... was born in Manipur, India in 1966. His father, Rev. James Shankar, was the first missionary to the Nepali people in Manipur and is regarded as the father of the Nepali Christian churches. At the age of 15 Rupak trusted Christ as his Savior and after completing High School served along side his father in ministry for five years.

God burdened his heart to reach Nepal and Bhutan, countries where 90% of the people are either Buddhist or Hindu. In 1997 Rupak along with his wife and family moved to West Bengal, an Indian state close to Nepal and Bhutan in order to be better positioned to reach these two nations.

In February of 2008 Rupak organized the Hope Bible Conference in partnership with Hope and Help International in the country of Nepal. And then in October of 2008 Hope and Help conducted its first Timothy Leadership Institute with 28 Nepali pastors in northern West Bengal.