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Any attempt to describe Indian Catholic life in broad terms runs up against the genuine diversity of a country misperceived by many foreigners to be culturally and linguistically monolithic. The Northeast region, primarily bounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China, yet linked to the rest of India by a narrow land bridge, is one place where India’s diversity is particularly apparent. The Northeast region not only stands out culturally, linguistically, and religiously from “mainland” India but is also incredibly diverse within. It is the only part of India to have states that are

Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are states in north-central India. Uttar Pradesh, home most famously to the Taj Mahal, is home to 241 million people. It was once a seat of the Mughal Empire, but today it is 80% Hindu and is known as a fountainhead of Hindu culture. The population primarily speaks Hindi dialects, and there are significant numbers of Bhojpuri and Urdu speakers. Our articles on Uttar Pradesh thus far highlight the Matridham Ashram . In Jharkhand, most of the population of 33 million people lives in rural areas, much of it taken over for mining by large interests from outside the

While officially secular, India is one of the most publicly religious countries on the planet. Nearly 80% of the population is Hindu, and Hinduism has made the most evident and profound impact on the culture there. But India is extremely pluralistic, and its religious vibrancy – in all forms – is put on public view in vivid color. Catholicism continues to be influenced by the many other religions that thrive there. Catholic life in India is especially oriented to devotional practice, in ways that draw from Hindu, Syrian, colonial Portuguese, and contemporary Catholic practices. India is also

Tamil Nadu, “Tamil country,” a state in the south-easternmost part of India, is home to 72 million people whose native language is Tamil. The state is about 6% Christian, according to the 2011 census. Latin-rite Catholics are said to be the largest of the Christian groups. In cities like Chennai, Catholic churches and institutions are quite prominent. Local tradition claims that the Apostle Thomas preached in Tamil Nadu and was martyred on a hill in Chennai known as St. Thomas Mount. Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Catholic descendants of the St. Thomas Christians live in Tamil Nadu today. The

Though a minority religion, Catholicism has ancient and deep roots in the southern Indian state of Kerala, home to more than 33 million people. Kerala is the heartland for two Syrian-rite Catholic Churches, the Syro-Malabar and the Syro-Malankara Churches, and is home to a large Latin-rite Catholic population. In 2011, according to the Kerala census, Christians constituted 18% of the population, a much higher ratio than is true for India as a whole.1 1K. C. Zachariah, " The Syrian Christians of Kerala: Demographic and Socioeconomic Transition in the Twentieth Century," (working paper, Center

Karnataka, in southwestern India, is home to more than 60 million people. The state is an expansion of the former Kingdom of Mysore, its boundaries significantly designed to incorporate Kannada-speaking people. Kannada is the primary language of about ⅔ of the population, though residents of Karnataka also speak Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Urdu. The articles here focus on the capital city of Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore. Home to more than 15 million people, Bengaluru is India’s third-largest city, having transformed in the last several decades into a world-class center for

As the overview of Khasi and Pnar Catholicism notes, religion before the arrival of Christianity was not organized around temples, churches, or ordained leaders, but was largely home- and clan-based. Khasi and Pnar Catholicism, on the other hand, is highly organized through very visible institutions like parishes, schools, hospitals, and service agencies. At the same time, the home remains a particularly important place for prayer, echoing traditional religion. Catholic families often decorate and utilize the main room of the house for prayer as well as social purposes. Families host prayer in

Whether compared to mainland Indian norms or norms in other parts of the world, family and gender roles are undoubtedly among the most interesting characteristics of Khasi and Pnar (Jaintia) life . Family is the central, determinative social institution here, but the organization of family life, including for Catholics, differs markedly from the father-as-head-of-household structure that Catholicism often idealizes. In interviews, people from “mainland” India frequently commented on how very different Khasi and Pnar cultures are from their own in terms of family and gender roles.1 1The

November 2, All Souls’ Day, is a day of significance in the Catholic Church worldwide, though in some places it passes without much attention and in a growing number of countries is overshadowed by Halloween. For Khasi and Pnar communities of Meghalaya, India , All Souls’ Day is one of the major Catholic events of the year.1 Catholic families celebrate it by cleaning and decorating graves with flowers, lighting candles on them, and celebrating Mass in the cemetery. The All Souls celebration in the capital, Shillong, which lasts 1Halloween, incidentally, is not celebrated in this region.

As is true in many parts of the world, the pattern and priority of feasts in the Khasi and Jainta homeland has its own local rhythm. Christmas and Easter draw the highest Mass attendance of the year, though Christmas is not otherwise celebrated with all of the cultural fanfare (or distraction) that defines it in many parts of the world. Asked if there was anything special that they did for Christmas, such as the way people in some cultures decorate extensively or exchange presents, one person’s answer covers what others said: “We didn’t do anything. We just get cakes… We go for Mass… that is