Christianity in India
is India's third-largest religion after Hinduism and Islam, with approximately 28 million followers, constituting 2.3 percent of India's population. According to Indian tradition, the Christian faith was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who supposedly reached the Malabar Coast in 52 AD, although no written work seems to have survived from this period. According to another tradition Bartholomew the Apostle is credited with simultaneously introducing Christianity along the Konkan Coast. There is a general scholarly consensus that Christian communities were firmly established in the Malabar Coast of India by the 6th century AD, including some communities who used Syriac liturgies.
Christians in India are members of different church denominations though some are also non-denominational. The state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas Christian community, an ancient body of Christians who according to tradition trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are now divided into several different churches and traditions. There are East Syriac Rite denominations: the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church. There are West Syriac Rite denominations: the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church. Saint Thomas Protestants are members of the Church of South India, a united Protestant Church. Roman Rite Catholicism was introduced to India by the Portuguese, Italian and Irish Jesuits in the 16th century under the influence of its allied empires. Most Christian schools, hospitals and primary care centres originated through the Roman Catholic missions brought by the trade of these countries.
The Church of North India and Church of South India are united Protestant Churches that were established as a result of ecumenism between Anglicans, Methodists, and other Protestants who flourished during the British Indian Empire; these denominations hold to an episcopal polity. Further Protestantism was later spread to India by the efforts of North American, British, German, and independent non-denominational missionaries who preached the gospel to evangelise Indians, many missionaries suffered from militant persecution and were martyred. Major denominations include non-Conformist reformed churches like Pentecostals, Baptists, Evangelicals, Methodist, Presbyterians, Mennonites, and Lutherans. There is also rising presence of Charismatic and Neo-Charismatic Movements across the nation. Megachurches and new age church fellowships with large congregation of mostly young adults seeking spirituality are also expanding.
During the 18th century, Protestant Christian missions, had a political effect in India, notably by campaigning for the abolition of Sati, suppressing human sacrifices, taking measures in passing the Prevention Act, 1870 against female infanticide, introducing a modern and formal educational system and establishing the first all girls education schools in India. Under British Indian empire, they had a key influence in drafting certain aspects of the Indian penal code by imposing specific Biblical prohibitions with offences related to marriages, adultery, as well as the controversial sodomy laws. They produced translations of the Bible in Indian languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi-Urdu etc. The first known translation of any Christian Scripture in an Indian language was done to Konkani in 1667 AD by Ignacio Arcamone, an Italian Jesuit.
Christians were active in the Indian National Congress and wider Indian independence movement, being collectively represented in the All India Conference of Indian Christians, which advocated for swaraj and opposed the partition of India. On 30 October 1945, the All India Conference of Indian Christians formed a joint committee with the Catholic Union of India that passed a resolution in which, "in the future constitution of India, the profession, practice and propagation of religion should be guaranteed and that a change of religion should not involve any civil or political disability." This joint committee, chaired by John Mathai, enabled the Christians in India to stand united, and in front of the British Parliamentary Delegation "the committee members unanimously supported the move for independence and expressed complete confidence in the future of the community in India." The office for this joint committee was opened in Delhi, in which the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University M. Rahnasamy served as President and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore served as General Secretary. Six members of the joint committee were elected to the Minorities Committee of the Constituent Assembly. In its meeting on 16 April 1947 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee of the All India Conference of Indian Christians and All India Catholic Union prepared a 13 point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India, which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India.
Even though Christians are a visible minority, they form a major religious group in three states of India - Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland with plural majority in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and other states with significant Christian population include Coastal Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Kanara, and the south shore. Christianity in India to a larger extent has been very traditional in its practices for a long time but since the 20th century has witnessed growth in Indigenous revivalism and recently contemporary local Church-planting movements have started to flourish. Moreover, a significant number of Indians profess personal Christian faith outside the domain of traditional and institutionalized Christianity and do not associate with any Church or its conventional code of belief.
Early Christianity in India
St. Bartholomew
Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are of Eusebius of Caesarea and of Saint Jerome. Both these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century. The studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary activities.St. Thomas
The area of the evangelical work of Saint Thomas is a disputed topic among Christian scholars.According to Indian Christian traditions, the Apostle Thomas arrived in Malabar Coast presently in the Indian state of Kerala in Kodungallur, established the Seven Churches and evangelised in present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A historically more likely claim by Eusebius of Caesarea is that Pantaenus, the head of the Christian exegetical school in Alexandria, Egypt went to India during the reign of the Emperor Commodus and found Christians already living in India using a version of the Gospel of Matthew with "Hebrew letters, a mixture of culture." This is a plausible reference to the earliest Indian churches which are known to have used the Syriac New Testament. Pantaenus' evidence thus indicates that Syriac-speaking Christians had already evangelised parts of India by the late 2nd century.
An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the tradition of the apostle Thomas' Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. The year of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records. According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission, but Jesus over-ruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. The apostle's ministry reputedly resulted in many conversions throughout this northern kingdom, including the king and his brother. The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the rulers of a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. According to the tradition of the Mar Thoma or "Church of Thomas," Thomas evangelised along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest India, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast. He reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. According to legend, St. Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and is buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral.
India's oldest church, claimed to be the world's oldest existing church structure and built by Thomas the Apostle in 57 AD, called Thiruvithamcode Arappally or Thomaiyar Kovil as named by the then Chera king Udayancheral, is located at Thiruvithamcode in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India. It is now declared an international St. Thomas pilgrim center.
Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India, which claimed to have been converted by Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it. Certainly by the time of the establishment of the Sassanid Empire, there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.
4th-century missions
India had a flourishing trade with Central Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, both along mountain passes in the north and sea routes along the western and southern coast, well before the start of the Christian era, and it is likely that Christian merchants settled in Indian cities along trading routes.The Chronicle of Seert describes an evangelical mission to India by Bishop David of Basra around the year 300; this metropolitan reportedly made many conversions, and it has been speculated that his mission took in areas of southern India.
The colony of Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may be the first Christian community in South India for which there is a continuous written record. T.R. Vedantham showing his own perspective on Christianity was the first to propose in 1987 that Thomas of Cana was confused with the 1st-century apostle Thomas by India's Syrian Christians sometime after his death, becoming their Apostle Thomas in India.
Medieval period
The Saint Thomas Christian community was further strengthened by various Persian immigrant settlers, the Knanaya colonies of the 4th century, Manichaeanism followers, Babylonian Christians settlers of the 4th century AD, the Syrian settlements of Mar Sabor Easo and Proth in the 9th century AD and the immigrant Persian Christians from successive centuries.Local rulers in Kerala gave the St. Thomas Christians various rights and privileges which were written on copper plates. These are known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, Sasanam, etc. There are a number of such documents in the possession of the Syrian churches of Kerala which include the Thazhekad Sasanam, the Quilon Plates, Mampally Sasanam and Iraviikothan Chepped, etc. Some of these plates are said to be dated around 774 AD. Scholars have studied the inscriptions and produced varying translations. The language used is Old Malayalam in Vattezhuthu intermingled with some Grantha script and Pahlavi, Kufic and Hebrew signatures.
The ruler of Venad granted the Saint Thomas Christians seventy-two rights and privileges which were usually granted only to high dignitaries. These rights included exemption from import duties, sales tax and the slave tax. A copper plate grant dated 1225 AD further enhanced the rights and privileges of Nasranis.
The South Indian epic of Manimekalai mentions the Nasrani people by referring to them by the name Essanis. The embassy of King Alfred in 883 AD sent presents to St. Thomas Christians. Marco Polo who visited in 1292, mentioned that there were Christians in the Malabar coast. The Saint Thomas Christians still use the Syriac language in their liturgy. This group, which existed in Kerala relatively peacefully for more than a millennium, faced considerable persecution from Portuguese evangelists in the 16th century. This later wave of evangelism spread Catholicism more widely along the Konkan coast.
Modern period
Since the 1500s, European Catholic and Protestant missionaries have been active in India. In 1900–1914, churches in other countries, especially the United States, sponsored missions. Outside Christian missions have been less active since 1914 as Indians themselves take action and Protestant groups have formed unions.Arrival of the Portuguese and Christianity
The south Indian coastal areas around Kanyakumari were known for pearl fisheries ruled by Paravars. From 1527, the Paravars were being threatened by Arab fleets offshore, headed by the Muslim supporting Zamorin of Calicut,. The Paravars sought the protection of Portuguese who had moved into the area. The protection was granted on the condition that the leaders were immediately baptised as Christians and that they would encourage their people also to convert to Christianity; the Portuguese would also gain a strategic foothold and control of the pearl fisheries. The deal was agreed and some months later 20,000 Paravars were baptised en masse, and by 1537 the entire community had declared itself to be Christian. The Portuguese navy destroyed the Arab fleet at Vedalai on 27 June 1538.Francis Xavier, a Jesuit, in 1542 began a mission to the lower classes of Tamil society. A further 30,000 Paravars were baptised. Xavier appointed catechists in the Paravar villages up and down the of coastline to spread and reinforce his teachings. Paravar Christianity, with its own identity based on a mixture of Christian religious belief and Hindu caste culture, remains a defining part of the Paravar life today.
Arrival of the Roman Catholic Latin Rites
The French or Catalan Dominican missionary Jordanus Catalani was the first European to start conversion in India. He arrived in Surat in 1320. After his ministry in Gujarat, he reached Quilon in 1323. He not only revived Christianity but also brought thousands to the Christian fold. He brought a message of good will from the Pope to the local rulers. In 1329 Pope John XXII, from the Holy See then in Avignon, erected Quilon as the first Diocese in the whole of Indies as suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sultany in Persia through the decree '"Romanus Pontifex"' dated 9 August 1329. By a separate bull, that reads "Venerabili Fratri Jordano", the same Pope, on 21 August 1329 appointed the French or Catalan Dominican friar "Jordanus Catalani" as the first Bishop of Quilon. As the first bishop in India, Jordanus was also entrusted with the spiritual nourishment of the Christian community in Calicut, Mangalore, Thane and Broach.In 1453, the fall of Constantinople, a bastion of Christianity in Asia Minor to Islamic Ottoman Empire; marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, and severed European trade links by land with Asia. This massive blow to Christendom spurred the age of discovery as Europeans were seeking alternative routes east by sea along with the goal of forging alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. Along with pioneer Portuguese long-distance maritime travellers that reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century, came Portuguese missionaries who made contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, which at that time were following Eastern Christian practices and under the jurisdiction of Church of the East. The missionaries sought to introduce the Latin liturgical rites among them and unify East Syriac Christians in India under the Holy See.
In the 16th century, the proselytisation of Asia was linked to the Portuguese colonial policy.
The missionaries of the different orders flocked out with the conquerors, and began at once to build churches along the coastal districts where the Portuguese power made itself felt.
The history of Portuguese missionaries in India starts with the neo-apostles who reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498 along with the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who was seeking to form anti-Islamic alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. The lucrative spice trade was further temptation for the Portuguese crown. When he and the Portuguese missionaries arrived, they found Christians in the country in Malabar known as St. Thomas Christians who belonged to the then-largest Christian church within India. The Christians were friendly to Portuguese missionaries at first; there was an exchange of gifts between them, and these groups were delighted at their common faith.
holds a religious assembly in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri; the two men dressed in black are the Jesuit missionaries Rodolfo Acquaviva and Francisco Henriques. Illustration to the Akbarnama, miniature painting by Nar Singh, ca. 1605.
During the second expedition, the Portuguese fleet comprising 13 ships and 18 priests, under Captain Pedro Álvares Cabral, anchored at Cochin on 26 November 1500. Cabral soon won the goodwill of the Raja of Cochin. He allowed four priests to do apostolic work among the early Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. Thus Portuguese missionaries established Portuguese Mission in 1500. Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission from the Kochi Raja to build two churches – namely Santa Cruz Basilica and St. Francis Church using stones and mortar, which was unheard of at that time, as the local prejudices were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple.
In the beginning of the 16th century, the whole of the east was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. On 12 June 1514, Cochin and Goa became two prominent mission stations under the newly created Diocese of Funchal in Madeira. In 1534, Pope Paul III by the Bull Quequem Reputamus, raised Funchal as an archdiocese and Goa as its suffragan, deputing the whole of India under the diocese of Goa. This created an episcopal see – suffragan to Funchal, with a jurisdiction extending potentially over all past and future conquests from the Cape of Good Hope to China.
In 1546, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier set up the Goa Inquisition in a letter dated 16 May 1546 to King John III of Portugal. The Inquisition office persecuted Hindus, Muslims, Bene Israels, New Christians and the Judaizing Nasranis by the colonial era Portuguese government and Jesuit clergy in Portuguese India. Hindus were the primary target of the 250 years of persecution and punishment for their faith by the Catholic prosecutors. Most affected were the shudras and farmers
After four decades of prosperous trading, the missionaries started the proselytisation around 1540 and during this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. Early Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St Francis Xavier, expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts. The Portuguese colonial government supported the mission. At the same time many New Christians from Portugal migrated to India as a result of the inquisition in Portugal. Many of them were suspected of being Crypto-Jews, converted Jews who were secretly practising their old religion. Both were considered a threat to the solidarity of Christian belief, which is considered a blot on the history of Roman Catholic Christianity in India, both by Christians and non-Christians alike.
In 1557, Goa was made an independent archbishopric, and its first suffragan sees were erected at Cochin and Malacca. The whole of the East came under the jurisdiction of Goa and its boundaries extended to almost half of the world: from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to Burma, China and Japan in East Asia. In 1576, the suffragan See of Macao was added; and in 1588, that of Funai in Japan.
The death of the last metropolitan bishop – Archbishop Abraham of the Saint Thomas Christians, an ancient body formerly part of the Church of the East in 1597; gave the then Archbishop of Goa Menezes an opportunity to bring the native church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He was able to secure the submission of Archdeacon George, the highest remaining representative of the native church hierarchy. Menezes convened the Synod of Diamper between 20 and 26 June 1599, which introduced a number of reforms to the church and brought it fully into the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Following the Synod, Menezes consecrated Francis Ros, S. J. as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Angamalé for the Saint Thomas Christians; thus created another suffragan see to Archdiocese of Goa and Latinisation of St Thomas Christians started. The Saint Thomas Christians were pressured to acknowledge the authority of the Pope and most of them eventually accepted the Catholic faith, but a part of them switched to West Syriac Rite. Resentment of these measures led to some part of the community to join the Archdeacon, Thomas, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese or to accept the Communion with Rome in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. Those who accepted the West Syriac theological and liturgical tradition of Mar Gregorios became known as Jacobites. The ones who continued with Latin theological and liturgy tradition and stayed faithful to the Synod of Diamper later Roman Catholic Syrian Christians accept East Syriac liturgy.
The Diocese of Angamaly was transferred to Diocese of Craganore in 1605; while, in 1606 a sixth suffragan see to Goa was established at San Thome, Mylapore, near the modern Madras, and the site of the National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica. The suffragan sees added later to Goa. were the prelacy of Mozambique and in 1690 two other sees at Peking and Nanking in China.
Mangalore is another significant region on the west coast which has a huge Christian population. In 1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac, who also worked in Quilon arrived in Bhatkal, a place near Mangalore and established a missionary station there. Many locals were converted to Christianity by Jordanus. The Portuguese were however unable to establish their presence in Mangalore as a result of the conquests of the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya and Abbakka Rani of Ullal, the Bednore Queen of Mangalore. Most of Mangalorean Catholics were not originally from Mangalore but are descendants of Goan Catholics who fled Goa during the Portuguese-Maratha Wars and the Goan Inquisition.
The origin of Christianity in North Konkan, was due to the proselytising activities of the Portuguese in the 16th century. The French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac started evangelising activities in Thana. On the occasion of The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the Christians of North Konkan, in Maharashtra who were known as Portuguese Christians discarded that name and adopted the designation East Indians. Marathi Christians are Protestants and are therefore distinct from East Indian Christians who are predominantly Roman Catholics and inhabitants of the North Konkan region. Marathi Christians can be found in the areas of Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune and Aurangabad. They were converted through the efforts of the American Marathi Mission, The SPG Mission, and the Church Mission Society of Church of England in the early 18th century. British Missionary William Carey was instrumental in translating the Bible into the Marathi language.
Missionary work progressed on a large scale and with great success along the western coasts, chiefly at Chaul, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, Damao, and Diu; and on the eastern coasts at San Thome of Mylapore, and as far as Bengal etc. In the southern districts the Jesuit mission in Madura was the most famous. It extended to the Krishna river, with a number of outlying stations beyond it. The mission of Cochin, on the Malabar Coast, was also one of the most fruitful. Several missions were also established in the interior northwards, e.g., that of Agra and Lahore in 1570 and that of Tibet in 1624. Still, even with these efforts, the greater part even of the coast line was by no means fully worked, and many vast tracts of the interior northwards were practically untouched.
With the decline of the Portuguese power, other colonial powers – namely the Dutch and British and Christian organisations gained influence.
Syrian Christians in India
is credited by tradition for founding the Indian Church in 52 AD. This church developed contacts with the Nestorian religious authorities at that point based in Edessa, Mesopotamia.The local church maintained its autonomous character under its local leader. When the Portuguese established themselves in India in the 16th century, they found the Church in Kerala as an administratively independent community. Following the arrival of Vasco de Gama in 1498, the Portuguese came to South India and established their political power there. They brought missionaries to carry out evangelistic work in order to establish churches in communion with Rome under the Portuguese patronage. These missionaries were eager to bring the Indian Church under the Pope's control. They succeeded in their efforts in 1599 with the Synod of Diamper. The representatives of various parishes who attended the assembly were forced by Portuguese authorities to accept the Papal authority.
Following the synod, the Indian Church was governed by Portuguese prelates. They were generally unwilling to respect the integrity of the local church. This resulted in disaffection which led to a general revolt in 1653 known as the "Coonan Cross Oath". Under the leadership of their elder Thomas, Nazranis around Cochin gathered at Mattancherry church on Friday, 24 January 1653 and made an oath that is known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross. The following oath was read aloud and the people touching a stone-cross repeated it loudly: "By the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that henceforth we would not adhere to the Franks, nor accept the faith of the Pope of Rome." This reference from The Missionary Register of 1822 seems to be the earliest reliable document available. Those who were not able to touch the cross tied ropes on the cross, held the rope in their hands and made the oath. Because of the weight it is believed by the followers that the cross bent a little and so it is known as "Oath of the bent cross". This demanded administrative autonomy for the local church. Since it had no bishop, it faced serious difficulties. It appealed to several eastern Christian churches for help. The Antiochene Syrian Patriarch responded and sent metropolitan Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem to India in 1665. He confirmed Marthoma I as the bishop and worked together with him to organize the Church.When these churches is also the part of Oriental Orthodox, which is also known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and Malankara Orthodox Church
Arrival of Protestant missions
Beginning about 1700 Protestant missionaries began working throughout India, leading to the establishment of different Christian communities across the Indian Subcontinent.Lutherans
The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. They translated the Bible into the local Tamil language, and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually the mission spread to Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore. Today the Bishop of Tranquebar is the official title of the bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamil Nadu which was founded in 1919 as a result of the German Lutheran Leipzig Mission and Church of Sweden Mission, the successors of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. The seat of the bishop, the cathedral and its Church House the Tranquebar House are in Tiruchirappalli. By 2006, there were three million Lutherans in Tranquebar.William Carey and the Baptists
In 1793, William Carey, an English Baptist Minister came to India as a missionary but also as a man of learning in economics, medicine and botany. He worked in Serampore, Calcutta, and other places. He translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects. He worked in India despite the hostility of the British East India Company until his death in 1834. Carey and his colleagues, Joshua Marshman and William Ward, blended science, Christianity, and constructive Orientalism in their work at the Danish settlement of Serampore, near Calcutta. Carey saw the dissemination of European science and Christianity as mutually supportive and equally important civilizing missions. He also supported a revival of Sanskrit science. Carey played a key role in the establishment of the Agricultural Society of India. Ward, beginning in 1806, published important commentaries on ancient Hindu medical and astronomy texts. In 1818 Carey and his fellow missionaries founded Serampore College to nurture a uniquely Indian variety of European science.Outreach to upper classes
Many upper-class Bengalis converted to Christianity during the Bengali Renaissance under British Rule, including Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Anil Kumar Gain, and Gnanendramohan Tagore, Aurobindo Nath MukherjeeOther missionaries
The London Missionary Society was the first Protestant mission in Andhra Pradesh which established its station at Visakhapatnam in 1805. Anthony Norris Groves, a Plymouth Brethren missionary arrived in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta area until his death in 1852. John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first Lutheran missionary in the region of Andhra Pradesh. He founded the Guntur Mission in 1842. Supported initially by the Pennsylvania Ministerium, and later by the Foreign Mission Board of the General Synod, Heyer was also encouraged and assisted by British government officials. He established a number of hospitals and a network of schools throughout the Guntur region.The Church Missionary Society, a mission society working with the Anglican Communion, began sending missionaries to India and established mission stations at Chennai and Bengal, then in 1816 at Travancore. The CMS Mission to India expanded in the following years. The successors of the Protestant church missions are the Church of South India and the Church of North India.
During the 19th century, several American Baptist missionaries evangelised in the northeastern parts of India. In 1876, Dr. E. W. Clark first went to live in a Naga village, four years after his Assamese helper, Godhula, baptised the first Naga converts. Rev. and Mrs. A.F. Merrill arrived in India in 1928 and worked in the southeast section of the Garo Hills. Rev. and Mrs. M.J. Chance spent most of the years between 1950–1956 at Golaghat working with the Naga and Garo tribes. Even today the heaviest concentrations of Christians in India continue to be in the Northeast among the Nagas, Khasis, Kukis, and Mizos. Jehovah's Witnesses began their activity in India in the year 1905 when an Indian returned home after spending some time in Bible study with Charles Taze Russell.
Latter Day Saint Denominations in India
Arrival of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Missionaries
Mormon missionaries, or missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including Hugh Findlay and Joseph Richards, arrived in Bombay and Pune in the early 1850s, but did not meet with much success.Today, there are two LDS missions in India: The Bangalore Mission and the New Delhi Mission. Due to the growth of the church in India and the restrictions on missionary visas for foreigners, most missionaries serving in the Indian missions are Indian nationals. As of 2015, the church has over 12,000 LDS members in 43 congregations across India. On 1 April 2018, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to build a temple in Bangalore.
Establishment of the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS Church) in India
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ, was first established in India in July 1964 when William Samuel Jesudawson, an independent Protestant minister, affiliated with the church along with his congregation in Madras in South India. The church experienced sporadic growth and instability in South India due to corruption among church ministers, lack of funds for outreach, and lack of identity formation and commitment to the church among new members. Since 1998, more capable and committed leadership has been in place, which has led the church to expand with congregations in Uthamapalayam, Chennai, and Madurai all in Tamil Nadu.In Odisha, the Community of Christ has experienced significant growth since the first members were baptized in November 1965. The American leadership of the church including Apostle Charles D. Neff believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ had to be indigenized in its own way by Indians, just as Americans had done with Christianity themselves. In this way, the church focused its teachings on physical and spiritual healing and well-being with the goal of improving people's lives here and now. In particular, the church has found success among the Sora people, oftentimes with whole villages converting to Christianity. The church has also found success among the Kui people many of whom had no contact with Christianity previously. As of 2015, there are 5,700 baptized members and 7,000 more people who identify as Christians who attend 102 Community of Christ congregations in Odisha.
By the 1970s, the church began to be established in Andhra Pradesh. A sewing center has been built to teach local community members basic skills with both Hindus and Christians invited to attend classes. Unlike in Odisha, most converts have been single individuals and not whole communities. The majority of these converts are women and many regular members have not officially joined due to family concerns but still actively participate. By 2015, there were 25 congregations in Andhra Pradesh.
The Community of Christ recently celebrated their 50th anniversary of being established in India with a conference that included a gathering of 14,000 people and a visit by Community of Christ's Prophet/President Steve Veazey.
Eastern Orthodoxy in India
Since 1996, small communities of Eastern Orthodox Christians in India were placed under ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the newly formed Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia that was set up by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 2008, the Diocese was divided, and India came under jurisdiction of newly formed Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia.Role in the Indian independence movement
In its early stages of the nationalist movement in colonial India, Indian Christians were heavily involved in the Indian National Congress and wider Indian independence movement:The All India Conference of Indian Christians played an important role in the Indian independence movement, advocating for swaraj and opposing the partition of India. The AICIC also was opposed to separate electorates for Christians, believing that the faithful "should participate as common citizens in one common, national political system". The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed a working committee with M. Rahnasamy of Andhra University serving as President and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore serving as General Secretary; in its meeting on 16 April 1947 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee prepared a 13 point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India, which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India.
Art and architecture
There are a large number of items of artistic and architectural significance in the religious and domestic life of Indian Christians. Altars, statues, pulpits, crosses, bells and belfries of churches along with other household items are among the many things that form part of the sacred art of the Indian Christians. Church art and architecture of Kerala from the beginning of Christian presence in the region have been greatly influenced by those of other nations and religions as they have been influenced by Kerala's wealth of artistic and architectural traditions.Christian art and architecture in Kerala in pre-European periods has not only developed from contact with the countries that had trading posts there but also from indigenous forms and techniques of art and architecture. The advent of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the English has had a great deal of influence on the art and architecture of the church in Kerala. The description of the visits of a Portuguese Archbishop Dom Menezes to various churches before the arrival of western powers in India throws some light on the structures and arrangements of the churches before western elements and types were introduced into Kerala. There were three striking objects of significance in front of the typical Malabar churches, either inside the courtyard or just outside it:
- The open-air granite cross called the Nasrani Sthamba
- Kodimaram or flag-staff made of Kerala's famed teak wood and often enclosed in copper hoses or paras
- The rock Deepasthamba or lampstand.
Indian Christian art and architecture during the British Raj has expanded into several different styles as a result of extensive church building in different parts of the country. The style that was most patronised is generally referred to as the British Regency style which included Neo-Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture. Most Protestant cathedrals and churches in India conform to this style. St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is a typical example of the Gothic Revival style. St. Mary's church, Chennai, the first Anglican Church built east of the Suez is one of the first examples of British colonial architecture in India. French and Danish influences on Christian art and architecture in India can be seen in their respective colonies. Today one can see a harmonious blending of the East and the West in the Christian art and architecture of India.
Culture
While Christians in India do not share one common culture, their cultures for the most part tend to be a blend of Indian, Syrian and European cultures. It differs from one region to another depending on several factors such as the prevailing rite and tradition and the extent of time for which Christianity has existed in those regions. The ancient Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala have a distinctively different culture when compared to Christians in other parts of the country. Historical ties with the Assyrian Church and assimilation of Indian traditions have contributed to the development of a unique culture among these traditional Syrian Christians or Nasranis of Kerala. The use of ornamental umbrellas for Christian religious festivities illustrates an example of the indigenous character of Kerala's Syriac Christianity.Goa was colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century AD; as a result of which Goan Christians have adopted a more western culture. The dance, song and cuisine of Goa has been greatly influenced by the Portuguese. Contemporary Goan Christian culture can be best described as an increasingly anglicised Indo-Latin culture. Mangalorean Catholics are descended mainly from the Goan Catholic settlers, who had migrated to South Canara from Goa, a state north of Canara, between 1560 and 1763 during the Goa Inquisition and the Portuguese-Maratha wars. After migration to Mangalore, they adopted the local Mangalorean culture, but retained many of their Goan customs and traditions. Christianity in other parts of India spread under the colonial regimes of the Dutch, Danish, French and most importantly the English from the early 17th century to the time of the Indian Independence in 1947. Christian culture in these colonial territories has been influenced by the religion and culture of their respective rulers.
Contemporary Latin Christian culture in India draws greatly from the Anglican culture as a result of the influence of the erstwhile British Raj. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer is a widely used supplement for worship in the two major Protestant denominations: Church of South India and Church of North India. Today Christians are considered to be one of the most progressive communities in India. Urban Christians are to a greater extent influenced by European traditions which is considered an advantage in the business environment of urban India; this is given as an explanation for the large number of Christian professionals in India's corporate sector. The Christian church runs thousands of educational institutions which have contributed to the strengthening of Christian culture in India.
Religion plays a significant role in the daily life of Indian Christians. India ranks 15 among countries with highest church attendance. Religious processions and carnivals are often celebrated by Catholics. Cities with significant Christian populations celebrate patron saint days. As in other parts of the world, Christmas is the most important festival for Indian Christians. Anglo-Indian Christmas balls held in most major cities form a distinctive part of Indian Christian culture. Good Friday is a national holiday. All Souls Day is another Christian holiday that is observed by most Christians in India. Most Protestant churches celebrate harvest festivals, usually in late October or early November. Christian weddings in India conform to the traditional white wedding. However it is not uncommon for Christian brides particularly in the south to wear a traditional white wedding sari instead of a gown. The vast majority of Protestant women and to a lesser extent Catholic women in India do not wear the bindi and can therefore be easily distinguished from their Hindu counterparts.
Demographics
The 2001 census of India recorded 24,080,016 Christians in the country, representing 2.34 per cent of the population. Pew Research Center analysed the same census figures and made adjustments to account for inaccuracies and cover-ups in self-reported religion. For example, many Indian Christians who belong to Scheduled Castes and Tribes identify as Hindu in censuses and other surveys, in order to obtain caste-based government benefits such as reservations. For this reason, estimates of Indian Christian population as well as the denominational shares in it, vary considerably. After consulting leading Indian demographers, Pew researchers adjusted the Christian share of India’s population from 2.3% to 2.6%, or a total of 31,850,000 Christians. The 2011 Indian census also reported a similar Christian share at 2.3% of Indian population with 27,819,588 Christians. Some other sources provide much higher estimates of over 60 million for Indian Christians or about 6% of the Indian population.In 2011, Pew reported 18,860,000 Protestants, 10,570,000 Catholics, 2,370,000 Orthodox and 50,000 other Christians in India. Other sources estimate the total number of Protestants throughout the country in several hundreds of denominations at 45 million. Several sources estimate Catholics over 17 million. In any case, it is clear that the largest individual denomination is the Roman Catholic Church. Over 5 million Anglicans within the united Church of North India and Church of South India, constitute the second largest group. 310,000 were members of the Syro-Malankara Church and 4,000,000 of the Syro-Malabar Church. In January 1993, the Syro-Malabar Church and in February 2005, the Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status of major archiepiscopal churches by Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the Pope as the visible head of the whole church.
The Oriental Orthodox churches in India include the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church with 1120,000 members, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church with 800,000 members and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church with 30,000 members. The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is a Reformed Eastern denomination with 1100,000 members.
Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, as a result of missionary activities throughout the country, such as the American Missionary Association, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Mission, the Church Mission Society of the Church of England and many other missions from Europe, America and Australia. In 1961, an evangelical wing of the Mar Thoma Church split and formed the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India which has 35,000 members. There are about 1,267,786 Lutherans, 648,000 Methodists, 2,392,694 Baptists, and 823,456 Presbyterians in India.
The Open Brethren movement is also significantly represented in India. The main Brethren grouping is known as the Indian Brethren, of which the Kerala Brethren are a significant subset. The closely related Assemblies Jehovah Shammah have around 310,000 adults and children in fellowship as of 2010. They are often considered part of the wider Brethren movement, although they were founded by an indigenous evangelist and developed independently of the older Indian Brethren movement, which originated from missionary endeavours.
Pentecostalism is also a rapidly growing movement in India. The major Pentecostal churches in India are the Assemblies of God, The Pentecostal Mission, the New Apostolic Church with 1,448,209 members, the Indian Pentecostal Church of God with 900,000 members, the New Life Fellowship Association with 480,000 members, the Manna Full Gospel Churches with 275,000 members, and the Evangelical Church of India with 250,000 members.
Denominations
See main article: List of Christian denominations in India.| Church Name | Population | Orientation |
| Catholic Church | 11,800,000 | Catholic, Latin Rite |
| Syro-Malabar Catholic Church | 4,000,000 | Catholic, East Syriac Rite |
| Syro-Malankara Catholic Church | 410,000 | Catholic, West Syriac Rite |
| Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church | 2,500,000 | Oriental Orthodox, West Syriac Rite |
| Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church | 1,200,000 | Oriental Orthodox, West Syriac Rite |
| Malabar Independent Syrian Church | 20,000 | Independent, West Syriac Rite |
| Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church | 1,100,000 | Independent and Reformed Eastern Christian, Reformed West Syriac Rite |
| Chaldean Syrian Church | 35,000 | Church of the East, East Syriac |
| The Holy Trinity Church, Newfrontiers | 10,000 | Born Again |
| The Holy Trinity Church, Newfrontiers | 3,500,000 | Episcopalian Protestant |
| St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India | 35,000 | Episcopalian Protestant |
| Church of South India | 4, 000,000 | Episcopal Protestant |
| Church of North India | 1,250,000 | Episcopal Protestant |
| Methodist Church in India | 648,000 | Protestant |
| Assemblies of God in India | 5,000,000 | Protestant Evangelical Pentecostal |
| The Pentecostal Mission | 700,000 | Protestant |
| Baptist | 2,991,276 | Protestant |
| Assemblies Jehovah Shammah | 310,000 | Protestant |
| Lutheran | 4,220,178 | Protestant List of Lutheran Denominations Worldwide |
| Indian Brethren | 449,550 to 1,000,000 | Protestant |
| Presbyterian Church of India | 1,452,780 | Protestant |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India | 15,000 | Protestant |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church of India | 10,000 | Protestant |
| Evangelical Church of Maraland | 30,000 | Protestant |
| Congregational Church in India | 5,500 | Protestant |
| Council of Reformed Churches of India | 200,000 | Protestant |
| Hindustani Covenant Church | 16,600 | Protestant |
| Worldwide Faith Missions | 12,000 | Protestant |
| Evangelical Church | 250,000 | Protestant |
| New Apostolic Church | 1,448,209 | Protestant |
| India Pentecostal Church of God | 600,000 | Protestant |
| Pentecostal Maranatha Gospel Church | 12,000 | Protestant |
| New Life Fellowship Association | 480,000 | Protestant |
| Sharon Fellowship Church | 50,000 | Protestant |
| Manna Full Gospel Churches | 275,000 | Protestant |
| Philadelphia Fellowship Church of India | 200,000 | Protestant |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | 1,560,000 | Protestant/Restorationism |
| Unitarian Union of Northeast India | 10,000 | Unitarian |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | 42,566 | Restorationism |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 13,141 | Latter Day Saints |
| Gift of God Ministries | 1,000 | Born Again Believers |
| Christian Revival Church | 21,447 | Charismatic, Pentecostal and Holistic Evangelical Movement |
| Mennonite Brethren Church | 103,000 | Protestant |
| Community of Christ | 15,000+ | Latter Day Saints |
State populations
| Religion | Scheduled Caste | Scheduled Tribe | Other Backward Class | Forward caste |
| Buddhism | 89.50% | 7.40% | 0.4% | 2.7% |
| Sikhism | 30.70% | 0.90% | 22.4% | 46.1% |
| Hinduism | 22.20% | 9.10% | 42.8% | 26% |
| Christianity | 9.00% | 32.80% | 24.8% | 33.3% |
| Islam | 0.80% | 0.50% | 39.2% | 59.5% |
Christian population in India
In India, Christian Population is 27.8 million as per latest figure of 2011 Census which is about 2.3% of total Indian Population. Christianity is dominant religion in North East states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya while they make substantial population in states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Andaman Nicobar Islands.A 2015 study estimates some 40,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to Protestantism.
The starting point for tackling religious demography in India is with official estimates from the government census about the status of religion. The Indian census has been taken faithfully every ten years since 1871 and has always included religion. The most recently published census data are from 2011. Subsequent estimates from 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 are also widely considered reliable.
Persecution
Hindu–Christian conflict
The arrival of European colonialists brought about large-scale missionary activity in South India and North-East India. Hindus, notably those living in Portuguese India, were converted to Christianity.There has been an increase in anti-Christian violence in recent years, particularly in the states of Odisha, which is usually perpetrated by opposition to Christianity. The acts of violence include arson of churches, converting Christians to Hinduism by force and threats of physical violence, distribution of threatening literature, burning of Bibles, raping of nuns, murder of Christian priests, and destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries.
During the 1998 attacks on Christians in southeastern Gujarat, the Human Rights Watch reported that from 25 December 1988 to 3 January 1999, at least 20 prayer halls and Churches were damaged or burnt down and Christians and Christian institutions were attacked in the Dangs district and its surrounding districts and at least 25 villages had reported incidents of burning and damages to Prayer halls and Churches all over Gujarat.
On 22 January 1999, an Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death by Dara Singh while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Odisha, India., In the annual human rights reports for 1999, the United States Department of State also criticized India for "increasing societal violence against Christians." The report on anti-Christian violence listed over 90 incidents of anti-Christian violence, ranging from damage of religious property to violence against Christians pilgrims. The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu passed laws placing restrictions on forced religious conversions as a result of communal tension between Christians and Hindus. The legislation passed in Tamil Nadu was later repealed.
In 2007, 19 churches were burned by Hindu right-wingers in Odisha following conflicts between Hindus and Christians regarding Christmas celebrations in the Kandhamal district. In more contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity continues to exist.
In 2008 after the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda, who was a Hindu monk, by Indian Maoists, tensions flared between the two communities in 2008. Christians were blamed and attacked in the state of Odisha with 38 killed and over 250 churches damaged while several thousands of Christians were displaced. Sitting BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six years by a fast track court for a murder during the 2008 communal riots in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.
Muslim–Christian conflict
In spite of the fact that there have been relatively fewer conflicts between Muslims and Christians in India in comparison to those between Muslims and Hindus, or Muslims and Sikhs, the relationship between Muslims and Christians has also been occasionally turbulent. With the advent of European colonialism in India throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Christians were systematically persecuted in a few Muslim-ruled kingdoms in India.Among the anti-Christian acts of persecution by Muslims was that committed by Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore against the Mangalorean Catholic community from Mangalore in the erstwhile South Canara district on the southwestern coast of India. Tippu was widely reputed to be anti-Christian. The Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.
The Bakur Manuscript reports him as having said:
"All Musalmans should unite together, considering the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, and labour to the utmost of their power, to accomplish that subject."
Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tippu gained control of Canara. He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the Jamalabad fort route. However, there were no priests among the captives. Together with Fr Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rs 200,000, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.
Tippu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches, all intricately carved with statues depicting various saints. Among them were Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, the Chapel at Bolar, the Church of Merces at Ullal, Imaculata Conceiciao at Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, and Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur. All were razed to the ground, with the exception of the Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.
According to Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around 60,000 people, nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured, of which only 7,000 escaped. Francis Buchanan states the numbers as 70,000 captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb nearly through the jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. It was from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to Seringapatam. According to James Scurry, a British officer, who was held captive along with the Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there. The young men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears. According to Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tippu was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand.
The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800, "It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other parts of the globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the Dominion of the King of Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan from an implacable hatred he had against them who professed Christianity."
Tipu Sultan's invasion of the Malabar had an adverse impact on the Saint Thomas Christian community of the Malabar coast. Many churches in the Malabar and Cochin were damaged. The old Syrian Nasrani seminary at Angamaly which had been the center of Catholic religious education for several centuries was razed to the ground by Tippu's soldiers. A lot of centuries old religious manuscripts were lost forever. The church was later relocated to Kottayam where it still exists to this date. The Mor Sabor church at Akaparambu and the Martha Mariam Church attached to the seminary were destroyed as well. Tipu's army set fire to the church at Palayoor and attacked the Ollur Church in 1790. Furthernmore, the Arthat church and the Ambazhakkad seminary was also destroyed. Over the course of this invasion, many Saint Thomas Christians were killed or forcibly converted to Islam. Most of the coconut, areca nut, pepper and cashew plantations held by the Saint Thomas Christian farmers were also indiscriminately destroyed by the invading army. As a result, when Tippu's army invaded Guruvayur and adjacent areas, the Syrian Christian community fled Calicut and small towns like Arthat to new centres like Kunnamkulam, Chalakudi, Ennakadu, Cheppadu, Kannankode, Mavelikkara, etc. where there were already Christians. They were given refuge by Sakthan Tamburan, the ruler of Cochin and Karthika Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, who gave them lands, plantations and encouraged their businesses. Colonel Maculay, the British resident of Travancore also helped them.
, who was detained a prisoner for 10 years by Tipu Sultan along with the Mangalorean CatholicsHis persecution of Christians also extended to captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a significant amount of forced conversions of British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their disastrous defeat at the battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear ghagra cholis and entertain the court as nautch girls or dancing girls. After the 10-year-long captivity ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten how to sit in a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of negroes, and moreover, he had developed an aversion to wearing European clothes. During the surrender of the Mangalore fort which was delivered in an armistice by the British and their subsequent withdrawal, all the mesticos and remaining non-British foreigners were killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being weighed down by the number of bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the stench of dying bodies, that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes.
Historian William Dalrymple asserts that the rebels were motivated primarily by resistance against a move by the East India Company, which was perceived as an attempt to impose Christianity and Christian laws in India. For instance, when Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar met the sepoys on 11 May 1857, he was told: "We have joined hands to protect our religion and our faith." They later stood in Chandni Chowk, the main square, and asked the people gathered there, "Brothers, are you with those of the faith?" Those British men and women who had previously converted to Islam such as the defectors, Sergeant-Major Gordon, and Abdullah Beg, a former Company soldier, were spared. On the contrary, foreign Christians such as Revd Midgeley John Jennings, as well as Indian converts to Christianity such as one of Zafar's personal physicians, Dr. Chaman Lal, were killed outright.
Dalrymple further points out that as late as 6 September, when calling the inhabitants of Delhi to rally against the upcoming British assault, Zafar issued a proclamation stating that this was a religious war being prosecuted on behalf of 'the faith', and that all Muslim and Hindu residents of the imperial city, or of the countryside were encouraged to stay true to their faith and creeds. As further evidence, he observes that the Urdu sources of the pre and post-rebellion periods usually refer to the British not as angrez, goras or firangis, but as kafir and nasrani.
In modern times, Muslims in India who convert to Christianity are often subjected to harassment, intimidation, and attacks by Muslims. In Jammu and Kashmir, the only Indian state with a Muslim majority, a Christian convert and missionary named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by militant Islamists in 2006. However, there are cases in which a Muslim will adopt Crypto-Christianity, secretly declaring his/her conversion. In effect, they are practising Christians, but are legally Muslims; thus, the statistics of Indian Christians does not include Muslim converts to Christianity.
List of Christian communities in India
- List of Indian Christians
- Bengali Christians
- East Indians
- Christianity in Pakistan
- Goan Catholics
- Karwari Catholics
- Knanaya Christians
- Mangalorean Catholics
- Mangalorean Protestants
- Marathi Christians
- Protestants in India
- Saint Thomas Christians
- Telugu Christian
- Tamil Christians
Primary sources
- Spliesgart, Roland, and Klaus Koschorke, eds. A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990: A Documentary Sourcebook