Christi2099 at 01:22, 17 April 2026

2026-04-17T01:22:58Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian priest}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox clergy
| honorific_prefix = [[The Reverend|The Reverend Sister]]<ref name="Ordination"/>
| name = M. G. Basanti, [[Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church|JELC]]<ref name="Nowrangpur">Pastor M. G. Basanti, præst i Nowrangpur, Jeypore Evg. Lutherske kirke/JELC. (Foto i Gurukul, oktober 1993).[http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll123/id/102165]</ref>
| honorific_suffix = [[Licentiate in Theology|L. Th.]] ([[Senate of Serampore College (University)|Serampore]])
| image =Folder255 00004A.jpg
| image_size =150px
| alt =
| caption =M. G. Basanti at Chennai in 1993
| birth_name = M. Graham Basanti
| birth_date ={{Birth date and age|df=yes|1950|01|11}}
| birth_place = [[Shillong]] ([[Undivided Assam]])
| nationality =
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| education = [[Licentiate of Theology|L. Th.]]<ref name="Convocation"/> ([[Senate of Serampore College (University)|Serampore]])
| alma_mater = JELC-Jensen Theological College, [[Kotpad]],<ref name="Convocation"/> [[Koraput district]] ([[Odisha]])
| occupation = [[Priesthood]]
| years_active = 1974 – ''present'' (49 years)<ref name="Ordination"/>
| parents = [[Smt.]] Krupamani (Mother);<br>[[Sri]] M. G. Santisilo (Father)
| religion = [[Christianity]]
| church = [[Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church]] Society<ref>K. S. Behera, ''Missionary Activities in Orissa during British Rule'', Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, 2018.[https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/188725]</ref>
| ordained = 26 January 1992 at [[Jeypore]] ([[Odisha]])
| writings =
| congregations = [[Nabarangpur district]],<ref name="Nowrangpur"/> ([[Odisha]]) {{small|(1992–2009)}}
| offices_held =
*[[Matron]],<ref name="Count">[[Ken Gill (bishop)|Kenneth Gill]], ''Count us Equal: The Ministry of Women in the Church of South India'', ATTWI, Bangalore, 1990, p.187.[https://books.google.com/books?id=tCJrGwAACAAJ&q=count+us+equal+kenneth+gill]</ref> JELC-Girls' Boarding,<ref name="Padhi">Brundaban Chandra Padhi, ''Socio Economic Conditions of the Tribal Under the British Rule, 1803–1936'', Punthi Pustak, Kolkata, 1992, p.192.[https://books.google.com/books?id=C_UfAAAAIAAJ&q=girls+boarding+kotpad]</ref> [[Kotpad]],<ref>Otto Waack, ''Church and Mission in India: The History of the Jeypore Church and the Breklum Mission (1876–1914)'', Volume II, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dB7kAAAAMAAJ&q=girls+boarding+kotpad]</ref> ([[Odisha]]) {{small|(1974–1992)}}
*Councillor & Member, JELC Council & Synod {{small|(1974–1991)}}
*Regional Secretary, [[United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India]]
*Auxiliary Member, Bible Society of India, Odisha Auxiliary
*Regional Secretary, [[Association of Theologically Trained Women in India]]
*Member, [[National Council of Churches in India]]
| title = [[The Reverend|The Reverend Sister]]<ref name="Ordination"/>
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| footnotes =
| box_width =
}}
'''Graham Basanti'''<ref name="Nowrangpur"/> (also known as '''M. G. Basanti''') is a Lutheran pastor and the first [[woman priest|ordained woman]]<ref name="Ordination">''Four women ordained as pastors at Indian Lutheran Church – A dream come true in the service of the Church of India – Historical ordination of four women at Madhya Pradesh Lutheran Church'', 23.11.2015.[http://www.sieviesuordinacija.lv/4-sievietes-ordinetas-par-macitajam-indijas-luteranu-baznica?mobile=ok]</ref> from the [[Protestant]] [[Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church]] Society (JELC), headquartered in [[Jeypore]], [[Odisha]], India. She was in the forefront<ref>[http://europeana.nialloleary.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=a7fc8cb9729b097c17c02a393c0f9edf&repid=2 ''JELC Consultation'', Gurukul, October 1993]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> of JELC leadership, representing it at [[United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India]] in [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>JELC konsultation, Gurukul, oktober 1993. Rev. Ms. M. G. Basanti, JELC (præst i Nowrangpur), Rev. John Muduli, vicepræsident, ACS/Adivasi Christiya Samaj.[http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll123/id/103032]</ref> Basanti has been a founding member<ref name="ATTWI">''[[Association of Theologically Trained Women in India]] Handbook'', 1994.[https://books.google.com/books?id=SgN0HAAACAAJ&q=association+of+theologically+trained+women+of+india+handbook]</ref> of the [[Association of Theologically Trained Women of India]] (ATTWI),<ref name="FT"/> and was also elected to its executive committee for the bienniums 1979–1981<ref name="ATTWI"/> and 2002–2006.<ref>''IX General Assembly Handbook'', ATTWI, Bangalore, 2006.</ref> Basanti has also been associated with the [[National Council of Churches in India]].<ref name="FT">Premasis Satman (Edited), ''5Talents Magazine'', Issue 1, July 2012, p.4.[https://issuu.com/5talents/docs/5talents_magazine_july_2012]</ref>

After completion of her ordination in 1974, Basanti became a [[Matron]]<ref name="Count"/> of the century-old<ref name="Otto"/> all-girls'<ref name="Otto"/> [[Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church|JELC]]-Boarding<ref>Fathima Kutty Kapil, ''Education in Vizagapatnam District 1805–1900'', ''Itihas'', Volume 32, p.100.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ypBPAQAAMAAJ&q=education+in+vizagapatam+district+1805-1900+fathima+kutty+kapil]</ref> in [[Kotpad]].<ref name="Count"/> The boarding home was development-centric,<ref name="Padhi"/> which provided care for girls from interior areas.<ref>Neeta Bora, M. P. Dubey (Edited), ''Social Justice and Women in India'', Swaraj Prakashan, New Delhi, 1999, p.305.[https://books.google.com/books?id=KUK3AAAAIAAJ&q=missionaries]</ref> Basanti remained in its service for eighteen years until her ordination in 1992. She was then reassigned pastoral duties at [[Nowrangpur]],<ref name="Nowrangpur"/> until her retirement in 2009.<ref name="Ordination"/>

==Early life and spiritual formation==
Basanti's father used to serve in the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. Basanti was born during his father's service in [[Undivided Assam]] in [[Shillong]]. After her scholastic studies in various schools across India, she discerned her avocation towards spirituality in the 1970s and became an Aspirante studying between 1970 and 1974 at a Spiritual Formation Centre, that is, Jensen Theological College,<ref name="Otto">Otto Waack, Cynthia C. Lies, ''Church and Mission in India: The History of the Jeypore Church and the Breklum Mission (1876–1914)'' Volume I, Northelbian Centre for Worldmission and Church World Service by the Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Hamburg/New Delhi, 1997.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ix7kAAAAMAAJ&q=jensen+kotapad]</ref> [[Kotpad]], which was established on 10 April 1877.<ref name="Otto"/> Notable faculty associated with the college included spiritual formators comprising the [[Old Testament]] scholar<ref>Subhasito Snehomoyo Patro, ''Royal Psalms in Modern Scholarship'', University of Kiel, Kiel, 1976.[https://books.google.com/books?id=SW4PAQAAIAAJ&q=patro+kiel]</ref> Subhasito Snehomoyo Patro,<ref>[[Mar Aprem Mooken]], ''Indian Christian Who is Who'', Bombay Parish Church of the East, 1983, p.104.[https://books.google.com/books?id=u2s5AAAAMAAJ&q=indian+christian+who+is+who]</ref> [[Doctor of Theology|Dr. Theol.]] ([[University of Kiel|Kiel]]); and the [[New Testament]] scholar Kishore Chandra Patra Kosala, Dr. Theol. (Kiel);<ref>Kishore Chandra Patra Kosala, ''Taufverständnis und Theologie im ersten Petrusbrief'', Universität Kiel Dissertation, Kiel, 1985. Cited by [[Ursula Ulrike Kaiser]] in ''Die Rede von "Wiedergeburt" im Neuen Testament: Ein metapherntheoretisch orientierter Neuansatz nach 100 Jahren Forschungsgeschichte'', Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, p.415.[https://books.google.com/books?id=tIJ5DwAAQBAJ&dq=kishore+kosala+kiel&pg=PA415]</ref> among others.

Jensen Theological College, [[Kotpad]], was an affiliated seminary of the [[Senate of Serampore College (University)]], India's first<ref name="Ray">Sankar Ray in [[Business Line]], 11 April 2008 ''Almost a century later, the charter was endorsed officially under the Bengal Govt Act IV of 1918. '' Accessed 30 November 2008. [http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/04/11/stories/2008041150100400.htm]</ref> university (a university under Section 2 (f)<ref>Under section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956 a University means ''a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recognized by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act.'' The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since ''The Serampore College Act, 1918'' was passed by the Government of West Bengal.[http://www.senateofseramporecollege.edu.in/history/u-g-c-and-serampore-college/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612143603/http://www.senateofseramporecollege.edu.in/history/u-g-c-and-serampore-college/|date=12 June 2017}}</ref> of the [[University Grants Commission (India)|University Grants Commission]] Act, 1956)<ref>{{cite web|title=UGC Act-1956|url=http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/ugc_act.pdf|website=mhrd.gov.in/|publisher=Secretary, University Grants Commission|access-date=1 February 2016}}</ref> founded by the [[Baptist Missions]] led by [[Joshua Marshman]], [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]], and [[William Ward (missionary)|William Ward]]. During the university convocation held on 1 February 1975,<ref name="Convocation">''Convocation Brochure'', February 1, 1975 Serampore College, Serampore.</ref> at [[Serampore College]], [[Serampore]], [[West Bengal]], the university listed out the name of Basanti among those graduates eligible to receive the degree of [[Licentiate in Theology]] (L. Th.). Then registrars included [[Chetti Devasahayam]], [[CBCNC]], and [[J. T. Krogh]], [[Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church|NELC]]. On the convocation day, the [[Commemoration (liturgy)|commemoration mass]] was conducted by the [[Old Testament]] scholar<ref>G. Babu Rao, ''Content Analysis of Theological Syllabi – Old Testament'' in ''Religion and Society'', Volume XXXII, Number 3, September 1985. [https://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=g.babu+rao+doctoral+studies&btnG=Search+Books]</ref> G. Babu Rao, [[CBCNC]], then a faculty member <ref>''The Story of Serampore and its College'', Council of Serampore College, Serampore (Fourth Edition), 2005, p.92.</ref> of [[Serampore College]] at [[Church of North India|CNI]]-St. Olave's Church, [[Serampore]].<ref name="Convocation"/>

==Legacy==
[[Ordination of women]] in India had not been easy.<ref name="Count"/> [[Male chauvinism]] and other cultural barriers kept women away from ordination.<ref name="Count"/> In spite of these, [[Elizabeth Paul]], [[CSI Order of Sisters]], could be ordained in 1976. Other noteworthy ordinations followed with that of [[Eggoni Pushpalalitha]], CSI (1984); [[Marathakavalli David]], CSI (1989); [[Rajula Annie Watson]], CSI (1991); [[Lalitha Kumari (pastor)|Mutyala Sarah Grace Lalitha Kumari]], [[CBCNC]] (1992); [[B. V. Subbamma|Bathineni Venkata Subbamma]], [[Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church|AELC]] (1999); [[Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar|Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar]], [[Arcot Lutheran Church|ALC]] (2006); and many others down the line. Similarly, [[Navamani Elia Peter|Navamani-Elia Peter]], [[Methodist Church in India|MCI]], provided leadership to the [[Bible Society of India]] as its president.

In 2015, when Basanti witnessed ordination of [[women priests]] in [[Chhindwara]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], she remarked that:
{{quote|''To my surprise, I never had a problem serving the Church or churches. We now have 11 female pastors in our area''.<ref name="Ordination"/>}}

==References==
<references />

==Further reading==
*{{cite web |url=https://issuu.com/5talents/docs/5talents_magazine_july_2012 |title=5 Talents |last=Satman |first=Premasis |date=July 2012 |website=ISUU |publisher=Sharon Prayer Fellowship and Ministries }}
*{{cite book |last=Waack |first=Otto |date=1997 |title=Church and mission in India: the history of the Jeypore church and the Breklum Mission (1876–1914) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dB7kAAAAMAAJ&q=girls+boarding+kotpad|location=Hamburg/New Delhi |publisher=Northelbian Centre for Worldmission and Church World Service/Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge|isbn=9788172143985 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Waack|first1=Otto|last2=Lies|first2=Cynthia C.|date=1997|title=Church and mission in India: the history of the Jeypore church and the Breklum Mission (1876-1914)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ix7kAAAAMAAJ&q=jensen+kotapad|location=Hamburg/New Delhi |publisher=Northelbian Centre for Worldmission and Church World Service/Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge|isbn=9788172143473}}
*{{cite book |last=Albert |first=S. Vasantharaj |date=1992 |title=Orissa: Church and People Groups |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VYxAAAAMAAJ&q=theological+seminary+kotapad
|location=Chennai |publisher=Church Growth Association of India }}
*{{cite book |last=Gill |first=Kenneth |date=1990 |title=Count us Equal: The Ministry of Women in the Church of South India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tCJrGwAACAAJ&q=count+us+equal+kenneth+gill
|location=Bangalore |publisher=Association of Theologically Trained Women in India }}

{{Portal bar|India|Christianity}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basanti, Graham}}
[[Category:People from Odisha]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni]]
[[Category:Lutheranism in India]]
[[Category:Lutheran missionaries in India]]
[[Category:People from Koraput district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Christian clergy]]
[[Category:Women Christian clergy]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian Christian clergy]]

Graham Basanti - Revision history

Christi2099 at 01:22, 17 April 2026