Perspectief 2018-41

2018 - 41 The Rishi People and the Catholic Church 63 Reag eer entering the details of the Jesuits’ 34 year experience among the Rishi (1918-1952), I will simply attempt a short description of the relationship between Rishi people and Jesuit fathers. The mission was weak from an organisational point of view. It suffered from the outset from scarcity of missionary personnel. Two Jesuit fathers at most were present at any one time in the vast territory of Satkhira-Borodol. Most of the time, however, there was only one missionary. Besides, the zeal of the missionary in the field was not supported by the Church authorities back in Calcutta, who were quite sceptical about the possibility of a successful mission among the Rishi. 12 The mission’s logistics were also weak. In the first period (1918-1930), the fathers followed the new mission going to and fro from Cal- cutta. It was only in the second period (from 1937 onwards) that a stable Jesuit presence was established in Satkhira. This, of course, would greatly contribute to the positive survival of the second mission. The pattern of Jesuit missionary activity reflected the theology of the time and the practical situation of the people. Usually, Jesuits visited Rishi villages that wished to become Christian. These requests were always linked to some problems that the Rishi hoped to solve with the help of the missionary. In this respect, the example of Borodol is quite enlightening. In April 1937, a delegation of Rishi from Borodol visited the Jesuits in Calcutta and told them that the whole village wished to become Christian. The Rishi of Borodol were oppressed by the local zamindar (i.e. big land owner) and the police. About ten of them were already in jail and the rest spent their days in fear. The positive answer of the Jesuits signalled the second start of the Satkhira mission. 13 Perhaps, unlike other missionaries working in other areas, the Jesuits were not taken aback by the apparent disinterest of the Rishi in religious matters per se . 14 Quite soon, the Jesuits understood that Rishi people were looking for security and protection, and they were quite prepared to provide it as far as they could. 15 This, of course, did not prevent Rishi villages from being unfaithful to their new religion. The diaries of Satkhira mission are full of such instances. Sometimes it was because of an unlawful marriage, other times it was because the father refused to build a school or a tank or, again, sometimes the refusal to protect a criminal in a court of law led a village previously Christianised to revert back to Hinduism. There was also a conversion in missionary attitudes. In the first period up to 1930, Jesuits working in the area of Satkhira-Borodol used the stick more than the carrot. Rishi who reverted to Hinduism were abandoned and denied assistance when in need. 16 Threats were sometimes