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PROVINCE TODAY The Province of Dimapur Today
The Salesian province of Dimapur was created out of the erstwhile Guwahati province and canonically erected on 8th December 1981. It was inaugurated on 18th June 1982 and dedicated to St. Francis of Sales with Fr. Mathew Pulingathil as its first provincial. The geographical area of the province covers the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and the seven districts of Upper Assam viz. Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar and Tinsukia. The salesians of Dimapur province carry out their mission in the archdiocese of Imphal and the dioceses of Kohima, Dibrugarh and Tezpur – Arunachal Pradesh being currently looked after by Dibrugarh and Tezpur dioceses. The province that started with 25 presences and 152 Salesians has at present, as on 24 May 2005, 40 presences, 224 professed Salesians and 8 novices. Salesian presence in Nagaland The first resident Catholic priest in what was then called the Naga Hills was Fr. Emmanuel Bars SDB. He reached Kohima on 31 December 1948 as chaplain to the Sisters of the Society of Christ Jesus (SCJ) from Spain who were working in the Naga hospital in Kohima. From then on, the story of the Catholic Church of Nagaland was one of growth in spite of opposition, especially from the Baptist brethren. In 1951 Fr. Hubert Marocchino replaced Fr. Bars. The latter remained in Kohima till 1963. In 1964 Fr. Paul Bernick took charge of this mission and in 1965 he was officially appointed parish priest of Christ King Parish, the first catholic parish of Nagaland. Many Salesians have laboured in Nagaland as missionaries and educators. Their enthusiasm, indefatigable energy and valiant efforts to bring the Gospel to the various tribes of Nagaland have borne much fruit. At present the province has presences in Nagaland, including the Provincial House, the Salesian College providing education up to the graduation level, three higher secondary schools, the Provincial Development office (Agency for Integral Development Action - AIDA), the Youth and Educational Services, two youth centres, a centre for educating the marginalised (Boscome), a College of Teacher Education, a Vocational Training Centre, and Don Bosco Communications, the novitiate, an apostolic school, a college hostel, besides two parishes with school and hostels. There are two more schools with hostels attached. Some centres looked after by the Salesians in Nagaland have been are returned to the diocese of Kohima like C.P.C, Kohima, Holy Cross Parish and School, Dimapur and Don Bosco school and Parish Tseminyu, and Akhluto. Salesian presence in Manipur Right from the start there were hostilities from various quarters against Catholic missionaries entering Manipur. But on 1 November 1948, at the invitation of the king of Manipur, Fr. Orestes Marengo and Fr. Attilio Colussi entered the State. They travelled from Guwahati by jeep and reached Imphal two days later and proceeded to Ukhrul. However, active missionary work began in Manipur only after the creation of the new diocese of Dibrugarh in 1951 and the consecration of its first Bishop, Orestes Marengo on 16 May 1952. The Manipur mission received a major boost in 1952 when Fr. Aloysius Ravalico was appointed to look after it. In 1955 Fr. Peter Bianchi joined the Manipur mission. Currently the Salesians have presences in Manipur, with five parishes with schools and hostels, one college offering degrees up to the graduation level, two higher secondary schools, three college hostels a Non-formal Vocational Training Centre, one school with boarding, one school without a hostel, one social welfare centre and a programme for literacy outreach. Some mission centres started or initially looked after by the Salesians in the State of Manipur have been returned to the diocese of Imphal like Awangkhul, Senapati and Tunjoy, while Ngarian novitiate was closed in 2001. The Salesian presence in Upper Assam traces its history to the Dibrugarh mission opened by Fr. Leo Piasecki on 28 February 1931. Originally, this centre was started by the German Salvatorians in1908, which unfortunately had to be closed in 1914 due to World War I. Fr Piasecki – who is known as the ‘lion of the Brahmaputra valley’ – began the Don Bosco School at Dibrugarh, though it took 20 years for the school to be known as ‘Don Bosco School’. He also built the Sacred Heart church at Dibrugarh, which is today the cathedral of the diocese. In the beginning, Don Bosco Dibrugarh functioned as a residential Hindi medium school catering exclusively to the children of the Christian community. Later Hindi gave way to Assamese as the medium of instruction. In 1941 when the Italian missionaries had to leave, Mgr. Emmanuel Bars and Fr. Louis Kerketta took over the mission. In 1958 Don Bosco school Dibrugarh was officially handed over to the Salesians. In 1959 it was decided to open an English medium school. Don Bosco Dibrugarh was canonically erected on 18 March 1960 with Fr. Ernest Zanon as its first rector. The other mission centres opened by the Salesians in Upper Assam were Doom Dooma and Golaghat. Fr. Peter Jean Neyens started the Golaghat mission on 4 August 1941. In 1947 Fr. Gerald Mandeville was put in charge of Dooom Dooma mission. On 6 November 1952 Fr. Mandevile as appointed the first parish priest of Doom Dooma. In Assam there are at present eight parishes with hostels and schools, an apostolic school, three high schools, one evening school, a pre-novitiate, a Bible school, a college hostel, a Junior college, two centres promoting community development, and a leadership training centre for school dropouts. Some parishes and institutions initially started or looked after by the Salesians have been returned to the diocese of Dibrurgarh. They are St. Mary’s School, boarding and Parish, Margherita, Sacred Heart Parish and boarding, Dibrugarh, Don Bosco School, boarding and Parish, Jorhat, Don Bosco School, boarding and parish, Naharkatia, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dibrugarh, parishes of Digboi and North Lakhimpur. Salesian presence in Arunachal Pradesh The first efforts by Christian missionaries to contact the people of Arunachal Pradesh were made by Fr. Aloysius Cerato. In 1944 he opened the Catholic mission of North Lakhimpur parish and admitted to his hostel a number of boys from the Nishi, Adi and Apatani tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. But there is hardly any evidence to show that these boys became Catholics. Though the first of the Arunachalis were baptised as easrly as 1963 a concerted effort at evangelisation began only in 1977. Many people are responsible for the breakthrough of the Catholic Church in Arunachal Pradesh. Some Salesians who deserve special mentions are Fr. Job Kallarackal, Fr. Jose Chemparathy in West Arunachal and Fr. George Palliparambil in East Arunachal. The effort gained momentum with the appointment of Bishop Thomas Menamparampil to Dibrugarh. At present Salesians have thirteen schools, four parishes, eight school hostels, one college, one college hostel, and one youth centre. Primacy of evangelisation The province of Dimapur has always considered herself a missionary province. Evangelisation is still a priority considering vast regions and numerous cultures that have not yet been reached by the Gospel in the region. Most Salesian presences are found in regions where first evangelisation and faith formation are the main focus of the pastoral ministry. The chief methods of evangelisation and faith formation are education of the young (both formal and non-formal), catechism classes, pastoral works in parishes and mission centres, village tours, family visits, health care, human developmental works, etc. But there are serious challenges to evangelisation, like, unwieldy size of the mission centres and parishes, poorly trained catechists, illiteracy and economic backwardness. Other challenges before the Salesians include poor communication and transportation network, lack of infrastructure, linguistic and cultural diversity, negative influence of mass media, opposition from certain Christian sects and denominations, rising percentage of drug and HIV/AIDS affected victims, easy money, blind imitation of western style of life and values, insurgency and militancy, government control with regard to the movement of the Church’s personnel (eg. need for inner-line permit in some States, existence of the so-called ‘Freedom of Religion Bill’ in Arunachal Pradesh since 1978), problem of inculturation, inadequate pastoral planning, lack of proficiency in local languages and a diminishing of the missionary spirit among many Salesians. Emphasis on education The contribution of the Salesians to the development of Northeast India through education can never be exaggerated. In the Northeast, as in many other parts of India, the name of Don Bosco is synonymous with quality education. Realising the need for basic literacy and formal education of youth, Salesians have established residential and non-residential schools, non-formal educational institutions and university colleges thus making quality education available and affordable to the poor youth and rural people. This has literally transformed the face of Northeast India in a short span of time Schools When Dimapur province came into existence in 1982, there were three full-fledged High Schools and ten Primary schools – four in Assam, four in Nagaland and two in Manipur. But with the birth of the new province, fresh energy was injected into the education sector and new schools began to be established in many places in order to cater to the ever-growing demand for Don Bosco schools. In the course of time some High Schools were up-graded to Higher Secondary Schools. As per the statistics of 2003, there are five Higher Secondary schools, twenty High Schools and ten Primary schools in the province. The same statistics state that 27,881 students are benefiting from these thirty-five schools. The education ministry of the Salesians has brought about tremendous transformation in the quality and style of life, habits, culture, economy, social and political status of the people of the area. Through the Salesian schools, the people of the region enjoy the ‘best education’ available like in any other parts of the country. The schools have also contributed greatly towards the formation of educated laity, integral formation of the human person, safeguarding tribal cultures, social consciousness, social responsibility, civic consciousness and social change in the region. All the Salesian schools of the region have been, in some way or other, means of evangelisation, either directly or indirectly. Salesian missionaries have had access to the villages through the children of the schools and boardings. Even the hostile communities have been befriended with the help of the Salesian schools and hostels. Besides, many people have been inspired by the apostolic zeal and dedication of the Salesians and several past pupils are now running their own schools following the pedagogical system and style of the Salesians. Salesian contribution of to higher education Engagement in the apostolate of higher education is a recent phenomenon in the province of Dimapur. The province has established five University Colleges in four different States of the region: Salesian College of Higher Education, Dimapur; Don Bosco College, Maram; Don Bosco Junior College, Doom Dooma; Don Bosco College, Itanagar; and Bosco College of Teacher Education, Dimapur. However, the college hostels in the province have a longer history than the colleges. Currently the province has six college hostels. Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) The Human Resource Development Centre at Maram, Manipur, is a training institution that conducts workshops, seminars, symposia, coaching classes, competitions and residential training programmes, especially for youth. Training programmes include bee keeping, orchid farming, grow-vegetable programme, lamination and screen printing, computer training programme with the installation of V-Sat link, instant typing tutor programme, desktop publication, career guidance, etc. Non–formal education For many decades formal education has been doing a lot of good to the young people of the region. But today its euphoria has diminished considerably. Moreover, there is a felt need for a job-oriented education. It is this reality coupled with the demands of the region that the province has ventured into food processing, masonry, motor mechanics, motor vehicle driving, mushroom cultivation, organic farming, pig farming, plumbing, poultry, rural entrepreneurship, vermiculture, weaving, and welding. Youth ministry The young people in Northeast form an important segment of society. The region presents a lot of positive elements, such as, the vast variety of ethnic groups, languages, cultures and religions. People are proud of their ethnic identity and culture. There is a progressive step in ethnic awareness and cultural pride. The society is basically community centred. Co-operation and collaboration rather than competition is the basic component of their social living. Though not perfect yet, the society in general is egalitarian. The young people of the region possess notable qualities like, resilience, readiness for sacrifice, spirit of collaboration, courage, self-confidence, pride and ambition to move ahead and climb higher the ladder of perfection. They are highly talented in sports, games, cultural activities and arts. However, Northeast India is a greatly disturbed area, politically, culturally and socially. There is a traumatic rate of transition, a breakdown of traditional social systems, values and attitudes, emergence of classes within the society, xenophobia, corruption, conflict between ethnic groups, economic backwardness, inadequate facilities for education and the like. The region is also a boiling pot of many insurgent movements. The youth of the region face acute problems, such as, unemployment, inadequate educational services, school dropouts, child labour, lack of guidance, lack of exposure to other cultures, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, lack of self-discipline, loss of work-culture, teenage pregnancies, premature marriage, uncritical consumption of mass media, consumerism, secularisation, lack of recreational facilities, lack of role models, identity crisis, etc. Salesian response to youth Realizing the complex situation of the youth in the region the Salesians have opted for a multi-pronged approach, in some cases redefining and reorienting the works previously carried out in the region. Today the province has schools, higher secondary schools, university colleges, job-oriented vocational formation, youth work in parishes, youth centres, oratories, groups and movements, intensive coaching classes, literacy programmes, media awareness programmes, evening classes, coaching for school dropouts, scholarships for intelligent and economically poor children, scouts and guides, scoutmaster’s training, Self Help Groups, guidance and counselling, formation of educated unemployed, prevention of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS, etc. Don Bosco Youth and Educational Services (DBYES) Don Bosco Youth and Educational Services (DBYES) is the youth development wing of the province. It was launched in 1992. Until 2000 it was known as Don Bosco Youth Services (DBYS). Training programmes offered by DBYES include: challenges to education, teacher effectiveness, personality development, living by objectives, community building, time management, career guidance, training in inter-personal relationship, summer time youth ministry, training youth ministers and animators, Salesian teachers orientation programme, Educative Pastoral Planning (EPP), media awareness, Salesian Animators Leadership Training (SALT), scout masters basic course, Salesian youth leaders meet, etc. Youth centres There are four full-fledged youth centres in the province. They are looked after by the Salesians and they organise youth related programmes and offer recreational facilities for youth. It is worth mentioning that all the Salesian presences of the province have contact with the youth of their locality through informal youth centres, oratories or ‘neighbourhood apostolate’ of one form or the other. Some New Ventures in Favour of Marginalized Youth Karsang Takar, focusing on the Mising tribe Karsang Takar, meaning ‘rising star’ in Mising language, refers to the leadership training centre at Sadiya, Assam, run by the Salesians. The venture was initiated by Fr. Thomas Kalapurackal in 2002 and is an experiment to build up leadership from among the ‘dropout’ youth of the tribe and prepares them to play a proactive role in their communities. The centre focuses on spiritual, human and socio-cultural development of the young people. The trainees are also taken to other centres in Northeast India for an exposure programme lasting three months, to help cultural exchange between the Misings and other tribes of Northeast India. After the yearlong course the trainees are sent to Mising villages for a period of six months to serve the Mising society in return for the free leadership training at Karsang Takar. Currently the 60 field volunteers of the Karsang Takar run 72 Self Help Groups with various income generating projects. Boscome Fr. T.O. Sebastian, seeing the poor condition of the slum youth in and around Dimapur, especially the children of the richshaw pulling communities, began to give them some coaching in basic education. Boscome gives priority to the poor children within the age group of 5 to 14. With the passage of time it has gained the favour of many people within and outside the Salesian congregation. With strengthened support he introduced more of these in different places. At present Boscome has five basic education centres in Dimapur, with 250 students. Don Bosco Literacy Programme (DBLP) Don Bosco Literacy Programmes (DBLP), Imphal, was initiated by Fr. George Menamparampil who believes that the school should not wait for children to come to it. Let the school go to the children. The venture began in October 2002 with 32 children at Ravalico College hostel to give a minimum of literacy to those children who could not afford to go to regular schools due to poverty, ignorance of the parents and other reasons. The programme motivates parents on the importance of education for self reliance and better future prospects, helps parents to form themselves into Self Help Groups (SHGs), educates for the prevention of substance abuse and HIV/AIDs infection. According to the statistics of 2004 the project caters to 1095 children in the various literacy centres. Evening school In the late 1980s, as the Salesians were getting ready to celebrate the centenary of the death of Don Bosco, it was the desire of the Don Bosco School community at Dibrugarh, Assam, to make a lasting memorial to his educational principles. No statue can bring to life Don Bosco’s love for the poor and the marginalised so powerfully as a work for the poor. Hence they decided to begin an evening school. Thus on 31 January 1988 the Bosco Memorial Evening School (BMES) was formally inaugurated. The classes are held in Assamese medium, absolutely free. The students are also helped to find appropriate schools for higher education and paid for the expenses in their further pursuit of studies. Intensive education programmes The principle of intensive coaching is in practice at Bosco Bible school, Tinsukia (Assam), Don Bosco, Tamenglong (Manipur), and at Don Bosco Centre, Doimukh (Arunachal Pradesh). Anyone who came to these schools was placed in the school fit for one’s age, even if he/she had studied nothing till then. They are then put back into the mainstream education. An additional feature of the Bible School at Tinsukia is that during the years of their stay in school, the students make a thorough study of the entire Bible, thus enabling them to become effective evangelisers in their neighbourhood. Formation structures of the province The province of Dimapur has for the initial formation of its personnel the following structures: apostolic schools, pre-novitiate, novitiate and post-novitiate. Apostolic schools The province has two ‘apostolic schools’, one at Dibrugarh in Assam, which is mainly for the boys of the ‘plains’ and the other at Zubza, for the boys of the ‘hills’. In both the apostolic schools the number of boys who opt for the Salesian life is good but the rate of perseverance is rather low. Pre-novitiate The pre-novitiate of the province is Rua Home, Jorhat in Assam. At Rua Home the candidates to Salesian life remain for a period of three-years during which they also do a two-year course in pre-university studies and the pre-novitiate. Novitiateb The Salesian novitiate at Ngarian in Imphal was opened on 31 March 1988 with Fr. Varghese Palathingal as the first novice master. Unfortunately this novitiate house was closed down due to the tragic incident of the brutal murder of three Salesians viz. Fr. Raphael Paliakara (Novice master), Fr. Joseph Kindo (Socius) and Cl. Shinu Joseph (Assistant) by members of some militant outfits on 15 May 2001. The novitiate house was then transferred to Sechii (Zubza), Nagaland, in May 2003. During the interim period of 2001 and 2002 the novices were sent to Sunny Side, Shillong and Padivayal, Kerala to do their novitiate. Post-novitiate The institution offers post-novitiate formation for the Salesians of the provinces of Dimapur, Guwahati and New Delhi. It also makes a unique and significant contribution to the Church in Northeast India by providing opportunities for candidates to priesthood and religious life to do their philosophical and university studies (Bachelor of Arts). Since 1984 the seminarians from the Good Shepherd Seminary, who hail from the different dioceses of the Northeast, attend classes at Salesian college. Some women religious attend the college, either for a combined full three-year programme of studies in Philosophy and Bachelor of Arts or for university studies only. Some men religious congregations working in the region are also planning to send their candidates to Salesian college for their philosophical and university studies. The college also admits a limited number of lay students for courses in Bachelor of Arts. Salesian college was officially affiliated to the Nagaland University in 1995 under the name “Salesian College for Higher Education”. The institution conducts various co-curricular activities like, youth ministry, human development programmes, media awareness courses, literacy and education projects and other forms of social ministry for the people of the town of Dimapur as wells as the suburban villages, especially through the Sunday oratories. Ministry of social involvement The history of Salesian social involvement in Northeast India is intimately linked to the history of evangelisation in the region. In the early years a missionary did not make a clear-cut distinction between evangelisation and social involvement. Both went hand in hand. In fact social ministry was always seen as an important aspect of the evangelising mission. Agency for Integral Development Action (AIDA) A few years after the creation of the province of Dimapur a significant shift occurred in her vision and outlook towards social involvement. This was largely due to the efforts of Agency for Integral Development Action (AIDA), which was established in 1985. AIDA is the official development wing of the province. The organisation is committed to the integral development of the weaker and marginalised sections of society, especially the tribal peoples and among them youth, women and children of the area covered by the Province through community organisations, formal and non-formal education, capacity building and socio-economic empowerment of communities. As a result of the social ministry of AIDA there is a noticeable improvement in the quality of life of the people of the region. The need for education for themselves and for their children, health and sanitation are all now keenly felt needs. The programmes of AIDA has generated enthusiasm among the people for change, saving, unity and collective action. There is greater awareness of economic and political rights. There is less food shortage because of the vegetable gardens and multi-cropping and other income generating activities, less illnesses through awareness, increased skills in herbal and traditional medicine and sharing of knowledge and skills during meetings, and availability of immediate credit at very low interest rates to members especially in times of sicknesses or other emergencies. Agency for Growth and Upliftment of All (AGUA) Agency for Growth and Upliftment of All (AGUA) focuses on the total development of the tea garden community of Upper Assam. It was started by Fr. Bimal Lakra in 2002. It offers formal, non-formal and professional education to youth, coaching classes for weak students, promotes entrepreneurship through petty shops, tailoring, fishery, piggery, poultry, rice-mill, saving schemes, Self Help Groups (SHG), etc. In a short period of three years AGUA has made significant impact on the education of the tea-garden community, in enabling them to look for alternative ways of living without depending on the tea-gardens and in the formation of lay leadership. Institution for Culture and Rural Development (I-CARD) The Institution for Culture And Rural Development (I-CARD) is an organisation that is preparing a model for tribal development. As of now it works with the Misings, the second largest tribal community in Assam. Through various programmes that centre around the ethnic identity, socio-cultural heritage and language of the tribe, I-CARD has made giant strides to put the Misings on the world map. It runs a monthly newspaper in Mising language, a bi-monthly English Magazine, and has also published a number of books. Besides community development activities – like any other development agency – I-CARD achieves its goals through annual socio-cultural seminars for the intellectuals of the tribe. The leadership-training centre for school dropouts is an integral part of the organisation. The project is intensely salesian with a large youth movement under its wings. Contribution to media Salesians in the province of Dimapur have been active in the field of media since its beginning. The colourful array of cultures and languages in the region is an inviting field for all lovers of the media. Salesians have responded to this by a variety of initiatives, such as the production of audiocassettes, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, grammars, charts, posters and pamphlets. These serve evangelisation, faith formation, education and human development. The schools at large, even at a national level, have taken many books written by the Salesians, like the Moral Science series, General Knowledge and Mathematics books. Contribution to cultures Culture is a complex term that stands for the worldview of a particular group of people. Salesians have done a yeoman service to the indigenous cultures of Northeast through their various institutions, activities and publications for the promotion and preservation of cultures. Salesians of Northeast have challenged the local cultures of the region primarily through their work of evangelisation and education. In many a case, the Salesians have been the pioneers in promoting indigenous languages and dialects by providing them with script, grammar, dictionary, textbooks, literature and translating into various local languages the Bible, Church history, Christian prayers, Catholic catechism, hymns, missal, lectionaries, biographies, etc. The Salesian family SDB, FMA, MSMHC, SMI, Disciples of Don Bosco, the Salesian Co-operators and the Past-pupils, forming the Salesian family and present in the province of Dimapur, come together under a council made up of delegates from each group, with a Salesian as its head. Of the 40 Salesian presences in the province, SDB and FMA work together on the same missionary project in 10 centres; SDB and MSMHC in 9 centres; and SDB and SMI in 2 centres. The Co-operators are present in six centres. The council of the Salesian family organises the annual Salesian family day. At the local level the Salesian family day is usually celebrated on the feast day of Don Bosco. Salesian co-operators In the province of Dimapur the first unit of the Salesian Co-operators was started in Imphal in 1988 on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Don Bosco. Currently the province has five centres where units of Co-operators are operating. All the centres are attached to some Salesian communities. As per the statistics of 2004 there are 50 Salesian Co-operators in the province and some 20 aspirants are preparing themselves to become Co-operators. The Co-operators are active in a number of fields, such as, youth apostolate, education, pastoral works, catechetical and family apostolate and evangelisation. Don Bosco past-pupils The province has a provincial federation of past pupils with 12 units, of which only four have been formally set up with the election of the office bearers. In order to make the past pupils unit a vibrant reality in the province some schools have already started maintaining the past-pupil’s register and holding meetings of their past pupils. Efforts are on to enroll the outgoing students of our institutions in the past-pupil’s federation with proper registration. All schools and colleges of the province have been asked to start or to maintain the register of past-pupils with effect from 2003. Conclusion During the past 23 years of the existence of the province of Dimapur, it has been guided and animated by able and committed leaders. We recall with gratitude the sacrifice, vision and dedication of the provincials with their councils. Their task was made easier by the dedicated work of rectors, parish priests, formation guides, those in-charge of the various salesian presences and each individual salesian. The salesians who have sacrificed their lives and are no more present physically are all inspirations for the younger generation. The province has been set on a firm foundation even in the remotest corners of the region. The path has been traced out, and the goals are set. The province has a clear evangelical direction of preaching the Gospel, educating the young and promoting human development. Christianity has been planted in good soil, and that will provide labourers for the vineyard for years to come.
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