NEW BOOK DIGS DEEP INTO HISTORY OF WEST BENGAL’S ARMENIANS
by Nyree Abrahamian

AZG Armenian Daily
19/02/2009

Diaspora

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Indian-Armenian community

Since the 300th anniversary celebration of Holy Nazareth Armenian
Church in Kolkata just a few weeks ago, Armenians all over the world
have been reading, learning, and talking about the fascinating history
of Armenians in India.

Armenians arrived in the region now known as West Bengal in the early
1600s, some 60 years before the British became established traders
there. Despite their small numbers, Armenians thrived in colonial
India well into the 19th century, undertaking construction projects
and running trading companies, shipping lines, coal mines, and hotels.

Their rich and relatively unknown history is now coming to light
as a result of the recent festivities. In addition to the 300th
anniversary celebration, Armenian churches in India have undergone
major renovations, and Catholicos Karekin II reconsecrated the church
in Chennai (formerly Madras), which had fallen into disrepair and
was all but abandoned. Hundreds of pilgrims from around the world
came to be a part of the historic event.

Whereas the recent revitalization of Armenian churches in India has
sparked renewed interest in the country’s Armenian community, Deacon
Tigran Baghumian has been poring over the history of Indian-Armenians
for years.

In 2005, Baghumian was appointed by Karekin II as the administrator
of the Armenian Philanthropic Academy of Kolkata and the deacon in
charge of all Armenian churches in India. The deacon spent three years
in India trying to revive the school and the community. In addition
to performing his administrative duties, Baghumian managed to pursue
a project that was near and dear to his heart, a true labor of love:
he researched and wrote a book about Armenian religious and community
leaders who served and were buried in India. His study, published in
Armenian, is titled Armenian Clergymen Buried in West Bengal.

Baghumian spent a great deal of his time in India in the graveyards of
Armenian churches, painstakingly cleaning gravestones and photographing
them, going through church registries, and researching the lives he
uncovered, one by one.

It may strike one as odd that someone would dedicate so much time
(and an entire book) to the study of long-forgotten gravestones and
documents, but Baghumian’s work is truly commendable when we consider
the instrumental role that the Armenian church and its clergy have
played in the creation and burgeoning of India’s Armenian community.

"It was with great pity that I noticed that neither Indian-Armenians
nor the students of the Philanthropic Academy – who walk over these
gravestones every time they go to church – know who are buried in the
Armenian cemeteries," says the young deacon. "Many of them don’t even
know the history of the Indian-Armenian community. So, as a young
member of the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
I considered it my sacred duty to photograph, catalog, and decode
the records inscribed on the gravestones of our clergymen, while
also trying to find additional information about them and their
service. . . . The aim of my study is to save the names of those
brave pastors from falling into oblivion."

Baghumian did not limit his research to clergymen. He also uncovered
graves of other members of the Indian-Armenian community, resurrecting
their stories, shedding light on the way of life of Indian-Armenians
through the centuries and their role in Indian society. For example,
one of the graves he highlights in the book belongs to an Armenian
woman named Rezabeebeh. Dating back to 1630, it’s the oldest Christian
grave in West Bengal. "We have to understand that the Armenian
historical graves are not only a part of our national history, but
also an inseparable part of Indian history," the deacon says.

Baghumian’s dedication to his work and his passion for rediscovering,
acknowledging, and respecting the Armenian past is apparent in his
writing. He says he is sad to see that of the few Indian-Armenians
who remain in India, most don’t speak Armenian and are disconnected
from their heritage. It is against this backdrop that Baghumian has
carried out his work. As a result, he has succeeded, in his own way,
to bring many of the Indian-Armenian community’s stories back to life.

"When, in the last century, the famous Indian-Armenian historian
Mesrovb Jacob Seth was writing about the Armenians of India, many
people were laughing at him," he says. "However, today it is impossible
to imagine Indian-Armenian history without his vital work." Baghumian
hopes that his research, too, will be valued in the future as a key
unlocking some of the treasures of the Armenian past.