Bible Society of India

Director), Media, Communications and Information Technology: Mr. Caleb Martin Hilton (Associate Director), Finance: Mr. Tinku George (Director) • Main Organ — India Bible Society Trust Association (IBSTA) • Parent Organization — United Bible Societies • Subsidiaries — 17 • Affiliations — United Bible Societies • Website — https: www.bsind.org/ • Remarks — Sowing Circle (A publication of the BSI) • Former Name — The Bible Society of India and Ceylon The Bible Society of India is a Christian body that is authorized to translate, produce, distribute and market the Bible and is a member of the United Bible Societies. The motto of the Society is to translate the word of God into languages, which people can understand, in a format they have access to, and produce the scriptures at a price people could afford to buy. The Bible Society works together with many organizations in India to translate the Bible into various languages of India. The Bible is now available in 74 Indian languages, the New Testament in 92 additional languages, Braille Bibles in 15 Indian languages for visually impaired people, and Scripture portions in 48 languages.

• Name — Bible Society of India • Abbreviation — BSI • Predecessor — The British and Foreign Bible Society in India and Ceylon • Formation — 21 February 1811 • Founder — The British and Foreign Bible Society • Founding Location — Nagpur • Type — Bible Society • Status — Society • Purpose — Literary • Headquarters — Bangalore • Location — India • Region Served — Indian subcontinent • Services — Contribution, Translation, Printing, Distribution • Language — English • Secretary General — Rev. Dr. Kavito G. Zhimo • Leader Title — President • Leader Name — Rev. Dr. Leelavathi Vemuri • Leader Title2 — Vice-President • Leader Name2 — Rev. Dr. Bijaya Kumar Pattnaik • Leader Title3 — Treasurer • Leader Name3 — Mr. Deepak George Pothan • Leader Title4 — Directors • Leader Name4 — Translations: The Rev. Dr. W. Along Jamir, D.Th. (Serampore)

On 21 February 1811, a meeting was held "at the college of Fort William for the propriety of instituting a Bible Society, as Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society established in London", entitled "The Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society" with the same objectives as those in London." This Auxiliary Bible Society in Serampore, West Bengal first began an attempt to coordinate the supply of Scriptures to existing Christians in Portuguese, Tamil, Cingalese, Malayalam, and Canarese languages. They sent 5,000 Cingalese (Sinhalese) New Testaments to a new Auxiliary Bible Society in Ceylon formed in August 1812. The headquarters of the Bible Society of India moved from Nagpur to Bangalore in 1950, under the leadership of General Secretary Premanand Mahanty. The Central Office of the Bible Society of India is located in Bangalore city in the state of Karnataka in South India.

• Succession of Translation Directors • * 1960-1981 The Rev. C. Arangaden, Th.M. (Princeton), * 1981-1984 The Rev. M. P. John, Ph.D. (Chicago), * 1984-1991 The Rev. John Philipose, Ph.D. (St.Andrews), * 1991-2011 The Rev. G. D. V. Prasad, M. Th. (Serampore), * 2011-2021 The Rev. Jonadob Nathaniel, D.Th. (SEAGST) * 2021- The Rev. Dr. W. Along Jamir, D.Th. (Serampore)

The Society translates and revises the scriptures from the original Biblical languages without prejudice to Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic or Charismatic. As such, the translations of the Society are held in regard by the Christians. Though the Catholics did not have scriptures in a language of their own, it was the outcome of the Second Vatican Council which paved way for the vernacular translations. Old Testament and New Testament Scholars of the Catholic Churches worked together with the Society to either translate or revise vernacular translations and were also instrumental in inter-confessional translations. The Rev. Father D. S. Amalorpavadass was a strong proponent for the inter-confessional translations making the Bible Society to come out with one such version in Tamil language. In other languages of India too, the Catholic Fathers were very much in favour of an inter-confessional translation. In the recent times, the Society works together with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India led by Fr. Govindu Rayanna, a New Testament Scholar and a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India.

The Directors who led the translation at the Society were notable in the Senate of Serampore College (University) having taught at either the constituent College of the University or its affiliated institutions. It was during the period of C. Arangaden that the translations department was built up together with the General Secretary, the rural Pastor, A. E. Inbanathan had much understanding of the Church and Christianity in India and worked together with the Senate of Serampore College (University). It was during their tenure that thoroughbred Scholars were appointed throughout India leading to quality translations. Auxiliaries of the Bible Society of India • No. — Founding year — Name of the Auxiliary — Location — State — Secretary • I. — 1983 — Aizawl Auxiliary — Aizawl — Mizoram — Rev Remlal Faka • II. — 1845 — Allahabad Auxiliary — Allahabad — Uttar Pradesh — Rev. Gershombhai Khirsti (Pro tem) • III. — 1951 — Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary — Guntur — Andhra Pradesh — Rev. Rev John Vikram (CSI) BD., M.Th., • IV. — 2020 — BSI Andaman Nicobar Auxiliary — Port Blair — Andaman Nicobar Island — The Dn. Ranjit Paswan • V. — 1813 — Bombay Auxiliary — Mumbai — Maharashtra — Rev. Clement Christian • VI. — 1811 — Calcutta Auxiliary — Kolkata — West Bengal — Rev. Soma Bhatkar • VII. — 1986 — Dimapur Auxiliary — Dimapur — Nagaland — Rev. Yiepetso Wezah, D. Th. (Serampore) • VIII. — 1969 — Gujarat Auxiliary — Ahmedabad — Gujarat — Rev. Ashish Amin • IX. — 1986 — Jabalpur Auxiliary — Jabalpur — Madhya Pradesh — Rev. Daniel Nath • X. — 1945 — Karnataka Auxiliary — Bangalore — Karnataka — Rev. Ms. B. S. Shashikala Alva, CSI, M. Th. (Serampore) • XI. — 1956 — Kerala Auxiliary — Kottayam — Kerala — The Rev. Jacob Antony Koodathinkal • XII. — 1953 — North West India Auxiliary — New Delhi — New Delhi — The Rev. Gershombhai Khirsti, CNI, B. D. (Serampore) • XIII. — 1983 — Odisha Auxiliary — Cuttack — Odisha — The Rev. B. K. Kouri • XIV. — 1966 — Ranchi Auxiliary — Ranchi — Jharkhand — The Rev. Ms. Neelam Tigga • XV. — 1956 — Shillong Auxiliary — Shillong — Meghalaya — The Rev. V.T.S. Langstieh • XVI. — 1820 — Tamil Nadu Auxiliary — Chennai — Tamil Nadu — The Rev. P. Moses Devadason, CSI, B. D. (Serampore) • XVII. — 2016 — Telangana Auxiliary — Secunderabad — Telangana — The Rev. John Basy Paul, CSI, M. Th. (Serampore)

Though General Secretaries were in short tenures, it was the rural Pastor, The Rev. A. E. Inbanathan who held the longest tenure and built up the society in all spheres in Translation, Promotion, Distribution and Resource Mobilisation. • Years — Succession of General Secretaries — Earned Academic Credentials/Other notes • 1944-1947 — The Rev. J. S. M. Hooper, WMMS, — B. A. (Oxford), M. A. (Oxford)/ Kaisar-i-Hind Medal 1938 • 1947-1949 — The Rev. George Sinker, C of E • 1949-1958 — Mr. Premananda Mohanty Laity — M. A. (Calcutta) / M. L. A. - Odisha Legislative Assembly 1937-1946 • 1958-1959 — Ms. Marjorie Harrison Laity • 1959-1960 — The Rev. W. Park Rankin, MCI • 1960-1981 — The Rev. A. E. Inbanathan, CSI — B. D. (Serampore), M. A. (Union), Ph.D. (Hartford) • 1981 — Major General O. M. Mani, Corps Laity — Retired Military Officer of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers • 1981-1982 — Mr. T. Albert Manoraj, IPS Laity — Retired Police Official • 1982-1985 — Mr. T. John Ramakrishnan, IAS Laity — Retired Civil Servant • 1985-2011 — Mr. B. K. Pramanik, OSCS Laity — Odisha State Service Official who voluntarily resigned from the service • 2011-2023 — The Rev. M. Mani Chacko, CSI — B. D. (Serampore), M. Th. (Serampore), Ph.D. (London) • 2023- — Rev. Dr. Kavito G. Zhimo — An Ordained Baptist minister from Nagaland. He served as the pioneering founding principal of Trinity Theological College, Dimapur, for 26 years (1992-2000 and 2004 -2022). Some of his important leadership position includes, President of the Sumi Baptist Theological Association (1990–1993), President of the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India (2012–2015), President of the Senate of Serampore College, University (2017–2019) and Chairperson of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (2017–2019).

• Illustration — Stamp of India 2010 The Bible Society of India Sowing Circle is a triannual magazine published in English in Bangalore by the Bible Society of India, for private circulation, containing reviews of its work throughout the Indian subcontinent. The magazine has often been referred to by Scholars and other Writers. David Vumlallian Zou of the University of Delhi in The Pasts of a Fringe Community: Ethno-history and Fluid Identity of the Zou in Manipur has substantially cited the magazine in matters relating to translations in Zou language.

The Society depends on original sources material of the scriptures available in Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic and Biblical Greek languages for which the sources include the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Novum Testamentum Graece.