SERAMPORE MISSION: WORK, IMPACT
AND RELEVANCE FOR THE CONTINUING MISSION
1. INTRODUCTION
This
is the assignment discusses on Serampore mission, the first founder is William
Carey. To continue the discussion, firstly inform about the arrival of the
Baptist missionaries in India and observe the works that help the people of
Indian specially.
2. EARLY LIFE OF THE
FOUNDER
William Carey the founder of Serampore mission has
been called the patriarch, apostle, prophet and pioneer of modern missionary
movement.
Before it takes to further information the brief background has been provided.
William
Carey was born, on August 17th 1761, in the village Paulerspury,
Northamptonshire. His father was weaver but later rose to be Parish clerk and
village schoolmaster. At the age of six he worked out sum in arithmetic in his
own mind, his interested of the subject on Science, history and travels and
that his scientific taste became prominent at an early age. He
improved his acquaintance with languages in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. By the age
of 18 he started preaching and married before reaching 22, he was in charge of
Baptist Church at 24.
3. THE ARRIVAL OF THE
BAPTIST MISSIONARIES IN INDIA
William
Carey along with his family landed in Calcutta in a Danish ship on 11th
November 1793 under the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS). Again he went to
Malda (300 miles away from Calcutta) with his family and started to work in an
Indigo factory for years. In 1799 two missionaries from England, William Ward, and Joshua Marshman came
to Calcutta. Fearing the deportation by the East India Company, they took
refuge in Serampore which was a Danish Colony. Carey’s joined them in 1800 and
started their life India without any harassment. That was how “the Serampore
Trio” was formed.
And was the starting point of the “Great Protestant Century” in India.
4. WORKS
He
has done so many great things that contact many people lives but few things
have been mention in the following:
4.1 Establishment of
School and colleges
He
establishes a charity school for the boys in 1794 at Mudnabutty. After moving
to Serampore in 1800, he established a school with hostel facilities for
foreign nationals on payment of fees and on the other hand in June 1800, he
started a school to give free education to the natives. The Serampore
missionaries were sensitive to the lack of female education so they encourage
the girls to attend school.
After some years they come up with the college that founded in 1818 and in 1820
and Marshman opened to non Christian as well as Christian Pupils.
4.2 Sati
He
was very mush instrumental for the abolition of Sati in the British territories
in India. When he saw the practice of Sati (burning of widow on the funeral
pyres of her husband) in Indian culture he was shocked. He knew that with the
help of government he can transform it he found 438 were burn alive, so he
approach the ruler and with the help of few Bengalis he could submitted the
report to lord Wellesley Bentinck on 15th Oct, 1804. He with some of
Indian was protesting, finally could see the result, Bentinck issue an order
prohibiting of Sati in 1829.
4.3 Bible Translation and Printing
The
Serampore missionaries took hand an ambitious programmed of Bible translate as
preparation for mission to the whole of Asia, they included not only Indian
languages but even Chinese. They were also pioneers in the printing of Indian
script and in the production of newspaper in Bengali.
The Serampore mission’s project to translate the Christian scripture into a
large number of Indian and other Asian languages required a well organized
translation and printing effort. Indian translating the Scripture into
different tongues and correcting and types in Arabic, Persian, Nagari, Telugu
etc… they are busy, composing, correcting, distributing Scripture sheet in
different languages.
In forty years the mission had probably converts only few thousand of Indians.
Of the complete Bible in nine languages he had delivered only six. Still he had
compiled many dictionaries and grammars; he had printed over two hundred
thousand different items in forty languages.
Everywhere
in North East India Seampore mission particularly Carey translated many Bible.
Even in Manipur, through the help of a Manipuri Pundit, Carey translated the
New Testament and got it printed in Manipuri language in 1827.
4.4 Ministry in Conversion
Carey’s
first convert was sudras by the name Krishna Pal and his second convert was a
young man called Krishna Prasad, a high caste Kulin Brahmin. Slowly it was
growing in converting the Hindus; he gave much focus on new convert in his
service. He knows that Hindu practices caste system but after the conversion of
person he made it casteless.
Come
back to North East, in Garo the first two converts among them were won through
a gospel tract in a miraculous way. Krishna Pal was the first native missionary
Evangelist to North East India from Serampore mission.
4.5 Bengali Literature
Carey
learned the local language of the people to understand the people and their
culture. After he learned Bengali, he contributed to develop the literature
into two capacities, in order to meet the requirement of textbooks at Fort
William’s he wrote textbooks and also produced a Bengali grammar and a
dictionary.}
5. IMPACT
There
are so many things to mentioned about the impact on how people were been
blessed generally by Serampore mission. People get to reads their own
vernacular Bible by the help of William Carey’s works. It’s not only in one
language were been translated, but with numerous kinds of languages where
people get to know more about God better. And they came out with many Biblical
commentaries and dictionaries, which especially help for the learned people.
He
even learned Bengali and he writes the grammar and dictionary, it really helps
the Bengali community and make easy to read and write grammatically sound. And it
did not end up here, with the help of Serampore mission many people were been
converted to Christianity. Once it was a dark place but now it came to light
where people could see the way to strife forward in their lives. Everywhere he
goes his presence always followed with blessing,
Similar to many of the Serampore translations, it was
not a good one and American Baptist missionaries had to make a new translation
later. There is no evidence that
Serampore made a serious effort to maintain contact with the converts.
6.
RELEVANCE FOR THE CONTINUING CHRISTIAN MISSION
Carey’s theology of
mission is still very relevant for today’s situation. Christian community is
expanded among the people of different backgrounds, religious tradition and the
world of nature for liberation and hope for future. His implementation of plans
for missionary works in India had mainly been due to his faith in the suffering
of the risen and liberating God and in the promise of the Holy Spirit. And his
christo-centric missiological approach was also seen in a positive way attitude
towards the Indian cultures.
If
Carey’s vision for liberation towards an integrative and inclusive human
community is significant for today, it is a challenge to modern mission at all
levels. It is challenge because in his vision one discovers that human person
is more than religious rituals and commands. Christian should have a healing
message to the nation- a message that can be of some help in removing the
growing religious fanaticism and communalism. These are today’s formidable
divisive forces that have threatened India’s secularism, stability and
progress.
The
relevance of Carey’s vision in such situations can be seen in not just raising
these issues for academic exercise and reflection but in doing something best.
CONCLUSION
Carey
as Serampore mission existence has really contact me for the mission work, of
what they have done in the peoples’ life. Doing a wondrous thing like, praying
for the sick, adopting the culture in learning languages and establishing
school and college and break the Hindu practices as Sati.
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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