Christianity and North East

• Author: GREAT MASTER VIKRANT ROHIN
• Date: MAY 3, 2023

Is the Northeast really under threat from Christianity? How Northeast India Was Christianized In The Last 100 Years

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A PROBLEM BUT THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM POPULATION IS A BIG PROBLEM. WE HAVE SEEN 1500 YEARS OF MASS GENOCIDE IN THE WORLD DONE BY THEM.

 The Centre For Policy Studies (CPS) has published its latest note on the Religion Data Census of 2011. The note shows how the demographics of the northeast have drastically changed in the last century.

Northeast India forms a major region of Christian concentration in India today. Of the 2.78 crore Christians counted in 2011, 78 lahks are in the northeast (including Assam). This is the largest concentration of Christians in India after the coastal region stretching from southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala to coastal Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra.

But unlike other regions, the spread of Christianity in the northeast is almost entirely a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Much of the Christian expansion in the northeast occurred during 1931-51, and more prominently during 1941-51.

This expansion has continued unabated since 1951. The tribal populations of Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland have now become almost entirely Christian.

Meghalaya

The earliest part of the northeast to witness the expansion of Christianity was Meghalaya. This was largely because the British administrator handed over the responsibility and the budget for school education to the Christian missions.

Notwithstanding the early arrival of Christianity in Meghalaya, the spread of Christianity there was relatively slow after Independence. But the share of Christians in the population of Meghalaya has continued to rise robustly from decade to decade and reached nearly 75 percent in 2011. It seems some of the tribes in Meghalaya are still resisting conversion.

Mizoram

Mizoram was the next state to be Christianised. There was a sudden spurt in the number and share of Christians in the total population during 1911-1931. And, in the next two decades spanning 1931 to 1951, nearly the whole of the tribal population of Mizoram was converted to Christianity. The share of Christians in the population of Mizoram in 1951 was above 90 percent; it was less than three percent in 1911.

Manipur

This state was Christianised mainly in the decades following Independence. The share of Christians in Manipur now is 41 percent. It was around two percent in 1931 and 12 percent in 1951. The share of Christians in the total population seems less than in the neighboring states, but this is mainly because of the large non-tribal population of the Manipur Valley. The hill districts of Manipur, which have mainly tribal populations, are almost fully Christian now.

Nagaland

Christianisation of Nagaland happened mostly in the decades leading to and following the Independence. The share of Christians in the population of the state was around two percent in 1911, which increased to 13 percent in 1931 and to 46 percent in 1951.

By 1991, the share of Christians reached above 87 percent. By that time, the tribal population of Nagaland was nearly fully Christianised. Of the Scheduled Tribes population of 10.61 lakh counted in that year, 10.44 lakh were Christians, and they formed more than 98 percent of the population of the Scheduled Tribes.

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh remained beyond the reach of the Church until 1971, when the area was brought under civil administration. Since then, the share of Christians has been rising rapidly from decade to decade and has reached above 30 percent now. Many of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh have now acquired large Christian majorities.

Assam

Assam, like Meghalaya, had acquired a significant Christian presence already in 1901. About 22,000 Christians were counted in the state at the time. These early Christians were mostly from the migrant tribes in the tea plantations of upper Assam.

The number of Christians in Assam has since multiplied 85 times, and their reach has spread to many of the indigenous tribes. Their share in the population, however, is much less than in the surrounding hill states. Christians had a share of 0.4 percent in 1901. Their share in 2011 reached 3.75 percent.

Their share in the tribal-dominated districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hsao, and in some of the Bodo districts, is much higher.

Tripura

There were only about 5,000 Christians in Tripura in 1951. Today, the number stands at 1.6 lakh. Much of the rise has taken place after 1981 and particularly during the last two decades.

Sikkim

Sikkim, in the neighbourhood of the northeast, has also seen a rapid expansion of Christianity since 1971.

The share of Christians in the population there has reached nearly 10 percent from less than 0.8 percent in 1971. There has been a similarly rapid rise in the share of Christians in the neighboring Darjiling district of West Bengal.

The distribution of Christians in India according to the Census of 2011. (Photo Credit: CPS)

The history and timing of the Christianisation of the northeast indicate that administrative, political, and strategic impulses have played a large role in this phenomenon. The early beginning of Christianisation in the hill states of the region was encouraged and facilitated by British administrators. This facilitation went to the extent of vesting the entire responsibility and budget of school education on the church in the area that now forms Meghalaya.

Christian missionaries obtained similarly close cooperation from the British administration in the Lushai hills, which now form Mizoram.

The tentative spread of Christianity through the cooperation of the British administration in the earlier part of the twentieth century was followed by a great spurt at the eve of Independence.

The data clearly shows that Christianity got entrenched in the tribal populations mainly during 1931-51. In that period and following Independence, the Church began to inspire and lead the various militant assertions of tribal and regional sub-nationalism in this region. This seems to have helped the continued expansion of Christianity throughout the region after 1951.  

CHRISTIANITY – A THREAT?

Interestingly, the rate of conversions to the fold of Christianity was so rapid that many north-eastern states with no footprint of Christianity have today become Christian-dominated states. Let us take a few examples to understand the magnitude of this conversion. In the state of Sikkim, in 1901, there were only 136 people who were practicing Christianity. Today 15% of people there are Christians. Similarly, for Arunachal in 1901, there were no Christians. In 1971, around 0.7% of people converted to Christianity, and today a whopping 39% of people in Arunachal associate them with Christianity. In Meghalaya, in 1901, only 6.1% of people were Christians. In 1951, it went up to 54%, and today more than 70% of Meghalaya’s total population associates them with Christianity. Now let’s see what happened with Mizoram. In Mizoram, in the year 1901, only 45 people were Christians. Today it has gone up to 87%. In Nagaland, in 1901 there were 6.1% of people associated with Christianity, but today more than 90% population in Mizoram are Christians.

Northeast forms a significant region of Christian concentration in India today of the 2.78 crore Christians counted in 2011, 78 lakhs are in the Northeast (including Assam). The above-stated figures testify to the fact that missionaries have played an active role in altering the demographics of north-eastern India. It is also a fact that most north-eastern states where Christianity became predominant have had a history of successionist movements. These successionist forces often demand the separation of north-eastern states from India. They do so by fuelling their argument that claims northeast India has different cultures and traditions, which are different from the rest of India. For example, the militant group of Nagaland demands a particular Nagalim country, and their demands are motivated by Christian religious philosophy. These militant groups clearly endorse the Christian religious philosophy. They also have some backing on the ground as the Church and missionaries often try to generate perception in favor of such successionist forces.

Not just succession forces, a section of left intellectuals also, over the years, promoted the alienation of North-eastern states from the rest of India in the name of different cultural practices of Northeast India. In this entire process, they advanced the argument that not just from a cultural perspective but from a religious perspective, also north-eastern part of India is different. The church and missionary forces that had received foreign funding unabated over the years also worked relentlessly on the ground to carry out their conversion process and show the North-eastern part of India different.

For missionaries, the main target of conversion has always been those tribes residing in hilly Northeast areas. Today an average of 70% population in hilly regions of the Northeast have been converted to Christianity, which is a worrying trend for India’s unique and diverse identity. When the tribes of the North-eastern region convert, not just do they move out of the Sanatan Dharma fold, but also, they give up their unique customs and cultural practices. Also, the conversion to Christianity in North-eastern states poses a severe threat to national security as most north-eastern states are surrounded by international borders.

The activities of missionaries with an objective to convert the population in the Northeast started way back during the British era. That is the reason they brought the ILP system to regulate the movements of people from the rest part of India to the north-eastern region. This was the time when at one side people from the rest part of India were denied access to the north-eastern region and on the other side, Christian missionaries were sent to these areas to carry on their conversion activities.

But even after independence, the conversion mission by Christian missionaries continued as the government who were ruling back then was close to these missionaries. Between 1947 to 1990, the Christian missionaries gained more momentum and it is during this time period, Northeast India saw a major tectonic shift to Christianity, especially among tribal populations.

The right to choose religion is one thing. But the unabated conversions with a specific objective to promote successionist forces and alienate the north-eastern part of India need our attention. In recent years, there has been a change in our country’s political dynamics that has helped slow down the conversion activities in India. However, the efforts are not enough as, till today, many people associated with missionaries travel to India on a tourist visa and, in an unobtrusive manner, conduct a conversion process in India, which needs to be stopped. Also, the government must bring anti-conversion solid laws to prevent Northeast India from further damage. The government should formulate some effective policies that would discourage conversion activities and promote converted people returning to their original sanatanic fold.

It is a well-known fact that to preserve the co-existence nature of Bharat, it is essential to keep Indic faiths as dominant forces in every part of India. Once India loses its Indic faith, it builds up a framework for the growth of anti-India and successionist forces.

Lastly, we must pay attention to what Dr. BR Ambedkar said about conversion to Christianity and Islam.

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A PROBLEM BUT THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM POPULATION IS A BIG PROBLEM. WE HAVE SEEN 1500 YEARS OF MASS GENOCIDE IN THE WORLD DONE BY THEM.

Christians in North-East are not enjoying life because of Christianity, rather they are enjoying their life on funds allocated for North-East states by Central Government and the maximum money comes from taxes of Hindus of plain and plateau states.

Author: Master Vikrant Rohin is an international author, and more than four countries’ schools are using his books in the core curriculum of education. He is the author of twenty different subject books. History, Economics, Chemistry, Physics, English, Biology, Geography etc. Most of his students hold high-ranking positions in the public and private sectors. He has cracked the world’s toughest exam, the "Civil Services Examination (UPSC)," eight times. Always a topper in academics, he was also a top-class sportsman, a state boxer, and a basketball player.