Christianity in Assam



Christianity is the third largest religion in Assam, a state in the north-eastern region of India. The total population of Christians in the state is 1,165,867, which according to the 2011 census comprises about 3.74% of the state's total population. After Islam, Christianity is also the second-fastest growing religion of Assam. The largest concentration of Christians in Assam can be found in the Dima Hasao District, where Christians number approximately 30% of the population. The second largest concentration is in the Karbi Anglong district where they form approximately 16.5% of the population.

History
On September 26, 1626 two Portuguese Jesuit missionaries, Cabral and Cacella, came to Assam. These two were the first missionaries recorded as having reached Hajo and Guwahati. There is no record of them having established any churches in the area, as at the time they were en route to Tibet.

The first Christian churches founded in Assam came with the arrival of two missionary groups in 1836. These two groups of missionaries were: in the first group- Nathan Brown and Oliver Thomas Cutter, and in the second group- Miles Bronson and his friend Jacob Thomas. The missionaries Brown and Cutter had previously been working in Burma. They carried with them a printing press and first arrived in Sadiya, the easternmost part of Assam. They started schools in the Assamese and Khaamti languages and published school text books in the local languages as well. The missionaries also began the translation of the New Testament into Assamese while still stationed in Assam.

Due to the 1839 Khamti rebellions, Brown and Cutter were forced to leave Assam for Jaipur, but after the move they continued to translate and publish into the Assamese language. In 1848 Cutter completed his translation of the New Testament into Assamese, which edition was first published as the 'Amaar Traankorta Jisu Christor Natun Niyom'. In 1854, Cutter published 'Christor Biworon and Xhubho Bartaa'. He also translated a few prayers to Assamese. Cutter's associate, Brown also produced a second translation of the Bible which was completed in 1903 by Brown with the help of his missionary colleagues.

Cutter had been born in United States in 1811. He started his journey towards the east in 1831 along with his wife Harriet Cutter. He first landed in Burma (Myanmar) and from there he crossed Patkai to reach Assam in 1836 along with Nathan Brown's family. Cutter and Brown started a publishing company in Sadiya. The two published books in the Assamese, Khamti and Singfou languages. They also started several schools and authored various text books in the local languages for use in the schools. After few years, Cutter's family came back to Assam and this time settled down in Sibsagar.

In 1836 the missionary Bronson began his work in Sadiya, Jaipur and Naamsang. Bronson started interacting with Naga tribes and first compiled his "East Naga Thesaurus." According to historian Mccangie, no European after or before Bronson had such a rapport with the Nagas. After some time Bronson became ill in his work in East Naga, and in order to regain his health he had to depart for Nagaon via Sibsagar.

In Assam, Bronson worked as both a missionary and as an educator. During the periods from 1848 to 1851 and from 1867 to 1871, Bronson took vacation from his works and went back to New York. Bronson was the main leader of the popular movement against the government policy of forcing the Bengali language as the official language of the courts and schools of Assam. In 1867, using Jaduram baruah's scripting, he published the first Assamese and English dictionary. The dictionary contained around 14 thousands words and was published from the Baptist Missionary Press of Sibsagar. This dictionary was another strong step in support of the Assamese language.

Bronson also created his own translation of the Bible into Assamese. Nidhiram Keot, the first native convert in the whole of Northeastern India from the Keot(Kaibarta) community (an aboriginal tribe Sanskritised to a low position in the caste hierarchy), was baptised by Bronson on June 13, 1841 and took up the name Nidhi Levi Farewell.

Current status and overview
The Khasi and Boro tribes comprise the great majority of the Christians in Assam. Among the large and primarily Muslim Bengali population found in Assam there are very few Christians. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States was first formed as an Evangelical Lutheran diocese in 2003, and was previously known simply as the "Assam Church".

Trends
Percentage of Christians in Assam by decades

Population by Tribes
Christian population in Assam by Tribes (2011)

Of 11.66 lakh Christians in Assam as of 2011 census, only 4.95 lakh are from the Scheduled Tribes (ST), forming 42.5 percent of all Christians in Assam; while the remaining 57.5 percent of the Christian population are from the non-ST communities most particularly from the Tea-Garden community.

List of denominations
Sources


 * Association of Regular Independent Churches of India
 * Assam Baptist Convention
 * Boro Baptist Church Association
 * Boro Baptist Convention
 * Cachar Hill Tribes Presbyterian Synod
 * Christian Fellowship Centre
 * Church of Christ (Instrumental)
 * Church of God (Anderson)
 * Kuki Christian Church
 * Karbi-Anglong Baptist Convention
 * Lakher Independent Evangelical Church
 * North Bank Christian Association
 * Rabha Baptist Church Union
 * United Pentecostal Church in India
 * Biateram Presbyterian Synod
 * Cachar Christian Association
 * Holy Christ Church, Tribon North East India
 * Moravian Church, Binnakandi, Cachar
 * Christian Revival Church
 * Moravian Church, Binnakandi, Cachar
 * Christian Revival Church