The Assamese Christians

Name of the book: The Assamese Christians

Writer: Dr. Manjula Hussain

Publisher: Purbanchal Prakash, Guwahati

Pages: 111

Price: Rs 300

The Assamese Christians by Dr. Manjula Hussain is a consolidated study of Christianity amongst the people of various ethnic diversities in the Northeast part of India; the book scours the path of the religion from its introduction and inception to the present day practices, with a special attention to the Assamese Christians.

“The earliest entry of the Christians into North East can be traced much before the advent of the British rule. Sangma (1987) has mentioned that the earliest recorded visit by the Christian missionaries to North East India was in 1626 by two Jesuit Missionaries namely Father Stephen Cacella and Father John Gabrial, who were probably looking for a passage to Tibet and China . ”

It is interesting to note that when the other parts of India were going through a sea-change politically -Malik Amber founded the city of Aurangabad in 1610- the North East part opened up to Jesuit missionaries, and Christianity quietly made its headway into this part of the country. The actual religion though was introduced two centuries later, when “ on 23 rd March, 1836, two American Baptists, Nathan Brown and Oliver T. Cutter arrived with their families at Sadiya, an easternmost point in Assam (now in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh). ” Their mission was to reach the Chinese empire; but, Dr. Hussain writes, that they were probably destined by their Holy Ghost to proselytize the Assamese people.

The religious history of Assam in context of Christianity is so intermeshed with the political upheaval in the region, that one could well be said to complement the other. Dr. Hussain goes on to explain this in great detail and with data to back her claims. Her study of background literature is an impressive one and the contextual history of the other parts of the country are also hinted at through her well researched book.

She writes that while the Ahom kings were busy trying to keep their kingdom from falling apart, what with the indigenous communities from the nearby hills of the Brahmaputra valley and the Burmese intruding their territories frequently, the region was ravaged with war between the intruders and the allied forces of the British and the Ahom kings. The treaty at Yandabu, compelled the Burmese to retreat. It was at this time that the Assam came under the rule of the East India Company in 1826, after holding their own for 67 years against the British mega-corporation.

The political upheaval and the dousing of the same kept the British so busy that the “ role of the British Baptist mission and the Serampore Baptist Mission is noteworthy ” in the context of religious leadership.

Dr. Hussain draws inspiration from writers like Herskovits (1938) and Smith (1986) to go on to say that Christianity where embraced, is always reinterpreted in terms of the local beliefs and practices. She says that the practice holds good even in the northeast Indian context. The convert indigenous communities have retained their faith in clan and other social organization systems.

The book is a fairly detailed study of the Assamese Christians from an anthropological context. A student of anthropology or an avid reader of sociology can get information of the advent and the practice of Christianity in context to the Assamese people.

PATHIKA DHARA SARMA

Published on September 9, 2011