Ruksin: Family members and well-wishers have observed the first death anniversary of a pioneer of Christianity in the Adi belt of the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Yayi Topa Taying, a resident of Ngorlung village in Ruksin circle of East Siang district, had also assisted the British soldiers during World War-II in Burma as a porter.
Taying, who was born in Pongging village in Upper Siang, died on June 23, 2020.
He had been recruited twice as a porter during World War-II to assist the British soldiers.
Taying became a Baptist Christian in 1968 and was baptized at Gogamukh in Assam.
The first Adi Baptist Church conference was held in Ngorlung village in 1972 under his leadership. He also became the longest serving president of the Ngorlung Baptist church in the erstwhile undivided Siang district for 27 years.
Taying migrated from Pongging to Mikong village in 1950, and then further shifted to Goklung, presently known as Niglok village, in Ruksin circle in 1955. He had finally settled down in Ngorlung village in 1957.
His was one among the 12 families, the first settlers in Ngorlung village.