Assignment on the Topic

Christianity and Social Transformation during the Nation

In partial fulfilment for the requirement of the course:

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Submitted on: 15th March 2022

Luther W. New Jr. Theological College, Dehradun.

1. Introduction

2. Educational Ministry

a. Alexander Duff

b. John Wilson

3. Revolutionizing India by Education

4. Medical work

5. Literature

6. Social Reforms

7. Conclusion

8. Bibliography

9. Webliography
Introduction

The power of Christian lives to affect the world is undeniable. As a result, every Christian

must make a difference in the world. A Christian school ministry has a lot of potential to

benefit the local community both at home and on the mission field. According to Indian

church history, St. Thomas brought Christianity to India in the first century. However, during

the nineteenth century, the Church was built and extended as part of the British Empire. A

series of political and economic developments preceded this growth. The establishment of

indigenous churches should be the primary purpose of Christian outreach. In this paper we

are going to discuss about the Christianity and social transformation during the nation

building in India especially in the sectors of education, literature, medical, and social areas.

Educational Ministry

In 1824, the Church of Scotland's General Assembly was alerted to the possibility of India

as a missionary field by Dr. James Bryce, the first Scottish chaplain in Calcutta. His plan

was for the establishment of a college under the ecclesiastical supervision of the Kirk

Session of St. Andrew's Church, for the training of individuals who may in due course be

engaged to preach from the pulpit of St Andrew's to such native congregations as may attend

their ministry.1

● Alexander Duff

On March 12, 1829, Duff informed Dr. Chalmers of his desire to serve as a Church of

Scotland missionary in India. His offer of service was accepted two months later, and on

August 12 of that year, he was ordained to the church's ministry. He was expected to go out

1
Stephen Neill, A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1985), 307.
as an educational missionary, but he was given carte blanche to carry out his plans as he saw

fit in light of the circumstances in Calcutta.2

Despite the fact that Hindu philosophical discourse had lofty terminology in its religious

lexicon, he considered they just transmitted stupid, foolish, and wicked ideas. Hinduism has

expanded throughout the globe like a black realm, according to Duff, where all life dies and

death lives. For him, the Christian job was to deconstruct such a huge web of worship and

superstition as best he could. Needless to say, a worldview like this suffocated any

constructive connection between Christianity and Indian culture.3

● John Wilson

Under British control, Bombay has long been India's stepchild. This was true both in the field

of missions and in other areas of life. John Wilson (1804-75), sent to western India by the

Scottish Missionary Society in 1828, was largely responsible for the total turnaround of the

situation by the middle of the century. Wilson rapidly demonstrated a remarkable ability to

master languages. He studied Marathi and Gujarati in their most basic forms as well as

dialectical variations. Sanskrit, Hindustani, and Persian were added to this list, and he was

eventually drawn into the mystical Zend or Avestan, the language of the Parsis' ancient

book.4

Education was in tatters when Wilson arrived in Bombay. The government had taken no

action. The efforts of the various missions had only reached a basic level. Wilson valued

2
Neill, A History of Christianity in India, 307.

3
Mathew Thomas, “Christian Missions in the Pluralistic Context of India – The Relevance of
Gandhian Approach” (PhD diss., Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, 2002), 87.

4
Neill, A History of Christianity in India, 313.
direct preaching of the Gospel in Indian languages more than Duff did, and he did it as much

as time permitted. He was finally convinced to consider education as a viable means of

advancing the Christian cause. Wilson's mission was to convey Western knowledge and

practices to India in Indian languages.5

Parsi students began to flock to the Bombay College of the General Assembly of the Church

of Scotland as soon as it opened in 1835; by 1839, there were 109 of them. In the same year,

three Parsi boys approached the missionaries and requested baptism. Dhanjibhai Naoroji, the

youngest of the three, was sixteen and a half years old, the age of discretion at the time.6

Revolutionizing India by Education

After Sanskrit, Tamil, and Persian, English was finally recognised as the fourth classical

language of India – not just because of missionaries and social reformers like Raja Ram

Mohan Roy, and certainly not because of campaigns carried out by Company governments or

officials, but primarily because of the relentless and steady pressures of India's literate elites,

primarily Brahmans and Kayasthas (or Perso-Arabic). The so-called 'Macaulay's Minute' has

gotten a lot of attention, especially from individuals who helped to shape and energize

nationalist ideals. After years of arduous efforts to develop different types of Orientalism, the

Indian government ultimately grasped the futility of continually defeating the efforts of the

Raj's administrative backbone, the high-caste elite groups.7

The introduction of English was not, therefore, a British imposition upon India's elites,

according to popular narrative that has persisted for almost a century. Rather, it was the

5
Neill, A History of Christianity in India, 313.

6
Neill, A History of Christianity in India, 314.
7
Robert Eric Frykenberg, Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present (Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press, 2008), 333.
product of repeated attempts by India's leading elites (mahajans) to maintain, if not increase,

their power inside the country, as well as to keep out those from the 'lower orders,' whose

missionary education and literacy was mostly in vernacular languages.8

Medical work

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus urged his followers to go and make disciples of all countries, as well

as to love their neighbors as themselves. Throughout two millennia, there have been many

waves of missionary effort, with medical work playing a vital role in each. Dr. John Scudder

was one of the earliest Western missionaries in the modern era, arriving in Ceylon in 1819.

David Livingstone (Central Africa), Albert Schweitzer, a gifted doctor, theologian, and

pianist who devoted his life to people living in the isolated jungles of Gabon, and Albert

Cook, who built Mengo Hospital in Uganda, were among the most well-known pioneer

medical missionaries.9

In India, William Wanless established the Christian Miraj Hospital, and Ida Scudder

established the world-famous Vellore Medical College. Hudson Taylor started the China

Inland Mission to teach the gospel and western medicine to China. Every day, Henry Holland

and his colleagues operated on hundreds of cataracts on the Indian subcontinent's

northwestern boundary. Others have made significant contributions to the prevention of

illnesses like malaria and TB.10

Christians have traditionally sought to improve the social status of the poor, sick, and

crippled by loving and caring for them to the best of their abilities. Christians have been

pioneers in hospital building and personnel, research and ethics, lobbying for better standards

8
Frykenberg, Christianity in India, 335.
9
Aitken JT, Fuller HWC & Johnson D, The Influence of Christians in Medicine (London: CMF,
1984), 235.

10
Aitken, The Influence of Christians in Medicine, 236.
of care, immunology, public health, and preventative medicine. They have helped countless

millions of people throughout the world by spreading Western Medicine. As a result of

Christianity, men and women get a new perspective and commitment; their lives are

committed in joyful appreciative service to the God who has redeemed and given them new

life.11

Literature

In the domains of languages, literature, and journalism, Christians have also made major

contributions in India. Constanzio Beschi (1680–1747) altered Tamil alphabetical letters so

that they could be printed more easily. He also created a four-fold Tamil dictionary with

terms, synonyms, classes, and rhymes arranged into four sections. G. U. Pope's (1820–1908)

translations of masterpieces of Tamil literature into English and Bishop Robert Caldwell's

(1815–1891) Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages are notable. H. A. Krishna

Pillai (1827–1900) and Vedanayagam Pillai (1824–1889) are two additional Christian

novelists who wrote some of the first Tamil novels.12

The Reverend S. H. Kellogg, Henry Martyn, and Dr. Gilchrist, a Hindustani professor and an

American Presbyterian missionary, all contributed to the formation and popularisation of

Hindustani. Kellogg, in fact, brought together more than a dozen dialects to help create what

is now known as Hindi. In 1893, he published A Grammar of the Hindi Language, which is

still in print today. Beginning in 1818, William Carey and his Baptist colleagues were the

first to publish magazines, journals, and a newspaper. Their journal, the Friends of India, has

survived and is now the Statesman, English daily published in Calcutta and New Delhi.13

11
Aitken, The Influence of Christians in Medicine, 237.
12
Encyclopedia.com, “Christian Impact on India, History of,” accessed March 12, 2022,
https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/christian-
impact-india-history
13
Encyclopedia.com, “Christian Impact on India.”
Social Reforms

The societal ills that continued in India astounded missionaries from the start, notably the

practise of sati (the immolation of widows on their husbands' burial pyres), the death of

lepers, and child sacrifice. From the time he arrived in 1793, William Carey was involved in

every situation that he considered required correction. Within a year, he reported seeing the

remains of a child who had been sacrificed to a god and then abandoned to be devoured by

white ants near Malda. Furthermore, children were thrown into the Ganges to fulfil

commitments made in exchange for prayer replies. Carey campaigned for the prohibition of

such activities by using his connections to individuals in positions of authority and influence.

Governor-General Lord Wellesley requested a report on the subject, and in 1802, he

proclaimed infanticide to be a kind of murder, with anyone who committed such heinous acts

facing the death penalty if found.14

Carey used his books to raise public awareness about humanitarian issues. The inaugural

edition of the Friend of India had a detailed account of a real sati. Following that, he

maintained the practise in the public view and did everything he could to ensure that sati was

outlawed. By 1814, Ram Mohan Roy had joined Carey in his anti-sati battle. Carey and his

Serampore colleagues petitioned the government to make the rite illegal by law, citing reports

of 438 widow burnings. Due to significant opposition from upper caste Hindu leaders, little

headway was made at initially. The Christians persisted in their efforts, and public opinion

gradually shifted against the orthodox Hindus. Lord William Bentinck ultimately signed an

order outlawing sati in the East India Company's occupancies in 1829.15

14
Encyclopedia.com, “Christian Impact on India.”
15
Encyclopedia.com, “Christian Impact on India.”
Conclusion

The purpose of this study is to highlight some of the significant contributions made by

Christians to India's national development. It is an undisputed historical fact that the

Christian community has made a constructive contribution to nation-building. From

members of Parliament, chief ministers, business executives, physicians, engineers, and

down to chauffeurs, and gate guards, Christians are now incorporated into the very fabric of

Indian society, both in the public and private sectors. As late Bishop Stephen Neill says, for

the Christian Church and its mission in India, the task has been challenging, and along the

journey a number of mistakes have been made, but equally surprising, perhaps, is the fact

that such a considerable measure of success has been accomplished.

Bibliography

Frykenberg, Robert Eric. Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford,

England: Oxford University Press, 2008.

JT, Aitken. Fuller HWC & Johnson D. The Influence of Christians in Medicin. London,

CMF, 1984.

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge

University Press, 1985.

Thomas, Mathew. “Christian Missions in the Pluralistic Context of India – The Relevance of

Gandhian Approach.” PhD diss., Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, 2002.

Webliography

Encyclopedia.com. “Christian Impact on India, History of.” accessed March 12, 2022.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

maps/christian-impact-india-history