Missionaries in a postcolonial context: Jesuit education in Ranchi (India), 1947-

Missionaries stand quite awkwardly in the postcolonial era. Critics consider them as agents of a continuing ‘civilizing mission’ (Edward Said): the duty to bring (Western) ‘civilization’ to other parts in the world. Advocates emphasize missionaries’ continuing role in the development of new identities and the emancipation of marginalized regions and groups. This research project aims to participate in this debate by analyzing Christian missionary education in India after independence in 1947. The project wants to study how missionaries (and their local successors) changed their ideas about education and how they translated this into practice. It will also pay attention to different levels of agency (decision-making) and to the changing contexts these missionaries were working in. These include not only the (multi-)religious and political environment, but also the local perception of missionaries and their (educational) activities. These questions will be answered via the case study of Ranchi. This is the second largest Jesuit province in India and the most important center of Belgian missionary activity after Congo. The focus on the postcolonial era and the attention to the multi-religious environment are important innovations in missionary history and the history of education.