In Search of A Context for A

Contextual Theology: The Socio-

Political" Realities of "Tribal"
Christians in Northeast India
LALSANGKlMA PACHUAU*

The Politics of Ethnonationalism in Northeast India

Two communities of Northeast India, the Nagas and the
Mizos, did not hoist the Indian national flag on the day of
Indian independence on August 15, 1947. There was a
"successful" protest among the Mizos against the celebration
ofthis day as the day of freedom. 1 The Naga National Council,
which claimed to have represented the entire Naga population,
was more than reluctant to become part of the independent
India. Many N agas regarded the 14th August 1947 as the
Independence day of N agaland. 2 Following the beginning of
an armed uprising in 1955, Nagaland was declared a sovereign
independent state with the formation of the N aga Federal
Government in march of 1956. Ten years later, the Mizo
National Front, a political party of the then Mizo District of
Assam, declared the independence of Mizoram from India.
The ensuing counterinsurgency movements in the two regions
were accompanied by large scale disturbances and inexplicable
military atrocities by the Indian armies. The fact that the
Mizos and the Nagas are the two "most Christianized"3
communities of India raised suspicions about the role of
Christianity in these so-called separatist movements.
The Hindu fundamentalist groups such as the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) denounced conversion to Christianity as the
root of these separatist movements.' Many Indian scholars also

"Mr. Lalsangkima Pachuau is working for his Ph.D. degree at Princeton

Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J., U.S.A. "
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 3

correlate conversion to Christianity with the secessionist

movements. A large number of non-Christian scholars may
still agree with S.P. Sinha who said,
They [the Christian m~ssionaries] are responsible for
fanning the basic distrust and fear among the Hillmen
[sic] for the plains-men [sic]. In fact Christian missionaries
are there not for advocating a faith but for keeping
imperialism alive. 5
The causal relationship between Christianity and the
secessionist movements, however, lacks historical evidence.
The allegations against Christian missionaries have slowly
subsided as independence movements have been taken up by
non-Christian communities in the region since the late 1970s.
The singing of the Peace Accord in 1986 by the Mizo National
Front and the Indian government put an end to the movement
for independence in Mizoram. In N agaland, the independence
.movement slowly lost its popular grip among the masses. Since
the late 1970s, especially after the failure of a peace attempt
in 1975, the movement seems to have been left to two hard-
core revolutionary groups of National Socialist Council of
Nagaland. However, the antagonistic relationship between the
Mizos and the Nagas on the one hand and their "non-tribal"
neigbours on the other is as vigorous as ever. The fire of
secessionism has spread to other states of the region. Today,
in addition to N agaland where the two groups of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland are still very active, :he United
Liberation Front of Asom is fighting for the independence of
Assam; in Manipur the United National Liberation Front and
the People's Liberation Army seriously engaged themselves in
the struggle for the independence of Manipur, and in Tripura
the All Tripura Tribal Force demands a separate homeland
for the tribals of the state. 6 For this author, all these
movements for independence or for greater autonomy are
outward expressions of inward conflicts. These movements
arose out of the conflicting loyalties of the people, the conflict
between their ethnic identities and their political identity as
citizens of India. In some ways, the movements may also be
seen as the product of the conflict between what anthropologist
Clifford Geertz calls primordial and civil sentiments of the
4 INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY
7
people. The civil sentiments-in this case-should be identified·
with the national majority's Indic sentiments. One intent of
this paper is to show that this loyalty dilemma issues largely
from the national majority's socio-religious system in the
"secular" India. Even in places where the independence
movements has lost its vibrancy (such as Mizoram) or where
there has not been such a movement (Meghalaya),
ethnonational8 feelings are very strong. To blame colonial
legacy or Christianity as the root cause of the problem, in the
opinion of this writer, is to miss the common thread that
binds all the movements together. This, however, is not to
deny the role Christianity plays in augmenting ethnonational
feelings within the Christian communities, but to suggest that
the impetus behind ethnopolitics in the entire Northeast India
lies in historical, racial, and cultural differences. In what
follows, I will propose that the manner by which the national
majority tries to incorporate these ethnically distip.ct peoples
called ''tribals''9 undermine their differences. Consequently, the
''tribals'' felt that they have been dragged into a "foreign"
system of social hierarchy which they resent. The ''tribals.'' In
my opinion, are repugnant to the socio-religious hierarchical
system inherent in the Indic civilization. This very system, in
their perception, has been imposed on them against their will.
In the multicultural and pluralistic society of India, attempts
to construct theologies of the people on the peripheries
including the so-called "tribals" have become a prevalent
scholarly exercise. This paper does not try to make a full-
fledged theological analysis nor tries to exert all appropriate
theological themes. The modest intent is to expose the socio-
political reality of the "tribal" people of Northeast India.
Presuming that meaningful theological constructs can be made
only with a perception of the reality of the people's life, I am
trying to present what I think is the crux of the socio-political
problems facing the Northeast Indians in general and the
tribal Christians in particular. If this paper either provokes
debates or incites further analysis toward constructing "tribal"
theologies, I will consider my purpose fulfilled. The political
and sociological interpretation offered in this study in part
aims at an honest sharing of views for a better mutual
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 5

understanding between the Northeast "tribal" and the rest of

the Indians.

The Region and its Historical Context

What is called Northeast India (hereafter NEI) in this paper
is a cluster of seven states in the eastern most part of India.
Physically, it is connected to the rest of India by a small strip
ofland in its western corner. With the exception ofthe Mughal
empire in India which ceded the western part of Assam for a
brief period in the second half of the seventeenth century,IO
there had never been a political linkage of the region with
India before the British period. Nevertheless, religious and
cultural connection with the Aryan-India had been maintained
by the "non-tribal" population of the plains. Hinduism appeared
in the history of the Assam plains as early as the writing of
Mahabharata in which assam was mentioned as Pragjyotisha. l1
The large-scale spread of Hinduism among the masses,
however, in Assam and the neighbouring Manipur and Tripura
appeared to have been relatively late. In the case of Assam,
such a movement is dated to have begun in the later part of
the fourteenth century and in Manipur, since the early part
of the eighteenth century.12 The British officially annexed parts
of Assam in 1826, made Manipur a "Vassal state"13 in the same
year, and gradually added the adjacent hill areas to Assam.
For most of the hill inhabitants, this was the first interaction
with the outside world. The fertile and naturally rich plains
of Assam and the naturally poor frontier hills were
administered differently. On the heels of the colonizers were
the missionaries representing various denominations and
countries. Among the Protestants, churches that originated
from the American Baptists and the Welsh Calvinistic
Methodists became the two largest denominations. The hill-
dwellers and their racial counterparts in the plains came to
be called "tribals" by the white administrators and
missionaries.

Identity Dilemmas
An emerging group ofsocio-political analysts on NEI accuses
the British policy of segregation as the main root of the
6 . INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

ethnopolitica1 tensions in the region. The policy is played out

clearly, they would argue, in the Inner Line Regulation of
1873 and the Government of India Act 1935. The former, which
is still continued today by the independent India, prohibits
outsiders from entering the hills areas without permission.
The latter conferred the status of "Excluded Area" to most hill
areas ofNEI "whereby the elected provincial legislatures ceased
to have effective jurisdiction over these tribal tracts."14 This
policy of segregation, they would conclude, foments ethnic
identity consciousness, and the political turmoil in the region
is largely the result of the "tribals" attempts to safeguard
their ethnic identity.15 The Colonial Government's explanation
of the policies was-and in the case of Inner Line Regulation,
the independent Indian Government's explanation has been-
that they sought to safeguard the interests of the "tribals."
While the position of this group of scholars is fairly well-
argued, it fails to take the historical context seriously. It
overlooks the fact that before the British period NEI was never
part of India. In fact, it was the British who incorporated the
region, especially the hill areas, as part ofIndia. Furthermore,
no attention is given to the Indian socio-cultural conditions in
which the "tribals" find themselves.
As indicated earlier, the thesis of this paper is that a socio-
cultural identity crisis underlies the ethnic-based political
endeavours in NEI. The so-called "ethnic unrest"16 in NEI
witnessed in these four decades of India's independence can
be explained as part of the communities' attempt to re-define
their identity in the changing socio-politocal scene. There 'ire
at least two layers of etluiic identity dilemma to be recognized.
These are: identity dilemma experienced internally by the
communities, and identity dilemma in relation to external
communities. While this paper will concentrate on the latter,
a few clarifications of the former are due. By internal ethnic
dilemma, I mean the problem of ethnic boundaries and
definitions between the "tribes." A few examples may clarifY
the point. A person of a "Hmar" "the tribe" or clan in Mizoram
identifies herself or himself as II Mizo, whereas a "Hmar" in
Manipur state identifies berself or himself exclusively as a
"Hmar." In fact, names of "tribes" like "Mizo" and "Naga" are
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 7

generic terms and have boundary problems. I? This problem is

more acute for the various ''tribes" in the state of Manipur
which lies physically between Mizoram and N agaland. Besides,
when it comes to defining identities, what constitutes a "tribe"
and what constitutes a "clan" are problematic. Internal ethnic-
identity dilemmas of NEI have received a good number of
attentions in recent years,18 but the tribals' problem of identity
caused by factors external to their communities, especially
the impact of the identity imposed on them by "non-tribals"
has not been given due attention. In the remaining sections of
the paper, I will try to address this issue, speaking as a member
of one of the "tribes," {e., Mizo. I deem it important that a
voice from within be heard in this question. The problem of
identity in relation to "non-tribals" arose, in my opinion, largely
as a result of the collision between the tribals' ethnic pride
and distinction, on the one hand, and the Indian social
hierarchical system, on the other. What exactly is the place of
the NEI "tribals" in the eyes of the national majority? How
acceptable is the Indian caste system to the "tribals" in the
eyes of the national majority? How acceptable is the Indian
caste system to the "tribals" of Northeast who are completely
foreign to the system?

The Problem of Difference

A Mizo, a Naga, a Kuki, or a Khasi, whom anthropologists
have been identifying as ethnically conscious "tribals" have
one common reason to be. They are historically, racially,
culturally, and religiously different from the rest of Indians.
In a nation like India where linguistic boundaries determine
state boundaries,19 where social stratification is based on one's
inherent" religious "class," maintenance of one's distinctive
identity has serious socio-political implications. A contemporary
theological hermeneutics that seriously takes the problem of
difference or otherness as a theoretical approach20 provides a
pertinent analytical tool for the studies of marginal identities
such as the "tribals". Hearing the voice of the unprivileged is
deemed a theological necessity in this hermenutics and requires
respecting their (the underprivileged's) otherness. The approach
attempts, inter alia, to liberate the oppressed from domination
8 INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

by the powerfuls. 21 A popular pattern of domination of the

minority by the majority is the process of homogenization.
Consciously or unconsciously, the pattern destroys the
otherness of the minority by avoiding the issue of difference.
Robert Schreiter has prudently suggested five ways by which
dominant groups avoid the issue of difference. He says "the
'us'" (1) homogenize the other (by ignoring and trivializing the
difference in order to dominate the other); it (2) colonize the
other (assuming the other as an inferior being who has to be
raised to our standard); it (3) demonize the other (and consider
the other as a threat to be expunged); it (4) romanticise the
other (and project otherness as of exotic nature that does not
threaten ''the us"); or it (5) pluralize the other (so that difference
does not really make a difference at all).22
The Indian national majority's failure to recognize the
otherness ofthe "tribals" and its attempt to erase the difference
has been a major factor in the political turmoil of NE!. The
ethnopolitics of the "tribals" in the region represents, to a
large extent, an attempt to resist the majority's efforts to
eradicate their distinctiveness or otherness. Understandably,
the degree of difference seems to prevail upon the intensity of
political resistance. Here, the role of Christianity in the
escalation of the difference and in the intensification of the
concomitant sentimental resistance against "non-Christian
India" is undeniable. At the psychological level, it is apparent,
for instance, that the Mizos who have became Christians feel
less at home in India than the Assamese or Meiteis who are
Hindus by profession. On the other hand, the efforts of the
majority to Wipe out the otherness of the tribals as a process
of their domination have also been intense. Rakshat Puri's
plea "to end the isolation of the tribals and bring them into
the social, economic and cultural mainstream of the country"23
is a good description of such attempts. Paramesh Choudhury
even goes to the extent of "discovering" the Indian origin of
the Chinese and hopes that. "this discovery will crack down
the theory that the hilly tribes of Eastern regions are of non-
Indian origin which paved the way to a great extent to flare
up the fire of secessionist movement."2" The policy of the
Government of India does not seem to be blind to such efforts
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 9

of domination. There are special provisions in the Constitution

to safeguard the minorities,25 but the national majority's
propensity towards assimilation is plain and discernible for
the "Tribals" of NE!. Assimilation, according to Donald
Harowitz,26 may either be "amalgamation" in which two groups
form a new group both losing their identities, or "incorporation,"
in which one group loses its identity by merging into another
group which retains its identity. There is no question that the
prevailing pattern has been the latter type. Not only are the
efforts for "incorporation" apparent, but also its terms and
conditions dictated by the majority. M.N. Srinivas and R.D.
Sanwal are not conjectural when they say,
Many amongst the regional segment of the national
majority not only want the tribal people in NEHA )North-
eastern Hill Areas) to be culturally assimilated into
Hinduism but also want it to occur on the majority's term,
that is, at the lowest level of the socio-ritual hierarchy. 27

"Tribal" Identity of Christians in NEI:

The role of Christianity in the process of modernizing the
NEI "tribals" is paramount. The British policy of minimal
spending and intervention in the administration of the hills 28
left the missionaries with "the burden" of bringing the "tribals"
into the light of the modern world. 29 The missionaries reduced
the languages to writing, introduced literature and took almost
the whole burden of education. In the case of Mizoram, the
whole educational responisbility had been vested on the mission
agencies from 1904 to 1947. Today, Mizoram has the second
highest literacy percentage in the nation. 31 As a colonial
administrator reports, the Colonial Government never spent a
significant amount of money on the education of he Mizos.
"The progress made," says this administrator, "has been due
chiefly to the missions and their own funds, a progress which
has placed Lushai [i.e., Mizo) very high up in the standards
ofliteracy."31 One might expect that Christianity in the region
would be western in character and form, but surprisingly
enough, as Mangkhosat Kipgen has rightly asserts, "tribal"
Christianity such as the Mizos' is "uniquely indigenous (in)
character."32 Christianity in many respects prepares the people
10 INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY
to face the impending modernity by helping to form a new
identity. Nevertheless, the new identity-which interweaves
the new religion and worldview with traditional identity-
faces a political and socio-cultural crisis in the "foreign" worlds
of the Indian socio-cultural and political sea, The "tribals"
self-image a combination of their ethnic pride and a high
estimation of their Christian identity, is in serious conflict
with their image in the hearts and minds of their fellow
Indians.
The role of the Indian Constitution regarding the status of
the so-called "tribals" is quite complex. As said above, it has
provisions to protect them along with other minorities, but it
also contributes in subjugating the "tribals" of NEI to "the
lowest level of the socio-ritual hierarchy" at least in two ways.
First, the very choice of the word "tribe" serves as a means of
oppression. 33 The English word "tribal"-as well as its root
"tribe"-is often a derogatory term. Some people use it as an
equivalent to "primitive society."34 It denotes a "pre-literate'
or 'pre-industrial'" society.35 To cite The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Sociology, it refers to "a pre-civilized stage of
human society" and "denote(s) emotional, pre-scientific, and
irrational behaviour."36 In a conversation with an African
scholar Mercy Amba Oduyoye, I was reminded that the word
is an English word used to define (in the case of Africa) the
marginalized indigenous people by the oppressive powerful
English immigrants. Today, many African scholars resent the
term, says OduyoyeY The choice of this word by the
Constitution of India is unfortunate. As the above quotations
show, the word "tribal" denotes a primitive stage in the
development of human society, thus, a temporary identity. By
adopting it as an official identification, the Constitutional usage
are quite incongruous. While the term certainly refers to a
pre-literate society, the Constitution of India uses it as a
reference to the people, including the Mizos, who are the second
most literate community ofIndia. 38 Under the category called
"Scheduled Tribes," the Constitution unites a whole cluster of
diverse ethnic groups to form a new category. This is an
artificial construction comprising diverse racial and cultural
representations. 39
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 11
Secondly, by categorically equating the Scheduled Tribes
with the Scheduled Castes, the Constitution not only imposes
caste hierarchy on the "tribal" people but also categorized
them at the lowest level along with the Scheduled Castes. The
"tribals"of NEI resent this "foreign" system and their place in
the hierarchy. The popular understanding of Scheduled Castes
(or more preferably Dalits) as "outcastes" or'"untouchables" is
unfortunate. The same image is being imposed on all the
"tribals," including those in NEI who knew no casteism. While
the country certainly needs to break the social impediments
fixed on the Dalits, why should the same predicament be
extended to other groups of people?
The conflict between the self-image of the "tribals" and their
actual place in the nation's socio-ritual hierarchy is a serious
matter. Like any other proud people, "tribals" of NEI do not
easily accept defeat and disdain. They are willing to pay high
prices to hold on to their pride and independence. But their
nature of pride and freedom-loving character have been
undermined by the caste-driven social hierarchy of their newly
"adopted" nation. In this "new situation," they understood
themselves to be displaced racially, culturally, and politically
and have become victims of cultural imperialism. They have
been accused of rebelling against their own nation while they
understood themselves to be hauled into a foreign system. If
solutions to the antagonistic relationship between the "tribals"
of NEI and the "non-tribal" population of India are to be
expected, they will have to come from both sides and largely
so from the hearts of Indian majority. In this relationship
problem, the blame has so far been laid on the "tribals."
Srinivas and Sanwallist some popular blames which they say
"only helps in diverting attention from identifying the real
factors responsible for weak integration." The list includes the
tribals "'rebelliousness' (and) 'inherent separatism'," along with
"the 'legacy of colonialism', 'conservatism of the tribes', 'ethnic
myopia', (and) 'activities of the missionaries'."4o This paper is
a modest attempt to suggest that the main culpable factors lie
outside the "tribal" domain of NEI. While the existing literature
implicates these "tribals" for separatism, we ask: Have they
ever been accepted as Indian by the heart of India? Are words
12 INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY

like "secessionism" appropriate when the national anthem itself

does not include the whole race and region east of "Utkala-
Banga" in its vision?

The "Tribal Problem" in the Light of Contemporary

Global Reality:
What is often described as the "tribal problem" in India has
in some way become a global phenomenon today. At present,
the world is undergoing the paradox of multicultural reality.
While modern technological communication system has
transformed the world into a global village bringing all parts
of the world into close proximity, we are just beginning to see
the power of ethno-religious identity consciousness in many
parts of the world. Charles West has rightly said, "(nationalism
and ethnicity) are abstract words, but they refer to the most
powerful forces at work in the world today."4} The expectation
of the western liberal humanist tradition to eliminate ethno-
based poli.tics through modernity have been proven wrong.
Ethno-religious politics have become the order of the day and
the movements of such nature are too numerous to be
numbered. To list some of the well-known ones, they are: the
Hindu-Muslim conflicts, the Serbian-Muslim ethnic wars, the
problems in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, the former USSR,
and among mahY nations in the continent of Africa. In 1994,
the WCC, the WARC, and the LWF jointly sponsored a
consultation on "Ethnicity and Nationalism" in Colombo (Sri
Lanka) and the meeting symbolically accepted the upsurge as
a challenge to the ecumenical church. The report of the
consultation says that "in more than fifty places around the
globe, violence has taken root between people who share the
same terrain but differ in ethnicity, race, language, or
religion."42 The so-called "tribal problem" in India has to be
perceived and analyzed in· this global context of
ethnonationalism. It is true that this new nationalism demands
a reformation of the national anq. international policies, but it
primarily calls for a theological undergirding that aims at
mutual understanding.,The situation needs a globally-informed
contextual theology, a theology that emerges from a·
hermeneutical system which takes the issue of identity,
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 13

otherness, and equality seriously.

References
1. R. Vanlawma, Ka Ram Leh Kei (My Country and I): Political History
of Modern Mizoram, Rev. (Aizwal: M.C. Lalrinthanga, 1989), 191-195.
2. Asoso Yonuo, The Rising Nagas: A Historical and Political Study (Delhi:
Vivek Publishing House, 1974), 176. According to N.K Das, it was the
extremist group within the NNC that delcared themselves independent
on this day. Th emovmenet towards indpendence gained momentum
within the NNC only since the later part of 1949. See N.K. Das, "The
Naga Movement," in KS. Singh, ed., Tribal Movements in India, Vo!.
1 (New Delhi: Manohar, 1982), 45.
3. According to the 1991 Census Report, 85.73% of the people in Mizoram
and 87.47% of the people in Nagaland are Christians while the Christian
community in India comprised only 2.32% of the total population. Census
of India 1991, Series-I, Paper 1 of 1995, Religion (Delhi: Controller of
Publications, Government of India, 1995), xi, xvi-xvii.
4. Peter Van der Veer, Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in
India (Barkeley & Lond: University of California Press, 1994), 136.
5. "Tenth Business Session (Discussion): Integration and Understanding
in the North-east" in The Tribal Situation in India, ed. by KS. Singh
(Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1972), 620.
6. Phanjoubam Tarapot, Insurgency Movement in North-Eastern India (New
Dlehi: Vikas Publishing YHouse Pvt. Ltd., 1993), xi.
7. Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New Yorl: Basic Books,
197),261.
8. I borrow this term from Walker Connor for whom nationalism in its
prestine sense isintegrally relatedto ethnicity. (See W. Connor,
Ethnonationalism: The Quest for understanding (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1994), xi). This, in my opinion, is how most "tribals"
of Northeast India understand their "national" identity. From this
perspective, India is a multinational country.
9. The words "tribe" and "tribal" have been useed insensitively by
anthropologists and sociologits in India due probably to the uncritical
use of the terms in the Constitution of India. The terms are quite
problematic and will be taken up later. To acknowledge the problem, I
use these words with quotation makrs throughout the paper.
10. H. Dihingia, Assam's Struggle Against the British rule (1826-1863) (New
Delhi: Asian Publication Service, 1980), 13.
11. Bangovinda Parampanthi, "Aryanisation and Assimilation of Assam,"
National-Buiding and Development in North East India, ed., Udayaon
Misra (Guwahati: Purbanchal Prakash, 1991), 106.
12. N.K Das, Ethnic Identity, Ethnicity and Social Stratification in North-
East India, 221, 255.
13. Ibid., 254.
14. Bhagabati, 148.
15. E.g., S.M. Dubey, "Inter-Ethnic Alliance, Tribal Movements and
Integration in Northeast India," in Tribal Movements in India, vo!. 1,
14 INDIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY
ed. by K.S. Singh (New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1982), 16; S.K
Chaube, "Ethnicity and Political Development in North-East India," in
Tribal Development in India; Problems and Prospects, ed. by B.
Chaudhury (Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1982), 144.
16. N.K Das, Ethic Identity, Ethnicity and Social stratification in North-
East India, 245. N. Nibedon uses "ethnic explosion" as the title of his
book North East India: The Ethnic Explosion (New Deli: The Lancers
Publishers, 1981).
17. For studies on the word "Mizo", see B. Lalthangliana, "Mizo," and J.N.
Phukan, "The Late Home of Migration of the Mizos," in Studies on the
Minority Nationalitiesof Northest India-The Mizos: Seminar Papers, ed.
by J.V. Hluna et. al., (Aizaw: Directorate of Higher & Technical
Education, 1992), 6-7, 8-11. For the word "Naga" see m.Horam, Naga
Polity (Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation, 1975), 21-26.
18. E.g.N.K Das, Ethnic Identity, Ethnicity and Social Stratification in
North East India: B.K Roy Burman, "Crisis of Identity among Mizos,"
in Tribal Transformation in India, Vo!. 3, Ethnopolitics and Identity
Crisis, ed. by B. Chaudhuri (New Delhi: Iner-India Publications, 1992),
534-549; B.B. Goswami, Mizo Unrest (Jaipur: Aalekh Publishers, 1979);
P.R.G. Mathur, "The Khasi Solidarity Movement," In Tribal Movement
in India, vo!. 1, ed. by KS. Singh (New Delhi: Manohar Publications,
1982), 181-202; inter alia.
19. Clifford Geertz, "The Integrative Revolution: Primordial Sentiments
and Civil Politics in the New States," in The Interpretation of Cultures
(BVasic Books, 1973), 255. Paul R. Brass, Ethnicity and Nationalism:
Theory and Practice (New Delhi and London: Sage Publications, 1991),
118f.
20. This hermeneutical approach is discussed and applied in a number of
theological literature. See, inter alia, Paul Knitter, "Toward a Liberative
Interreliigous Dialogue," Cross Currents 45 (no. 4, 1995-96): 451-468;
Jonathan Z. Smith, "What A Difference A Difference Makes," in To See
Ourselves As Others See Us": Christian, Jew, "Others" in Late Antinquity,
ed. by Jacob Neusner, et. al. (Chico: Scholars Press, 1985); David Tracy,
Plurality and Ambiguity: Hermeneutics, Religion, Hope (New York:
Harper & Row, 1987); Mark Kline Taylor, Remembering Esperanza: A
Cultural-Political Theology ofr North American Praxis (New York: Orbis,
1990).
21. Knitter, 462-466; Tracy, 79.
22. Robert Schreiter, "Teaching Theology from an Intercultural Perspective,"
Theological Education 24 (1989): 19.
23. Rakshat Puri, "Towards Security in the North-East: Transportation
and Nationalism," in Tribal Situation in India, ed. by K.S. Singh (Shimla:
Indian Institute of Advaned Study, 1986), 105.
24. P. Chaudhury, Indian Origin of the Chinese Nation, Part 11 (Calcutta:
DasGupta & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 1991), 9.
25. Articles 12-30 (on Fundamental Rights) and 330-342 (Special Provision
Relating to Certain Classes).
26. "Ethnic Identity," in Ethnicity: Theory and Experience (Cambridgeand
London: Harvard University Press, 1981), 115.
 IN SEARCH OF A CONTEXT FOR A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY 15
27. M.N. Srinivas and r.D. Sanwal, "Some Aspects of Political Development
in the North-eastern Hill Areas ofIndia," in Tribal Situation in India,
121 Emphasis is mine. This sympathetic view receives a strong criticism
from a renowned Indian anthropologist G.S. Ghurye. See Ghurye's The
Burning Caldron of North-East Indian (Bombay: Popular Prakashan,
1980).
28. See M. Horam, 13; Animesh Ray, Mizoram Dyanmics of Change
(Calcutta: Pearl Publishers, 1982), 15f. inter alia.
29. It may not be easy to distinquish "the light of the modem world" from
"the light of the Gospel" for many missionaries of the 19th century.
30. 81.23% in the 1991 Census Report. See Amulya Ratna Nanda, Registrar
Generla and Census Commissioner, India, Census of India 1991, Series
1, Paper 1, Provisional Population Totals (Government of India, 1991),
62.
31. Major A.P. G. McCall, Lushai Chrysalis (Calcutta: Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd.,
1949, repr., 1977), 203.
32. M. Kipgen, "The Growth of Christianity in Mizoram from 1894 to 1954"
(D. Th. diss., The Senate of·Serampore College, 1992), 5.
33. One may perhaps argue that the adoption ofthe term by the Cnstiutionof
India has largely taper off the pejorative connotation in the Indian
understanding. This argument may be particualrly strong among Indian
Christians where "tribal theol~" has becomea household name.
However, the insensitiveuse of the term "tribe" (or "tribal") in its
derogatory sene continues even among Indian Christian scholars. For
example, Stanley . Samartha, a prominent Indian theologian, describes
the secodn world war as "the tribal quarrels. of Europe." See his One
christ-Many Relipious: Toward A Revised Christology (Bangalore: South
Asia Theological Research Institute, 1992), 1.
34. Max Gluckman, Politics, Law and Ritual in Tril,al Society (Oxford: Basil
Blackwell, 1965), xi.
35. Ibid.
36. Gordon Marshall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (Oxford &
New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), s.v. "tribe, tribalism,"
emphasis mine. Marshall attributes the derogatory use of the term to
Sir Henry Maine.
37. Prof. Mercy A. Oduyoye, interview by author, Transcript, Princeton,
new Jersey, 4 April, 1995.
38. A similar complaint of using the term "tibal" is made by B.H. Farmer
in An Inroduction to South Asia, 2nd ed. (new York & London: Routledge,
1993), 13.
39. For a detail descriptions of the gorup, see KS. Singh, The Scheduled
Tribes (New Delhi, Oxford, et. al., Oxford University Press, 1994).
40. Srinivas and Sanwal, 119.
41. Charles West, "Nationalism and Ethnicity," Religion in Eastern Europe
35 (1995), 1.
42. "Ethnicity and Nationalism: A Challenge to the Churches," The
Ecumenical Rei'Jew 47 (April, 1995), 225-31.