Tripura Baptist Christian Union
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| Part of a series on Baptists |
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Historical Background |
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Doctrinal distinctives |
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Pivotal figures |
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Largest associations |
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The Tripura Baptist Christian Union is the largest protestant church body in the Indian state of Tripura. It has its head office in Agartala, the state capital.
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[edit] History
It was formed under the leadership of Rev. M.J. Eade in the December of 1938 in Lakshmilunga, a village six miles from Agartala.
TBCU was supported and funded from the beginning by the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society and the NZBMS provided most of the staff till the 1960s. After then till now TBCU has become an independent indigenous and self supporting church organisation in the state.
It employs many pastors and evangelists and also runs many community programs such as schools and dispensaries.
TBCU celebrated its Golden jubilee and Diamond Jubilees in 1988 and 1998 respectively with much fanfare.
Recently it has started partnerships with the Zoram Baptist Mission of Mizoram.
[edit] The Organization
The TBCU has affiliations to the Asian Baptist Federation [1] and the Baptist World Alliance,[2]. It has 12 associations affiliated to it. The associations are:
- Sadar North Baptist Association (SNBA)
- Central Baptist Association (CBA)
- Khowai-Ompi-Kamalpur Baptist Association (KOKBA)
- Udaipur Baptist Association (UBA)
- Belonia-Sabroom Baptist Association (BSBA)
- Kailashahar Baptist Church Association (KBCA)
- Jampui-Sakhan Baptist Association (JSBA)
- Achik Krima
- Amarpur-Raima-Sarma Association (ARSA)
- Saisawm-Sazai Baptist Association (SSBA)
- Dharmanagar-Longai Baptist Association (DLBA)
Every year a meeting of the Council Members of the TBCU is organized in any of the churches within the Union (TBCU).
[edit] Office bearers of TBCU
- General Secretary : Rev. Ngaituasunga Darlong (KBCA)
- Associate General Secretary : Rev. Lalthanliana (JSBA)
- Secretary : Rev. Rana Kusum Debbarma (SNBA)
[edit] Tripura Theological School
The TBCU runs a Theology school/college from its mission compound in Agartala.
[edit] Social Care
[edit] Hospitals and dispensaries
TBCU ran its own Hospital till 1980 providing free treatment to the tribals and locals of the state.
[edit] Saint Paul's School, Agartala
The TBCU run's the one and only school under TBCU authority, the St. Paul's School which is situated in Arundhutinagar, Agartala. The school was started in the 1940s as the first English Medium school in the Kingdom. The Principal of School is Rev. Lalrema Darlong and the Vice-Principal Rev. Sukhendu Lal Nath.
The school is a Higher Secondary school with classes from K.G. to Class XII. It is affiliated to CISCE. There are more than 1500 students. [3]
[edit] Sadar North Baptist Association
Sadar North Baptist Association started as a small circle within the Central Baptist Association of TBCU. It later on evolved and developed into a full-fledged association of TBCU with many churches affiliated to it. Today there are around more than 100 churches and fellowships within Sadar North Baptist Association. Some the pioneers of the Baptist's in Sadar North is Life Deacon Biralal Debbarma (one of the first three christians in the Kokborok speaking community) and Late Rev. Rabindra Debbarma.
SNBA, as Sadar North Baptist Association is abbreviated, has the highest strength of Kokborok speaking Christian community in Tripura. Estimates says that there are roughly 16,000 baptists in Sadar North. SNBA has headquarters in Agartala. The Executive Secretary of SNBA is Rev. Chandra Kanta Debbarma.
Some churches like Kisong Baptist Church and Khumulwng Baptist Church have huge strength of members whereas others like Roktia Baptist Church and Rasu Baptist Church have less strength of members.
[edit] TBCU and Militancy In Tripura
The Government of Tripura uncovered evidence asserting that the Baptist Church in Tripura has been helping the Tripuri militants, such as the NLFT in the state. The NLFT militants, who are fighting to regain the independence of Tripura, have been reported to be forcing some local tribals to convert to Christianity at gunpoint and turning them against the Bengali Hindus in the state [4].
[edit] Incidents
The Left-Front Government have accused the Baptist Church of Tripura of supporting this violent campaign of NLFT by providing funding and arms for the group after an incident in April of 2000,when Nagmanlal Halam, secretary of the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, was caught with 50 gelatine sticks, 5 kilograms of potassium and 2 kilograms of sulphur and other ingredients for making explosives to the group. Halam later confessed to buying and supplying explosives to the NLFT for the past two years.
In another incident in August 2003, police arrested the secretary of a Baptist Christian Missionary church in North Tripura District who was in possession of five kg of potassium, one kg sulphur, few gelatin sticks and 45 gm of high explosive materials [5].
