Colonial policy and practice in Manipur

Gangmumei Kamei
Contd from previous issue
William Pettigrew was disappointed but Maxwell came to his rescue that he might work among the Tangkhul Nagas of north eastern hills of Manipur. Pettigrew established his mission at Ukhrul. He acted both as a missionary and unofficial State officer in the administration of the area. He kept close contact width the State officials at the capital. When Pettigrew was almost settled down he was recalled by the Arthington Society as he had completed three years. Pettigrew was not willing to return home and he applied to the American Baptist Missionary Union in Assam for help. In 1895 the Baptist Missionary Conference in Sibsagar seriously discussed the request of William Pettigrew. Accordingly Pettigrew was ordained as a missionary by the Sibsagar Baptist Church Assam which was endorsed by the executive committee of the American Baptist Mission in Boston in January, 1896.
William Pettigrew continued his work among the Tangkhul Nagas with great enthusiasm. The Government of Manipur did not allow the entry of more than one missionary in to the State. It appears from the report of William Pettigrew that the earlier years were dull and unpromising.
However, he engaged himself in the construction of a mission bungalow, a school and study of local dialect ie Tangkhul and doing translation works. He hardly achieved anything substantial.
He became quite conversant with the local dialects. He already knew Manipuri, he learned Tangkhul and Thadou. He asked his mission authorities to send another missionary to help him. But there was no response. During the visit of Viceroy, Lord Curzon to Manipur, he approached him to liberalize the policy on the number of missionary in Manipur. After the installation of Raja Churachand Singh and his Manipur State Durbar, Pettigrew renewed his request to the Government. But the Manipur State Durbar rejected his plea. However Raja Churachand Singh was not hostile towards the missionary and advised that there should be no obstacle to the missionary work among the hill people on the condition that they should not make an attempt to spread their work in the valley of Manipur.
Political Agent John Shakespeare supported William Pettigrew. He was appointed as Superintendent of the census of Manipur Hill Tribes in 1910-11 because he was the only man who knew the dialects known to the hill tribes. Pettigrew did the census work successfully with the help of his school teachers and his senior students. Unfortunately it made him a suspect that he was a subordinate official of the State. Here we see the combination of the mission and colonial authority.
Another missionary UM Fox was sent to Ukhrul in 1911 and Pettigrew left for England on leave in 1912. Meanwhile the students of Pettigrew who were educated at the Ukhrul Mission School became of age. Both Naga and Kuki students were employed in mission work. We may mention the contribution of MK Miksha and T Luikham among the Naga students. Through the efforts of Kuki converts particularly Lungkhovel Kom and Teba Kilong. Christianity was spread among the western hills and Sadar hills. The local Churches grew up in a large number. And the Manipur Christian Association was formed in 1917. The first convention of this association was held in Ukhrul in 1917. This period coincided with last two years of the World War I in which the Kukis revolted. The mission activities was greatly affected and suspended for some time. The mission station was shifted to Kohima and William Pettigrew moved to Gauhati.
During the Kuki Rebellion, JH Higgins President of the Manipur State Durbar organized a tribal labour corps for service in France. William Pettigrew was called out from Gauhati and helped organize the labour corps consisting of 2000 men of whom 1200 were from the Tangkhuls.
After the war in recognition of the contribution made by the missionaries and Christian workers the Government of Manipur granted a land for the new mission headquarters at Kangpokpi.
Watkin Roberts, the Welsh Missionary
History records that a missionary named Watkin Roberts from Mizo hills visited a Hmar village named Senvawn in response to the invitation of the chief of the village (Kamkholun). Watkin Roberts recruited native workers among the Christian converts and established Thadou-Kuki Pioneer Mission with headquarters at Senvawn. William Pettigrew was perhaps not happy with the establishment of new mission in South Manipur with headquarters at Senvawn.
Now the rivalry between American Baptist and Welsh Presbyterian were indulging in the mission politics. William Pettigrew who was a classmate of Political Agent Higgins tried to restrain the Presbyterian mission workers to enter Manipur. HJ Higgins banned the entry of Presbyterian into Manipur. Meanwhile, Watkin Roberts changed the name of mission to North East India General Mission (NEIGM) in 1919. Unluckily Watkin Roberts was ousted from the NEIGM. He started a new mission called Indo-Burma Pioneer Mission. Therefore the supporters of Roberts’s new mission formed the Independent Church in April 1930. Political Agent Higgins issued an order on 22nd November, 1930 that prohibiting the Independent Church from holding any assembly or conference. After eleven years, Sir Robert Reid the Governor of Assam intervened on behalf of supporters of Watkin Roberts and Political agent C Gimson on 11th April 1931 permitted the Independent Church to work in South Manipur.
(To be contd)