Logo

The book is a humble attempt to trace the history and missionary attempts of the church in the region of Jharkhand and West Bengal. From the title of the book, Towards A Local Tribal Church: An Anthropological and Missiological Exploration of the Jesuits among the Santals, it is clear that there is an attempt to create a local tribal church among the tribal people, particularly among the Santals. One of the major difficulties that we face today when we deal with the tribal people is that the Santals, who have become Christians, have to a great extent lost their identity as the Santal tribe. Since they are tribal people and live in groups there are always non-Christians among them and so it becomes a problem for some of them to live together as one community. Author's goal is to find out how the Santals can keep their identity as Santals and remain Christians as well. That is a challenge for author as well as readers at stake.

A comprehensive analysis of the situation in the light of faith can lead us to proper liberative action. We need to plan effectively and efficiently to have a pastoral vision for the Santals. Author's is to have the idea of a new vision of humanity for Santals to live a meaningful happy life. Our own experience has shown that the activities of new humanity, while enhancing the spirit of mutual understanding, lead to social actions that value the contribution of all tribal people and inspire hope for a united tribal society.