Genesis
It all began with a thought about NEFA that crossed the mind of a venerable and dignified lady, who was also a visionary and full of sympathy for the poor. Her name was Srimati Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India.
'Since my first visit to NEFA (present Arunachal) and Nagaland,' she wrote in her letter dated 21 July 1965 to a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, 'I have felt the need for some missionary work to be done there by non-interested persons.' Her next sentence proved her tremendous faith in Ramakrishna Mission. 'In this context the Ramakrishna Mission naturally came to my mind.'
Not only Smt. Indira Gandhi but also Shri Vishnu Sahay, the then Governor of Assam, was very interested to invite Ramakrishna Mission to the North-East, particularly to NEFA, for the development of tribal people through educational and medical services. Smt. Gandhi writes in her aforesaid letter, 'A few days ago, I received a letter from the Governor of Assam, Shri Vishnu Sahay …. He wondered if it would be possible for them (the monks of Ramakrishna Mission) to go to NEFA to start a Mission there doing educational and medical work ….”
Ramakrishna Mission commanded great respect and was welcomed since its mission was neither cultural invasion nor religious conversion, but an honest attempt to introduce some dynamic man-making activities.
