New Bible in local Assamese language released in Guwahati, India

Assamese Catholics now have access to the authentic Catholic Bible in their mother tongue.

The new Assamese Bible (Catholic Edition) was released on February 14, 2022, at Don Bosco Institute (DBI), Guwahati, by Archbishop John Moolachira in the presence of Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil.

The Catholic Edition of the Assamese Bible is a long-drawn ecumenical effort coordinated by Father Lukose Cheruvalel, SDB.

The release function was ecumenical and was attended by renowned biblical scholars such as Dr. Reverand BJ Syiemlieh, Reverend Phidolis Dkhar, Dr. Makhanlal Das, and others.

The family members of Late Reverand Giridhar Bora, who was the Chief Translator, Late Reverand Deben Bhuyan and Late Miss Lydia Singha (Editorial Committee members) were present on the occasion. A minute of silence was observed in the memory of members of the translation team who died before the completion of the project.

At the function, Dr. Syiemlieh stressed the importance of a new common-language ecumenical translation.

Quoting the Bible, Dr Makhanlal, the Pastor of Guwahati Baptist Church, said, ''It is the Lord's doing, a marvel in our eyes'' (Psalm 118: 23).

Protestant Bibles have only 39 books in the Old Testament, while Catholic Bibles have 46. The seven additional books included in Catholic Bibles are Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. The Catholic canon also includes sections of the Books of Esther and Daniel that are not found in Protestant Bibles.

Dr Makhanlal , who is also a qualified Engineer and a professor, recounted his joyful experience translating these Deuterocanonical Books.

Father (Dr) John Parankimalil SDB, the Executive Director of DBI and the Director of Don Bosco Communications, compered the release function.

Archbishop Moolachira thanked the Bible Society of India for bringing out the Assamese Bible with high professional standards.

The Archbishop stressed the importance of reading the vernacular translations of the  Bible and  keeping  up the spirit of ecumenism and dialogue among different denominations in Assam.

Father Lukose Cheruvalel, coordinator of the project, in his vote of thanks, recalled everyone who contributed to the successful outcome of the project, especially Don Bosco Communications Guwahati. Father Lukose, from the Kottayam District of Kerala, has gained proficiency in Assamese over the years.

There are about 30 million Assamese-speaking people in the State, but the number of Christians is negligible. Assamese is a very developed language with rich literature.

It is worth mentioning that the very first book to be printed in the Assamese language was the Bible.

In October 2016, then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi released a reprint of the first printed book in Assamese:  'Dharmapustak' (an Assamese version of the Bible translated by Atmaram Sarma and printed in 1813) at the Guwahati Literary Festival and Book Fair that celebrated 200 years of Assamese printing.

Dr. William Carey of the then British Baptist Mission was instrumental in bringing out the book together with Atmaram Sarma, the Assamese translator of the Bible in 1813. The original volume runs into 864 pages.