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AN  ANCIENT  GATEWAY  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 


THE  DEFENDERS  OF  INDIA 
BRITISH  AND  INDIAN  TROOPS 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 


The  Work  of  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission 


J.  T.  TAYLOR,  B.A. 


1916 

BOARD  OF  FOREIGN   MISSIONS 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  CANADA 

TORONTO 


INTRODUCTION 

We  welcome  Mr.  Taylor's  book,  giving  the  story  of 
our  Central  India  Mission.  Such  a  book  is  long  overdue. 
Formosa  and  Central  India  are  the  two  Foreign  Mission 
Fields  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada  (Western 
Section)  whose  origin  dates  back  to  the  years  immediate- 
ly following  the  Union  of  1875.  The  outstanding 
personality  and  unique  achievements  of  George  Leslie 
Mackay  appealed  to  the  imagination  of  Canadians  and 
created  a  demand  for  some  permanent  record  of  his 
life  and  work.  This  story,  so  well  told  by  himself  and 
edited  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Macdonald,  has  familiarized  the 
whole  Church  with  the  history  of  our  Mission  in 
Formosa  ;  but  in  the  larger  field  of  Central  India,  with 
a  greater  number,  of  Missionaries  and  a  more  varied 
type  of  work,  no  one  personality  commanded  attention 
in  quite  the  same  way.  No  one  life  story  could  give  the 
history  of  the  Mission,  and,  apart  from  "The  Redemp- 
tion of  Malwa,"  a  very  valuable  account  of  the  origin 
and  early  development  of  the  Mission  by  Rev.  W.  A. 
Wilson,  D.D.,  and  those  illuminating  sketches  of 
"Village  Work  in  India,"  by  Rev.  Norman  Russell, 
there  has  been  nothing  on  Central  India  available  for 
Missionary  Libraries  and  Mission  Study  Classes. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  written  the  book  we  need.  In  few 
words  he  presents  the  call  and  claim  of  India  with  its 
315,000,000  people — one-fifth  of  the  world's  inhabitants 
and  three-fourths  of  the  population  of  the  British 
Empire.  Briefly  he  sketches  the  history  and  describes 

iii 


IV  INTRODUCTION 

the  physical  features  of  Central  India,  makes  us  see  the 
people,  their  thoughts,  their  religions,  their  caste  system, 
their  manner  of  living,  and,  in  and  through  all,  their 
need  of  that  new  conception  of  God  which  comes  with 
the  vision  of  Jesus  Christ.  Then,  we  learn  how  the  work 
began  in  these  neglected  native  States,  how  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  was  accompanied  by  ministries  of 
healing,  how  the  zenanas  were  entered,  schools  and  high 
schools  founded,  industrial  work  for  the  native  Chris- 
tian community  established,  and  all  crowned  by  a 
Christian  College  doing  University  work.  Streams 
have  broken  forth  in  the  desert. 

Mr.  Taylor  tells  his  story  simply  and  vividly,  is 
concrete  and  specific,  yet  does  not  overload  with  detail. 
The  book  is  such  that  any  intelligent  person  who  sits 
down  and  reads  it  will  rise  with  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  India  and  of  what  missionary  work  there 
means  ;  but  the  aim  has  been  to  provide  a  suitable 
text-book  for  Missionary  Societies  and  Mission  Study 
Classes,  and  a  group  study  of  this  book,  taking  up  a 
chapter  a  week  with  the  suggested  supplementary 
readings,  would  be  a  liberal  education. 

No  time  could  be  more  fitting  for  such  a  study  than 
the  present  when  all  Britishers  are  filled  with  a  new 
pride  and  joy  in  India  because  of  the  splendid  loyalty 
of  her  people  to  the  Empire  in  this  supreme  crisis.  The 
intelligent  loyalty  of  India  has  saved  the  Empire 
billions  of  money  and  millions  of  lives.  Nay,  had  the 
people  of  India  not  proved  loyal,  we  might  to-day  be 
witnessing  the  breaking  up  of  the  British  Empire  ;  and 
who  can  tell  how  far  India's  appreciation  of  Britain's 


INTRODUCTION  V 

righteous  cause  has  been  due  to  the  Christian  message, 
the  Christian  schools  and  colleges,  the  Christian  hospi- 
tals and  dispensaries,  the  kindly  ministries  and  wise 
teachings  of  the  noble  army  of  missionaries  ?  Titanic 
as  is  the  present  struggle,  it  is  small  compared  to  the 
conflict  that  will  be  if,  in  the  future,  East  and  West  are 
arrayed  against  each  other.  But  in  God's  good  Pro- 
vidence India  occupies  the  key  position  in  Asia.  Be- 
longing to  the  Orient,  India  is  at  the  same  time  a  loyal 
partner  in  a  great  Western  Empire  ;  and  may  we  not 
hope  that  an  India,  Asiatic  yet  British,  Oriental  yet 
Christian,  will  be  the  mediator  between  East  and  West  ? 
The  Christian  conquest  of  India  may  well  appeal  to 
the  heroism  of  our  young  men  and  the  devotion  of  our 
young  women.  Almost  every  congregation  in  the  land 
has  to-day  its  Honor  Roll  attesting  the  fact  that  the 
best  can  be  spared  when  a  need  sufficiently  great  and 
a  call  sufficiently  noble  are  presented.  The  Church, 
which  can  give  thousands  of  young  men  to  danger  and 
death  in  distant  lands  under  the  banner  of  King  George 
and  cannot  inspire  even  a  few  hundreds  of  its  youth  to 
enlist  for  overseas  service  under  the  banner  of  King 
Jesus,  has  stultified  itself.  However  valuable  as  a 
national  institution,  it  has  no  claim  to  be  called  a 
Church  of  Christ.  This  war  has  shown  what  sacrifices 
can  be  made  when  the  nation  is  threatened.  Is  there 
to  be  no  similar  sacrifice  when  the  peace  of  the  world 
and  the  whole  future  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth  are 
at  stake  ? 

ALFRED  GANDIER. 
Knox  College,  April  3rd,  1916. 


PREFACE 

The  Title  chosen  for  this  book  has  more  than  a 
geographical  significance.  In  some  respects  the  Native 
States  of  Central  India  are  typical  of  the  real  heart  of 
conservative  India.  Large  districts  in  Central  India 
are  still  without  any  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
sway  of  hoary  Hinduism  is  unchallenged. 

The  task  laid  upon  me  in  the  preparation  of  this  book 
proved  to  be  more  difficult  than  at  first  appeared.  To 
write  the  history  of  the  growth  of  a  Mission  is  one 
thing  ;  to  make  out  of  it  a  book  suitable  for  study 
classes  on  India  is  a  more  difficult  matter.  The  com- 
bination of  the  two  has  imposed  limitations  which  will 
be  only  too  manifest  to  the  readers.  For  instance,  much 
in  reference  to  religious  beliefs  and  religious  and  social 
reform  movements  had  to  be  omitted,  and  the  history 
of  the  Mission  is  at  best  a  mere  outline. 

No  attempt  is  made  in  this  book  to  discuss  women's 
work  as  a  distinct  and  separate  phase  of  the  work  in 
Central  India.  It  is  so  closely  related  to  the  whole 
work  of  the  Mission  that  it  was  felt  that  any  such  dis- 
tinction would  be  unnecessary  and  unwise. 

There  is  much  that  has  already  been  written  on 
Indian  life  and  religion,  and  the  author  is  largely 
indebted  to  the  writers  referred*  to  in  the  foot  notes. 
He  would  also  express  his  gratitude  to  his  fellow-work- 
ers in  Central  India  and  other  friends  there  who  kindly 
supplied  photographs  which  are  reproduced  in  this 
volume. 

vi 


PREFACE  Vll 

The  book  is  sent  forth  with  the  prayer  that  it  may  be 
used  to  help  forward  the  evangelization  of  Central 
India,  which  presents  to  our  Church  such  unique  claims 
and  opportunities. 

April,  1916.  J.  T.  T. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION — By  Rev.  Principal  Gandier,  D.D.     iii. 

PREFACE 

CHAPTER  I. 
CHAPTER  II. 
CHAPTER  III. 
CHAPTER  IV. 


CHAPTER  V. 
CHAPTER  VI. 
CHAPTER  VII. 
CHAPTER  VIII. 


vi. 

The  Claims  of  India i 

The  Mind  of  India 15 

Central  India  and  Its  People 35 

Beginnings,  or,  First  Two  Decades 

of  the  Mission's  History 55 

The  Widening  Work 99 

The  Indian  Church 135 

Problems  of  Indian  Missions 159 

Looking  Forward 181 


APPENDICES 

A.  Present  Staff  in  Central  India,  and  Missionaries 

who  have  retired  or  have  died 205 

B.  Indian  Census  Returns 209 

C.  Forces  on  the  Field 211 

D.  The  Charter  of  Religious  Liberty 212 

E.  Letter  to  Army   Officers    from    Three   Field- 

Marshals 213 

F.  Extract  Minute  of  General  Assembly  of  Pres- 

byterian Church  in  India 214 

Bibliography 216 

Index 219 


Vlll 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Frontispiece i 

The  Defenders  of  India — British  and  Indian  Troops       2 
(i)  The   Old    Palace— Indore   City.       (2)   On  the 

Banks  of  the  Sacred  Narbadda 4 

(i)  Indore   State   Elephants.       (2)  Ships    of    the 

Desert 5 

Mahesar  on  the  Narbadda — The  Old  Capital  of 

Holkar  State 10 

Devotees  :    (i)  Worshipping  ;  (2)  In  the  Midst  of 

the  "Five  Fires" n 

(i)  Feeding  the  Sacred  Fish.     (2)  Religious  Men- 
dicants— Fakirs 22 

The  East  and  the  West.     Ox-Cart  Towing  a  Dis- 
abled Motor  Car 23 

The  Mohurram  Procession — Indore 30 

Mohammedans  at  Prayer — Delhi 31 

Political  map  showing  Native  States  and  British 

India 42 

Agricultural  India  :    (i)  A  Field  of  Jowar 43 

(2)  A  Load  of  Cotton *.  .     43 

(3)  A  Country  Scene 43 

A  State  Function — Durbar \  .  .      46 

(i)  Temple  Architecture.     (2)  Hall  of  Audience  of 

Moghul  Emperors 47 

(i)  A  Busy  Railway  Centre — Rutlam.  (2)  A  Bit 

of  the  Jungle 50 

Our  Pioneers — Rev.  J.  Fraser  Campbell,  D.D.,  and 

Mrs.  Campbell 51 

(i)  Rev.  Nehemiah  Goreh,  Famous  Brahman 

Preacher..     (2)   Mission  Church  and  School — 

Mhow 62 

Itinerating  :  (i)  The  Start 63, 

(2)  A  Shady  Grove 63 

(3)  The  Camp 63 

ix 


ILLUSTRATIONS  X 

PAGE 

Some  State  Buildings,  Indore 78 

Girls'  High  School,  Indore 78 

Graduates  and  Undergraduates  of  Christian  Boys' 

School,  Rasalpura 79 

(i)  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Smith  and  a  Christian  Bheel 

Congregation  ;     (2)  Famine  Refugees 106 

(i)  The  Native  Bheel ;  (2)  A  Bheel  House 107 

Malwa  Theological  Seminary 118 

(i)  Marathi  Girls'  School,  Indore  :  (2)  Hospital 
Patients  moved  out  to  the  warm  sunshine — 

Neemuch 119 

(i)  "Inasmuch";    (2)   Dispensary  Patients 126 

(i)  On  the  Way  to  the  Hospital.  Dr.  McKellar  ; 
(2)  Motto  over  Door  of  Dispensary,  Nee- 
much  ;  (3)  Where  God  and  We  Work 127 

(i)  Rutlam   Mission  Hospital  ;      (2)    Carving  on 

Temple  Walls 130 

Bheel  Theological  Class,  with  Rev.  H.  H.  Smith 

and  Dr.  Buchanan 131 

Pastor  and  Officers  of  Church  at  Mhow — Rev.  Mr. 
Drew  (seated)  and  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor,  Members 

of  Session 131 

Christian  Mela  at  Rutlam,  1913 138 

(i)  A  Christian  Family.     (2)   Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johory  139 
(i)  The  Banyan  Tree- -A  Parable  of  the  Indian 
Church.     (2)  Missionary's  Bungalow  at  Kha- 

rua 150 

Balaram  and  Family 151 

A  Group  of  Enquirers — Kharua 166 

Indore  Christian  College 167 

Map  of  Mission  Field - 190 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Two  of  the  Vernaculars  of  Central 

India 191 


THE  CLAIMS  OF  INDIA 


Faith  and  the  War.  "How  few  of  those  who  find 
their  faith  perplexed  now,  were  perplexed  by  the 
darkness  which  covered  the  heathen  world — a  darkness 
in  which  miseries  and  horrors  reign  from  generation  to 
generation  unrelieved." — Sir  Wm.  Robertson  Nicoll. 

"The  great  majority  of  the  population  of  India  con- 
sists of  idolaters,  blindly  attached  to  rites  and  doctrines 
which,  considered  merely  with  reference  to  the  temporal 
interests  of  mankind,  are  in  the  highest  degree  pernic- 
ious. In  no  part  of  the  world  has  a  religion  ever 
existed  more  unfavourable  to  the  moral  and  intellectual 
health  of  our  race." — Lord  Macaulay  (Speech  on  the 
Gates  of  Somnath). 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  CLAIMS  OF  INDIA 

The  Charm  of  India.  India  has  always  been  a  land 
of  peculiar  charm.  From  the  days  of  Alexander  the 
Great  down  to  the  present  it  has  had  a  fascination  for 
the  peoples  of  Europe  and  the  West.  It  was  this 
which  led  Columbus  over  unknown  Western  seas  to 
find  a  waterway  to  India.  Then  it  was  the  desire  for 
her  silks  and  spices,  her  gold  and  precious  stones,  which 
drew  the  merchants  of  Europe  to  her  shores.  Now  a 
new  element  has  entered  in,  and  it  is  India's  place  in 
the  Empire  that  claims  our  attention  and  makes  her 
welfare  deeply  interesting  to  the  people  of  Canada  and 
to  British  people  everywhere. 

The  dramatic  entry  of  the  armies  of  India  into  the 
European  conflict,  and  the  universal  response  of  India's 
people  to  the  Empire's  need  when  the  fateful  fourth  of 
August,  1914,  brought  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  with 
Germany,  will  stand  out  as  one  of  the  most  significant 
events  in  the  history  of  that  great  people.  The  Great 
Eastern  "  Dependency"  is  now  asserting  its  right  to  be 
treated  as  a  portion  of  the  Empire,  not  as  a  mere 
dependent,  but  as  a  partner. 

There  is  a  call,  as  never  before,  for  a  sympathetic 
study  of  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  the  people  of 
India. 

In  this  time  of  crisis  the  heart  of  India  is  revealing 
itself.     There  is  a  keen  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the 


4  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

issues  at  stake.  There  is  loyal  co-operation  in  helping 
to  win  a  victory  for  those  principles  which  are  funda- 
mentally Christian  ;  and  upon  the  Christian  churches 
of  the  Empire  particularly  lies  the  responsibility  of 
giving  to  India  the  message  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Early  History  of  Christianity  in  India.  The  history 
of  Christianity  in  India  is  full  of  instruction,  (i) 
Primitive  Christianity  had  its  opportunity  in  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Traditions  there  are 
of  visits  of  Missionaries  in  the  first  century.  It  is 
known  certainly  that  Pantaeus  of  Alexandria  was  in 
India  near  the  close  of  the  second  century.  But  there 
is  no  trace  of  any  direct  fruit  of  these  early  efforts.  (2) 
The  oldest  Christian  community  in  India  is  known  as 
the  Syrian  Church,  whose  history  can  be  definitely 
traced  back  to  the  6th  century.  It  was  founded  by 
Nestorian  Missionaries  who  were  driven  out  of  Orthodox 
Christendom  and  travelled  to  the  East.  They  preached 
the  doctrine  of  a  Human  Saviour  indwelt  by  the  Divine 
Word.  A  Church  was  planted  in  South- West  India, 
which  now  numbers  over  700,000,  but  it  has  failed  as 
a  propagating  force,  and  has  settled  down  alongside 
of  Hinduism  in  the  spirit  of  mutual  toleration.  (3) 
The  Church  of  Rome  came  next.  Its  activities  were 
most  marked  after  the  coming  of  the  Portuguese  in 
1498,  who  brought  Missionaries  representing  various 
religious  orders.  In  the  i6th  and  iyth  centuries  great 
numbers  were  baptized.  Chief  among  those  sent  out 
was  Francis  Xavier,  in  1542,  and  with  his  coming 
began  the  labors  of  the  Jesuit  Order.  Multitudes 


THE  OLD  PALACE— INDORE  CITY 


ON  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  SACRED  NARBADDA 


INDORE  STATE  ELEPHANTS 


SHIPS  OF  THE  DESERT 


THE    CLAIMS    OF    INDIA  5 

were  baptized,  but  baptism  was  not  followed  by  the 
needed  instruction.  The  result  was  that  the  name 
"Christian"  came  to  have  such  an  unworthy  meaning, 
that  Protestants  generally  choose  instead  to  call  them- 
selves "Isai"  or  "Masihi."*  As  a  positive  force  for 
the  uplifting  of  the  converts,  the  Church  of  Rome 
had  little  success. 

The  Paralysis  of  Christianity.  All  through  these 
centuries,  Christianity  seems  to  have  suffered  from 
paralysis,  and  to  have  been  rendered  largely  fruitless, 
conquered  by  the  inertia  of  surrounding  Hinduism, 
and  because  of  its  own  tolerant  and  compromising 
spirit. 

Protestant  Christianity.  (4)  Protestant  Missions 
began  e.arly  in  the  i8th  Century  with  the  coming  of  the 
Danish  Missionaries,  Ziegenbalg  and  Plutchau,  in 
1706  ;  but  not  till  the  close  of  the  century  did  England 
put  her  hand  to  the  work.  To  her  shame  be  it  said, 
that  English  adventurers  and  English  merchants  had 
long  preceded  the  messengers  of  Christ  to  the  people 
of  India  ;  and  when  they  at  last  followed,  they  were 
forbidden  to  land  and  had  to  begin  their  work  on  foreign 
soil. 

The  past  century  has  seen  a  steady  growth  in  the 
interest  in  India  among  the  Churches  of  the  West,  and 
a  very  striking  growth  in  the  Protestant  Churches  in 
India.  They  have  not  succumbed  to  the  influence  of 
Hinduism.  The  first  attempt  to  tabulate  progress  was 
in  1851.  There  were  then  91,092  Protestant  Christians. 
In  1911  they  numbered  1,636,731,  and  they  are  in- 

*The  people,  or  followers,  of  Jesus. 


6  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

creasing  much  more  rapidly  than  any  other  Christian 
community. 

The  Stern  Conflict.  It  is  a  stern  conflict  in  which 
the  Christian  Church  is  engaged.  Hinduism,  with  its 
caste  system,  is  its  great  opponent.  The  latter  has 
proved  more  than  a  match  for  both  Buddhism  and- 
Mohammedanism.  Buddhism  was  once  spread  all 
over  the  country.  But  it  almost  disappeared  as  an 
organized  faith.  Hinduism  overcame  it,  and  in  the 
process,  absorbed  from  it  what  have  now  become  some 
of  its  own  most  distinctive  beliefs.  For  six  centuries 
Mohammedan  power  was  dominant  in  India,  and  many 
Hindus  were  forcibly  converted  to  the  Moslem  faith. 
But  Hinduism  was  not  conquered.  The  distinctive 
features  in  which  it  differed  from  Mohammedanism 
grew  stronger  by  the  conflict.  Image- worship,  so 
offensive  to  Moslem  teaching,  is  now  everywhere 
performed.  Caste  is  as  cruel  as  ever,  and  Mohamme- 
danism is  practically  a  caste  outside  of  Hinduism.  Saint- 
worship  by  Mohammedans,  and  Image-worship  by 
Hindus  exist  side  by  side.  Festivals  of  each  of  the 
religions  are  frequently  observed  by  followers  of  both 
and  the  two  religions  have  agreed  to  tolerate  each  other. 
The  British  Government,  of  course,  will  not  permit 
violent  outbreaks  of  hostility.  Hinduism  has  great 
powers  of  accommodation  to  various  types  and  beliefs, 
for  its  principles  admit  all  religions  as  different  ways  of 
Salvation,  and  all  beliefs  as  true. 

The  Intolerance  of  Christianity.  Hinduism  is  a 
subtle  and  dangerous  foe.  The  elements  of  truth  it 
contains,  on  the  one  hand,  and  its  tolerance  of  error 


THE    CLAIMS    OF    INDIA  7 

and  vice  on  the  other,  make  necessary  on  the  part  of 
Christians  a  "loving  intolerance."  Were  Christianity 
to  be  tolerant  as  is  Hinduism,  it  would  be  fatal.  "Christ 
is  your  Saviour,  Krishna  is  ours  ;  you  worship  in  your 
way,  we  in  ours  ;  but  we  are  all  striving  after  the  same 
thing  ;  let  us  live  in  peace  and  respect  each  other's 
honest  convictions."  But  Christianity  must  insist  on 
the  Apostolic  claim  ;  ' '  Neither  is  there  Salvation  in  any 
other,  for  there  is  no  other  Name  under  Heaven,  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  There  can 
be  no  compromise  where  the  unique  place  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  man's  salvation  is  concerned. 

One  of  the  dangers  to  the  Church  of  Christ  is  that  o^ 
being  content  with  half-victories,  which,  considering 
the  character  of  Hinduism,  can  only  mean  defeat  in  the 
end.  It  is  a  striking  fact,  and  one  of  great  encourage- 
ment, that  there  are  multitudes  in  India  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  who  are  as  yet 
only  "secret  disciples."  And  there  are  those  who,  out 
of  a  deep  sympathy  with  the  difficult  position  in  which 
such  secret  disciples  find  themselves,  are  disposed  to  be 
lax  in  the  requirements  of  Baptism,  and  even  speak  of 
the  rite  as  "Baptism  into  organized  Christianity," 
which,  being  foreign  in  its  type,  can  hardly  be  supposed 
to  commend  itself  to  the  thoughtful  Indian.  And 
Hinduism  itself  will  be  quite  tolerant  of  such  disciples. 
They  may  retain  all  their  caste  privileges  if  only  they 
will  refrain  from  Baptism.  There  is  great  danger,  if 
Christians  concede  that  the  follower  of  Christ  may 
ignore  his  Master's  explicit  command  in  regard  to 
Baptism,  that  Christianity  itself  will  become  Hindu- 


8  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

ized,  and  its  power  will  go  from  it.  Christians  can  best 
show  their  love  for  India  by  a  true  intolerance  of  all 
inconsistency  between  belief  and  conduct.  The  Church 
cannot  afford  to  make  peace  with  Hinduism,  which 
has  triumphed  over  two  of  the  great  missionary  re- 
ligions of  the  world, — triumphed  by  its  tolerance  and 
its  spirit  of  compromise.  "  Instead  of  the  thorn  shall 
come  up  the  fir  tree  and  instead  of  the  briar  shall  come 
up  the  myrtle  tree  ;  and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a 
name,  for  an  everlasting  sign  that  shall  not  be  cut  off." 

(Is.  55  : 13). 
Influence  of  Christianity  on  Indian  Life  and  Thought. 

The  impact  of  Christianity  on  Indian  life  and  thought 
produces  a  variety  of  results.  There  is  the  influence 
of  the  Supreme  Government,  which,  while  neutral  in 
regard  to  the  Christian  propaganda,  is  Christian  in  its 
attitude  to  flagrant  abuses  and  immoral  practices. 
Some  of  the  crimes  which  were  sanctioned  by  Hinduism 
have  been  suppressed  by  Government,  even  in  the  face 
of  public  opinion.  Suttee,  female  infanticide,  thuggism, 
and  human  sacrifices,  have  been  put  down.  Public 
opinion  has  followed  and  endorsed  such  legislation, 
although  desire  for  the  old  practices  lingers  still  in 
unlocked  for  quarters.  For  instance,  when  there  was 
an  outbreak  of  the  spirit  of  suicide  in  Calcutta  a  few 
years  ago,  and  several  young  wives,  on  the  death  of 
their  husbands,  burned  themselves  to  death  by  soaking 
their  garments  in  coal-oil,  locking  themselves  in  their 
apartments  and  perishing  miserably,  some  Indian 
papers  lauded  their  action  as  a  revival  of  the  ancient 
spirit  of  devotion  and  courage  in  India's  women — the 
spirit  of  suttee. 


THE    CLAIMS    OF    INDIA  9 

Growth  in  number  of  Samajes.  There  is  the  growth 
of  a  number  of  Samajes  or  Associations.  It  is  the  age 
of  Samajes  in  India.  Some  of  these  are  like  half-way 
houses  in  the  approach  of  earnest  Indians  towards 
Christianity.  They  seek  to  form  an  amalgam  of  what 
is  good  in  all  religions  ;  but  no  eclectic  system  ever 
exerted  much  influence.  Others  are  antagonistic,  and 
are  intended  to  revive  ancient  Hinduism  by  stripping 
it  of  some  of  its  modern  accretions,  and  throwing  about 
other  of  its  features  a  borrowed  glory.  Such  Associa- 
tions aim  also  at  providing  mutual  benefits  for  members, 
along  with  social  reform,  and  thus  bear  testimony  to  the 
force  of  the  Christian  idea  of  human  brotherhood. 

In  considering  the  impact  of  Christianity  on  the  life 
of  India  one  has  to  take  account  of  the  presence  of  a 
large  European  element.  There  are  the  tradesmen, 
the  British  garrison,  and  the  officials.  These  are  the 
representatives  of  Christianity  in  the  minds  of  the 
common  people.  In  spite  of  all  the  blessings  that  have 
come  with  British  rule,  it  is  a  common  experience  that 
the  work  of  evangelizing,  and  that  of  building  up  the 
Indian  Church,  is  more  difficult  in  garrison  towns  than 
in  places  where  European  life  and  influence  are  compara- 
tively unknown.  And  there  is  the  large  Eurasian,  or 
more  properly,  Anglo-Indian,  community,  who  by 
birth,  by  baptism,  by  name,  and  to  a  certain  extent, 
by  upbringing,  are  Christians.  These  are  largely 
separate  from  both  the  European  and  the  purely 
Indian  communities,  and  have  not  received  the  atten- 
tion they  deserve. 

The  Call  to  Service,     (i)  For  Europeans.     The  call 


10  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

to  the  Church  for  service  in  India  is  clear  and  insistent. 
It  comes  on  behalf  of  the  European  community.  It  is 
true  that  Government  provides  for  Chaplaincies,  but 
Christians  at  home  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  influence 
of  those  who  are  on  the  outposts  of  the  Empire,  the 
representatives  of  British  Christian  ideas  and  ideals, 
who  serve  their  King  and  their  God  by  maintaining 
peace,  and  enforcing  the  principles  of  Truth  and 
Justice  in  the  country's  administration  ;  and  those 
too  who  have  gone  to  India  in  the  interests  of  trade  and 
commerce. 

(2)  For  the  Masses.     But  the  call  comes  particularly 
on  behalf  of  the  millions  of  India,  the  native-born,  with 
their  countless  gods  and  goddesses.     It  comes  from  the 
50  million  out  castes,  among  whom  there  is  a  growing 
spirit  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  with  agelong  oppres- 
sion.    They  are  turning  toward  the  Christian  faith  as 
their  only  door  of  Hope.     Wonderful  mass  movements* 
have  from  time  to  time  begun  among  them  in  different 
parts  of  India,  and  these  present  to  the  Christian  church 
some  of  its  gravest  problems. 

(3)  For  the  Aboriginal  Tribes.     The  way,   too,   in 
which  the  aboriginal  tribes  are  open  and  responsive  to 
the  Gospel,   constitutes  a  clamant  call  to  evangelize 
these  neglected  peoples.     In  their  case  it  is  a  matter  of 
great  urgency,  for  the  Hinduizing  process  is  going  on 
among  them,  and  if  this  be  accomplished,  the  barrier 
of  caste  will  make  work  among  them  difficult.     Caste 
is  not  now  recognized  by  them. 

(4)  For  India's  Women.     And  there  is  the  insistent 
call  of  India's  women.     With  a  rapidly  growing  demand 


*See  Chap.  VII. 


DEVOTEE— WORSH I PPI NG 


DEVOTEE— IN  THE  MIDST  OF  "THE  FIVE  FIRES 


THE    CLAIMS    OF    INDIA  II 

* 

for  education,  and  a  wide-spread  desire  on  the  part  of 
Indian  men  that  facilities  should  be  provided,  there  is  a 
lamentable  lack  of  teachers.  The  Medical  needs,  too, 
are  appalling.  "It  is  computed  that  out  of  150  million 
women  of  India,  not  more  than  3  million  as  yet  are 
within  the  reach  of  medical  aid."  Think  what  this 
means  ! 

(5)  For  the  Nation.  The  National  movement*  is  a 
call  to  the  Christian  Church.  To  quote  the  words  of  a 
leading  Indian  Christian  writer  : 

"The  problem  of  surpassing  interest  in  every  educated 
centre  is  how  to  build  up  the  one  Indian  Nation  out  of 
all  the  diverse  races  and  divisions.  The  picture  of  a 
United  India  fires  the  imagination  of  the  young,  and 
rouses  the  enthusiasm  even  of  the  older  man ....  A 
great  Indian  Church  is  needed  to  form  a  great  Indian 
Nation."**  The  power  of  a  Supreme  Government  may 
hold  together  in  peace  India's  diverse  peoples  ;  but  to 
weld  them  into  a  nation,  with  common  sentiments  and 
with  a  sense  of  true  brotherhood,  there  is  needed  a  great 
motive  force  which  the  Spirit  of  Christ  alone  can 
give. 

The  Fundamental  Reason  for  Serving  India.  The 
need,  and  the  opportunity  to  meet  that  need,  are  a 
sufficient  call  to  rouse  us  to  service  for  India.  But  a 
deeper  reason  is  found  in  our  Lord's  Great  Commission 
and  Promise  to  His  people.  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  make 
disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 


*See  Chap.  VII. 

**Prin.  Rudra  from  "Christ  and  Modern  India" — The  Student 
Movement — Jan.,  1910. 


12  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you  ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  (Matt.  28  :  20). 

No  church  can  be  indifferent  to  this  Command,  or 
plead  any  excuse  whatever,  or  limit  the  range  of  its 
prayers  and  efforts,  without  suffering  in  itself.  Holding 
the  Gospel  in  trust  for  the  world,  the  Church  which 
fails  in  obedience  to  its  Lord's  Command,  not  only  robs 
the  non-Christian  world  of  its  due,  but  robs  itself  of  its 
best  blessings.  "The  light  that  shines  the  farthest 
shines  brightest  nearer  home."  There  can  be  no  con- 
flict between  'home'  and  'foreign'  claims.  These  act 
on  each  other,  as  Dr.  Duff  used  to  say/'not  by  way  of 
mutual  exhaustion  but  by  way  of  mutual  fermentation." 
Even  the  greatness  and  seeming  impossibility  of  the 
task  can  become  a  means  of  richest  blessing.  It  will 
but  serve  to  throw  the  Church  back  on  its  supernatural 
resources — on  God.  It  will  drive  it  to  prayer,  which  is 
"the  Christian's  vital  breath."  It  will  compel  it  to 
advance  on  its  knees,  the  only  sure  way  to  victory. 

Inner  Compulsion  the  Impelling  Motive.  But  deeper 
even  than  obedience  to  a  command,  lies  the  true  secret 
of  world-wide  missionary  activity.  It  is  the  inner 
compulsion  of  the  Christian  life.  It  waits  for  no  ex- 
ternal command.  Even  had  the  Great  Commission 
never  been  formally  given,  the  Church  of  Christ  would 
still  have  been  Missionary.  It  had  an  experience  which 
compelled  it  to  be  such.  Peter  and  John,  when  for- 
bidden to  preach,  said,  "We  cannot  but  speak  the  things 
which  we  have  seen  and  heard."  To  have  tasted  and 


THE    CLAIMS    OF    INDIA  13 

seen  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  is  to  know  the  meaning 
of  that  inner  compulsion.  "I  cannot  eat  my  morsel 
alone."  some  one  has  said,  "was  the  best  Missionary  ad- 
dress I  ever  heard."  Impelled  by  this  motive,  the 
Primitive  Church  soon  gave  its  testimony  throughout 
the  known  world.  We  need  to  be  possessed  anew  with 
the  wonder,  and  fragrance,  and  sweetness,  of  the 
Gospel  Message,  to  realize  afresh  the  saving  power  of 
Christ,  and  the  Non-Christian  world  will  soon  hear  the 
Good  News.  "The  possession  of  Grace,"  said  Mc- 
Cheyne,  "is  different  from  the  possession  of  everything 
else  in  the  world."  It  alone  enables  us  to  realize  that 
it  is  better  to  give  than  to  receive.  "There  is  that 
scattereth  and  yet  increaseth  ;  and  there  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to 
poverty."  (Prov.  XI.  :  24).  Sir  Robert  Laidlaw,  a 
prince  among  India's  merchants,  said,  "We  merchants 
come  to  India  to  get  out  of  it  what  we  can.  You  Mis- 
sionaries come  to  put  into  it  what  you  can.  If  I  had 
my  life  to  live  over  again  I  would  be  a  Missionary." 


THE  MIND  OF  INDIA 


"This  immutable  and  all-pervading  system  of  caste 
has  no  doubt  imposed  a  mechanical  uniformity  upon 
the  people,  but  it  has,  at  the  same  time,  kept  their 
different  sections  inflexibly  separate,  with  the  conse- 
quent loss  of  all  power  of  adaptation  and  readjustment 
to  new  conditions  and  forces.  The  regeneration  of  the 
Indian  people,  to  my  mind,  directly  and  perhaps  solely 
depends  upon  the  removal  of  this  condition  of  caste. 
When  I  realize  the  hypnotic  hold  which  this  gigantic 
system  of  cold-blooded  repression  has  taken  on  the 
minds  of  our  people,  whose  social  body  it  has  so 
completely  entwined  in  its  endless  coils  that  the  free 
expression  of  manhood,  even  under  the  direst  necessity, 
has  become  almost  an  impossibility,  the  only  remedy 
that  suggests  itself  to  me  is  to  educate  them  out  of 
their  trance." 

— RABINDRA  NATH  TAGORE. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  MIND  OF  INDIA 

The  Need  of  Knowing  the  Mind  of  India.  "Behold 
a  sower  went  forth  to  sow.  And  when  he  sowed,  some 
seeds  fell  by  the  wayside  :  and  some  fell  upon  stony 
places,  where  they  had  not  much  earth  :  and  some  fell 
among  thorns  :  and  other  fell  into  good  ground." 
Scientific  farming  lays  much  stress  on  a  minute  study 
of  the  soil,  the  elements  in  it  which  are  adapted  to  cer- 
tain seeds,  the  extent  to  which  it  has  become  impover- 
ished, and  the  best  method  of  treatment  in  order  that 
there  may  be  a  suitable  return  in  the  time  of  harvest. 
And  the  missionary  who  would  sow  the  Good  Seed  of 
the  Kingdom  must  needs  know  the  soil  in  which  the 
Seed  is  to  be  sown.  There  should  be  a  knowledge  of 
the  character  and  institutions  of  the  people,  and  their 
religious  beliefs  and  practices,  those  things  which  it  is 
the  office  of  the  Gospel,  to  transform  and  sanctify,  or  it 
may  be  to  supplant  and  destroy.  Mission  work  is  a 
lifelong  study,  not  only  for  the  acquisition  of  the  lan- 
guage, which  is  essential,  but  for  the  knowledge  of  the 
people  without  which  the  missionary  cannot  intelli- 
gently and  sympathetically  commend  the  Gospel  to 
their  needs. 

Difficulty  :  Mental  Seclusion  of  the  Indian.  But  it 
has  been  often  asserted  that  such  a  study  must. in  the 
end  prove  a  failure,  for  the  mental  seclusion  of  the 
Oriental  is  such  that  his  character  can  never  be 


18  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

understood,  particularly  by  the  Westerner.     Meredith 
Townsend    in    his    book,    "Asia    and    Europe,"    thus 
describes  this  attitude,  ' '  They  are  fenced  off  from  each 
other  by  an  invisible,  impalpable,  but  impassable  wall. 
The  wall  is  not,  as  we  believe,  difference  of  manners, 
or   of  habits,   or  of  modes   of  association,   for  those 
difficulties  have  all  been  conquered  by  officials,  travel- 
lers,  missionaries,   and   others,   in  places  like   China, 
where  the  external  difference  is  so  much  greater.     They 
have  indeed  been  conquered  by  individuals  in  India 
itself,  where  many  men — especially  missionaries  who 
are  not  feared — do  live  in  as  friendly  and  frequent 
intercourse  with  Irjdians,  as  they  would  with  their  own 
people  at  home.     The  wall  is  less  material  than  that, 
and  is  raised  mainly  by  the  Indian  himself  who,  what- 
ever his  profession,  or  grade,  or  occupation,  deliberately 
secludes  his  mind  from  the  European,  with  a  jealous, 
minute,  and  persistent  care ....  But  in  his  most  facile 
moments  the  Indian  never  unlocks  his  mind,   never 
puts  it  to  yours,  never  reveals  his  real  thought,  never 
stands  with  his  real  and  whole  character  confessed,  like 
the  Western  European.     You  may  know  a  bit  of  it,  the 
dominant  passion,  the  ruling  temper,  even  the  reigning 
prejudice,  but  never  the  whole  of  it."     He  gives  his 
explanation   of  this  exclusiveness  as  follows  :      "We 
doubt  if  any  European  ever  fully  realizes  how  great 
the  mental  effect  of  the  segregativeness,  the  separation 
into  atoms,  of  Indian  society,  continued,  as  it  has  been, 
for  three  thousand  unbroken  years,  has  actually  been. 
We  speak  of  that  society  as  'divided  into  castes,'  but 
it  is,  and  has  always  been  divided  into  far  more  minute 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  19 

divisions  or  crystals,  each  in  a  way  complete,  but  each 
absolutely  separated  from  its  neighbor  by  laws,  rules, 
prejudices,  traditions,  and  principles  of  ceremonial 
purity,  which  in  the  aggregate,  form  impassable  lines  of 
demarcation.  It  is  not  the  European  to  whom  the 
Indian  will  not  reveal  himself,  but  mankind,  outside 
a  circle  usually  wonderfully  small,  and  often  a  single 
family,  from  whom  he  mentally  retreats.  His  first  pre- 
occupation in  life  is  to  keep  his  'caste/  his  separateness, 
his  ceremonial  purity,  from  any  other  equally  separate 
crystal  ;  and  in  that  preoccupation,  permanent,  and 
all-absorbing,  for  thousands  of  years,  he  has  learnt  to 
shroud  his  inner  mind,  till  in  revealing  it  he  feels  as  if 
he  were  revealing  some  shrine  which  it  is  blasphemy  to 
open,  as  he  had  earned  from  Heaven  the  misfortune  he 
thinks  sure  to  follow ....  This  loneliness  (of  the  mind) 
has  been  increased  in  the  Indian  by  the  discipline  of 
ages,  until  it  is  not  an  incident,  but  the  first  essential  of 
his  character." 

Every  one  who  has  lived  any  length  of  time  in  India 
has  felt  the  difficulty  of  the  problem  ;  but  it  has  its 
brighter  and  truer  side,  for  a  touch  of  Grace  can  make 
the  whole  world  kin..  Kipling  has  sung  :  "East  is 
East,  and  West  is  West  ;  and  never  the  twain  shall 
meet,"  but  Dr.  Murray  Mitchell,  with  a  deeper  insight 
into  the  Indian  mind,  ventures  to  correct  the  bard  of 
the  barrack-room,  and  says  :  "East  is  East  and  West 
is  West,  and  yet  the  twain  shall  meet,  And  Eastern  men 
join  Western  men  in  fellowship  complete."  The  writer 
considers  some  of  the  most  cordial  and  helpful  friend- 


20  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

ships  of  life  to  include  those  which  have  been  formed 
with  Indian  Christians. 

Conservatism.  Closely  allied  to  the  above  trait  is 
their  conservatism.  Naturally  this  is  more  marked  in 
the  villages  than  in  the  towns  and  large  centres  ;  and 
inasmuch  as  92  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Central 
India,  live  in  the  villages,  this  trait  is  a  very  common 
one.  Methods  of  work  in  vogue  hundreds,  and  even 
thousands  of  years  ago,  are  still  followed.  The  potter 
at  his  wheel,  the  blacksmith  at  his  forge,  the  weaver  at 
his  simple  loom,  and  the  farmer  with  his  primitive 
implements,  work  as  their  forefathers  have  worked  as 
the  centuries  have  rolled  by  ;  and  it  cannot  be  said 
that  they  have  reached  perfection  in  their  arts.  The 
Indian  regards  it  as  disrespectful  to  his  ancestors  for 
him  to  depart  in  any  way  from  their  example.  To  do 
so  would  be  to  commit  a  sin.  Many  of  the  everyday 
proverbs  of  life  give  expression  to  this  sentiment. 
Anyone  seeking  to  improve  his  house,  or  to  introduce 
better  methods  of  work,  or  to  adopt  a  different  style  of 
clothing,  would  be  treated  as  an  upstart,  and  in  many 
cases  such  innovations  would  not  be  tolerated  by  the 
caste. 

Spirit  of  Progress.  The  spirit  of  progress,  however, 
is  slowly  but  surely  forcing  itself  on  India.  The  large 
towns  and  cities  are  like  another  world.  The  Old  and 
the  New  rudely  jostle  each  other.  In  a  city  street  may 
be  seen  the  primitive  ox-cart  which  from  time  immemor- 
ial has  jogged  along  at  three  miles  an  hour,  and  the 
modern  bicycle,  ridden  by  old  and  young,  men  and 
women  (the  Parsee  ladies  as  yet  are  almost  the  only 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  21 

ones  who  have  taken  freely  to  the  bicycle) .  And  there 
are  strings  of  camels,  swinging  along  at  their  easy  gait, 
symbolic  of  the  leisurely  East,  and  motor  cars  and  motor 
cycles  shooting  hither  and  thither,  while  policemen  in 
uniform  regulate  the  traffic  in  up-to-date  fashion.  Tall 
chimneys  indicate  the  coming  of  the  modern  factory, 
arid  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  and  electric  light  tell 
of  the  impact  of  the  more  strenuous  Western  life  upon 
the  conservative  East.  For  ages  almost  every  detail 
of  life  has  been  stereotyped  by  having  the  seal  of  re- 
ligious authority  placed  upon  it.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
see  that  even  Western  ways  are  influencing  the  minds 
of  the  people  and  affecting  the  soil — the  soil  of  religious 
conceptions — in  which  the  Seed  of  the  Kingdom  is  be- 
ing sown. 

Proportion  of  Literates.  The  illiteracy  of  the 
masses  makes  the  work  of  seed-sowing  one  requiring 
much  patience.  The  appeal  of  the  Evangelist  or 
Christian  Teacher  in  the  home  land  is  reinforced  by 
countless  influences  which  are  at  work  in  a  community 
which  has  the  library,  and  the  newspaper,  and  above 
all,  the  Bible,  to  stimulate  thought.  In  India  it  is  far 
different.  In  Central  India,  the  proportion  of  illiterates 
is  very  high.  In  the  census  of  1911,  the  test  of  a 
"literate"  person  was — ability  to  write  a  letter  and 
read  the  answer  to  it  ;  and  the  returns  showed  26  per 
thousand  of  literates  in  the  whole  population.  One 
male  in  every  20  and  one  female  in  every  330  was  able 
to  satisfy  the  test.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among 
Indian  Christians,  the  percentage  of  literates  is  46  for 
males,  and  34  for  females  ;  that  is,  among  "literates" 


22  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

the  proportion  of  Christians  to  general  population  is, 
for  males  9  to  i ,  and  for  females,  1 1 2  to  i .  (The  Census 
returns  include  under  the  name  "Indian  Christian" 
both  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic). 

Religious  knowledge  among  the  illiterate  masses  of 
the  Hindus,  is  kept  alive  by  wandering  bards  who  recite 
or  sing  their  sacred  scriptures.  It  is  no  uncommon 
sight  to  see  the  men  of  the  village  gathered  together 
after  the  day's  work  is  done,  listening  attentively  while 
someone  reads  or  sings  by  the  hour  portions  of  the 
Ramayana  or  other  of  the  sacred  books.  Stories  of  the 
marvellous  doings  of  their  deities,  and  pithy  sayings  and 
proverbs,  expressive  of  religious  and  moral  conceptions, 
are  the  sole  intellectual  food  of  multitudes.  While 
occasionally  women  may  be  found  who  are  versed  in 
their  scriptures,  for  their  sex  as  a  whole,  the  ritual  of 
worship  at  the  temple  and  the  village  shrine,  and  the 
religious  ceremonies  associated  with  the  various  re- 
lationships of  life,  with  betrothal,  marriage,  motherhood 
and  death,  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  religious  instruc- 
tion. It  is  no  wonder  that  the  women  are  proverbially 
the  stronghold  of, idolatry  and  religious  conservatism. 
Among  Mohammedans  there  is  the  public  reading  of 
the  Koran  and  preaching  by  the  moulvies  ;  but  as  the 
Koran  is  read  in  Arabic,  which  to  the  Indian  Moham- 
medan is  a  foreign  tongue,  it  is  not  surprising  that  many 
are  almost  entirely  ignorant  of  the  teachings  of  their 
sacred  book. 

How  and  When  to  Preach  the  Gospel.  How  is  the 
Good  Seed  to  be  sown  in  soil  such  as  this  ?  Must  we 
first  educate  and  then  preach  ?  Must  the  Good  News 


FEEDING  THE  SACRED  FISH 


RELIGIOUS  MENDICANTS— FAKIRS 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  23 

be  held  in  abeyance  till  man's  condition  is  bettered, 
and  a  certain  stage  of  culture  be  reached  before  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  can  be  profitable  ?  Our  an- 
swer is  that  we  can,  and  must  preach  a  present  salvation 
to  all  men.  The  proclamation  of  a  message,  the  testi- 
mony to  a  great  reality,  must  be  the  first  and  formative 
thought  in  the  life  of  the  missionary.  "If  we  had  to 
offer  to  the  world  a  Gospel  of  rites,  the  form  of  our 
ministry  would  be  sacerdotal  ;  if  we  had  to  offer  a 
Gospel  of  thoughts,  our  ministry  would  be  professional 
and  didactic,  but  we  have  a  Gospel  of  fact  ;  therefore 
we  preach."  (Dr.  Alexander  McLaren).  We  have  a 
Saviour  so  many-sided,  so  full  of  Grace  and  Truth,  that 
He  meets  the  need  of  every  man.  And  it  is  a  Saviour, 
not  a  system  of  abstract  truth,  that  is  to  be  preached. 
Hence  the  Great  Commission  lays  the  emphasis  first 
of  all  on  a  right  relationship,  and  lastly  on  growth  in 
knowledge.  First  jisjnple— then  baptize — then  teach. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Gospel  is  Truth,  and  Truth  is  so 
comprehensive,  that  every  enlightening  agency  can  be 
profitably  employed  as  her  handmaid.  The  Christian 
school  is  invaluable  in  this  respect. 

The  Element  of  Fear.  Illiteracy  is  closely  allied  to 
a  trait  in  the  Indian  character  which  is  painfully 
manifest  in  so  many  of  their  religious  ceremonies, — 
the  element  of  fear.  Knowledge  liberates,  but  ignor- 
ance, especially  when  played  upon  by  an  unscrupulous 
priesthood,  brings  bondage.  uFor  the  Hindu,  the  fear 
of  malignant  spirits  is,  like  the  atmosphere,  all-perva- 
sive. The  readiest  explanation  of  misfortune,  loss, 
sickness,  calamity,  is  that  it  is  due  to  an  angry  deity, 


24  IN   THE   HEART    OF    INDIA 

who  must  be  propitiated.  A  crowd  is  seen  gathered 
outside  the  village,  and  a  goat  is  being  prepared  for 
sacrifice.  You  ask  the  reason,  and  are  told  that  a 
member  of  the  village  headman's  family  is  ill  with  fever 
and  the  deity  is  calling  for  a  sacrifice  of  blood.  Or  a 
grievous  sickness  afflicts  the  villagers.  The  particular 
deity  concerned  is  angry  and  must  be  appeased,  and 
if  possible,  persuaded  to  depart.  A  little  cart  is  made 
for  his  comfort,  offerings  are  brought,  and  with  much 
shouting  and  noise,  he  is  solemnly  escorted  to  the  bound- 
aries of  the  village  where  he  is  bidden  a  glad  farewell. 
O,  for  the  shedding  abroad  of  that  Love  which  casts 
out  fear,  for  fear  hath  torment! 

The  idols  of  India  are  invariably  ugly.  Those  fash- 
ioned by  man's  hand  are  made  to  appear  terrible- 
Sometimes  a  shapeless  stone  from  the  fields,  unfashioned 
by  man,  is  set  up  as  the  village  shrine,  and  is  worshipped 
and  feared.  But  the  image  is  no  more  ugly  or  unseemly 
than  their  conception  of  the  spirit  supposed  to  dwell 
there,  which  is  their  god.  The  thought  of  God  as 
malevolent,  vindictive,  waiting  to  pounce  on  them  in 
punishment  for  any  false  step,  is  a  horrible  conception 
of  Him  whose  name  is  Father.  "Being  then  the  off- 
spring of  God,  we  ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead 
is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and 
device  of  man."  (Acts  17  :  29).  "No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time,  the  Only-begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."  (John 
i  :  1 8).  India  needs  the  vision  of  God  the  Father,  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  2$ 

People  in  whose  minds  fear  is  so  marked  a  trait,  are 
always  subject  to  panic.  Though  patient  to  a  fault, 
when  excited  they  work  themselves  into  a  frenzy,  and 
this  constitutes  one  of  the  perils  of  residence  in  India. 
A  false  rumor,  or  a  misunderstanding,  especially  if 
religious  feelings  are  concerned,  may  provoke  a  fanatical 
outburst  in  which  neither  life  nor  property  are  safe, 
as  witness  the  terrible  excesses  of  the  Mutiny. 

Things  to  be  Admired.  But  there  are  traits  of 
character  worthy  of  admiration.  Their  patience  is 
unwearied.  The  agricultural  classes  have  provided 
the  sinews  of  war  for  the  warlike  hordes  which  have 
swept  over  India  again  and  again  from  time  immem- 
orial. Patience  under  changes  of  rulers  with  ac- 
companying oppression,  has  become  ingrained  in  their 
nature.  Impatience  and  angry  outbursts  are  looked 
upon  as  signs  of  weakness  and  excite  their  pity.  In 
this  respect  the  impulsive  Westerner  has  something  to 
learn  from  the  Indian.  "No  words  are  sufficient  to 
tell  how  meek  and  lowly  in  heart  the  winner  of  souls 
must  be,  what  humility  of  speech,  what  quietness  of 
manner,  what  superlative  self-effacement  are  necessary 
in  order  that  the  Light  of  Christ  may  shine  through  him 
into  Hindu  eyes."*  There  is  also  not  a  little  in  the 
family  life  of  the  Indian  which  is  admirable.  The 
greatest  deference  is  paid  to  parents.  The  crippled  or 
otherwise  unfortunate  members  of  the  family  are 
cared  for  by  all.  The  social  graces  of  forbearance, 
helpfulness  and  submission  to  authority  are  fostered. 
The  Patriarchal  system  prevails,  and  while  there  is 

*Crown  of  Hinduism,  J.  N.  Farquhar,  page  55. 


26  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

little  opportunity  for  the  individual  (except  the  head 
of  the  household)  to  develop  a  self-reliant  character,  the 
selfish  individualistic  spirit  gets  little  chance  to  grow. 

Religious  Ideas  of  Hinduism.  From  the  Christian 
standpoint  the  soil  of  religious  belief  is  what  most  deeply 
interests  us.  What  are  the  thoughts  of  this  people  ? 
What  ideas  lie  behind  practices  which  often  seem 
unreasonable  and  conflicting  ?  What  is  the  subsoil 
of  religious  observances  ?  While  certain  philosophical 
ideas  seem  to  be  like  the  air  itself  and  pervade  the  life 
of  India  as  a  whole,  it  will  be  well  to  consider  the  two 
chief  religions  in  order,  viz.,  Hinduism  and  Moham- 
medanism. 

Hinduism,  Karma  and  Transmigration.     One  of  the 

most  distinctive  marks  of  Hinduism  is  the  belief  in 
Karma,  or  Works.  The  belief  is  that  a  man's  char- 
acter, his  station  in  life,  his  joys  and  sorrows,  his 
temperament,  indeed  the  whole  sum  of  his  present 
existence,  is  the  just  recompense  for  his  deeds,  good  or 
bad,  done  in  his  previous  births.  The  present  life, 
moreover,  works  itself  out  in  retribution  in  another 
birth,  this  in  another  and  so  on  ;  so  that  as  one  has 
said  :  "As  fast  as  the  clock  of  retribution  runs  down, 
it  winds  itself  up  again."  No  life,  and  no  act  of  life  is 
free  from  this  all-embracing  law  of  Cause  and  Effect. 
There  is  no  one  who  believes  with  more  consistency 
and  persistency  than  the  Hindu,  the  cold,  relentless 
doctrine  of  retribution.  As  a  man  sows  so  shall  he 
reap,  is  accepted  by  the  Hindu  in  all  its  implications. 
Not  only  does  he  see  this  law  linking  up  the  future  with 
the  present,  but  he  sees  it  linking  up  the  present  with 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  27 

the  past.  There  is  no  room  here  for  forgiveness.  The 
cup  of  retribution  must  be  drunk  to  its  bitter  dregs. 

The  allied  doctrine  of  Transmigration  or  successive 
births,  helped  the  Hindu  to  understand,  or  at  least  to 
make  less  mysterious,  the  ever-pressing  problem  of  the 
inequalities  of  man's  lot  in  life. 

Their  belief  is  that  when  this  life  ends  the  soul  enters 
into  another  body,  it  may  be  that  of  some  animal,  some 
bird,  or  it  may  be  some  loathsome  insect.  The  nature 
of  that  rebirth  will  depend  on  the  merit  or  demerit 
accumulated  in  the  present  life.  The  practical  out- 
come of  the  doctrine  is  seen  in  the  reverence  for  all 
forms  of  life.  Who  knows  but  that  the  rat  or  the  snake 
that  some  would  ruthlessly  destroy  may  be  the  earthly 
tenement  of  some  deceased  ancestor.  Rewards  or 
punishment  for  deeds  done  in  any  given  stage  of  exis- 
tence are  meted  out  by  entrance  into  a  higher  or  lower 
stage  of  existence  in  a  subsequent  birth,  as  the  case 
may  be. 

The  human  heart  is  much  the  same  in  all  lands.  The 
same  problems  press  in  on  the  Hindu  mind  that,  for 
instance,  so  perplexed  the  Patriarch  Job.  The  prob- 
lem of  suffering  and  life's  inequalities  has  to  be  solved 
by  every  thoughtful  man  for  himself.  Job  did  not 
find  a  philosophical  explanation,  but  his  heart  found 
rest  in  God.  Hinduism  has  sought  to  find  rest  in  a 
theory  of  life  which  just  pushes  the  problem  farther 
into  the  background,  but  does  not  solve  it.  Previous 
births  of  which  the  soul  has  no  consciousness  do  not 
explain  the  problem  of  sin  and  suffering  ;  but  the  theory 
may  provide  a  hint  whereby  the  message  of  a  vicarious 


28  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

atonement   may    not  prove  a  stumbling  block  to  the 
Hindu  mind. 

These  two  beliefs  rest  like  a  pall  over  all  human 
action.  India's  condition  reminds  one  of  the  famous 
statue — the  Laocoons — in  which  are  represented  a 
father  and  his  two  sons,  battling  vainly  in  death 
struggle  with  serpents  which  envelop  and  crush  them 
— "The  miserable  sire,  wrapped  with  his  sons  in  Fate's 
severest  grasp." 

How  many  births  are  past  I  cannot  tell  ; 

How  many  yet  to  come  no  man  can  say  ; 
But  this  alone  I  know,  and  know  full  well, 
That  pain  and  grief  embitter  all  the  way. 

(South  India  Folk  Song.) 

Two  results  are  everywhere  manifest,  (i)  A  dead- 
ening of  conscience,  and  a  lack  of  the  sense  of  moral 
responsibility.  A  fatalism  holds  the  people  in  its 
grasp,  and  it  seems  at  times  impossible  to  arouse  them 
to  any  high  and  noble  endeavor.  (2)  Inasmuch  as 
salvation  can  come  only  by  the  release  of  the  soul  from 
this  constant  bondage  of  action,  the  stress  is  laid  more 
and  more  on  quietism  and  retirement  from  the  world. 
Nirvana,  or  true  blessedness,  is  a  state  of  actionless 
calm,  where  impulses  of  all  kinds,  good  and  bad,  are 
no  longer  felt.  The  practical  result  is  seen  in  the  in- 
dividual withdrawing  from  the  ordinary  relationships 
of  life,  with  the  consequent  loss  to  both.  The  Christian 
ideal  is  directly  contrary  to  this.  It  emphasizes  loving 
service  of  God  and  man  as  its  true  expression. 

The  Doctrine  of  Illusion.  Another  belief  which  is 
almost  universal  is  that  the  world  is  unreal  and  illusive. 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  29 

Brahma,  the  impersonal  one,  is  the  only  reality,  and 
all  that  appears  is  unreal.  We  mortals  are  absorbed 
in  the  things  which  are  unreal,  and  these  keep  us  from 
attaining  to  the  consciousness  of  our  essential  unity 
with  Brahma,  and  thus  attaining  to  Deliverance  which 
is  salvation.  No  saying  is  more  frequently  met  with 
than  this  :  '"All  is  Illusion." 

All  that  is  historical  is  necessarily  unreal,  and  the 
preacher  of  a  religion  which  is  founded  in  the  Historic 
Person,  Jesus  Christ,  has  this  inborn  prejudice  of  the 
Hindu  mind  to  deal  with.  The  philosophically  minded 
objector  cannot  accept  Jesus  as  the  universal  Saviour 
just  because  He  is  historical.  He  fails  to  see  that  no 
one  can  be  a  Universal  Saviour,  unless  He  can  and  does 
enter  into  touch  with,  and  participate  in,  the  course  of 
human  History.  This  doctrine  of  Illusion  is  the  inner 
fortress  in  which  the  Hindu  invariably  takes  refuge 
when  driven  from  his  outer  defences  in  argument. 

What  is  Hinduism  ?  Within  recent  years  a  wordy 
controversy  has  been  carried  on  as  to  what -constitutes 
Hinduism,  and  who  may  be  included  under  the  term 
Hindus  :  but  no  entirely  satisfactory  definition  of 
these  terms  has  been  found.  The  chief  characteristic 
of  Hinduism  is  its  vagueness.  A  few  typical  definitions 
will  illustrate  the  difficulty.  Sir  Narayan  Chandar- 
varkar,  a  prominent  Social  Reformer  says  :  ' '  Hinduism 
is  not  one  religion  but  many,  a  mixture  of  creeds,  and  a 
cult  of  compromises."  (i) 

Dr.  Lucas,  a  veteran  missionary  says  :  "By  Hindu- 
ism we  mean  pantheism,  idolatry,  transmigration  of 

(i)  "India  Witness,"  July  23,  1912. 


30  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

souls  through  millions  of  births,  and  caste  ;   for  if  these 
be  given  up,  there  is  nothing  left  of  Hinduism."  (2) 

An  orthodox  Brahman  says  :  (3)  "The  fact  that 
people  do  not  agree  in  their  definition  of  Hinduism 
points  of  itself  to  its  all-comprehensiveness.  Hinduism 
baffles  all  definition,  like  Brahma  (God)  whom  it 
worships.  The  ancient  rishis  sought  to  define  Brahma 
as  this  and  that,  and  failing,  ended  by  defining  him  as 
not  this  or  that." 

Another,  defining  the  term  "Hindu,"  says:  (4)  "that 
while  there  is  a  real  principle  of  unity  in  Islam,  and 
also  in  Christianity,  the  Hindus  have  neither  faith  nor 
practice  nor  law  to  distinguish  them  from  others.  I 
should  therefore  define  a  Hindu  to  be  one  born  in  India 
whose  parents  as  far  as  people  can  remember,  were  not 
foreigners,  or  did  not  profess  foreign  religions  like 
Mohammedanism,  or  Christianity  or  Judaism,  or  who 
himself  has  not  embraced  such  religions." 

This  very  indefiniteness  makes  it  possible  for  Hin- 
duism to  accommodate  itself  to  all  forms  of  religious 
influence,  and  to  absorb  even  conflicting  beliefs.  Were 
Christianity  a  mere  system  of  truth,  it  too  would  pro- 
bably be  absorbed  ;  but  it  is  a  vital  faith  and  centres 
in  a  Person  who  claims  absolute  allegiance.  Jesus, 
the  Son  of  God,  cannot  be  placed  in  the  Hindu  Pantheon. 

At  least  two-thirds  of  India's  people  are  Hindus. 
Hinduism  itself  is  a  gigantic  social  and  religious  struc- 
ture. It  is  held  together  not  only  by  those  subtle,  all- 
pervasive  ideas  we  have  described,  the  belief  in 

(2)  Article  in  Bible  Record,  1911. 

(3)  "India  Witness,"  July  23rd,  1912. 

(4)  Year  Book  of  Missions  in  India,  1912,  page  77. 


THE  MOHURRAM  PROCESSION— I NDORE 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  3! 

Transmigration,  Karma  and  the  Illusory  nature  of  the 
world,  but  it  is  riveted  still  more  closely  into  a  system 
by  the  reverence  shown  to  the  Brahmans.  Their 
authority  is  well  nigh  absolute,  and  the  curse  of  a 
Brahman  is  feared  more  than  anything  else.  To  this 
may  be  added  the  reverence  for  the  cow. 

Popular  Hinduism.  Popular  Hinduism  thinks  of  the 
Impersonal  Spirit  as  revealing  himself  under  three  forms 
which  are  known  as  the  Hindu  trinity  (i)  Brahm£,  the 
Creator  ;  (2)  Vishnu,  the  Preserver  ;  (3)  Siva,  the 
Destroyer.-  The  worship  of  the  first  is  of  little  import- 
ance. His  work  is  completed  and  he  receives  little 
attention.  Vishnu,  the  Preserver,  appears  in  the 
world  as  an  incarnation  whenever  the  need  calls  for  it. 
Nine  times  he  is  supposed  to  have  appeared,  and  his 
coming  once  again  is  looked  for.  Of  his  incarnations, 
two  are  most  popular  among  the  common  people. 
One  of  these  is  Rama,  the  hero  of  India's  most  famous 
epic  poem,  the  Ramayana  ;  the  other  is  Krishna,  the 
cowherd,  the  tales  of  whose  marvellous  doings  have  laid 
hold  on  the  popular  imagination. 

The  worship  of  Siva  is  connected  in  the  popular 
mind  with  the  creative  energy  of  mankind.  His  special 
emblem  is  often  accompanied  by  the  image  of  the 
Sacred  bull,  while  in  the  temples  of  Siva  will  be  found 
also  an  image  of  his  spouse. 

In  regard  to  the  members  of  the  Hindu  trinity,  they 
all  have  a  tarnished  moral  record.  Their  jealousy  and 
sensuality  and  the  impure  stories  of  their  deeds  are 
corrupting  and  debasing  the  thoughts  and  the  life  of 


32  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

the  people  of  India.  Modern  Hinduism  is  without  any 
motive  power  to  purify  and  uplift  India. 

Mohammedanism.  Among  Mohammedans  we  find 
a  much  more  definite  creed,  and  its  points  of  contrast 
with  other  faiths  are  more  clear  and  explicit.  It 
challenges  Christianity,  as  a  world  religion.  It  claims 
to  incorporate  all  preceding  revelations,  even  Chris- 
tianity, and  to  be  the  true  and  final  revelation  of  God. 
Their  sacred  Book,  the  Quran,  "is  believed  to  be  the 
word  of  God  in  the  sense  that  every  word,  jot  and  tittle 
is  a  matter  of  divine  revelation,  the  angel  Gabriel  having 
copied  it  from  the  original,  inscribed  upon  the  Preserved 
Table  kept  under  the  throne  of  God,  and  committed 
it  to  Mohammed  who  thus  became  the  mouthpiece  of 
God.".  ..  ."The  faith  of  the  Muslim  is  summed  up 
under  seven  heads,  as  follows  :  '  I  believe  in  God,  in  the 
Angels,  in  the  Books,  in  the  Apostles,  in  the  Last  Day, 
in  the  Decrees  of  the  Almighty  God,  both  as  respects 
good  and  evil,  and  in  the  Resurrection  after  death.".  .  . 

"Faith  in  God  is  not  only  belief  in  His  being  as  a 
Personal  God,  but  especially  in  His  absolute  unity. 
It  excludes  all  plurality  of  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and 
repudiates  every  suggestion  of  Incarnation,  and  there- 
fore rejects  the  Christian  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
and  the  Eternal  Sonship  of  Christ."* 

NOTE — No  attempt  is  made  in  this  chapter  to  deal 
with  the  reforming  sects  that  have  sprung  up  within 
Hinduism,  and  Mohammedanism,  especially  within 
recent  times.  In  many  cases  they  are  the  fruit  of  the 
impact  of  Christian  ideas  on  the  teachings  and  practices 

*"The  Year  Book  of  Missions  in  India,  1912,"  page  113!!. 


THE    MIND    OF    INDIA  33 

of  these  religions,  and  are  to  be  welcomed  as  evidences 
of  an  awakening  religious  spirit.  A  study  of  the  Re- 
form Movements  would  require  a  much  fuller  treatment 
than  is  possible  in  this  volume.  The  subject  is  fully 
treated  in  "Modern  Religious  Movements  in  India," 
see  Bibliography. 


\ 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 


"I  have  found  in  every  page  of  the  book  of  my 
experience  clearest  evidence  of  the  fact  that  human 
nature  is  the  same  in  the  East  as  in  the  West,  that 
when  we  get  below  the  surface  we  find  that  the  desires 
and  affections,  the  needs  and  capacities  of  men,  are 
practically  the  same.  And  my  experience  tells  me 
that  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  to 
cheer  and  purify  the  lives  of  men,  and  to  elevate  and 
transform  their  characters,  is  the  same  in  India  as  in 
England.  There  may  be  flashes  of  light  here  and  there 
in  exceptional  cases,  but  it  is  darkness  that  prevails 
among  the  non-Christian  peoples  whom  I  have  known  ; 
and  there  is  nothing  more  beautiful  than  to  see  the 
Light  of  the  Gospel  breaking  in  on  this  darkness,  not 
among  the  educated  and  more  influential  classes  alone, 
but  among  the  poor  and  depressed.  I  could  tell  of 
bright  and  worthy  Christians,  in  the  humble  homes  of 
India,  just  as  I  could  tell  of  them  among  the  humble 
homes  of  the  villages  and  glens  of  my  own  land." — 
(Among  Indian  Rajahs  and  Ryots,  pp.  268-69,  by  Sir 
Andrew  Fraser.) 


CHAPTER  III. 
CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Location  and  Area.  Central  India  is  the  name  of  a 
political  division  or  "Agency" — a  collection  of  Native 
States  under  the  supervision  of  the  Agent  to  the 
Governor-General  in  Central  India,  and  may  be  said 
to  consist  of  two  large  detached  and  irregular  blocks 
of  country  lying  partly  across  the  centre  of  the  great 
Peninsula  of  India.  The  term  "Central  India"  was 
formerly  applied  to  the  old  geographical  district  of 
Malwa  only,  but  since  1854,  when  the  Eastern  block  of 
States  was  added  to  Malwa  to  form  the  Central  India 
Agency,  the  name  was  applied  to  the  whole  tract. 

Central  India  is  bounded  on  the  North-east  by  the 
United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh.  OtiTheTjTast  and 
along  the  whole  length  of  its  Southern  border,  lie  the 
Central  Provinces  ;  the  South-western  boundary  is 
formed  by  Khandesh,  the  Rewa  Kantha  Agency,  and 
the  Panch  Mahals  of  Bombay  ;  while  various  states  of 
the  Rajputana  Agency  enclose  it  on  the  West  and 
North.  The  total  area  of  this  tract  is  77,367  miles, 
more  than  2^/2  times  the  area  of  Scotland,  or  slightly 
less  than  one-fifth  the  area  of  Ontario,  and  has  a 
population  of  just  over  nine  millions. 

Area  Occupied.  The  Canadian  Mission  has  con- 
fined its  operations  to  the  Western  Group  of  states  and 
has  roughly  defined  its  Eastern  boundary  at  76°  30" 
E.  longitude.  Within  this  area  there  are  approximate- 

37 


38  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

ly  30,000  square  miles,  12,000  towns  and  villages,  and 
a  population  of  considerably  more  than  3  millions.  No 
other  Protestant  Mission  is  at  work  in  this  area  and 
its  evangelization  is  the  special  care  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Canada,  in  co-operation  with  the  Indian 
Church. 

Physical  Features.  This  area  is  for  the  greater 
part  an  undulating  plateau,  with  an  average  elevation 
of  i, 600  feet  and  rising  in  places  to  over  2,000.  It 
slopes  gently  to  the  north  and  its  rivers  drain  into  the 
great  river  systems  of  the  Gangetic  plain.  In  the 
South,  draining  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  Vindhaya 
Mountains,  flows  the  sacred  Narbadda,  which  can  be 
forded  with  difficulty,  and  only  in  the  driest  season  of 
the  year  ;  while  in  the  Monsoon  it  is  a  resistless  torrent, 
rising  from  30  to  40  feet  above  its  normal  level  ;  but  on 
account  of  its  deep-cut  channel,  doing  little  damage  to 
the  adjacent  country.  Almost  all  the  other  rivers  are 
worthy  of  the  name  only  during  the  rainy  season. 
For  the  rest  of  the  year  they  are  only  winding  ravines, 
strewn  with  boulders  or  white  sand,  with  here  and  there 
pools  of  stagnant  water.  The  scenery  of  the  plateau 
is  not  lacking  in  beauty.  The  monotony  of  the  vast 
rolling  plains  is  relieved  here  and  there  by  curious 
flat-topped  hills,  which  appear  to  have  been  all  planed 
off  to  the  same  level  by  some  giant  hand.  Broad 
winding  belts  of  palm  trees  indicate  the  existence  of 
watercourses,  while  clumps  of  green  trees  thickly 
dotting  the  landscape  mark  the  sites  of  villages  or  way- 
side wells.  The  fertile  black  cotton  soil,  with  which 
the  plateau  is  covered,  bears  magnificent  crops,  and 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE         39 

the  tract  is  well  cultivated.  Where  no  grain  has  been 
sown  the  land  is  covered  with  luxuriant  grass,  affording 
excellent  grazing  for  the  large  herds  of  cattle  which 
roam  over  it.  During  the  rains,  the  country 
presents  an  appearance  of  unwonted  luxuriance. 
Each  hill  clothed  in  a  bright  green  mantle,  rises  from 
plains  covered  with  waving  fields  of  jowar,*  corn,  and 
grass,  and  traversed  by  numerous  streams,  filled  from 
bank  to  bank.  The  luxuriance,  however,  is  but 
short-lived,  and  within  little  more  than  a  month  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  rains,  gives  place  to  the  monoton- 
ous dusty  yellow  color  which  is  so  characteristic  of 
this  region  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Later 
this  is  relieved  by  the  broad  patches  of  gram  or  pulse, 
and  wheat,  and  cotton,  the  growth  of  which  has  in- 
creased so  greatly  during  recent  years. 

Irrigation.  Irrigation  is  almost  entirely  from  wells 
and  tanks,  or  artificial  lakes,  the  latter  formed  by 
building  great  banks  or  retaining  walls  of  masonry 
and  mud,  wherever  there  is  a  suitable  area  ;  and  for 
the  most  part  the  farmers  have  to  depend  on  the 
rainfall  which  begins  usually  early  in  July  and  con- 
tinues with  occasional  breaks  till  the  end  of  September, 
the  yearly  average  being  about  30  inches.  And  how 
it  rains  !  Bullen's  description  of  rain  in  the  tropics, 
"an  ocean  out  of  which  the  bottom  occasionally  falls," 
is  not  absurdly  inaccurate.  Eleven  inches  in  one  day' 
has  been  recorded,  but  this  is  unusual.  The  constant 
beating  of  huge  drops  of  rain  on  the  mud  walls  of  the 

*A  species  of  millet  which  is  the  staple  food  of  most  of  the  com- 
mon people. 


40  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

houses  of  the  poorer  classes  causes  many  a  collapse 
with  its  consequent  discomfort  and  suffering. 

Seasons.  There  are  three  distinct  seasons  in  Central 
India.  The  Rainy  Season  is  followed  by  the  Cold 
Season,  which  lasts  from  October  till  the  end  of  March. 
During  these  months  India  is  a  delightful  land.  Ad- 
vantage is  taken  of  the  coolness  and  the  continued 
dry  weather  to  make  extensive  tours  all  through  the 
District,  the  missionaries  sometimes  going  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  Central  Stations  and  preaching  in 
hundreds  of  villages.  It  is  the  season,  too,  of  the 
globe-trotter,  and  of  the  annual  migration  of  visitors 
from  the  colds  and  mists  of  the  winters  in  the  Western 
lands  to  the  clear  and  sunny  but  cool  climate  of  India. 
Unfortunately  they  see  India  only  at  her  best.  They 
rush  from  place  to  place,  seeing  the  architectural 
beauties  and  getting  only  a  side  glance  at  the  real  India 
from  the  train  windows,  and  hasten  home  again  with 
the  first  breath  of  the  Hot  Season  ;  but  they  have 
not  seen,  and  do  not  know  India.  They  should  spend 
at  least  a  full  year  in  the  East. 

Next  comes  the  Hot  Season,  from  April  till  the  rains 
break  in  July.  This  is  the  time  when  man  and  beast 
"ease  off"  and  even  Nature  seems  to  sleep.  The  hot 
wind  blows  continually,  parching  throat  and  nostrils. 
The  farmer  leaves  his  fields  in  the  heat  of  the  day  and 
sleeps  in  the  welcome  shade  of  the  village  trees,  or 
under  the  tiled  roof  of  his  little  verandah.  Even  the 
birds  seek  the  denser  shades  and  sit  with  wings  half 
drooping  and  beaks  expanded  waiting  for  the  cooler 
hours  of  the  evening. 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE          41 

But  there  are  compensations.  Some  of  the  most 
brilliant  and  gorgeous  of  the  jungle  trees  and  shrubs 
choose  this  season  to  delight  the  eye  with  their  beauty 
and  to  spread  abroad  their  fragrance.  Other  trees  at 
this  season  cast  away  their  old  garments,  and  put  on  a 
coat  of  the  most  brilliant  and  delicate  green. 

Means  of  Communication.  Western  Central  India 
is  only  fairly  well  equipped  with  means  of  communica- 
tion. A  metre  gauge  railway  goes  through  from  North 
to  South  ;  and  from  East  to  West  the  broad  gauge  main 
line  from  Bombay  to  Delhi  traverses  the  field.  Two 
other  short  lines  connect  with  these.  Well  built 
macadamized  roads  connect  all  the  larger  centres,  but 
a  great  deal  of  the  traffic  has  no  other  outlet  than  over 
the  "trails"  or  country  roads  which  in  the  wet  season 
are  impassable,  and  the  rest  of  the  year,  abominable 
—until  one  gets  used  to  them.  The  Telegraph  and 
Postal  systems  of  India  are  worthy  of  all  praise.  Most 
of  the  larger  centres  of  Central  India  have  these  facili- 
ties, and  new  branches  are  constantly  being  opened. 

Early  History  of  Central  India.  Much  of  the  early 
history  of  Malwa  is  shrouded  in  darkness  and  fable. 
The  District  is  noticed  as  a  separate  Province  about 
eight  centuries  and  a  half  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  the  name  of  a  Bheel  chief  emerges  from  the  mists. 
It  is  believed  that  this  now  despised  race  enjoyed 
extensive  power  in  this  part  of  India  at  a  very  remote 
period.  "The  original  prestige  and  power  of  the 
Bheels,  linger  as  a  memory  in  a  custom  observed  in  the 
Rajput  State  of  Udaipore.  When  a  new  Rana  ascends 


42  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

the  throne,  his  forehead  is  marked  with  blood  from  the 
great  toe  of  a  Bheel."f 

Nearer  the  time  of  Christ,  the  history  becomes  more 
definite,  and  we  read  of  the  famous  Hindu  King, 
Vikramaditya,  who  has  given  the  era  which  is  at  this 
day  in  general  use  over  a  great  part  of  India.  It  is 
computed,  like  the  Christian  era,  by  the  solar  year, 
and  commences  fifty-seven  years  before  Christ.  Like 
Solomon  in  Israel,  this  famous  prince  is  said  to  have 
raised  the  Hindu  Monarchy  to  a  degree  of  splendor 
unknown  before,  while  at  the  same  time  encouraging 
Arts  and  Learning.  The  capital  of  his  kingdom  was 
the  city  of  Ujjain,  which  is  said  to  have  more  undoubted 
claims  to  remote  antiquity  than  any  other  inhabited 
city  in  India.*  Later  the  capital  was  transferred  to 
Dhar  where  it  remained  till  the  Mohammedan  conquest 
of  Central  India,  early  in  the  fourteenth  Century,  when 
it  was  ruled  by  Viceroys  appointed  by  the  Emperor  of 
Delhi.  About  the  end  of  that  century,  one  of  these, 
Dilawar  Khan  Ghori,  taking  advantage  of  confusion 
in  Delhi,  made  for  himself  an  independent  kingdom  in 
Malwa,  and  fixed  his  capital  in  Dhar,  which  still  pre- 
serves, in  the  ruins  with  which  it  is  surrounded,  the 
history  of  this  change.  The  materials  of  the  finest 
temples  appear  to  have  been  used  to  make  palaces  and 
mosques  for  the  new  ruler.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  the  capital  was  removed  from  Dhar  to  Mandu 

fThe  Redemption  of  Malwa,  page  26. 

""  Ujjain  is  one  of  the  seven  sacred  cities  of  India,  not  yielding 
even  to  Benares  in  sanctity ....  It  is  also  the  first  meridian  of  Long- 
itude of  the  Hindu  geographers." — Imperial  Gazetteer  of  India, 
Central  India,  page  189. 


1 

II 


AGRICULTURAL   INDIA 
(1)  A  Field  of  Jowar.     (2)  Load  of  Cotton.     (3)  A  Country  Scene 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE          43 

only  a  few  miles  distant  and  picturesquely  situated  on 
the  very  edge  of  the  Vindhya  mountains.  The  mag- 
nificent ruins  of  this  old  city  attract  many  visitors  and 
not  a  little  has  been  done,  chiefly  by  Lord  Curzon,  to 
preserve  its  mosques  and  palaces  from  further  destruc- 
tion. 

Although  the  Mohammedan  monarchs  of  Malwa 
attained  to  great  power  and  influence,  they  never  com- 
pletely subdued  the  Rajput  princes  and  petty  chiefs 
in  their  vicinity,  but  rather  pursued,  with  these  valiant 
Hindus,  the  policy  of  compromise,  being  content  with  a 
nominal  submission  and  moderate  tribute  with  military 
service.  Nor  did  the  Mohammedan  occupation  of 
Central  India  disturb  greatly  the  social  institutions  of 
the  mass  of  the  people,  whose  unit  is  the  village,  an 
independent  and  distinct  community  ruled  by  its  own 
officers  within  its  own  limits. 

Modern  History.  With  the  decay  of  the  Moham- 
medan power  in  the  eighteenth  century,  Central  India 
was  invaded  by  the  warlike  Marathas  from  the  south. 
At  the  same  time  the  Pindarics,  plundering  hordes  of 
disbanded  soldiers  from  the  north,  swept  over  Malwa  ; 
while  the  B heels  came  forth  from  their  hill  retreats, 
whither  they  had  been  driven  by  centuries  of  oppression, 
and  raided  the  villages  of  the  plains.  In  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  confusion  had 
reached  a  crisis.  Several  soldiers  of  fortune  had  carved 
out  kingdoms  for  themselves,  conspicuous  among 
whom  were  the  Maratha  chiefs,  Holkar  and  Scindia. 
But  these  did  little  to  establish  settled  forms  of  govern- 
ment, sometimes  sending  out  large  military  detach- 


44  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

ments  to  collect  the  revenue.  All  feeling  of  security 
was  gone  and  the  land  was  wasted  by  its  oppressors. 
At  last  the  British  Authorities,  in  1817,  gave  Lord 
Hastings,  the  Governor-General,  authority  to  intervene, 
and  rapidly  forming  alliances  with  the  Native  Chiefs 
who  would  accept  his  advances,  he  sent  three  divisions 
of  his  army  which  closed  in  on  Central  India.  The 
opposing  forces  numbered  no  less  than  150,000  troops 
with  500  cannon,  but  in  the  course  of  four  months  this 
formidable  armament  was  utterly  broken  up.*  The 
robber  bands  were  extirpated.  The  various  chiefs 
were  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  the  lands  that  they 
held,  and  a  feeling  of  substantial  security  was  diffused 
through  Central  India.  Save  for  some  minor  disturb- 
ances and  the  uprisings  of  the  Mutiny  in  1857,  there  has 
been  since  1820  an  era  of  peace  and  prosperity  in  Central 
India. 

Peaceful  Years.  The  general  settlement  effected 
among  the  Central  India  States  at  the  close  of  the 
Pindari  war  has  continued  with  few  changes  till  the 
present.  There  are  over  140  States  and  Estates  in  the 
Agency,  which  range  in  size  from  Gwalior,  with  25,000 
sq.  miles  (larger  than  Nova  Scotia  and  P.  E.  Island 
combined)  to  small  holdings  of  only  a  single  village. 
These  do  not  all  stand  in  the  same  relationship  to  the 
British  Power.  Some  of  the  larger  ones,  such  as  Indore, 
Gwalior,  and  Bhopal,  are  known  as  " Treaty  States" 
which  have  entered  into  direct  Treaty  relationships 
with  the  British.  Others  are  known  as  "Mediatized 
or  Guaranteed."  Agreements  between  certain  small 

"Imperial  Gazetteer,  page  24. 


CENTRAL    IlSfDIA    AND    ITS    PEOPLE  45 

States  and  more  important  ones  claiming  authority 
over  them,  were  arranged  through  British  Mediation. 
The  conditions  under  which  these  smaller  States  are 
"Guaranteed"  in  their  rights  vary  in  almost  every 
case. 

Native  State  Defined.  The  term  "Native  State" 
has  been  defined  by  Sir  William  Lee- Warner  as  "a  bit 
of  foreign  territory  in  the  midst  of  the  King's  Do- 
minions." But  the  relationship  is  closer  than  this  indi- 
cates. Native  States,  as  distinguished  from  British 
India,  are  directly  governed  by  Indian  Princes,  but 
under  the  oversight  of  the  British  Government.* 

British  Courts  of  Law  have  no  jurisdiction  in  these 
States,  or  over  them,  so  far  as  the  general  population  is 
concerned.  Britain  does  not  ordinarily  interfere  in 
matters  of  internal  Administration.  The  British  Gov- 
vernment  limits  the  number  of  troops  which  any  State 
may  maintain.  Their  rulers  are  held  responsible  for 
the  good  goverment  of  their  States. 

Area  of  India  under  Rule  of  Native  Princes.  About 
one-third  of  the  area  of  India  is  made  up  of  these 
Native  States,  and  it  is  to  the  honor  of  Britain  that  she 
has  sought,  even  in  the  face  of  great  difficulties  at  times, 
to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  States,  and  be  faithful 


*Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  in  his  "Rise  and  Progress  of  British  Dominions 
in  India,"  page  295,  says  :  It  became  the  universal  principle  of 
public  policy  that  every  State  in  India  (outside  the  Punjab  and 
Sinde)  should  make  over  the  control  of  its  foreign  relations  to  the 
British  Government,  should  submit  all  external  disputes  to  British 
arbitration,  and  should  defer  to  British  advice  regarding  internal 
management  so  far  as  might  be  necessary  to  cure  disorders  or  scan- 
dalous misrule.  A  British  Resident  was  appointed  to  the  Courts 
of  all  the  greater  Princes  as  the  agency  for  the  exercise  of  these  high 
functions." 


46  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

to  the  principle  laid  down  in  the  Despatch  of  1860 
which  says  :  "It  is  not  by  the  extension  of  our  Empire 
that  its  permanence  is  to  be  secured,  but  by  the  charac- 
ter of  British  rule  in  the  territories  already  committed 
to  our  care,  and  by  showing  that  we  are  as  willing  to 
respect  the  rights  of  others,  as  we  are  capable  of  main- 
taining our  own."* 

Method  of  Administration.  The  Chiefships  and 
Estates  of  the  Agency  of  Central  India,  are  divided  into 
several  groups,  called  "Political  Charges,"  with  each 
of  which  is  associated  a  Political  Officer  who  represents 
the  British  Power  and  who  is  under  the  authority  of  the 
Agent  who  resides  in  Indore.  He,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  the  medium  of  communication  between  all  the  States 
and  the  Government  of  India  through  the  Foreign 
Department. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  Central  India  shows  a  be- 
wildering net  work  of  boundary  lines.  One  State  may 
have  its  territory  scattered  in  a  score  of  places,  while  the 
intervening  areas  will  represent  isolated  sections  of 
several  ot4ier  States,  while  here  and  there  will  be  a  bit 
of  British  India.  It  will  readily  be  understood  that 
administration  under  such  conditions  is  a  difficult 
matter.  The  points  of  contact  are  many.  In  dealing 
with  disease  and  famine,  in  bringing  to  justice  fugitive 
criminals,  and  in  all  schemes  for  the  welfare  of  the 
public,  the  cordial  co-operation  of  the  States  with  each 
other  and  with  the  Supreme  Power  is  essential.  Ab- 
solute non-interference  is  impossible,  and  where  it  is 
necessary,  pressure  has  to  be  wisely  exercised  ;  but  it 

*Quoted  in  "The  Citizen  of  India,"  page  65. 


TEMPLE  ARCHITECTURE 


HALL  OF  AUDIENCE  OF  MOGHUL  EMPERORS— DELHI 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE          47 

has  been  found  possible  to  combine  these  diverse  ele- 
ments into  one  Political  System. 

Mutual  Advantages.  The  mutual  advantages  to  the 
Empire  and  to  the  Native  States  of  the  continuance  of 
the  present  relations  between  them  has  been  thus 
summed  up  by  Sir  William  Lee- Warner  : 

"The  States  are  a  permanent  object-lesson  of  the 
faithful  adherence  of  the  Indian  Authorities  to  their 
engagements.  They  also  enable  the  people  of  India  to 
compare  the  results  of  various  systems  of  administra- 
tion. Those  who  are  curious  to  learn  whether  popula- 
tion, education,  commerce,  and  industry  increase  more 
rapidly  under  one  system  of  Government  than  under 
another,  can  answer  this  question  for  themselves.  The 
British  Government  at  present  contributes  more  to 
the  States  than  they  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  British 
India.  The  cost  of  the  naval  and  military  defence  of 
the  Empire,  the  upkeep  of  the  Ports  and  Dockyards,  the 
main  weight  of  expenditure  on  Railways,  and  the 
expense  of  Imperial  establishments  which  benefit  the 
whole  of  India,  are  borne  almost  entirely  by  the  British 
Provinces.  The  small  payments  which  some  states 
make  under  treaties  more  often  represent  a  commuta- 
tion charge  for  expenses  of  which  they  have  been  re- 
lieved, than  a  contribution  towards  their  share  of 
protection  from  a  foreign  foe.  But  the  Princes  and 
Chiefs  relieve  the  British  Government  not  merely  of 
the  cost  of  their  local  administration,  but  also  of  other 
civil  responsibilities.  So  long  as  the  Chiefs  are,  in  the 
words  of  Lord  Canning,  '  loyal  to  the  crown,  and  faithful 
to  the  conditions  of  the  treaties,  grants,  or  engagements 


48  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

which  record  their  obligations  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment,' they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  their  powerful 
protector.  All  observers  testify  that  under  British 
advice  great  improvements  have  been  effected  in  the 
administration  of  the  States,  and  all  friends  of  India 
look  forward  to  the  continuance  of  the  union,  and  to  the 
growth  of  a  friendly  rivalry  between  the  officers  (of 
the  Emperor)  and  the  Princes  of  the  States  in  promot- 
ing the  prosperity  of  their  respective  subjects.  The 
British  have  brought  from  the  far  west  to  the  east  new 
ideas  of  freedom  and  toleration.  It  may  be  hoped  that 
in  the  best  governed  of  the  Native  States,  the  new 
spirit  will  mix  with  the  life  of  the  Indian  people,  and 
that  we  shall  learn  from  them  what  changes  are  best 
adapted  to  eastern  habits."* 

Internal  Administration.  The  internal  administra- 
tion of  the  States  varies,  but  most  Chiefs  exercise  their 
authority  through  a  Dewan,  or  Minister.  In  Gwalior 
the  Maharajah  himself  presides  over  an  Administrative 
Board  made  up  of  the  Heads  of  Departments.  In 
Indore,  the  Maharajah  has  a  Prime  Minister,  assisted 
by  a  Council,  whose  separate  members  control  Finance, 
Settlement,  Revenue,  and  other  departments.  In 
small  States  an  Indian  Minister  is  usually  placed  in 
charge,  and  in  cases  where  gross  maladministration 
occurs,  or  where  the  Chief,  is  a  minor,  the  control  is 
vested  in  the  Political  Officer,  who  is  assisted  by  a 
council,  or  it  may  be,  some  one  special  Officer. 

Diversity  Among  India's  Peoples.  There  is  great 
diversity  among  the  people  of  India.  They  have  no 

*"The  Citizen  of  India,"  page  75. 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE         49 

common  origin.  They  differ  in  personal  appearance, 
in  religious  beliefs,  and  social  customs.  They  are  a 
heterogeneous  mass  of  tribes,  races,  and  tongues,  and 
only  the  widest  generalizations  are  possible  in  describ- 
ing them.  Perhaps  Central  India  more  than  other 
parts  shows  this  mixed  character  because  of  the  diverse 
races  who  have  invaded  its  borders.  For  purposes  of 
study,  however,  the  classification  given  by  Sir  Wm. 
Hunter  may  be  followed.* 

Classification,  i.  The  Non- Aryans.  These  repre- 
sent the  aboriginal  races  who  inhabited  the  land  before 
the  incursions  of  the  light-colored  Aryans  from  the 
north.  They  now  inhabit  chiefly  the  hilly  tracts,  or 
may  be  found  on  the  plains  as  servants  in  the  villages, 
or  as  wanderings  bands  of  marauders,  jugglers,  etc. 
The  aborigines  in  Western  Central  India  are  mostly 
B heels.  Formerly  they  were  a  wild  lawless  race,  but 
the  kindly  treatment  of  the  British  Government  as 
represented  by  such  noble  Christian  men  as  Sir  James 
Outram  in  earlier  days,  and  Capt.  DeLassoe  and  others 
in  later  times,  has  won  the  confidence  of  these  people. 
Drunkenness  and  theft  are  their  outstanding  vices, 
but  they  have  noble  qualities,  and  are  as  a  race  truthful 
and  loyal  and  faithful  to  their  friends.  They  have 
been  treated  with  such  contempt  by  their  Hindu 
neighbors,  and  have  for  so  long. been  oppressed  and 
compelled  to  work  for  others,  that  habits  of  industry 
are  not  easily  learned.  But  when  once  their  confidence 
is  gained,  efforts  for  their  intellectual  and  material 
improvement  meet  with  most  encouraging  response. 

*"The  Indian  Empire,"  page  51. 


50  IN   THE   HEART    OF    INDIA 

Thus  far  they  are  not  much  influenced  by  their  contact 
with  Hinduism,  but  the  Hinduizing  process  is  going  on 
and  they  are  now  much  more  susceptible  to  the  en- 
nobling influences  of  Christianity  than  will  be  the  case 
a  few  years  hence. 

2.  The  Aryans.  The  Brahmans  and  the  Rajputs 
pride  themselves  on  being  the  purest  descendants  of 
the  Aryan  stock  which  came  into  India.  But  it  is 
doubtful  if  in  India,  in  spite  of  its  rigid  caste,  there  is 
such  a  thing  as  pure  Aryan  blood.  There  have  been 
too  many  influences  tending  towards  fusion  to  leave 
any  room  for  pride  of  racial  purity.  The  Brahmans 
enforce  their  claim  to  supremacy  by  the  assertion  that 
their  race  issued  from  the  mouth  of  Brahma,  and  they 
claim  the  right  to  be  the  sole  teachers  and  priests  of  the 
people.  The  Rajputs,  who  sprang  from  the  arms  of 
Brahma,  claim  to  be  "the  sword  of  the  Hindu  faith." 
They  are  the  warrior  caste.  The  Brahmans  number 
about  13%  of  the  population,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
them  are  engaged  in  agriculture.  They  are  sub- 
divided into  several  sects,  which  refuse  to  intermarry 
or  even  to  eat  with  each  other. 

The  Rajputs  form  an  important  section  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Malwa.  Some  of  the  reigning  Princes  are  of 
this  race,  and  many  of  the  petty  landowners.  They 
are  proverbially  hospitable,  but  now  that  their  ancestral 
occupation  is  practically  gone,  many  have  fallen  vic- 
tims to  drunkenness  and  other  vices  of  an  idle  life. 

The  Parsees  are  non- Indian  Aryans  of  Persian 
origin,  who  came  to  India  in  the  eighth  century  to  avoid 
persecution  by  the  Mohammedans.  In  Malwa  they 


A  BUSY  RAILWAY  CENTRE— RUTLAM 


A  BIT  OF  THE  JUNGLE 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE         51 

are  few  in  number,  scarcely  more  than  1,000,  but  are  an 
influential  element  in  the  community.  In  religion  they 
claim  to  be  worshippers  of  the  one  God,  the  Creator, 
whose  appropriate  symbol  is  fire,  hence  they  are  required 
to  face  some  luminous  object  when  worshipping. 
Hindus  give  a  similar  excuse  for  the  use  of  images  in 
their  worship — it  helps  to  keep  the  mind  fixed  upon  the 
spiritual  reality.  Alas,  the  opposite  effect  is  produced 
and  men  "worship  and  serve  the  creature  more  than 
the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for  ever." 

3.  The  Mixed  Hindus.  For  a  description  of  this 
and  the  remaining  class,  the  Mohammedans,  one  can- 
not do  better  than  quote  from  Dr.  Wilson's  "  Re- 
demption of  Malwa"  :* 

"To  this  class,  which  has  grown  out  of  the  Aryan  and 
non- Aryan  races,  belong  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
of  Malwa.  It  embraces  elements  as  far  removed  from 
each  other  as  the  merchant  and  the  sweeper.  The 
banias  or  merchants  claim  to  be  Vaishyas,  sprung 
from  the  legs  of  Brahma,  'twice-born'  and  entitled  to 
wear  the  sacred  thread.  The  low  caste,  or  '  once-born ' 
had  their  origin  in  his  feet  and  were  destined  to  serve. 

In  these  mixed  peoples,  the  leading  principle  of 
division  into  caste  is  found  in  occupation.  Each 
employment  has  become  a  separate  caste,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  sort  of  trade  guild  and  religious  sect. 
Each  division  has  its  own  social  laws,  customs,  religious 
rites,  and  practices,  and  hence  one  exercises  little  social 
or  moral  influence  on  another. 


*Page  27,  ff. 


$2  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

The  more  important  castes  among  the  middle  class 
Hindus  are  shopkeepers,  farmers,  cowherds,  gardeners, 
carpenters,  and  artizans  of  all  sorts.  At  the  low  end 
of  the  scale,  and  treated  as  unclean,  are  the  leather 
workers,  and  scavengers — the  Chamars,  Mangs  and 
Bhangis.  In  almost  every  village  there  will  be  found  a 
Brahman  family  to  transact  with  the  gods,  and  ward 
off  the  evil  influence  of  demons  by  securing  the  due 
performance  of  religious  rites  ;  a  Bania  or  two  to  supply 
grain,  spices,  tobacco  and  to  make  loans  ;  a  carpenter 
to  make  and  mend  ox-carts,  yokes  and  ploughs,  as  well 
as  door  frames  for  houses  ;  a  blacksmith  to  make  and 
sharpen  picks  and  spades  ;  a  potter  to  fashion  on  his 
wheel  jars  and  bowls  and  cooking  vessels  ;  a  confec- 
tioner to  provide  the  sweetmeats  which  the  vegetable 
and  grain-eating  Hindu  so  dearly  loves.  The  Chamar 
families,  too,  are  needed  to  remove  the  hides  from  dead 
cattle,  to  make  and  repair  shoes  and  leather  water-bags; 
and  the  sweepers  to  remove  things  unclean,  so  that 
the  higher  castes  may  retain  their  ceremonial  purity. 
In  the  larger  villages  and  towns  artizans  and  menials 
in  greater  number  and  variety  work  for  the  well-being 
of  the  whole  community,  and  each  caste,  whatever  its 
rank  in  the  scale  may  be,  proudly  maintains  its  own  caste 
purity.  Caste  has  come  to  mean  as  much  for  the 
Bhangi  (sweeper)  as  for  the  Brahman.  This  peculiar 
organization  in  which  caste  and  employment  are  closely 
blended,  makes  the  individual  helplessly  dependent 
on  the  community  of  which  he  forms  a  part. 

Jains.  They  are  found  in  large  numbers  in  the  chiet 
commercial  centres  of  Malwa,  and  have  in  their  hands 


CENTRAL  INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE          53 

.  .  .  the  banking  operations  and  the  chief  financial  trans- 
actions of  the  country.  In  religion  they  are  akin  to  the 
Buddhists.  They  deny  the  existence  of  God,  or  of  any 
god.  They  reject  the  Vedas  and  regard  the  universe 
as  under  the  control  of  "Karm"  or  Fate.  They  trust 
their  future  to  their  own  actions  according  to  the  law, 
"as  you  sow,  so  shall  you  reap."  They  manifest  a 
scrupulous  regard  for  animal  life,  and  build  hospitals 
for  sick  animals.  At  night  a  gauze  screen  is  placed 
over  their  lamps  to  prevent  helpless  moths  from  de- 
stroying themselves  in  the  flame.  Their  temples  are 
large,  elaborate  and  costly,  the  finest  in  Central  India, 
erected  to  the  memory  of  ancient  sages  whom  they 
adore  as  men  who  have  "crossed  the  ocean  of  exis- 
tence." Of  all  the  people-  of  India,  none  is  more 
irresponsive  to  the  Gospel. 

4.  Mohammedans.  About  one-twentieth  part  of  the 
population  of  Central  India  is  Mohammedan.  This 
element  has  been  contributed  from  several  sources. 
Some  are  descendants  of  the  Court  and  armies  of  the 
Moslems  who  long  ruled  the  country,  and  some  are 
villagers  whose  ancestors  were  converted  to  the  faith 
of  the  prophet.  Bohr  a  merchants  of  Arab  extraction 
came  in  from  Gujerat.  These  are  found  mainly  in  the 
large  towns,  as  tinsmiths,  dealers  in  European  articles, 
and  second-hand  goods.  The  Mohammedans  in  Malwa 
are  little  given  to  agriculture.  They  are  employed  in 
subordinate  positions  in  the  Native  Governments,  or 
follow  weaving,  dyeing,  transporting  goods,  etc.  The 
lower  classes  among  them  have  been  much  influenced 
by  Hinduism,  and  are  given  to  the  worship  of  saints,  or 


54  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Pirs,  and  burn  lights  and  make  offerings  at  their 
whited  sepulchres,  and  even  join  in  Hindu  worship  and 
festivals." 

This  is  the  people  among  whom  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Canada  has  chosen  to  send  its  representatives 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  How  different  from  ours  is  their 
political  and  social  atmosphere  ;  yet  there  are  points 
of  similarity  to  our  own  great  Dominion,  (i)  Central 
India's  wide  stretching  plains,  where  the  vast  majority 
of  its  people  are  tillers  of  the  soil,  are  in  appearance,  if 
not  in  extent,  not  unlike  the  vast  plains  of  our  West 
where  agriculture  is  the  mainstay  of  the  people.  In- 
dians, like  Canadians,  are  an  agricultural  people.  (2) 
The  wide  diversity  of  religious  beliefs,  and  the  variety 
of  her  peoples,  are  not  unlike  the  picture  that  Canada 
presents  with  her  multitudes  drawn  from  the  many 
nations  and  languages  of  the  whole  world.  The  prob- 
lem of  the  church  in  each  is  similar.  It  is  to  draw  to- 
gether in  the  fellowship  of  Christian  life  and  service 
the  diverse  peoples  separated  by  religious  and  racial 
prejudices,  and  to  bring  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
which  is  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 


BEGINNINGS 
or 

FIRST  TWO  DECADES  OF  THE  MISSION'S 
HISTORY 


' '  Only  like  souls  I  see  the  folk  thereunder, 
Bound  who  should  conquer,   slaves  who  should  be 

kings, — 

Hearing  their  one  hope  with  an  empty  wonder, 
Sadly  contented  in  a  show  of  things. 

Then  with  a  rush  the  intolerable  craving 
Shivers  throughout  me  like  a  trumpet-call, 
Oh  to  save  these  !  To  perish  for  their  saving, 
Die  for  their  life,  be  offered  for  them  all  !" 

-F.  W.  H.  MYERS. 
(Paul's  feelings  as  he  faced  a  crowd) 


It   is   grand   to   be   here,    such   opportunity  !     Such 
need  ! 

Such  work  !     Oh,  to  be  prepared  for  such  a  privi- 
lege !" 

— GEORGE  MENZIES,  M.D. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BEGINNINGS 

or 

FIRST  TWO  DECADES  OF  THE  MISSION'S 
HISTORY 

IN  CANADA 

Awakening  of  Interest  in  Canadian  Churches.  Pre- 
vious to  the  Presbyterian  Union  in  1875  the  Churches 
in  Canada  had  begun  to  recognize  the  claims  of  the 
Indian  Mission  field,  and  to  share  in  its  Evangelization. 
,  A  "Juvenile  Mission  and  Indian  Orphanage  Scheme" 
was  inaugurated  in  the  Synod  of  Canada  in  connection 
with  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  early  as  1856.  The 
attention  of  the  Synod  was  that  year  called  to  the  work 
of  Supporting  and  Training  Injia^_Orphans  carried 
on  by:  the  Edinburgh  Ladies'  Association  for  Fern  a]  p. 
Education  in  India.  Previous  to  this,  some  congre- 
gations were  supporters  of  the  Association,  and  now 
the  Synod  adopted  the  Scheme  as  one  which  would 
appeal  particularly  to  the  Sabbath  Schools  of  the 
Church.  This  "Juvenile  Mission"  continued  as  a 
stimulus  and  blessing  to  the  Churches  until  1884,  when 
it  was  discontinued. 

Besides  the  support  of  children  in  the  Orphanages, 
which  were  managed  by  the  Scottish  Association,  the 

57 


58  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

support  of  separate  schools  for  girls  in  India  was  under- 
taken and  provided  for  by  the  contributors  to  the 
Juvenile  Mission.  "  The  Canadian  School  was  opened 

in  Calcutta  on  the  first  of  September,  1858 a  day 

ever  memorable  from  the  proclamation  which  trans- 
ferred that  vast  Empire  from  the  sway  of  a  Company 
to  the  Christian  Government  of  our  Gracious  Queen. 
Under  the  Divine  blessing  the  effort  has  proved  emin- 
ently successful.  In  a Mohammedan  suburb  of 

Calcutta  a_  neat  house  was  found,  over~wEich  file 
hitherto  unknown  name  of  'The  Canadian  School'  has 
been  inscribed,  and,  the  services  of  an  excellent  Chris- 
tian and  his  wife  having  been  engaged,  the  day  school 

jts  utmost  capacity.     Similar 
Opened    with    encouraging 
prospects  and  satisfactory  results."* 

The  Eastern  Churches  further  extended  their  work 
in  India  in  1874  when  the  Synod  of  the  Maritime 
Provinces  sent  to  Madras  a  lady  missionary,  Miss 
Johns,  to  take  part  in  Zenana  work.  Her  entire 
expenses  were  borne  by  the  congregation  of  St.  Mat- 
thew's Church,  Halifax.  But  soon  after  her  arrival, 
this  accomplished  and  devoted  lady  contracted  a  serious 
illness  which  necessitated  her  return,  and  which  ter- 
minated fatally  in  April,  1876.  Moreover,  on  the  eve 
of  the  Union,  the  Synod  of  the  Maritime  Provinces 
designated  a  missionary,  Rev.  J.  Fraser  Campbell,  to 
labor  among  the  English-speaking  natives  of  Madras, 
but  he  did  not  leave  for  India  till  after  the  Union. 


*Gregg's  Short  History  of  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada," 
page  128. 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION  S    HISTORY  59 

In  the  Western  Section,  the  attention  of  the  Churches 
was  first  turned  towards  India  in  1854,  when  Dr.  Duff 
of  Calcutta  visited  Canada,  and  by  his  fiery  eloquence 
stirred  the  Churches  to  a  recognition  of  their  responsi- 
bility to  the  Great  Eastern  Dependency.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  begin  a  Mission  there,  but  no  Canadian 
minister  could  be  found  for  the  work.  The  late  Rev. 
John  Laing,  D.D.,  then  minister  at  Scarboro,  was  offered 
the  appointment,  but  his  congregation  pleaded  for  his 
retention,  and  his  Presbytery  refused  to  release  him. 
jAn  appeal  was  made  to  Scotland  to  lend  a  man,  and 
this  was  more  successful.  The  Rev.  George  Stevenson, 
with  his  wife,  were  sent  out  that  same  year  as  the 
representatives  of  the  Free  Church  in  Canada.  On  the 
recommendation  of  Dr.  Duff  they  settled  in  Bancoorah, 
Bengal.  But  after  a  short  time,  a  violent  outbreak 
of  cholera,  followed  by  the  terrible  mutiny  of  1857,  so 
interfered  with  the  success  of  the  work  that  the  mis- 
sionaries resigned  and  the  Mission  came  to  an  encQ 
The  fires  of  missionary  enthusiasm  had,  however,  been 
kindled,  and,  as  is  invariably  the  case,  the  Home  land 
reaped  the  benefit  for  work  was  then  begun  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  the  Rev.  James  Nisbet  being 
designated  to  this  work  in  1862.* 

Pioneer  Missionaries  and  Selection  of  Field.  It 
was  fifteen  years  before  interest  in  India  was  again 
revived  in  the  West  ;  and,  as  has  happened  so  often 
in  the  history  of  Missions,  ^it_jw^_thewomen  of  the 
Church  who  were  instrumental  in  the  reawakening  of 
interest.  Two  young  ladies,  Miss  T^airweather  and 


*Vide  Missionary  Pathfinders,  page  87. 


60  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Miss  Rodger,  offered  themselves  for  work  in_jndia. 
They  were  accepted  and  sent  out  in  1873,  to  work, 
however,  in  connection  with  the  Mission  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  (North)  of  the  United_States. 

When  the  Union  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches  took 
place  in  1875,  Mr.,  now  Dr.,  Campbell,  the  Synod's 
appointee,  was  accepted  ;  and  the  following  year, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Douglas,  minister  at  Cobourg,  was  ap- 
pointed ;  these  two  being  the  first  ordained  missionaries 
to  be  sent  out  by  the  newly  formed  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Canada. 

ON  THE  FIELD 

Mr.  Campbell  reached  India  in  December,  1876,  and 
was  followed  shortly  by  Mr.  Douglas.  The  former 
went  to  Madras,  where  for  a  few  months  he  worked 
among  the  English-speaking  Indians.  Mr.  Douglas 
visited  the  American  missionaries  to  confer  with  them 
about  the  work.  Little  had  as  yet  been  done  among 
the  "Native  States"  of  India  and  the  great  irregular 
block  of  territory  known  as  "The  Central  India 
Agency"  was  as  yet  unevangelized  and  practically 
untouched.  This  was  the  field  which  the  Canadian 
Church  hoped  to  be  able  to  enter,  and  on  January  2$th, 
1877,  Rev.  Mr.  Holcomb,  of  the  American  Mission, 
with  Mr.  Douglas,  arrived  in  Indore,  the  chief  city  of  the 
Western  part  of  the  Agency,  and  the  capital  of  Holkar 
State,  and  remained  for  a  short  time  to  assist  in  opening 
up  'work.  Mr.  Campbell  came  up  from  Madras  in 
July  and  began  work  in  Mhow,  a  military  Cantonment* 

*A  town,  or  part  of  a  town,  where  troops  are  located,  and  which 
is  under  military  authority. 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  6 1 

thirteen  miles  distant.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
Miss  Forrester  and  Miss  McGregor,  with  Mrs.  Douglas 
and  children,  arrived  from  Canada.  The  two  ladies 
who  had  previously  come  out  had  already  joined  the 
Mission,  and  the  end  of  the  year  1877  saw  work  well 
begun  ;  at  Indore  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglas,  Miss 
Fairweather,  and  Miss  McGregor  ;  and  at  Mhow  by 
Mr.  Campbell,  Miss  Rodger,  and  Miss  Forrester. 

Unfurling  the  Banner  ;  Previous  Efforts  by  Cow- 
ley  Fathers.  Thus  was  the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ 
unfurled  in  Central  India.  It  was  pioneer  work.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  almost  nothing  had  been  done  for  the 
non-Christians  of  Central  India.  The  Military  Chap- 
lains confined  their  efforts  generally  to  their  fellow- 
countrymen.  The 'Cowley  Fathers  had,  some. years 
before,  visited  Indore  City,  and  remained  for  a  time. 
They  lived  in  a  native  house  and  largely  conformed  to 
Indian  manners  and  style  of  living.  Their  leader, 
Father  O'Neill,  who  is  described  as  a  character  of  rare 
saintliness,  died  of  cholera  and  the  Mission  ceased  to 
exist. 

The  famous  Brahman  convert,  Rev.  Nehemiah 
Goreh,  had  toured  through  part  of  Central  India,  and 
had  visited  Mhow  and  Indore,  where  he  lived  for  a  time 
with  Father  O'Neill  ;  »but  when  our  missionaries  arrived 
they  found  the  field  unoccupied  and  uhevangelized  ; 
and,  while  other  parts  of  Central  India  have  since  been 
entered  by  other  Missions,  ours  to-day  is  the  only 
Protestant  force  working  in  a  solid  block  of  territory 
larger  than  Scotland. 


62  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

In  February,  1879,  Miss  Forrester  and  Mr.  Campbell 
were  married  ;  and  in  the  end  of  the  same  year,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  John  Wilkie  were  sent  out  and  settled  in 
Indore.  At  the  same  time,  the  Mission  Council  was 
formed  for  local  administration.  For  four  years  no 
further  reinforcements  came  from  Canada.  Some 
changes  took  place  in  the  personnel  of  the  staff,  and 
these,  with  the  subsequent  additions  and  other  changes, 
are  indicated  in  the  "list  of  Missionaries"  in  appen- 
dix "A."  The  publication  of  this  History  marks  the 
completion  of  almost  four  decades  of  work  in  Central 
India  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada. 

An   Epochal   Year  in   the   Mission's   History.     For 

convenience  in  study  the  history  of  the  Mission  may 
be  divided  into  two  almost  equal  periods  ;  yet  the  divi- 
sion is  by  no  means  an  arbitrary  one,  for  the  year  1897 
was,  in  some  respects,  epochal  in  the  Mission.  Initial 
difficulties  had  been  largely  overcome,  and  during  the 
two  preceding  decades,  almost  all  the  phases  of  mission- 
ary work  had  been  established.  The  mere  enumeration 
of  them  shows  how  complete  were  the  plans  laid  for 
Central  India's  evangelization.  Evangelistic  work  was 
constantly  carried  on  in  its  varied  phases.  Medical 
work  had  proved  itself  invaluable  as  the  hand-maid  of 
Evangelism,  and  had  won  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Educational  work  was  well  distributed  through  Primary 
and  Anglo- Vernacular  Schools.  In  Mhow,  a  High 
School*  for  boys,  and  in  Indore  also  a  High  School 
and  Arts  College  were  well  established.  Theological 

*Since  closed,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  other  work  and  also  to 
the  centralization  of  High  School  work  at  Indore. 


H)   REV.  NEHEMIAH  GOREH,  FAMOUS  BRAHMAN   PREACHER 
(2)  MISSION  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOL— MHOW 


ITINERATING 
1.  THE  START.  2.  A  SHADY  GROVE.  3.  THE  CAMP 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  63 

Training  was  provided  for-  by  the  Presbytery.  A  Press 
had,  from  the  very  first,  been  constantly  kept  running. 
Normal  Classes  for  teachers  had  been  in  existence 
for  two  -or  three  years.  Industrial  work  was  begun. 
A  class  for  the  Blind  had  been  opened  ;  and  provision 
made  for  segregation  of  lepers,  who  were  numerous 
in  all  the  larger  centres,  and  were  a  public  menace. 
The  initial  steps  had  been  taken  for  work  among  the 
aboriginal  tribes — the  Bheels.  In  five  out  of  the  six 
centres  occupied,  organized  congregations,  with  elders 
and  deacons,  had  been  established  ;  and  the  annual 
gathering  of  the  Christians  of  the  whole  field  in  Con- 
vention, or  Mela,  for  conference  and  mutual  inspira- 
tion, had  become  a  recognized  feature  of  Church  life. 
Some  of  these  phases  of  work  have  been  modified  since. 

Changes  in  Administration.  The  year  1897  marked 
also  an  important  change  in  Mission  Administration. 
In  that  year  the  Zenana  missionaries  (who  previously 
had  been  in  the  Mission  Council)  were  formed  into  a 
"Women's  Council"  with  control  of  their  own  funds, 
while  the  male  missionaries  became  a  Finance  Commit- 
tee (later  called  the  "Mission  Council")  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  other  funds  from  Canada,  and  the  Pres- 
bytery was  expected  to  discharge  more  fully  its  own 
proper  functions. 

Trying  Experiences.  This  year  was  epochal  in  an- 
other respect.  The  Mission  had  for  the  first  time  to  face 
the  awful  spectre  of  famine,  accompanied  by  its  dread 
consort,  cholera,  together  with  other  diseases.  The  strain 
was  particularly  severe  in  the  Eastern  part  of  the  Cen- 
tral India  Agency,  but  a  great  deal  of  rescue  work  fell 


64  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

to  the  lot  of  our  Mission.  So  great  a  burden  was  laid 
on  the  Mission  by  the  famine  of  1897,  and  still  more  by 
that  in  Malwa  two  years  later,  that  the  whole  work  was 
profoundly  affected.  It  was  a  year  of  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Mission,  not  only  on  the  field,  but  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Home  Church.  The  Mission  had  just  passed 
through  one  of  those  most  harassing  experiences,  a 
"cut"  in  the  allowances  from  Canada,  which  so  cripples 
existing  work  and  discourages  the  worker  because  of 
the  indifference  it  too  often  indicates  at  the  Home  Base. 
Then  came  the  wonderful  outburst  of  sympathy  when 
the  news  of  the  famine  reached  home,  and,  best  of  all, 
the  definite  association  of  scores  of  Christian  men  and 
women  with  Indian  work  in  the  support,  for  purposes 
of  education  and  training,  of  the  rescued  orphans  and 
widows. 

DIFFICULTIES 

Those  Peculiar  to  Work  in  Native  States.  Pioneer 
missionaries  in  the  Native  States  have  special  difficul- 
ties to  contend  with  as  well  as  those  which  are  common 
to  missions  everywhere.  Authority  is  largely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Indian  Princes,  and  they  sometimes  look 
with  suspicion  on  the  advent  of  the  missionaries,  whom 
they  consider  to  be  associated  somehow  with  the 
paramount  Power.  In  Malwa,  too,  the  chief  Maratha 
princes  had  not  forgotten  their  conflict  with  the  British. 
The  masses  of  the  people  were  as  yet  but  little  in- 
fluenced by  the  Western  forces  of  civilization,  which 
were  noticeable  in  British  India.  New  ground  had  to 
be  broken  in  several  forms  of  educational  and  philan- 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  65 

thropic  work,  and  the  message  of  the  Gospel    was  a 
strange  new  story  to  multitudes. 

Of  the  physical  inconveniences  of  these  early  days, 
the  insanitary  and  uncomfortable  dwelling  houses 
and  the  lack  of  suitable  buildings  for  school  and  medical 
work,  there  is  no  need  to  write.  These  have  been  re- 
peated in  greater  or  less  degree  with  the  opening  of  each 
new  centre  of  work,  and  are  accepted  gladly  as  part  of 
the  fellowship  of  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

First  Converts.  For  a  time  all  went  well  with  the 
Mission.  Primary  schools  were  opened,  zenanas  were 
visited,  the  Gospel  was  preached  in  bazars,  and  ad- 
jacent villages,  and  enquirers  made  their  way  to  the 
missionaries'  bungalows  to  discuss  the  new  religion. 
A  Printing  Press  was  established,  and  it  enabled  the 
missionaries  to  spread  the  truth  far  and  wide.  Two 
Brahman  youths  of  Indore  named  Sukhananda  and 
Narayan  Singh,  of  good  social  standing  in  families 
belonging  to  the  Court,  professed  their  faith  in  Christ, 
and  asked  for  baptism.  This  was  made  the  occasion 
of  violent  antagonism  and  opposition  to  Christianity, 
which  developed  in  such  a  way  as  to  threaten  the  very 
existence  of  the  work  in  Indore  and  its  expansion  in 
other  parts  of  the  Agency.  On  the  day  fixed  for  the 
baptism  of  the  young  men,  they  were  seized  and  taken 
before  Maharaja  Holkar  and  threatened  with  imprison- 
ment. They  fled  to  Bombay.  Later  Mr.  Douglas 
met  them  at  Borsad,  Gujarat,  where  they  were  bap- 
tized. Thus  the  first  fruits  of  the  Mission  confessed 
Christ  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  Caste  is  cruel  to 


66  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

those  who  dare  to  shake  themselves  free  from  its 
bondage. 

Principle    of   Religious   Toleration   at    Stake.     Not 

long  after  this  an  order  was  issued  by  the  Indore 
Durbar*  forbidding  any  Christian  work  in  the  State. 
Violence  was  offered  to  the  preachers,  and  hindrances 
of  various  kinds  were  made.  The  issue  raised  was  a 
momentous  one  for  missionary  work.  It  was  the  ques- 
tion of  religious  toleration  in  Native  States.  It  seemed 
to  the  missionaries  that  the  alternative  was  either, 
retiring  from  the  field,  or,  seeking  to  gain  for  Christians 
that  same  toleration  that  was  enjoyed  by  Hindus  and 
Mohammedans  alike  in  all  the  States  of  Central  India. 
The  British  Government  would  not  tolerate  any  at- 
tempt to  violate  this  sacred  principle  in  the  case  of 
Hindus  and  Mohammedans  ;  would  it  now  be  equally 
firm  in  the  case  of  Christianity  ?  It  was  a  principle 
guaranteed  by  Queen  Victoria's  famous  Proclamation 
of  1858  (vide  Appendix  "D").  Widespread  interest 
was  aroused.  Some  of  the  secular  papers  bitterly 
criticized  the  missionaries.  The  religious  press,  ably 
led  by  The  Indian  Witness,  the  organ  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission,  championed  the  cause  of  freedom. 
The  Calcutta  Missionary  Conference,  at  that  time  the 
most  influential  and  active  in  India,  took  up  the  matter 
and  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Viceroy,  urging  others 
also  to  do  the  same.  The  appeal  to  the  Secular  Power 
was  an  appeal  only  for  liberty  to  proclaim  the  Gospel, 
which  is  the  primary  duty  of  every  Christian.  If  the 
Gospel  is  not  proclaimed,  if  the  Christian  life  is  not 

*The  Supreme  Council  of  the  State. 


BEGINNINGS    OF   THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  67 

constantly  going  forth  in  glad  service  for  mankind,  it 
cannot  live.  Christianity  asks  no  favors  but  the  com- 
mon right  to  walk  and  breathe  and  express  itself  where 
it  can  help  and  uplift  mankind. 

Toleration  Secured.  The  reply  of  the  Viceroy,  Lord 
Ripon,  gave  some  relief  ;  but  for  a  time  the  law"  of 
liberty  was  evaded,  the  native  officials  taking  their  cue 
from  the  Agent  to  the  Governor-General  at  that  time, 
who  was  unfriendly  to  Missions.  The  whole  situation 
was  later  laid  privately  before  Lord  Dufferin,  who  had 
come  from  Canada  to  succeed  Lord  Ripon  in  the  Vice- 
royalty  of  India.  Not  long  afterward  he  visited  Indore 
and  took  the  opportunity  not  only  of  publicly  showing 
his  deep  personal  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Mission, 
but  of  impressing  on  the  Local  Officials,  British  and 
Indian  alike,  the  necessity  of  allowing  Christian  Mis- 
sionaries to  do  their  work  without  interference. 

A  Changed  Atmosphere.  From  that  time  forward 
the  whole  atmosphere  was  changed.  Official  opposi- 
tion almost  entirely  ceased,  and,  on  the  contrary,  the 
Mission  received  many  tokens  of  goodwill  from  both 
officials  and  private  citizens  of  Indore  State.  Perhaps 
the  most  marked  was  the  grant,  by  the  Dowager 
Maharani,  of  a  splendid  plot  of  ground,  on  which  now 
stand  the  High  School,  College,  and  Women's  Hospital. 

EVANGELISM 

The  Supreme  Aim  of  the  Missionary.  Every  true 
missionary  is  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  in  season  and 
out  of  season.  Whether  bending  over  the  couch  of  the 
sick,  or  conversing  by  the  wayside  with  the  chance 


68  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

acquaintance,  or  gathering  about  him  the  little  groups 
of  eager,  bright-eyed  school  children,  he  remembers 
that  he  is  there  to  represent  Christ. 

Preaching.  Preaching  in  India  has  little  in  common 
with  the  methods  in  the  Homeland.  There  are, 
however,  some  well  trodden  ways,  according  to  which 
preaching  is  everywhere  carried  on.  In  the  public 
squares  of  the  larger  towns  and  cities  and  in  the  mo- 
hullas,*  this  work  can  be  carried  on  in  all  seasons.  It 
has  many  disadvantages.  There  are  many  interrup- 
tions. A  dog  fight  near  by,  some  shrill-voiced  women 
quarrelling  in  front  of  their  houses,  the  pungent  odor 
of  condiments  being  prepared  for  food,  and  countless 
other  distractions,  make  the  work  exhausting  for  body 
and  mind.  But  it  is  almost  always  possible  to  gather  a 
crowd,  and  in  it  there  are  many  who  listen  intently  and 
quietly  to  a  simple  earnest  presentation  of  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  human  need  and  Divine  Grace.  After 
such  preaching  one  longs  to  take  the  interested  ones 
aside  and  talk  privately  about  their  heart  longings. 
But  there  is  no  privacy  in  India.  Unless  the  interested 
ones  have  the  courage  to  come  to  the  preacher's  home 
for  further  instruction,  there  is  little  opportunity  to 
follow  up  effectivelly  the  preaching  of  the  word. 

False  Rumors.  Nothing  is  more  distressing  than  the 
foolish  and  often  cruel  and  wicked  rumors  that  are 
circulated  by  unscrupulous  persons,  and  such  exper- 
iences are  not  confined  to  the  early  and  pioneer  days 
of  the  Mission.  Most  persistent  are  the  reports  that 

*A  mohulla  is  a  part  of  the  city  occupied,  as  a  rule,  by  the  mem- 
bers of  one  caste  only. 


69 

the  missionaries  are  the  Agents  of  Government  and  are 
paid  in  proportion  to  the  converts  won  ;  also  that  the 
people  will  be  carried  away  and  made  Christians  by 
force.  As  this  book  is  being  written,  many  villages  are 
practically  closed  to  the  Gospel  because*  the  people 
have  been  made  to  believe  that  the  missionaries  are  the 
agents  of  Government,  sent  to  compel  the  people  to 
go  and  fight  for  the  Empire  in  the  great  war  now  raging 
in  Europe  ;  the%  sending  of  Indian  regiments  to  the 
front  being,  in  the  minds  of  simple  villagers,  all  the 
proof  needed.  (jDuring  the  ravages  of  the  Plague, 
rumors  were  so  prevalent,  as,  at  times,  completely  to 
frustrate  all  attempts  at  preaching.  It  was  said  that 
the  missionaries  were  going  about  poisoning  the  wells, 
of  course  on  behalf  of  Government?) 

Another  story  was  that  Kali,  their  bloodthirsty 
murderous  goddess,  had  demanded  from  King  Edward 
several  hundred  thousand  victims  as  the  price  of  being 
allowed  to  sit  on  the  throne.  The  King  had  complied 
with  the  demand,  stipulating  however,  that  the  victims 
must  be  taken  from  among  his  Indian  subjects. 

Nothing  is  so  painfuj_to_the  missionary  as  to  havejiite 
friendliest  approaches  treated  with  suspicion.  At  one 
place  where  a  plague-smitten  body  was  being  prepared 
for  the  burning,  a  missionary  stopped  his  cart  and  en- 
quired if  he  could  be  of  any  assistance  to  any  others 
who  might  be  ill.  In  reply  an  old  man  joined  his 
hands,  and  in  deprecating  supplication  said  :  "Bahut 
ho  gaye,  miharbani  kijie" — "many  have  gone,  please 
show  kindness."  His  meaning  was  that  the  Europeans 
had  already  destroyed  plenty,  and  it  was  time  to  stop. 


70  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Persecutions.  The  earlier  days  of  the  Mission  were 
not  without  persecution  in  its  more  violent  forms,  the 
brunt  of  which  fell  on  the  faithful  Indian  preachers. 
One  worker  in  Ujjain  was  seized  and  put  in  prison,  his 
only  offence  being  that  he  kept  the  school  open.  God, 
however,  opened  the  way  for  his  release.  The  head 
moulvi  of  the  Mohammedans  took  up  his  cause,  and 
freedom  was  given  to  him  to  continue  his  work.  In 
Mand^saur,  two  Indian  preachers  were  one  evening 
hooted  and  pelted  with  mud  and  stones  and  driven 
out  of  the  city.  In  this  city  on  another  occasion,  and 
in  Manasa  also,  Dr.  Wilson  and  his  assistants  were 
mobbed  and  pelted  with  mud  and  stones  and  compelled 
to  abandon  preaching.  On  other  occasions,  the  police 
with  sticks  would  violently  drive  away  the  people  and 
make  all  work  impossible.  In  Barwaha  the  local 
officials  openly  countenanced  the  abusing  of  some 
Christians.  A  reference  to  the  Durbar  brought  a 
rebuke  to  the  Headman  and  later  his  removal.  In 
Padlia  the  preacher  was  forbidden  to  draw  water  from 
any  of  the  village  wells,  although  the  well  dug  for  his 
use  had  been  drained  dry  by  a  deeper  and  larger  well 
dug  only  a  few  yards  away.  In  another  town  false 
charges  of  robbery  were  brought  against  the  Christian 
converts.  They  were  seized  and  tied  up  by  their 
wrists  until  the  blood  burst  from  their  finger  tips  ; 
they  were  also  beaten  to  make  them  confess. 

The  story  of  persecution  is  a  long  one,  and  much  of  it, 
especially  that  meted  out  to  enquirers  and  converts, 
never  can  be  written,  it  is  so  subtle,  so  secret,  and  so 
cruel.  In  spite  of  the  protection  afforded  by  a  Chris- 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  71 

tian  Supreme  Government,  there  is  always  some  mea- 
sure of  risk.  In  a  land  like  India,  the  danger  is  that  one 
is  never  quite  sure  what  an  Indian  crowd  may  do.  A 
false  rumor,  a  misunderstanding,  a  wound  to  religious 
susceptibilities,  even  when  unintentional,  and  the 
crowd  may  be  roused  to  a  mad  fury. 

Itinerating.  Itinerating  has  from  the  beginning  been 
a  chief  feature  of  the  evangelistic  work.  From  October 
till  March,  while  the  weather  is  comparatively  cool,  and 
almost  no  rain  falls,  the  missionaries,  both  men  and 
women,  accompanied  by  Indian  helpers,  go  forth  to 
tour  their  Districts  unless  prevented  by  station  work. 
Dr.  Campbell  in  the  early  years  of  the  Mission  toured 
far  and  wide  covering  hundreds  of  miles,  which  was  of 
great  value  as  the  work  expanded  ;  and  he  was  per- 
mitted to  preach  the  Gospel  in  hundreds  of  towns  and 
villages  which  had  never  before  heard  a  Christian 
preacher.  One  of  the  first  fruits  of  this  work,  was  the 
baptism  of  the  headman  of  one  of  the  lower  castes, 
about  sixty  miles  from  the  central  station.  For  many 
years  this  man  witnessed  a  good  confession  among  his 
caste  followers,  and  his  memory  is  cherished  by  them 
still. 

Camping  in  the  District.  Touring  in  the  district  is 
strenuous  but  delightful  work.  As  a  rule  the  village 
people,  the  great  agricultural  class,  hear  the  preachers 
gladly.  It  is  customary  to  pitch  tents  in  some  shaded 
grove  near  a  large  town,  visiting  the  adjacent  villages 
in  the  mornings,  and  spending  the  afternoons  and 
evenings  in  the  town.  Often  the  people  gather  in 
such  numbers  to  the  tent  that  there  is  no  need  to  go 


72  IN   THE    HEART    OP    INDIA 

afield.  Sometimes  late  into  the  night  the  interested 
enquirers  will  tarry,  anxious  to  hear  more  and  yet  more 
of  the  strange  good  news.  2JThe  ^a<^Y  missionaries  also 
visit  the  villages  and  find  all  the  opportunities  they 
desire,  being  called  to  one  house  after  another  where  the 
women  all  gather  in  the  secluded  courtyards  to  listen) 
Preaching  to  these  is  a  much  more  different  matter  than 
addressing  the  men.  They  seem  unable  to  keep  their 
minds  for  more  than  a  few  minutes  on  anything.  The 
hymns  set  to  native  airs,  and  short  conversational 
addresses,  gain  their  attention.  yWork  among  men  and 
women  is  carried  on  separately  ;  but  when  it  is  possible 
to  have  lady  missionaries  accompany  the  male  mission- 
ary and  his  wife  on  tour,  it  is  greatly  to  the  advantage 
of  the  work  of  both.  The  incidents  of  travel  while  on 
tour  with  the  slow-going  ox-carts,  make  up  an  exper- 
perience  never  to  be  forgotten.  Life  in  the  open,  more- 
over, is  so  healthy,  that  apart  from  the  limitless  op- 
portunities for  preaching  the  Word,  those  who  can  get 
away,  are  glad  to  spend  the  cold  season  under  canvass 
among  the  villages.  One  result  of  this  method  is  that 
the  religion  of  Christ  is  advertised  far  and  wide,  and 
for  many  a  day  the  visit  of  the  preacher  and  his  new 
and  startling  message  will  be  discussed  about  the  vil- 
lage fires. 

Women's  Evangelistic  Work.  A  large  part  of  the 
special  field  of  Evangelistic  work  by  the  lady  mission- 
aries is  in  the  zenanas.  The  zenana  system,  that  of 
seclusion  for  the  female  members  of  the  family,  came 
into  India  with  the  Mohammedans,  and  was  adopted 
by,  or  rather  forced  upon,  the  Hindus  in  self-defence. 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION  S    HISTORY  73 

Except  among  the  poor  classes,  who  cannot  afford  it, 
and  the  Marathas,  the  haughty  opponents  of  the 
Mohammedans  in  days  gone  by,  this  system  prevails^ 
generally.  But  the  closely-drawn  veil,  as  tHe^women 
go  about  their  duties,  shows  how  the  spirit  of  seclusion 
is  everywhere. )  When  preaching  in  the  public  bazaar 
it  often  happens  that  a  group  of  women  will  be  seen 
gathered  at  the  rear  of  the  crowd  of  male  hearers  ;  it 
is  nevertheless  true,  however,  that  if  the  women  of 
Central  India  are  to  be  reached  with  the  Gospel,  it 
must  be  by  those  of  their  own  sex.  It  :s  well  that  our 
Church  has,  from  the  very  first,  recognized  the  extreme 
urgency  of  women's  work.  In  the  illy-ventilated 
houses  where  the  atmosphere  is  foul  and  stiflingly  hot, 
and  where  there  is  often  much  to  offend  both  sight  and 
smell,  the  Gospel  is  preached.  Teaching  of  reading, 
knitting,  or  sewing  is  frequently  the  price  to  pay  for 
entrance.  Many  sad  and  longing  hearts  are  touched, 
and  slowly,  oh,  so  slowly,  the  women  of  India  are  being 
brought  into  touch  with  Him  who  has  in  all  lands  been 
the  Emancipator  of  womankindj 

Special  Problems  of  Work  in  Zenanas.  It  need 
scarcely  be  said  that  there  are  difficulties  and  problems 
peculiar  to  this  work.  Many,  we  believe,  in  these 
secluded  Indian  homes  have  been  truly  born  again  and 
have  learned  to  love  Jesus  Christ  and  pray  to  Him. 
yBut  so  interlaced  is  the  whole  family  system  that  con- 
fession of  Christ  by  baptism  to  many  of  them  appears 
impossible.  Frequently  the  expression  of  a  desire  for 
baptism  means  the  closing  of  the  door  to  the  zenana 
missionary  and  the  work  seems  to  have  been  for  naughtTj 


74  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

But  there  is  the  sure  promise,  "My  word  shall  not  re- 
turn unto  me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which 
I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  I 
sent  it"  (Is.  55  :  n).  There  is  for  the  faithful  worker 
all  the  time  the  glad  consciousness  that  a  better  day  is 
dawning  for  India's  daughters.  Often  young  men,  near 
to  the  kingdom,  declare  that  the  only  hindrance  to  their 
open  confession  of  Christ  is  in  the  home.  That  is  the 
stronghold  of  idolatry,  and  they  participate  in  idola- 
trous ceremonies  rather  than  cause  trouble  in  the  home, 
but  their  hearts  condemn  them  all  the  while.  ^The 
zenana  missionary  is  helping  "to  roll  away  the  stone" 
of  offence  ;  for  undoubtedly  many  women  are  led  to 
abandon  idolatry  and  have  had  their  minds  awakened 
to  higher  and  better  things.  There  is  great  need  that 
work  for  men  and  work  for  women  should  be  closely 
associated/^ 

MEDICAL  WORK 


Pioneering    by    Medical    Ladies — Indore.     In    the 

story  of  Medical  Missions  in  Central  India,  the  work 
of  the  lady  missionariesjtakes  a  leading  place.  Govern- 
ment Medical  merTHidTwhat  they  could  for  the  Indians, 
but  medical  work  for  women  by  women  doctors  was  an 
unheard  of  thing.  It  was  pioneer  work,  and  much  of 
suspicion  and  deep-rooted  prejudice  had  to  be  over- 
come. The  Church  was  fortunate  in  its  choice  of 
pioneer  lady  doctors  for  Central  India.  In  December. 
i884,_the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  sent 
\  out  their  first  Medical  Missionary,  Dr.  Elizabeth 
Beatty^  who  began  work  at  Indore.  She  was  of  a 
singularly  sympathetic  nature,  one  that  could  "weep 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  75 

with  those  that  weep  and  rejoice  with  those  that 
rejoice,"  and  she  soon  won  the  confidence  and  the  hearts 
of  the  people.  Within  two  years  the  work  had  grown 
too  heavy  to  be  carried  on  single-handed,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1886,  Dr.  Beatty  wasjained  by  Dr.  Marion  Oliver. 
Their  Medical  work  had  an  important  bearing  on  the 
growth  of  the  Mission.  Dr.  Beatty  had  barely  begun 
her  work  when  patients  came  from  far-distant  places 
for  treatment  ;  and  the  influence  was  seen  in  some 
marked  ways.  In  1885,  a  high  official  of  nv>ar  sent 
his  wife  and  their  Tamily  doctor_down  for  consultation, 
and  after  that  several  others  came.  Ten  years  later 
Dhar  was  opened  as  a  Central  Station  under  cir- 
cumstances which  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  whole 
Mission.  But  it  is  significant^  that  it  was  the  hope  of 
having  a  lady  doctor  there,_which  secured  for  the  Mis- 
s'lon  a  cordial  welcome  to  that  station. 

Medical  Work  Begun  in  Neemuch.      In   1892    Dr. 

Margaret  McKellar  began  Medical  work  in  Neemuch, 
the  most  northerly  of  our  stations,  and  for  many  years 
work  was  carried  on  in  dispensaries,  in  the  city,  and 
outstations,  and  in  Cantonment.  _Npt  always_  are 
^the_jnessengers  of^  mercy  received  gladly.  Soon  after 
beginning  work  there,  some  one  with  no  love  for  the 
lady  doctor  thought  to  hinder  the  work  by  placing 
on_the  doorstep  of  the  dispensary  the  symbol  of  the 
curse  he  hoped  would  comeupon her.  It  was  a  vessel  j j 
Half  filled  with  blood  and  beside  it  some  lemons  cu t"  1 1 
in  two  and  a  corncob.  On  asking  what  it  meant,  the 
servant  replied,  "Oh,  Miss  Saheb,  an  enemy  has  put 
it  there,  something  dreadful  will  befall  you.  This  is 


76  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

the  worst  thing  that  any  one  could  do  to  you."  To  the 
astonishment  of  all,  the  lady  doctor  was  not  disturbed 
in  the  least  byThe  thought  of  the  impending  disaster. 
She  dismissed  the  matter  b^telling  them  shejbelieved 
m"the  pro"tecting  power  of  God^wTio  said,  "  There  shall 
no  evil  befall  tEee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling."  The  jables  were  soon  turned,  and  blind 
superstition  and  demonolatry  received  their  hardest 
blows,  when  medical  skill ^and  Christlike,  loving  service 
of  the  sick  and  afflicted,  were  freely  given. 

Tribute  to  the  Pioneers.  The  story  of  the  later 
development  of  this  work  is  left  to  another  chapter, 
but  tribute  may  here  be  paid  to  the  two  pioneer  medical 
missionaries,  Drs.  Beatty  and  Oliver  ;  one,  still  spared, 
though  no  longer  able  to  continue  her  chosen  work  ; 
and  the  other,  after  a  long  term  of  service,  called  to  her 
Eternal  Rest.  Eminently  Christ-like  in  all  their  work, 
every  door  their  skill  opened  for  them  was  entered,  not 
alone  by  them,  but  Christ  was  with  them.  A  patient 
who  afterwards  became  a  Christian  and  herself  con- 
tinued long  to  minister  to  the  sick,  told  how,  when  she 
was  first  brought  sick  to  the  Hospital  and  laid  on  the 
cot  in  the  ward,  she  was  filled  with  terror,  not  knowing 
how  she  would  be  treated  by  the  foreign  Miss  Saheb. 
When  Miss  Oliver  came  into  the  ward  to  see  the  patients 
with  that  kindly  look  so  well  remembered,  all  her  fears 
vanished,  "but,"  she  said,  "when  she  came  and  put  her 
hand  on  my  fevered  brow,  I  loved  her  ;  she  had  won 
my  heart."  She  had  done  more,  she  had  won  her  for 
the  Saviour. 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  77 

The  Need  for  Medical  Men.  Compared  with  a  land 
like  China,  it  maybe  said  that  the  need  for  male  medical 
missionaries  is  not  so  clamant  in  India.  Wherever 
British  officials  are  found,  there  also,  as  a  rule,  is  the 
European  medical  man  and  "there  also  the  charitable 
dispensary  and,  usually,  Hospital  equipment  in  some 
degree.  Government  Medical  schools  turn  out  num- 
bers of  men  each  year.  Year  by  year  also,  more  is  being 
done  by  the  Native  States  to  have  medical  relief  pro- 
vided at  accessible  centres.  But  when  one  considers 
the  vast  amount  of  unrelieved  suffering,  and  especially 
the  proportion  of  medical  men  to  population  compared 
with  that  in  Western  lands,  one  can  only  say  that  the 
need  is  appalling.  It  is  estimated  that  not  more  than 
five  per  cent  of  the  people  have  any  medical  treatment 
in  their  last  illness. 

The  pioneer  missionaries  felt  they  must  do  something 
and  dispensaries  were  opened  where  it  was  possible  to 
secure  Indian  men  with  some  knowledge  of  medicine — 
along  Western  lines  ;  and  where  these  were  not  avail- 
able, the  missionaries  themselves  did  what  they  could. 

John  Buchanan,  First  Male  Physician,  Opens  Work 
in  Ujjain.  Dr.  John  Buchanan  was  the  first  medical 
man  sent  out  ;  and  he  with  his  wife,  formerly  Dr.  Mary 
MacKay,  began  work  in  Ujjain,  which  has  been  con- 
tinued with  much  success  up  to  the  present.  The  only 
place  available  there  for  some  years  was  a  small  shop 
opening  into  a  crowded  busy  street.  The  door  was  the 
only  place  for  ventilation,  and  every  morning  crowds 
gathered  there  so  that  the  doorway  had  to  be  cleared 
frequently  to  allow  the  workers  inside  to  get  fresh  air. 


78  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

On  the  little  verandah  in  front,  the  Catechist  read  and 
sang  and  preached  the  Word.  Hour  after  hour  the 
healing  message  for  the  sin-sick  soul,  and  healing  skill 
for  the  diseased  body,  went  hand  in  hand  ;  and  so  it 
ever  is  in  our  medical  Mission  work.  Later  Dr. 
Buchanan  secured  an  excellent  sight  just  within  the 
city  gates,  and  on  one  of  the  main  thoroughfares,  and 
there  erected  a  serviceable  brick  building.  The  lower 
story  contains  rooms  for  medical  work  and  also  a  hall 
used  daily  for  preaching  to  the  patients  and  on  Sundays 
for  services.  The  upstairs  has  room  for  patients.  It 
was  built  with  subscriptions  raised  by  the  missionaries, 
and  every  brick  represents  sacrifice  and  speaks  of  love 
for  the  sick  and  suffering. 

Ujjain  is  one  of  the  sacred  cities  of  India.  It  had  a 
population  of  about  34,000  and  was  a  peculiarly  needy 
and  therefore  inviting  field  for  medical  work.  Thou- 
sands of  pilgrims  gathered  there  at  certain  seasons  and 
in  consequence  disease  was  rife. 

EDUCATIONAL  WORK 

The  Crying  Need  for  Schools.  It  was  inevitable  that 
the  attention  of  the  missionaries  should  be  early  turned 
to  educational  work.  The  masses  were  almost  en- 
tirely illiterate.  Even  after  nearly  four  decades,  in 
which  the  Mission  has  done  much,  and  the  Native 
States  have  increasingly  encouraged  the  establishment 
of  schools,  the  illiteracy  is  appalling,  only  i  in  20  males, 
and  i  in  330  females,  being  able  to  read  and  write.  In 
the  large  centres  the  youth  were  eager  to  be  taught,  and 
the  school  was  an  ever-open  door  for  the  dissemination 


SOME  STATE  BUILDINGS— INDORE 


GIRLS'  HIGH  SCHOOL— INDORE 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  79 

of  Christian  ideas.  The  value  of  schools  as  a  method  of 
evangelization  has  been  much  discussed  and  the 
almost  universal  verdict  is  favorable  to  the  schools. 
They  have  been  known  by  their  fruits.  The  Edin- 
burgh Conference  Report*  gives  these  in  substance  as 
follows  : 

Fruits  of  Mission  Schools,  (i)  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  best  moral  and  spiritual  influences  of 
Missions  have  emanated  from  the  schools  and  a  great 
part  of  the  harvest  hitherto  reaped  by  evangelization 
has  sprung  from  seeds  sown  by  the  schools. 

(2)  The  most  striking  public  witness  for  Christianity 
in  India  has  been  the  power  Missions  have  exhibited, 
by  means  of  education,  to  raise  the  lowest  classes. 

(3)  In  India,  Missions  have  led  the  way  in  female 
education,   and  have  immensely  raised  the  status  of 
women  in  the  community. 

(4)  Excellent  as  was  the  system  of  education  of  the 
British  Government,  it  was  hampered  by  its  policy  of 
neutrality  and  its  desire  not  even  to  appear  to  interfere 
with  religious  beliefs.     It  has  been  the  particular  glory 
of  Missions  that  their  schools  have  presented  an  all- 
round  educational  ideal  in  which  moral  and  spiritual 
instruction  have  had  their  place. 

(5)  In  the  fusion  of  East  and  West,  "whatever  has 
been  accomplished  in  the  direction  of  realizing  the  fel- 
lowship of  humanity,  and  this  is  one  of  the  greatest 
of  all  human  enterprises, — has  been  accomplished  by 
no  class  of  men  so  much  as  by  the  missionaries ....  and 
while  these  results ....  have  been  due  to  the  missionary 


*Page  365,  Vol.  III.,  "Christian  Education." 


80  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

enterprise  as  a  whole,  there  can  be  no  question  that  in 
bringing  them  about,  missionary  schools  and  colleges 
have  played  a  prominent  part." 

Desire  to  Learn  English.  In  the  large  cities,  the 
desire  to  learn  English  was  very  marked.  Government 
service  was  the  goal  of  many  students,  and  for  this, 
English  was  needed,  But  once  learned,  the  door  of  the 
treasure-house  of  Christian  literature  was  opened.  In 
Mhow,  Indore,  Ujjain  and  Neemuch,  the  little  primary 
schools  rapidly  developed  into  Angles  Vernacular  ;  and 
in  the  case  of  3  of  them,  into  High  Schools.  In 
Indore,  the  High  School  developed  still  further  up  to 
the  full  University  course,  and  the  "Canadian  Mission 
College,*  stands  to-day  as  the  answer  of  the  Christian 
Church  to  the  deep-rooted  craving  of  the  youth  of 
Central  India,  not  only  for  knowledge,  but  also  for 
deliverance  from  false  philosophies,  from  corrupt  moral 
ideas,  and  for  soul-satisfying  views  of  duty  and  of 
God. 

Development  of  Higher  Educational  Work  in  Indore. 
In  May,  1884,  Rev.  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  Wilkie  opened  a 
High  School  in  the  Camp,  Indore.  In  July  the  attend- 
ance had  risen  to  100  per  month.  Compulsory  re- 
ligious instruction  raised  difficulties,  but  these  were  soon 
surmounted,  and  ever  since  the  Bible  has  been  a  regular 
part  of  the  day's  teaching.  This  first  Christian  High 
School  in  Central  India  created  great  interest.  Some 
of  the  native  Officials  looked  askance  at  it.  Some 
frankly  welcomed  it.  Some  European  Officers  and 

The  name  has  recently  been  changed  to  "The  Indore  Christian 
College,'' 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  8 1 

business  men  in  other  places  aided  by  scholarships,  and 
before  long  the  local  British  authorities  sanctioned  a 
substantial  monthly  grant.  The  ground  was  won,  and 
it  remained  for  the  institution  to  prove  itself  indispensa- 
ble in  the  community.  It  was  not  long  until  Dr. 
Wilkie  was  urged  to  start  a  "First  Arts  Class,"  i.e.,  to 
develop  the  High  School  into  a  College  teaching  up  to 
the  second  year  of  University  work.  Lack  of  room 
made  the  plan  impossible.  The  demand  for  such  a 
College  increased,  and. in  1888  a  First  Arts  College  was 
opened  in  affiliation  with  Calcutta  University.  This 
was  the  first  institution  of  such  a  grade  in  Central  India. 
In  1893  it  became  a  First  Grade  College,  teaching  up 
to  the  B.A.  degree.  An  event  of  prime  importance 
was  the  opening  of  the  spacious  new  College  Building 
on  November  22nd,  1895,  by  Col.  Barr,  the  Agent  to  the 
Governor-General  in  Central  India.  This  fine  struc- 
ture is  well  situated  near  the  Railway  Station,  and  is 
central  to  the  life  of  the  great  city  of  Indore. 

Such  is  the  outline  of  the  growth  of  the  College.  It 
is  a  monument  to  the  persistent  energy  and  enthusiasm 
of  Dr.  Wilkie.  Many  difficulties  were  met  and  over- 
come in  its  erection,  and  all  the  time  the  College  classes 
had  to  be  kept  up  in  an  efficient  manner.  With  the 
completion  of  the  building,  it  was  possible  to  organize 
the  general  work  of  the  institution  and  the  related 
activities  with  some  comfort  and  satisfaction  to  those 
in  charge.  The  growth  of  the  class  lists  in  recent  years 
has  shown  the  wisdom  of  making  generous  plans  in  the 
pioneer  days,  and  laying  large  the  foundations. 


82  IN   THE   HEART    OF   INDIA 

Women's  Work  for  the  Girls  of  Central  India.     In 

the  work  of  female  education  in  Central  India,  the 
Mission  has  been  conspicuous  from  the  very  beginning. 
Everywhere  that  opportunity  afforded,  the  ladies, 
married  and  single,  put  their  hands  to  this  work  ;  but 
more  often  they  forced  the  doors  of  opportunity. 
They  boldly  challenged  the  right  of  India  to  keep  her 
daughters  in  darkness,  and  knocked  loudly  at  the  doors 
of  age-long  prejudice  and  contempt  for  the  intellectual 
and  spiritual  powers  of  womankind.  It  was  theirs  to 

"Hear  a  clear  voice  calling,  calling, 

Calling  out  of  the  night 
Oh  you  who  live  in  the  Light  of  Life, 
Bring  us  the  Light." 

The  difficulties  to  be  surmounted  were  many. 
Many  Hindus  thought,  or  wanted  to  think,  that  women 
were  incapable  of  education.  It  was  said  that  the  do- 
mestic virtues  of  India's  women  would  suffer  if  educa- 
tion were  introduced.  Now,  young  men  who  have 
even  a  smattering  of  education,  want  their  wives  to  be 
educated  ;  and  a  wise  Mission  policy  demanded  that 
female  education  should  keep  pace,  so  far  as  possible, 
with  that  for  males. 

Difficulties  Overcome.  In  the  actual  working  ot 
Girls'  Schools  the  difficulties  that  confront  the  teacher 
would  appal  any  one  not  possessed  of  a  great  faith  in 
God  and  a  great  love  for  India's  womanhood.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  insist  on  regularity  and  punctual- 
ity, for  the  homes  from  which  the  children  come  know 
little  of  these  virtues  ;  and  just  when  the  teacher,  with 


BEGINNINGS    OF   THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  83 

much  patience  and  pains,  has  brought  the  girls  to  a 
stage  when  their  education  begins  to  be  of  real  use  to 
them,  they  are  removed  from  school.  The  marriage- 
able age  has  been  reached,  and  the  disappointed  teacher 
sees  the  girls  whom  she  has  learned  to  love,  removed 
from  her  influence,  and  often  taken  away  to  distant 
homes  where  there  will  be  little  chance  to  improve  the 
mind. 

Violent  Opposition.  Girls'  schools  had  their  share 
of  violent  opposition  also  in  the  early  years.  In  Indore 
city,  toleration  for  girls  schools  was  only  attained  after 
serious  difficulties.  An  Indian  Magistrate  had  for 
some  time  been  trying  to  close  the  Girls'  School  in  this 
neighborhood,  and  had  been  guilty  of  a  series  of  petty 
persecutions,  until  it  was  thought  best  to  rent  another 
house  at  a  distance.  The  zealous  official  found  this  out, 
however,  and  continued  his  persecutions.  A  sejaoy 
was  sent  to  break  open  the  door  of  the  school  and  remove 
all  Christian  books.  This  was  a  clear  case  of  theft  and 
it  was  thought  necessary  to  take  a  decided  course.  A 
complaint  was  made  to  the  Magistrate  in  the  vicinity 
who  took  up  the  matter  warmly.  Indian  friends  ad- 
vised that  an  appeal  should  be  made  to  the  Prime 
Minister,  who  was  an  enlightened  and  liberal  man.  He 
immediately  took  such  measures  that  the  offenders 
were  brought  to  justice,  and  the  result  of  his  interference 
was  most  beneficial  to  the  work. 

Provoked  Unto  Good  Works.  One  result  of  the 
Girls'  Schools  was  that  others  were  provoked  unto 
good  works.  A  striking  illustration  of  this  was  seen 
in  Ujjain.  After  the  ladies  had  carried  on  their  schools 


84  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

for  some  years,  the  Durbar  announced  the  opening  of  a 
State  School  for  Girls,  which  would  be  liberally  sup- 
ported, and  to  which  the  people  were  urged  to  send  their 
girls.  Men  were  sent  to  every  street  taking  the  names 
of  the  girls,  small  rewards  were  given  every  day,  and 
liberal  grants  of  clothing  were  made  to  the  children, 
and  there  was  the  additional  inducement  that  there 
would  be  no  danger  of  children  becoming  Christian. 
Naturally  the  Mission  schools  suffered  in  attendance. 
But  this  misplaced  generosity  could  not  last.  The 
sequel  is  interesting.  In  that  same  city  a  Christian 
woman  has  been  for  years  a  trusted  teacher  in  one  of 
the  State  Girls'  Schools,  while  in  other  places  Christian 
women  have  been  similarly  employed. 

Girls'  High  School,  Indore.  Female  education  has 
been  most  fully  developed  in  Indore,  where  there  is  now 
a  good  High  School,  teaching  all  grades  up  to  Univer- 
sity Entrance.  Early  in  the  Mission's  history,  in  1887, 
Miss  Rodger  began  a  Boarding  School  with  a  class  of 
three  Christian  girls  whom  she  received  into  her  own 
bungalow.  The  number  grew,  and  no  suitable  ac- 
commodation being  available,  the  girls  were  sent  to  the 
Boarding  School  in  Nasirabad,  which  was  carried  on 
by  the  Scotch  Mission  adjoining  our  Mission  on  the 
north. 

In  1889  Miss  Harris  was  sent  out  from  Toronto,  and, 
in  Neemuch  the  following  year,  reopened  the  Boarding 
School.  But  Miss  Harris'  health  broke. down,  and  she 
died  at  London  on  her  way  home  to  Canada.  In  the 
meantime  a  fine  commodious  building  was  being  erected 
in  Indore.  Miss  Jean  Sinclair,  (now  Mrs.  J.  S.  Mac- 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  85 

Kay)  was  put  in  charge,  and  began  work  in  the  still 
unfinished  building  with  about  twenty  Christian  girl 
boarders.  The  idea  of  training  the  girls  for  domestic 
duties  was  never  lost  sight  of.  The  school  grew  stead- 
ily in  numbers  and  importance.  When  the  Great 
Famine  came,  the  capacity  of  the  school  was  more  than 
taxed,  about  two  hundred  of  the  brightest  of  the  orphan 
girls  being  sent  there. 

Recognized  as  a  High  School  by  Government.  In 
1898  the  Boarding  School,  having  been  for  some  years 
inspected  annually  by  the  Government  Inspector  of 
Schools,  was  recognized  as  a  High  School  in  affiliation 
with  Calcutta  University,  and  the  next  year  one  of  the 
Christian  girls,  who  had  received  all  her  education  in 
the  school,  appeared  for  the  Entrance  Examination  to 
Calcutta  University,  and  failed  in  only  one  subject. 
It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  as  early  as  1894  a  branch 
of  the  Indian  Y.W.C.A.  was  organized  in  the  Boarding 
School,  the  second  Indian  Christian  Girls'  Branch  in 
all  India.  It  was  a  source  of  blessing  to  many,  and  the 
girls,  for  many  years,  raised  by  self-denying  effort,  a 
contribution  in  aid  of  the  work  for  lepers. 

Communities  Influenced.  Other  activities  of  the 
early  years  can  be  only  briefly  referred  to  in  this  chapter. 
The  influence  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  was  manifested 
in  many  ways.  Time  and  again  whole  communities 
were  strongly  moved.  Great  mass  movements  in 
various  parts  of  India  are  to-day  sweeping  thousands 
into  the  fold  of  the  Christian  Church.  Our  pioneer 
missionaries  were  early  confronted  with  these  move- 
ments. But,  like  the  flowing  and  ebbing  tides  of  the 


J 


86  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

great  ocean,  there  were  fluctuations.  Sometimes  the 
hearts  of  the  missionaries  would  be  greatly  encouraged 
by  what  seemed  to  be  genuine  spiritual  movements. 
In  the  city  of  old  Neemuch  the  meh£ars,  or  sweeper 
caste,  became  deeply  interested.  One  of  them  who 
had  been  practically  blind  for  four  years  was  given 
the  use  of  his  eyes.  He  brought  his  friends  with  him 
to  the  daily  services  which  were  held  at  the  dispensary. 
Then  meetings  were  held  in  their  mohulla.  Night  after 
night  intense  interest  was  shown.  The  people  professed 
great  joy  and  repeatedly  declared  their  readiness  to 
abandon  heathenism  and  to  follow  Christ,  Finally 
they  were  asked  to  bring  out  their  idols  and  break  them 
in  the  presence  of  the  missionaries.  They  went  to  do 
so,  but  returned^sayin^  that  thejr  whresjwpuld-riot  give 
.TEem  up.  Ifjthey^became  Christians  they  would  come 
all  together,  but  the  women  hesitated  wEen  it  was  seen 
to  mean  a  "clean  cut"  with  idols  and  idolatrous  rites. 
The  lady  missionaries  began  systematic  instruction 
oFthe  women,  BuTthe  tide  had  turned.  Thejwomen 
had  won  the  day,  and  the  emancipation  of  that  despised 
down-trodden  community  was,  for  a  time  at  least, 
deferred. 

A  few  years  later  in  Ujjain  a  section  of  that  same 
community  became  much  interested,  first  in  the  dis- 
pensary meetings,  and  then  in  the  regular  services. 
So  marked  was  this,  that  many  of  the  high  castes  raised 
the  old  complaint  laid  against  the  Master,  that  the 
missionaries  were  ' '  receiving  sinners ' ' — out  castes .  The 
work  of  the  school  was  seriously  threatened  on  this 
account  ;  and  then,  through  some  mysterious  influence, 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  87 

they  entirely  ceased  coming  to  any  of  the  meetings. 

Downtrodden  so  long,  the  threats,  doubtless,  of  the 

higher  castes  drove  them  away  from  the  door  of  Hope. 

The    "  Mang  "    Movement   in    Indore.     In    Indore 

in   1892   a  similar  caste  movement  began  among  the 

Mangs  —  a  community  of  very  poor  people,  low  down 

in  the  social  scale.     A  school  had  been  in  existence  for 

some  time,  and  was  well  attended  by  both  boys  and 

~ 


girls.  jUM~K^in~SingEu  aT  Christian  convert  from 
North  India,  gave  himself  to  this  community,  and  so 
faithfully  presented  the  truths  of  Christianity,  that  the 
whole  caste  was  profoundly  stirred,  and  over  three 
hundred  declared  their  purpose  to  become  followers  of 
Jesus  Christ.  At  first  the  force  of  the  movement  was 
not  realized  by  the  caste  itself,  but  soon  all  the  powers 
of  evil  seemed  to  join  forces  to  check  it.  Wives  in- 
clined towards  Christianity  were  shut  up  as  close 
prisoners,  wives  and  children  were  taken  from  husbands 
looking  in  the  same  direction. 

Social  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  caste  people 
was  forbidden.  Indeed  all  that  seemed  formerly  to 
make  up  the  sum  total  of  their  circumscribed  lives,  was 
snatched  away  from  the  enquirers.  Their  caste  people 
from  all  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages  were  called 
together,  and  in  solemn  conclave  it  was  decided  that 
all  who  were  looking  toward  Christianity  should  be 
refused  any  share  in  the  perquisites  that  fell  to  the  lot 
of  the  Mang  caste  during  the  wedding  celebrations 
among  the  higher  castes  ;  for,  as  the  drum  beaters  and 
trumpet  blowers  on  such  occasions,  the  Mangs  received 
a  share  of  the  food  provided  for  the  marriage  feasts. 


88  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

This  was  only  one  of  the  methods  adopted  to  bring 
the  waverers  into  line.  Becoming  Christians,  for  these 
people,  meant  the  overturning  of  their  whole  social 
fabric,  for  the  old  life  was  inseparately  bound  up  with 
idolatrous  practices.  The  social  life  of  caste  crushes 
out  individual  action.^  No  wonder  these  people  come, 
when  they  do  come,  in  the  mass.  To  baptize  such  and 
receive  them  into  the  Christian  Brotherhood,  is  a  great 
responsibility.  After  a  time  of  probation  a  goodly 
number  were  received  by  baptism  into  the  Christian 
Church  at  Indore  ;  and  from  time  to  time  others  have 
been  added  to  the  Church  from  the  same  community. 

This  movement  has  not  fulfilled  all  the  hopes  that 
were  entertained  in  its  beginnings.  Possibly  the  stress 
of  other  work,  and  the  fewness  of  the  workers,  prevented 
the  giving  of  all  the  care  that  was  demanded.  The 
great  famine  of  1898  dealt  sorely  with  the  newly  enrolled 
Christians.  Many  were  scattered  abroad.  But  from 
that  despised  community,  some,  both  men  and  women, 
grew  to  be  us^fuH:eachers  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel. 

Industrial  Home  grew  out  of  Mass  Movement.  One 
direct  result  of  this  movement  was  the  establishing  of 
an  Industrial  Home  in  1893,  the  support  of  which  was 
undertaken  by  the  congregation  of  Indore.  The  social 
upheaval  among  the  Mangs  made  it  necessary  that  the 
Christian  community  should  care  for  the  women  and 
girls  rendered  homeless.  From  this  beginning  has 
grown  a  "Home"  which  has  been  a  helper  to  the  whole 
Mission  Field  of  Central  India.  ]\Jrs.  Johpry  has  been 
its  presiding  genius,  and  has  rendered  a  service  FcT the 
Indian  Church  which  has  been  invaluable,  Quiet  and 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  89 

unostentatious,  she  has  been  a  succorer  of  many. 
Industrial  work,  such  as  weaving,  knitting,  and  sewing 
were  combined  with  ordinary  educational  work  ;  and 
the  training  has  been  such  that  those  who  have  gone 
forth  from  the  "Home"  to  houses  of  their  own  have 
helped  to  spread  abroad  the  Light  which  is  emanci- 
pating  India's  women. 

Residence  in  Native  States.  One  of  the  most 
delicate  problems  confronting  the  Mission  throughout 
the  whole  course  of  its  work,  has  been  that  of  residence 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Native  States.  In  Mhow, 
Indore,  and  Neemuch,  the  stations  occupied  previous 
to  1885,  the  missionaries  were  resident  on  land  under 
British  jurisdiction.  But  when  the  time  came  to 
launch  out  and  seek  permission  to  live  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Native  Rulers,  and  secure  land  for  permanent 
residence  there,  it  was  evident  that  new  problems  would 
have  to  be  faced.  There  was  (i)  the  fact  that  ordinar- 
ily land  in  Native  States  is  held  directly  by  the  State, 
making  it  necessary  for  the  Mission  to  deal  directly  with 
the  Indian  Princes  or  their  Durbars,  instead  of  securing 
land  by  private  purchase.  (2)  The  Indian  Rulers  are, 
not  unnaturally,  somewhat  timid  about  the  entrance  of 
foreigners,  as  permanent  residents,  into  their  territories, 
because  of  possible  difficulties  in  the  matter  of  juris- 
diction. British  law  in  India  makes  it  impossible 
for  a  British  subject  to  be  entirely  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  a  Native  State,  and  even  where  a  missionary  might 
be  perfectly  willing  to  renounce  his  rights,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  Government  would  consent  to  any  one 
occupying  such  a  position,  because  of  its  prestige  as  the 


go  IN   THE    HEART   OF   INDIA 

suzerain  power.  This  is  a  problem,  the  solution  of 
which  does  not  lie  within  the  power  of  the  individual 
missionary.  (3)  From  the  standpoint  of  the  mission- 
ary it  is  extremely  desirable  that  his  residence  in  the 
Native  State  should  be  with  the  cordial  assent  of  those 
in  authority,  and  therefore  no  step  should  be  taken 
which  even  appears  to  force  their  hands  by  official 
influence.  They  much  prefer  to  have  the  missionary 
deal  directly  with  them,  and  not  to  approach  them 
through  the  resident  British  Political  Officer  ;  and  it  is 
generally  the  case  that  Political  Officers  are  of  a  similar 
mind. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  begin  Work  in  Rutlam. 
In  1885,  the  first  steps  were  taken  for  the  definite 
occupation  of  Native  territory  ;  and  as  was  fitting,  the 
most  experienced  missionaries,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell, 
were  chosen  for  the  work.  They  had  just  returned 
from  their  first  furlough,  fresh  and  strong  for  work,  and 
all  their  physical  powers  and  all  their  patience  of  hope 
were  needed  for  the  testing  days  that  lay  before  them. 
Their  hearts  were  drawn  to  Rutlam,  the  capital  of  the 
Native  State  of  that  name.  Their  reception  there  had 
been  encouraging  on  their  first  visit  in  1879  (when  Dr. 
Campbell  gained  permission  to  carry  on  Christian  work 
in  the  State)  and  on  subsequent  visits.  As  soon  as 
possible  after  returning  from  furlough,  Dr.  Campbell 
revisited  it  and  had  interviews  with  the  authorities, 
from  which  he  understood  that  they  would  be  willing 
to  have  him  open  a  mission  station,  but  that  the 
"punches "*  would  also  need  to  be  consulted.  This  the 

*The  local  authority  within  the  "caste." 


BEGINNINGS    OF   THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  QI 

Dewan  promised  to  do.  Dr.  Campbell  brought  the 
matter  before  the  Mission  Council,  explaining  the 
situation,  and  Council  accepted  his  offer  to  move  to 
Rutlam.  After  touring  over  and  revisiting  some  of  the 
outlying  districts,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  arrived  in 
Rutlam  on  February  8th,  1886.  Then  they  got  the 
depressing  news  that  the  authorities  did  not  wish  them 
to  make  Rutlam  a  Mission  Station,  though  they  would 
be  pleased  to  have  them  come  for  a  few  weeks  at  a  time 
or  to  come  and  live  there  without  carrying  on  Mission 
work. 

Dr.  Campbell  replied  to  the  Dewan  that  he  had 
waited  in  vain  for  his  promised  intimation  of  the 
punches'  attitude,  had  taken  silence  as  consent,  had 
accordingly  been  appointed  to  Rutlam,  and  that  the 
appointment  had  been  intimated  to  the  Church  in 
Canada,  and  now  that  they  had  come,  it  was  too  late  to 
say  that  the  punches  objected. 

They  pitched  their  two  small  tents  in  the  grove  shown 
them,  and  were  thus  afforded  shelter  for  a  time.  They 
tried  to  rent,  and  then  to  buy,  a  property,  but  the  owner 
after  agreeing,  drew  back,  saying  he  was  forbidden. 
They  moved  about  among  the  people  who  seemed 
friendly.  The  month  of  March  that  year  was  un- 
usually hot,  and  they  felt  the  heat  in  tents  greatly. 
Early  in  April  through  an  Indian  friend,  they  secured 
a  small  house  in  the  city  and  went  into  it  though  with  a 
good  deal  of  misgiving  as  to  whether  or  not  they  could 
stand  it.  There  was  no  way  of  keeping  the  hot  wind 
out,  the  rooms  were  tiny,  and  there  was  no  ground 
around  it.  Even  the  lane  in  front  was  very  narrow. 


02  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

But  this  was  our  Mission's  first  attempt  at  occupying 
purely  Native  territory  ;  and  the  missionaries  realized 
how  much  depended  on  their  gaining  an  entrance  to 
/  Rutlam,  and  that  even  a  te^n^oraryjetreat  at  that  time 
!  might  permanently__mjure  the  cause  of  Missions.  If 
Rutlam  f ailed Jx)  receivejthem,  it_would  be  a  precedent 
for  other  States  to  follow,  and  all  doors  might  be  shut. 
The  missionaries,  therefore,  preferred  putting  up  with 
discomfort  rather  than  bring  the  matter  before  the 
British  authorities.  They  rented  the  native  house  for  a 
year,  paying  six  months'  rent  in  advance.  It  was  well 
they  did  so,  else  they  would  probably  have  been  turned 
out.  The  weeks  and  months  went  on.  There  was  more 
to  try  them  than  merely  the  uncomfortable  house  and 
its  surroundings,  but  they  thought  it  wise  to  keep 
quiet,  and  neither  friends  at  home  nor  their  Indian 
J  neighbors  knew  all  it  cost  them.  Every  care  was  taken 
that  even  in  the  household  arrangements  there  should 
be  no  offence  to  Indian  prejudices.  Gradually  as  the 
people  about  became  more  friendly  and  gained  con- 
fidence, they  felt  less  restricted.  About  six  months 
after  their  arrival  the  Dewan  met  Dr.  Campbell  and 
said  to  him  :  "Well,  since  you  seem  determined  to 
remain,  there  is  no  use  in  our  making  you  uncomfort- 
able," to  which  sentiment  Dr.  Campbell  agreed. 

Later  on  the  Political  Agent,  Col.  Martin,  visited 
Rutlam  with  his  family  and  was  very  friendly,  and  let 
the  authorities  know  that  he  would  be  very  favorable  to 
the  missionaries  getting  a  settlement  there.  Dr. 
Campbell  had  previously  seen  him,  and  asked  him  not 
to  do  or  say  anything  officially,  as  they  did  not  wish 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION  S    HISTORY  93 

either  the  authorities  or  the  people  to  feel  that  the 
Mission  had  been  forced  upon  them.  Early  in  1887 
they  were  allowed  to  rent  from  the  State  pait  of  the 
Dak  or  Travellers'  Bungalow,  and  their  position  was 
thus  officially  recognized.  '  Residence  there  was  a 
delightful  change  from  the  house  in  the  foul-smelling, 
crowded  city  street,  which  was  their  abode  for  the  first 
year. 

Some  months  elapsed  before  His  Highness  the  Rajah 
kindly  consented  to  sell  a  site  on  which  to  build,  a  site 
which  is  a  most  desirable  situation  for  Mission  premises. 
The  settlement  of  the  Mission  in  Rutlam  was  gained, 
subject  to  no  hampering  conditions  as  to  work,  which 
was  cause  for  gratitude  to  God,  by  whose  permission 
Princes  rule,  and  who  willeth  that  all  men  should  be 
saved  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth. 

Ujjain,  the  Holy  City,  Occupied.  Additions  to  the 
Mission  staff  made  possible  a  further  advance  in  1887. 
Ujjain,  the  "Sacred  City,"  in  the  territory  of  Gwalior 
State,  had  as  yet  no  resident  missionary,  though 
Indian  helpers  had  worked  there  for  several  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray  were  appointed,  but  had  to  live 
in  Indore  40  miles  away,  as  no  accommodation  was 
available.  Before  the  year  was  done,  both  were  called 
to  Service  in  the  presence  of  their  Lord,  the  first  of  the 
now  long  roll  of  those  who  have  laid  down  their  lives 
for  Central  India's  redemption. 

They  came  from  Pictou  County,  Nova  Scotia,  the 
county  which  has  given  the  Church  of  Christ  so  many 
noble  servants,  and  among  them  all,  Robert  Murray 
and  Charlotte  Wilson  hold  no  inconspicuous  place. 


94  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

They  were  cut  off  in  the  very  beginning  of  their  career. 
Their  bodies  rest  together  in  the  beautiful  little  ceme- 
tery at  Indore. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Buchanan  stepped  into  the  breach,  and 
Ujjain  became  theirs  to  win  for  Christ.  From  1888 
to  1892  they  had  no  certain  dwelling  place.  Sometimes 
in  tents,  sometimes  Mrs.  Buchanan  in  Mhow  50  miles 
away  and  the  Doctor  living  in  a  native  house  in  the 
crowded  city  ;  sometimes  having  respite  from  discom- 
fort in  a  rented  bungalow,  but  always  healing  and  teach- 
ing the  people,  they  won  their  way  through.  Land  to 
build  was  given,  and  a  comfortable  house  erected. 

But  why  these  struggles  for  land  some  may  ask,  when 
He  whom  we  serve,  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head. 
Can  the  missionaries  not  be  content  to  be  "pilgrims" 
and  "strangers"  in  India,  to  be  apostolic  (?)  in  their 
labors,  live  as  do  the  people  of  the  land,  and  thus  avoid 
all  the  criticism  to  which  their  present  policy  exposes 
them  ?  To  those  who  know  Indian  conditions,  the 
apostolic  answer  is  sufficient  :  "To  abide  in  the  flesh 
is  more  needful.  ..."  With  all  the  care  that  can  be 
taken,  there  is  still  an  alarming  wastage  of  the  mission- 
ary forces,  due  to  breakdowns  of  health. 

Friendly  attitude  of  Indian  Rulers.  But  the  Mission 
has  had  experiences  of  a  different  character  from  these. 
Some  of  the  Rulers  of  Central  India  have  from,  the  first 
been  sympathetic.  One  of  the  most  interesting  in. con- 
nection with  our  Mission  history,  was  the  late  Mahara- 
jah of  Dhar.  His  tolerant  spirit  may  be  seen  in  the 
fact  that,  even  before  a  Mission  station  was  opened  in 
his  State,  on  the  occasion  of  the  proclamation  of  Queen 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION'S    HISTORY  95 

Victoria  as  Empress  of  India,  he  asked  a  missionary, 
who  happened  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony,  to  engage 
in  prayer. 

Influences  Leading  to  the  Opening  of  Dhar  as  a 
Station.  Many  convergent  lines  of  influence  were  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  opening  of  this  Native  State  to  the 
Gospel  messengers.  One  of  the  smaller  kingdoms,  it  had 
been  kept  intact  by  British  intervention.  Some  of  its 
officials  had  reaped  the  benefits  of,  and  had  learned  to_ 
appreciate,  women's  medical  skill,  their  families  in  some 
cases  having  gone  to  Indore  for  medical  treatment. 
The  Maharajah  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
work  of  Girls'  Schools,  and  had  on  one  occasion  when 
in  Indore,  invited  Miss  Sinclair  and  her  pupils  to  his 
residence  that  he  might  hear  the  children  sing,  and  ex- 
pressed his  pleasure  at  what  he  heard.  The  mission- 
aries, moreover,  had  often  visited  the  State  where  they 
were  always  well  received.  On  one  occasion  Dr. 
Campbell  was  introduced  to  his  audience  by  the  Super- 
intendent of  Education,  Mr.  Dike,  a  Brahman,  in  words 
of  profound  appreciation  of  the  Christian  message. 

In  the  autumn  of  1894,  Revs.  Norman  and  Frank 
Russell  accompanied  by  other  helpers,  camped  for  some 
weeks  outside  the  walls  of  the  capital  city  of  Dhar,  and 
night  after  night  great  crowds  flocked  to  their  tents  to 
hear  the  preaching,  In  the  mornings,  the  various  parts 
of  the  city  were  visited,  and  so  general  was  the  interest 
aroused  that  it  was  estimated  that  the  whole  population 
of  the  city  of  17,000  inhabitants  must  have  heard  the 
Gospel,  some  of  them  several  times.  The  missionaries 
were  summoned  to  the  palace  to  preach  and  sing  the 


96  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Christian  hymns  there.  One  evening  they  were  asked 
to  speak  in  the  State  School,  and  nearly  all  the  officials 
and  educated  young  men  of  the  city  were  present. 
Addresses  were  given  in  English  and  Hindi,  and  one  of 
the  officials  asked  permission  to  repeat  the  substance 
of  the  address  in  Mar  at  hi,  the  mother-tongue  of  many 
of  them. 

Thus  a  temporary  visit  had  resulted  in   the    Gospel 

I  being  preached  and_heard  gladly  from  the  humblest 
portion  of  the  city  right  up  to  the  throne.     But  what 

-  would  happen  when  the  Mission  proposed  settling  there 
permanently  and  opening  a  station  ?  The  opening 
out  of  a  station  is  like  the  staking  of  a  claim,  and  it  is  a 
claim, — the  claiming  of  that  place  for  Jesus  Christ. 
To  the  people  it  is  the  unfurling  of  the  banner  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  an  indication  that  the  casual  visitors  have 
come  to  stay,  and  to  be  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity. And  it  is  just  here  that  many  Indian  Rulers 
hesitate.  It  means  the  permanent  entrance  of  persons 
who  are  not,  and  cannot  be,  in  all  points,  subject  to 
their  authority.  They  dislike  alienating  their  land  to 
foreigners  who  cannot  become  their  subjects. 
'•  It  was  with  some  hesitancy,  therefore,  that  the  mis- 
sionaries sought  an  interview  with  the  Maharajah  to  lay 
before  him  their  plans)  They  were  referred  to  the 
Minister  of  State,  and  on  entering  his  office  they  noted 
as  a  good  omen  that  a  Christian  Bible  was  lying  on  his 
desk,  (jf he  missionaries  frankly  presented  their  re- 
-  quest  telling  of  their  interest  in  Dhar,  and  adding,  that 
a  lady  doctor  would  be  included  in  the  staff.  As  no 
immediate  answer  could  be  given,  the  missionaries 


BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    MISSION  S    HISTORY  97 

began  to  look  for  sites  for  opening  work,  and  modestly 
selected  an  unoccupied  piece  of  land  some  distance  from 
the  city  wall.  The  lady  doctor  decided  to  go  ahead  and 
open  a  dispensary  and  work  in  the  city  and  surrounding 
villages.  On  July  8,  1895,  Dr.  Margaret  0' Kara  began 
:work  in  Dhar  as  the  first  resident  missionary,  having  ' 
rented,  for  a  time,  partToTthe  Travellers'  Bungalow,  the 
only  place  available.  So,  alone  in  a  non-Christian  city, 
thirty  miles  from  the  "nearest  European,  she  began  to 
minister,  ~not^6nly_to  the  bodily  needs  of  the  women, 
but  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  airclags.ejg^f ^jbhe^cornrnunity. 
It  was  not  long  before  the  male  missionary  appointed, 
Mr.  F.  H.  Russell,  was  called  to  make  final  arrange- 
ments for  handing  over  the  necessary  land  for  buildings. 
By  the  Maharaiah's_ personal  choice,  jm_excellent_site 
was  given  quite  close  to  the  city.  In  spite  of  his  palsied 
frame,  he  had  traversed  the  roads  and  paths  inspecting 
every  available  site,  and  finally  selected  the  best 
possible.  After  himself  paying  the  owner  one  thousand 
rupees  compensation,  he  handed  over  the  land  as  a  free 
gift  to  the  Mission. 

One  day  the  lady  doctor  was  considerably  disturbed 
to  hear  that  the  Maharajah  was  delaying  to  sign  the 
deed  of  gift  until  he  had  a  promise  from  her.  "What," 
she  asked  herself,  "can  it  be  ?  Surely  he  does  not  want 
me  to  promise  not  to  preach  the  Gospel  ?"  Thank 
God,  it  was  no  such  demand,  but  a  request  for  a  promise 
that  was  only  too  willingly  granted,  a  request  that 
showed  the  difficulty  with  which  they  understood  the 
Christian's  complete  indifference  to  caste  ;  he  wished_^ 
to  have  the  promise  that  all  comers  to  the  women's 


98  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

.hospital,  rich  and  poor,  and  of  every  caste,  would  be 
treated  alike.* 

The  speed  with  which  this  station  was  opened 
established  a  record  in  our  work.  Within  six  weeks  of 
the  first  arrival  of  a  resident  missionary  in  the  station, 
sites  were  granted,  buildings,  started,  and  almost  every 
branch  of  the  work  established.  In  the  years  that 
followed,  and  under  the  rule  of  the  present  young 
Maharajah,  the  friendly  and  sympathetic  attitude  to- 
ward the  Mission  has  been  maintained. 

The  end  of  the  second  decade  of  the  Mission's  His- 
tory saw  work  well  established  in  six  centres,  three  of 
which  were  within  Native  State  territory.  Phases  of 
work,  other  than  those  already  outlined  which  had  their 
beginnings  in  these  early  years,  will  be  described  in 
another  chapter.  At  the  close  of  1896  there  were 

k  eleven  nmlgjnksjonaries  and~eighteen  lady  missionaries, 
a_tota^,^cludkig...w.Lves i  of  missionaries,  of  forty  on  the 
Canadian  Staff. 


*The  story  of  the  opening  of  Dhar  has  been  told  with  literary 
skill  and  enthusiasm  in  "Village  Work  in  India"  by  the  late  N.  H. 
Russell. 


THE  WIDENING   WORK 


"The  only  thing  that  will  save  the  Church  from  the 
imminent  perils  of  growing  luxury  and  materialism,  is 
the  putting  forth  of  all  its  powers  on  behalf  of  the  world 
without  Christ ....  The  Church  needs  a  Supreme  World 
purpose — a  gigantic  task,  something  that  will  call  forth 
all  its  energies,  something  too  great  for  men  to  accom- 
plish, and  therefore,  something  which  will  throw  the 
Church  back  upon  God  Himself." 

— DR.  JOHN  R.  MOTT. 


In  the  secret  of  His  presence  how  my  soul  delights  to  hide. 
Oh,  how  precious  are  the  moments  which  I  spend  at  Jesus'  side; 
Earthly  cares  can  never  vex  me,  neither  trials  lay  me  low  : 
For  when  Satan  conies  to  tempt  me,  to  the  secret  place  I  go. 

When  my  soul  is  faint  and  thirsty,  'neath  the  shadow  of  His  wing, 
There  is  cool  and  pleasant  shelter,  and  a  fresh  and  crystal  spring  ; 
And  my  Saviour  rests  beside  me,  as  we  hold  communion  sweet; 
If  I  tried,  I  could  not  utter  what  He  says,  when  thus  we  meet. 

Only  this  I  know  :  I  tell  Him  all  my  doubts  and  griefs  and  fears  ; 
Oh,  how  patiently  He  listens  and  my  drooping  heart  He  cheers  ; 
Do  you  think  He  ne'er  reproves  me  ?  What  a  false  friend  He  would 

be, 
If  He  never,  never  told  me  of  the  sins  which  He  must  see. 

Would  you  like  to  know  the  sweetness  of  the  secret  of  the  Lord  ? 
Go  and  hide  beneath  the  shadow — this  shall  then  be  your  reward; 
And  whene'er  you  leave  the  silence  of  that  happy  meeting  place, 
You  will  bear  the  shining  image  of  the  Master  in  your  face. 

-ELLEN  LAKSHMI  GOREH,  daughter  of   Nehemiah  Goreh,  pioneer 
Evangelist  to  Central  India. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  WIDENING  WORK 

Times  of  Stress  :  Famine.  There  are  outstanding 
events  in  the  History  of  Central  India  from  which  the 
common  people  reckon  the  years.  With  the  older  ones, 
it  was  the  "Great  Mutiny."  Now,  it  is  the  "Great 
Famine."  The  horror  of  it  hovers  over  the  land  still 
as  a  sad  memory.  jn^iSg;,  the  Eastern  part  of  the 
Agency  was  visited  by  a  severe  famine,  which  only 
Malwabhe  area  in  which  the 


Mission  was  at  work  ;  but  the  work  of  the  Mission  -v  » 
itself  was  profoundly  influenced.  An  area  of  36,000 
square  rrnTelTwas  affected  by~~famine,  and  systematic 
measures  of  relief  were  inaugurated  by  Government. 
The  total  number  who  came  to  the  relief  works  was 
2,900,000,  an  average  of  320,000  persons  daily.  Mis- 
sions in  that  vicinity  rendered  every  possible  aid  to 
Government,  but  so  appalling  was  the  distress  that  the 
local  missionaries  appealed  to  our  Mission  to  help. 
The  result  was  that  great  numbers  of  starving  children, 
most  of  them  orphans,  were  brought  to  the  several 
stations  of  our  Mission.  Such  accommodation  as  was 
possible  was  provided,  and  the  strength  and  time  of 
many  Missionaries  and  Indian  Jielpers  were  given  to 
this  new  and  pressing  work.  iTwo  years  later,  1899- 
1900,  Malwa  itself,  in  which  famines  rarely  occurred, 
and  which  is  noted  for  the  extraordinary  power  of 
retaining  moisture  possessed  by  its  soil,  was  visited 

101 


102  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

by  the  most  terrible  famine  in  all  its  history.  The  area 
over  which  famine  prevailed  was  47,700  square  miles, 
or  60%  of  the  total  area  of  the  Central  India  agency, 
and  the  cost  to  the  Native  States  was  148  lakhs*  of 
Rupees.  The  results  of  that  famine  are  still  apparent. 
In  hundreds  of  villages  large  numbers  of  ruined  houses 
are  to  be  seen,  which  the  villagers  explain  as  relics  of 
Chhapan  Ka  Sal,  i.e.,  of  "the  year  56"  (1956  being  the 
Hindu  year  corresponding  to  A.D.  1899.)  Much  land 
was  then  abandoned  also  which  has  not  yet  been  fully 
reoccupied.  During  those  terrible  days  the  prices  of 
food  grain  often  rose  over  100%.  Jowar  sold  at  10 
seers  (i  seer  =  2  Ibs.)  per  rupee,  instead  of  24  to  30 
seers  per  rupee  ;  wheat  at  8  seers,  instead  of  15  per 
rupee,  and  other  grain  similarly.  Of  the  mortality,  no 
accurate  figures  are  available,  but  it  is  noteworthy  that 
the  census  returns  for  Central  India  covering  the  decade 
showed  a  decrease  of  over  16%  in  a  population  of  10,3 1 8,- 
812  (1891).  As  the  normal  increase  had  previously 
been  about  i%  per  annum  the  enormous  loss  of  life 
occasioned  by  the  famine  can  be  roughly  estimated. 

Its  Wide  Extent.  But  it  was  not  confined  to  Central 
India  alone.  Its  extent  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
extract  from  a  report,  by  the  Viceroy,  on  the  famine  of 
1899-1900.  "This  famine,  within  the  rangeToTits  in- 
cidence^ has  been  the  severest  that  India  has  ever 
known. It  has  affected  an  area  of  over  400,000  ¥quare 
miles,  and  a  population  of  about  60,000,000  of  whom 
25,000,000  belong  to  British  India  and  the  remainder 
to  Native  States.  Within  this  area  the  famine  con- 


*  A  lakh  =100,000. 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  103 

ditions  have,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  been 
intense.  Outside  it  they  have  extended,  with  a  gradual- 
ly dwindling  radius,  over  wide  districts In  a  greater 

or  less  degree  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  entire  population 
of  the  Indian  continent  have  come  within  the  range  of 
famine  operations ....  At  normal  prices,  the  loss  was 
at  least  seventy-five  crores,  or  50,000,000  sterling.  .  .  . 
It  was  not  merely  a  crop  failure,  but  a  fodder  famine, 
on  an  enormous  scale,  followed  in  many  parts  by  a 
positive  devastation  of  cattle ....  both  plough  cattle, 
buffaloes  and  milk  kine.  In  other  words,  it  affected, 
and  may  almost  be  said  to  have  annihilated,  the  work- 
ing capital  of  the  agricultural  classes." 

Aid  Rendered  by  Missions.  Missionaries  all  through 
the  famine  area  were  able  to  render  timely  aid  to  Gov- 
ernment in  its  schemes  of  relief,  and  Government 
officials  readily  availed  themselves  of  the  proffered 
help.  In  many  cases  the  missionaries  were  the  only 
Europeans  in  a  position^to^reach  certairi'~cTassesTT" Tn 
helping  to  oversee  public  relief  works,  and  in  distribut- 
ing relief  sent  from  America  and  Britain,  their  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  people  was  of  great  value.  The 
assistance  given  was  gratefully  recognized  by  Govern- 
ment. Lord  Curzon,  in  reviewing  the  methods  of 
famine  relief,  said  :  * '  Particularly  must  I  mention  the 
noble  efforts  of  the  various  Christian  denominations. 
If  ever  there  was  an  occasion  in  which  their  local  knowl- 
edge and  influence  were  likely  to  be  of  value,  and  in 
which  it  was  open  to  them  to  vindicate  the  highest 
standards  of  their  beneficent  calling,  it  was  here  ;  and 


104  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

strenuously  and  faithfully  have  they  performed  the 
task." 

The  Legacy  of  the  Famine.  Government  relief  had 
specially  in  view  the  helping  of  the  people  to  tide  over 
the  days  of  stress  ;  and  when  the  rains  again  came,  the 
giving  of  such  aid  as  would  enable  them  to  resume  their 
usual  occupations.  On  the  Missions,  there  came  the 
special  burden  of  caring  for  the  orphans  and  widows, 
those  whom  the  famine  left  destitute,  uncared  for,  and 
unprotected.  And  what  a  burden  !  One  that  taxes 
physical  powers  to  the  utmost  to  nurse  the  emaciated 
bodies  back  to  health  ;  and  that  taxes  all  one's  spiritual 
energies,  for  the  missionaries  had  to  be  fathers  and 
mothers  to  those  orphaned  children.  There  was  no 
need  to  go  out  to  hunt  for  needy  cases.  They  crowded 
to  our  doors,  and  it  was  necessary  to  give  shelter  to 
practically  every  child  who  came.  Sometimes  parents 
would  leave  children  with  the  missionary,  while  they 
themselves  went  wandering  on  in  the  hopeless  quest  of 
food.  At  one  time  the  total  of  orphans  and  widows 
who  were  sheltered  by  our  Mission  was  over  1,750. 
The  numbers  varied  greatly.  Many  left  after  regaining 
a  measure  of  strength.  Many  died.  Some  were 
reclaimed  by  relatives  when  the  fragments  of  the 
shattered  homes  regathered  in  their  villages  after  the 
famine.  When  the  stress  was  over  and  normal  con- 
ditions again  prevailed,  about  1,000  remained  as  wards 
of  the  Mission. 

During  the  years  of  stress,  practically  every  member 
of  the  staff  who  could  be  spared  from  the  established 
institutions  of  the  Mission  was  engaged  in  this  famine 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  10$ 

work  ;  and  even  in  the  institutions — Hospitals,  Col- 
leges, and  Schools, — the  care  of  the  sick  refugees  and 
the  nursing  of  them  back  to  health  and  strength,  and 
the  providing  for  their  instruction,  became  a  large  part 
of  the  work  of  those  in  charge.  Touring  and  preaching 
in  the  villages  gave  place  to  feeding  the  hungry,  and 
some  of  the  schools  for  non-Christians  had  to  be  closed. 

INDUSTRIAL  WORK 

The   Industrial   Problem   Thrust   on   the    Mission. 

What  was  to  _be  done  with  the  thousand  helpless 
creatures  thrust  upon  the  Mission  ?  Feeding  and 
clothing  them  was  the  least  part  of  the  work.  .  Habits 
of  order  and  decency  must  be  taught.  Elementary 
Christian  morality  must  be  enforced,  and  suitable 
provision  be  made  for  educating  youthful  heads  and 
hands.  With  little  in  the  previous  experience  of  the 
Missionaries  to  guide  them,  they  would  have  been 
more  than  human  had  no  mistakes  been  made.  How 
were  the  children  to  be  prepared  for  life's  duties  ? 
How  utilize  to  the  best  advantage  this  army  of  prospec- 
tive Christians  ?  Should  each  station  provide  for  its 
own,  and  thus  keep  the  children  in  as  near  proximity 
as  possible  to  their  original  homes  and  their  acquaint- 
ances ?  Or  should  there  be  a  policy  of  concentration 
for  the  sake  of  economy  in  men  and  money,  and  to 
make  the  work  of  training  easier  ?  What  trades 
should  be  taught  ?  The  attempt  to  solve  these  prob- 
lems filled  a  large  part  of  the  thought  and  time  of  the 
staff  for  years.  The  famine  forced  the  Mission  to 
undertake  what  the  normal  growth  of  the  Christian 


106  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

community  would  sooner  or  later  have  forced  upon  it, 
the  work  of  Industrial  Training.  Indeed  a  beginning 
had  been  made  even  before  the  famine  came.  In 
the  "Home"  at  Indore,  under  Mrs.  Johory's  care, 
something  had  been  done  along  this  line  to  provide 
training  for  the  women  who  had  been  thrust  out  by 
their  relatives  during  the  movement  among  the  Mangs 
towards  Christianity. 

Training  Girls  and  Boys.  The  education  of  the  or- 
phans in  secular  subjects  was  not  a  serious  problem. 
Teachers  for  such  can  be  secured  without  much  diffi- 
culty. But  to  get  teachers  for  training  in  the  various 
trades  was  a  more  serious  matter.  For  the  girls, 
the  range  of  possible  occupations  was  not  large.  To 
training  in  household  duties,  there  was  added  instruc- 
tion in  sewing,  knitting,  fancy  work,  etc.,  and,  where 
possible,  instruction  in  gardening  and  out-door  work. 

For  the  boys,  provision  has  been  made  from  time  to 
time  in  printing,  carpentry,  black-smithing,  weaving, 
shoemaking,  tailoring,  rug-making,  and,  to  a  very 
limited  extent,  in  farming.  It  was  felt  that  the  last 
named  should  have  been  the  first  in  importance,  and 
for  years  the  Mission  endeavored  to  secure  land  for  the 
purpose,  but  to  our  disappointment  suitable  land  could 
not  be  got. 

Teachers  Scarce.  A  course  in  theology,  which  is  the 
normal  preparation  for  a  missionary,  is  not  the  best 
preparation  for  managing  a  workshop  or  for  giving 
expert  instruction  in  carpentry,  shoemaking,  etc. 
Trained  Indian  teachers  were  difficult  to  obtain. 
Caste  has  divided  the  lower  orders  of  Hindu  Society 


REV.  H.  H.  SMITH  AND   MRS.  SMITH  WITH   THEIR  CHRISTIAN  BHEEL  CONGREGATION 


FAMINE  REFUGEES 


THE   NATIVE  BHEEL 


BHEEL  HOUSE 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  107 

into  a  great  number  of  "Trades-Guilds"  and  each 
trade  is  kept  scrupulously  within  the  bounds  of  its 
particular  caste.  On  this  account  it  was  next  to  im- 
possible to  get  any  non-Christians  to  teach  the  Chris- 
tian lads.  Christian  trained  men  were  very  few  even 
in  all  India.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  industrial  part 
of  the  work  for  the  orphan  boys  has  been  a  somewhat 
slow  evolution.  A  Christian  weaver,  C.  V.  Noah,  was 
secured  from  South  India.  His  coming  has  been  a 
blessing  to  the  boys.  An  expert  weaver,  he  is,  more- 
over, a  man  of  strong  character  and  an  earnest  Christian. 
His  influence  over  the  boys  has  been  for  righteousness, 
and  he  has  devoted  himself  to  their  welfare  with  a  fine 
zeal,  refusing  tempting  offers  to  go  to  more  lucrative 
posts  in  business  concerns. 

Concentration  :  Rasalpura.  In  1901  the  Mission 
Council  decided  on  the  policy  of  concentration  for  the 
boys  ;  and,  after  not  a  little  negotiating  with  the 
British  and  Indian  authorities,  a  piece  of  land,  about  a 
mile  to  the  north  of  Mhow  Cantonment,  was  leased 
from  the  Indore  Durbar.  Here  in  1902  the  foundations 
of  "Rasalpura"  were  laid  by  the  late  Norman  Russell, 
and  the  village  now  bears  his  name.  The  name  of  this 
settlement  has  since  become  widely  known  throughout 
India,  particularly  because  of  its  silk  and  cotton-woven 
fabrics. 

Industrial  Training  and  Church  Growth.  Industrial 
training  is  now  recognized  as  a  phase  of  educational 
work  that  is  vital  to  the  development  of  the  Church  in 
India.  The  dignity  of  labor  needs  to  be  asserted  in  a 
land  where  all  manual  labor  has  been  relegated  to  the 


108  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

lower  castes.  Faith  in  Jesus,  who  was  not  ashamed 
to  be  a  carpenter  in  Nazareth,  must  bring  in  its  train 
an  entire  revolution  in  India's  ideas  of  manual  toil. 
The  Mission  cannot  force  new  ideas  on  the  Church, 
but  it  has  determined  that  there  shall  be  an  opportunity 
for  the  youth  of  the  Indian  Church  to  learn  some  useful 
trade  ;  and,  further,  that  all  boys  who  are  helped  to  an 
education  by  the  Canadian  Church,  shall  ordinarily 
enter  the  workshops  for  at  least  part  of  their  life 
training.  Such  training,  it  is  considered,  can  best  be 
accomplished,  not  in  a  school  for  training  alone,  which 
is  always  expensive,  but  in  connection  with  actual 
business.  With  this  in  view,  the  Mission  sought  to 
secure  capital  to  carry  on  the  various  trades  referred 
to  above  without  constant  appeal  year  by  year. 

New  Workers.  For  a  time  the  Industrial  Missions 
Aid  Society  of  London,  which  is  in  close  touch  with 
Industrial  Mission  work  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
came  to  our  aid.  But  the  expansion  of  the  work  made 
it  desirable  to  seek  more  capital  in  order  to  put  the 
institution  in  a  position  to  accomplish  the  work  for 
which  it  was  founded.  The  Foreign  Mission  Board 
generously  responded  to  the  appeal  made.  Mr.  F.  H. 
Russell  was  called  from  his  work  in  Dhar  to  organize 
more  fully  the  Industrial  work,  and  in  1914  two  young 
men,  Messrs.  L.  D.  S.  Coxson,  and  A.  R.  Graham,  with 
special  business  training,  were  sent  out  from  Canada  to 
co-operate,  Mr.  Coxson  having  in  addition  the  duties 
of  the  Mission  Treasurer  ship. 

Growth  and  Fruitage.  Established  at  first  to  meet 
a  temporary  and  urgent  need,  the  Industrial  work  is 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  IOp 

now  increasingly  meeting  a  more  constant  need. 
There  is  a  steady  influx  of  children  from  Christian 
homes.  During  1914  for  instance,  twenty-four  boys 
were  added  to  the  enrolment.  These  came  from  several 
parts  of  the  Central  India  Field,  showing  that  parents 
are  coming  to  recognize  the  advantages  the  institution 
offers  for  the  efficient  training  of  Christian  youth.  The 
orphan  element  which  originally  constituted  the  school 
is  gradually  disappearing,  its  place  being  taken,  in  many 
cases,  by  children  of  those  who  were  rescued  as  orphans. 
We  are  thus  beginning  to  reap,  in  the  second  generation, 
some  of  the  fruits  of  the  good  work  which  was  begun 
when  orphans  were  first  taken  in  by  the  Mission  in 
1897. 

The  Press.  The  one  industry  with  the  longest 
history  in  the  Mission  is  the  Printing  Press.  Begun 
in  Indore  by  Mr.  Douglas,  it  was  later  transferred  to 
Rutlam,  where  for  many  years  it  afforded  training  for 
young  Christian  lads  and  also  published  a  large  amount 
of  Christian  literature.  There  were  printed  tracts, 
hymn-books,  catechisms,  The  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
Christian  newspapers,  largely  in  the  vernacular,  but 
also  in  English,  notably  the  organ  of  the  Alliance  of  the 
Presbyterian  Churches.  Millions  of  pages  of  these 
silent  messengers  of  the  Kingdom  have  been  issued  from 
the  Press  Room.  With  the  consolidation  of  Mission 
Industries,  the  Press  was  removed  to  Rasalpura  in  1912, 
where  it  continues,  with  evergrowing  opportunities,  to 
serve  the  double  purpose  of  training  Christian  workmen 
and  evangelizing  India.  Recently,  at  the  request  of  the 


110  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Bible  Society,  this  Press  has  printed  the  first  Scripture 
translated  into  the  Bheel  language. 

Fruits  of  Work  for  Orphans.  The  time  has  not  yet 
come  to  estimate  fully  the  value  of  the  Industrial  work. 
When  a  work  becomes  an  integral  part  of  Mission 
policy,  its  value  cannot  be  judged  apart  from  other 
agencies.  But  it  is  possible  to  look  back  over  the  inter- 
vening years  since  the  great  famine  and  trace  the  good 
hand  of  God  in  bringing  blessing  out  of  the  dread 
calamity. 

1 .  Practically  all  the  children  who  remained  with  the 
Mission  when  the  famine  ceased,  have  since  been  re- 
ceived into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

2.  A  large  proportion  of  the  present  staff  of  Mission 
helpers,  preachers,  teachers,  hospital  assistants,  nurses, 
etc.,  have  come  from  the  various  Industrial  Institutions 
of  the  Mission. 

3.  From  these  Institutions  have  gone  forth  a  large 
number  to  form  homes  of  their  own,  homes  where  both 
husband  and  wife  are  educated  much  beyond  the  aver- 
age of  the  non-Christians  about  them,  and  where  both 
make  good  use  of  the  manual  training  they  have  re- 
ceived from  the  Mission.     A  goodly  proportion  of  those 
trained  in  the  Central  Institution  at  Rasalpura,  after- 
wards continue  there  as  regular  workmen  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  work  as  a  whole.     By  enlisting  these 
in  voluntary  Christian  service  in  the  adjacent  villages, 
the  Institution  becomes  a  training  school  for  Christian 
service. 

4.  The  workshops  provide  one  of  the  best  possible 
recruiting  grounds  for   Christian   workers.     The  man 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  III 

who  can  "make  good"  as  a  workman,  will,  if  called  of 
God  to  the  wider  field  of  evangelism  among  his  fellow 
countrymen,  ordinarily  prove  himself  a  workman  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed. 

Industrial  Training  for  Girls.  The  Industrial  train- 
ing of  the  orphan  girls  and  widows,  while  more  circum- 
scribed and  therefore  less  expensive  than  that  for  boys, 
has  received  every  care  at  the  experienced  hands  of 
Mrs.  Campbell,  Dr.  O'Hara,  Miss  Campbell,  Miss 
White,  Mrs.  Johory  and  others.  After  marriage  the 
young  wives,  to  add  to  the  family  income,  frequently 
continue  the  work  in  their  homes,  hence  the  develop- 
ment of  this  work  is  becoming  increasingly  important. 

THE  BHEELS 

The  Hill  Tribes  :     Work  among  the  Bheels.     One 

of  the  most  difficult,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  hopeful, 
phases  of  work  in  Central  India,  has  been  that  carrie_d 
on  among  the  aboriginal  tribes,  the  Bheels. ,  -Along 
with  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  our  Canadian  Church  has  under- 
taken its  share  of  the  responsibility  of  evangelizing 
these  wild  jungle  folk. 

The  Bheels  originally  cultivated  the  fertile  plains  of 
Central  India,  but  centuries  of  Hindu,  Moghul,  and 
latterly  and  chiefly,  Maratha  oppression  drove  them 
to  the  Vindhya  Hills,  from  which  no  power  has  been 
able  to  dislodge  them.  Goaded  on  by  cruelty,  they 
have  maintained  themselves  by  plunder,  especially 
cattle  stealing  from  their  more  prosperous  Hindu 
neighbors  on  the  plains.  The  British  Government  by 


112  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

kind  treatment,  and  direct  dealing  with  them,  and 
especially  by  enlisting  Bheel  regiments,  has  done  much 
toward  restoring  law  and  order  among  them.  "Short 
black  men,  thin-limbed  and  wiry,  with  fierce-looking 
faces,  high  cheek  bones,  thick-matted  hair,  and  scanty 
clothing,  the  Bheels  are  a  quick,  active  race,  famous  as 
hunters,  handling  the  bow  and  arrow,  which  are  their 
only  weapons,  with  remarkable  skill,  and  fearless  of 
danger."  But  they  are  suspicious ^  of_gtrarigers.  When 
first  our_Mjssionaries  went  among  them,  they  would 
hide  in  the  jungle  or  in.  their . .hutsjtinThey  had  gone. 
It  was  a  sad  comment  on  the  injustice  they  had  endured 
for  many  years,  that  in  many  cases  it  was  only  the  men 
who  fled,  fearing  lest  the  missionaries  were  the  agents 
of  the  money  lender,  or  representing  someone  in 
authority.  The  Bheels,  too,  are  greatly  addicted  to 
drinking,  often  keeping  up  their  carousals  for  days. 
The  liquor  they  brew  from  the  toddy  palm  and  from 
the  blossoms  of  the  Mowa  tree.  In  religion,  while, 
due  to  Hindu  influence,  they  recognize  Mahadev,* 
and  claim  to  be  his  descendants,  they  are  really  fetich 
worshippers.  What  appealed  to  the  Mission  in  open- 
ing work  among  them,  apart  from  their  deep  need,  was 
the  fact  that  as  a  people,  they  were  largely  untouched 
by  Hinduizing  influences.  "They  had  not  been  won 
over  from  their  primitive  superstitions  to  either  of  the 
more  permanent  religions  of  India,  and  they  were  not 
burdened  with  caste." 


*Mahadev or  the  "great  god"  is  the  third  in  the  Hindu  triad. 
He  is  the  austere  and  terrible  one,  an  object  of  fear.  He  represents 
creative  activity. 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  1.13 

Tours  into  the  Hill  Country.  As  early  as  1885,  Dr. 
Campbell  had  toured  into  the  Bheel  country,  and 
realized  the  great  need  of  opening  a  Mission  among 
these  oppressed  and  despised  Hill  tribes.  When  Dr. 
Buchanan  arrived  in  India  in  December,  1888,  he  ac- 
companied Dr.  Campbell  on  an  extended  tour  into  these 
same  jungles,  and  from  that  time  forth  the  desire  to 
save  these  wild  hill-people  became  the  consuming 
passion  of  his  life.  Not  for  another  seven  years  did  the 
way  open,  however.  The  exigencies  of  existing  work, 
coupled  with  depletion  of  the  staff  by  the  sad  death  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray,  and  the  (as  it  proved  to  be)  fatal 
illness  of  Mr.  Builder,  made  expansion  impossible.  In 
November,  1895,  the  Council  formally  set  apart  Dr. 
Buchanan  for  the  Bheel  work,  at  his  own  request, 
and  as  his  furlough  was  then  due,  he  left  for  Canada 
where  he  was  successful  in  raising  a  special  fund  for  the 
Bheel  Mission. 

In  the  Heart  of  the  Jungle.  In  the  meantime,  on 
the  invitation  of  Captain  de  Lassoe,  the  Bheel  Agent, 
Messrs.  Norman  and  Frank  Russell  went  down  to  the 
Bheel  country  to  seek  a  suitable  site.  The  place 
chosen  was  a  beautiful  valley  in  the  very  heart  of 
Bheeldom,  far  from  the  Hinduizing  influence  of  the 
towns.  The  situation  was  recommended  by  Captain 
de  Lassoe,  one  of  God's  noblemen,  who  loved  the 
Bheels,  and  who  said  he  thought  that  with  faithful 
work  for  a  few  years,  we  should  have  a  Christian  nation 
in  the  Bheel  country.  The  site  was  difficult  of  access, 
but,  "there,"  he  said,  "you  get  the  real  Bheel."  There 
it  was  that,  in  December,  1897,  Dr.  Buchanan  began 


114  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

the  work,  alone,  for  Mrs.  Buchanan  had  to  remain  for 
a  time  in  Canada. 

Guiding  Principle  in  Beginning  Work.  One  guiding 
principle  from  the  first  was  to  make  every  feature  in  the 
opening  of  the  work  an  evangelizing  agency,  and  to 
allow  no  Hinduizing  influences  from  the  outside  to  be 
introduced.  Dr.  Buchanan  declined  to  take  with  him 
any  Hindu  or  Mohammedan  contractors  for  the  work 
of  building  ;  and,  rather  than  take  heathen  servants 
along,  he  began  with  two  Christian  orphan  lads  as 
personal  attendants  to  act  as  cook  and  house-boy, 
although  they  knew  almost  nothing  of  their  work. 
Three  Christian  catechists  accompanied  him,  and  with 
these  he  determined  somehow  to  complete  the  con- 
struction of  bungalow  and  all  else  necessary. 

The  first  lesson  was  one  for  the  missionary  himself — 
the  lesson  of  waiting.  The  timid  people  would  not 
come  near  the  missionary's  tent.  An  officer  of  the 
State  offered  to  give  them  as  much  "forced  labor" 
as  was"  required,  but  it  was  declined.  After  some  days 
a  lad  of  ten  years  of  age  offered  to  go  and  cut  grass  for 
the  pony.  He  was  paid  for  it,  and,  his  confidence 
increasing,  he  next  day  brought  along  three  other  boys, 
and  with  this  insignificant  band  Dr.  Buchanan  began 
building  operations.  Gradually  suspicion  was  dis- 
armed, and  bungalow,  school  and  dispensary,  were 
erected,  all  by  the  labor  of  these  jungle  people.  After 
some  months  a  Christian  overseer  was  secured  from  a 
neighboring  Mission,  but  at  first  the  missionary  was 
overseer,  paymaster,  and  everything,  working  daily 
with  his  hands.  "Down  on  his  knees  with  a  brick 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  115 

mould  in  one  hand  and  a  lump  of  plastic  mud  in  the 
other,  he  showed  them  how  to  make  bricks.  It  was 
not  a  clean  job,  but,  what  was  far  more  important, 
there  was  a  clean  lesson  in  it."  The  catechists,  who 
unfortunately  sometimes  feel  that  the  call  to  preach  has 
nothing  to  do  with  labor  of  the  hands,  followed  his 
example  with  enthusiasm. 

Doors  Opened  by  Medical  Skill.  Candid  treatment 
in  every  way,  and  above  all  medical  skill,  which  was 
a  priceless  boon  to  these  neglected  people,  won  them 
over.  This  was  the  key  which  unlocked  .the  heart's 
door  of  the  timid  superstitious  B heels.  Dr.  Buchanan 
writes  :  "We  have  had  at  times  waves  of  confidence, 
and  again  all  but  panics,  among  the  people.  While 
we  have  taken  care  in  treating  the  people  and  done  our 
best,  still  we  cannot  ascribe  it  to  skill  or  chance,  but  to 
the  special  Providence  of  God,  that  during  the  14 
months  (since  the  work  was  begun)  so  far  as  we  know, 
not  a  single  patient  under  medical  treatment  has  died. 
Some  were  dangerously  ill,  and  we  almost  despaired  of 
them.  One  man,  Gulab,  brought  his  ox  for  treatment, 
but  through  some  superstitious  dread,  refused  to  take 
medicine  himself.  The  ox  got  better,  but  the  man 
died.  A  stupid  or  malicious  Hindu  gave  the  warning  : 
'  Don't  take  the  Saheb's  medicine.  He  will  give  good 
medicine  at  first,  but  afterwards  he  will  give  you  bad 
medicine  and  kill  you.'  Only  on  seeing  the  dread 
that  spread  suddenly  through  the  neighborhood,  could 
one  appreciate  God's  tender  care  that  even  these  simple 
ones  might  not  be  offended.  Some  of  the  cases  have 
been  specially  helpful  in  gaining  the  goodwill  and  con- 


Il6  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

fidence  of  the  people.  One  poor  old  woman,  Ditali, 
who  was  supposed  to  be  dying,  away  from  her  home, 
was  brought  to  Amkhut  in  an  ox-cart  over  about  12 
miles  of  rough  road.  I  was  asked  to  go  and  see  her,  and 
found  her  barely  alive,  and  unable  to  speak  or  take  food. 
She  rallied  and  was  about  once  more.  The  news 
spread.  A  man  from  the  neighboring  community 
came  and  asked  me  to  give  his  family  medicine.  He 
did  not  even  think  it  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  his 
house,  as  it  had  been  reported  that  Detali,  whom  he 
knew,  had  been  dead  and  was  alive  again  ;  still  he  was 
not  displeased  that  I  did  go." 

The  Gospel  is  the  Power  of  God.  The  best  argu- 
ment for  the  truth  of  Christianity  is  its  fruit  in  non- 
Christian  lands.  The  transformation  of  those  looting, 
drunken,  despised  "monkey-people"  into  self-respect- 
ing, God-fearing,  soul-seeking  Christians  was  not,  and 
is  not,  merely  a  matter  of  preaching.  It  had  to  in- 
clude the  "All  things."  The  young  converts,  in  addi- 
tion to  receiving  Scripture  truth  daily,  were  taught  to 
use  their  hands  more  deftly,  to  saw,  plane,  construct, 
and  to  read  and  write,  to  the  confusion  of  their  scornful 
Hindu  neighbors,  "provoking  them  to  jealousy  by 
them  that  were  no  people."  They  were  taught  to  join 
together  what  India  has  seldom  joined,  religion, 
intelligence  and  honest  labor.  Dr.  Jno.  Buchanan, 
Rev.  H.  H.  Smith  and  Mr.  D.  E.  McDonald  are  the 
Church's  representatives,  and  now  Miss  Bertha  Robson 
has  come  to  help  as  a  teacher.  The  Christian  com- 
munity has  made  long  strides  forward.  They  are 
temperate,  industrious,  zealous  for  the  evangelization 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  1 17 

of  their  fellow  Bheels,  ambitious  to  learn.     The  "Star 
of  Hope"  has  risen  for  this  people. 

The  Government  of  India  has  recognized  the  bene- 
ficent work  done,  by  conferring  on  Dr.  Buchanan  the 
.  Kaiser-i-Hind  medal  of  the  First  Class. 

THEOLOGICAL  TRAINING 

Training  the  Evangelists.  There  is  no  more  impor- 
tant work  than  the  training  of  Indian  Helpers.  The 
employment  of  Indian  Christians  of  suitable  gifts  as 
preachers  and  teachers  of  the  Gospel,  has  been  a  promin- 
ent feature  of  the  Mission's  policy,  as  it  is  indeed  of 
almost  every  Mission  in  India.  As  the  question  is 
sometimes  raised  of  the  wisdom  of  using  "foreign 
money"  for  the  support  of  Indian  Agents,  it  may  be 
well  to  present  the  missionaries'  point  of  view. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada  has  been 
committed,  by  the  Great  Commission,  and  by  the 
Comity  of  Missions,  to  the  evangelization  of  the 
millions  of  Western  Central  India.  It  has  wealth — 
itself  a  fruit  of  Christianity,  and  it  has  men  and  women 
to  send.  The  problem  is  how  most  effectively  and 
speedily  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  people  of  Central 
India.  Experience  has  shown  beyond  doubt  that 
Indian  Christians  are  themselves  the  most  effective 
agents  in  bringing  their  fellow  countrymen  to  Christ. 
As  in  Apostolic  times,  so  to-day,  men  and  women 
spread  the  Truth  among  their  fellows  while  pursuing 
their  ordinary  avocations.  But  daily  toil  and  its 
attendant  cares,  make  it  almost  impossible  for  them  to 


Il8  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

give  time  to  concentrated  and  systematic  study  of  the 
Truth.  Those  who  are  divinely  impelled  to  this 
work,  and  give  evidence  of  ability  to  carry  it  on, 
should  be  set  free  from  daily  toil,  as  is  the  foreign 
missionary,  to  give  themselves  wholly  to  this  sacred 
ministry.  How  shall  they  be  supported  ?  If  the 
Indian  Church  can  undertake  their  support,  by  all 
means  let  it  do  so.  But  if  not,  is  the  foreign  Church 
absolved  from  all  responsibility  ?  The  Indian  Helper 
without  suitable  opportunities  for  study,  cannot  be 
as  effective  as  he  is  capable  of  becoming  ;  and,  when 
held  down  by  secular  work,  cannot  reach  the  fields 
which  invite  on  all  sides.  It  is  assumed  of  course 
that  the  worker  is  worthy.  Mistakes  in  the  selection 
of  helpers  have  been  made  on  the  mission  fields  just 
as  they  have  been  made  at  the  Home  Base.  But 
granted  ordinary  care  in  the  selection  of  workers, 
both  at  home  and  in  the  Mission  field,  the  question  of 
supreme  importance  is  :  How  is  the  work  to  be  best, 
and  most  speedily,  accomplished  ?  The  source  of 
financial  supply  is  a  minor  matter.  So  long  as  the 
gloom  of  idolatry  hangs  over  the  land,  we  do  not  well 
to  speak  of  "Foreign"  and  "Indian."  The  Church  of 
Christ  is  one,  and  in  the  conflict  with  sin  must  use  its 
available  resources  to  the  best  of  its  ability.  The 
ideal  would  seem  to  be,  send  the  best  procurable  at 
Home,  those  who  can  be  sympathetic  and  wise  leaders 
and  helpers  of  others,  and  let  there  be  ample  provision 
for  the  employment  of  Indian  workers  until  such  time 
as  the  Indian  Church  can  assume  the  whole  responsi- 
bility. 


MARATHI  GIRLS'  SCHOOL— INDORE 


HOSPITAL  PATIENTS   MOVED   OUT  TO  THE  WARM   SUNSHINE— NEEMUCH 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  Up 

Methods  of  Training.  There  is  the  further  problem 
of  the  best  way  to  train  these  workers.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  Mission,  each  missionary  did  what  he  could 
with  his  own  band  of  helpers.  Daily  instruction  when 
in  the  station,  or  gathering  in  the  helpers  regularly 
from  the  outstations  for  a  few  days  at  a  time,  enabled 
him  to  give  a  measure  of  teaching.  When  on  tour, 
Indian  workers  accompanied  the  missionary  and  many 
opportunities  were  given  to  enforce  useful  lessons. 

Making  a  Beginning.  But,  as  the  preachers  are 
constantly  confronted  with  the  subtle  minds  of  India, 
,  and  with  false  systems  of  thought,  and  are  ever  meeting 
a  bewildering  medley  of  religious  ideas  and  practices, 
from  the  grossest  idolatry  to  the  theories  of  reforming 
sects  who  talk  in  Christian  phraseology  and  think 
that  they  are  uttering  the  sublime  truths  of  Hinduism, 
it  was  early  realized  that  systematic  training  of  the 
Indian  leaders  would  be  a  necessary  part  of  the  Mission's 
policy.  In  1894  a  beginning  was  made.  For  two 
months  Dr.  Wilson  and  Rev.  Norman  Russell  conducted 
theological  classes.  The  intercourse  with  the  students 
in  the  classes  revealed  more  fully  the  defects  in  their 
knowledge  and  training,  and  emphasized  the  need  of 
giving  more  attention  to  this  work  than  had  yet  been 
done.  The  next  year  a  course  of  study  covering 
four  years  was  arranged  by  Presbytery,  which  required 
two  months'  attendance  in  classes  yearly,  and  the  ten 
months  were  given  to  practical  work.  The  classes  were 
held  in  different  stations  wherever  suitable  accommoda- 
tion could  be  provided.  Thus  they  continued  until 
in  1907  the  Presbytery  decided  more  fully  to  organize 


120  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

the  work  of  training,  and  the  "Malwa  Theological 
Seminary"  came  into  being.  Rev.  W.  A.  Wilson, 
D.D.,  to  whose  untiring  efforts  this  step  was  largely 
due,  became  its  first  Principal,  a  position  he  still  holds. 
The  action  of  the  Presbytery  was  commended  by  the 
Synod,  and  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  India  has  recognized  the  Seminary  as  one  of 
those  "well-fitted  to  give  Theological  instruction  in  the 
vernaculars  of  their  respective  areas."*  The  classes 
have  been  held  in  part  of  the  Arts  College  building  in 
Indore.  Since  the  opening  of  the  Seminary  in  1908, 
over  fifty  students  have  been  enrolled,  of  whom  about 
twenty  have  received  their  graduation  diplomas. 
Teaching  is  given  for  six  months  each  year,  there  being 
two  sessions,  and  the  course  of  study  covers  four  years. 
It  presupposes  a  good  general  education.  The  course 
is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  field,  and,  in  addition  to 
general  and  detailed  Bible  knowledge,  Theology, 
Church  History,  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology, 
lays  stress  on  the  study  of  Christian  Evidences  and  the 
non-Christian  religions  of  India.  The  Presbytery 
has  made  the  best  provision  in  its  power  for  its  students, 
but  the  buildings  required  are  as  yet  beyond  the  ability 
of  the  Indian  Church  to  provide. 

A  course  of  study  covering  two  years,  preparatory 
to  the  Seminary,  is  provided  for  by  the  Mission.  For 
two  months  each  year,  usually  in  the  rainy  season,  the 
students  of  this  course,  known  as  "Bible  Readers"  are 
assembled  for  training  in  Bible  knowledge  and  practical 

*In  Chap.  VI.,  The  relation  of  the  "Mission"    to  the  courts 
of  the  Indian  Church  is  stated. 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  121 

work.  Some  students  whose  opportunities  for  literary 
study  have  been  limited,  receive  no  further  training 
than  these  classes  provide.  With  a  growing  Christian 
community  in  the  villages,  this  Preparatory  Course 
will  become  increasingly  important. 

For  the  Bheel  Christians,  the  Presbytery  has  ar- 
ranged a  course  of  study  adapted  to  the  special  needs 
of  that  field.  But  with  the  gradual  raising  of  the 
standard  of  education  among  these,  the  time  may  not 
be  far  distant  when  they  will  hold  their  own  with  their 
fellow-Christian  students  in  Malwa. 

HIGHER  EDUCATION 

Higher  Educational  Work.  There  has  been  steady 
development  in  Higher  Educational  work,  and  the 
present  institutions,  with  such  additional  equipment 
as  the  growing  numbers  of  students  demand,  should  be 
sufficient  for  some  time.  Higher  education  for  the 
Christian  community,  which  should  be  always  the  first 
care  of  a  Mission  Institution,  is  well,  provided  for. 

In  1904  the  "Indian  Universities  Act"  came  into  op- 
eration, with  the  result  that  the  Indore  College  became 
affiliated  to  Allahabad  University,  instead  of  Calcutta, 
as  formerly,  the  arrangement  now  being  territorially 
more  convenient.  The  new  Act  also  imposed  more 
stringent  regulations  regarding  the  staff  and  equipment 
of  the  affiliated  colleges.  Periodical  inspection  was 
begun.  All  this  made  it  more  and  more  necessary  that 
the  College  should  be  well  equipped  with  a  sufficient 
staff.  The  lines  were  more  clearly  drawn  between  the 
College  proper  and  the  High  School  and  Vernacular 


122  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

departments.  Recently  the  Government  is  laying 
more  stress  on  the  providing  of  suitable  Hostel  accom- 
modation, so  that  students  may  be  more  directly  under 
the  care  of  the  College  authorities.  In  1915,  155 
students  were  enrolled  in  the  Arts  classes  which,  with 
510  in  the  High  School  and  Vernacular  Departments, 
gave  a  total  of  665  young  men  and  boys  daily  under 
Christian  influences  and  receiving  Christian  instruction 
in  the  formative  period  of  their  lives. 

Value  of  Such  Work.  The  value  of  such  Educational 
work  is  felt  in  the  general  work  of  the  Mission,  and 
particularly  in  the  work  of  preaching  throughout  the 
field.  Indian  officials  who,  in  the  intimacy  of  the  Col- 
lege life,  have  come  to  understand  the  missionary,  and 
to  receive  the  impress  of  Christian  ideas,  are  usually 
friendly  and  sympathetic,  and  doors  of  opportunity 
are  opened  as  the  common  people  see  the  friendly 
attitude  of  their  officials,  which  would  probably  other- 
wise remain  sullenly  closed. 

In  the  matter  of  religious  teaching  a  recent  writer, 
Rev.  C.  F.  Andrews,  has  well  said  :* 

"  The  Christian  Church  has  in  this  matter  a  record  of 
achievement  upon  which  she  may  look  back  with  thank- 
fulness. It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  but  for 
her  efforts  education  in  India  to-day  would  be  entirely 
secular,  as  it  is  in  Japan.  Having  regard  to  the  deep 
religious  instincts  of  the  people  of  the  country  this 
would  have  been  nothing  less  than  a  national  calamity. 
But  the  dual  basis  of  the  missionary  institutions  side 
by  side  with  those  of  Government  saved  the  situation 

*  "  The  Renaissance  in  India,"  page  43. 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  123 

at  the  outset  and  gradually  the  principle  of  religious 
education  has  come  to  be  widely  recognized  even  by 
those  who  were  ready  at  one  time  to  abandon  it." 

Mission  Schools  Throughout  India.  The  vastness 
of  tne  Educational  Problem  in  India  may  be  under- 
stood when  it  is  remembered  that,  assuming  that  15% 
of  the  population  is  of  school-going  age,  there  must  be 
at  least  45  million  young  people  of  school  age  in  India, 
five-sixths  of  whom  are  growing  up  without  any  educa- 
tional opportunity.  The  share  which  Christian  mis- 
sions have  in  the  work  of  education  is  important. 
There  were  in  1912,  controlled  by  Protestant  Mission- 
ary Societies,  38  Colleges,  with  5,447  students,  including 
6 1  women  ;  23  of  these  Colleges  prepared  students  for 
the  B.A.  Degree,  the  other  15  having  only  a  two  years' 
course  of  study  and  finishing  with  the  First  Arts 
qualification.  All  the  students  were  daily  taught  the 
Christian  Scriptures.  92%  of  the  students  were  non- 
Christian.  There  were  1,163  Boarding  and  High 
Schools,  with  110,763  students.  In  the  Christian 
Elementary  Schools,  were  about  45o,ooo,pupils,  of  whom 
146,000  were  girls.  The  Christian  children  in  these 
schools  numbered  170,000.  In  the  160  Industrial 
schools  were  9,125  pupils.* 

Shifting  •  the  Emphasis.  Throughout  India  as  a 
whole,  the  emphasis  is  being  placed  more  and  more  on 
the  development  of  Primary  Schools.  The  base  of 
Indian  education  must  be  broadened.  Not  less  educa- 
tion for  the  higher  classes,  but  more  for  the  lower 
classes,  the  great  patient,  toiling  masses,  is  what  is 


*See  "  History  of  Christian  Missions  "  by  Robinson,  page  128. 


124  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

needed  to  restore  the  balance  which  has  been  so  long 
on  the  side  of  the  privileged  classes. 

HIGHER  EDUCATION  FOR  GIRLS  PROVIDED 

Indore  Girls'  High  School.  Shortly  after  the  great 
famine  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  at  Indore  which  had 
been  affiliated  as  a  High  School  with  Calcutta  Univer- 
sity discontinued  the  Higher  classes  for  a  time.  But 
in  1908  it  was  deemed  advisable  again  to  seek  the 
status  of  a  High  School,  and  affiliation  with  Allahabad 
University  was  granted.  Two  years  later  the  first 
student  matriculated,  marking  one  more  stage  of 
progress  in  woman's  work  for  women  in  Central  India. 
A  suitable  working  arrangement  was  made  with  the 
Indore  College,  then  under  Dr.  King's  Principalship, 
whereby  the  Girls  could  attend  the  science  classes — 
another  innovation  to  startle  conservative  India. 
(Previous  to  this,  Dr.  Wilkie  had  opened  the  Christian 
"Training  Classes"  to  both  sexes.)  But  the  proud 
Hindu  and  Mohammedan  students  were  to  learn  too 
that  the  "weaker  sex"  could  be  their  equals  in  the  class 
room.  India,  however,  is  not  yet  ready  for  co-educa- 
tion on  any  extensive  scale.  It  is  planned  that  the 
Girls'  High  School  will  soon  be  accommodated  in  larger 
and  more  suitably  located  premises,  and,  under  the 
experienced  principalship  of  Miss  Duncan,  with  two 
trained  university  graduates,  the  Misses  Robertson 
and  Smillie,  to  assist,  the  outlook  is  bright. 

Primary"Schools  for  Girls.  Thus  far  in  Central  India 
the  Mission  High  School  for  Girls  stands  alone.  Of 
Primary  and  Secondary  Schools  for  girls  there  has  been 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  12$ 

a  striking  increase  in  recent  years.  In  some  of  the 
smaller  places  spasmodic  attempts  to  establish  schools 
have  been  made  ;  some  States,  Gwalior  for  instance, 
have  issued  regulations  for  the  establishing  of  Girls' 
Schools,  but  the  lack  of  female  teachers  and  the  fact 
that  rural  India  is  not  yet  convinced  of  the  need  for 
female  education,  have  retarded  progress.  The  tide 
has  not  yet  risen  in  its  power.  When  that  day  comes, 
as  come  it  must,  the  results  will  be  incalculable. 

Transformation  in  Public  Opinion.  A  change,  grad- 
ual, but  sure,  is  taking  place  in  India  in  regared  to 
female  education.  "Ten  years  ago,"  Miss  de  Selin- 
court  writes,  "statements  about  the  ignorance  of 
Indian  women  were  often  lightly  dismissed  as  the  out- 
come of  blind  prejudice  or  of  well-meaning  hysteria. 
Missionaries  were  told  that  they  were  unable  to  appre- 
ciate the  Indian  ideal  ;  that  they  must  not  imagine 
culture  to  be  dependent  on  literacy  ;  that  Indian 
women  in  their  secluded  homes  stood  for  a  type  of 
spiritual  beauty  impossible  of  attainment  under  any 
other  conditions.  To-day  there  is  little  need  for  the 
missionary  to  raise  the  voice  of  protest  ;  champions 
of  the  woman's  cause  are  springing  up  on  every  side. 
On  every  hand  in  India  there  are  signs  of  new  life  stir- 
ring, of  a  nation  shaking  off  its  sleep.  In  no  direction 
is  this  more  evident  than  in  the  number  of  non-Chris- 
tians who  desire  education  for  their  wives  and  daughters. 
"  In  town  after  town  committees  of  Indian  gentlemen 
are  being  formed  to  push  forward  the  cause  of  female 
education.  Women's  societies  are  also  being  founded 
with  the  same  object  in  view.  There  is  a  widespread 


126  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

and  growing  desire  to  deal  with  the  whole  question 
fundamentally  and  effectively."* 

Work  for  the  Blind.  Work  for  the  blind  will  always 
be  associated  in  the  Mission  history  with  the  name  of 
Miss  Jamieson.  India  has  over  half  a  million  blind 
persons.  In  a  land  of  alms-giving  they  manage  to  exist 
but  in  times  o'f  stress  they  suffer  greatly.  A  home  for 
the  blind  was  opened  in  1897,  the  year  of  the  Famine, 
and  it  met  a  pressing  need.  As  many  as  forty  were  at 
one  time  cared  for.  They  were  taught  basket-making 
and  coarse  blanket-weaving  as  well  as  reading.  It  was 
a  source  of  constant  astonishment  to  the  people  to  see 
and  hear  the  blind  lads  sitting  by  the  wayside  reading 
the  scriptures  and  explaining  them  to  the  groups  of 
interested  listeners  that  gathered  around.  In  1909  the 
Home  was  closed,  the  inmates  being  provided  for  in 
other  institutions. 

Normal  Training.  Normal  training,  particularly  for 
male  teachers,  has  never  received  the  attention  it 
demanded  in  the  Mission.  The  first  systematic  efforts 
were  made  in  connection  with  the  Training  Classes  in 
the  College  in  1896,  Miss  White  and  Miss  Ptolemy,  both 
Normal  graduates,  having  charge.  As  early  as  1883, 
however,  Miss  McGregor  had  organized  a  Teacher's 
Training  Class,  but  it  did  not  long  continue.  In  this, 
too,  the  Mission  led  the  way  in  Central  India.  But  it 
with  other  work  suffered  during  the  lean  years  of  famine. 
Miss  White  has  lately  carried  on  a  successful  Normal 
Training  work  for  female  teachers.  There  is  no  more 
important  work  along  educational  lines.  Knowledge 

*Quoted  in  "Renaissance  in  India."  p.  231. 


MISS  McHARRIE— "  Inasmuch  .  .  . 


DISPENSARY  PATIENTS— RUTLAM 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  HOSPITAL.     DR.  MARGARET  McKELLAR 


MOTTO  OVER  DOOR  OF  DISPENSARY— NEEMUCH 


WHERE  "GOD  AND  WE"  WORK 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  127 

of  the  art  of  teaching  is  lamentably  defective.  There 
are  weary  repetitions  and  memorizings  to  excess,  but 
thought-provoking  instruction  is  rare. 

The  latest  development  in  teacher  training  was  to 
give  instruction  in  Primary  methods.  Miss  Sinclair, 
a  trained  primary  teacher,  taught  the  Normal  classes 
in  this  subject.  There  is  a  growing  demand  for  teach- 
ers of  this  kind.  Unfortunately,  ill-health  made  neces- 
sary Miss  Sinclair's  return  to  Canada.  There  is  an 
open  door  for  a  skilled  teacher  who  can  adapt  primary 
principles  to  Indian  conditions. 

MEDICAL  WORK 

Medical  Men  Few.  During  the  last  twenty  years 
the  Canadian  Church  sent  out  five  medical  men  to 
Central  India,  and  as  two  of  these  were  needed  to  fill 
vacant  places  on  the  staff,  and  one  has  lately  retired 
owing  to  illness  in  his  family,  the  advance  in  men's 
medical  work  is  not  great.  The  most  satisfactory 
progress  is  the  opening  of  the  Hospital  in  Rutlam. 
Formerly  a  dispensary  only  was  carried  on  there. 
Through  the  kindness  of  the  State  officials,  an  excellent 
plot  of  ground,  conveniently  situated,  was  given  ;  and 
Dr.  Waters  has  been  permitted  to  build  there,  what  the 
Mission  has  long  needed,  a  Men's  Hospital.  It  is 
centrally  located  in  the  Mission  field,  easily  reached  by 
rail,  and  is  being  built  in  such  a  way  that  wards  can 
be  added  from  time  to  time  as  funds  permit  and  as  the 
work  requires. 

The  Needy  Nimar  Valley.  For  three  years  Dr.  Mc- 
Phedran  has  waited  for  permission  from  the  Native 


128  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

State  to  build  a  Hospital  in  Barwaha.  This  is  a  key 
position  to  the  far-reaching  fertile  Nimar  valley.  It 
is  the  distributing  centre  for  miles  around.  The  resi- 
dents have  petitioned  for  the  Mission  to  be  allowed  to 
open  a  Hospital  there,  and  still  the  door  remains  closed 
to  it.  Under  conditions  that  sorely  try  faith  and 
patience,  he  has  worked  by  means  of  a  small  dispen- 
sary for  the  bodily  and  spiritual  healing  of  the  multi- 
tudes of  that  needy  valley.  As  in  the  days  on  earth  of 
the  Great  Physician,  so  now,  His  healing  servants  in 
Central  India  never  lack  the  open  door  of  service. 
No  occasion  to  seek  for  patients  here.  "A  great 
multitude  of  impotent  folk"  awaits  the  coming  of  those 
who  are  skilled  in  the  sympathetic  healing  art. 

Medical  Ministry  Among  the  Bheels.  Among  the 
aborigines  medical  skill  has  proved  a  mighty  power 
preparing  the  way  of  the  Gospel.  A  good  central 
Hospital  in  the  land  of  the  Bheels,  carried  on  by  a 
missionary  who  could  give  his  whole  time  to  that  work, 
would  be  a  mighty  factor  in  bringing  the  Bheel  country 
to  the  feet  of  the  Great  Physician.  Since  the  mission- 
ary doctor  began  work  in  that  land  the  business  of  the 
witch  doctors  has  greatly  diminished. 

Expansion  in  Women's  Medical  Work.  The  growth 
in  medical  work  for  women  has  been  more  satisfactory. 
Well-built  and  fairly  well-equipped  Hospitals  in  Indore, 
Neemuch,  and  Dhar,  are  doing  an  invaluable  work,  and 
a  Hospital  is  being  built  in  Hat  Piplia,  a  town  of  Bagli 
State,  which  was  urgently  desired  by  the  local  authori- 
ties. 


THE    WIDENING    WORK 

In  Indore  Hospital  a  missionary  ward,  known  as 
"Jessie  L.  Forrester  Ward,"  has  been  provided  by 
and  Mrs.  Campbell,  of  Rutlam  and  relatives,  in  memory 
of  Mrs.  Campbell's  sister,  whose  brief  sojourn  in  India 
will  thus  be  gratefully  remembered.  The  ward  has 
already  proved  a  boon  to  the  Mission  staff. 

Testimony  to  the  Value  of  Women's  Medical  Work. 
The  importance  of  medical  work,  both  men's  and 
women's,  is  well  described  in  the  report  of  Dr.  Margaret 
McKellar  in  1909  : 

"Medical  Mission  work  is  coming  into  its  own.  At 
the  recent  Pan-Anglican  Congress,  the  Mission  Section 
decided  that  the  watchword  which  should  guide  the 
future  Christianizing  efforts  in  India  was  to  be  '  Strength- 
en, reinforce,  the  Medical  arm.'  Brigade-Surgeon, 
Lt.-Col.  D.  F.  Keegan, — the  first  medical  man  whose 
acquaintance  the  writer  made  in  India, — nearly  two 
years  ago, — in  commenting  on  the  above  watchword, 
wrote:  'The  Government  of  India  might  well  adopt 
the  same  motto  and  apply  it  to  their  own  medical 
service  in  these  days  of  unrest  in  their  Great  Depend- 
ency. There  can  be  no  clashing  of  interests  between 
the  Indian  Medical  Service  and  the  Association  of 
Medical  Missionaries,  for  charity  in  its  widest  accepta- 
tion is  the  bedrock  principle  of  both.  Members  of  the 
Indian  Medical  Service  know  full  well  what  noble  work 
the  Medical  Missionary  Association,  which  now  num- 
bers more  than  300  fully-qualified  medical  practitioners 
of  both  sexes,  has  done  for  many  years  in  India,  and 
how  much  this  charitable  work  has  tended  towards 
inducing  the  native  to  view  the  Great  Sarkar  with  a 


130  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

more  and  more  trustful  and  kindly  eye.  And  the 
Association  has  done  this  by  the  proficiency  of  its 
members  in  medicine  and  more  especially  in  operative 
surgery ....  the  aggregate  number  of  important  surgical 
operations  performed  in  one  year  by  the  combined 
members  of  the  Association  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  India  is  immense.  The  members  of  the 
Medical  Missionary  Association  and  the  Indian  Medical 
Service  are  potent  instruments  of  conciliation  between 
the  governing  Briton  and  the  subject  races  in  our  Great 
Dependency,  and  no  strangers  in  India  know  the  native 
more  intimately  than  they  do,  for  it  is  their  lot  to  watch 
and  tend  him  when  stricken  by  disease  or  accident. 
And  it  is  then  that  his  many  fine  qualities  are  best  seen 
and  recognized,  and  the  doctors  are  amply  rewarded 
by  the  gratitude  and  implicit  trust  reposed  in  them  by 
the  native.'  " 

The  report  continues  :  "In  comparing  our  own  work 
with  a  like  number  of  Hospitals  for  women  supported 
by  Native  States,  the  administrative  medical  officer  in 
Central  India  in  his  last  Official  Report  to  hand  says, 
'It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  first  three  (Mission  Dispen- 
saries and  Hospitals  in  Indore,  Dhar,  and  Neemuch) 
are  for  women  only  and  show  (in  the  time  under  review) 
839  in-patients  ;  this  compares  favorably  with  the  346 
in-patients  of  the  separate  Women's  Hospitals  maintaiii- 
tained  by  the  States.  Again  the  out-patients  of  these 
missionary  Dispensaries  number  18,804,  against  11,748 
of  the  Women's  Hospitals.'  ' 

India's  Medical  Needs.  A  recent  writer  says  : 
"In  spite  of  all  that  Government  and  missionary  efforts 


RUTLAM  MISSION  HOSPITAL 


CARVING  ON  TEMPLE  WALLS 


BHEEL  THEOLOGICAL  CLASS  WITH    REV.  H.  H.  SMITH  AND  DR.  BUCHANAN 


PASTOR  AND  OFFICERS  OF  CHURCH  AT  MHOW 
Rev.  Mr.  Drew  (seated)  and  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  are  members  of  session 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  131 

combined  have  been  able  to  accomplish,  it  is  computed 
that  out  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  women  of 
India  not  more  than  three  million  as  yet  are  within  the 
reach  of  competent  medical  aid.  The  unrelieved 
suffering  implied  in  such  statistics  is  almost  unimagin- 
able. At  present  the  shortage  of  women  doctors  is  so 
great  that  hospitals  have  been  closed  for  want  of 
qualified  workers.  It  is  clear  that  the  increasing  needs 
of  India  in  this  direction  cannot  be  met  without  the 
education  of  Indian  women  themselves  as  doctors  and 
nurses.  Government  is  fully  alive  to  this  fact,  and  just 
as  in  the  matter  of  literary  education,  is  ready  to 
welcome  and  support  financially  Christian  Medical 
schools." 

Ludhiana     Medical     College     for     Women.       The 

Women's  Christian  Medical  College  in  Ludhiana  is 
doing  a  valuable  work  for  the  whole  of  Northern  India. 
The  Women's  Missionary  Society  of  Canada  through 
one  of  its  medical  missionaries  is  represented  on  the 
Board  of  Management.  The  Panjab  Government  has 
cordially  supported  the  Institution,  recognizing  its 
valuable  work. 

The  report  for  1914-15  showed  "that  40  medical 
students  have  already  received  their  diplomas  as 
Licensed  Medical  Practitioners,  and  are  working  in 
connection  with  19  different  Missionary  Societies  in  all 
parts  of  India.  At  present  there  are  41  students  in 
attendance  ;  18  compounders,  29  nurses,  and  16  mid- 
wives  are  enrolled,  making  a  total  of  104  under  in- 
struction." 


132  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

The  Leper.  Medical  work  for  lepers  early  claimed 
the  sympathy  and  help  of  the  Mission.  Dr.  Buchanan 
in  Ujjain  in  1895  inaugurated  the  first  attempts  to 
segregate  these  helpless  people.  A  graveyard  was  the 
only  segregation  camp  available,  and  the  tithes  of  the 
little  congregation  at  Ujjain  were  the  only  source  of 
supply  for  their  needs.  Influential  people,  who  had 
probably  never  given  a  thought  to  the  danger  of  so 
many  lepers  daily  mixing  with  the  people  in  the  crowded 
streets,  suddenly  became  alarmed  when  they  saw  them 
gathered  together  in  one  place.  They  looked  on  the 
missionary  as  one  who  had  brought  a  pestilence  to  the 
city.  Entreaties,  and  then  threats,  were  used  to  pre- 
vent the  lepers  being  gathered  together.  But  the  leper 
camp  continued.  In  Ujjain  there  is  now  a  Leper  Asy- 
lum built  by  the  State.  In  Dhar,  another  has  been 
built  with  funds  raised  by  Mr.  Henderson  of  Toronto, 
as  a  memorial  to  his  wife.  This  latter  Asylum  is  under 
the  care  of  the  "Mission  to  Lepers  in  India  and  the 
East,"  the  missionary  at  Dhar  acting  as  their  Super- 
intendent. From  the  beginning,  the  leper  work  has 
never  been  a  charge  on  the  funds  of  the  Canadian 
Church.  A  goodly  number  of  these  poor  outcastes 
have  been  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

Consumptives.  No  special  provision  has  yet  been 
made  for  consumptives,  although  there  is  need  among 
the  Christians  for  some  such  provision.  There  is  a 
sanatorium  near  Indore  on  one  of  the  highest  points  of 
the  Malwa  plateau  begun  by  an  energetic  and  public 
spirited  Hindu  gentleman,  the  medical  officer  of  Indore 


THE    WIDENING    WORK  133 

State,  and  built  by  the  wealthier  members  of  various 
sects,  each  sect  having  its  own  special  ward. 

The  work  is  ever  widening.  The  doors  of  service 
are  always  wide  open.  The  dark  clouds  of  famine,  and 
later  the  awful  ravages  of  Bubonic  plague,  came  to  test 
the  faith  of  the  missionaries,  but  the  last  two  decades 
have  seen  a  growing  intensive  work,  and  a  widening  of 
the  range  of  activity.  Fourteen  stations  are  occupied, 
and  the  mission  staff  has  increased  until  it  now  numbers 
seventy-four.  But  each  step  forward  shows  greater 
possibilities  of  service.  Instead  of  fourteen  stations, 
there  should  be  forty-four  centres.  With  such  a 
disposal  of  the  forces,  and  with  the  training  facilities 
now  established,  growing  with  the  increasing  needs,  it  is 
possible  for  the  eye  of  faith  to  see  the  coming  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  in  Western  Central  India. 


THE  INDIAN  CHURCH 


"  Experience  has  already  shown  that  by  far  the 
most  hopeful  way  of  hastening  the  realization  of  true 
and  triumphant  Christian  Unity,  is  through  the  enter- 
prise of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  non-Christian 
world." — DR.  JOHN  R.  MOTT. 

"The  simple  peasant  and  scholarly  pundit,  the 
speculative  mystic  or  self -torturing  devotee,  the 
peaceful  South-man,  and  the  manly  North-man,  the 
weak  Hindoo  who  clings  to  others  of  his  caste  for 
strength,  and  the  strong  aborigines  who  love  their 
individuality  and  independence  ;  one  and  all  possess  a 
power  which  could  find  its  place  of  rest  and  blessing 
in  the  faith  of  Christ  and  in  fellowship  with  one  another 
through  Him.  The  incarnate  but  unseen  Christ,  the 
Divine  yet  human  Brother,  would  dethrone  every  idol  ; 
God's  word  would  be  substituted  for  the  Puranas  ; 
Christian  brotherhood  for  caste  ;  and  the  peace  of  God 
instead  of  these  and  every  weary  rite  and  empty 
ceremony,  would  satisfy  the  heart.  Such  is  my  ideal 
which  I  hope  and  believe  will  one  day  become  real  in 
India." — DR.  NORMAN  MACLEOD,  (address  to  General 
Assembly  of  Church  of  Scotland). 


CHAPTER  VI. 
-  THE  INDIAN  CHURCH 

The  Key  to  the  Problem.  An  indigenous  Christian 
church  is  the  key  to  the  problem  of  India's  Evangeliza- 
tion. At  the  present  time,  the  Foreign  Mission 
organization  and  the  Indian  Church  exist  side  by  side, 
the  Foreign  Missionary  and  the  Indian  Worker  of  the 
Mission  being  in  some  cases  the  predominating  in- 
fluence ;  in  others,  where  the  Church  has  reached 
greater  maturity,  acting  as  helpers  to  the  Indian 
Church. 

What  is  a  Mature  Church  ?  Where  ecclesiastical 
maturity  has  been  attained  in  any  community  we  expect 
to  find  (i)  Pecuniary  self-support,  (2)  Complete  self- 
government,  (3)  Self-propagation.  This  is  the  ideal. 
The  Indian  Church  is  far  from  full  attainment,  but 
there  is  a  growing  self -consciousness,  the  ability  to 
control  its  own  affairs  is  becoming  increasingly  manifest, 
and  its  evangelizing  activities,  when  one  considers  the 
resources  of  the  Church,  compare  favorably  with  those 
of  Western  Churches. 

The  Indian  National  Conference  which  met  in  Cal- 
cutta in  December,  1912,  which  was  the  most  represent- 
ative missionary  body  that  has  yet  met  in  India,  ex- 
pressed itself  as  follows  : 

"This  Conference  notes  with  profound  thankfulness 
to  God  that,  as  the  outcome  of  Christian  effort  in  this 
Empire,  there  is  now  an  Indian  Church  firmly  estab- 

137 


138  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

lished  which,  not  only  in  its  numerical  growth,  but  also 
in  the  reality  and  vigor  of  its  spiritual  life,  in  the 
development  of  its  organization  and  in  the  growth  of 
its  missionary  zeal,  affords  great  cause  for  encourage- 
ment. It  is  the  conviction  of  this  conference  that  the 
stage  has  been  reached  when  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  make  the  Indian  Church  in  reality  the  most 
efficient  factor  in  the  Christian  propaganda  in  this  land. 
To  this  end  it  is  essential  that  the  Church  in  Western 
lands  should  continue  to  co-operate  in  the  further 
development  of  the  Indian  Church,  that  it  may  most 
effectively  accomplish  its  providential  mission  in  the 
regeneration  of  India." 

Interesting  Figures.  According  to  the  last  census, 
taken  in  1911,  the  Christian  population  of  India  is 
3,876,203,  or  about  12  per  thousand  of  the  population. 
Of  these  it  is  estimated  that  3,574,000  are  natives  of  the 
country,  the  balance  being  made  up  of  Europeans  and 
Eurasians,  or  as  they  are  now  called,  "Anglo-Indians." 
Not  more  than  200,000  are  Europeans  and  Americans, 
domiciled,  or  of  pure  descent,  and  these  include  nearly 
75,000  British  troops.  What  may  be  described  as  the 
resident  or  sojourning  white  civilian  element  is  little 
more  than  three  per  cent,  of  the  Christian  population. 

Of  the  above  3,876,203,  the  Roman  Catholics  number 
1,490,864  ;  the  Syrian  Church,  728,304  ;  the  Pro- 
testants, 1,636,731.  Of  the  Syrian  Church  more  than 
half  hold  allegiance  to  Rome  and  with  this  addition  the 
Roman  Catholics  number  1,904,006.  The  following 
table  gives  the  growth  of  the  total  Christian  community 
during  the  past  4  decades  : 


A  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY 


MR.  AND   MRS.  JOHORY 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH    -  139 

Increase  per  cent. 

1881 — 1,862,634. 

1891 — 2,284,380 22.6 

1901 — 2,923,241 27.9 

1911—3,876,203 32.6 

The  comparative  percentages  of  growth  in  the  past 
decade  are  as  follows  :  Roman  Catholics,  25%  ; 
Syrian  (Protestant),  27%  ;  Protestants,  41^"%.  It 
is  estimated  that,  "at  the  present  rate  of  increase  the 
whole  population  would  be  Christian  in  about  160 
years,  which  would  be  faster  than  the  conversion  of  the 
Roman  Empire." 

Within  the  bounds  of  our  own  mission  field  in  Central 
India  the  numerical  increase  has  been  encouraging. 
Since  the  Mission  began  in  1877,  over  four  thousand 
have  been  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Christian 
Church.  The  statistics  for  the  year  ending  Sept.  30, 
1915,  show  a  total  Christian  commuaity  of  3,126,  of 
which  1,048  are  full  communicants. 

A  Statesman's  Tribute  to  Christianity.  Bare  stat- 
istics, however,  give  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Christian  Church.  Striking  testimony 
in  this  regard  was  recently  given  by  one  who  stands 
outside  at  least  of  the  visible  church.  Sir  Narayan 
Chandarvarkar  in  addressing  the  Y.M.C.A.  of  Bombay 
used  these  words  : 

"And  this  message  has  not  only  come,  but  it  is  finding 
a  response  in  our  hearts  ;  for,  as  I  have  already  in- 
dicated to  you,  the  old  conception  of  a  spiritual  worship 
of  God  has  not  entirely  perished  from  the  minds  of  the 


140  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

people,  though  it  may  be  buried  below  a  mass  of 
ceremony  and  superstition.  The  process  of  the  con- 
version of  India  to  Christ  may  not  be  going  on  as  rapid- 
ly as  you  hope,  but,  nevertheless,  I  say,  India  is  being 
converted  ;  the  ideas  that  lie  at  the  heart  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  are  slowly  but  surely  permeating  every  part 
of  Hindu  society,  and  modifying  every  phase  of  Hindu 
thought.  And  this  process  must  go  on,  so  long  as 
those  who  preach  this  Gospel  seek,  above  all  things,  to 
commend  it,  not  so  much  by  what  they  say,  but  by 
what  they  do  and  the  way  they  live. 

"And  what  is  it  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ  that  com- 
mends it  so  highly  to  our  minds  ?  It  is  just  this,  that 
He  was  'the  Friend  of  sinners,'  He  would  eat  and  drink 
with  publicans  and  outcasts  ;  He  was  tender  with  the 
women  taken  in  sin  ;  all  His  heart  went  out  to  the  sin- 
ful and  needy,  and  to  my  mind  there  is  no  story  so 
touching  and  so  comforting  as  the  Prodigal  Son. 
Christ  reserved  His  words  of  sternest  denunciation  for 
hypocrites  and  especially  for  religious  hypocrites  whose 
lives  and  conduct  utterly  belie  the  great  professions 
that  they  make.  The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
has  come  to  India,  and  when  it  is  presented  in  its  ful- 
ness and  lived  in  its  purity,  it  will  find  a  sure  response 
among  the  people  of  the  land .... 

"I  have  no  right  to  speak  at  all  about  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ  ;  but  I  believe  that  it  is  working  amongst  us 
to-day  ;  It  is  the  little  leaven  that  will  in  time  leaven 
the  entire  mass.  The  Kingdom  of  Christ,  I  say,  is 
working  out  its  own  ends  slowly,  silently  and  yet 
securely." 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  141 

The  Church  in  Central  India.  The  church  in  Central 
India  has  undergone  a  rapid  transformation  within 
recent  years.  At  first  the  membership  consisted  largely 
of  the  preachers,  teachers  and  other  helpers  who,  with 
their  families,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Indian  Church. 
While  this  seemed  a  necessary  stage  in  the  establishment 
of  the  church,  it  was  not  a  condition  of  things  congenial 
to  the  growth  of  a  spirit  of  independence  or  self-reliance. 
To-day  the  conditions  are  far  different.  A  large  and 
ever-growing  proportion  of  the  membership  is  entirely 
independent  of  the  Mission,  and  the  Indian  Church  has 
a  goodly  number  of  the  Helpers  under  its  own  control 
and  is  responsible  for  their  support. 

There  is  no  work  more  important,  or  more  interesting 
than  to  help  in  the  healthy  development  of  the  church. 
It  is  a  work  which  lies  near  to  the  heart  of  every  true 
missionary  who  shares  something  of  Paul's  spirit  when 
he  wrote  to  the  Galatians :  ' '  My  little  children,  of  whom 
I  am  again  in  travail  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you ..." 
(Chap.  4  :  19).  The  hardest  work  of  the  missionary 
begins  when  the  converts  are  received  by  baptism  into 
the  company  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  Then  must 
follow  the  work  of  "teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things,  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."  It  has  to 
be  done  patiently,  perseveringly  and  systematically, 
training  them  in  temperance,  purity  and  holiness  of  life. 
Christian  worship,  so  different  from  the  temple  worship, 
has  to  be  exemplified.  Some  form  of  organization  is 
necessary  and  indigenous  leadership  has  to  be  developed. 

How  Maturity  is  to  be  Attained.  As  to  the  ideal 
for  the  Indian  Church,  self-governing,  self-supporting 


142  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

and  self-propagating,  there  is  unanimity  among  all 
missionaries.  As  to  the  method  of  attainment,  there  is 
considerable  difference  of  opinion.  Some  place  self- 
support  as  the  primary  consideration,  and  powers  of 
self-government  are  held  strictly  in  abeyance  until  the 
Church  has  learned  "to  pay."  Others  lay  the  emphasis 
on  self-government,  believing  that  when  the  Indian 
Church  is  trusted  with  responsibility,  the  grace  of 
benevolence  will  more  speedily  develop  and  the  work 
of  propagating  the  Gospel  be  stimulated.  Others 
again  see  only  the  pressing  need  of  India's  evangeliza- 
tion and  would  bend  all  the  energies  of  Foreign  and 
Indian  Christian  alike  to  this  end. 

The  problem  of  the  development  of  the  Indian 
Church  is  bound  up  with  the  work  of  a  well-organized 
and  wide-spread,  but  foreign,  missionary  propaganda. 
For  this  reason  the  problem  in  one  important  aspect 
has  to  do  with  the  relation  of  foreign  missionaries  to  the 
Indian  Church.  The  ideal  which  Christians  in  India 
have  before  them  will  largely  determine  the  way  in 
which  this  latter  question  will  be  treated.  If  an 
**  Indian  Church"  be  the  ideal,  there  will  almost  cer- 
tainly be  on  the  part  of  Indian  members  a  measure  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  place  foreign  missionaries  hold 
in  the  Church. 

The^  missionary  on  the  other  hand  may  fail  to  merge 
himself  with  the  Church  for  whose  welfare  he  toils. 
He  may  regard  himself  as  belonging  to  the  Mission 
rather  than  to  the  Church,  as  having  his  Church  mem- 
bership at  Home  rather  than  on  the  field,  and  as  being 
himself  merely  lent  to  this  work  until  such  time  as 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  143 

his  presence  is  longer  required.  The  Indian  Christian 
is  led  to  regard  the  Church  as  "for  Indians  only." 
In  such  a  case,  "The  ideal  of  the  Church  is  not  the  most 
effective  organization  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
largest  work  but  the  attainment  of  absolute  independ- 
ence at  all  costs,  as  soon  as  possible.  With  such  a 
thought  constantly  in  mind,  the  foreign  missionary  is 
not  looked  upon  as  a  desirable  element  in  the  Church, 
but  one  that  is  to  be  rendered  unnecessary  as  soon  as 
may  be."  But  let  the  ideal  be  :  "The  Church  of  Christ 
in  India,"  and  the  distinction  of  Indian  and  Foreign 
will  tend  to  disappear.  A  merely  "national"  outlook 
is  injurious  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Nations  tend  to  mingle  more  and  more.  India  will 
for  long  be  the  home  of  many  Europeans  and  Americans, 
East  and  West  will  meet,  and  where  more  fittingly 
than  in  the  Church  of  Christ  which  knows  neither  race 
nor  speech,  nor  color,  but  all  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus. 
With  such  an  ideal,  "the  controlling  thought  would 
not  be,  the  difference  between  Indian  and  foreign 
members  or  workers,  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
one  or  the  other,  but  the  possibility  of  using  both  to  the 
greatest  interest  of  the  supreme  work  of  the  Kingdom. 
In  such  a  church  the  relation  of  the  missionary  would 
be  that  which  would  enable  him  to  make  the  largest 
contribution  to  the  enterprise.  From  his  thinking 
would  be  absolutely  ruled  out  the  idea  that  he  is  there 
to  dominate  or  control  the  situation,  reserving  to  him- 
self such  rights  and  prerogatives  as  belong  only  to  the 
missionary  ;  while  from  his  Indian  brother's  mind 
would  disappear  the  thought  that  the  missionary,  so 


144  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

long  as  necessary,  must  be  tolerated,  but  that  true 
advance  on  the  part  of  the  Church  will  render  him 
unnecessary,  and  thus  happily  remove  the  one  class 
of  persons  that  now  prevents  the  Church  from  coming 
into  its  own  rightful  position  and  heritage."*  So  great 
is  the  work  that  remains  to  be  done  that  even  a  mature 
church  in  India  may  well  need  and  welcome  the  aid  of 
the  foreign  missionary.  The  attainment  of  self-support, 
self-government  and  the  spirit  and  ability  to  propagate 
itself,  does  not,  as  we  understand  it,  absolve  all  but  the 
Church  in  India  from  responsibility  for  India's  evan- 
gelization. 

The  Mission  and  the  Chaplaincy.  Having  as  its 
aim  the  wider  conception  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
India,  the  mission  has,  almost  from  its  beginnings, 
shown  a  practical  interest  in  the  work  among  Anglo- 
Indians  and  domiciled  Europeans  including  the  troops. 
These  latter  are  stationed  at  Neemuch  and  Mhow, 
with  small  detachments  also  in  Indore.  At  the  two 
first-named  the  Church  of  Scotland,  through  its  Colonial 
Committee,  has  held  itself  responsible  for  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  Presbyterian  troops.  In  1890,  on  account 
of  the  illness  of  the  regular  chaplain,  the  missionary  at 
Mhow,  Rev.  Geo.  MacKelvie,  was  asked  by  the  Church 
of  Scotland  to  assist  in  caring  for  the  troops,  and  part 
of  his  salary  was  guaranteed.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  co-operation  with  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  chap- 
laincy work.  From  that  time  to  the  present,  except 
a  few  brief  intervals  when  chaplains  were  appointed 
directly  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  work  has  been 

*Rev.  B.  T.  Badley,  Indian  Witness,  July  8,  1915. 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  145 

entrusted  to  the  Canadian  Mission,  and  its  nominees 
have  been  endorsed  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  a 
substantial  annual  grant  has  been  paid  into  the  funds 
of  the  Mission.  Various  members  of  the  staff  have 
officiated  from  time  to  time,  and  the  Mission  thus  forms 
a  living  bond  of  union  between  European  and  Indian. 
The  chaplaincy  is  now  under  the  care  of  Rev.  E.  J. 
Drew,  who,  in  recognition  of  his  long  and  faithful 
service,  has  been  given  the  status  of  a  missionary  by  the 
Foreign  Mission  Board  of  our  Church.  Mr.  Drew  is  an 
Englishman  who  went  to  India  in  the  Army,  but  after 
a  few  years  withdrew  and  engaged  in  business.  For 
over  thirty  years,  first  as  a  voluntary  worker,  and  later 
as  an  assistant-missionary,  he  has  been  closely  identified 
with  the  work  of  the  Mission  in  Mhow.  A  man  of 
boundless  energy  and  wide  experience,  he  has  well 
earned  the  mark  of  confidence  which  the  Mission  and 
the  Foreign  Mission  Board  have  bestowed  on  him. 
He  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  in  1905.  Two 
years  later  he  was  appointed  chaplain,  and  still  con- 
tinues rendering  acceptable  service  to  the  troops  as 
well  as  giving  valuable  aid  in  the  vernacular  work. 

English  Services  at  Rutlam.  For  the  little  Anglo- 
Indian  and  European  community  in  Rutlam,  services 
were  begun  by  Dr.  Campbell,  and  missionaries  of  that 
station  have  continued  to  minister  to  the  needs  of  that 
community  for  more  than  25  years.  The  maintenance 
of  an  English  service  and  occasionally  of  a  Sabbath 
School,  have  been  greatly  appreciated. 

Church  Union  in  India.  One  of  the  most  striking 
features  in  the  growth  of  the  Church  in  India  has  been 


146  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

in  the  direction  of  Union.  The  Presbyterians  led  the 
way,  and  in  1902  the  "South  India  United  Church" 
was  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Churches  in  connection 
with  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland  and  the 
Reformed  Church  of  America.  As  a  result  there  was 
co-operation  in  Theological  instruction,  in  training  of 
teachers,  in  the  publication  of  a  joint  paper,  in  bene- 
volent and  Home  Mission  work,  and  a  new  impetus 
was  given  to  self-support  and  self-government.  These 
results  became  still  more  evident  when  in  December, 
1904,  there  was  formed  a  larger  union  of  the  above 
Church  and  five  other  Presbyterian  bodies  working  in 
India.  It  chose  to  be  called  ' '  The  Presbyterian  Church 
in  India."  By  this  union,  the  Presbytery  and  its 
congregations  in  Central  India  ceased  to  have  organic 
connection  with  the  Canadian  Church  on  the  other  side 
of  the  world,  and  were  organically  united  to  their 
Presbyterian  brethren  throughout  India.  The  Mission 
and  the  missionaries  retained  their  former  connection 
with  the  parent  Church  in  Canada,  but  as  members 
of  an  "Indian"  Presbytery  and  its  congregations  they 
are  fully  identified  with  the  Church  in  India. 

A  still  more  comprehensive  union  movement  was  in 
the  meantime  being  contemplated  in  South  India,  and 
in  1908  the  Churches  in  connection  with  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  and  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  united  with  the  Pres- 
byterians of  the  South  in  "The  South  India  United 
Church."  The  Synod  of  South  India  was,  with  a 
cordial  Godspeed,  released  from  the  newly-formed 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  147 

Presbyterian  Church  in  India  to  merge  itself  in  the 
wider  union  in  the  South. 

Federation.  A  strong  movement  also  towards 
Federation  is  gathering  momentum  and  promises  soon 
to  be  widely  adopted.  Its  aim  is  that,  "The  Federa- 
tion shall  not  interfere  with  the  existing  creed  of  any 
Church  or  Society  entering  into  its  fellowship,  or  with 
its  internal  order  or  external  relations.  But  in  accept- 
ing the  principle  that  the  Church  of  God  is  one,  and 
that  believers  are  the  Body  of  Christ,  and  severally 
members  thereof,  the  Federating  Churches  agree  to 
respect  each  other's  discipline,  to  recognize  each  other's 
ministry,  and  to  acknowledge  each  other's  membership 
by  a  free  interchange  of  full  members  in  good  and  re- 
gular standing,  duly  accredited,  welcoming  them  into 
Christian  fellowship  and  communion  as  brethren  in 
Christ." 

The  basis  of  Federation  has  been  accepted  by  the 
missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the 
English  Baptist  Church,  by  the  American  Marathi 
Mission,  the  South  India  United  Church,  and  our  own 
Presbyterian  Church  in  India.  It  is  hoped  that 
shortly  Provincial  Federal  Church  Councils  will  be 
organized. 

The  Spirit  of  Union  in  India.  These  movements  are 
doing  much  to  remove  the  offence  which  a  divided 
Christendom  presents  to  thoughtful  minds  in  the 
Indian  Church.  Why  should  the  Church  in  non- 
Christian  lands  be  made  heir  to  the  differences  which 
have  had  their  origin,  often  in  strife,  in  the  Church  in 
Western  lands  ?  The  planting  of  Churches  along 


148  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

denominational  lines  was  perhaps  inevitable.  All  the 
more  necessary  is  it  that  the  work  of  union  should  not 
be  left  to  the  Indian  Churches  to  accomplish  alone  when 
they  reach  the  stage  of  maturity,  lest  the  differences 
with  which  they  have  Jiad  no  special  concern  in  the  past 
should  become  fastened  upon  them  for  all  time  ;  but 
that  the  Missions  should  endeavor  to  see  realized  the 
Unity  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  situation  in  India  compels  the  spirit  of  unity 
because  : 

(1)  Indian    Christians   generally   desire   the    fullest 
possible  fellowship.     For  them  the  simple  confession, 
"One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  Baptism,"  stands  out  in 
bold  relief  against   the   dark  background   of   a   cruel 
heathenism  which  has  cast  them  off  forever.     They 
chafe  against  denominational  barriers  which  tend  to 
hive  off  the  Christians  into  separate  folds. 

(2)  The    perspective    of   the   missionary   himself   is 
different  when  he  is  on  the  foreign  field.     He  may 
have  gone  there  with  the  idea  that  the  particular  tenets 
of  his  denomination — its  doctrinal  statements  and  forms 
of  government — should  be  repeated  on  the  foreign  field. 
But  he  soon  finds  that  he  is  confronting  everywhere 
the  same  pressing  problem — the  evangelization  of  the 
countless  multitudes.     The  evangelistic  note  dominates 
the  Church's  life,  and  the  emphasis  is  shifted  away 
from  the  thought  of  denominational  differences.     He 
sees  that  creeds  forged  in  times  of  controversy  and 
directed  against  errors  then  prevalent,  may  be  viewed 
differently   by   his   Indian   fellow-Christian,    who   has 
his  own  controversies  with  the  errors  of  India.     He 


THE    INDIAN   CHURCH 


149 


may  discover  also  that  forms  of  Church  Government 
need  to  be  adapted  to  the  character  of  the  people  and 
their  forms  of  social  life.  He  will  discover  that  his 
work  as  a  foreign  missionary  is  "not  to  carry  moulds 
but  to  plant  living  seed"  ;  to  teach  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  leaving  to  the  growing  Church 
freedom  to  adapt  its  creed  and  its  form  of  Government 
to  suit  the  special  circumstances.  The  Living  Lord 
is  in  His  Church,  and  can  be  trusted  to  lead  it  into  the 
fullest  measure  of  usefulness  and  blessing. 

(3)  All  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  face  a 
common  and  an  implacable  foe.  As  Sir  Herbert 
Edwardes  long  ago  said  :  "differences  about  bishops, 
etc.,  seem  very  small  under  the  shadow  of  an  idol  with 
twelve  heads."  In  face  of  the  opposition  of  the  great 
non-Christian  world  of  India,  any  refusal  on  the  part 
of  Christ's  followers  to  co-operate  in  the  fullest  possible 
way  seems  almost  criminal. 

Christian  Melas.  Perhaps  no  single  feature  of 
Church  life  has  been  so  potent  in  developing  the  sense 
of  unity  among  Indian  Christians  as  the  Melas  or 
Conventions  which  are  very  common  in  all  parts  of  the 
land.  They  are  according  to  the  genius  of  the  Indian 
people.  Their  gregarious  instincts  find  happiest  ex- 
pression in  these  large  and  enthusiastic  gatherings  for 
spiritual  inspiration  and  fellowship.  These  Melas  have 
discovered  to  the  Church  as  a  whole  not  a  few  men  of 
wonderful  gifts  as  preachers  of  the  Word  and  as  leaders 
in  spiritual  things.  The  Annual  Mela  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Presbytery  in  Central  India  has  been 
invaluable  for  the  development  of  the  corporate  life  of 


150  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

the  Church  there.  Four  or  five  days  are  spent  each 
year  in  united  prayer,  the  imparting  of  some  definite 
phase  of  Scripture  teaching,  and  the  delivering  of 
inspirational  addresses.  For  missionary  and  Indian 
Christian  alike,  these  days  have  been  times  of  much 
blessing. 

Indigenous  Missionary  Activities.  With  the  growth 
of  self-consciousness  and  the  spirit  of  unity  in  the 
Church  in  India,  there  is  a  growing  desire  to  assume 
responsibility  for  India's  evangelization.  The  growth 
of  indigenous  missionary  associations,  denominational 
and  otherwise,  has  been  a  feature  of  recent  years.  In 
Central  India  the  growth  in  this  respect  has  been 
gratifying.  In  1915,  with  13  organized  congregations, 
and  a  communicant  membership  of  1,048,  and  a  total 
baptized  community  of  3,015,  a  total  of  3,286  Rupees  (3 
Rupees  =  i  dollar)  was  spent  on  extra-congregational, 
or  specifically  Mission  work.  Congregations  were 
responsible  for  one  or  more  Home  Missionaries  each, 
and  in  some  cases  assumed  the  entire  up-keep  of  out- 
stations.  Some  employed  Bible  women,  others  were 
responsible  for  local  schools.  Three  congregations  had 
settled  pastors.  The  amount  spent  on  Mission  work 
was  equal  to  three-fourths  of  that  spent  on  congrega- 
tional needs  including  pastoral  support.  But  apart 
from  financial  gifts  was  the  gratifying  fact  that  much 
personal  work  in  bazaar  preaching,  conducting  of 
Sunday  Schools,  etc.,  was  carried  on. 

The  Banyan  Tree.  The  growth  of  the  Church  in 
India  is  typified  in  that  of  the  banyan  tree.  First  is  the 
parent  trunk,  which  throws  out  its  far-spreading 


THE  BANYAN  TREE— A  PARABLE  OF  THE  INDIAN  CHURCH 


MISSIONARY'S  BUNGALOW  AT  KHARUA 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  151 

branches.  From  these  in  course  of  time  rootlets  drop 
downwards  until  they  touch  the  earth,  and  in  a  mar- 
vellously short  space  of  time  these  take  firm  hold  of  the 
soil  and  become  strong  supports  to  the  branch  above. 
The  overhead  branch  extends  farther  and  drops  other 
rootlets  which  also  in  time  become  supporting  pillars 
to  the  branches  above.  The  parent  trunk  is  thus  soon 
surrounded  by  a  mass  of  pillars  each  like  the  parent 
stem  ;  and  trees  may  be  seen  where  the  original  trunk 
has  decayed  almost  entirely  away,  leaving  the  wide- 
spreading  tree  supported  by  its  newly  formed  trunks. 
Not  yet,  however,  has  that  time  come  for  the  Church 
in  India.  Co-operation  between  the  Foreign  and  the 
indigenous  Church,  is  the  need  of  the  present.  The 
Macedonian  cry,  ''Come  over  and  help  us,"  is  still  the 
cry  of  the  Church  in  India  to  the  Church  in  Canada. 

Some  Indian  Leaders.  Did  space  permit  it  would  be 
profitable  to  the  reader  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
many  who  are  leaving  their  impress  on  the  young 
Church  in  Central  India.  For  instance,  the  pastors. 
In  1900  the  first  Indian  pastor,  Jairam  B.  Makasare, 
was  ordained  and  settled  over  the  Rutlam  congregation, 
which  then  had  3  elders,  49  communicants,  146  bap- 
tized and  174  unbaptized  adherents.  The  pastors  from 
the  first  were  not  permitted  to  be  a  charge  on  the 
Foreign  Mission  Funds  of  the  Church  in  Canada.  Had 
some  scheme  of  augmentation  been  adopted,  the  num- 
ber of  settled  pastorates  would  doubtless  have  been 
greater  ;  but  it  is  questionable  if  there  has  been  any 
real  loss  to  the  Church  by  insisting  on  self-support. 
The  Rev.  Benjamin  Ellis,  a  scholarly  minister  from  a 


152  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

neighboring  Presbytery,  was  inducted  as  first  pastor 
in  Indore  in  1912.  Mhow,  the  same  year,  called  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Karim,  the  youngest  of  our  pastors,  a 
man  who  has  been  trained  from  boyhood  in  the  Mission. 
To  rare  gifts  as  a  teacher,  there  is  added  the  true 
pastor-spirit  and  zeal  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  The 
Rev.  Bhagajee  Gaekwad,  after  long  years  of  service, 
and  having  completed  the  prescribed  course  of  study, 
was  ordained  as  Minister-Evangelist,  and  given  the 
oversight  of  a  District.  The  Rev.  Yohan  Masih,  grad- 
uate in  English  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  Clerk  of 
the  Synod,  Instructor  in  the  Seminary,  and  zealous 
evangelist,  is  a  born  leader.  Mr.  J.  W.  Johory,  ver- 
satile, zealous  Home-Missionary,  first  Indian  extra- 
mural B.D.  graduate  of  Serampore  College,  teacher  in 
Arts  College  and  Theological  Seminary,  tutor  in  the 
Maharajah's  household,  has  his  whole  life  been  devoted 
to  the  Church  in  Central  India.  (His  picture  and  that 
of  Mrs.  Johory  are  seen  on  another  page.)  For  these 
able  godly  men,  and  many  others,  we  give  God  thanks. 
The  writer  recently  gathered  some  personal  testimonies 
from  leading  members  of  our  Central  India  Christian 
community  ;  and  in  answer  to  the  question  ' '  Why  are 
you  a  Christian  ?"  the  following  among  other  replies 
were  received  : 

Personal  Testimonies.  "I  do  not  know  how  I  can 
live  a  holy  life  in  this  world  and  be  in  communion  with 
the  Divine,  without  being  a  Christian.  Since  accept- 
ing Jesus  as  my  Saviour  I  have  got  such  a  victory  over 
temptations  and  my  sins  in  which  I  used  to  fall  often. 
The  vision  of  the  loving  Father  through  Jesus  is  so  clear 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  153 

that  there  is  perfect  peace  and  joy,  and  love  to  help 
and  save  my  fellowmen.  That's  why  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian." 

Another  says  :  "I  am  a  Christian  because  the  love 
of  Christ  constrains  me.  He  lived  and  died  for  me. 
He  is  now  my  living  personal  Saviour.  His  loving 
presence  is  all-sufficient  for  me.  He  satisfied  all  the 
cravings  of  my  heart.  Without  Him  I  find  life  to  be 
not  worth  living.  I  cannot  but  be  a  Christian,  most 
unworthy  though  I  am  to  be  called  so." 

Another  replied  : 

"Because  Christ  came  to  save  sinners  and  He  has 
saved  me,  and  because  Christ  purchased  me  by  His 
own  precious  blood,  therefore  now  I  am  not  my  own, 
but  Christ's." 

Another  : 

"Because  Jesus  has  bought  me  with  a  price  and  re- 
deemed me  with  His  precious  blood.  I  looked  unto  Him 
and  was  lightened.  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His  un- 
speakable gift.  The  God  of  Glory  was  not  ashamed  to 
pick  me  up,  but  called  me  out  of  darkness  and  unclean- 
ness  into  His  marvellous  light." 

And  still  another  writes  : 

"'I  am  a  Christian  because  in  my  own  experience  I 
have  found  a  personal  Saviour  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He  is  to  me  not  an  abstract,  philosophic  Ideal  nor  a 
mere  Historical  Person,  but  a  Living  Presence,  realized 
in  my  every  day  life,  leading  and  guiding  me  through 
the  vicissitudes  of  life  notwithstanding  my  weaknesses 
and  frailties.  I  have  found  Him  a  ready  Helper  in 
all  my  trials  and  difficulties,  and  a  loving  and  sympath- 


154  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

izing  Friend  in  my  life  struggles  through  this  world, 
giving  me  assurance  that  He  will  be  the  fulfilment  of 
my  hope  when  this  life  ends  to  be  resuscitated  again  in 
the  glory  of  resurrection.  In  communion  with  Him  I 
have  found  that  peace  of  mind  and  spiritual  strength 
which  enabled  me  so  far  to  battle  through  indifference 
and  misunderstandings  of  the  world.  In  the  knowledge 
that  I  am  also  one  of  His — a  Christian,  I  have  felt  that 
joy  and  peace  which  the  world  had  not  given  me.  I 
am  fully  convinced  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  world 
which  can  give  that  assurance  of  salvation  and  divine 
life  that  Christianity  can  give." 

These  testimonials  reveal  the  longings  of  the  heart 
of  India  for  a  faith  which  satisfies  and  gives  power  to 
live  victoriously.  ' '  Show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth 
us  "  is  the  cry  of  earnest  souls.  Jesus  is  the  only  answer 
which  will  satisfy.  It  is  the  confession  of  men  and 
women  such  as  these  that  gives  hope  for  the  Church 
in  Central  India.  So  long  as  our  leading  Christians 
have  a  vital  experience  of  the  Saving  Power  of  Jesus 
Christ,  there  need  be  little  fear  for  the  progress  of  the 
Church.  And  it  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  men  of 
outstanding  gifts  as  leaders  in  the  Church  in  India  as  a 
whole  are  men  of  a  deep  spirituality. 

Problems  of  the  Church  in  India.  The  Church  in 
India  has  special  difficulties  to  cope  with,  (a)  In  the 
matter  of  Sabbath  observance.  The  Day  is,  of  course, 
officially  recognized  as  a  Day  of  Rest.  Offices,  schools, 
and  public  buildings  are  closed  as  a  rule,  and  many  of 
the  larger  shops  in  the  chief  cities.  But  in  the  non- 
Christian  communities  generally,  the  convert  sees  all 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  155 

about  him  the  people  engaged  on  the  Lord's  Day  in 
their  ordinary  occupations.  Shops  open,  vendors 
crying  their  wares,  temptations  on  every  hand.  The 
Christian  has  the  unique  privilege  of  giving,  by  his 
reverence  for  the  Day,  a  marked  testimony  to  his 
faith. 

"  Upholding  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  law  is  a 
matter  of  extreme  difficulty  in  a  non-Christian  commun- 
ity where  employers  of  labor  pay  no  regard  to  it,  and 
where  many  Government  operations  of  various  kinds 
are  continued  on  the  Sabbath  under  the  control  of 
Europeans,  and  where  many  Europeans  bearing  the 
Christian  name  pay  no  heed  to  the  claims  of  the  day. 
The  Native  Christians,  who  are  poor  (as  most  of  them 
are)  and  dependent  for  daily  bread  on  their  service  for 
non-Christian  masters,  are  practically  compelled  to 
work  at  least  a  portion  of  the  day,  and  so  also  are  those, 
in  some  cases,  in  Government  offices  and  in  State  and 
railway  employ."* 

(b)  In  the  matter  of  polygamous  converts.  The 
presence  of  such  in  the  Church  is  a  cause  of  offence  to 
very  many  ;  but  the  refusal  to  give  the  rite  of  baptism 
until  the  convert  consents  to  retain  the  one  wife  only, 
raises  serious  difficulties.  This  is  well  expressed  in  the 
report  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference  as  follows  : 

"One  great  difficulty  is  that  in  many  non-Christian 
lands  the  practice  of  polygamy  is  not  contrary  to  the 
natural  and  unenlightened  conscience.  You  can  show 
a  man  without  great  difficulty  that  an  idol  is  notfiing, 
or  a  witch  doctor  an  impostor,  but  you  cannot  easily 

*Edinburgh  Conference  Report. 


156  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

lead  him,  as  it  were  from  without,  into  our  Lord's  high 
and  spiritual  view  of  Holy  Matrimony.  As  Bishop 
Callaway  remarks  :  '  It  is  not  so  much  that  polygamy 
hinders  conversion,  as  that  it  is  the  converted  man  alone 
who  can  see  that  polygamy  is  wrong.'  Once  again, 
when  polygamy  has  been  thus  entered  upon  by  both 
parties  in  the  times  of  ignorance,  and  where  there  are 
children  recognizing  the  two  parties  as  their  parents, 
for  the  Church  to  insist  on  the  breaking  up  of  the  re- 
lationship is  to  deprive  the  children,  either  on  the  one 
hand,  of  the  protection  of  their  father,  or  on  the  other 
hand,  of  the  care  of  their  mother  ;  while  the  woman 
thus  put  away  finds  herself,  according  to  many  letters 
before  us,  in  the  position  of  gravest  moral  danger — 
'  relegated '  as  one  correspondent  bluntly  put  it,  '  to  the 
position  of  a  prostitute.'  "* 

Times  of  Refreshing.  No  account  of  the  growth  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  Central  India  would  be  com- 
plete without  a  reference  to  the  "Revival"  of  1906-07. 
Following  the  remarkable  revival  in  Wales  in  1905  the 
Churches  in  several  parts  of  India  were  visited  by  a  very 
wonderful  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Like  a 
fire,  trying  the  hearts  of  men,  it  swept  through  whole 
communities  of  Christians.  This  had  been  preceded 
by  much  earnest  prayer  for  spiritual  reviving,  and  the 
answer  came  in  such  an  overwhelming  sense  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  heart-searching  God,  in  such  a  deep  sense 
of  sin,  and  open  confession,  in  such  agony  of  prayer  for 
the  Church  and  for  the  unsaved,  as  few  had  ever  seen 
before.  Sometimes  whole  audiences  seemed  to  be 


*Edinburgh  Conference  Report. 


THE    INDIAN    CHURCH  157 

moved  by  some  invisible  power  and  the  meeting  would 
be  taken  entirely  out  of  the  hands  of  the  leader.  One 
after  another  would  rise,  and  sometimes  several  at  once, 
to  pray,  confess,  or  read  a  portion  of  scripture.  The 
deep  spiritual  intensity,  preserved  the  sense  of  unity. 
Restitution  was  made  for  wrong  done,  old  grudges 
confessed  and  put  away,  enemies  were  reconciled, 
consciences  made  tender  as  never  before.  There  was 
deep  distress  at  sin,  the  sin  which  caused  the  death  of 
the  Divine  Saviour.  The  cry  was  often  heard  :  "It 
was  not  the  Jews  or  the  Roman  soldiers  that  crucified 
Thee,  it  was  I,"  or  "My  sins  were  the  thorns  in  Thy 
brow"  ;  "My  sins  pierced  Thee."  It  was  a  time  of 
gracious  ' '  reviving ' '  and  particularly  in  those  phases  of 
the  spiritual  life  where  there  is  frequently  a  great  lack 
among  converts  from  heathenism. 


PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


"Oriental  thought  is  on  the  march,  and  you  cannot 
stop  it,  do  what  you  will.  If  you  ask  me  what  is  safe 
for  the  future — if  you  ask  me  to  indicate  a  safe  and 
expedient  policy  to  the  Government,  I  say  an  open 
Bible.  Put  it  in  your  schools.  Stand  avowedly  as  a 
Christian  Government.  Follow  the  noble  example  of 
your  Queen.  Declare  yourselves  in  the  face  of  Ihe 
Indian  people  as  a  Christian  nation,  as  Her  Majesty 
has  declared  herself  a  Christian  Queen,  and  you  will 
not  only  do  honor  to  her,  but  to  your  God,  and  in  that 
alone  you  will  find  that  true  safety  rests." 

— SIR  HERBERT  EDWARDES. 

"Many  persons  mistake  the  way  in  which  the  con- 
version of  India  will  be  brought  about.  I  believe  it 
will  take  place  wholesale,  just  as  our  own  ancestors 
were  converted." 

— SIR  CHARLES  TREVELYAN. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

There  are  problems  that  are  ever  present  and  others 
that  are  peculiar  to  their  time.  Some  are  more  in- 
sistent at  one  time  than  another.  The  Living  Spirit 
of  Christ  has  been  given  to  His  Church  for  guidance 
to  solve  the  problems  as  they  arise. 

i.  MASS  MOVEMENTS 

The  normal  growth  of  the  Christian  Community  in 
India  is  generally  thought  to  be  by  individual  acces- 
sions from  the  non-Christian  communities  ;  and 
ordinarily  such  converts  confess  Christ  at  great  sacrifice 
— a  sacrifice  which  puts  to  shame  the  critic  who  asks  : 
"  How  much  does  it  cost  to  convert  a  Hindu  ? "  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  the  cost  is  negligible  compared  with  what 
it  costs  a  Hindu  to  become  a  Christian.  The  individual 
who  confesses  Christ  by  baptism,  forsakes  all  to  follow 
his  Master.  But  it  frequently  happens  that  whole 
communities,  as  such,  are  moved  to  cast  away  their 
idols  and  turn  to  Christianity.  Such  are  known  as 
"Mass  Movements."  The  expression  is  intended  to 
indicate  "the  movements  towards  the  Church,  of 
families,  and  groups  of  families,  sometimes  of  entire 
classes  and  villages,  rather  than  of  individuals.  The 
impulse  that  gives  rise  to  such  movements  is  a  ferment 
of  some  kind  of  new  life  in  the  mass,  rather  than  any 

161 


162  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

definite  aspiration  separately  realized  by  each  indivi- 
dual."* When  such  movements  occur,  it  is  found  that 
caste  influence,  which  destroys  individual  initiative 
and  makes  the  cross  so  heavy  for  the  individual  con- 
vert, gives  added  force  to  the  "Mass  Movement,"  for 
such  movements  usually  run  along  the  lines  of  caste 
relationships. 

The  Eastern  Type  of  Mind.  A  Westerner  with  his 
strongly  individualistic  cast  of  mind,  finds  it  difficult 
to  appreciate  the  way  the  Indian  thinks  and  acts. 
Mind  in  India  moves  in  the  mass.  Life  is  communal 
in  its  expression.  In  the  West,  each  individual  counts 
as  an  integer  ;  in  India,  he  counts  as  a  fraction.  Com- 
munal interests  determine  all  his  social  ties,  his  work, 
his  whole  life.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Christian 
appeal  should  be  responded  to  by  the  community  as 
such. 

Of  the  whole  Christian  population  of  India,  it  is 
estimated  that  nearly  90%  has  come  from  the  depressed 
classes  or  the  outcaste  communities — those  who  are 
considered  too  degraded  to  have  a  place  in  the  Hindu 
social  system.  There  are  over  50  million  of  these  in 
the  whole  of  India.  They  live,  as  a  rule,  outside  the 
village  walls  or  in  districts  strictly  removed  from  their 
Hindu  neighbors.  Mass  movements  have  largely 
characterized  the  approach  of  these  people  to  the 
Christian  faith.  In  earlier  days  in  South  India  large 
numbers  were  baptized,  and  latterly  work  in  North 
India  has  been  characterized  by  widespread  movements 

*  World    Missionary    Conference — The    Church   in   the    Mission 
Field,  page  85. 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  163 

among    the    chuhras,    chamars,    and    other   depressed 
classes. 

The  Poor  of  India.  These  are  the  poor  of  India. 
In  a  land  where  wealth  is  but  ill-distributed  and  where 
the  average  earnings  per  capita  has  been  estimated  at 
£2-10-0  to  £3-0-0  per  annum,  the  depressed  classes 
represent  the  extreme  of  poverty.  Millions  of  them 
travel  life's  journey  always  hungry  and  near  to  the 
border  line  of  death.  They  are  so  poor  that  they  are 
not  afraid  of  death,  and  when  the  grim  shadow  falls 
over  their  path  they  do  not  struggle  hard  but  just  lie 
down  and  die  as  though  the  gloomy  visitor  were  not 
unwelcome. 

India  Christianized  from  the  Base  Upward.  The 
history  of  the  growth  of  Christianity  in  communities 
is  usually  from  the  base  upward.  In  the  early  days  of 
Christianity  the  reproach  was  cast  upon  it  that,  "the 
new  sect  was  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  dregs 
of  the  populace,  of  peasants  and  mechanics,  of  boys  and 
women,  of  beggars  and  slaves."  Paul  wrote  to  the 
Corinthians  of  his  day  :  "  Behold  your  calling,  brethren, 
that  not  many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble  are  called,  but  God  chose  the  foolish 
things  of  the  world  that  He  might  put  to  shame  them 
that  are  wise  ;  and  God  chose  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  that  He  might  put  to  shame  the  things  that  are 
strong  ;  and  the  base  things  of  the  world,  and  the 
things  that  are  despised  did  God  choose  ;  yea  and  the 
things  that  are  not  that  He  might  bring  to  nought  the 
things  that  are  ;  that  no  flesh  should  glory  before  God." 
(i  Cor.  i  :  28-9  R.V.)  And  our  Lord,  when  making 


164  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

His  first  announcement  of  the  character  of  His  earthly 
ministry,  said  :  "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me 
because  He  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the 
poor. ..."  (Luke  4  :  18  R.V.)  To  the  poor  the  Gospel 
is  preached, — is  the  dominant  note  of  Indian  evangelism, 
and  we  may  be  sure  this  work  is  very  near  to  the  heart 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  test  of  a  genuine  Christianity  is 
its  attitude  to  the  poor. 

Mass  Movements  in  North  India.  Of  Mass  Move- 
ments in  the  North,  with  which  our  Mission  is  more 
closely  related,  the  growth  has  been  remarkable.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  of  the  U.S.A.  in  1912 
baptized  30,000,  and  in  1913,  40,000.  In  these  two 
years  as  many  were  received  as  in  the  whole  of  the  first 
40  years  of  their  mission  in  India.  In  1914  they  had 
to  refuse  baptism  to  40,000  enquirers  because  of  lack 
of  helpers  to  give  the  needed  instruction.  The  United 
Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America  has  a  member- 
ship of  over  60,000,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  U.S.A.,  of  over  26,000,  very  largely  drawn  from 
the  despised  classes  as  a  result  of  mass  movements. 

Movement  Among  Ballais  and  Others.  The  Central 
India  Mission  has  touched  but  the  fringe  of  such  move- 
ments as  yet,  but  they  are  so  important  and  so  full  of 
possibilities  for  the  future  that  they  deserve  careful 
study.  The  experiences  of  the  Mission  in  this  respect 
in  its  earlier  years  have  been  told  in  a  previous  chapter.* 
More  recently  there  has  been  manifest  a  widespread 
interest  among  the  Ballais,  who  are  the  hired  helpers 
of  the  higher  castes  and  are  also  the  weavers  of  a  coarse 

*See  Chap.  IV. 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  165 

kind  of  cloth,  commonly  used  by  the  farmers.  In  the 
North-Eastern  section  of  our  field  especially,  numbers 
of  enquirers  have  been  enrolled.  In  Kharua  station, 
300  families  were  under  instruction  in  1914,  and  many 
have  since  been  baptized.  The  interest  is  spreading 
and  many  more  are  asking  to  be  instructed.  The  fer- 
ment of  Christian  ideas  is  permeating  the  Ballai 
community  as  well  as  other  low  castes.  The  strength 
of  the  Mission  staff  will  have  to  be  directed  more  to 
these  people,  and  our  greatest  problems  in  the  future 
will  be  those  raised  by  the  movements  towards  Chris- 
tianity among  the  "untouchables." 

The  Motives  which  Move  Them.  It  cannot  be  s 
that  the  motives  which  actuate  these  peoples  are  of  a 
high  order,  if  judged  by  the  standards  of  those  who  are 
the  products  of  centuries  of  Christianity.  They  are 
turning  to  Christianity  from  a  condition  of  degradation 
and  ignorance.  By  centuries  of  oppression  they  have 
become  reconciled  to  their  lot  and  even  speak  of  them- 
selves, without  any  sense  of  the  injustice  of  it,  as  the 
"untouchables."  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  among 
them  may  not  strike  at  once  the  highest  possible 
responsive  chord,  but  the  Message  of  Christ  to  the  out- 
caste  calls  forth  the  recognition  of  their  own  manhood, 
the  hope  of  social  betterment,  and  of  relief  from  age- 
long oppression. 

From  their  point  of  view,  these  motives  may  be  as 
far  superior  to  those  which  ordinarily  move  them,  as 
the  heavens  are  above  the  earth.  "The  tyranny  and 
oppression  to  which  the  outcastes  are  subjected  in 
India,  as  a  result  of  the  caste  system,  is  a  material 


l66  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

factor  of  the  whole  movement.  They  find  themselves 
admitted  to  a  new  fellowship,  treated  as  brothers  and 
potentially  equals.  They  find  thus  offered  to  them  a 
new  dignity  and  a  new  status.  When  the  members 
of  some  families  have  dared  to  join  the  Christian 
Church,  their  friends  have  at  first  persecuted  them,  then 
have  learned  to  watch  them  with  interest,  and  finally 
have  been  convinced  that  these  converts  were  changing 
in  character  as  well  as  in  outward  circumstances,  and 
changing  undoubtedly  for  the  better.  Thus  family 
ties,  which  in  the  beginning  formed  a  hindrance,  be- 
came helpful  to  the  growth  of  the  Church.  Families 
join  themselves  to  the  Christian  movements  because 
their  friends  have  done  so,  and  in  doing  so  have  pros- 
pered. Many  come  because  they  see  that  Christian 
children  are  cared  for  and  educated,  and  have  in  every 
way  a  better  prospect  in  life  than '  children  of  the  non- 
Christian  community  around  them."* 

A  Challenge  to  the  Church.  These  mass  movements 
began  in  South  India  and  have  since  spread  to  parts  of 
Burmah,  the  Central  Provinces,  the  United  Provinces, 
and  the  Pan  jab.  The  extent  to  which  these  movements 
have  grown  in  the  Northern  and  Central  parts  of  India, 
is  challenging  anew  the  faith  and  consecration  of  the 
Churches  in  these  areas.  A  heavy  responsibility  rests 
on  the  Church  to  be  ready  to  cope  with  such  problems. 
She  dare  not  baptize  without  having  a  reasonable  hope 
of  being  able  to  shepherd  and  educate,  as  well,  these 
masses.  The  moving  of  these  multitudes  is  not  of  man 

'Edinburgh  Conference  Report,  page  87  of  "  The  Church  in  the 
Mission  Field." 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN    MISSIONS  167 

but  of  God.  Prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit 
on  India  is  being  answered  by  the  outpouring  of  a  great 
unrest  among  these  despised  ones,  and  the  turning  of 
them  in  thousands  to  the  Christian  Church  for  the 
satisfying  of  a  hunger,  the  meaning  of  which  they  but 
dimly  understand.  In  all  the  years  of  work  in  Central 
India,  there  never  was  such  a  wide-open  door  for  service 
as  that  which  these  "poor"  now  present  to  us,  and  yet 
we  are  but  at  the  beginning  of  this  work. 

These  movements  are  full  of  hope  for  the  future. 
G.  S.  Eddy  says  :  "The  numbers  gained  in  the  mass 
movements  alone  are  greater  than  in  any  other  mission 
field,  and  place  India  among  the  most  hopeful  and  ur- 
gent mission  fields  of  the  world."* 

Effect  on  the  Caste  System.  They  are  a  fatal  blow 
at  the  whole  caste  system.  The  existence  of  the 
depressed  classes,  a  great  army  of  over  50  million,  is  the 
degradation  of  the  whole  social  system  of  Hinduism. 
In  the  words  of  the  late  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington, 
"You  can't  keep  a  man  down  in  the  ditch  without 
staying  down  there  with  him."  The  redemption  of  the 
depressed  classes  will  mean  the  collapse  of  the  caste 
system  in  its  objectionable  features,  for  it  needs  them 
to  preserve  its  ceremonial  purity. 

But  still  another  influence  is  at  work  among  the  high- 
er castes  as  a  result  of  the  uplifting  of  the  depressed 
classes.  It  is  common  testimony  that  where  this  work 
has  been  most  successful,  there  has  also  been  the  great- 
est success  with  the  high  caste  people.  They  are 

*"The  New  Era  in  Asia,"  page  153. 


l68  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

drawn  by  the  evident  power  of  the  Gospel  to  uplift 
those  for  whom  Hinduism  has  no  message.  The  story 
is  told  of  a  Brahman,  visiting  a  missionary  and  seeing 
on  the  wall  a  picture  of  Christ  washing  the  disciples' 
feet,  saying,  "You  Christians  pretend  to  be  like  Jesus 
Christ,  but  you  are  not  ;  none  of  you  ever  wash  peo- 
ples' feet."  The  missionary  said,  "But  that  is  just 
what  we  are  doing  all  the  time.  You  Brahmans  say 
you  sprang  from  the  head  of  your  god  Brahma  ;  that 
the  next  caste  lower  sprang  from  the  shoulders  ;  the 
next  lower  from  his  loins,  and  the  low  caste  sprang  from 
his  feet.  We  are  washing  India's  feet,  and  when  you 
proud  Brahmans  see  the  low  caste  and  the  outcaste 
getting  educated  and  Christianized — washed  clean, 
beautiful,  and  holy  inside  and  outside — you  Brahmans 
d  all  India  will  say,  '  Lord,  not  my  feet  only,  but  also 
my  hands  and  my  head.'  ' 

Hinduism  Being  Aroused.  These  movements  have 
been  a  stimulus  to  social  service  within  Hinduism 
itself.  The  publication  of  the  successive  census 
reports  has  awakened  even  the  orthodox  Hindu  to  note 
the  defection  from  Hinduism  of  great  numbers  of  low 
castes  ;  and  here  and  there  movements  are  set  on  foot 
to  lift  the  depressed,  and  attach  more  firmly  to  the 
Hindu  system,  the  Mahars,  Pariahs,  and  others  of  that 
type.  Whether,  when  they  become  educated  enough 
to  be  conscious  of  their  claims  to  manhood  and  begin 
to  assert  their  rights  to  equality  of  treatment,  their 
high  caste  sympathizers  will  be  so  anxious  for  their 
welfare,  is  another  question.  In  the  meantime  we 
welcome  every  agency  that  tends  to  the  intellectual 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  169 

and  moral  enlightenment  of  those  whose  uplift  is  long 
overdue. 

II.  EDUCATION 

Agitation  in  Regard  to  Education.  The  problems 
of  education  are  being  discussed  in  India  as  never 
before.  The  great  question  so  ardently  discussed  a 
generation  ago  as  to  whether  Mission  schools  for  non- 
Christian  pupils  were  a  legitimate  Mission  agency,  is 
now  seldom  raised.  The  principle  is  now  generally 
recognized,  but  new  problems  as  to  method  or  ex- 
pediency constantly  arise.  There  is  a  growing  demand 
for  free  and  compulsory  primary  education.  Just 
recently  Indore  State  has  issued  Regulations  enforcing 
this.  Greater  efficiency  is  being  demanded  by  Govern- 
ment in  higher  educational  work.  Industrial  educa- 
tion has  been  tardily  recognized,  but  is  being  given 
its  rightful  place,  and  thus  the  balance  is  being  restored. 
The  literary  side  of  education  has  been  unduly  empha- 
sized. The  neglect  of  technical  teaching  and  in- 
struction along  industrial  lines  has  been  to  the  loss  of 
India  and  the  loss  of  the  growing  Christian  community. 
In  the  several  Native  States  of  Central  India,  there  was 
for  years  no  serious  attempt  made  systematically  to 
organize  schools.  But  recently  the  States  are  giving 
more  attention  to  this  problem,  and  are  raising  the 
standards  of  efficiency. 

In  India  as  a  whole,  the  education  of  girls  is  no  longer 
treated  with  indifference.  Hindus  and  Mohammedans 
have  established  large  and  prosperous  schools  for  female 
education. 


I7O  IN   THE   HEART    OF    INDIA 

The  Effect  on  the  Mission.  All  this  means  for  our 
Mission  greater  expense  in  the  maintenance  of  its 
schools  if  it  is  to  continue  this  phase  of  missionary 
service.  In  the  primary  schools  the  attention  of  the 
Mission  is  being  increasingly  given  to  the  needs  of  the 
Christian  community.  State  regulations  make  the 
existence  of  the  distinctively  Christian  schools  for 
Hindu  and  Mohammedan  children,  more  difficult  ; 
and  in  one  State  at  least  schools  may  be  opened  only 
on  the  condition  that  the  Christian  religion  shall  not 
be  taught  therein.  Among  the  low  castes  generally 
there  is,  however,  a  large  field  for  the  Christian  school. 

University  Regulations,  and  Gran ts-in- Aid.     In  the 

higher  departments,  the  work  is  determined  by  the 
University  regulations,  and  to  that  extent  is  under 
Government  control.  It  must  not  be  assumed  that 
this  "control"  necessarily  interferes  with  the  dis- 
tinctively Christian  aim  of  Mission  Institutions, 
especially  when  they  receive  Government  aid.  The 
position  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  Grants-in-Aid,  has 
been  expressed  thus  :  "Government,  finding  it  im- 
possible with  the  funds  at  its  disposal  to  fulfil  what  it 
recognizes  as  its  duty  to  the  people  in  the  matter  of 
education,  and  finding  voluntary  workers  in  the  same 
field  devoting  to  it  money  and  valuable  services,  aid 
them  with  Grants  whereby  they  can  overtake  such 
work  more  cheaply  than  Government  could."  This 
system  of  Grants-in-Aid  is  "based  on  an  entire  ab- 
stinence from  interference  with  the  religious  instruction 
conveyed  in  the  schools  assisted."  This  Rule  has  en- 
abled Missions  conscientiously  to  accept  Government 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  171 

aid  for  the  secular  instruction  given  in  their  schools, 
and  in  this  way  our  Mission  has  received  for  some  years 
a  grant,  small,  it  is  true,  in  comparison  with  the  run- 
ning expenses  of  the  institution,  from  the  British  local 
authority  for  the  work  of  the  High  School  in  Indore. 

But  the  stringent  requirements  of  the  Universities, 
with  which  the  Colleges  are  affiliated,  entail  so  much 
greater  expenditure  in  these  aided  institutions,  such  as 
most  Mission  schools  and  Colleges  are,  that  for  some 
of  them  the  question  arises  whether  some  other  means 
of  influencing  the  student  classes  should  not  be  adopted. 
It  has  been  recommended  that  hostels  under  Mission 
management  be  attached  to  non-Mission  institutions  ; 
and  that  there  should  be  co-operation  in  higher  educa- 
tion among  Missions  so  that,  at  a  smaller  cost  to  each 
co-operating  Mission,  a  thoroughly  efficient  institution 
may  be  maintained  rather  than  two  or  three  poorly 
equipped  Colleges. 

The  Need  of  Strengthening  Indore  College.  So 
far  as  the  Indore  Christian  College  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  opportunity  for  such  co-operation.  It  alone  in  a 
wide-reaching  field  stands  for  higher  education  along 
Christian  lines.  The  other  alternative  of  using  the 
purely  "Hostel"  scheme  is  practically  unworkable 
in  our  Central  India  field.  Further,  it  is  recognized 
that  nothing  can  fill  the  place  of  an  efficiently  managed 
Christian  School  or  College.  The  alternative  is  either 
to  keep  the  College  up  to  the  standard  required,  or 
retire  from  the  field  of  Higher  Educational  work — a 
field  which  has  been  honorably  occupied  from  the 
beginning,  and  in  which  the  Mission  was  the  pioneer 


172  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

in   Central   India.     Adequate   Hostel   accommodation 
and  a  strong  staff  must  be  constantly  maintained. 

Girls'  High  School,  Indore.  All  this  is  equally 
true  of  Higher  Education  for  women,  which  at  present 
is  cared  for  in  the  Girls'  High  School,  Indore.  What 
it  would  mean  for  the  future  of  Christianity  in  Central 
India  to  have  a  thoroughly  well-equipped  institution 
with  adequate  accommodation,  and  a  strong  permanent 
staff  of  teachers,  it  is  hard  to  overestimate. 

III.  THE  HINDU  PROBLEM  AND  THE  NATIONAL 
MOVEMENT 

Canada's  Hindu  Problem.  Within  recent  years 
Canadians  have  been  giving  not  a  little  attention  to 
India  because  Canada  has  a  Hindu  Problem  on  her 
hands,  and  the  solution  is  not  easy  to  find.  There  are 
probably  not  more  than  4,000  Hindus  in  Canada, 
practically  all  in  British  Columbia.  The  number  is 
considerably  less  than  a  few  years  ago.  Only  3  Hindu 
women  (it  is  said)  have  been  permitted  to  enter  and 
remain.  In  1914  a  shipload  of  over  400  Hindus  came 
direct  from  India  on  a  Japanese  boat,  the  Komagatu 
Maru,  but  were  turned  back.  As  British  subjects, 
their  coming  was  an  attempt  to  challenge  the  right  of 
Canada  to  exclude  them. 

Growth  of  a  "  National  "  Spirit.  The  treatment  in 
the  "Dominions  beyond  the  Seas"  is,  for  the  Hindu,  a 
phase  of  his  National  problem.  He  meets  it  in  South 
Africa,  in  Australia,  and  in  all  the  Self-Governing 
Dominions  of  the  Empire,  and  among  alien  peoples  as 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  173 

well.  What  he  feels  most  keenly  is  being  treated  as  an 
"outcaste"  within  the  Empire. 

In  India,  this  treatment  has  caused  intense  feeling* 
for  India  has  been  rapidly  growing  into  a  sense  of 
nationhood.  In  this  respect  she  has  shared  in  the 
general  awakening  among  Eastern  nations.  British 
rule  has  made  this  possible,  or  rather  has,  unconsciously 
perhaps,  encouraged  it.  The  freedom  of  the  press, 
the  opening  the  doors  for  Higher  Education  on  Western 
lines,  and  the  liberty  given  for  free  discussion  of  political 
questions,  as  seen  in  the  National  Congress — a  de- 
liberative^ body  representative  of  Educated  India — 
all  these  have  tended  to  develop  the  National  movement 
in  India.  Christian  Missions  have  spread  abroad  ideas 
of  man's  dignity  and  worth,  and  of  human  brotherhood. 
The  Russo-Japanese  war  was  a  new  revelation  of  the 
possibilities  open  to  an  Oriental  people. 

Cause  for  Anxiety.  It  is  not  long  since  India  was 
causing  anxiety  to  her  best  friends.  The  freedom  of  the 
press,  as  jealously  cherished  in  India  as  in  England,  was 
being  abused.  Sedition  was  printed  and  preached. 
A  sense  of  nationhood,  it  is  true,  was  growing,  but  there 
were  extravagances  shown  which  served  no  useful 
purpose  except  to  draw  attention  to  India.  Foreign 
goods  were  boycotted  to  India's  loss.  Bombs  were 
freely  used,  and  the  lives  of  prominent  officials  were 
often  in  danger. 

A  Change  for  the  Better.  But  the  past  four  or  five 
years  have  seen  a  change.  A  more  generous  policy 
on  the  part  of  the  late  Liberal  Government  of  Great 
Britain,  when  Lord  Morley  was  Secretary  of  State  for 


I74  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

India,  did  much  to  change  the  attitude  of  Indian 
leaders,  and  the  hands  were  strengthened  of  those 
leaders  who  maintained  that  India  would  make  surest 
progress  toward  the  goal  of  self-government,  under  the 
protection  of  Britain.  Then  followed  the  visit  to  India 
of  the  King  and  Queen,  and  their  triumphal  coronation 
as  King  Emperor  and  Queen  Empress  in  Delhi,  the  old 
historic  capital  of  North  India,  and  henceforth  to  be 
the  new  capital  of  that  mighty  Indian  Empire.  It  was 
a  brave  thing  for  their  Gracious  Majesties  thus  to 
challenge  the  loyalty  of  their  Indian  subjects,  and  to 
establish  a  precedent  by  going  as  the  first  reigning 
British  Sovereigns  to  visit  India's  shores.  The  en- 
thusiasm evoked  was  wonderful.  Their  personal  con- 
tact with  the  people  swept  aside  the  veil  of  officialdom 
which  hung  between  the  people  and  their  supreme  ruler. 
India  loves  a  potentate.  The  "Government  of  India" 
was  now  embodied  in  the  person  of  their  King-Emperor 
and  their  allegiance  to  him  was  pledged  in  a  new  sense. 
And  it  must  be  remembered  also  that  the  personal 
conduct  of  the  King  and  Queen  in  India  won  the  deepest 
respect.  As  Christian  rulers  their  example  in  regard 
to  the  Christian  institutions  of  the  Sabbath  Day  and  the 
public  worship  of  God,  was  unequivocal.  Their 
Majesties  left  India  with  the  impression  strong  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  that  they  were  brave,  sympathetic, 
Christian  rulers. 

The  War— A  Test  of  the  National  Movement.     The 

declaration  of  war  was  a  testing  time  for  the  leaders  of 
India,  and  it  was  a  revelation  of  the  heart  of  our  Indian 
Empire.  As  though  moved  by  a  common  impulse, 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN    MISSIONS  175 

native  princes,  leading  citizens,  and  the  educated 
classes  generally,  realizing  the  tremendous  issues  at 
stake,  were  filled  with  enthusiasm,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  note  of  discord.  Every  class  and  every  race 
hastened  to  show  its  loyalty,  and  its  anxiety  to  share 
the  burdens  and  duties  of  citizens  of  the  Empire. 
If  a  mark  of  nationhood  is  the  possession  of  a  common 
sentiment,  then  it  would  appear  that  the  war  has  done 
much  to  make  India  a  nation.  Never  in  the  past  have 
the  diverse  races  of  India  been  united  in  the  face  of 
danger.  Internal  dissension  has  always  made  the  way 
easy  for  invading  armies.  Never  in  the  past  was  there 
any  common  sentiment  to  bind  this  nation  of  nations 
together.  The  war  has  brought  about  this  "new  thing " 
— oneness  of  sentiment  expressed  in  loyal  support  of  the 
Empire  in  its  great  moral  struggle. 

The  Significance  of  Indian  Loyalty.  The  full  signi- 
ficance of  the  participation  of  India's  troops  and  India's 
people  in  this  struggle  is  not  very  generally  recognized. 
It  is  epochal  in  the  development  of  India's  place  in  the 
Empire.  India  is  now  asserting  its  right  to  be  treated 
as  a  portion  of  the  Empire,  not  as  a  mere  dependent, 
but  as  a  partner.  Nor  is  it  a  calculating  loyalty  that 
is  expressed.  Indians  of  intelligence  and  education 
now  recognize  that  the  interests  of  India  are  bound  up 
with  the  interests  of  the  British  Empire. 

The  Importance  of  the  Problem  ;  Principles  of 
Settlement.  It  is  in  the  light  of  these  facts  that  the 
Hindu  Problem  for  Canada  becomes  so  important. 
Its  solution  is  a  work  for  Christian  statesmen  and  there 
are  some  principles  which  Christian  citizens  of  Canada 


176  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

should  insist  on  in  its  settlement,  (i)  It  must  be  on  the 
basis  of  mutual  respect, and  with  a  recognition  of  brother- 
hood. When  Indian  and  Canadian  armies  have  fought 
side  by  side  in  a  great  moral  cause,  no  other  attitude 
can  be  permitted.  No  subterfuge,  such  as  the  Continu- 
ous Passage  Regulation,*  can  ever  again  be  tolerated 
in  an  effort  to  control  immigration.  Canada  suffers 
more  injury  than  India  by  such  actions.  (2)  It  should 
be  recognized  that  India  desires  a  fair  solution  of  what 
is  a  difficult  Imperial  problem,  and  is  not  desirous 
simply  of  overrunning  Canada.  Is  it  likely  that  the 
leaders  of  Indian  public  opinion,  who  themselves  look 
forward  to  the  time  when  India  shall  be  self-governing, 
will  entirely  ignore  the  fact  that  the  various  Dominions 
of  the  Empire  are  self-governing  and  can  control 
immigration  as  they  deem  best  for  their  own  interests  ? 

Some  features  of  India's  attitude  to  the  Canadian 
grievance  and  the  Imperial  crisis  have  been  worthy  of 
all  praise.  It  was  at  the  time  when  feeling  in  India  was 
growing  strong  in  reference  to  Canada,  when  Indians 
were  feeling  humiliated  and  aggrieved  at  the  treatment 
received,  and  at  the  fact,  as  they  believed,  that  their 
citizenship  in  the  Empire  was  being  questioned,  that 
the  opportunity  came  to  show  their  attitude  to  the 
Empire.  In  the  same  meeting  of  the  Viceroy's  Coun- 
cilf  when  Canada's  Exclusion  Policy  was  under  con- 


*This  Regulation  required  that  immigrants  should  come  by 
continuous  passage  from  their  own  land.  There  were  no  ships  sailing 
direct  from  India,  so  it  meant,  without  saying  so,  the  absolute 
exclusion  of  Indians. 

fSept.  1 8,  1914. 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN    MISSIONS  177 

sideration,  an  Indian  member  suggested,  and  it  was 
unanimously  and  enthusiastically  approved,  that  the 
cost  of  the  Indian  armies  sent  to  Europe  should  be. 
borne  by  the  Indian  peoples  themselves.  The  Cana- 
dian grievance  was  forgotten  in  the  thought  of  India's 
partnership  in  the  Empire's  burden.  Let  not  this  be 
forgotten  so  long  as  Canada  cherishes  the  Imperial  tie. 

(3)  In  any   policy  of  immigration,   nothing  immoral 
should   be   tolerated.     To   exclude   the   wives   of   the 
Hindus,  while  admitting  the  husbands,  introduces  a 
grave  moral  peril.     Wherever  East  Indians  have  gone 
to   British   Colonies,    e.g.,    Trinidad,    British   Guiana, 
Jamaica,  etc.,  and  there  is  a  preponderance  of  males 
over  females,  there   arises  a  grave    moral    situation.* 

(4)  The  off-hand  suggested  solution  of  absolute  ex- 
clusion is  impossible  ;    or  is  possible  only  temporarily 
and  at  too  great  a  cost.     The  world  is  too  much  a 
neighborhood  for  such  a  dog-in-the-manger  policy  to 
succeed  for  long.     Autonomy  has  its  obvious  limita- 
tions.    It  is  vain  to  say  that  others  have  adopted  an 
exclusion  policy  without  loosening  the   Imperial  tie. 
Actions  which  embitter,  and  provoke  resentment,  and 
desire  for  retaliation,  cannot  strengthen  the   Imperial 
tie. 

Lord  Hardinge's  Suggestions.  The  suggestions  of 
Lord  Hardinge  in  the  Vice-Regal  Council,  of  a  policy 
of  restricted  immigration,  limiting  by  agreement  the 
number  of  passports  to  be  issued,  commends  itself 
to  many  influential  Indians.  The  following  extracts 
are  from  Indian  newspapers  : 

*Government  of  India,  Report  on  Indian  Immigration. 


178  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

"Sober  Indian  opinion  has  perceived  the  futility  of 
pressing  the  inherent  right  of  the  citizen  of  the  Empire 
to  go  and  settle  in  any  part  of  the  Empire,  and  it  will, 
therefore,  have  no  difficulty  in  agreeing  with  Lord 
Hardinge,  when  he  says  that  'the  colonies  naturally 
place  above  all  other  considerations  the  interests  of 
their  own  country,  as  they  understand  them,  just  as 
we  in  India  should  put  the  good  of  India  in  front  of  our 
motives  for  legislation.'  It  is  natural  that  no  colony 
would  quietly  submit  to  the  prospect  of  an  unrestricted 
Asiatic  invasion,  leading  eventually  to  its  economic 
ruin,  which,  again,  might  react  upon  its  political 
integrity  and  independence.  Free  movement  within 
the  empire  is  also  conditional  on  the  exercise  by  the 
local  legislatures  of  their  undoubted  powers.  The 
colonies  enjoy  virtual  autonomy,  and  may  pass  what 
laws  they  may  please,  with  reference  to  their  internal 
administration.  But,  as  component  parts  of  the 
Empire,  this  power  is  limited  by  moral  obligations  to 
the  Empire,  which  if  the  entire  fabric  were  to  stand  in 
co-ordination  and  harmony,  it  would  be  a  grievous 
mistake  to  ignore."* 

"There  is  nothing  here  like  a  question  of  rights — 
rights  which  the  colonies  could  admit  or  be  made  to 
accept  as  the  basis  of  negotiations  in  the  matter. 
All  that  is  possible  is  a  working  arrangement  based  on 
mutual  interests ;  and  this  could  be  made  for  practical 
purposes  so  satisfactory  and  advantageous  to  both  sides 
as  to  ensure  every  prospect  of  permanence.  And  Lord 
Hardinge  recommended  this  to  the  consideration 

*Bombay  Samachar. 


PROBLEMS    OF    INDIAN   MISSIONS  179 

of  the  country.  If  there  was  ever  the  chance  of 
India  getting  a  really  honorable  and  fair  settlement  of 
this  big  outstanding  question  of  far-reaching  Imperial 
importance,  it  is  this  when  both  England  and  the 
great  self-governing  colonies  have  been  so  greatly 
impressed  by  India's  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  Empire.  To  Lord  Hardinge  therefore 
belongs  the  honor  of  having  promptly  sought  to  take 
advantage  of  the  occasion.  We  are  confident  that  the 
country  would  approve  of  his  advice  ;  and  by  support- 
ing his  Government  in  taking  the  course  he  suggested, 
put  an  end  to  the  ill-feeling  which  has  so  long  continued 
to  grow  and  to  menace  the  future  of  the  Empire."* 

But  so  long  as  Indians  are  within  our  gates,  our 
duty  as  Christians  is  clear.  Every  effort  must  be  made 
to  Christianize  them.  Every  Indian  who  returns  from 
Canada  to  his  native  land  is  a  missionary,  for  good  or 
ill,  and  can  have  an  untold  influence  on  his  country- 
men's attitude  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  •  It  is 
this  which  gives  point  to  the  appeal  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  India.f 

These  are  some  of  the  pressing  problems  which  India 
presents.  The  mass  movements  are  God's  answer  to 
the  Church's  prayer  that  the  time  may  come  when 
"nations  should  be  born  in  a  day."  At  the  opposite 
extreme  of  the  social  scale,  the  problem  of  the  educated 
classes  presses  on  the  Church.  And  the  national 
movement  brings  the  whole  question  of  Missions  to  our 
very  threshold.  It  relates  it  to  our  national  life  and 

*"Jam.  e.  Jamshed,"  Bombay. 
fVide  Appendix  E. 


l8o  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

ideals,  and  makes  us  have  some  share,  for  good  or 
evil,  in  the  world- wide  enterprise  of  Missions.  May 
our  Christianity  be  such  that  those  who  come  to  our 
shores  from  non- Christian  lands  shall  be  drawn  to 
seek  the  Saviour  of  all  men  ! 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


A  PLEA  FOR  INDIA'S  WIDOWS 

"And  think  upon  the  dreadful  curse 

Of  widowhood  ;  the  vigils,  fasts, 
And  penances  ;  no  life  is  worse 

Than  hopeless  life, — the  while  it  lasts. 
Day  follows  day  in  one  long  round, 

Monotonous  and  blank  and  drear  ; 
Less  painful  were  it  to  be  bound 

On  some  bleak  rock,  for  aye  to  hear 

Without  one  chance  of  getting  free — 

The  ocean's  melancholy  voice. 
Mine  be  the  sin, — if  sin  there  be, 

But  thou  must  make  a  different  choice." 

-From   Savitri — By   TORU    DUTT,    Indian    Christian 
Poetess. 


The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war 

A  kingly  crown  to  gain  ; 
His  blood-red  banner  streams  afar  : 

Who  follows  in  His  train  ? 
Who  best  can  drink  his  cup  of  woe, 

Triumphant  over  pain, 
Who  patient  bears  his  cross  below, 

He  follows  in  His  train. 

—REGINALD  HEBER,  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  1822-1826. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
LOOKING  FORWARD 

Survey  Made  in  191 1.  At  the  request  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Board  the  Central  India  Mission  in  1911 
made  a  careful  survey  of  its  whole  field  with  a  view  to 
finding  out  what  would  be  necessary  to  make  the  Gospel 
Message  adequately  known  there.  The  Mission  then 
had  nine  Central  Stations  and  a  missionary  force  of  19 
married,  and  2  single  men,  and  19  single  women.  The 
Survey  showed  that  35  other  centres  (44  in  .all)  should 
be  occupied  if  the  people  of  Western  Central  India  were 
to  be  given  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  hear  and  re- 
ceive the  Gospel  message.  It  was  estimated  that  a 
total  force  of  76  men  would  be  required  of  whom  not 
less  than  twenty  per  cent  should  be  medical  men,  and 
that  the  number  of  lady  doctors,  teachers,  and  zenana 
missionaries  should  be  similarly  increased. 

It  was  not  forgotten  that  the  Mission  shared  with  the 
Indian  Church  the  work  of  Evangelization  ;  and  it  is 
of  interest  to  note  that  the  local  Presbytery  has  since 
decided  to  undertake  the  opening  of  one  of  the  selected 
centres  as  its  special  Home  Mission  field.  Thirteen 
centres  are  now  occupied.  Another  has  been  tempor- 
arily abandoned,  except  as  an  outstation,  because  of 
the  return  to  Canada  through  family  illness  of  the 
missionary  in  charge. 

Almost  four  decades  have  passed  since  the  Church 
in  Canada  began  to  evangelize  Central  India,  and  the 


184  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

field  is  yet  largely  unoccupied.  By  the  comity  of 
Missions  this  field  is  left  to  the  care  of  the  Canadian 
Church.  More  than  one  generation  has  passed  away. 
For  the  present  generation  we  have  a  definite  and  im- 
mediate responsibility.  If  they  are  to  be  evangelized 
it  must  be  by  the  forces  at  present  represented  there. 

Can  It  Be  Done  ?  There  are  those  who  feel  that 
because  of  the  present  distress — the  terrible  drain  of 
men  and  money  for  the  war — there  should  be  retrench- 
ment rather  than  expansion  in  Foreign  Mission  work. 
Some  would  even  recall  missionaries  and  close  up  work 
and  turn  every  energy  towards  the  battlefields  of 
Europe — till  the  danger  be  overpast.  But  what 
would  that  involve  ?  Some  day  the  work  would  have 
to  be  taken  up  again,  and  what  explanation  of  the 
abandonment  could  be  given  to  the  non-Christians  of 
Central  India  ?  How  could  it  be  explained  that  the 
fight  with  sin  and  Satan,  who  have  been  so  long  en- 
trenched in  India,  was  considered  as  of  only  secondary 
importance  ?  The  ground  lost  would  perhaps  never 
be  regained  for  there  would  be  a  loss  of  spiritual  force 
in  Christianity  itself. 

Retrenchment  Disastrous.  Retrenchment  would  be 
disastrous.  It  is  the  lack  of  those  very  things  for  which 
Foreign  Missions  stand  which  has  brought  about  the 
world  war.  How  different  would  the  world  now  be  had 
there  been  in  European  Christianity  a  sympathy  wider 
than  national  boundaries,  a  recognition  of  human 
brotherhood,  an  ideal  of  service  such  as  Christ's  who 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister  ;  and 
a  love  for  fellowmen  broad  as  the  love  of  God  !  Besides 


LOOKING    FORWARD  185 

there  is  the  danger,  in  time  of  war,  of  fostering  the  spirit 
of  hate.  The  Church,  for  the  sake  of  its  own  spiritual 
life,  should  cherish  the  foreign  mission  enterprise  as 
never  before. 

The  Lessons  of  the  War.  Retrenchment  would 
mean  that  the  Church  fails  to  learn  the  lessons  of  the 
present  crisis.  All  things  are  made  to  yrork  together 
for  the  fulfilment  of  God's  great  purpose — that  the 
Kingdoms  of  this  world  should  become  the  Kingdom  of 
His  Son.  The  war  is  teaching  men  and  women  the 
meaning  of  sacrifice.  They  never  knew  before,  as  they 
do  now,  how  to  give  and  how  to  suffer.  It  cannot  be 
that  they  will  refuse  self-sacrifice  for  a  Heavenly  King. 
Loyalty  to  Him  will  not  permit  entrenchment  in  His 
great  world  purpose  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  nations  ; 
rather  will  it  inspire  His  people  to  new  endeavor. 

And  there  will ,  be  need  of  sacrifice  in  the  days  to 
come.  Some  Missionary  Societies  are  already  feeling 
the  strain.  The  London  Missionary  Society  is  faced 
with  the  necessity  of  closing  all  its  work  in  Calcutta 
unless  funds  are  speedily  forthcoming.*  When  the 
steady  drain  of  war  taxation  comes,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  campaign  has  changed  to  the  quiet  but  laborious 
work  of  recuperation  after  the  war,  the  Church  will 
need  to  brace  herself  for  a  sustained  effort  lest  the  work 
abroad  be  hindered.  . 

It  Can  Be  Done.  Some  of  our  best  men  in  every 
walk  of  life  are  giving  themselves  in  a  noble  spirit  of 

*It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  the  remarkably  liberal  response  of 
the  Christian  people  of  Britain  has  averted  a  crisis  in  the  Society's 
work. 


l86  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

self-sacrifice  for  the  war.  They  are  ready  to  die,  if 
need  be,  that  freedom  and  goodwill  and  truth  and 
righteousness  be  not  crushed  to  the  earth.  And  for 
the  Mission  field  men  and  women  are  available.  The 
Honor  Roll'  of  many  a  congregation  attests  the  fact 
that  they  can  spare  their  best  when  a  need  sufficiently 
great  and  impelling  is  presented. 

There  are  funds  for  the  work.  Millions  of  dollars 
have  been  given  willingly  and  enthusiastically  to  help 
the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  war,  and  those  dependent 
on  them.  None  feel  themselves  the  poorer.  There  is 
no  appreciable  change  in  the  manner  of  living,  and  no 
serious  retrenchment  in  the  use  of  luxuries.  Canada 
is  prospering  in  spite  of,  perhaps  because  of,  the  war. 
In  1914  the  savings  per  capita  of  the  people  averaged 
$101.93.  When  the  amounts  paid  for  life  insurance  are 
added,  the  average  is  greatly  increased.  The  Church 
can  send,  and  suitably  equip,  the  men  and  women 
needed  fully  to  man  its  Central  India  field.  The  cost 
is  not  great.  The  whole  plant  of  the  Mission  at  the 
present  time,  its  College  and  High  Schools,  its  Day 
Schools  and  Dispensaries,  its  Hospitals  and  Industrial 
establishments,  its  Bungalows  and  all  the  equipment 
of  the  Mission  may  be  approximately  valued  at  $250,000 
which  is  about  the  cost  of  some  large  modern  city 
churches  ;  and  the  whole  plant  is  employed  every  day 
and  for  long  hours.  The  money  invested  in  Central 
India  Mission  work  is  in  constant  use.  The  ornamental 
is  made  to  wait  on  the  practical.  There  is  no  depart- 
ment where  the  work  and  the  opportunity  is  not  greater 
than  the  equipment  provided.  When  vast  sums  of  the 


LOOKING    FORWARD  187 

people's  money  in  the  homeland  are  so  lavishly  spent 
on  works  of  doubtful  utility,  and  when  costly  edifices 
are  built  for  the  worship  of  God,  to  be  used  for  only 
a  few  hours  in  the  week,  it  ill  becomes  us  to  complain 
of  the  cost  of  Missions. 

The  Seeming  Impossibility  of  the  Task.  But  granted 
the  men,  the  money  and  the  equipment,  the  work  then 
is  just  begun.  It  still  seems  too  great  to  be  accom- 
plished, and  well  it  is  if  the  Church  realizes  that  the 
work  is  beyond  its  power.  Such  a  task  will  drive  it  to 
lay  hold  of  its  resources  in  God.  It  will  drive  it  to 
prayer,  and  continuance  in  prayer,  till  the  task  is 
done. 

Divine  Help  Needed.  The  Wonderful  Opportunity* 
When  in  the  actual  work  of  seeking  to  win  the  people 
of  India  for  Christ,  one  realizes  how  absolutely  neces- 
sary is  the  Divine  help.  There  is  no  lack  of  opportunity. 
Religion  is  so  closely  related  to  every  phase  of  life, 
that  not  only  is  there  no  offense  given,  but  it  is  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world  to  engage  a  chance 
acquaintance  in  religious  conversation.  And  how 
overwhelming  the  opportunity  !  There  are  12,000 
villages  and  towns,  in  any  one  of  which  the  preacher 
can  usually  secure  an  audience  any  day  of  the  week. 
The  Weekly  Fairs  give  a  still  larger  opportunity. 
In  most  of  the  towns  and  larger  villages,  a  weekly 
market  day  is  observed,  and  people  come  from  far  and 
near.  While  there  are  the  distractions  of  buying  and 
selling,  there  is  also  a  greater  sense  of  freedom  felt  by 
the  hearers  than  in  their  own  villages  where  they  are 
so  well  known.  They  are,  therefore,  more  ready  to 


l88  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

purchase  Scripture  portions  and  other  literature. 
Then  there  are  the  Great  Fairs,  or  Melas,  that  last  for 
a  fortnight  or  more.  Thousands  come  to  these,  to 
bathe  in  the  Sacred  waters,  or  to  worship  at  some 
particularly  famous  shrine. 

Feelings  of  the  Preacher.  Imagine  the  feelings  with 
which  one  stands  before  such  audiences.  Although 
intent  on  receiving  some  spiritual  benefit,  their  whole 
thought  of  sin  and  its  cleansing  is  perverted.  They  are 
dead  in  earnest,  willing  to  pay  handsomely  for  the 
priests'  aid  in  securing  the  thing  desired.  The  vile  and 
filthy  associations  of  the  temple  worship  are  treated 
with  levity.  They  jostle  and  strive  with  each  other 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  god — to  get  the  "vision."  It 
may  be  nothing  but  a  shapeless  stone,  or  a  vilely  sug- 
gestive image.  The  preacher  stands  before  an  audience 
intent  on  such  things.  He  holds  before  them  another 
"vision,"  the  beauty  of  holiness  as  seen  in  Jesus  Christ. 
The  story  of  Jesus  is  a  rebuke  to  the  whole  conception 
of  religion  as  seen  in  the  "sacred  places."  The  preacher 
sees  the  looks  of  scorn  that  come  over  the  faces  of 
some.  In  others  is  a  look  of  hatred,  for  they  realize 
that  if  this  Jesus  should  come  to  India  to  reign  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  the  hope  of  their  gains  would  be  gone 
In  other  faces  there  is  the  look  of  intense  interest,  for 
they  are  hearing  what  their  souls  have  craved  for. 
That  which  they  have  sought  for  in  vain,  they  hear 
now  with  strange  wonder.  It  is  this  that  sustains  the 
preacher.  There  is  an  attitude  of  the  human  heart 
that  makes  Divine  truth  credible  as  soon  as  heard,  and 
the  preacher  is  sustained  by  the  thought  that  some  of 


LOOKING    FORWARD  189 

God's  chosen  ones  may  be  receiving  the  very  Bread  of 
Life  from  his  discourse. 

India  Needs  the  Vision  of  Christ.  It  is  the  vision 
of  Christ  which  India  needs.  Idolatry  does  not  help 
the  mind  toward  spiritual  realities,  as  the  Hindu  claims. 
Idolatry  is  the  concrete  expression  of  a  perverted  idea 
of  God.  The  idols  of  India  are  ugly.  They  suggest 
a  cruel,  malevolent  God.  India  needs  the  vision  of 
Jesus  that  her  people  may  know  God.  The  Holy  men 
of  India  do  not  help  the  people  toward  the  knowledge 
of  God.  They  present  a  perverted  view  of  life  and 
religion  and  service.  They  are  far  removed  from  Him 
who  went  about  doing  good,  healing  the  sick,  casting 
out  devils.  He  came  "not  to  be  ministered  unto  but 
to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many." 
"Where  there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish." 

India  needs  to  see  Jesus  Christ  interpreted  in  the  lives 
of  His  redeemed  followers,  living  the  Christlike  life 
in  India,  and  manifesting  His  love  to  mankind.  And 
India  needs  to  hear  as  well.  "And  how  shall  they 
hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach 
except  they  be  sent  ?  even  as  it  is  written,  how  beauti- 
ful are  the  feet  of  them  that  bring  glad  tidings  of 
good  things  !"  (Romans  10  :  14-15). 

The  Glory  of  the  Missionary's  Task.  The  comment 
of  Dr.  Moule  on  this  verse  is  beautifully  appropriate. 

"We  take  first  of  what  is  written  last,  the  moral 
beauty  and  glory  of  the  enterprise.  '  How  fair  the  feet.' 
From  the  viewpoint  of  heaven  there  is  nothing  on  the 
earth  more  lovely  than  the  bearing  of  the  name  of 


IQO  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

Jesus  Christ  into  the  needing  world,  when  the  bearer 
is  one  'who  loves  and  knows.'  The  work  may  have, 
and  probably  will  have,  very  little  of  the  rainbow  of 
romance  about  it.  It  will  often  lead  the  worker  into 
the  most  uncouth  and  forbidding  circumstances.  It 
will  often  demand  of  him  the  patient  expenditure  of 
days  and  months  upon  humiliating  and  circuitous 
preparations  ;  as  he  learns  a  barbarous  unwritten 
tongue,  or  a  tongue  ancient  and  elaborate,  in  a  stifling 
climate  ;  or  finds  that  he  must  build  his  own  hut  and 
dress  his  own  food,  if  he  is  to  live  at  all  among  'the 
Gentiles.'  It  may  lay  on  him  the  exquisite — and 
prosaic — trial  of  finding  the  tribes  around  him  entirely 
unaware  of  their  need  of  his  message  ;  unconscious 
of  sin,  of  guilt,  of  holiness,  of  God.  Nay,  they  may  not 
only  not  care  for  his  message  ;  they  may  suspect  or 
deride  his  motives,  and  roundly  tell  him  that  he  is  a 
political  spy,  or  an  adventurer  come  to  make  his  private 
gains,  or  a  barbarian  tired  of  his  own  Thule  and  irresist- 
ibly attracted  to  the  region  of  the  sun.  He  will  often 
be  tempted  to  think  'the  journey  too  great  for  him'  and 
long  to  let  his  tired  and  heavy  feet  rest  for  ever.  But 
his  Lord  is  saying  to  him  all  the  while,  '  How  fair  the 
feet.'  He  is  doing  a  work  whose  inmost  conditions  even 
now  are  full  of  moral  glory,  and  whose  eternal  issues, 
perhaps  where  he  thinks  there  has  been  most  failure, 
shall  be,  by  grace,  worthy  of  'the  King  in  His  beauty.' 
It  is  the  continuation  of  what  the  King  Himself  '  began 
to  do*  (Acts  i  :  i)  when  He  was  His  own  first  Mission- 
ary to  a  world  which  needed  Him  immeasurably,  yet 
did  not  know  Him  when  He  came." 


CENTRAL 
INDIA 


MAP  OF  MISSION  FIELD 

Showing  Central  Stations  marked  thus,  • ,  and  other  proposed  centres  of  work 
needed  for  the  adequate  evangelization  of  the  whole  field 


Specimen  of  Vernaculars  used  in  Central  India. 
(The  Lord's  Prayer  in  Urdu  and  Hindi.) 


J'5  ^ 


A 


fir^rr 


<jfMrrr  ifl"  ft^r 


LOOKING    FORWARD  igi 

Will  India  Be  Won  ?  Will  India  be  won  for  Christ  ? 
Not  until  the  Church  of  Christ  realizes  that  it  can  and 
ought  to  be  won.  The  conquest  of  India  must  begin 
in  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  with  the  conviction  that 
it  is  the  will  of  God  ;  and  then  in  definite  plans  for 
its  accomplishment.  The  business  of  the  King  should 
be  as  jealously  and  systematically  pushed  forward 
as  any  commercial  enterprise.  The  Standard  Oil 
Company  wished  to  introduce  kerosene  into  a  backward 
city  in  Mexico.  They  put  a  lamp,  rilled  and  trimmed, 
in  every  dwelling.  It  cost  a  great  deal,  but  it  accom- 
plished its  purpose,  and  the  tallow  dips  disappeared 
forever.  The  missionary  enterprise  is  worthy  of 
similar  zeal.  There  is  the  promise  "Men  shall  be 
blessed  in  Him,  all  nations  shall  call  Him  blessed" 
(Ps.  72  :  17).  "He  shall  have  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  His  possession"  (Ps.  2:8),  and  when  the 
Church  has  lit  its  lamps  it  may  claim  the  fulfilment  of 
the  promises. 

Non-Christian  Prophets.  Even  non-Christians  are 
found  among  the  prophets.  "None  but  Jesus  ever 
deserved  this  bright,  this  precious  diadem — India,  and 
Jesus  shall  have  it"  said  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  India's 
noblest  spiritual  genius,  over  forty  years  ago.  "I 
want  to  learn  all  I  can  about  the  Christian  religion, 
because  in  fifty  years  India  will  be  a  Christian  coun- 
try," said  a  Buddhist  priest  of  Southern  India. 

The  Imperial  Side  of  Missions.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  those  who  are  not  moved  by  ordinary  mis- 
sionary appeals  are  stirred  to  sympathy  with  the  aims 
of  the  missionary,  for  Imperial  reasons.  They  are 


192  IN   THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

interested  in  the  fact  that  the  315  millions  of  India  are 
under  the  sway  of  their  own  King  Emperor,  and  that 
these  make  up  almost  one-fifth  of  the  world's  popula- 
tion. They  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of  these 
millions.  The  testimonies  to  the  value  of  Missions 
from  men  of  wide  influence  and  experience  would  fill 
many  pages. 

Testimonies.  The  better  the  work  is  known  the 
more  it  is  approved.  "The  sending  of  missionaries 
into  our  Eastern  possessions  is  the  maddest,  most 
expensive,  most  unwarranted  project  that  was  ever 
proposed  by  a  lunatic  enthusiast,"  was  what  the  East 
India  Company  said  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  "Notwithstanding  all  that  the  English  peo- 
ple have  done  to  benefit  India,  the  missionaries  have 
done  more  than  all  other  agencies  combined,"  was  what 
Lord  Lawrence  the  Viceroy  of  India  said  near  the  close 
of  the  century. 

The  King  Emperor  has  on  several  occasions  shown 
his  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  Missions.  In  a  message 
to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society  he 
wrote  :  "I  gratefully  recognize  the  religious  and  phil- 
anthropic work  so  universally  extended  by  the  Society 
in  promoting  the  noblest  aims  of  Christianity."* 

Sir  William  Hunter  of  the  Imperial  Gazetteer  of 
India,  writing  to  the  London  Times,  said,  "English 
Missionary  enterprise  is  the  highest  modern  expression 
of  the  world- wide  national  life  of  our  race.  I  believe 
that  any  falling  off  in  England's  Missionary  efforts  will 
be  a  sure  sign  of  swiftly  coming  national  decay." 

*See  also  Appendix  D  for  testimony  of  "Three  Field-Marshals." 


LOOKING    FORWARD  193 

Sir  Bartle  Frere,  formerly,  the  Governor  of  Bombay, 
said  :  "The  teaching  of  Christianity.  ..  .is  effecting 
changes,  moral,  social,  and  political,  which  for  extent 
and  rapidity  of  effect,  are  far  more  extraordinary  than 
anything  you  or  your  fathers  have  witnessed  in  modern 
times." 

Sir  Andrew  Fraser,  late  Lieut. -Gov.  of  Bengal,  in  an 
address  given  at  Simla  in  1903,  said  :  "It  has  been  my 
policy  to  find  out  the  school  from  which  boys  who  are 
candidates  for  Government  Service  come,  and  I  find 
that  the  best  boys  we  have,  come  from  missionary 
schools  and  colleges.  That,  after  all,  is  not  wonderful, 
for  our  missionary  schools  and  colleges  have  professors 

of  high  character  and  education There  is  nothing 

that  England  can  give  to  India,  notwithstanding  the 
many  blessings  she  has  given,  to  compare  with  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ." 

And  the  late  Governor  of  Bombay,  Lord  Sydenham, 
speaking  in  Calcutta  on  the  "Problem  of  India,"  said 
that  he  went  to  India  with  no  very  great  prepossession 
in  favor  of  missionary  work.  But  after  five  and  a  half 
years  of  careful  study  of  the  conditions  and  tendencies 
of  modern  India,  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
missionary  effort  was  playing  a  far  greater  part  than 
was  generally  realized  in  raising  the  standards  and 
ideals  of  life  among  the  people,  and  therefore,  fulfilling 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  sacred  of  their  national 
responsibilities. 

The  Problem  of  India  became  more  complex  every 
year.  The  work  the  British  people  had  done  there  was 
quite  marvellous,  but  it  was  not  nearly  finished,  and 


194  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

perhaps  the  most  difficult  part  remained  to  be  accom- 
plished. It  was  only  under  British  rule  that  there  could 
be  the  least  hope  of  building  up  out  of  the  varying 
elements  of  India,  a  nation  capable  of  standing  alone. 
He  much  doubted  whether  that  could  be  accomplished 
until  the  Spirit  of  Christianity  had  spread  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.* 

In  the  light  of  the  above  quotations  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  a  Hindu  paper  the  Amrita  Bazar  Patrika 
should  say  :  "There  is  no  doubt  it  would  have  been 
an  act  of  supreme  wisdom  on  the  part  of  the  ruling 
race  if  they  could  base  British  rule  in  India  on  the 
precepts  of  Jesus  Christ." 

The  Attractiveness  of  India.  This  seems  almost  an 
unworthy  motive  to  present  to  young  men  and  women 
to  enlist  them  for  service  in  India.  The  Right  Hon. 
Sir  Richard  Temple,  spoke  of  India  as  "the  fairest  and 
finest  field  in  the  non-Christian  world  for  Christian 
Evangelization."  There  is  a  spirit  of  religious  ferment 
among  the  influential  classes.  There  is  a  spirit  of 
restiveness  under  the  restraints  of  caste.  Modern 
ideas  of  progress  clash  with  reverence  for  the  authority 
of  caste.  There  is  a  Hindu  proverb  which  says  : 
"You  cannot  put  two  swords  into  one  scabbard."  The 
result  is  an  undermining  of  the  moral  character.  Out- 
ward regard  for  ceremonies  which  the  heart  condemns 
can  have  no  other  result. 

The  poor  and  the  outcaste  are  looking  to  the  Chris- 
tian Church  for  instruction  and  help  as  never  before. 
Do  not  judge  them  too  harshly.  If  you  were  the  help- 

*A  quotation  from  "  Young  Men  of  India.'1 


LOOKING   FORWARD  195 

less  victim  of  a  social  system  which  crushed  out  every 
expression  of  your  individuality,  compelled  you  to  give 
'forced  labor,'  labelled  you  as  'untouchable'  compelled 
you  to  live  apart,  and  gave  you  only  menial  duties  to 
perform  ;  and  you  discovered  that  the  Christian 
Church  was  waging  a  warfare  with  oppression,  and  had 
a  definite  message  of  Hope  for  you, — which  side  would 
you  choose  to  be  on  ?  The  doors  of  service  for  these 
"poor"  in  Central  India  are  opening  wider  every 
year. 

Land  Not  Yet  Possessed.  There  remains  much  land 
yet  to  be  possessed.  Why  should  not  a  congregation  at 
home  become  responsible  for  one  of  the  thirty  central 
stations  that  yet  await  the  coming  of  a  missionary  and 
his  band  of  helpers  ?  Such  a  Central  station  could  be 
opened,  with  bungalow  for  the  missionary,  a  small 
school,  and  building  at  one  or  two  outstations  for  In- 
dian helpers,  at  an  initial  cost  of  between  four  and  five 
thousand  dollars.  There  would  be  of  course  the  ad- 
ditional annual  cost  of  salary  for  missionary  and  Indian 
workers.  There  may  be  individual  Church  members 
who  would  rejoice  in  such  an  opportunity.  Think  of 
the  privilege  of  planting  such  a  work  !  In  the  parish 
would  be  approximately  300  villages,  a  population  of 
between  60  and  75  thousand.  And  few  of  these  have 
heard  the  Gospel  except  from  the  lips  of  a  band  of 
preachers  on  tour  through  their  district.  Think  of  the 
joy  of  building  there  from  the  foundations  (Romans 
15  :  20).  And  consider  that  you,  or  some  one  else  to 
whom  it  would  mean  as  great  a  sacrifice,  must  occupy 
the  field,  or  it  is  left  untilled.  "This  Gospel must 


196  IN    THE    HEART    OF    INDIA 

be  preached.  . .  .for  a  witness,"  is  the  Master's  charge 
to  His  people. 

The  War  and  the  Opportunity.  But  will  not  the  war 
among  Christian  nations  make  the  work  difficult  or 
impossible  ?  Is  it  not  an  almost  insuperable  obstacle 
to  the  messengers  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace  ?  The  re- 
proach of  Christendom  at  war  is  no  doubt  a  real  one, 
and  will  long  continue  to  be  so.  The  Church  and  her 
missionaries  will  often  have  to  "eat  the  shame"  of  it, 
to  use  a  Hindi  idiom.  But  there  are  other  reproaches 
which  would  be  harder  to  bear.  We  preach  not  only 
a  Gospel  of  Peace,  but  a  message  of  Truth  and  Faith- 
fulness and  Righteousness  ;  and  had  our  nation  stood 
aside  from  this  conflict,  how  could  its  messengers  of 
Christ  have  gone  forth  to  preach,  from  a  land  which 
treats  these  things  lightly  ?  Thoughtful  minds  in  India 
see  in  Britain's  participation  in  the  war  a  justification 
of  her  profession  as  a  Christian  nation,  and  honor  her 
the  more  for  it.  There  will  always  be  those  who  cavil, 
but  among  those  Indians  who  keep  themselves  informed 
on  the  causes  and  the  course  of  the  war,  there  is  a 
greater  readiness  to  hear  the  Christian  message  than 
ever  before.  "So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  see,  our 
work  has  received  no  check.  The  attitude  of  the  people 
to  the  Christian  preacher  never  has  been  more  friendly. 
The  message  of  the  Gospel  is  listened  to  with  a  serious- 
ness such  as  we  have  rarely  seen  before.  All  the  more 
thoughtful  of  the  people  know  that  the  cause  which 
has  led  Great  Britain  into  this  war  is  a  righteous  cause. 
If  the  war  has  had  any  effect  at  all  upon  the  people,  it 
has  been  a  sobering,  humbling  effect."  This  report 


LOOKING    FORWARD  197 

from  an  American  Mission  is  typical  of  many.  It  may 
well  be,  that  in  ways  we  dream  not  of,  God  will  use  the 
horrible  experience  of  war  to  open  wider  the  gates  of  the 
non-Christian  world  that  the  King  of  Glory  may 
enter  in. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to  perform  ; 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea 

And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take  ; 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 

In  blessings  on  your  head. 

Hands  from  Across  the  Seas.  Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give  (Matt.  10  :  18).  The  Churches  in 
Canada  in  their  time  of  need  received  help  from  the 
Mother  Churches  in  the  Old  Land.  The  help  received 
made  it  possible  to  maintain  the  means  of  Grace  in 
pioneer  days.  Hands  were  stretched  out  across  the 
ocean  to  assist  the  struggling  Churches  in  the  new 
world.  Now  the  situation  is  changed.  "There's  a 
cry  from  Macedonia,  come  and  help  us."  From  India 
hands  are  stretched  out  in  supplication  across  the  seas 
to  brethren  and  fellow-citizens  in  Canada.  The  weak 
struggling  Churches  in  Central  India  need  the  help  of 
the  strong  congregations  in  Canada.  It  surely  cannot 
be  that  they  will  call  in  vain. 

The  evangelization  of  three  and  one-half  millions,  by 
three  thousand  Indian  Christians,  many  of  them  poor, 


Ip8  IN  THE  HEART  OF  INDIA 

and  many  illiterate,  is  a  tremendous  problem  for  the 
Indian  Churches  alone  to  face.  Fourteen  Mission 
stations  and  twenty-one  outstations  in  an  area  as  large 
as  Scotland  is  not  enough  to  lighten  the  darkness  of 
Central  India.  Indian  and  Canadian  must  join  hands 
in  a  mighty  effort  if  the  responsibility  for  this  field  is  to 
be  met  in  any  reasonable  measure. 

The  Essence  of  the  Gospel.  The  war  crisis  has  made 
a  unique  opportunity,  and  the  situation  it  has  created 
has  made  urgently  necessary  the  preaching  anew  of  the 
simple  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Many  non-Christians 
have  come  to  think  that  Christianity  has  failed.  They 
looked  on  it  as  a  magical  power  which  ought  somehow 
to  have  restrained  its  followers,  and  prevented  the  strife. 
Missions  had  been  laying  such  stress  on  the  ' '  fruits ' '  of 
Christianity  in  the  Western  world,  as  an  evidence  of  its 
truth,  that  the  minds  of  many  confused  the  essence  of 
Christianity  with  its  by-products.  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  sometimes  it  was  Christian  civilization  which  was 
being  propagated  rather  than  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  Church  is  brought  back  to  the  essentials. 
It  will  be  all  gain  if  the  result  be  that  the  followers  of 
Christ  go  forth  determined  to  know  nothing  among  the 
heathen  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified.  It  is  not 
a  civilization  but  a  Saviour  that  is  to  be  made  known. 
To  minds  perplexed  by  the  apparent  failure  of  Christian- 
ity, its  vital  truths  must  anew  be  faithfully  presented. 
It  is  a  unique  opportunity  to  show  how  everything  has 
failed,  but  vital  Christianity,  and  to  make  clear  the 
world's  need  of  Christ.  What  an  opportunity  to  press 
home  the  truth  that  no  other  name  is  given  whereby 


LOOKING    FORWARD  199 

men  may  be  saved  !  The  East  will  not  be  regenerated 
by  copying  the  civilizations  of  the  West,  but  by  sitting 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  learning  of  Him. 

The  Investment  of  Life.  Central  India  presents  an 
urgent  and  definite  call  to  the  young  men  and  women 
of  the  Church.  With  such  an  opportunity  to  invest 
their  lives,  and  with  the  knowledge  that  the  seal  of 
God's  blessing  rests  on  the  lives  that  have  already  been 
given  to  this  needy  field,  young  men  and  women  with 
gifts  suited  for  the  work  should  be  very  sure  that  God 
is  hindering  their  going  before  they  refuse  the  call. 
God  does  not  send  a  visitation  of  angels  to  show  us  the 
way  through  open  doors.  "I  am  going  to  China" 
cried  Thomas  Craigie  Hood,  "unless  God  bars  my 
way,"  and  through  his  student  days  the  way  for  him 
was  as  clear  as  noonday.  There  are  those  who  hesitate, 
saying,  "I  am  willing  to  go,  if  God  should  make  the  way 
clear  to  me,"  and  all  the  time  Divine  Providence  is 
making  the  way  as  clear  as  is  possible  to  an  ordinary 
intelligence.  Not  all  can  go  to  the  foreign  field,  but  the 
proportion  of  available  workers  seems  so  small,  and  the 
opportunity  and  the  need  seem  so  great. 

Clear  Guidance  ;  Surrender.  There  are  some  things 
that  are  essential  for  clear  guidance  in  regard  to  the  call 
to  work  abroad.  (i)  A  new  surrender  of  life  to  God 
in  the  light  of  the  new  opportunity.  Do  not  be  con- 
tent with  the  memory  of  a  definite  surrender  some  time 
in  the  past.  You  may  not  then  have  understood  all 
that  was  involved  in  it.  "The  surrender  of  the  life  is 
only  the  beginning  of  a  life  surrender"  (Jas.  H.  McCon- 
key).  Be  absolutely  sure  that,  in  the  light  of  all  that 


200  IN  THE  HEART  OP  INDIA 

has  happened,  and  from  the  higher  vantage  ground,  you 
are  still  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  making  yourself  His  debtor, 
and  He  your  Master,  for  ever  and  ever.  There  must  be 
no  uncertainty  about  the  surrender  of  the  life. 

(2)  There    must     be    the   sifting    out    of    obstacles. 
Family  ties,  which  are  not  considered  too  sacred  to 
prevent  one  from  going  at  the  call  of  country,  or  for 
commercial  gain,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  should  not  be 
permitted  to  keep  one  from  the  Service  of  Christ  in  the 
foreign  field. 

The  strength  of  family  affection  sometimes  proves  a 
barrier  to  foreign  service.  Loved  ones  at  home  "can- 
not bear"  to  see  a  dear  one  go  to  the  foreign  field. 
How  unlovely  and  selfish  such  affection  becomes  when 
indulged  in  at  the  expense  of  duty  !  Such  affection 
may  be  transfigured  and  deepened,  not  destroyed,  by 
admitting  the  claims  of  Christ,  and  the  claims  of  a 
world  that  needs  the  love  otherwise  selfishly  withheld. 
The  loving  Master  makes  tremendous  demands  upon 
the  love  of  His  disciples,  and  He  knows  well  that  they 
are  always  the  gainers  thereby. 

(3)  Be  sure  you  have  a  positive  message  for  the  non- 
Christian  world.     There  may  be  nothing  to  prevent 
your  going  to  India.     The  physical  or  material  hind- 
rances may  be  taken  out  of  the  way  ;  but  remember  that 
God  removes  these  only  that  you  may  confront  the 
greater  problems  of  faith.     God  rolled  away  the  stone 
that  the  sorrowing  women  might  face  the  problem  of 
the  empty  tomb.     The  greatest  problem  you  will  have, 
will  be  to  confront  the  hungry  souls  of  India.      And 
without  a  positive  message  you  will  be  utterly  helpless  ; 


LOOKING   FORWARD  2Ot 

which  suggests  the  last  and  most  important  element  in 
finding  God's  will  for  you  in  regard  to  the  non-Christian 
world.  You  must  know  Christ  as  a  living  Friend  and 
Saviour.  The  faith  once  delivered  unto  the  saints  must 
be  a  vital  experience.  Communion  with  the  Saviour 
of  Mankind  in  prayer  and  meditation  on  His  revealed 
will  in  the  Word,  will  result  in  the  growth  of  a  likeness 
to  Him.  The  needs  of  men  will  be  seen  through  His 
eyes.  The  same  mind  will  be  found  in  you  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  You  will  know  something  of  the  travail 
of  His  soul.  You  will  estimate  as  He  does  the  value 
and  possibilities  of  the  soul.  You  will  feel  as  He  does 
about  the  multitudes  scattered  abroad  as  sheep  having 
no  shepherd.  How  then  would  you  regard  the  call  and 
opportunity  of  India  ? 


Eating  Our^Morsel  Alone 

"If  I  have  eaten  my  morsel  alone  !" 

The  patriarch  spoke  in  scorn  ; 
What  would  he  think  of  the  Church  were  he  shown 

Heathendom,  huge,  forlorn, 
Godless,  Christless,  with  soul  unfed 

While  the  Church's  ailment  is  fulness  of  bread 
Eating  her  morsel  alone  ? 

I  am  debtor  alike  to  the  Jew  and  the  Greek, 

The  mighty  Apostle  cried  ; 
Traversing  continents  souls  to  seek, 

For  the  love  of  the  crucified. 


2O2  IN   THE    HEART    OF   INDIA 

Centuries,  centuries,  since  have  sped  ; 

Millions  are  famishing  :  we  have  bread  ; 
But  we  eat  our  morsel  alone. 

Even  of  them  who  have  largest  dower 

Shall  heaven  require  the  more  ; 
Ours  is  affluence,  knowledge,  power, 

Plenty,  from  shore  to  shore. 
And  East  and  West  in  our  ears  have  said 

"Give  us,  give  us  your  living  bread," 
Yet  we  eat  our  morsel  alone. 

"Freely  as  ye  received,  so  give," 

He  bade,  Who  hath  given  us  all. 
How  shall  the  soul  in  us  longer  live, 

Deaf  to  their  starving  call, 
For  whom  the  blood  of  the  Lord  was  shed 

And  His  body  broken  to  give  them  bread, 
If  we  eat  our  morsel  alone  ? 

— BISHOP  OF  DERRY. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDICES 


205 


APPENDIX  A. 


PRESENT  STAFF  IN  CENTRAL  INDIA 


STATION 


ARRIVAL 


Indore. . .  .Rev.  W.  A.  Wilson,  M.A.,D.D.,  and  Mrs. 

Wilson December  1884 

. . .  .Rev.  R.  A.  King,  M.A.,  D.D.,  and  Mis. 

King,  B.A June  1903 

"  Rev.  A.  A.  Scott,  B.A.,B.D.,  and  Mrs. 

Scott December  1912 

"  Rev.  Robert  Schofield,  M.A.,  and  Mrs. 

Schofield,  B.A June  1910 

"  ....  Miss  Jessie  Duncan November  1892 

"  Miss  Janet  White November  1893 

"  Miss  Harriet  Thompson December  1896 

"  Miss  Elizabeth  McMaster,  M.D.,  C.M..  January  1904 

"  Miss  Lizbeth  Robertson,  B.A February  1911 

"  Miss  Bertha  Manarey September  1913 

"  Rev.  D.  J.  Davidson,  B.A.,  and  Mrs. 

Davidson,  M.D.,C.M .January  1904 

"  ...  .Miss  Emmaline  Smillie,  B.A November  1914 

"  Miss  Laura  I.  F.  Moodie,  M.B , .  .November  1914 

"  Rev.  Harold  W.  Lyons,  B.A.,  and  Mrs. 

Lyons February        1915 

Mhow.  .  .  .Rev.  J.  T.  Taylor,  B.A.,  and  Mrs.  Taylor .  November  1899 

"      Miss  Jessie  Weir December  1896 

"      Miss  Margaret  Brebner November  1912 

"          ..Rev.  E.  J.  Drew.. . 


206  APPENDICES 

STATION  ARRIVAL 

Rasalpura  (Mhow) 

Rev.  F.  H.  Russell,  M.A.,  and  Mrs.  Rus- 
sell  November  1893 

"  Rev.  A.  P.  Ledingham,  B.A.,  and  Mrs. 

Ledingham '.  .November  1895 

"  Mr.  L.  D.  S.  Coxson January      1914 

"  Mr.  A.  R.  Graham November  1914 

Neemuch..Miss  Margaret  MacHarrie January      1910 

.  .Miss  Margaret  McKellar,  M.D.,  C.M..  .October       1890 

"          . .  Mrs.  E.  E.  Menzies November  1902 

'           .  .Rev.  J.  S.  MacKay,  B.A.,  and  Mrs.  Mac- 
Kay  (Miss  Sinclair) November  1904 

"          . .  Miss  Gwendolen  Gardner,  B.A November  1914 

"          .  .Miss  Margaret  Cameron November  1911 

Jaora Rev.  F.  J.  Anderson  and  Mrs.  Anderson .  December  1901 

Rutlam.  .  .Rev.  J.  Fraser  Campbell,  D.D.,  and  Mrs. 

Campbell  (Miss  Forrester) December  1876 

. .  .Mr.  J.  M.  Waters,  M.D.,  C.M.,  and  Mrs. 

Waters November  1903 

"        .  .  .Miss  Dorothy  Kilpatrick,  B.A November  1914 

"      ....  Mr.  Charles  M.  Scott,  B.A.,M.D.,C.M., 

and  Mrs.  Scott November  1915 

Ujjain.  .  .  .Mr.  Alex.  Nugent,  B.A.,  M.D.,  C.M.,  and 

Mrs.  Nugent November  1899 

"      ....  Miss  Jessie  Grier November  1893 

.  .  .  .Miss  Margaret  Drummond November  1911 

....  Rev.  Charles  D.  Donald,  B.A November  1915 

Dhar Miss  Margaret  Coltart November  1911 

"    Miss  Margaret  O'Hara,  M.D.,  C.M December  1891 

"    Miss  M.  S.  Herdman March         1903 

"    Rev.  B.  S.  Smillie,  B.A November  1914 


APPENDICES 


STATION 


207 
ARRIVAL 


Amkhut. . . Rev.  J.  Buchanan,  B.A.,M.D.,  and  Mrs. 

Buchanan  (Miss  MacKay),  M.D December  1888 

"          .  .Rev.  H.  H.  Smith  and  Mrs.  Smith 

..Mr.   D.   E.   McDonald  and  Mrs.   Mc- 
Donald  November  1911 

.  .Miss  Bertha  W.  Robson,  M.A. November  1912 

...  .Mr.  Harry  H.  Colwell,  B.S.A.,M.B.,  and 

Mrs.  Colwell November  1915 

Kharua.  .  .Rev.  J.  R.  Harcourt  and  Mrs.  Harcourt.  .November  1900 
"        . .  .Rev.  D.  F.  Smith,  B.A.,B.D.,  and  Mrs. 

Smith  (Miss  Madill) December  1906 

"        ...  Miss  Florence  E.  Clearihue December  1906 

"        .  .  .Miss  Mabel  E.  MacLean November  1912 

Banswara..Rev.  D.  G.  Cock,  B.A.,  and  Mrs.  Cock, 

B.A December  1902 

"          .  Miss  Catherine  Campbell December  1894 

"          .Miss  B.  Chone  Oliver,  M.D.,C.M February  1902 

Sitamau. . .  Rev.  W.  J.  Cook,  B.A.,  and  Mrs.  Cook. .  October      1910 

Bagli  Field — Hat  Pipliya  : 

Miss  Ethel  Glendinning January      1909 


MISSIONARIES  WHO  HAVE  RETIRED,  OR  HAVE 

Designation     Retired 

Rev.  George  Stevenson 1857  1858 

Miss  Fairweather 1873  1880 

"     Rodger 1873  1891 

Rev.  J.  M.  Douglas - .     1876  1882 

Miss  M.  McGregor 1877  1888 

Rev.  Joseph  Builder,  B.A 1883 

"     R.  C.  Murray,  B.A 1885 

:     G.  McKelvie,  M.A 1888  1891 


DIED 

Died 


1888 
1887 


208  APPENDICES 

Designation  Retired          Died 

Miss  Amy  Harris 1889  ....         1892 

"     Elizabeth  Beatty,  M.D 1884  1892 

"     E.  B.  Scott 1888  1890 

"     Elizabeth  McWilliams 1891  1893 

"     W.  Grant  Fraser,  M.D 1890        1896         

Mr.  J.  J.  Thompson,  M.D 1895  1897 

Miss  I.  Ross 1883  1898 

Rev.  W.  J.  Jamieson 1890  1898 

Miss  Catherine  Calder 1892        1899         

"     Mary  Charlotte  Dougan 1893        1900         

"     JeanM.  Leyden 1896  1900 

Rev.  J.  Fraser  Smith,  B.A.,  M.D 1888  1900 

Miss  Rachel  Chase,  B.A 1895  1899 

Rev.  John  Wilkie,  M.A.,  D.D 1879  1902 

Rev.  Norman  H.  Russell,  M.A 1890  ....         1902 

Miss  S.  McCalla,  M.D.  (now  Mrs.  W.  H. 

Grant,  of  Honan) 1900        1902         

"     M.  S.  Wallace,  M.D 1901         1902         

Mr.  C.  R.  Woods,  M.D 1893  1903 

Mr.  George  Menzies,  M.D 1902  ....         1903 

Miss  Bella  Ptolemy 1895         1904         

"     Agnes  Turnbull,  M.D.,  C.M 1892  ....         1906 

"     Mary  E.  Leach  (Mrs.  Addison) 1900  1908 

"     M.  Jamieson.... 1889  1909 

"     Anna  M.  Nairn  (Mrs.  K.  G.  McKay)  1907  1912 

Rev.  Alex.  Dunn,  M.A.,  B.D 1908         1911         

Miss  Marion  Oliver,  M.D.,  C.M 1886  ....         1913 

Rev.  W.  G.  Russell,  B.A 1901  ....         1913 

Mr.  K.  G.  McKay,  B.S.A 1906  1912 

"     J.  A.  Sharrard,  M.A.,  B.D 1907         1915         

Miss  Janet  Sinclair 1909        1915         

"     Bella  Goodfellow 1899        1916         

Mr.  A.  G.  McPhedran,  B.A.,  M.B 1908  1915 

Miss  Ethel  Bredin. .  1915  1915 


APPENDICES 


209 


APPENDIX  B. 


INDIAN  CENSUS  RETURNS 


THE  POPULATION  OF  INDIA  BY  RELIGIONS 


Hindu  

1901 
207,147026 

\ 

1911          I 
217  586  920 

rariation 
by 
>er  Cent. 
5 

Sikh.. 

2,195  339 

3  014  466 

38 

Jain 

1  334  148 

1  248  142 

6 

Buddhist.  . 

9  476  750 

10  721  453 

13 

Zoroastrian  . 

94  190 

100  096 

6 

Mussalman  

62,458,077 

66,623,421 

7 

Christian. 

2,923,241 

3,876,203 

33 

Jew.  . 

18,228 

20,980 

15 

Animistic. 

8,584,148 

10,295,168 

20 

Minor  Religions  

129,900 

37,101 

71 

Total. 


294,361,056 


313,323,981 


210 


APPENDICES 


b-  co  •*  -^  co  •<*  t>.      oo  co  OOOSOSO3COI 

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COrHlCOICO^ft*-         ^rH          rHCQ"^OOrH|>rHT^i 


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APPENDICES 


211 


APPENDIX  C. 
FORCES  ON  THE  FIELD 


FOREIGN 

INDIAN 

MISSIONARIES 

WORKERS 

NAME  OF  SOCIETY 

Unordained 

Unordained 

OrHM 

OrrlM 

, 

Male 

Fern. 

Male 

Fern. 

American  and 

Canadian  Societies.  .  41 

557 

159 

1,154 

945 

10,133 

4,241 

Australian          "       .  .     8 

26 

1 

12 

28 

85 

18 

British                "       .  .   41 

615 

314 

1,502 

560 

11,711 

5,283 

Ceylon                "       ..3 

. 

.  .  . 

7 

3 

9 

4 

Continental       "       ..12 

222 

48 

264 

77 

2,152 

338 

India                  "       ..7 

10 

22 

21 

6 

311 

25 

International     "       .  .     3 

9 

71 

93 

1,926 

.  .  . 

Independent      "       .  .     9 

2 

13 

46 

39 

161 

55 

Indigenous         "       .  .   12 

1 

6 

25 

7 

163 

174 

13Q 

1,442 

634 

3,124 

1,665 

26,655 

10,138 

Total  Foreign  Missionaries 5,336 

"    Indian  "  38,458 


An  average  of  one  ordained  Missionary  to  about  218,000  people. 


212  APPENDICES 

APPENDIX  D. 
THE  CHARTER  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY 

"We  hold  Ourselves  bound  to  the  natives  of  Our 
Indian  Territories  by  the  same  obligations  of  duty 
which  bind  Us  to  all  Our  other  subjects,  and  those 
obligations  by  the  Blessing  of  Almighty  God,  We  shall 
faithfully  and  conscientiously  fulfil .... 

"Firmly  relying  Ourselves  on  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
and  acknowledging  with  gratitude  the  solace  oj  religion, 
We  disclaim  alike  the  Right  and  Desire  to  impose  Our 
convictions  on  any  of  Our  subjects.  We  declare  it  to 
be  Our  Royal  Will  and  Pleasure  that  none  be  in  any 
wise  favored,  none  molested  or  disquieted,  by  reason 
of  their  religious  faith  or  observances  ;  but  that  all 
shall  alike  enjoy  the  equal  and  impartial  protection  of 
the  law  :  and  We  do  strictly  charge  and  enjoin  all  those 
who  may  be  in  authority  under  Us,  that  they  abstain 
from  all  interference  with  the  religious  belief  or  worship 
of  any  of  Our  subjects,  on  pain  of  Our  highest  dis- 
pleasure .... 

"When,  by  the  Blessing  of  Providence,  internal 
tranquillity  shall  be  restored,  it  is  Our  earnest  desire 
to  stimulate  the  peaceful  industry  of  INDIA,  to  promote 
works  of  public  utility  and  improvement,  and  to  ad- 
mi  nister  its  Government  for  the  benefit  of  all  Our  sub- 
jects resident  therein.  In  their  prosperity  will  be  Our 


APPENDICES  213 

strength  ;  in  their  contentment  Our  security,  and  in 
their  gratitude  Our  best  reward.  And  may  the  God  of 
all  Power  grant  to  Us  and  to  those  in  authority  under  Us, 
strength  to  carry  out  these  Our  wishes  for  the  good  of  Our 
people." 

The  above  extract  is  from  the  Royal  Proclamation 
dated,  Nov.  ist,  1858,  announcing  the  transfer  of  the 
Government  of  India  from  the  East  India  Company 
to  the  Crown.  The  words  in  italics  were  added  by  the 
Queen  with  her  own  hand,  on  the  suggestion  of  the 
Prince  Consort,  to  the  Draft  of  the  Proclamation 
presented  to  her  by  her  Ministers. 


APPENDIX  E. 
NOT  AFRAID  OF  INVESTIGATION 

Three  distinguished  Field-Marshals,  Lords  Grenfell, 
Methuen,  and  the  late  Lord  Roberts,  a  little  while  ago 
addressed  a  letter  to  British  Army  Officers,  having  in 
mind  the  large  number  of  Officers  who  serve  from  time 
to  time  in  non-Christian  countries,  such  as  Africa, 
India,  and  Egypt.  The  letter  said,  among  other 
things  : 

"You  will  almost  certainly  come  into  contact  with 
the  representatives  of  various  Christian  Missionary 
Societies,  whose  special  work  it  is  to  show  to  non- 
Christian  peoples  the  love  of  the  Christ  whom  you 
profess  to  serve.  We  commend  these  missionaries  to 
you  as  a  body  of  men  and  women  who  are  working 


214  APPENDICES 

helpfully  with  the  Government,  and  contributing  to 
the  elevation  of  the  people  in  a  way  impossible  to  official 
action. 

"Some  object  to  Christian  Missions  in  ignorance  of 
their  real  value.  We  would  suggest  that  you  will  use 
all  opportunities  of  making  yourself  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  work  they  are  doing,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  converts.  Most  missions  will  bear  looking 
into,  and  we  are  convinced  that,  if  you  do  this,  you  will 
never  afterwards  condemn  or  belittle  them." 


APPENDIX  F. 

Extract  Minute  of  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  India  at  Allahabad,  December,  1913, 
in  reference  to  **  Indians  in  U.S.A.  and  Canada." 

It  was  resolved  :  "That  the  Assembly  send  the  fol- 
lowing message  to  the  Churches  of  the  U.S.A.  and  of 
Canada  : 

"The  Assembly  has  heard  with  great  concern  of  the 
great  number  of  people  of  India,  largely  from  the 
Punjab,  who  have  gone  to  the  United  States  of  America 
and  to  Canada.  Our  concern  is  lest  they  come  under 
influences  which  will  harden  their  hearts  against  the 
message  of  Christ  and  cause  them  to  return  to  India 
embittered  in  spirit  and  estranged  from  the  Church  of 
Christ.  In  their  behalf  we  are  impelled  to  ask  you, 
our  Christian  brethren,  not  to  forget  to  put  out  a  help- 
ing hand  to  these  strangers  among  you.  They  will 


APPENDICES 


215 


respond  to  your  sympathy  and  appreciate  your  efforts 
in  their  behalf.  It  is  not  for  us  to  tell  you  in  what 
way  you  may  help  these  strangers,  countrymen  of  ours. 
We  write  to  assure  you  that  any  help  you  give  them  will 
be  a  help  to  the  Church  of  Christ  in  India. 

"It  has  been  suggested  that  we  send  missionaries 
from  India  who  know  the  language  and  ways  of  these 
people  to  work  among  them.  We  are  inclined  to  think 
that  more  can  be  accomplished  by  agencies  carried  on 
under  the  sympathetic  guidance  of  Pastors  and  Sessions 
of  the  local  Churches  where  these  strangers  live. 

"We  ask  that  your  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign 
Missions  bring  to  the  attention  of  your  Presbyteries, 
Sessions,  and  Pastors,  the  great  opportunity  thas  offered 
them  of  uniting  with  us  in  winning  the  people  of  India 
to  love  and  worship  and  serve  the  Lord  Jesus.  The 
blessing  of  many  ready  to  perish  will  come  upon  them  ; 
and,  better  than  this,  the  blessing  of  our  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter, who  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  dwelt  in  Asia,  will  be 
theirs  when  at  last  He  says,  '  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye 
took  me  in.' 

"The  Assembly  resolved  that  the  above  message  be 
signed  on  behalf  of  the  Assembly  by  the  Moderator 
and  Stated  Clerk,  and  that  copies  be  forwarded  by  the 
Clerk  to  the  Secretaries  of  Home  and  Foreign  Mission 
Boards  in  the  United  States  of  America  and  Canada, 
with  the  request  that  they  suggest  to  the  Presbyteries 
and  Sessions  the  means  by  which  these  strangers  may 
be  reached  and  brought  to  worship  Christ  as  their  Lord 
and  Saviour." 


2l6  APPENDICES 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 
I.     "  THE  INDIA  LIBRARY  » 

The  following  volumes,  the  separate  price  of  which  is  given 
below,  may  be  purchased  for  $5.00,  carriage  extra,  from  the  Foreign 
Mission  Board  of  our  Church.  In  these  volumes  the  Social,  Politi- 
cal, Industrial,  and  Religious  conditions  all  find  expert  treatment  : 

Overweights  of  Joy AMY  WILSON-CARMICHAEL 

Retail  Price,  $1.00  net. 

The  Empire  of  Christ BERNARD  LUCAS 

Retail  Price,  80c. 

The  Christian  Conquest  of  India JAMES  M.  THOBURN 

Retail  Price,  60c. 

India's  Problem — Krishna  or  Christ JOHN  P.  JONES 

Retail  Price,  $1.50. 

Asia  and  Europe MEREDITH  TOWNSEND 

Retail  Price,  $1.50. 

Mosaics  from  India MARGARET  B.  DENNING 

Retail  Price,  $1.25. 

India  and  Christian  Opportunity HARLAN   P.  BEACH 

Retail  Price,  50c. 

Wrongs  of  Indian  Womanhood MRS.  MARCUS  B.  FULLER 

Retail  Price,  $1.25. 
(This  set  weighs  11  Ibs.) 

II.     HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL 

1.  The  Indian  Empire SIR  WILLIAM  HUNTER 

Triibner's  Oriental  Series,  21  shillings. 

2.  Rise  of  British  Dominion  in  India SIR  ALFRED  LYALL 

(John  Murray,  London).     Price,  4/6. 

3.  The  Citizen  of  India SIR  WILLIAM  LEE-WARNER 

(MacMillan  Co.)     Price,  40c. 

4.  Short  History  of  India J.  TALBOYS  WHEELER 

(MacMillan  Co.)     Price,  $3.50. 

5.  The  Expansion  of  England J.  R.  SEELEY 

(Little,  Brown,  Boston).     Price,  $1.75. 


APPENDICES  217 

HI.     MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

1.  Medical  Missions,  Their  Place  and  Power JOHN  LOWE 

(F.  H.  Revell  Co.)     $1.50. 

2.  The  Medical  Mission,  Its  Place,  Power  and  Appeal 

W.G.  WANLESS 

(Westminster  Press.)     lOc. 

IV.    WOMEN'S  WORK 

1.  Pandita  Ramabai HELEN  S.  DYER 

(F.  H.  Revell  Co.)    $1.25. 

2.  Our  Sisters  in  India E.  STORROW 

(F.  H.  Revell  Co.)     $1.25. 

3.  The  High  Caste  Hindu  Woman PANDITA  RAMABAI 

(F.  H.  REVELL  Co.)     75c. 

V.    GENERAL 

1.  Modern  Religious  Movements  in  India. .  J.  N.  FARQUHAR,  M.A. 

(New  York,  MacMiUan  Co.)     10/6. 

2.  The  Crown  of  Hinduism J.  N.  FARQUHAR,  M.A. 

(Oxford  Press.)     7/6. 

3.  The  Great  Religions  of  India.  .J.MURRAY  MrrcHELL,M.A.,LL.D. 

(Oliphant,  Anderson  &  Ferrier.)     5s. 

4.  Hinduism  and  Christianity JOHN  ROBSON,  D.D. 

(Oliphant,  Anderson  &  Ferrier.)     3/6.- 

5.  The  Renaissance  in  India C.  F.  ANDREWS,  M.A. 

(London  S.V.M.  Union.)     2/6. 

6.  The  Redemption  of  Malwa W.  A.  WILSON,  D.D. 

(Presbyterian  F.  M.  Board,  Toronto.)     15  cents. 

7.  Village  Work  in  India N.  H.  RUSSELL 

(Revell  Co.)    3/6. 

8.  The  Bishop's  Conversion ELLEN  BLACKMAR  MAXWELL 

(Eaton  and  Mains  ;  Jennings  and  Graham.)     $1.50. 

9.  A  Vision  of  India SIDNEY  Low 

(Smith,  Elder  &  Co.)     Is. 

10.  Among  India's  Rajahs  and  Ryots SIR  A.  FRASER 

(Presbyterian  Foreign  Mission  Board,  Toronto.)     $1.50. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

ABORIGINAL  TRIBES  (See  Bheels) 10,  49,  63 

AMERICAN  MISSION,  Pres.  Church  N 60,  164 

ANDREWS,  REV.  C.  P.. 122 

ANGLO-INDIANS 9 

ARYANS.  , 49,  50/51 

BAPTISM 7,  73(  161 

BALLAIS 164 

BEATTY,  DR.  ELIZABETH.  . . . 74,  76 

BHEELS . . 41,  43,  49,  in,  121 

BLIND — Work  for. . 63,   126 

BRAHM 29,   30 

BRAHMANS 30, 31, 168 

BUCHANAN,  REV.  DR. 77,  94,  113,  132 

BUDDHISM , 6,  53 

BUILDER,  REV.  J . .  / 113 

CAMPBELL,  REV.  J.  FRASER,  D.D 58,  60,  71,  90,  113,  129,  145 

CAMPBELL,  MRS.  DR.  (Miss  Forrester 62,    in 

CAMPBELL,  Miss in 

CASTE 6,  16,  50,  112,  164,  165 

CHAPLAINS 10,  61,  144 

CHRISTIANS — Protestant,  5  ;  Number  of,  Indian 151  ff 

CHRISTIANITY — Its  Intolerance,  6  ;  Its  Weakness,  5  ;  Its  Motive,  12 
CHURCH — Primitive,  13  ;  Syrian,  4  ;  Roman,  4  ;  Indian,  9,  38, 
63,  135  ;  Statistics,  138  ;  Influence  of,  139  ;  Development, 
141,  145  ;  Missionary  Activities  of,  150  ;  Relation  to 
Foreign  Mission,  142,  151,  179  ;  Union  Movements  in,  145  ff, 
Federation,  147;  Typified  in  Banyan  Tree,  150;  Problems  of, 

154  ;  Revivals,  156  ;    Appeal  of 197 

CHURCH  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 1 1 1 

COLLEGE — Indore  Christian 81  ff,  171 

COWLEY,  FATHERS 61 

219 


220  INDEX 

PAGE 

CONGRESS  NATIONAL 173 

DE  SELINCOURT,  Miss 125 

DOUGLAS,  REV.  J.  M 60,  65 

DREW,  REV.  E.  J x 145 

DUNCAN,  Miss  J 124 

DE  LASSOE,  CAPT 1 13 

DHAR,  42  ;   Opening  of,  94  ;   Leper  Asylum  at, 132 

DUFF,  DR 12,   59 

DUTT,  TORU 182 

EDDY,  G.  S. 167 

EDWARDES,  SIR  HERBERT 149,  160 

EDUCATION, — (See  Mission  Methods) 21 

ELLIS,  REV.  BENJAMIN. 151 

EUROPEANS — Influence  of 9,  155 

FAIRWEATHER,  Miss 59 

FAMINE ! 63, 88, 101 

FARQUHAR,  J.  N 25 

FRASER,  SIR  A 36,  193 

FRERE,  SIR  BARTLE 193 

GAIKWAD,  REV.  BHAGAJEE 152 

GENERAL  ASSEMBLY — Pres.  Church  in  India 120,  179 

GOREH,  REV.  NEHEMIAH 61 

GOVERNMENT— BRITISH — Religious  Toleration,  66  ;  Neutrality, 
8  ;  Treatment  of  Aboriginal  Tribes,  in  ;  Aid  to  Medical 
Work,  131  ;  Relation  to  National  Movement,  1 73  ;  Keeping 

the  Peace,  6,  1 1  ;   Relation  to  Native  States 44  ff 

GWALIOR 44,  48 

HARRIS,  Mis> 84 

HARDINGE,  LORD 177 

HASTINGS,  LORD 44 

HENDERSON  MEMORIAL  ASYLUM 132 

HINDU— Problem  in  Canada 172  ff 


INDEX  221 

PAGE 

HINDUISM — Opposed  to  Christianity,  6  ;  Defined,  29  ;  Character 
of,  6,  31  ;  Relation  to  Aboriginal  Tribes,  10,  50,  113  ;  Rela- 
tion to  Mohammedanism,  6,  53  ;  Religious  Ideas  of 26 

HOLCOMB,  REV.  DR 60 

HOSTELS 171 

HUNTER,  SIR  WILLIAM 49,  192 

HEBER,  BISHOP 182 

IDOLATRY — Its  Character,  24, 188  ;  Its  Stronghold  ;  The  Women 

22,   74 

ILLUSION,  DOCTRINE  OF 28 

INDIA  AND  THE  EMPIRE— (See  also  "War") 3,   47 

INDIAN  MEDICAL  SERVICE 129 

INDIAN  CHARACTER 17,  20,  23,  25 

INDIAN  POVERTY 163 

INDUSTRIAL  MISSIONS  AID  SOCIETY 108 

INDORE 46,  48,  60  ff,  74,  80  ff,  109,  124 

IRISH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH in 

ITINERATING 40,  71 

JAMIESON,  Miss 126 

JOHORY,  MR 152 

JOHORY,  MRS 88,  in 

JOHNS,  Miss 58 

KARIM,  REV.  SAMUEL 152 

KARMA 26,  53 

KHARUA 165 

KHAN  SINGH 87 

KING-EMPEROR 174.  J92 

KRISHNA 7t  31 

KEEGAN,  LIEUT.-COL % 129 

KING,  REV.  PRIN.. 124 

LAIDLAW,  SIR  ROBERT J3 

LAING,  REV.  JOHN,  D.D 59 

LAWRENCE,  LORD *92 


222  INDEX 

PAGE 

LEE-WARNER,  SIR  WILLIAM 47 

LEPERS 63,  85,  132 

LIFE — Hindu  Belief  in  Sacredness  of 53 

LUDHIANA — Medical  College 131 

MACLEOD,  DR.  NORMAN 136 

MAcKAY,  MRS.  (Miss  Sinclair) 84 

MACKAY,  DR.  MARY 77 

McKiLViE,  REV.  GEO 144 

MAKASARE,  REV.  J.  B 151 

MALWA — 37,  41,  64  ;   Famine  in 101 

MANGS 52,  87  ff 

MARATHAS 43,  73 

MASIH,  REV.  YOHAN 152 

MASS  MOVEMENTS — 10,  85  ff  ;   Defined,  161  ;   Effects  of. ...  167  ff 

McCHEYNE,  R.  M 13 

MCGREGOR,  Miss 61, 126 

McKELLAR,  DR.  M 75,    129 

MCDONALD,  D.  E 1 16 

McPHEDRAN,  DR.  A.  G 127 

MELAS 63,  149 

MENZIES,  GEO.,  M.D , 56 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  MISSION 164 

MEREDITH  TOWNSEND 18 

MHOW 80, 107, 144 

MISSION  COUNCIL 62,  63 

MURRAY,  REV.  and  MRS 93,    1 13 

MISSIONS — Comity  of,  184  ;   Cost  of 186,  195 

Methods  of  (i)    Evangelistic 67,  71,   114,   188 

(2)  Educational 78,    169 

Normal  Training 63,  126 

Higher  Education 121,  169 

Women's  (see  under  "  Women's  Work  ") 

Theological  Training 117 

(3)  Industrial 63,  88,  105,  169 

(4)  Medical  Men's 77,  127 

Consumptives 132 

Women's  (see under  "Women's  Work ") 


INDEX  223 

PAGE 

MISSIONS— Testimony  to 192 

MOHAMMEDANISM 6,  22,  32,  42,  53,  73 

MOTT,  DR.  J.  R 100, 136 

MOULE,  DR 189 

NARBADDA,  RIVER 38 

NATIONAL  MOVEMENT 1 1,  172 

NATIVE  STATES — Defined,  45  ;    Administration  of,  46  ;    Num- 
bers, 44  ;  Area,  45  ;  Residence  in,  89  ;  Difficulties  Peculiar 

to  Work  in 64 

NEEMUCH , 80, 86, 144 

NOAH,  C.  V , 107 

O'HARA,  DR.  MARGARET 97,  in 

OLIVER,  DR.  MARION 75,  76 

ORPHANS 101,  104 

OUTCASTES 10, 162  ff,  194 

PANT^US 4 

PARSEES 50 

PERSECUTIONS 65,   70 

PLAGUE 69 

PLUTSCHAU 5 

POLYGAMY 155 

PORTUGUESE 4 

PRAYER — 12  ;    Answered,  167  ;    Need  of 187 

PREACHING — Methods 22 

PRESS 63,  65,  109 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  CANADA 38,  60 

PTOLEMY,  Miss 126 

RASALPURA 107 

REVIVALS i56 

ROBERTSON,  Miss  L 124 

RODGER,    Miss 59,   84 

RUTLAM — Opening  of,  90  ;   English  Services  at 145 

RUSSELL,  REV.   NORMAN 95,    H3,    "9 


224  INDEX 

PAGE 

RUSSELL,  REV.  F.  H 95, 97, 1 13 

SABBATH  OBSERVANCES 154,  174 

SACRIFICES,    BLOODY 24 

SAMAJES 9 

SEN,  KESHUB  CHUNDER 191 

SINCLAIR,  Miss ". 127 

SMITH,  REV.  H.  H 1 16 

SMILLIE,    Miss    E 124 

SOCIAL  SERVICE — Among  Hindus 168 

STEVENSON,  REV.  GEO 59 

SURVEY 183 

SYDENHAM,  LORD 193 

TEMPLE,  SIR  RICHARD 194 

THEOLOGICAL  TRAINING — (See  Mission  Methods),  Co-operation 

in 146 

TOLERATION,  RELIGIOUS 66 

TREVELYAN,  SIR  CHAS 160 

UJJAIN — 42,  77,  80,  83,  86  ;  Opening  of,  93  ;  Leper  Asylum  at.  .  132 
UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 164 

VlKRAMADITYA 42 

VILLAGE  LIFE 43 

VILLAGES,  NUMBER  OF 187 

VINDHAYA   MOUNTAINS 38,  43 

WAR— Effect  on  India,  3,174  ;  Relation  to  Mission  Work,  184, 

196  ;    Lessons  of,    185 

WATERS,  DR 127 

WASHINGTON,  DR.  BOOKER  T 167 

WHITE,  Miss in,  126 

WILSON,  REV.  W.  A.,  D.D 51,70,  119  ff 

WILKIE,  REV.  DR 62,  80  ff,i24 

WOMEN'S  COUNCIL 63 


INDEX  225 

PAGE 

WOMEN'S  WORK  :  General 10,  57,  59 

Evangelistic  (see  also  Mission  Methods) 72 

Medical , 11,  74,  95,  97,  128  ff 

Educational,  82,  95,  172  ;   Primary  Schools,  124 

Industrial 88,  106,  in 

Need  of 22 

WORSHIP— Of  Fire,  51  ;  of  Images,  6,  51  ;  of  Saints,  6,  53  ;  of 
Demons 24,  52 

XAVIER,  FRANCIS 4 

ZlEGENBALG 5