Anglican Missionary Rev. C. H. Hesselmeyer's contribution to Udalguri District of Assam

This paper has been published in Peer-reviewed International Journal "Innovation The Research Concept"                     

URL : https://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/new/publish-journal.php?editID=8001

Publisher : Social Research Foundation, Kanpur (SRF International) 

Abstract :  Bodos are one of the important tribal groups of Assam mostly inhabited in the foothills of Bhutan constituted mainly by Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). Udalguri district is a key hub of Bodo tribe known as Kacharis. The location of Udalguri and the tribal population in the district had been able to attract the attention of the Christian Missionaries from the very initial stage of Missionary activities in Assam. History of the Bodo Christians reveals that several attempts to evangelise the Bodos of Udalguri district had been made by different Missionary groups from the middle of the nineteenth century. But the early flourishing Missionary group in the district was the Anglicans. Rev. C. H. Hesselmeyer the forerunner of the Anglican Missionary in the district and was the first to prepare the base for Missionary works in the district. An important tool for evangelism was school education. Company government was also keen to support the Missionaries since the government machinery had hardly able to reach the people in one hand and to bring Bodos closer to government to exploit the opportunity to engage them in tea garden works as labourers. C. H. Hesselmeyer was in-charge of the ‘Kachari Mission’ in the district. He not only opened schools for indigenous tribal groups of the district but at the same time translated prayer books both in Assamese and Kachari language and also published articles in the Asiatic Society journal on the hill tribes of North Eastern Frontier present Arunachal Pradesh.