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{{short description|Indian Christian religious leader (1830s-1891)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2026}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
{{Indian patronymic|Ramke|Momin}}

'''Ramke W. Momin''' (1830s{{cn|date=February 2026}}—January 25, 1891) was a [[Garo (tribe)|Garo]] Christian religious leader, missionary and evangelist.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|204}}

==Biography==
Ramke was born into the [[Garo (tribe)|Garo]] tribe of northeastern [[India]]<ref name=gravememorialized>{{Cite web|url=https://meghalayatimes.info/garo-icon-ramke-w-momin-s-grave-to-be-memorialized/|title=Garo Icon Ramke W Momin's grave to be memorialized|author=|date=2016-11-01|website=Meghalaya Times|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-10-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014193202/https://meghalayatimes.info/garo-icon-ramke-w-momin-s-grave-to-be-memorialized/|archive-date=2019-10-14}}</ref> in the 1830s.{{cn|date=February 2026}} Growing up in an [[animist]] culture, Ramke was an unusually devotional child, often catching little animals or birds and sacrificing them to the spirits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dspace.nehu.ac.in/bitstream/1/11152/1/M%20S%20Sangma%201.pdf|title=Ramke W Momin A search for truth|last=Sangma|first=MS|date=15 October 2019|website=NEHU|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|53}} In 1847, the [[British Raj|British]], who were extending their rule in India, invited boys from the Garo tribe to receive an education in [[Goalpara]]. Ramke's uncle, Omed, began attending the school, but Ramke was delayed in joining him by six months, since he had recently broken his arm.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|54-55}} While there, he learned about [[Hinduism]] and its teachings about [[Reincarnation#Hinduism|reincarnation]]. He struggled with the idea that people could reincarnate as animals, or vice versa, which went against the beliefs he was raised with.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|56, 61}} He prayed for three days for clarity and received a [[Vision (spirituality)|visitation]] from Heaven, declaring that his prayer was heard.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|63-64}} He received ridicule from almost everyone when he tried to tell others about the vision, except for the Hindu [[sadhus]], who encouraged him to learn more about Hindu theology. They introduced him to the figure [[Vishnu]], whose incarnation, [[Rama|Ram]], Ramke began to worship.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|64-66}}

He later came across a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Tract (literature)|tract]] that convinced him that Hindusim was a false religion. His uncle Omed had also read the tract and invited Ramke to his home in [[Gauhati]] to study Christianity.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|68-69}}. Ramke worked as a policeman during this period.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|70}} He and Omed were baptised in 1863,<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|78-80}} contrary to the wishes of their wives.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|81}} Ramke and Omed begged for a missionary to be sent to their people, eventually offering to do the work themselves. They were accepted and received a salary for their work.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|81-83}} Though Ramke preached, he primarily focused on starting a Christian school in [[Assam|Damra]], which opened in 1864.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|84, 198}} Both men established villages for Christian converts: Omed started the town of Rajasimla at the foot of the Rajasimla Pass, while Ramke founded the village of Nisangram near [[Assam]].<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|87, 106, 174, 195}} Ramke was ordained as pastor in 1872 and served as headmaster of the Normal School, both at Goalpara and at [[Tura, Meghalaya|Tura]].<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|174, 202-203}} He also assisted in the translation of the Scriptures into Garo and a Bengali-Garo dictionary.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|279}}<ref name=gravememorialized/>

Missionary William Carey wrote that Ramke converted more than 2,200 people over the course of his career.<ref name=williamcarey>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.2078/page/n1/mode/2up|title=A Garo Jungle Book: Or The Mission to the Garos of Assam|last=Carey|first=William|publisher=The Judson Press|location=Philadelphia|date=1919|pages=53, 106, 174, 198-205}}</ref>{{rp|204}}

==Personal life==
While stationed as a policeman in Damra, Ramke met a Garo woman named Suban, who he later married.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|72}}<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|71-72, 174, 220}} Her parents tried to convince her to leave him after news spread of his conversion to Christianity, but she refused.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|75}} Their first child died in infancy,<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|75}} while, in the 1880s, two more of their children died within six months of each other.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|204-205}}

Ramke died on January 25, 1891.<ref name=williamcarey/>{{rp|205}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:1830s births]]
[[Category:1891 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Goalpara district]]
[[Category:Garo people]]
[[Category:Indian Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:Indian Christian missionaries]]

Ramke W. Momin - Revision history

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