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An Assignment
On
Nonprofit organization
(Church)
Submitted to: MR. MAHMUD ULLAH
Professor
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka.
Submitted by: Mary Akhi Gomes
Roll no-77
MBA 9th batch
Section – A
Department of Marketing
Date of submission: 22nd March, 2009
University of Dhaka.
Introduction:
Christianity in the Indian subcontinent is almost as old as Christianity in its birthplace. There is a strong tradition in south India that St. Thomas the Apostle introduced Christianity in India in 52 AD. ‘St. Thomas Christians’ there are a living proof of it. Yet, many a Muslim and Hindu in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh wrongly consider Christianity a recent phenomenon and a foreign one at that.
The Advent of the Portuguese and Christianity in Bengal:
Renowned Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope of South Africa in 1498 and landed at Calicut (present Kozikode of India) by discovering the sea-route to India. From 1500 onwards, the Portuguese established their power first in Cranganore, then to Cochin and Goa. With these traders and commercial opportunists, also came Franciscan, Dominican, Augustinian, and Jesuit missionaries to bring Indian heathens to Christ.
From 1517 onwards, Portuguese traders from Goa were traversing the sea-route to Bengal but were not successful in establishing trading posts in this part of India. Only in 1537, were they allowed to settle and open customs houses at Satgaon (near present-day Hooghly) of West Bengal (India) and Chittagong of present-day Bangladesh. In 1577, Mughal emperor Akbar permitted the Portuguese to build permanent settlements and churches in Bengal.
The first Christians in Bengal were the Portuguese themselves. After their intermarriage with local women, their descendants became the first indigenous Christians. Then came the