Begining of Adventist Work in East Bengal

The Beginnings of Adventist Work in East Bengal (Bangladesh)

Sabbath Keeping

Adventist work is understood to have begun in Bangladesh with Lal Gopal and Grace Mookerjees self-supporting service in 1906. Writing about the very beginnings Mookerjee suggests that God had already prepared hearts in Gopalgunj and two other villages that he visited “where these truths have entered and are almost doing a miracle.” Mookerjee describes the members at Gopalgunj as so honest that as having searched the Scriptures “to find out how to keep the Sabbath and now they keep it from even to even, and now they don’t have any cooking done on that day.” (LGM, ET, Apr 1906, p 4) (Ibid).
L G Mookerjee informs us that even before he went to East Bengal that two students of Serampore Seminary heard about Sabbath keepers from a teacher and came to his father who had been named as a convert. L G Mookerjee names one of them as D N Roy who he says was baptized in Calcutta.

W W Miller who attended a Bengali Christian Convention in Gopalgunj in May 1906 along with J C Little, B N Mitter, A C and L G Mookerjees, describes the challenges that the Sabbath Keepers faced. Land had been appropriated by the various missions on which they had built mission stations and had accommodated local converts. Church authorities were now demanding that Sabbath keepers vacate their property. They advised Mookerjee to purchase land to accommodate his converts. (WWM, ET, Oct 1906, 1, 2).

Lal Gopal’s father, A C Mookerjee, represented East Bengal to the 1906 year-end conference in Calcutta and reported that there were “about forty-five families that keep the Sabbath.” (ACM, ET, Feb 1907).  It is interesting to note that these are referred to only as Sabbath-keepers and not members since the first baptism was only in 1909. Perhaps baptisms were delayed till alternate living arrangements could be made for those who would join the Adventists.

All the Sabbath keepers of East Bengal were gathered in a meeting at Gopalgunj on Jan 27-31, 1909. J L Shaw reports that he attended the conference along with J C Little and A G Watson. Shaw reports that Mookerjee had built on the bend of a river a good thatched house with smaller buildings suitable for native brethren and a church too. Finally, on Sabbath, the last day of the meetings the first members of East Bengal, Krishna Dhan Poddar and the leper brother were baptized. (JLS, R&H Apr 29, 1909, 15, 16).
I have just identified a photograph on a glass slide in the GC archives from a picture apparently taken on the same day (labeled as in 1907, but most certainly in 1909 when Shaw, Watson and Little visited).

Seated L-R: Purna Chandra Dey, Krishna Dhan Poddar, Sadhan Chandra Sarkar (healed leper), D N Roy, Purna Chandra Gayen. Standing behind on the left appears to be P K Poddar. I imagine that the lady and child in front are the family of D N Roy behind.

At this point we can introduce the written record of Sri Kanto (S K) Poddar, son of K D Poddar and who was already born (1895) when Mookerjee took the Adventist message there.

Written Recollections of S K (Dadu) Poddar

(Condensed by Gordon Christo)

 As Dadu (Grandpa) Poddar has mentioned, these things happened a long long time ago and perhaps there might be some errors.  The reader must bear this in mind that some things are possibly not accurate. I have identified and omitted a couple.  Nevertheless, I am amazed at the number of details much of which is sibstanitated by articles and recollections of the time.

K D Poddar had been converted by M N Bose, a popular Baptist preacher who employed K D Poddar as a teacher and preacher in Gopalgunj. Subsequently K D Poddar and two other young men were sent by M N Bose to Serampore College, a Baptist seminary, to study for the ministry. However the young men arrived too late in the term to be admitted and were turned away with letters assuring that they would be accepted the following term. (SKP, 1,2). While two men went sightseeing in Calcutta, the discouraged K D Poddar settled down on the platform of Sealdah railway station to wait for their train back to Gopalgunj when he was given a tract on Jesus and Sabbath observance by Georgia Burrus. Reading it the next day he was convinced of its truth, and approached his church leaders and questioned them. They were unable to convince him that Sunday observance fulfilled the teaching of the Bible.

K D Poddar shared the tract and its message with D N Roy of Khatra village, one of those who had accompanied him to Serampore. Together they decided to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. They shared this truth with other Christians and the next Sabbath thirteen families gathered for worship. Anxious to find out more they wrote several letters to the address printed in the tract and continued observing the Sabbath for four months

 Finally according to S K Poddar, J L Shaw arrived.  S K Poddar reports that J L Shaw had seen the letters sent by his father K D Poddar to the printers of the tract which happened to be the Mookerjees at their press in Baithakana (Calcutta). J L Shaw apparently assured K D Poddar that they would send a pastor. (SKP 6). (There is however, no known report of J L Shaw going to Gopalgunj before 1909 though it is reasonable to assume that since there were only three or four mission stations (Calcutta 1895, Karmatar 1898, and Simultalam/Babumahal) 1900, that the superintendent would want to visit a place where there was interest in the Sabbath message. -- GEC)

K D Poddar helped L G Mookerjee and his wife Grace Kellog acquire two and a half bighas of land upon which they built a house with a large veranda where meetings were conducted, and another smaller house that K D Poddar moved in with his family. (SKP 9). 

Grace Kellog took ill in the second year and the couple moved to the US for treatment and study and AG Watson moved to East Bengal.  Watson arranged for the purchase of a mission boat and he and Poddar spread the message along the banks of the river. There is record that when the first church in Calcutta was organized, L G Mookerjee was elected elder of the church.

Sadhan Chandra  Sarkar, a leper, had read in the gospel of Mathew an account of the healing of  lepers and through personal prayer and faith, experienced complete healing (J L Shaw, SKP  ). Attached to the Baptist church where he found healing, he found it difficult to leave.  Only K D Poddar and S C Sarkar, the leper were baptized in the Jan 1909 meeting. In Feb 1910 a second meeting of Sabbath Keepers  was organized in Barisal. Around forty Sabbath keepers people attended regularly though more than two hundred came for the evening meetings.  At the end twenty were baptized including: D N Roy of Khatra village, the parents of Paresh Chandra Parui, Raj Kumar Mondal, and uncle of Rajani Biswas, all from Gopalgunj; and several from Borasi village including Umesh Chandra Sarkar, Kuteshwar Sarkar and Duarika Bala.

The date for this photograph is said to be 1907 and the description is of the pioneer workers of  East Bengal. However none were baptized before 1909, though one or two may have assisted L G Mookerjee before baptism.  Pictured here are: Front Row -- P C Dey, K D Poddar, S C Sarkar (the cured leper with the white beard), D N Roy, and P C Gayen. Middle Row --Sarkar, A Halder, U C Sarkar, (Dadu's father in law), P K Poddar (Dadu's brother), and K S Sarkar, (hidden). Back Row -- A G Watson, J C Little, L G Mookerjee. (This photograph is from the album of my uncle D S Poddar, son of S K Poddar--Gordon Christo)

Through the influence of Umesh Chandra Sarkar and Sadhan Chandra Sarkar, Abhoy Charan Mondal of Pathuria village and others from Joaria village were brought into the church. (SKP 11).

L K Mookerjee and K D Poddar took Raj Kumar Mondal and Paresh Parui, and Borada Kanta Poddar, and Umesh Chandra Sarkar for evangelism to villages along the river by boat. Thus Ranjendra Kumar Barui, and Aditya Follia of Chaurkhuli village joined the Adventists.  P C Dey, a talented musician from Barisal also joined the church around this time.

Aditya Folia and Ranjendra Kumar Barui alerted Mookerjee and Poddar about interests in Buraubari village and the team went there to witness. However they were opposed vehemently and threatened by Purna Chandra Gayen and Ananda Chandra Halder.  They engaged in a hot debate and eventually Gayen N S Haldar accepted defeat and were baptized along with P C Dey from Barisal.

K D Poddar, Umesh Chandra Sarkar, and Aditya Folia, and Rajendran Kumar Barui visited Suagram village where many Christians dwelt and contacted T C Bairagi and his nephew Indra Bhushan Bairagi who had heard of the message preached at Gopalgunj.

P C Dey joined Poddar and Umesh Chandra Sarkar and studied the Sabbath with Purna Chandra Arinda.

When L G Mookerjee returned from the US, C C Kellar left for Churadunga. In 1910 at the meeting in Barisal the work in East Bengal was organized better. L G Mookerjee, with K D Poddar as his assistant, was placed in charge of the work in Gopalgunj, Borasi, Jowaria, and Pathoria. Aditya Folia and Rajendra Kumar  Barui were appointed to care for Chaurkhuli; P  C Gayen, Ananda Chandra Halder and Basentat Kumar Halder had to care for Buruabari; and Tarini Charan Bairagi and Indra Bhushan Bairagi were placed over Suagram. Purna Chandra Arinda was place in charge of Kalikpur.

At first the missionaries thought to establish the headquarters at Barisal, but eventually L G Mookerjees agreed to sell their property, houses and church to the organization at a reduced price. Mookerjee was appointed in-charge of all the work in East Bengal and Little arranged for the acquisition of a house boat to visit various villages. The boat was christened “Bil-Bandhu.”

Two educated Baptist men from Sonadanga in Khulna Bipin Bihari Sarkar and Nibaran Biswas requested Little and Mookerjee to send an Adventist worker to Sonadanga. It was decided to send K D Poddar. Before he left Little and Poddar attended a Christian Association meeting. Poddar returned to Gopalgunj and Little caught a steamer for Calcutta. At Khulna it was noticed that one first class cabin was locked from inside. When the door was broken open the limp body of Little was discovered. Little passed away on Aug 10, 1910. K D Poddar proceeded to Khulna and P C Dey took over the work in Gopalgunj. He occupied the house that Poddar had lived in and one room was allotted to S K Poddar to continue his studies.

Mookerjee was away from East bengal, C C Kellar occupied his house and when Mookerjee returned, Kellar transfered to Churadunga.

Mrs Kellar giving Bible Studies (Picture given to me by Pastor W G Jenson --GEC)

L J Burgess was appointed director of the work in East Bengal in place of Little and called for a meeting of workers and families in Gopalgunj. At that meeting plans were made for a school and for additional literature to be published in Bengali. K D Poddar and P C Gayen initiated a discussion on a school and Little informed them that he had found a place at 6 Dihi Rd, Serampur Rd where there was a large bungalow, and several quarters. Srikanto Poddar was sent to Lucknow for training in press work.  L G Mookerjee, P C Gayen, Upendra Nath Halder, Premananda Poddar, were called to teach at the school. Miss Burroway came from Karmatar.  Because the school became crowded Mrs Burgess rented  a double storey building at Tiljala Hooghly and the girls moved there.

This photograph is from A K Mondal, a colporteur of Khurda,. The address is 6 Dihi, Serampur Rd. At the rear are the names of Stephen and Clark--probably visitors to a conference. Not sure.  P C Gayen and L G Mookerjee are in the group. More effort is needed to identify others.

In 1918 towards the end of World War I a general meeting was called in Calcutta. Soon after that K D Poddar walking to give Bible studies got a sun stroke and fell unconscious.  He died ten days later and was buried in the property of Biren and Bipin Sarkar. His wife received pension for 38 years till her death in 1956.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONS OF SOME INTEREST

EARLY FIRST GROUP OF WORKERS

1.    Aditya Folia from Chaurkhuli – father of D Folia. Working for SDA church.

2.    Ananda Chandra Halder from Buruabari – father of Upendra Nath Halder. Now dead.

3.    Krishnadhan Poddar from Gobra – father of Srikanta Poddar. Retired SDA worker.

4.    Lall Gopal Mukherjee from Calcutta – son of Akhoy Kumar Mukherjee. Now dead.

5.    Purna Chandra Arinda from Kallikapur – father of Dr. Suren Aravinda. Now dead.

6.    Purna Chandra Dey from Barisal – further information not known.

7.    Purna Chanra Gayen from Buruabari – father of Pratap Chandra Gayen. Now dead.

8.    Sadhan Chandra Sarkar from Borasi – further information not known.

9.    Umesh Chandra Sarkar from Borasi – father of Sunil (Samuel) Sarkar. Retired SDA worker.

SECOND GROUP OF WORKERS

1.    Aswini Kumar Bairagi from Kaligram – father –in-law of Rohini K Pandit. Now Dead.

2.    Basanta Kumar Halder from Buruabari – father –in-law of Rabi Sarjer. Retired SDA worker.

3.    Jacob Barui from Buruabari – futher informations not known.

4.    Jacob Barui from Buruabari – father of Niranjan Barui. Working for SDA.

5.    Jones Singh from Bisharkandi – father of Jitendra Nath Singh.

6.    Majhimahashay – In-charge for Bill-Bindhu. Further information not known.

7.    Nathaniel Das from Mihiham (now Chittaranjan), Santal Parganas.

8.    Paresh Chandra Parui from Gopalganj – father-in-law of Atul Ball. Working for SDA hospital.

9.    Prabhudan Kujur from Ranchi, Bihar – further informations not known.

10.  Pradosh Chandra Jalder from Chaurkhuly – father-in-law of Pradodh Ch.Gayen. SDA church member.

11.  Pratap Chandra Gayen from Buruabari – father of Probodh Chandra Gayen. SDA church member.

12.  Srikanto Poddar from Gopalganj – son of Krishnadhan Poddar. Now retired.

13.  Tarini Charen Bairagi of Suagram –father of Mohan Lall Bairagi. (Now Dr. Bernad M Lall) working for Andrews University.

14.  Upendra Nath Halder from Buruabari – father of Prafulla Kumar Jalder. Working for SDA church.

15.  Upendra Nath Sarkar from Dhamsar, Barisal – futher information not known.

16.   

THIRD GROUP OF WORKERS

1.    Dayal Madhu from Bethkachia –further information not known.

2.    Ganesh CHandta Baroya from Buruabari – father of Manoranjan Baroya. Working for SDA School.

3.    GIrish Chandra Arinda from Kalikapur – father of Rabin Arinda. SDA church member.

4.    Premanada Poddar from Gopalganj – father of Pramod Kumar Poddar.

5.    Prafulla Mandal (Dikshit) – father of Pijush Dikshit. SDA church member.

6.    Santhosh Kumar Halder from Shelabunia – father of Amiya Kr. Halder. Working in SMC

7.    Shital Chandra Madhu from Bethkachia – retired SDA worker.

8.    Suren Bisws from Gopalganj – further information not known.

9.    Surendra Nath Arinda from Kalikapur – father of Samar Arinda.

BOYS SCHOOL AT GOPALGANJ (During 1922, 1923, 1925, 1925, 1926)

The following boys came in 1922.

1.    Ashu Sarkar from Bakal

2.    Girish Chandra Sarkar from Barisal

3.    Prasad Ch.Gayan from Baruabari

4.    Prasanna Kumar from Barisal

5.    Reuben Dahli (Now Rabindta Nath Bas)

The following boys came during 1923, 1924, 1925 & 1926

6.    Chitta Bala (Ball) from Khatra

7.    Chitta Ranjan Sarkar –Village not known

8.    Dhiren Bairagi from Suagram

9.    Dwijen Folla from Chaurkhuli

10. Gopal BIswas from Gopalganj

11.  Gyanebdra Karmarkar from Dhandoba

12.  Hem Barui from Ambari

13.  Jiten Bairagi from Suagram

14.  Jiten Barui from Chaurkhuli

15.  Jitendra Nath Singh from Gopalaganj

16.  Joy Ballab from Charukhuli

17.  Joy Nath Halder Ramsil

18.  Lalit Karmakar from Dhanodaba

19.  Nagen Halder from Juluhar

20.  Peter Bairagi from Kaligram

21.  Pran Nath Halder from Ramsil

22.  Pratul Halder from Chaurkhuli

23.  Priya Nath Bairagi from Kaligram

24.  Rabi Sarkar – village not known

25.  Rajan Bagani from Bethkachia

26.  Rasik Bala from Borasi

27.  Samuel (Sunil) Sarkar from Borasi 

28.  Santhosh Barikdar (Sarkar) village not known

29.  Suranjan Sarkar – village not known

30.  Suren Baigragi from Kaligram

31.  Sren Bairagi from Suagram

SCHOOL OPENED AT BARAGAIN< RANCHI (for standards 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th) During 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931

Many of the students from Gopalganj came to  Baragain, Ranchi to continue their studies.

Among all these students, the following students worked continually in the SDA church and all of them are retired now.

G C Sircar                               P N Halder

Rabi Sarkar                             S K Sarkar

R N Das

Ashu Sarkar and Santosh Kr.Sarkar became star colporteurs but finally left the SDA Church.

Prasad Gayen worked in the SDA Hospital for several years and then left the work. But he remained a Seventh-day Adventist.

Joy Nath Halder, Lalit Karmakar, Prasanna Sarkar and Peter Bairagi and may be several others worked for several years in the church, worked in the hospital and in the school but did not continue and went out of the church.

Suranjan Sarkar died while in active service.

This is a collection of very very old record and there can be errors. Any kind of correction is welcome.

I have identified a few possible errors.which I have left out of this manuscript. (1) The first visit of J L Shaw, the marriage of Georgia Burrus, Some details of when L G Mookerjee was in teh US, and some details of the death of J C Little.I will now add some more pictures of the early work in East Bengal. Most of these were handed down to me by missionaries through Pastor W G Jenson about twenty years ago. -- Gordon Christo

Boys and Men in a Bengal Village

Girish Arinda and wife (about 1930)

Mission Teacher's Home, Dingadha (about 1930)

P C Gayen and an assistant teacher at Duigadha (about 1925)

Unidentified picture from Kellar's collection (1913-1930) [this picture was viewed by an antique collector who had purchased Kellar's driving license and sent me a copy. The same license plate is in the register]

Wellmans and Kellars

Wellmans (1913)

L G Mookerjee and Family

L G Mookerjee's sisters

Pat Burns and Mookerjee sisters

An Advenitst family. (Wellman collection 1913)

Appears to be a meeting of Bengali workers.  L G Mookerjee and P C Gayen are identifiable. Since W A Spicer is seated in the front middle it is likely 1921 since he visited India in Oct-Nov that year. [I have since learnt that this is the first constituency meeting of the Northeast India Union which was formed in 1919.]