Articles

Contributions of the Roman Catholic Church in Mizoram in 73 Years (1947- 2020)

Opinion | Articles | Luke Sangkima | 15-Jan-2022

Introduction

During December 10 – 12, 2021 the Diocese of Aizawl celebrated its Silver Jubilee. It should have been held exactly on February 7, 2021 but because of the Covid pandemic, the celebration was held on the dates noted above. The story goes like this. Chittagong which was earlier a parish center was upgraded as a full-fledged diocese in 1927. It was created by slashing the Diocese of Dacca which was created in 1886. Since then, Mizoram the erstwhile Lushai Hills was under the Diocese of Chittagong. From there the Catholic priest for the first time visited Mizoram. In the meantime, in 1947 the Indian Sub-continent was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Hence, the ramification necessitated the creation of a new ecclesiastical unit and the outcome of which was the creation of Prefecture Apostolic of Haflong in 1952.

 After 17 years, the Prefecture Apostolic of Haflong was upgraded as a diocese and its see was shifted to Silchar and hence the Diocese of Silchar in 1969. Meanwhile, the Diocese of Silchar underwent yet another change after the formation of the Dioceses of Diphu and Agartala in 1983 and 1996 respectively. Following the creation of the Diocese of Agartala, the Diocese of Silchar was ramified once again and became the Diocese of Aizawl with Aizawl as its episcopal see with effect from February 7, 1996. This is how the Diocese of Aizawl came into being.

Predicaments of the Catholic Church

 Now, the contributions of the Catholic Church in Mizoram will be discussed in brief during the period under review. But before doing so, the predicaments created by the Government of British India against the Church through the Provincial as well as the District authorities will be highlighted in very brief to make the readers aware of the difficulties faced by the Church in its early years of existence.  

The authorities of British India at every level of administration restricted the coming of the Catholic Mission in Mizoram. Despite this fact, Rev. Fr. Phileas Boulay after obtaining permission with many difficulties visited Mizoram in 1925. The restriction, thus sternly delayed the entry of the Catholic Mission in Mizoram for more than two decades thereby causing serious impediment upon the future growth of the Catholic Church in Mizoram. Further, it may be indicated that in India the British Government followed a policy of strict neutrality towards religious matters because it had realized that India was a religiously divided nation and the natives were religiously very sensitive as well.

 However, in the case of North East India, the Government modified its policy towards religion because the Government was fully convinced that there were no religious prejudices among the hill tribes. Also, the change of policy was possible when the Government deeply felt the need for the services of Christian missionaries in its attempts to pacify the rude tribes of the region. Therefore, the Government firmly believed that the pacification of the tribes could be done through the spread of the gospel.

 In the meantime, Her Majesty Queen Victoria officially annexed India by Act for the Better Government of India with effect from August 2, 1858. Following this, the Queen also proclaimed British religious policy with effect from November 1, 1858 for the whole Empire. The proclamation itself is so significant that ostensibly it enshrined freedom of worship to all its subjects because of his or her religious faith and belief and that no authority concerned was obliged to interfere with it. Above all, the proclamation was the first major religious statement ever made to the world by the British Government. Moreover, the proclamation vividly defined the structure of the British religious policy to be followed throughout the Empire.

Despite the policy statements made above, the Government of India through the Provincial as well as the District authorities openly barricaded the entry of the Catholic Mission in Mizoram thereby depriving the Catholics of their right to freedom of worship which the members of the other denominations were privileged to enjoy it even though no authority was empowered to infringe the proclamation. This was a clear violation of the policy.

 Amidst such artificial restrictions imposed upon the Church, the leaders of the newly formed group repeatedly sent petitions after petitions thereby requesting the authorities through the District authority to allow the Catholic priests to visit Mizoram. Meanwhile, unexpectedly, the Government of Assam granted permission to the priests to visit Mizoram for the second time in 1935. Thus, Rev. Fr. L. Goggins and Rev. Bro. Godfrey after walking on foot for six days from Dwarbond reached Aizawl on November 11, 1935 and stayed at Aizawl for six days only.

 Although the Missionaries visited Mizoram in 1935, the Catholics in Mizoram had to wait yet a decade more to see the faces of the priests in Mizoram. Thus, at long last, unexpectedly the Government of Assam sanctioned an order allowing resident priests in Mizoram with immediate effect on 15 December 1946. The permission that was easily granted by the acting Governor, Sir Henry Foley Knight, therefore, evidence indicates that all sorts of problems which had been created by British India thus impeding the Catholic Church for more than two decades in Mizoram were not constitutionally sanctioned. 

 Soon after the prohibition was lifted, the Bishop of Chittagong Most Rev. Alfred LePailleur CSC, appointed Rev. Fr. Alphonse DeMontigny CSC and Rev. Fr. Lavoie CSC to go to Aizawl to survey the place. The two priests then proceeded on 13 January 1947 and reached Aizawl the next day. Rev. Fr. Montigny in his report commented thus, “Only the real love for souls keep our courage up.” This time the visiting priests were altogether given 11 days: 4 days for the road and 7 days with the people. The two missionaries then left Aizawl on 22 January 1947 with a plan to return and take up permanent residence.

 Hardly three months after the two missionaries had returned to Chittagong, the headquarters of the Congregation, the Bishop of Chittagong appointed Rev. Fr. George Breen CSC in-charge of Mizoram. At the same time, Rev. Bro. Gilbert Boucher CSC was also assigned to assist the priest. The two missionaries then took up their assignments and began to move towards Mizoram and reached Aizawl on 15 April 1947. They were the first Holy Cross family members who took up permanent residence in Mizoram.

             Thus, with the arrival of Rev. Fr. George Breen CSC and Rev. Bro. Gilbert Boucher CSC in Mizoram on 15 April, 1947 as resident missionaries, the catholic faith has to stay and since then “the fire on the altar is kept burning” in Mizoram. Therefore, 15 April, 1947 is reckoned as the official date for the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church in Mizoram.

Contributions of the Church in Mizoram

            In this endeavour, it will be laid stress mainly in the field of education and political domain as well because the contributions of the Church are found more prominent in these two spheres.  It may be noted that there are other areas where the Church has been making contributions but not as significant as the other two noted above. At the same time, the number of local vocations of different Congregations is also shown because this will indicate the achievement of the Church during the period under review. About the contribution in the field of political domain, we mean to say that the contributions of each politician as a Church member are outlined together as contributions of the Church as a whole. With this idea in view, we may now proceed on.

 Let us first discuss the works of the Church for the upliftment of the people of Mizoram in the field of education. The missionaries coming over from Chittagong started the works in Mizoram and did them according to the demands of the local situation. As already noted above, Christ The King Parish was founded in 1947, followed by St. Peter The Apostle Parish which was formed in 1952. The third parish called St. Joseph The Worker Parish, Kolasib was created in 1953. Now, the hard nut to crack is: when did the first Catholic school open in Mizoram?    To establish the fact, a further investigation is necessary. However, one reliable account informs us that there were 3 and 2 schools at Christ The King Parish, Aizawl and St. Peter The Apostle Parish in 1952 respectively. Yet, the problem is with the former because the founding of the ecclesiastical see at Aizawl was 5 years earlier than the latter. Hence, it is assumed that one or more schools should have been established during this period at Aizawl. Whatever might be the case, the fact is that during the period between 1952 and 1960s the Church opened a primary school at every village where the catholic community was formed. This means that there should have been at least 25 schools under the management of the Church until the Mizo District Council took over them in 1963. However, the school at Tlangnuam locality was not given to the District Council. So, the school was taken over by the Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany, (in short BS) in February, 1969 and it was christened as Mary Mount School. In this connection, it may be pointed out that according to Sr. Edleburgh the primary school was started by Rev.Bro. Godfrey Danis in 1952 but this version is disputable because it was rather started by the Fathers and the same was under the management of the Fathers until the school was taken over by Bethany Sisters in 1969. This argument is supported by the account given by Rev. Fr. George Breen to Rev. Bro. Godfrey Danis soon after he arrived at Aizawl. He arrived in Aizawl on May 12, 1952.  Soon after Bro. Godfrey arrived in the Lushai Hills, Mgr. Breen explained to him the difficulties the missionaries were facing about the primary schools they had opened and asked him to do something to remedy the situation. According to Mgr. Breen the main trouble maker was the Inspector of schools. Rev. Bro. Godfrey started St. Paul’s School with IV, V, VI classes on January 12, 1953. In those days these classes were under the management of Middle School. In his letter addressed to Rev. Bro. Provincial, Rev. Bro. Godfrey Danis expressed his happiness that he could now fulfill his dream of opening the school in response to the invitation of the Lushais whom he met at Chittagong 25 years then and writes:

 “I do not hide from you the happiness I feel in opening the first school in the Lushai Hills; my most sincere gratitude to Our Lord for having designed to use such an unworthy instrument to kindle the light on the mountain. None of my previous foundations have given me such great pleasure; it is a dream of my youth that good Providence allows me to realize. When I was 25 years old, I saw the arrival in Chittagong of the group of Lushais who wanted Fathers, Brothers and Sisters for their country. With what pleasure I would have left at that time; the views of the Province were different.”

 The school was opened with 60 students and the number was increased to 115 the next year. For the Brother opening of the school was quite a challenge because the majority of the students were either failures or boys who had been dismissed from other schools for insubordination. Moreover, the Brother also had a problem that the school had not yet been recognised by the Government till the second half of the year. This could have a serious impact on the students that they would not be able to continue their studies in other institutions unless the school was recognised. To get recognition Brother kept fighting and wrote to the Director of Public Instruction (D.P.I) and also to Rev. Brother Roe, the Principal of St. Edmund’s College to use his influence. In short, the recognition was granted to St. Paul’s School with effect from October 4, 1953. This time all the Catholic schools, except that of Chhingchhip, got their recognition. In this effort, the Brother also sincerely acknowledged the services of Lawrence Chhunga, President and Dr. Khawma, Vice President of the Mizo Union Party and said that the two “bombarded the D.P.I. and the Minister of Education with frantic telegrams.” Bro. Godfrey also quoted the article published in the Mizo Arsi daily to this effect. The article reads: “Dr. Khawma spoke in glowing terms of the educational work of the Catholic missionaries; among other things, he told them that the only hope of the Lushais to have first-class institutions was with the Catholic mission.” Now, with this achievement, Bro. Godfrey hoped that things will go as planned. But it was not yet over. What had gone wrong suddenly?

 The wrong that had happened suddenly thereby affecting the missionary works in the whole of North East India was the visit of Nagaland by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, in March 1953. The Prime Minister did not get a good reception from the Naga who were clamouring for complete independence from India. He believed that the Baptist missionaries had inspired the Naga to rebellion. Consequently, the then Home Minister passed bitter remarks against the missionaries in the Parliament. Ever since the policy of the Government was one of the definite oppositions to the missionaries. Therefore, Provincial Governments were ordered not to allow the establishment of any new missionary institutions. As a result, the Catholic leaders took up the matter with the Governor of Assam at Shillong and Mgr. G. Breen was also asked to contact the Papal Nuncio in New Delhi. Nevertheless, a few months later the news came that the school was allowed to function as usual.

 In 1954 Bro. Godfrey opened St. Paul’s High School of class VII with forty students followed by classes VIII, IX and X at every alternate year and 1957 was the year of opening class X. There were 300 students for a school of four years old. It was in March 1958 that the first batch of students from St. Paul’s School appeared for the Matriculation Examination. 4 students out of 19 passed successfully and Lalnipuii was one of the three who secured First Class in Mizoram. The Matric results of the school were exceptionally good in 1961: 4 of them secured First Division and one of them got the first rank in Science of Gauhati University. They all got distinction marks in Mathematics and Science. In this connection, mention may be made that when Class IX was opened in January 1956, in addition to regular classes of Mathematics and Science, Additional Mathematics was introduced to those students who wished to take Science subject in college later. That was one of the significant contributions ever made by the Church to the students through the school. Many students thus benefitted from it and this destined the future career of many students.

 One of the notable contributions of the Church through the Holy Cross Brothers working at St. Paul’s School was the composition of a book of Arithmetic for Middle School classes. At the beginning of the year 1956, Revs. Bro. Aurele Tessier CSC and Bro. Paul CSC were asked by the Deputy Inspector of Schools to prepare the book. By the end of the year, the work was completed and the manuscript was sent to Calcutta for printing. The book was entitled CHHIARKAWP BU THAR. It became very popular.  

 After St. Paul’s School, a Middle School was opened at Chhingchhip in 1953 followed by the opening of St. Peter’s High School in 1962. The present St. John’s Higher Secondary was established in 1959 and two years before in 1954 Bro. Andre’s Industrial School had already been established at Kolasib. After St. John’s School, Maria Goretti School from KG to Class VIII was opened in January 1963. Mary Mount School was opened in February 1969.

 To make the paper moderately brief, the contributions of the Church towards the upliftment of the people of Mizoram may simply be summarised as follows: Right from 1947 to the present the Catholic Church in Mizoram has 53 educational institutions such as (i) College 1(one), (ii) Higher Secondary School 6 (six), (iii) High School 23 (twenty-three), (iv) Middle School 17 (seventeen) and Primary School 6 (six). It may be clarified further that of the 6 Higher Secondary Schools, 2 of them have classes from KG to class XII.  High Schools have classes from KG to class X. Similarly, Middle Schools have classes from KG to class VIII and Primary Schools have classes from KG to class IV.  Besides, the Church has also looked after 3 National Institute of Opening Schools at Kolasib, Lunglei and Mamit. They are manned by different Congregations. Through these various institutions, the Roman Catholic Church in Mizoram has been serving the needs of the people of Mizoram particularly in the field of education.

In the annals of the history of education in Mizoram the year 1958 is remarkable. L.S. Ingty, the then-District Commissioner of Lushai Hills was planning to open a college in Aizawl and asked Bro. Godfrey if he would accept to be the first Principal. Then the college called Aizawl College was opened on August 15, 1958. The college became later Pachhunga Memorial College, now Pachhunga University College. It was a night college. Rev. J.M. Lloyd of the Welsh Mission, the Headmaster of Government School also taught a subject. Soon Bro. Godfrey realized that the job was a heavy burden for him because the lecturers were volunteers already engaged somewhere else and they often absented themselves. So, Bro. Godfrey as the Principal had to take their classes. It was confided that students were very happy when a lecturer was absent because of Bro. Godfrey would take his classes. He did not get remuneration but was picked up by a vehicle. However, the jeep failed to show up very often and Brother had to walk. So, the credit of the new college may go to Bro. Godfrey who acted as Principal till December 1959. He left Mizoram for good on December 30, 1959 to South India to start new establishments for the Holy Cross Society.

 The achievement of the Church in terms of local vocations during the period under review is worth mentioning. The Church since its inception has so far been producing 155 local vocations belonging to the different Congregations as shown below:

1. Priests:  1. Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) – 13
2.      Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (CSC) – 8
3.     Diocesan – 15
4.       Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (MSFS) – 4
5.       Order of Friars Minor Capuchin ( OFM – Cap) – 2
6.       Society of Jesus (SJ) – 3

 Brothers: 1. CSC – 4 

1.    Brothers of St. Gabriel (SG) – 2

            III.  Sisters   : 1. Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC) - 46

2.    Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk (UST) - 2  
3.    Ursuline Franciscan Congregation (UFC) – 9
4.     Little Flower of Bethany (SB) – 21
5.    Franciscan Sisters of Servant of the Cross (FSSC) – 2
6.   Holy Cross Sisters (HCS) – 1
7.    Missionaries of Charity (MC) – 23

 The total number shown above includes all the local vocations of men and women even those who died and left the community. Among the priests so far 4 of them have died and one of them left the community. Amongst the Brothers, 2 of them died and 1 of them left the community. Amongst the Sisters, 2 of them died and no one is reported to have left the community so far.

 Now, the contribution of the Church in the field of the political domain will be highlighted. It is true to say that in the strictest term the political history of Mizoram started with the formation of the Mizo Union Party in 1946. Because of the movement undertaken by the party, the ancient political institution called “chieftainship” was abolished. And in its place, District Council was instituted in 1952. Again, owing to the political manoeuvring, a new constitutional development had taken place thereby substituting the District Council into Union Territory in 1972. As we are all aware, Mizoram became a State in 1986.

  Following the political developments just narrated above, the roles of each catholic politician are discussed along with their social attestations by simply describing what they had done during the period in which they held the responsible posts in the institutions named above. The discussion is given based on age seniority and the roles of 10 politicians are attempted.

 Maria Christina Hmingliani (1915 - 2004) was the wife of R. Thanhlira. Under her auspices, a woman's voluntary organization called Mizo Hmeichhe Hmasawn Pawl was formed on July 14, 1046. But the name was changed as Mizo Hmeichhe Tangrual Pawl on July 16, 1946. The name retains it till today. Under her leadership the organization asked the District Council to abolish the “bride-price” but the Council could not do it. As a result, when Hmingliani got married she did not accept her price from her husband’s family. Hence, she married without a price. In 1957 Hmingliani became a nominated member of the Second Mizo District Council. Due to the pressure of the women group the First District Council in 1952 passed legislation thereby allowing women to inherit property by undertaking “will”. However, there was an attempt on the part of the Council to reverse the legislation. Then the matter was hotly debated in the session. The majority of the members were against it but due to Hmingliani’s insistence, the debate ended in her favour. The right is still in force in Mizoram. So, her name deservedly finds a place in the pages of the history of Mizoram as a social as well as a political reformer.

Thanhlira (1917 - 2002) after graduating from St. Anthony College started his career by joining World War II as a non-Combat clerk. During his four years and nine months, R. Thanhlira was decorated with four medals such as 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal and War Medal. After coming to Mizoram, he started a Mizo weekly called MIZO, the first weekly ever published in Mizoram. He also started what he called The Mizo Trading and Commercial Company. In 1950 R. Thanhlira wrote for the first-ever conducted Assam Civil Service exams and was selected as Grade I. But he did not join it. R. Thanhlira joined Mizo Union Party on May 13, 1947 as Vice President and was elected as President on November 1, 1948 which he held the post till October 1950. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from April 3, 1952 to April 2, 1958. By the 1950s the end of the Central Young Mizo Association was eminent. As a result of which the workers requested him to revive the movement by becoming its President which he flatly refused. Then he was elected as its Vice President. It is worthy to note that R. Thanhlira became a member of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) on September 16, 1964 and held the post till 1968. He also became Chairman of APSC from 30 August 1968 till the end of his term in 1974. He wrote 9 articles in English and 11 books in Mizo. By birth and qualification, R. Thanhlira was an ordinary man but by sincerity, devotion, honesty and quality he was above all others.

John F. Manliana (1918 - 1988) after finishing his education at Shillong continued his studies at Gauhati Medical College for the degree of Licentious Medical Practioner (LMP). While studying there he joined the army till he was promoted to the rank of Captain. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1963 and 1967. John F. Manliana then settled at Shillong until he came back to Mizoram in 1983.  He also joined the underground movement and he was with the movement for some time.

            Frederick Sangkunga (1920 - 1957) passed his matriculation from St. Anthony High School, Shillong in 1943 and from there he joined Viceroy’s Commissioned Officer. After completing his training, he joined Royal Indian Army Service Corps. When the war was over, he resigned as Subedar. Soon after he left the service, he underwent training as an optician at Calcutta. Later, he joined Mizo Union Party but was arrested and put into prison. He was elected as a member of the District Council in 1952 and became one of the Executive Members in-charge of Finance, Revenue and House Site.

 Lawrence Ch. Chhunga (1922 - 1988) had become interested in politics when he was studying at St. Anthony’s School, Shillong. But before he finished his Class X Ch. Chhunga joined Royal Indian Navy in 1941. In 1952 he contested the election but was defeated. However, in 1970 Lawrence Ch. Chhunga contested the election as Mizo Union Party and was elected for the first time as a member of the Mizo District Council. The Congress party formed the government but it did not last long. Consequently, a new government was formed by the United Parliamentary Party in which Lawrence Ch. Chhunga was the Chief Executive Member (CEM). In 1972 the District Council was elevated to Union Territory and the first election for the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) was held in April. The Mizo Union Party formed the government and Ch. Chhunga became the first Chief Minister of Mizoram on May 3, 1972 and held the post till 1977.

John Lalsangzuala (1924 - 2007) joined the Assam Regiment of the Indian Army on November 8, 1941 and was promoted to Gazetted rank of Viceroy Commissioned Officer. He took part in the war against the Japanese during 1942 -1945 in World War II. For the first time, John Lalsangzuala joined the Indian National Congress in 1970 and was elected as MLA in 1972, 1989 and 1993. He was an MLA for 15 years and Minister for 13 years. Besides, John Lalsangzuala held important positions in the Party. Concerning non-governmental organizations, Lalsangzuala is actively involved with YMA. He became Assistant Secretary of CYMA (1959-1961), Executive Member (1985-1987), President, Kulikawn YMA (1959-1970, 1972-1977), President, Mission Veng YMA (1979-1986). John Lalsangzuala also became Member Director, National Council of Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) of India (1991-1994); Vice President, (1983-1988) and President (1988-1998) of Aizawl YMCA. He also held the posts of Vice President (1995-1997) and President (1997-1999) of the National Council of YMCA of India, the first person from North East Region and the first Roman Catholic to hold such posts.

 Aloysius Thanglura (1926 - 1994) passed his Intermediate Science at St. Anthony’s College and continued his studies with English Honours at Cotton College, Gauhati. But he went back to Shillong where he did his studies with English Subjects but not with honours.         A. Thanglura got his degree of Bachelor of Law from Gauhati University in 1950. Before joining politics A. Thanglura started to write articles in the Assam Tribune daily. As his interest in local politics increased Thanglura contested in the MLA elections as a Mizo Union and was elected in 1957. He was given the post of Parliamentary Secretary and later he was promoted as Chief Parliamentary Secretary. Simultaneously he also held the post of Deputy Chief Whip of Congress Party of Assam. It is interesting to note that A. Thanglura founded Congress Party in 1961 and was elected Rajya Sabha member in 1962. In the 1967 elections, he was elected as MLA from Aizawl East and West constituencies and as a result of which he relinquished his Rajya Sabha and Aizawl East seats and this time he was promoted as Cabinet Minister of Assam and took oath on November 6, 1970. Thus, A. Thanglura became the first Cabinet Minister of Assam from Mizoram. He was the first and the last

 Francis Chawngnghina (1927 - 2013) had his education at St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. He joined the Congress Party. In 1970 he was elected as a member of the District Council from Circle XII (Sairang). Unexpectedly the Congress Party formed the government and F. C. Nghina was one of the Executive Members. But the government could not last long and a new government was formed in which F. C. Nghina was made the Chief Executive Member. Because of the instability of the government, F. C. Nghina again became Deputy CEM until the District Council was up-graded into Union Territory in 1972.

John Siamkunga (1961- ) joined politics in 1999 and for the first time, he contested the election from 29^th South Tuipui (ST) Assembly Constituency in 2009 and won it. In 2013 John Siamkunga again contested from the same constituency in which he was elected for the second time. As an MLA John Siamkunga, besides holding important positions in the party, was the Chairman of Mizoram Law Commission during 2013 – 2018.

Christopher Chalrosanga (1974 - ) was interested in politics when he was hardly 30 years of age and in 2009, he joined Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee known as Congress Party. For the first time in his political career, Christopher Chalrosanga contested the election for Member of Legislative Assembly in 2013 and was elected from Lunglei West Constituency. He is now holding the post of General Secretary of Congress Party. He also contested               bye-election for Tuirial Constituency but he did not win.

To add a bit more, the participation of the Church in the organizations called Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC) and Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF) are underlined below in very brief. MKHC was formed on July 30, 1982 to play the role of peace-maker between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front leadership. The Roman Catholic Church was one of the members since its inception. In this way, the Church played a part so that peace might have happened in Mizoram. In the same way, the Church is a member of MPF which was formed on June 21, 2016. However, some of the major Churches like the Baptist Church of Mizoram, United Pentecostal Church (NEI), The Salvation Army and Seventh Day Adventist have failed to enroll themselves as members of the forum. The aims and objectives of the forum, among others, are to have free and fair elections in Mizoram. In this way, the Church has through the two organizations played a part so that Mizoram may be a better place for politicking.

Besides, the Church has also been taking measures to promote the welfares of the people of Mizoram. In this connection, it may be pointed out that the Church has been serving the needs of the people through the Prison Ministry at Ramthar, Aizawl and Zoram Entu Pawl otherwise known as Social Service Commission, Tlangnuam, Aizawl. About the rehabilitation, the Church has Bethany Rehabilitation Centre, Sihphir and Peace Home, Zion Veng, Durtlang. The Church has also taken measures concerning public health. Now, it has MC Dispensary, Venglai, Kolasib, St. Peter’s Dispensary, Chhingchhip, Bethany Health Centre, Sihphir, Bethany Health Centre, Mamit, Bethany Health Centre, Venglai, Kolasib and St. Gerosa Dispensary, Kanhmun. The Church has also been serving the people of Mizoram through its bookroom (Catholic Book Centre) at Kulikawn, Aizawl.

In 1936 John Francis Laldailova son of Thangphunga, Tlangnuam, Lallinga son of Dohleia, Chief of West Lungdar and John F. Manliana, Kulikawn were sent to Chittagong to study under the sponsorship and care of the Holy Cross Fathers. They were the first Mizo boys ever supported by the Church. And later in 1953, Paul Zakhuma, a young teacher of St. Paul’s School was sent for special training at Notre Dame, USA. After completing his studies          Paul Zakhuma came back from Notre Dame to Mizoram on October 21, 1955. The educational background they had acquired thus helped them to have made rich contributions to society. They indeed adorned the Mizo society in the realm of literature and political domain. They were indeed the proud products of Mizoram.

Concluding Remarks

 Unofficially, the Catholic Church was formed in 1925 but officially it was founded in 1947. During this intervening period of 73 years, the Church in Mizoram has made commendable contributions, as noted above, especially in the field of education. However, in the political manoeuvring it may be said with confidence that the contribution of an individual politician is considered as contributions of the Church as a whole. As such, the contributions of the Church cannot be ignored in society even though the population of Catholics counts only 1.7% in Mizoram. As matter of fact, Mizoram is the least Catholic population State after Sikkim in North East India. So, to make more and meaningful contributions to society the Church in Mizoram has to make a paradigm shift from the existing teachings. The teachings of the Church will remain but the interpretation of some of the earlier teachings may be changed. Therefore, the need of the Church in Mizoram along with the Church the world over is to update herself.

            (The Author is a retired Professor of History, and lives in Aizwal)

 

 

 

 

 

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