responsibility ; had been technically given in i C h r i s t i a n s of the CBCNEI churches came to lookupopcthe institutions as a service to them; rendered by the Mission. They did not understand — and it is difficult to know how they could have under the circumstances - that these institutions represented the Christian responsibility, the Church’s responsibility,to serve arid witness to others. This is surely at the toot, of the present, reluctance to support these iristitutionsi financially even though they now belong to the Church -unless they are located in areas where the primary beneficiaries are the-Christians themselves. · r No churches were in a better position· to benefit from the influence of strong institutions in their midst than those in the Brahmaputra valley. Yet. apart from the fact that the institutions provided employment for a few outstanding leaders, they in fact received little benefit. There seemed to be a wide gap between the institutional centres andrthe village churches. [■■100

CHAPTER X

THE JORHAT CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS

Of all the institutional programmes undertaken by the American Baptist Assam Mission none was more ambitious pr significant than ' the Jorhat Christian Schools, The importance attached to this project by the Mission can _be seen in the amouiit of Money appropriated for it. In 1927 fully 25% of the entire Assam Mission budget was designated’ for the educational centre at Jorhat and by 1950 the"fi^ffe^was/eldser^to 50%. In the. early 1950s Dr.1 J. Skoglund of the ABF MS said that more . money was being spent in support of the JCS than on any other single project sponsored by that society anywhere in the world. The JCS, the first central Mission institution established since the Orphan Institution at Nowgong was closed in 1856, was well worth the expense. Its graduates are even today serving in high secular as well as church positions throUgEbut 'Morth East’ India, The Jorhat Christian Schools began and, as it turned out, ended with a concern for the theological training of the church’s leadership; ■The centre began as a Bible School and ended as a theological college. As early as the 1840s there! had been talk among the missionaries about, establishing'T centre for theological training , that would serve all the churches. Nbthing was done about this for andther 60 years. During this period the leadership eithet

·

] 102 ] in the station Middle schools or in annual Bible classes taught by the missionaries during the summer months. Neither provided adequate training for church leader ship. Biblical subjects formed only a part of the curriculum in such schools — which were primarily designed for the training of teachers —and there was little if any systematic practical training for the ministry. The, Bible classes were taught at a low level insofar as many who attended had little educational background. Towards the end of the 19th century the Mission began to talk seriously about the need for specifically theological training at a higher level than previously provided. At the Conference of 1895 Swanson was asked to give theological instruction to Christian workers of Upper and Central Assam when he established the new centre at Golaghat. Another missionary would eventually be appointed to take up this work on a full time basis. It was first thought that Swanson, would be going to Jorhat and that this would be the best place. The training programme would be simple. At that time there was no· thought of a full fledged seminary or even large Bible School. The mandate given Swanson was as follows : “It is not proposed to establish a theological seminary nor open up any large school at first, but simply to be able to say to any person who may be asking for Bible training, there is a man at Jorhat who will attend to this w ork........................... “No expensive education is contemplated in . the class at present; , The; aim will be to give the pupils the greatest . possible amount of instruction in the Bible, and with this an outline of church history. Secular branches, will not be taught in the class. It is

[

103]

contemplated that the class will study with their teacher durihg the rains, preadhing dn Sundays and market days near the center where the school is held, and touring with the teacher during the cool season, preaching what they have learned and thus getting both theory and practice together for as long as they remain in the class.” (l) ' '· The 1895 proposal was in effect for a centralized summer Bible class. As it turned out Swanson did not have the time to spare for this project when he moved to Golaghat. The proposal was not implemented until 1903 and then at Nowgong rather than in the Upper valley. In April of that year P. II. Moore opened the Assam Valley Bible School there and held ■classes for six months. T he following sufnmer Henry Goldsmith was appointed to teach in the school. There were 50 students studying Old Testament, New Testament, and music. Despite the promising, beginnings at Nowgong the uMissioh was stillconvineed that the best location would be Jorhat arid that a missionary should give full time to this work. In 1904 it was decided that S. A. D. Boggs should, be transferred to Jorhat for the purpose of establishing a Bible School when he returned from furlough.' Therefore, in Danielson’s words, “on January 12, 1905, Mir. Boggs pitched his tent among the graves at Jorhat (and)...... the institution was soon in the making.” (2) This Bible School; was intended to be a. central rather than regional institution (as had been contemplated in 1895) even though jff was somewhat distant 1. Quoted by W. Danielson in Assam Baptist Missionary Conference Report, Twenty-Fifth Session„ Golagha.t, Assam,

.1927, p. 14. 2. O p.cit.

.....

' ... V ‘

. ’ ■

' / '

' . ...

[ 104 ] from the Garo Hills where 50% of the Christians associated with the Mission lived. Boggs himself, incidently, had spent most of the years he had previously served in Assam in the Garo field. T he Mission had had its eye on Jorhat since 1841, when it was one of the sites investigated by Barker for the establishment of a centre for Assamese work. For a time, in the 1840s, Jorhat had been regularly visited as a sub-station of Sibsagar. Throughout the 19th century Jorhat remained the1only major town in the Brahmaputra valley where there was no regular work. Though as the last royal capital of the Ahoms it was recognized as an important cultural centre there never seemed to be an opportunity to begin work there. The beginning of a new project like the Bible School sjeemed to offer that opportunity. Jorhat was the only station opened, by the Mission primarily for the purpose of establishing an institution. T he reference to the “graves of Jorh at” has an interesting explanation. Though land was more readily available in those days than it is today it was nevertheless not easy to secure large amounts of it at a price the Mission was prepared to pay. In buying land, it often took advantage of local superstition in order to get it more cheaply. Much of the large tracf of land bought by Boggs south of Jorhat was thought to be haunted by the spirits of those who had been cremated at the nearby burning ghat. 'No One would even venture across the Toklai stream (which now runs through the campus of Eastern Theological College)rafter dark- When Bogsrs set up his tents near what is now the maid gate of E T C the local inhabitants gathered on the other side of the stream to see what would happen to him that evening! Jorhat was not the only place where land was sold to the Mission for similar reasons. T h e land made available to the Mission by the local villagers, who thought they were cleverly profiting from the ignorance of the

[ 105 ] foreigners, at Impur, Kohima, !Wokha, Ukhrul, Kangpokpij and Aizutd (to mention only the cases about which I have information) was all believed to'be haunted by spirits. !··:·π ar.;.'·' ;RO sP-· :‘o arnoy d y o xi ! ' T he Bible School opened in Aprils 1906, after Henry Goldsmith (who had been ordained earlier that year) came from Nowgong to take the position of Head Assistant. He w asalgc*·,·th©;. -main,.insitruc^rs ; Eighteen,, students were enrolled in two classes, those in the higher class having transferred: from the Assam Valley Bible School at Nowgong, which was now closed. As at Nowgong, the academic session lasted for six months — from April to September. T h e experience of the first .year convinced Boggs, that the students did not have sufficient educa tional backgroundfortheologicalstudies, which consisted mainly of Biblical subjects and church history. Leaving the Bible School in the hands of Henry Goldsmith, Boggs, gave his attention to phe, opening of a M iddle English and Normal School, in 1907. Of the three schools then ^established onlyrp h e, Middle j School pros pered. T h e Normal School was soon discontinued as premature — to be reopened in the, .1920s. After some years of operation it was again closed. In 1907 G. Tilden began an agricultural, industrial, and manual .arts department. T h e establishment of these schools. ,as well as the High School begun in 1914, was justified on the grounds that they w o u ld -p ro v id e . the background necessary for theological training. In fact this objective was lost sight of — as is proved by the fact that a theolog ical education programme with matriculation entrance requirements was not. introduced u n til, 36 vears after the High School was founded. During the first 30 years of this period only three persons were supported by the Mission in theological studies outside vth'e area at the college level. T h is does not mean that the High School failed to produce,church leadership - hit Tertaihly did What it does mean is that, leadership training was-· not

[ 106 ] thought of as requiring tbfdlog,ic§l ,stpdies} T p e result •was that most j;of the UK)st ) ^ of the church, both during the period covered by this book and the early years of the C B C N E l, were men and women who had received good “ secular” but only limited theological education. In 1914 the establishment of a comprehensive educational centre to be known as the Jorhat Christian Schools was approved. In that year the High School was begun, though the complete plan did not take shape until 1917. T he plan Was to have four schools under a single management — a Middle English School, a High Sdrool, an Industrial School, and a Bible School (later a Normal School was also added). The comprehensive plan got off to a bad start, In 1915 the Bible School was closed due tO lack of studhhts. Its instructor, Henry Goldsmith, was transferred to the High School where he tiiight Scripture. “Was turned over to the Government (eventually becoming the present Industrial Training Instithte) a few years after the First World War, a victim of devaluation. The school had overstocked tnateiials during the war and as a result of falling prices afterwards their value could not be recovered; T he main efforts of the School were therefore increasingly directed tpWirds producing marketable items the profits; from which would pay off the debt. It became, in the words of one missionary, “a factory” rather than ah educational institution. In light of the financial risks involved in running such a school it was decided that it was better for the Govern ment to assume this responsibility. T he High School which had a number of problems getting started was well established by 1928 when its new brain building Was completed. Students were drawn from all the fields of the Mission, a quota being assigned to each. There were also day scholars frOm jorhM

[ 107 ]

toWn> following the Second Wo,rid W ar increasing difficulties (and expenses) led to the closure of the High School in, 1955. In 1950 there were IT teachers, four of whom were non-Christians. Matriculation results had dropped from 70% pass in 1946 to 56.0%. The reasons for the decline of this school which; had made such an important contribution to higher education in North East India for more than 30 years are to be f o u i ^ ; in A e, s in g in g times;. ..High Schools were being opened by the Government and the large Christian communities in the hills wanted schools in their own areas. Some of the missionaries serving ' in the hills were; also; mpf enthusiastic about continuing the; ·investment of;,χµ φ .large sums of moneys in. the Jorhat educational centre for similar reasons. ■ Beyond this,rand this was perhaps, the (decisive factor, the, Home Board made it quite clear that it did not favour continuing a programme which involved such heavy expenditure of its funds. It was thought .best for the Government of independent India, with its commitment to education, to maintain higher schools... The presence of a growing theological college which coveted the High School buildings and which was given rhigher priority by the CBCNEl authorities also undoubtedly, contributed to the decision to close the High School. The closure of the High School and the occupation of its buildings by Eastern Theological College actually represented a return to the objectives for which the Jorhat centre had been established in the first place the theological education of church leadership. Since 1914 theological education had remained stunted in the shadow of the High School. In 1915 the Bible School had been closed. In 1917 it was reopened but the ' occasion was hardly auspicious — there were only two students! In 1922 the Gale Memorial Bible School for women was shifted from Golaghat (to where it had earlier been shifted from Nowgong) to the: medical com-

[108

]

pound at Rajabari, which had been abandoned by Dr. Kirby. Though this school was- located near the’ JCS compound it By 1926 the fortunes of the men’s Bible Schools had improved somewhat. There were one part time and three full time teachers with 12 students. A new building was also under construction. This building — now the home of the JOrKat Baptist Church — represents one of the few experiments with indigenous architecture attempted in North East India. Its form was inspired by the royal residences of nearby Rangpur. Under Ahom rule only Lords of the Kingdom were per mitted to build houses with rounded ends. The Bible School building was accordingly designed with a rounded end. in the Ahom manner, thus bearing testimony to the Christian conviction that Christ is Lord not only of Europe or America but also of Assam. However much the school had improved since 1917 it was certainly a gross misrepresentation for Danielson to report as he did in 1927 that “the Bible School is in operation with a faculty and student body'which in ntimber wouid, satisfy a theological seminary in America.” (*) Numbefs mean nothing. It was nbt until 1943 that the standard of admission was raised even as high as Class VI pass .and with the exception of the missionaries none of the faculty had. theological qualifications. In 1927 there were seven students in the Women’s Bible School. , In 1935 the Bible School faced a serious crisis. In part this,, was due to the fact that some Of the missionaries did not approve rthe theological opinions of R. F; Chambers who had taken charge of the school in 1932. Some had gone so far as to refuse to send students.

1. Op.cit.,p. ?18.

[

109 1

with the result that Chambers resigned from this work in 1935. It was difficult to find, a successor. It had already been decided that the three year course should be reduced to two years in the interest of economy. The ideal solution to both the personality problems and the economic one would be ,to close the schopl entirely — which was done. T o be sure this was a time df serious economic depression and Mission funds had been severely reduced - but the fact remains that the Bible School was the only institution run by the Mission that was thought expendable in . the interests of economy. Others had their appropriations cut but they were, not closed. If a high priority had really been, given to the school neither the personal controversies or the economic difficulties would. .have made the. Mission close it down. , . . ■. In 1937 J. W. Cook agreed to take charge of the Bible School and it was reopened. An English section was also started, thus; providing oppontunities for those who did not know Assamese tp;:s^pdy,. there. In . 1943 entrance requirements were .upgraded tpr Glass VIII for the English section and Class VI for the Assamese. Cook was not successful in getting permission to extend the course to three years again. Most of the missionaries still seem to have thought, that two years of theological training at the low level'offered in the Bible School was quite sufficient to meet the need! ,, In 1941 enrollment had reached an all-time high of 48. After this the numbers-declined., An increasingly · large proportion-were reading in. the English section which meant more,frudents.were,coming from the hills and less from the .plain?· In 1943 there had been only nine in the English section and 22 in the Assamese. By 1947 there were 20 in the English section and only 6, in the Assamese. By 1950 there were only 13 students left. There are several possible explanations for the decline
v T he second meeting was held at Gauhati on 21st

April, 1942, with a somewhat different membership — Merrill, Christenson, and W. R. Hutton from the Conference, and Miss Kenwar, M. Christopher, C. Goldsmith, and M. Savino from the Convention. H. Bordoloi was also present in an ex-officio capacity as Convention Secretary. T h is time there were three items of business : (1) the Provident Fund, which was recommended to the Mission and churches; (2) reorganization of the Assamese Christian literature programme ; and (3) consideration of an appeal from the Executive Committee of the Convention. It is this last item that is of most importance. As the Japanese armies were approaching closer to India the Christians were becoming increasingly concerned abput the future. They were afraid that if the missionaries all had to leave — and already the missionary force was seriously depleted — the work would come to an end They were most concerned about the institutions. The action taken by the Joint-Committee on this subject was as follows : “Resolved: T h at we request the Reference Committee to realize that the Christian Community is agitated over the war situation and the emergency measures that have" to be taken. T h e Committee hopes that t he . Reference Committee is alive to the situation and will take necessary steps to allay all unnecessary fears, and where and when necessary, institute an emergency COnimiltee to deal with property, institutions or any other matter that has relation to the case in point.” , Thh threat to the Mission’s w ork posed by the war - and the increased tempo of the nationalist movement —convinced at least some of the missionaries that much more needed to be done to prepare the

i

[

211 ]

Church to take over. At die Conference of 1943 two important' proposals were made by Miss M. Tain The first of these; adopted as policy by the Conference, was that within five years all Mission schools should be placed under the charge of Indian headmasters or headmistresses. Actually this policy was only imple mented at the Jorhat High School. The second pro posal was more radical — and significant. It proposed a means of bringing Church leaders into the-Mission power structure — not unlike the Convention proposal of 1936. Miss Tait’s suggestion was as follows : "In order to facilitate the transfer of work to Nationals and to prepare them to take over the' responsibility of administration of the Mission: (1) That the Assam Baptist Convention be asked to elect two* men and one woman to serve on the Reference Committee on the same basis as the missionary members; (2) That at the first meeting of the Indian and Missionary Reference Committee, one national be appointed to serve on each Conference Committee; (3) That at the next meeting of Conference all Committee members be asked . to sit with us and share all privileges and responsibilities.” (l) This was, of course, a propsal to meet an emergency situation. It would provide the quickest means of preparing Church, leaders fop taking Over Mission responsibilities in the event that the missionaries had to leave suddenly. They would have learned something about the way the Mission functioned. Though inspired by the emergency it nevertheless represented a more radical proposal than the missionaries had previously 1. Conference Minutes, 1943.

[ 212 ]

been prepared to consider. It also Represented a new direction in devolutionary thinking. T he mission had previously thought in terms of transferring its responsibilities to a representative denominational organization like the Convention: Miss Tait was now proposing the reverse — the Indianization of the Conference structure itself. At least it had the virtue of offering a concrete alternative to the theoretical and fruitless policies that had guided the Mission since the early 1930s. Actually neither the Conference nor Convention was happy with the T a it proposal. T h e Conference finally adopted a very wateredi-down version of it. It voted to invite five Indian delegates - three men, representing the Garo Hills, Naga Hills, and plains, and two women — to attend the next session of the Conference. At the Conference they would “ share all responsbilities and privileges.” These were to be appointed by the Convention Standing Committee, which would also meet their expenses. T h e difference between this action and the T ait proposal was significant — it kept the "Indian members of Conference” (as they came to be called) out of the committees. And it was irt the committees that real power lay. It also ensured that the Indian members would constitute a small minority. Though the Convention did appoint four persons (K. Goldsmith, M. Savino, Miss Kenwar, and Miss A. Mark) to attend the 1944 Conference, it made it quite clear that it did not approve the philosophy behind the T ait Proposal. It did not feel that the Conference was “ the permanent body through which the work will eventually be administered.” It indicated that it had appointed delegates as invited to do only because there was some value in learning how the Conference worked. What it really wanted was a strengthened Joint-Committee where, of course, representation was

, [213 1 more equal. Whether or not it was aware of it, the Convention was making inevitable the “third Organiza tion’’ approach. At its meeting of 6th November, 1944, the Convention Standing Committee adopted the following proposal: “That the Mission Conference, be requested to enlarge the previously initiated Joint Advisory Committee and make it more representative and give it more executive power. It could then be named the Joint Executive Committee. ; Also that the Mission Conference be requested to draw up a plan of work for the smooth functioning of the Toint Executive Commit‘ tee.” (l) The-Conference approved this proposal in principle but raised a problem which had the effect of blocking its implementation — the problem of representation. The problem of how to secure the fair representation of all areas had for some time been a stumbling block to denominational devolution. The main objection to the Convention was that it was not representative, i.e., it was dominated by members of the plains churches. The Conference wanted a truly representative body but on the other hand it did not want to seem to endorse the “principles of communalism’’ by proposing delegates from each tribal group. Some were hot happy about appointing representatives from only three or four general regions, either. The solution finally reached, of course, was to have a larger body with associational representation (essentially tribal, representation) and a smaller executive with regional representation. Finally the whole matter was referred to "a committee referred to as the Joint Committee of the Reference Committee 1. Quoted in Conference Report, 1944.

and the Indian Members of CdMfoferice, the= name in itself indicating its eoMpoeition.-y ' This new Joint Cchnmittee met at Gauhati on 25th April; 1945. It became in e£EeetLi ¥ re0nsfitutional committee, as was clear from the actions taken at this meeting. ; “ 1.

T hat an Assam Baptist ‘ Church Council consisting of the members of the Convention Standing Committee and the members of the Missionary Conference inept .annually for the purpose of: ■ ■'■ a. b. c.

2.

Mutual fellowship and inspiration. Conducting of business in connection with our Baptist program in Assam. Electing officers and committees, including an Executive Committee, which wi.ll carry on the work of the Council ad interim.

T hat it is suggested that the Standing .Committee of the Convention be made adequately representative of the total Baptist constituency.” (x)

Though the CBCA represented an implementation of this proposal it was not accepted at once. T h e Convention members of this committee had met separately to discuss the future of the Convention should such an organization come into existence. They decided that even if the Council were; formed the Convention should continue as a distinct body, retaining “its name and entitity for the purpose df maintaining essential unity of all Baptist Christians of Assam...” On the surface of

1.

Reference Committee Minutes, Op. Cit.,

p. 303.

it this would not see.m necessary as the proposed Council could serve that purpose just, as well. In fact it was simply a rjkind oft: insurance; policy. In the event that the Council didn’tcfWOtk out-or if it was unduly dominated by the missionaries , the Church, leaders would still have an organization through which they could work. (*), i : n r.'p c The 1945 Conference· ^ again attended by Indian representative# — cohsidetodthe latest Joint Committeevs proposal. Representation was again the major issue. Some argued that each cassoeiation 'should have an equal number of representatives; others said that the number should be determined by the size of the association. Even as the Convention had taken -out its insurance policy by insisting that it should -continue as a distinct entity the Mission now insisted upon similar insurance. The missionaries argued that there were certain matters which concerned only the missionaries ;in their relationship with the Home Board and that these should not be the business of the proposed Council. Thus, they said, there must be a continuing Mission organization as well. Then what was becoming a habitual action was taken: yet another Joint Committee was appointed! (Actually the personnel on these various Joint Committees was usually the same). This one was to be made up of four missionaries appointed by the Reference Committee and'four Indians appointed by the Convention. This committee was to· look'into the various questions raised both by the Conference and Convention and be^prhpared'to bring a definite proposal td the following session offthe Conference* At this Conference (1945) ahother of th e T a it proposals of‘1943 1. Several years after CBCNElwas? established' some people did try to1revive ithe Convention in'apposition to it butowerfc unsuccessful > ’ Γ' " ' b.- ” -"Ά: n n ^ -?tT v s· ·=

[2161

was implemented. C. Goldsmith, K. Goldsmith, and Miss Kenwar were appointed to serve on the Evangelistic, Education, and Language standing committees of the Conference. No Indians were appointed to the Reference Committee, however. It should be pointed out that in all the discussion concerning representation no one seems to have raised the question as to whether a Council of the kind proposed — and later established — in which the Mission and Church had equal representation and power was really representative. No more than 50 missionaries had the same representation on the Council and its committees as 100,000 Indian Christians! Furthermore, by virtue of traditional practice and attitudes, the missionaries would tend to dominate any organization where their numbers were equal to those of the Church’s representatives. Be that as it may the missionaries seemed to think that they were conceding a great deal in agreeing to even this much equality and the Church leaders, by and large seemed happy to get this much more executive authority than they had ever had previously at the denominational level. Such is the conditioning of historical circumstances that the Mission thought itself generous in permitting the Church to participate in directing the Church’s work and the Church thought itself privileged to be allowed to do so! Burdette had clearly been a prophet without honour in his own country. In 1946 a “Plan for Council of Baptist Churches, Assam, As submitted By a Joint Committee of Missionaries and Nationals, amended by the Standing Committee of the Convention and by the Missionary Conference’’ was considered and approved by both Convention and Conference; This plan was actually a draft constitution and as such went farther than the constitution finally adopted in 1950. The Convention,

[ 217]

it was agreed, would continue to hold meetings every four years but it would be for the purpose of inspiration and fellowship only. It would have no executive power or business of its own. The Conference would also continue, but only to consider specific missionary problems. The Council would have considerable executive authority, as indicated by the proposed article on “Functions” : “ (d) 1. To assume the administrative functions of the Assam Baptist Convention and the Missionary Conference. 2. To become the authoritative body with which the· Home Boards will have direct contacts in all matters except those 'covered in Articles 1 & 2 above.” Though this clause was accepted by the field bodies in 1946, it was unacceptable to the Home Board - and therefore was not included in the Constitution of 1950. After 1946 the main problem was no longer the attitudes of either the Convention or the Conference — but the opposition of the Home Board, which wished to retain a larger, measure of control than the 1946 Plan proposed. Representation in the Council and its committees was carefully worked out in terms of nationality, region, and sex. The Executive Committee would have twelve members - an Indian and a missionary from the Garo Hills, the Naga Hills (including Manipur), and the Plains; one Indian and one missionary woman; another “pair” at large, in addition to twoi officers. The Council itself would be made up of representatives from the associations. ,< " At the 1946 Conference another important proposal was made but unfortunately no serious consideration

[ 218 ] was given to it. It was suggested‘that other Baptist groups in North; East India should be approached to find out if they would be> interested in joihiritg the Council. Thpugh the New Zealand, Australian, and British Baptist missions all indicated iheir interest they were not invited to join in planning'for the Council and, as far as I know, they were not invited to join the Council when it finally came into existence.1 Thus the opportunity to establish a comprehensive Baptist denomination in North East India was lost; In 1946 it had been thought possible to finalize plans for the CBCA therfollowing year but changes proposed at the Joint Committee meeting of October, 1947, made it necessary to refer the plan back to the Convention and Conference for further consideration. For this purpose it was decided to make a kinjd of Constituent Assembly out of the December Conference meetings. ■ This First Constituent Assembly was made up of the members of Conference together with about 50 representatives of the associations. Conference and Convention delegates first considered the revised plan separately then met in plenary session. No great difficulties were encountered with the result that on 13th December the Draft Constitution of the CBCA was approved by a unanimous standing vote. After the vote was taken the Doxology Was sung as expression of thanksgiving to God. It was then planned to convene the first meeting of the Council at Tura in 1948. The meeting was not held. The Home Board intervened to prevent it. At least one -missionary attending the Constituent Assembly had not been honest in his vote. Following the meetings he had Written a sdong tetter to the Board, objecting jto the decision that1had:bfehn1made] Though !I bdve'hof been

able! to identify tMs missSonaryior see the letter it is not difficult to guess at its contents — in ligh t' of- what the Board wrote in response. The missionary said that the Constituent Assembly was /reallyinot rgpiesehtative of the Church as a whole and that the plan for the establishment of the Council, was the work o T a few people without authority. T he Board had reservations of its own regarding property and other legal matters. In ariy event a strong letter was written bv the Board 'to the Reference· Committee on the subject. At its April, 1948, meeting that committee drafted an equally strong reply, stating its conviction that the Constituent Assembly was an official body and that its decision concerning the formation of the Council was final. It should have known better. Despite the strong position taken by the Reference Committee the Home Board insisted that it would withhold its approval of the proposed Council until each association had expressed itself in favour by separate actions. Very few in either Conference or Convention were at that time prepared to take unilateral action. T h e approval of the Home Board was thought essential insofar as it owned the property on which most of the major Christian institutions were located, had ultimate control over the missionaries, and provided the money with which most of the institutions and other major pro grammes were -'maintained. It is interesting to speculate about what would have happened if they had called th e . Home Board’s bluff and gone ahead With their plans — but no one had puite enough courage- to try it: T he Reference Committee was finally- forced to submit the matter to the associations and advise all concerned that the Council could not be inaugurated as planned that year. I n >order that the associations might have the matter clearly and positively explained' C. Goldsmith was appointed to visit their meetings. Unfortunately he did not have time to visit all before the Second

[ 220]

/

Constituent Assembly met at Jorhat. from''1.1th "to 16th January, 1949. The unexpected Board opposition threw the Jorhat meetings into confusion. The whole scheme was thrown Open for reconsideration and several radically different proposals were made, though not accepted. A committee was appointed to look into what were referred to as “objectionable features’’ of the plan. Part of the confusion was caused by the fact that reports from the associations indicated that the Home Board’s suspicions had some basis. While 12 associations had approved'the plan, eight had not. The distribution is significant. The eight associations unwilling to approve the proposed Council (though none of them rejected it outright) were the associations of the N'aga Hills and Manipur. The Plains, Garo, and -Mikir associations had all approved, some enthusiastically. The Kamrup Garo Association had already sent a donation of Rs. 200 for-the Council. The opposing associations all adopted delaying tactics of one kind or another, saying that they had not had sufficient time to properly study the plan. In some cases this was undoubtedly due to missionary influence, in other cases it was not. The Impur missionaries, for instance, strongly supported the proposed Council. Probably they were being cautious because they were afraid that the Council Would simply be another plains dominated organization like the Convention. Various proposals were made as to how the eight reluctant associations might be brought around. The most ingenious of these was made ,by the Convention caucus. It suggested that the Council adopt a project designed “to catch the imagination of the Associations, such as sending Mr. Longri Ao to the frontier area as representative 'of the CBCA.” This proposal was ingenious for two reasons. In the”first place it would make it quite clear that the CBCA was primarily

1 [ 221]

concerned, with evangelistic work and that the joint efforts of the associations would make such work on a significant scale possible. The Convention had, also apparently learned something from its North Lakhimpur experience. It was not proposing sending someone with second rate qualifications but one of the most promising young men associated with the Jorhat Christian Schools. In the second place it was proposing that the first project should involve a Naga working in the Naga area. This was intended to secure the support of the Naga associations — though that was not said in so many words. It was more than a clever device useful in securing initial support that could be forgotten later. In fact the first project undertaken by the CBCA in 1950 was this one that the Convention caucus had pro posed early in 1949. Though the prospects of bringing the Council into existence in the near future seemed very (dim it was nevertheless decided to hold a Third Constituent Assembly at Golaghat in January, 1950. If any proof is needed that God works through the most unlikely historical events to achieve his purposes what happened during the intervening year certainly provides it. Though with the coming of independence in 1947 the future of missionaries in India was uncertain, prior to 1949 the Home Board and the churches themselves had not really felt any great sense of urgency. 1949 changed all that. The first of the developments of that year might seem to have very little to do with North East India. This was the success of the Communist movement in China. Large numbers of American Baptist missionaries were being forced to leave that country — or face internment. No adequate pre parations had been made for the forced evacuation of the missionaries within a little more than a year’s time. Was the handwriting on the wall for all Asia? Nationalism might do elsewhere what Communism had ' V

'1

; [ 222 J

done in China. That seemed to be exactly what was about to happen. In the spring of 1949 G. W. Supplee of Kohima was served a Quit India notice. Supplee’s ejection shocked not only the Home Board, which was already disturbed about events in'China,; but also the Naga churches. Now both the Home Board and the Nagaland and Manipur associations reevaluated their attitude towards the proposed Council, which would clearly be the best means of maintaining the work of the Mission in the event that all the missionaries had to leave. Thus despite the confusion and uncertainty that had marked the 1949 meetings, when the missionaries and representatives of the associations met at Golaghat the following year opposition to the Council had evaporated. The sense of urgency felt by all concerned — including, at last, the Home Board — overrode all objections and the CBCA was brought into existence at that session itself. The first Executive Committee of the new organization met the following April. The consitution finally adopted was in some ways different: from that proposed in 1947. A number of compromises had been made which significantly weakened it. In 1947, for instance, the preamble stated that the objective was a complete ‘ merger of the Conference and Convention into a single organization "having a unified purpose and a fellowship cutting across national boundaries.” Though the possibility of an eventual merger .is mentioned in an appendix to the 1950 constitution (with the provision that this could only be done with express approval of the Conference, Convention, and Home Board) the existing Council was described simply as an agency for cooperation. In the 1947 draft the Council was to be given the full authority of the merging organizations — “To assume responsibility for all Christian activities. in Assam, previously carried on by the ’Missionary Conference and the Assam Baptist Convention.” ;IThe constitution of 1950 gaVe the Council niuch1less responsibility :

: [ 223 ] "The general aim ;shall be 'to ^Uaite-Ae ; > representatives of -all the Baptist rehurthes in ' the areas served by Thei ABFMS and the WABFMS and to cooperate -; and. vnsbare responsibility with the Boards oh Managers of the ABF MS and the WABFMS - and their missionaries for the purpose of ...... etc.” (l)

j.

:

Responsibility is not devolved * it usd shared. Though the changes mentioned above may have been in part the result of local reservations they were largely due to the objections of the Home Board. Insofar as the Board was not yet prepared to agree to the establishment of a truly autonomous denominational ! body with complete authority in those spheres « of activity previously under Mission control .it insisted - as a condition of its approval of the Council upon the right to review and, presumably, veto certain types of actions. Any change in the constitution of the Council, including amendments, had to to be approved by the Horae Board. Though most conditions of this kind were removed in the constitutional revision of 1955 (which was approved by the Home Board) they must have been extremely difficult to accept in 1950. The remarkable thing about the CBCNEI is the way in which it had been able to develop- despite a wholly unsatisfactory and limiting constitution — but that is the subject matter of another book. However unsatisfactory it was, the fact remains that in 1950 a denominational body had been created to unite in responsibility for the larger work of the Church all those associations historically related to the American Baptist Mission in Nbrth East India. Eveln though '*

■

1. Though I have no definite proof of it the wording of this clause suggests to me that it originated with the Home Board.

[ 224 ] constitutionally the Conference and Convention continued to exist until 1955, in fact neither of those bodies ever really m et again after 1950. T hough missionaries continued to exercise considerable influence for years to come they did so as indiyiduals in elective office or as heads of institutions now managed by the CBG N EI rather than as part of an organization separate from it. T h e M ission as an organization withdrew from the exercise of executive responsibility for the institutions and programmes it had traditionally run. The era of the M ission had ended mid the era of the Church had begun. In 1950 it was by no means certain what form the new era would take. T hose who had worked for the establishment of the C B C N E I hoped that it would take the form of a united denom inational fellowship. T h is was by no means the only form the era of the Church could take. It could be an era of fragm entation in which each of the associations, or groups of associations, went their own way, establishing independent Church bodies. As far as the churches were concerned the primary organizations with which they had always dealt had been the associations. Though the M ission structure had united them they had nothing to do with its operations. It was perhaps natural that they should ask themselves why they should transfer the allegiance they had once had to the M ission to the C B C N EI once the M ission withdrew. T h e main challenge before the C B C N EI in 1950 — and to some extent even today - was to answer that question by word and deed. It had to convince the churches that their best interests’ and the best interests of the Christian cause as a whole, would be best served through membership in a denominational body which embraced all the churches once related to the American Baptist M ission. '

CHAPTER XV

THE MIGHTY WORKS OF GOD

It is easy to foiget, when reading history, the element of God’s activity. History from one point of view is simply the story of the development of human communities. For the Christian it is more than that because he believes that God is a participant in history. History is the realm where the purposes of God are worked out through human instruments. Those instruments are not perfect in their obedience to God for they are continually seeking to serve their own interests. T h is is all too evident in the history o f the CBCN EI churches. Equally evident is the fact that God’s purposes have been served faithfully and well in spite of the imperfections — by countless disciples. The story of their service surely compares favourably with that rendered by any group of Christians in the long history of the Church. It is both an inspiring and a sobering story. T h e commitment and courage of our forefathers in the faith, of missionaries and simple villagers, of school teachers andstudents, of pastors and evangelists, of doctors and nurses, of young and old’ cannot fail to inspire us. W e have everv ieason to be proud of them. A t the same time the reading of their story cannot fail to sober: us for their lives set standards that we today often do not meet. W hat would these men and women who suffered

[ 226 ] mockery, excommunication from the only homes they knew, beatings, and other forms of persecution have to say about the things to which we seemingly give so· much importance today? What would they say about our quarrels with each other, our demands that we get more than others because we are more “backward” , our concern over pay-scales and status, our unwillingness to contribute to the work of the Church save in our own area, our excuse that we are helpess in bearing witness to our world because we are not sufficiently “ qualified” , our seeming conviction that the world will be saved by committees and by passing responsibility to someone else rather than by personal commitment and sacrificial service? Despite their weaknesses those w h o : were responsible for establishing our churches showed a zeal, a personal, sacrificial commitment to the cause of Christ that puts us, to shame. A t least it ought to. Another fact about the early history of our Church cannot fail to impress any student of it, T his was the sense of unity in a common cause. T h ese were men and Women for whom the phrase “ one in Christ” really meant something. It was not a pious phrase used occasionally in sermons or addresses on church junion — it was a living reality for them. Though they were not entirely unconscious of these things the fellowship of their faith was vastly more important than caste, community, or tribe. Assamese lefti their safe homes to risk their lives - and certainly their comforts - preaching among the suspicious, often hostile hillsmen. Aos and Angamis were not primarily concerned about the members of their own tribes when they travelled among the villages of neighbouring tribes that were their traditional enemies. Kuki and Naga worked side by side in evangelizing the hills peoples of Mianipur. They were conscious of belonging to a new community infinitely more important than their natural communities· a community with a single work to do. Christianity was, in those days, the

[ 227 ] strongest force for unity that existed in the region. Perhaps it was their common suffering, perhaps it was because they were living closer to the essence of the gospel, that through this community, poor in material resources and in qualified leadership;· as the world — and we ourselves — tend to judge such matters today, God was able to work miracles. Apart from this unity it would have been difficult if not impossible for him to accomplish what he did. The greatest tragedy in our history has not been the suffering, the frequent backsliding, the lost opportunities —the greatest tragedy has been the gradual erosion of this early sense of unity. The process had already begun before 1950 as we have seen. It was ironically due to the very success of the early workers. As the Christian community became dominant, by virtue of education if not numbers, it increasingly came to speak for essentially tribal and regional interests rather than Christian ones. Christianity became less of a universal cause which one served for the sake of others and more of a mieans of improving the social and economic condition of the tribe or community. The problem for the Church became even greater once the artificial but reasonably effective unity imposed by the Mission structure was replaced by the CBCNEI. This is not to suggest that all Christians became so entirely concerned with their own group that they lost all sense of a larger fellowship for which they had responsibility. If that had been the case the CBCNEI would never have survived its infancy.' There have always been strong leaders prepared to risk the displeasure of their own group by reminding it of its larger responsibilities. But the tendancy was (here and the Struggle against it is by no means over. We do well, at the close of this study, to contemplate in the light of our history the meaning of Christ’s prayer on behalf of his disciples:

[

228 ]

“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou has sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.” John 17:20-23

BIBLIOGRAPHY tafJWFS'*

(Items marked with an * are available at the Eastern Theological College, Jorhat, library)

Books

*Albaugh, D. M., Between Two Centuries (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1935), 245 pp. *Bowers, A. C., Under Head Hunters' Eyes (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1929), 248 pp. *Brown, E. W., All the World Kin : A Pioneer Experience Among Remote Tribes, and Other Labors o f Nathan Brown (Philadelphia : Hubbard Brothers, 1890), 612 pp. *Carey, W., The Garo Jungle Book, Revised Edition (Tura : Tura Book Room, 1966), 269 pp. Clark, Μ. M., A Corner in India (Philadelphia : American Baptist Publication Society, 1907). Author the wife of E. W. Clark. *Gait, E. A., History o f Assam, 3rd Revised Edition (Calcutta : Thacker Spink & Co., Private. Ltd., 1963), 347 pp. Goldsmith, C., A Short History o f the Assam Baptist Christian Convention, 1914-1940 (Assam Baptist Convention, 1941), 30 pp. Quotations used in the text from an unpublished translation of the Assamese text by A. Behera. Gunn, Η. B., In a Far Country ; A Story o f Christian Heroism and Achievement (Philadelphia : American Baptist Publication Society, 1941), 244 pp. Biography of Miles Bronson by his daughter. *Harding, F. W., Indigenous Christianity in Assam (Gauhati : Assam Christian Council, 1939), 21 pp. *Hervey, G. W., The Story o f Baptist Mission in Foreign Lands (St. Louis : Chancy R. Barns, 1886), 820 pp.

[ 230 ]

*Holmes, E. M., Sowing Seed in Assam (N.Y. : Fleming H. Revell Co., 1925), 195 pp. *Luikham, T., A Short History o f the Manipur Baptist Christian Jubilee —1948 (Ukhrul : North East Christian Association, 1948), 54 pp. *Merriam, E.F., A History o f American Baptist Missions (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1913), 288 pp. *Moore, Mrs. P. H., ed., Twenty Years in Assam, or Leaves from My Journal (Nowgong : Privately published, 1901), 222 pp. * — , ed., Further Leaves from Assam (Nowgong : Privately published, 1907), 191 pp. * — , ed., Autumn Leavesfrom Assam (Nowgong : Privately published, 1910), 96 pp. * — , ed., Stray Leaves from Assam (Rochester, N.Y.: Privately published, 1916), 128 pp. *Rivenburg, N., ed., The Star o f the Naga Hills : Letters from Rev. Sidney and Hattie Rivenburg, Pioneer Missionaries in Assam, 1883-1923 (Philadelphia : American Baptist Publication Society, 1941), 141 pp. Robbins, J. C., Following the Pioneers (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1922), 162 pp. *Safford, Mrs. H. G., The Golden Jubilee (N.Y. : Women’s American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, 1921), 263 pp. First fifty years of the WABFMS. *Skoglund, J. E., The Spirit Tree : The Story o f Baptist Work Among Primitive People (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1951), 95 pp. *Swanson, O. L., In Villages and Tea Gardens : Forty-Three Years o f Missionary Work in Assam, 2nd Edition (Chicago : Conference Press, 1944), 208 pp. *Sword, V. H., Baptists in Assam : A Century o f Missionary Service, 1836-1936 (Chicago : Conference Press, 1935), 160 pp. *Torbet, R. G., Venture o f Faith (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1955), 634 pp. *Vicldand, E. E., Women o f Assam (Philadelphia : Judson Press, 1928), 179 pp.

t 231 ] Reports and Periodicals

*Assam Baptist Missionary Conference Reports, 1893-1950. *Assam Baptist Missionary Conference Reference Committee Minutes, April 1934—October 1949. *The Assam Mission o f the American Baptist Missionary Union. Papers and Discussions of the Jubilee Conference held in Nowgong, December 18-29, 1886 (Assam Mission of the American Baptist Missionary Union, 1887), 297 pp. Baptist Missionary Magazine, Vols. XV (1835)—LXVI (1886). *Council of Baptist Churches in North East India, 125th Anniversary Jubilee Reports (Gauhati : Council of Baptist Churches in North East India, 1961) *Council of Baptist Churches in North East India, 1836-1961. 125th Anniversary Publication, 1961). Pictorial. Devi, Renu, “Assam’s Education before 1901,” Assam Trbiune, April 5, 1963, p. 5. ♦Downs, F. S., “Authority and Power in Baptist Mission,” Foundations : A Baptist Journal of History and Theology, Vol. XI, No.4, (October-December, 1968), pp. 300-307. Unpublished M aterials

♦Anderson, B.I., “A New Way of Life for the Nagas” (1965), 95 pp. O. Alem Ao, “ A Brief Autobiography of Rev. J. Onen Ao” , (1969), 2 pp. *Brock, E. E., “The Challenge of Jungle Trails,” (1969), 105 pp. ♦Danielson, W., “Historical·References Concerning the Jorhat Christian High School and Resume of its Policy,” (1927), 3 pp. A copy of this document was placed in the cornerstone of the new High School building on February 16, 1928. Gillespie, G., “Baptists in Babel : A Report on Bible Translation Work in the Languages of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India,” (Private circulation, April, 1967), 37 pp.

"■•i

rί

232 ]

*Harding, F. W., “Unity Within the Assam Baptist Mission.” (Private circulation), 18 pp. King, C. H., “Henry Goldsmith’s: Good Work in Kohima : The Story of the First School among Angami Nagas, a Head-Taking Hill-Tribe of Assam, India.” Original in CBCNEI Office, Gauhati. *Neighbor, R. E., “Memoirs,” (1921), 89 pp. *Ramkhun Mpamei, “A Study of the Growth and Expansion of the Baptist Church among the Rongmei (Kabui) Naga in Manipur 1914-1965,” B.D. Thesis, Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur (1969), 55 pp. *Y. Nazhekhu Serna, “A Study of the Growth and Expansion of Christianity among the Nagas with Sjpecial Reference to the Sema Nagas,” B.D. Thesis, Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur (1968), pp, *S. L. Dongkhotang Singson, “History of the Thadou Kuki Churches,” B.D. Thesis, Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur (1968), pp. Essays by Students o f Eastern Theological College used in the Preparation o f this Book

P. Punasoa Ao, “The Introduction and Growth of the Church in the Ao Area” (1965). K. Hepuni, “The Coming of Christianity in Mao” (1964). Sacheo Kithan, “History of Christianity in the Lotha Naga Area” (1966). Chingang Konyak, “The Coming of Christianity and Its Development in Konyak Land, 1938-1964” (1965). Thangkhochon Hangsing, “History of the Nagaland Kuki Baptist Association” (1969). Theresa Marak, “The Coming of Christianity and Its Development in Garo Land : 1788-1964” (1966). Ramkhun Mpamei, “The Coming of Christianity in Tamenglong Area, Manipur” (1964). C. Joseph Ovung, “History of Christianity in the Lotha Naga Area” (1963).

[

233 ]

Bikauliang Pame, “A Brief Introduction to the History of Zeliangrong Baptist Christian Association Churches in Nagaland” (1969). K. Rhakho, “Christianity in Chakhesang Area” (1969). Vitoli Sema, “A Short History of Christianity in the Serna Area of Nagaland” (1963). Peter Tusso, “Was That a Forbidden Land ? A Short Account of the Baptist Church in Mikir Hills” (1966). Ningwon Woleng, “Brief Information about the Tangkhul Naga Baptist Convention” (1964).

INDEX

A ch ikn i Ripeng—71, 94 Adi (Abor)—10, 85-86 Ahlquist, A. J.—94, 98 Ahom—1-4,104,108 Aijal—77, 78-79,166 Aizuto—105,152-153 Aizuto Bible School—153 Alban H. Momin—161 American Baptist Convention—185,192,197, American Baptist Mission—iii, 9, 14, 72, 76, 79, 83, 88, 161, 166, 182, 184, 192-193, 223-224. American Baptist Missionary Union·—39, 42, 43, 45, 56, 78 79, 86,186 American Baptist Foreign Mission Society—13, 15, 20, 39, 88, 94,101, 172, 223. American Civil War—40, 42,44, 55 Anal—144, 159,170 Anderson, B .I.—116,150,152-154 Andrew, Joseph—197 Angami—7, 67-69, 114, 138-144, 147, 148, 165, 180, 226 Angami Association—138,141,147 Anglo-Burman War—73 Ao—7, 57, 63-67,92,113-137,138, 152,153-154,165, 226 Ao Association—114, 116,120,122, 125,128,131, 135, 136, 207 Apinta—64, 84-85 Arthington Aboriginese Mission—75-76, 78, 86 Asiatic Society of Bengal—165 Assam, Lower—4, 10,13, 27, 47, 99 Assam, Upper—2, 4, 8, 16, 29, 55, 59, 85-86, 99, 102 Assam Baptist Christian Convention—v, 37, 72,83, 88, 98, 184-185, 188, 192-206, 207-209, 210, 211-214, 215-217, 219, 221, 222

[ 235 ] Assam Baptist Missionary Conference—71-72,79» 184-188, 206-217,218-219. Assam Mission 18, 26, 27-38, 40, 42, 43, 46, 52, 54,60, 78, 88 97, 101, 123, 142, 184, 199 Assam Valley Bible School—103-105 Australian Baptist Mission—88, 218 B Bailey, J. R.—120 Bamin—203 Baptist Association of Assam—37,42-43 Baptist Church of Assam—36 Baptist General Conference Mission—88 Baptist Mid-Mission—172 Baptist Missionary Society (English)—11-13,16, 20, 47, 75, 218 Bar Senapati of M atak—1, 3, 5 Barak—178 Barker, C.—23, 24, 25, 27-29, 84,104 Batiram Das (D. Peck)—32-33 Bebejia—59 Begi Dafla—203 Bendang—115 Bendengba Ao—152 Bengal—1, 6, 8, 12, 75 Bengdangwati Ao—112,122 Benreu— 147 Bharat Thakuria—204 Bhutan—12 Biney—115 Birta—91 Bishnath—19 Boggs, S. A. D.—103-105 Bond, E.—93 Borbheta—98 Bordoloi, Noreswar—209 Brahmaputra Valley—1, 6, 12, 20, 26, 27, 28, 44, 59, 82, 83, 85, 86, 95, 100, 104, 183, 186

[ 236 ] Brahmaputra Valley Mission—27 Bronson, Mary—44 Bronson, Miles— 12, 18-20, 21-26, 28-29, 31, 34-35, 44, 45, 46-47, 50,51-5 3 ,5 7 ,60 -6 2 ,9 3 ,1 3 2 Bronson, Rhoda—2 3 ,2 4 ,2 5 , 26 Brown, N .— 1 7 ,18,19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 29? 31, 42, 63 Brown, Mrs. N .— 19, 30 Bruce, C. A.—8-9,16, 20, 23 Bruce, R.—8 Burdette, C. E.— 187,192, 216 Buri Dihing—31 Burma (Burmese)— 1, 2-3, 8, 14, 15-17, 18, 30, 40, 41, 42, 46 165, 170-171 Burma"Baptist Convention— 171 C Cachar—2, 3, 6, 74,167,178 Cachari—64, 83, 84, 87, Calcutta— 5, 8 ,1 6 ,1 7 ,1 8 ,1 9 ,2 1 , 25,79 Caleph—115 Carvell, J. M .—90,91 Central Asian Strategy—17-18, 28, 30,118 Chakhesang—138,145-146,180 Chakhesang Association— 146 Chambers, R. F .— 108-109 Chanbang— 128 Chandrakant—2, 8 Chang— 123, 131, 136-137 Chanki—202 Chazouba— 145-146 Cherrapunji— 11, 12,13 Chichamo— 126 China— 11, 14-15, 16, 17, 20, 30, 221-222 Chingang—136 Chiru— 159 Chota Nagpuri—9, 59-60, 61, 83

,

[ 237 ] Christenson, E. V.—209-210 . Christopher, Μ.—209-210 Churachandpur—167 Chura Chandra Singh—74-75 Clark, E. W.—59, 62, 63, 64, 65-67. 115. 116, 117, 119, 120, 133, 137 Comfort, Μ. B.—53 Conference, Triennial-—186 Conference Reference C om m ittee-'71, 186, 2C6, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 213, 214, 215, 216, 219 Constituent Assemblies—218-219, 220, 221 Convention Executive Ccmmittee—200, 201, 202, 203, 208, 210 Convention Fund—202 Convention Standing Ccmmittee—2C0, 208, 212, 213, 214 Cook, J.W.—109, 112 Council of Baptist Churches in Assam (CBCA)—83, 88, 155, 184,199,207,208,214,218,220-221 Council of Baptist Churches in Assam and Manipur (CBCAM) —184 Council of Baptist Churches in N orth East India (CBCNEI)— i, 13, 72, 87, 88, 94, 106, 107, 122, 146, 147, 182, 183, 184, 185,186,188,192,196, 197, 201, 206, 207, 215, 223, 224, 227 Crozier, A. G.—94, 97-98, 158, 160, 161, 162, 171-172 Cutter, O.—17, 18, 25, 28, 33 Cutter, Mrs. O.—19, 30 D Dacca—76, 78 Dala, Pastor—166 Dam ra—49, 50-51, 54 Danforth, A. H.—44, 47 Danielson, W.—103,108, 111 Dafla—93, 203 Darrang—4, 5, 84 DeLano, R. F .—153 Deobar—90

i 238 ] Devolution Policy—204-206 Dhaneswar Das—204 Dhansiri—4 Dibru-Sadiya Association—86 Dibrugarh—32, 60, 61, 85,86 Dickson, Η. B —141, 148 Dikhu—7, 28, 33, 133, 134 Dimap ur—7 Dinanath M arak—203, 204 Dingmin—92 Dinthuiyang, Z.—177 Dipti—201 Domgaon—86 Dowd, W. F —198 Downs, E. S.—94 Dring, W.—92, 116 Dubri—84 Duffy, D.—I l l Dunino—139

E Eastern Theological College—v, vi, 104, 107, 111, 138, 142 East India Company—1, 8, 11, 14 Edinburgh Conference, 1910—94 Ekin Miri—203 Etssisac—126

F First World War—75, 81, 106, 144,160, 174 Firth, J.—84,93 Fox, U. M.—167, 173 Furkating—70, 85, 129, 145

G Gaiduiliu, Rani—147,179 Gale Memorial Bible School (Women’s)—107

[ 239 ] Gambhir Singh—3, 73 Gangte—167 G aro—6,12, 46-54, 56, 57. 61, 62, 64, 82, 83, 87, 92-95, 110, 114,123,198,220 Garo Association—54, 92, 93,123 Garo Baptist Conventio ή—87, 92, 94,123-124 Garo Hills—6,9, 46-54, 55, 62, 90, 92-95. 104, 110, 163 Gauhati—3, 11, 12, 13, 29, 33, 36, 39,44, 45, 47,48, 49, 50, 56, 5 7 ,5 8 ,7 0 ,82,84,85,87,98,99,209,214 Gauhati Christian Hospital—98-99 Gauhati Nursing School—99 Gauhati Policy—189-191 Gauhati Temperance Society.—56 Ghasi-Miri—203 Ghokimi—148 Goalpara—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54,61, 83, 84, 87. 88 Godhula ( Rufus Brown )—34, 57, 63, 64-65, 85,137 Golaghat—85, 91,96-97, 102, 103,107,123,197, 209, 211 Golaghat-Jorhat Association-—85,123,207 Golaghat Girls’ High School—96-97 Golden Jubilee, Assam Mission.—54, 55, 62, 69,70-71,186 Goldsmith, C.—198, 210, 216, 219 Goldsmith, H.—56, 67-68, 87,103,105, 106, 139 Goldsmith, K.—212, 216 Goldsmith, Tuni John—56, 57,68 Goreham, Miss—78 Gorkha—174 Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Mission—59 Guibamreiyang—172-173 Gutzlaff, C.—-15 H Haggard, F,—115,116, 126 Haimong—64, 65, 66, 67,115 Hannay, Capt.—23 Haokip Kuki—170 Hasselblad, O. W.—98

[ 240 1 Hay, R. W.—75 Hayden, L. B 93 Helkhup—168, 175 Hepuni Kahikho—181 Hindu—12, 32-33,48, 64 Hmar—167 Hollei—80 Hubi—63, 132, 133 Huluyi—145 Huruang—176 Hutton, W. R—210

I Imkongmayang—133 Imphal—73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 144, 158, 160, 167, 172, 173, 174, 180 Imphal Christian Centre—174 Impur—70, 92,95, 105, 113-137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 148, 149, 150, 154, 198, 220 Inaho—151 Independent Church of India—167 Indo-Burma Pioneer Mission—77, 161, 166, 167 Ivilho—148

J Jaintia—3 Jaipur—9, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 61, 63 Jamkithang—168 Jenkins, F.—4, 16, 17, 27, 29 Jhargong—64, 84 Jikamang—175 Jinlakpou—174, 175, 176 Jodonang—178, 179 Joint-Committee—207,208,209,210,212,213,214, 215,216 218

[241

]

Jones, J. I.—15 Jorhat—3, 4, 28, 96, 98, 101, 112, 142, 143, 144, 198, 220 Jorhat Baptist Church—108 Jorhat Bible School—101-112, 121, 122, 129, 132, 135, 175, 206 Jorhat Christian High School—105-107, 164, 211 Jorhat Christian Hospital—98 Jorhat Christian Schools—94,96, 98,99, 101-112, 142, 143,187, 205, 221 Jorhat Industrial School—105,106 Jorhat Middle English School—105, 106 Jorhat Normal School—105, 106 Jorhat Nursing School—98 Joujang—170 Judson, A.—16,197 K Kabo Valley Thadou Kuki Baptist Association—171 Kaikao—174,175 Kaisar-i-Hind—165 Kalang—36 Kambholen Singson—77,166 Kampai Cult—147, 157, 178-179 Kamrup—4, 5, 83, 84, 87 Kamrup, North—83,84,85,87, 204 Kamrup, South—87 Kamrup Baptist Association—87 Kamrup Garo Association—220 Kandura (Rollin Smith)—45,48, 49, 50, 53, 57, 86 Kangching—134 Kangpokpi—96,105,143,158, 160, 161, 164, 170,171 Kangpokpi School Strike—171 Kaphuniung David—174,177 Karen—30,46, 47, 52 Kathipri, O.—182 Keishamthong—167,173,174

[ 242 ] Keneise—146 Kenwar, A.—209, 210, 212,216: Khamti—1, 5, 6,16, 18, 19, 21, 27, 29 Khasi—6, 11,12,13 Khasi Hills—11, 87 Kheongmongan—123,131,137 K holiPuni—181 Khongjaron—159, 178 Khukiu—173 Khuvirkhe—153 Kijungluba—131 King, C. D.—67-68, 139-140, 189 Kincaid, E.—15-16 Kirby, H.W—86,98,108 Kirby, M. (Mrs. E. Berry)—99 Kiyeshe—151,152 Kiyui—149 Kohima—7, 67-68, 69, 70, 75, 79, 95, 97, 105,113, 123, 138-155, 160, 167, 168, 180, 181, 205, 206, 222' Kohima Bible School—142, 143 Kohima Field Church Council—139,146, 205 Kohima Field General Convention—139 Kohima High School—96,142,143 Koldharighat—204 Kolibar—34, 64 Kom—159 Kongan—135-136 Konoma—140 Konyak—22, 63,131, 132-136 Konyak Association—123,136 Krishna Pal— 11,12 Krungjeng—90 Kuishan—80 Kuithonang—177 Kuki—7, 77, 144, 157, 158, 159, 161, 165, 166-172, 173, 175, 177, 1 7 8 ,1 7 9 ,1 8 0 ,2 2 6

„c· ί 243 1 Kuki Baptist Convention—159 Kuki Christian Association (Organization)—159 Kuki Rebellion—7, 7 5 ,157, 160, 168-169, 174, 178,179 Kula Chandra Singh—73, 74

L

Labour Corps—144, 160,164, 168 Laibam—176 Lakhimpur—1 Lakhimpur, N orth—«4, 93, 200, 203, 204, 221 Lakhuti—128, 129 Ledo—86 Leishisan—80 Letjavum Sitlhou—171 Liangmai—146 Longja—169 Longjanglepzuk—63,133 Longkhobul—168,173 Longkura—118 Longna—133 Longri Ao—112,132, 133, 136, 220 Longsa—118 ( Longwell, R. B.—119,120,126 s Lorrain, J. H.—86 Lotha—7,69,70, 113,125,126,127,128,129,137 Lotha Association—123,125, 128 Loveday, Samuel—48 Lozami—149 Luichumhao, R.—164 Luikham, T.—78, 80 Lukhashe—153 Ltiziikhii—151,152

M achonthei—80 M adhunat Momin—197 Majuli Island—64 M a n ip u r - 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 72, 73-81, 83, 123, 142, 144, 156-183, 195, 199, 217, 220, 222, 226 Manipur Baptist Association No. 3—182 Manipur Baptist Association No. 4—159 Manipur Baptist Association No. 5—159 Manipur Baptist Association No. 6—159 Manipur Baptist Association No. 7—159 Manipur Baptist Association No'. 8—15S, 182 Manipur Baptist Convention—124,158, 159,160, 174 ; M anipur Census, 1910—81 Manipur Christian Association—158 M anipur Revival—83,161, 162, 163, 170, 177, 178, 181 M anipuri (Meithei)—76, 80, 163, 171, 174 ' ‘ Manving—135 M ao—155,159,180-182 LA Mao Gate—77, 181 M aram—159 M ark, A.—212 Mason, M. C..—53, 62, 93, 189 M atak—1, 3, 4, 5, 27 ' Maxwell, M ajor—76,79, 80 Mayo, Lord—74 ■’ Medkukla—128 1 Merangkong—63, 67,115,132 1 Merrill, A. F.—209, 210 Mikir—44, 46, 54, 57, 58, 61, 82, 85, 89-91, 139, l72i 22©1·5 1 Mikir Hills—57, 89-91 Miksha—160 Mingkham—135,136 .; Miri—10-11, 84, 86 Mishmi—6 ,n< ft Mission Advisory Council (Kohima)—139 Mizo Hills—77,161,168

[ 245 ] • Taning—144 /· , Tanqnist, J. E.—122, 141, 142, 149, 153 i ' Taobam—177 a 1 Tea (tea garden)—8-9, 59, 61, 62, 63, 69, 83, 84, 85, 86 Teba—168, 173 f!. ; γ .([ ... v.··' Tezpur—19,29 ; k, .............. Thadou—77,145, 166, 172 di r. : :: Thailand—15-16 ij_ - ·. Thangkhan Sangma—92,93-94 ! Thanglong—135, 136 ;:,5 i ,i. Thangmaibon (Imphal)—174 , > ; Thomas, J.—18,19,20, 60 | Thuku—32 .it! ■■M Tibet—11 .... .,;i; Tika—90-91 ,> Tikendra Jit Singh—73,74 ! ^ i H. > Tilak Chandra Handique—203, 204 ; ■ a .nu,-. a . .* Tilden,C —105 . >. j ,Αν,ΑΑ· Tirap—18,22 M' .■a 1. ·■; ..^· :a a.j Tiok—59 ■·. i ,-A f- .. >/. a . Tolrnan,C. F.—44,46, 57,58 Μ !li " · Tongkam Singsit—170 i ' a y · :,A:r;;;!r !A

[ 251] Tongkoi—161 Tosin—93 Trevelyan—17 Tripp, J.—93 Tripura—9 Tsungiki— 126 . Tuburi—68 Tuensang—113, 130 Tujangvaichong—144, 167, 170 Tura—6, 54, 82, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 110, 116, 160, 161, 218 Tura Christian Hospital—98 U Ukhrul—78, 79, 80, 81, 97, 105, 123, 142, 160, 163, 164, 165 1 6 8 ,1 7 1 ,1 7 3 ,1 7 4 Upper Chindwin K uki Baptist Association—171 V Vaiphei—167 Vankhosung— 129 Vankhosung Bible School—129 Vanzika— 166 Visathii—149 W Wakching—135, 136 Wanching—134, 135, 136 Ward, W.—57 W atrepara—47, 50 Welsh Presbyterian Mission— 13, 77, 78, 166, 167 W hite, Col.—6 Whiting, S. M.—10, 44, 69-70 Witter, W. E —69-70,127 Wokha—7, 67, 69,105, 125, 126, 127,128, 129

1252 ] Women’s American Baptist Foreign Mission Sc ciety—39,96,223 Women’s Council of the Assam Baptist Convention—98 Y Yandabo, Treaty of—3 Yemhi—149 Yikhum—126 Z Zeliangrong (Manipur)—156, 172-180 Zeliangrong (Nagaland)—138, 145, 146, 147 Zeme—146 Zhekikhe— 149

CHINA

MCIRTH EAST INDIA y

R

£

T IB E T

fc,/ n o tg ro -

BHUTAN

TD A . TIL TIL

Ji-g GOftLPftl ____ '^ . r/ K

£

· .

T M lT E fie B R T L J W A

TUOfV.

*

E A S T P A K IST A N

7* SftOKipf.

*

'‘ Jp*· OTBROCO-RJI. U 4 i w t p w iv

\ j ^ ^ ^ B 5 % t w r - ,/5wnsRni ffijS i ^ T =^ i > J 0 ^ V C 7 u iE n s fl^ c - w a c . ^

- - λ * ----------- )K (G i* ^ < / W < C (D K < EU . ' / / “ ' '·> *»-jUHiTeBDis t r ic t *

R.fVJA-stmL