CHURCH AND HUMAN PROMOTION OF THE ADIVASIS OF ASSAM

Introduction
Human promotion can be understood from various points of view. In secular sense it means economic development including within it whole shades of meaning such as human progress, human development and human advancement. The Church however understands it in a still wider and more comprehensive sense. It is the church’s mission of building a civilization of love based upon the universal values of peace, justice, solidarity and freedom. It means an integral and authentic development of human person based on the gospel values and the inalienable dignity of human person and hence it’s deep relation to human rights. This concept of human promotion has been progressively being developed through various social encyclicals and in the documents of Second Vatican Council, and more currently in Ecclesia in Asia, which reflects this concept in the discrimination, exploitation, poverty and marginalization of the millions of people of Asia. In recent times the Church has insisted more and more upon the necessary link of human promotion to evangelization and proclamation. This insistence is in response to the real situations of the world and to an increased consciousness that not just the action of individuals but also structures of social, political and economic life are often inimical to human well-being. Hence the topic is dealt within the Christian vision of salvation, evangelization and social responsibility.

The existence and the realities of dehumanizing situations, of the Adivasis are very peculiar and complex in comparison with the other communities of the region. Some of these situations have been dealt with side by side with other the reflections. But we cannot afford not to mention some of them, lack of which will lead to an unjust and incomplete treatment of the topic. The Adivasis community of Assam is faced with almost irrevocable process of detribalization, alienation and marginalization. Detribalization means that they are on the verge of losing their tribal character. They are branded as tea tribes by the state government. It is not recognized as Scheduled Tribes while their counterparts in other states of India like Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal enjoy full benefits of scheduling. Alienation refers specifically in relation to land and culture. The tea industry which is built and manned by the man power of the Adivasi community since the time to British rule has the most systematic, subtle and organized exploitative structures unparalleled to any other industry in India. In spite of the promulgation of Plantation Labour Act, 1951, which guarantees the rights of tea gardens labourers, there have been gross violations of human rights and rights of the workers in the tea industry in terms of low wage, unhealthy working and living conditions, casualization of labour, child labour, abuse of women workers, misuse of provident and other funds, and a host of others.
This research is more future-oriented. It does not make a survey of the success or failure of the church in the past or preset in her mission of human promotion to the Adivasi community of Assam. If it does so, it is only to evaluate and discern in order to make the future undertakings and efforts more effective and transformative. However, it is important to admit here that the church is the only organization which has genuinely contributed much to promote their unity, identity, solidarity and development in many spheres. Yet when compared to the other tribal communities of the region Church has been less effective in transforming and developing the Adivasi community. This calls for critical evaluations for the reasons within and without. It is hoped that in the subsequent discussions we will get some insights into this critical problem, which will impel rededication and recommitment with greater zeal and enthusiasm. The topic is dealt under two major subdivisions, that is, the “why” and the “how” aspect the human promotion.

1. “Why” of Human Promotion of Adivasis
The “why” aspect is as important as the “how” of the human promotion of the Adivasis of Assam because if there is clarity and conviction in the former then the latter will find its concrete expressions in various commitments in spite of all odds. This is because the “why” aspect is the moving force behind our praxis of human promotion.

1. 1. Human Promotion, Salvation and Evangelization
At the macro-level of the church universal the convergence between the Church’s mission and contemporary human history has become increasingly apparent and serious. Thus now Church sees human promotion not merely as a moral imperative of the Gospel but as the content and method of Gospel proclamation. Human promotion is seen not only as a social dimension of the Gospel but as a dimension of salvation. The 1971 Synod calls human promotion as a constitutive dimension of the Gospel proclamation and Paul VI calls as proclaiming liberating salvation. This understanding of human promotion is progressively developed in the various social encyclicals like Rerum Novarum , Quadragesimo Anno, Mater et Magistra, Pacem in Terris, Octogesima Adveniens, Laborem Exercens, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Centisimus Annus, Tertio Millennio Adveniens. Following the Asian Synod and the official release of Ecclesia Asia, the Asian Church recognizes the value of human promotion more explicitly, and devotes a whole chapter on it. In the general scenario of the Indian Church, there is a noticeable paradigm shift from church-centeredness to service-centeredness, including new forms of ministries and radical option for the poor and the oppressed. Thus all these are underlining the importance of human promotion as integral part of salvation and evangelization.
This understanding of salvation in which human promotion is seen as integral part of evangelization needs to be understood, accepted and imbibed in to church’s thinking, acting, in fact, in the very being of the Church of Assam. Only when we recognize it as the Gospel imperative it will be reflected in our different concrete undertakings and initiatives for the Adivasi community of Assam.

1. 2. Human Promotion, Human Rights and the Promotion of Justice and Peace
Another important aspect of human promotion is – its intimate and inseparable relation to human rights and promotion of justice and peace. In the first place, human rights are the idealized projection of what is pertinent to the ‘dignity’ of man, much more than a list of requirements of which nobody must be deprived of. In this sense, they correspond to something that must be ‘promoted’ rather than to something that must be ‘protected’. Therefore, the promotion of human rights, their progressive discovery, deepening and defining, the creation of appropriate conditions for their concrete exercise constitute what can correctly be called the essence of development or human promotion. Thus promotion of human rights is essentially related to human promotion. Secondly, whether one analyses the concept of human promotion from secular or Christian point of view it is clear that it is deeply related to justice and peace. It is almost unthinkable to work for human promotion without commitment to justice and peace. Regarding this dual commitment to justice and peace Cardinal Jorge M. Mejia writes, “In fact, the one cannot exist without the other: neither peace without justice, nor justice without peace.” Justice here refers to social justice. It means creation of just and humanized socio-politico-economic structures where human promotion is possible. Lacking such just structures there is violation of human rights, injustice, exploitations, marginalization, and religious discrimination especially for migrants, women and children . This will bring true peace, which is the messianic vision of the church for the whole humanity.
In this background it is important to identify here the violation of human rights as well as the rights of the tea garden labourers, which are enshrined in the Plantation Labour Act, 1951. These violations are in reality direct hindrance to the mission of human promotion of the Adivasi community of Assam. Church needs to take well planned measures to ensure the protection and safeguarding of these rights. One of the biggest challenges is that the majority of the Adivasis are illiterate and they are not even aware of some of these rights and privileges. There is need of creating awareness in this field.

1. 3. Human Promotion of Adivasis – an Urgency
Urgency and ‘an option within option’ situation of the Adivasi community of Assam provide another explanation for the “Why” aspect. By ‘An Option within an Option’ what I mean is that Church in general has an ‘option for the poor’ but the peculiar dehumanizing situations of the Adivasis of Assam call for still another special option by the Church of Northeast India. The Church at the level of continent (Asia), national (India) region (northeast) recognizes this option and urgency. This urgency can be understood and analyzed in many ways. However, here I would like deal with just one, that is, the analysis of the body of literature on the Adivasis.
An analysis of the literature on the Adivasis of Northeast India, whose authorship embraces both Church personnel, Christian and non-Christian professionals and leaders whether they are Adivasis or non-Adivasis invariably either directly speak of the dehumanization and marginalization of the Adivasis or make an indirect reference to them, and practically all emphasize on the urgent need of some agent who would work for their liberation, development, and transformation. It may be good to site a couple of examples. The Statement of the seminar on ‘Impact of Christianity on Northeast India’ has this to say regarding the urgency and preferential option.

The Adivasis in the North East hold immense scope for evangelization. They deserve greater attention from the Churches. Due to their prolonged exploitation, suppression and neglect, they face a peculiar situation resulting in the loss of dignity, freedom and identity. The Churches in the North East have the important task of making Christ’s message of integral liberation meaningful to them. Greater involvement by the Churches in the development of their language, culture, literature, and especially their socio-economic and spiritual welfare is the need of the hour.

The regional Pastoral Conference of Northeast India, 2002 with the specific theme of ‘Pastoral Care of the Adivasis’ is another indication of this ‘option within an option’. Referring to the community of northeast, George Kottuppallil’s following remark seems to be very prophetic. “The Future of the Catholic Church in Northeast India is largely dependent on the socio-economic and political development of this particular group (the Adivasis) who accounts for the largest single tribal group of the region.” And perhaps safely it could be added that they are the largest single tribal Christian as well as Catholic group in northeast. Thus the urgency of the human promotion of Assam Adivasis cannot be overemphasized.

2. “How” of Human Promotion of Adivasis

2. 1. Evaluation of our approach to Human Promotion
Before we begin to consider what can further be done for the human promotion of the Adivasis will be apt and important here to examine what has been the response of the Church to the situation to poverty, injustice and exploitations. Samuel Rayan analyses five different responses of the Indian Church in general to such situations, which are equally aptly applicable to the context of Assam. The first response is called ‘The Spiritual alone’, which means Church’s concern is spiritual and religious; therefore questions of social justice and social power lie outside the scope and competence of the Church; these are the business of he state and of secular society. This reflects a dualism or dichotomy between faith and society which is wholly alien to a faith committed to creation, incarnation, resurrection and Sacramental practice. A second response is called God’s Will, which sees social realities and situations of poverty and deprivation as occasions of meritorious endurance for some and virtuous generosity for others. It often amount to pious fatalism and resignation to a providence which pre-determines history. But in reality no particular social setup or concrete historical reality is the result of divine determination. In fact God expects that we take our history into our own hands and mould and remold it. A third response is called relief and welfare, which chooses directly to addresses poverty, misery and suffering by providing relief and undertaking emergency measures. This is the traditional response Church has been offering in its pre-scientific sense of social responsibility, which has institutionalized relief works, which actually could remain as an emergency measures. A fourth response is called technology, which consist in projects for modernization. It introduces new technology into industry, agriculture, and communication in an effort to achieve a maximum of efficiency and to overcome what it calls ‘backwardness’, which is identified as the root cause of poverty, misery and suffering. However researches show that while improvements made through modernization in the economic sphere are real and production has grown but ironically the total human situation has worsened, the number of the landless and the unemployed has increased, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened. The fifth response is the called the structural Change, which is the kind of response the Church, is now beginning to give in its scientific approach taking its social responsibility seriously.
The last response, that is, structural change, believes that beyond individual sins and virtues there stand structural realities which are in themselves unbalanced, distorted, unjust and sub-human; these are responsible for the massive poverty, suffering and marginalization of millions of simple and hard-working people. This response believes that this unjust structures must be removed and replaced by one that will be less or not at all oppressive; which will grow ever more human, egalitarian and fraternal; and will form the basis of a just and loving society. Church is realizing more and more her social responsibility – which is reflected in the social encyclicals which are based on the principle of solidarity, subsidiarity and universal destination of common goods and so forth. In this connection there is need of forming social conscience and new moral pre-occupation. It means it is not enough to be virtuous at personal level but we are also morally responsible for unjust and sinful structures.
In this context it is very important to be aware of all these five responses because some of them, even all of them, may co-exist in the same local church, giving rise to tensions and conflicts. What appears to be dated and is rejected at the conscious level remains alive and operative at the level of the sub-conscious. The crucial questions here are – what type of response has the Church been offering to the situations of poverty, injustice, exploitations of the Adivasis of Assam? On what type of response is the church now functioning? A critical reflection on these questions along with her social responsibility will help the church to identify and transform the structures which are making the adivasis of Assam dependent, poor, marginalized.

2. 2. Commitment to Justice and Peace in the Context of Assam Adivasis
As we have already seen that human promotion is deeply related to promotion of justice and peace, and one of the important ways of promoting justice is to replace the existing unjust and oppressive structures with more humane structures. Thus commitment to justice becomes a crucial and essential element of human promotion .
Commitment to justice and peace in the context of the Adivasis of Assam in concrete would mean some of the following things. First, there should be a structural change, which would enable them to enjoy their constitutional rights like scheduling and proper implementation of PLA. The Adivasis are deprived of these rights only because they are not organized and lack collective bargaining capacity. Secondly, such dehumanizing situations as detribalization, alienation and marginalization need to be humanized. Thirdly, this community like any other marginalized people of Assam, India or Asia at large, needs the protection and defense against exploitations and injustice which are caused due to corruptions in the government, the discrimination in general against the tribals and the negative impacts of globalization.
As a matter of fact, some section of Adivasi community are aware of this need of justice and peace and in their own perspective, individuals and organizations have been carrying forward this task of liberation, the task of structural change in their own way. More radical groups believe in the armed struggle and so they operate in that logic. Adivasi socio-political, cultural, voluntary organizations like All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA), Adivasi Sahitya Sabha , All Tea Tribies Students’ Association of Assam (ATTSAA), Adivasi Council of Assam (ACA), Adivasi Sewa Samitee (ASS), Adivasi Mahila Samittee, Adivasi NGOs, believe in democratic means of creating a more just structure so their movements have been in that line. Whether the Church gets herself involved or not, these movements, which are genuine human aspirations and struggles against injustice and oppressions and which do not contradict in essence to the Christian vision of social justice, will go on. But Church’s committed and appropriate involvement in time will make a vast and positive difference. In this process of involvement and intervention church will bring to fulfillment her own mission for the Adivasi community of Assam with relevance and tremendous witness value. Even if such involvements do not bring glaring and immediate social transformation, they will have a symbolic and prophetic quality; they will carry a spiritual force which could be of great significance for the future church. In fact, church of northeast has been already playing this role in some manner directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, individually or collectively, locally or regionally. However, there is an urgent need of serious discernment and systematization of her involvement in the commitment to justice. This commitment to justice for the Adivasis of Assam in concrete needs to make use of the following approaches, tools and means like social analysis, social advocacy, social communication, networking and collaboration and revitalizing the existing structures of human promotion.

2. 2. 1. Social Analysis
In order to undertake a genuine and realistic approach to human promotion there is a great need of social analysis of the Adivasi community of Assam. Only such scientific and critical understanding can give the church the real force, the impetus, the conviction and the motivation, the proper orientation in working for the social justice of the Adivasis. Lacking this critical understanding can lead to some of the following disastrous consequences. “It dulls the spirit and hampers actions. In the absence of a clear and critical grasp of the social reality, our goodwill can develop services which may betray the cause of justice, hurt people, forge new chains of enslavement and lead the Church to take a wrong side.” It is when the analytically understood social reality is brought into that clear vision of justice only then concrete action programmes can come to birth. The better understanding of the contextual realities of the Adivsis will lead to the better and clearer discernment of the role Church has to play, and this in turn leads to firmer commitment to the cause of human promotion.

2. 2. 2. Social Advocacy
The Consultation titled “The prophetic Path to the New Millennium through Social Advocacy” organized by the office of Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and the joint consultation of FABC and the Christian Conference of Asia, titled “Ecumenical Consultation on Social Advocacy towards a Culture of Peace in the 21st Century” both held in Thailand in 2000 and 2001 respectively, proposed social advocacy as the comprehensive approach to promote integral human promotion and most of all to bring about justice and peace in Asia. This approach of Social Advocacy is validly applicable in the context of the Adivasi community of Assam. Some of the issues of the like the exploitations and the violations of the rights in the tea industry and deprivation of their rights to the benefits of Scheduled class, are as crucial and grave as the issue of Fishermen’s struggle in Kerela, Struggle of the Dalits for their rights in south India, in which church is directly or indirectly involved. The approach the Church has been taking in supporting of the peoples’ struggle for justice is through social advocacy. Perhaps some of these issues of Adivasis need the attention and consideration by the Church and their eventual solution and tackling through such tools as social advocacy.
Another important dimension of social advocacy from Christian point of view is the faith analysis. It brings into dialogue the faith of the church with the contextual realities where church exists and lives the faith. As an out come of this dialogue the Church advocates on behalf of the poor, oppressed and marginalized in the situation of injustice and exploitations. How does the Church and her each and every member live the faith in the situation of poverty, oppression, alienation and marginalization of the Adivasis of Assam? Does our faith impel us to speak and act on their behalf? How do our celebration of sacraments, methods of catechesis and pastoral care, which are expressions of our faith, to this dehumanizing situation?

2. 2. 3. Social Communication
Social communication plays a major role in dissipating and maturing of the ideas on the need and urgency of church’s social responsibility to the commitment of justice, also in making the new approaches, methods and tools acceptable. It also has a role in making the Adivasis aware of the exploitative and unjust structures under which they are victimized, and fill them with hope of liberation within Christian vision. The proposition adds the importance of the ‘use of alternative media, especially the Asian indigenous means of social communication’. Adivasis too have many indigenous means of communication like their myths and folklores, music and arts, festivals and symbols, dance and songs, ethos and tradition, which can be used for building awareness. This in turn will preserve, promote and transform their culture, which is the other aspect of human promotion. There is also the need to cooperate and enter into dialogue with media professionals and institutions in contributing to a healthy development. It will help in influencing the secular media for favour of the Adivasis.

2. 2. 4. Revitalizing the existing structures
The Church of Northeast has been engaged in the various developmental activities like promoting education, vocational training, health care, community development. Adivasi community also gets its share of benefit from these. However, as we have mentioned earlier that they have not been as effective for the Adivasi community as they are for other tribal communities. This makes us ask – why ? This really needs critical reflection and evaluation. Perhaps we could just take our system of education, which is one of the primary and most effective tools for human promotion in the long run, in relation to the Adivasis for our evaluation. On this point K. Poovathumkudy observes, “… In this regard the Church is not completely absolved from certain glaring omissions on her part. One of the areas the Church has not lived up to expectations may be in the field of higher education of the Adivasi youth. It is a fact that I.A.S officers, M.B.B.S. students and Ph. D degree holders are practically nil or very few from the community,… Many of the Catholic schools produce enviable results securing ranks and first divisions, and yet no systematic effort has been made from the Church’s side to eradicate illiteracy and make education, at least up to high school level, mandatory for the Catholics.” Apart from the above spoken negligence, it is also important to analyze other possible reasons. Could it be that the present contextual realities of the Adivasi community of Assam call for a fresh approach in catering the educational need of the community? For example in Assam, where government schools are available in every village and in tea gardens, what may be more relevant is to check school drop outs, create a ‘School going culture’ or awareness on education, organize tuition for metric exams, promote higher education and so forth. There are also other serious questions which need our considerations like – to what percentage of Adivasi population is our educational system catering to? What percentage of them can really afford for the type of education we have in some places?
Likewise the relevance of other means of developmental initiatives like vocational training programmes including technical schools and grihinis need to be evaluated on the criteria of sustainability. In other words, have they made the trainees self-supporting, or helped them to earn their living or part of their living in the profession they were trained for? If not then, could our training programme include the possibility of helping them to start and sustain a profession?
To put it in a nut shell, perhaps some of our existing structures and organizations, which are related to human promotion, are in need of revitalizing them with fresh approaches and methods so that they serve to the best of their capacities for which they were created. But above all, all these existing structures for promoting education, health care, vocational trainings, self-help programmes at the level of parish, diocese or region specially in relation to Adivasis need to draw fresh inspirations from the rich theological reflections on human promotion, need to be armed with new and effective approaches and methods like social advocacy and social analysis. All these structures should be oriented towards the empowering of the people and thus to use the expression of the Ecclesia in Asia, to ‘recognize the great reawakening and in peoples’ capacity ‘to Change unjust structure’. Basing on this vision of human promotion, salvation, evangelization, promotion of justice and peace, social responsibility there is also the need to add freshness in our liturgy, catechesis, pastoral activities and in the content and method of proclamation.

2. 2. 5. Networking and Collaboration
There are many individuals and organizations at the national and international levels that support to fight against the injustice and dehumanizing situations like that of the Adivasis of Assam. In India there are number of social movements with one common goal of social transformation, among many other objectives and also many tribal movements including that of Bir Birsa Munda, the Adivasi leader who led a movement against the British for Independence with the primary motive of asserting their tribal identity which covers political, economic and geographical spheres. Within the Catholic Church there are number of national and international organizations, renewal movements, NGOs, which are also very much connected to the human promotion. Likewise at the inter-ecclesial level and ecumenical levels there are numerous possibilities for networking and collaborating. A satisfaction has been expressed in the common action for integral human development through inter-religious dialogue (EA 31), and the significant role it could play in the near future.
Contextualizing the above to the mission of human promotion of the Adivasis implies the significant role the Church could play as catalyst to help in networking and seeking collaboration to gain the support, help, good will of such individuals and organizations for this community. In Assam trade unions play a very major role in determining and defining many of the rights of the workers. However due to corruption and unhealthy politicization they are unable to do anything much. Perhaps the Church could play a major role for the birth, growth and functioning of a common platform, which would orient the common objective of social transformation of all these movements by leavenizing them with the gospel values.

2. 2. 6. Obligation and Responsibility of the local Priests and Religious
In all these matters, the Adivasi priests and the religious have a special obligation and responsibility. The social responsibilities of the church in the gospel proclamation, ‘Church’s preferential love for the poor’, and ‘the prophetic role’ of our radical life – are better understood by us than the laity. We also better understand the contextual realities of our people. Hence it becomes our obligation and responsibilities to teach and bear witness to this teaching through our concrete social involvements. These will gain special significance when we relate them to the context of our own villages and tea gardens, where we come from and where the members of our families and communities continue to struggle and strive against poverty, injustice and exploitations. Our serious and systematic involvements will transform the society, humanize the exploitative structures and purify our culture with the transforming power of the gospel, and this in turn will be a great witness for evangelization. Such involvements on our part will be a great source of inspiration and model for our people and a real joy, support, encouragement and collaboration for those who are genuinely working for our community.

2. 3. Challenges for the Church
The mission of human promotion is not without risks and challenges. It means dealing with serious, risky and sensitive issues. “The judgments of pastors who are daily involved in the struggle for justice and are conscious of the complexity of the problems and the fragility of the men and women entrusted to them, made us more aware, one could say, of the human dimensions of what was considered necessary to do.” Here Cardinal Jorge M. Mejia, speaks of the delicacy, fragility and complexity of some of the tasks of promotion of justice. Yet it does not stop, hinder the Dicastery (Pontifical Council for Justice and peace) from committing itself to justice, rather makes it more understanding and sensitive. He continues that teaching is inseparable from witness. The principal commitment of the Dicastery is the deepening and diffusion of the social doctrine of the Church. But in doing so it gives witness to the meaning and content, as well as to the obligatory nature, of this doctrine. It is not so much a question of a theoretical teaching as of a teaching oriented towards action.

In the light of the preceding discussion such serious and sensitive issues faced by the Adivasis of Assam, which are directly related to the human promotion and the promotion of justice and peace, like the decade long displacement of the thousands Adivasis in lower Assam from their settlements causing land alienation and a series of related serious problems which are being compounded day by day, become a real challenge for the Church. Likewise to raise a voice against the powerful and well organized tea industry and some other groups who have vested interest in keeping the Adivasis community poor, dependent and marginalized, is a risky affair. Even in such sensitive situations church cannot remain passive, neutral or indifferent. She is called to bear witness to her teachings and the true values of the Gospel with ever greater sensitivity through the path of dialogue and
collaboration, but ever firm on her commitment even to the point of being martyrs .

The Challenges can come from within. The document, The Religious and the Human Promotion says, “Religious faced particular problems and difficulties when they tried to intervene more decisively in the areas of greater injustice and oppression. Conflicting viewpoints within the ecclesial community and within the Institutes themselves made the search for solutions still more difficult.” The above statement clearly indicates the fact of human experience that there will be conflicting views within the Church at different levels while trying to intervene in the area of injustice and oppression faced by Adivasi community. To some extent, diverse views are healthy so long as they help the discerning process in emerging a genuine and matured course of action. The fact that there are many possible and acceptable ways of promoting justice and that is not just one way of doing it but many, and the fact that such works undertaken by a group of persons or group of organizations produce greater and better result than a single individual or organization – invites the church personnel involved in working for the Adivasis to have an open attitude towards these realities, an open attitude to learn from each other, an open attitude to network and collaborate. Lacking this we may become more a hindrance than a help in the process of liberation of the Adivasis. Yet, not quite uncommon, due to the differences of opinions, we deprive the people of the benefit otherwise they would have avail themselves of. We really need to appreciate and collaborate with individuals who are genuinely interested in such works.
There are also obstacles coming from the community itself. It is an illiterate and unmotivated mass. Due to long history of oppression and exploitation they are slow to respond to the developmental initiatives and often of lacking perseverance in them. Because of all these challenges and obstacles there is a great danger and tendency for those involved in working for the Adivasis to compromise with the situation, to take an mediocre attitude or to condemn them with such expressions as – ‘this community will remain like this’ – meaning poor, marginalized, exploited. To prove the contrary is precisely Church’s challenging mission of human promotion among the Adivais of Assam.

Conclusion
Church sees human promotion not merely as a moral imperative of the Gospel but as the content and method of Gospel proclamation. It is seen not only as a social dimension of the Gospel but as a dimension of salvation. Salvation which is God’s reign of justice and peace begins in human history. Church, which prefigures the reign of God, has the obligation to proclaim and live this here and now. Therefore, Church’s commitment to justice and peace flows from this obligation, social responsibility and her very nature. For the Church of northeast this social responsibility gains special significance and relevance in the context of the peculiar and complex dehumanizing situations of the Adivasis of Assam. These situations call for an urgent and preferential response.

The general guidelines, the methods, approaches and the tools, the “how” of human promotion, which needs to be contextualized to the situations of poverty and injustice, marginalization and alienation; and which needs to address the serious and sensitive issues of the Adivasis of Assam, cannot be mechanically applied. This needs serious debate and discussion, evaluation and discernment by the Church. The foregoing discussions have shown us clearly that unless this commitment to justice goes beyond the works of relief and welfare to the promotion of human rights of the Adivasis and their empowerment, which will eventually lead to the creation of a just structure, nothing substantial can be expected in the area of human promotion of the Adivasis of Assam; and unless all these processes are centrally planned and executed at the regional and diocesan level, single initiatives by a parish or an organization will not bear significant results. All these process may require the Church to re-orient some of the responses it has been offering and may have to revitalize some of its structures, and may have to adopt altogether new approaches.

The missionary approach of Fr. Constant Lievens, which consisted in essence in commitment to justice, and more concretely in defending the rights of the Adivasis of Chotanagpur over their ancestral land, resulted in the emergence of a strong and almost self-sufficient and the beginning of the transformation of the Adivasi society. This is a great sign of hope for the Adivasi community of Assam. Perhaps, the dehumanizing situation of the Adivasis of Assam is a challenge for the Church of North east to follow the courageous and committed example set by Fr. Lievens, in order to make Christ’s message of integral liberation meaningful for the community.
There are already some signs of hope. There has been some awakening among the Adivasis of Assam leading them to organize themselves into movements. There is a growing concern among a small number of Adivasis to promote the rights of the Adivasis against oppression and exploitation. The process of empowerment through self-help programmes, Basic Christian communities, networking are beginning to start. In some of these processes church has made her own contributions. But Church’s serious and systematic involvements will certainly orient and hasten these processes.

May the following blessing of the Holy Father, John Paul II, a blessing which was specifically meant for the success of Church’s effort of human promotion, on the occasion of Puebla Conference, may also be efficacious for the Church of Northeast India. “I know that you propose to reflect seriously on the relationship and implications existing between evangelization and human promotion or liberation, focusing on the specific nature of the Church’s presence in this broad and important area. … May she, the ‘star of evangelization’, be your guide in the reflections you make and the decisions you arrive at. From her divine Son may she obtain for you: – the boldness of prophets and the evangelical prudence of pastors; – the clear-sightedness of teachers and the confident certainty of guides and directors; – courage as witness, and the calmness, patience and gentleness of fathers.”

As these commitments and responsibilities concerns the very faith and life of the church ……….experience in the reality. As these commitments and responsibilities.. have something to do with our faith, sacraments, catechesis, pastoral ministry etc. (The universal church provides us with, theological basis, general guidelines through various church documents and social encyclicals. These teachings (approaches, tools) needs to be contextualized, lived in the socio-politico, religious and cultural realities of the Adivasis of Assam. The teaching needs to bear witness – by creating an Adivasi society based upon the values of justice and peace, human dignity, solidarity and freedom (which is goal of human promotion) In concrete it means replacing the oppressive structures with more humane ones. …… the “why” aspect ……

church is beginning to and ………. The adivasi community of Assam will feel the liberative message of the gospel in every sphere of its life.

- The approach of commitment to justice of C. Lievens laid a solid foundation of the Church of Chotanagpur, a self –sufficient Church.

This process will lead to the empowerment of the Adivasis community, to take their just place in the society, -

The Churches in the North East have the important task of making Christ’s message of integral liberation meaningful to them. Greater involvement by the Churches in the development of their language, culture, literature, and especially their socio-economic and spiritual welfare is the need of the hour

As EA believes in peoples’ capacity in transforming dehumanizing structures and the present reawakening towards this transformation,

Challenge for the Adivasi community to feel the transforming power of the gospel
- Quote something appropriate – from EA,
Creation of just and humanized socio-politico, economic structure where human promotion is possible.
- all these unless centrally planned and executed will have little effect.
- Church sees the mission of humanizing the dehumanizing situation within her evangelizing mission, relating to salvation itself and in particular her social responsibility needs to be understood, contextualized for the Adivasi community of Assam at different levels, meaning parish, diocese, region etc.)

No mechanical application (General guidelines, the tools and approaches
- True human promotion of Assam Adivasi will take place, when the church of Northeast India adopts the approaches and methods like social advocacy, social analysis.

- It is an issue/concern which is a binding obligation to each and every Christian from Bishop to a lay Christian; to each organization at national and regional level to the smallest organization at parish level – draw cooperation.

- its relevance is great –As we have seen that proclamation is an integral part of the mission of human promotion flows from the very nature of the church since . is an integral part of proclamation and evangelization is the very nature of the church.

which is goal of human promotion to build (the church’s mission of building) a civilization of love based upon the universal values of justice and peace, human dignity, solidarity and freedom.

- This approaches ( are invitation for the church to re-evaluate its traditional response to the, how best they can be applied to our context, what could be the preliminary and preparatory steps which will render some of these tools acceptable and practical in our context. (“why” and “how” with changing ralities theologically rich guidelines, social responsibilities, tools)

CHURCH AND HUMAN PROMOTION AMONG THE ADIVASIS OF ASSAM

Introduction

1. “Why” of Human Promotion of Adivasis
1. 1. Human Promotion, Salvation and Evangelization

1. 2. Human Promotion, Human Rights and the Promotion of Justice and Peace

1. 3. Human Promotion of Adivasis – an Urgency

2. “How” of Human Promotion of Adivasis
2. 1. Evaluation of our approach to Human Promotion

2. 2. Commitment to Justice and Peace in the Context of Assam Adivasis
2. 2. 1. Social Analysis
2. 2. 2. Social Advocacy
2. 2. 3. Social Communication
2. 2. 4. Revitalizing the existing structures
2. 2. 5. Networking and Collaboration
2. 2. 6. Obligation and Responsibility of the local Priests and Religious

2. 3. Challenges for the Church

Conclusion