Reading about 150 bikers going round some sections of Nagaland in commemoration of the upcoming celebration of 150 years of Christianity in Nagaland with a theme ‘Clean Election Movement’ was a reminder of the early missionaries. When I took up my pastoral work in my village of Wokha in 1976, I used a Lambretta Scooter which made the old villagers call me ‘Andarshing missionary’. Later I came to know that Rev. Bengt Anderson of Impur or Zunheboto used to come to my village on a noisy bullet bike. Perhaps some more missionaries at that time used such bikes to reach the mountains of Naga Hills District (of Assam that time).
Rev. JE Tanquist with family served the longest as missionary to the Nagas (1912 – 1948). He spoke of his adventure with his son on bicycle between Kohima and Wokha sitting on it to descend and pushing it to ascend. He had a two wheeler, not motored like the bullet bike but pedaled to reach places with the gospel.
Mrs. Mary Clark among the Northern Nagas spoke of two legs (not wheels) of a Naga who carried her facing backward to descend the hills. She said she could almost touch the mountain as they descended.
The purpose of the bikers was more important than their wheels – to make people aware of the importance of Clean and fair Election. Let us not take the event as a stereotypic phenomena usually coming around such time but take it as God’s untiring reminder to lead us to repentance and do better than we had done so far. Clean and fair election alone can make us better Christians and not by prayer and fasting at the gate of corruption hall.
Rev. Dr. Ezamo Murry