ABSTRACT
The geopolitical region known as Northeast India remains an outlier to Mainland Indian history and social life. Northeast India is well known for its unique ethnic composition and cultural diversity that is pertinently shaped by historical forces and geographical location. This chapter analyses the phenomenal rise of Protestantism in the Indo-Myanmar frontier starting from the last quarter of the 19th century, looking into the historical developments and culture wars in the Assam plains and ministerial Burma that impacted the frontier region. It explores how the American brand of Baptist faith became a force to be reckoned with in the frontier region among several ethnic communities that, in turn, had influenced their culture, ethnic identity, and political aspirations. The chapter analyses the primacy of missionary encounters, which came at the backdrop of British rule, transforming the Indo-Myanmar frontier, thereby affecting the culture and politics of modern Northeast India.
