Chapter V
SOME OF RAMABAl's PUPILS BECOME CHRISTIANS; OP-
POSITION AND PERSECUTION.
" Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous-
ness, for they shall be filled." Matt. v. 6.
'^ T is altogether too bad that I should have all the
blame on earth, and Ramabai all the reward in
heaven," piquantly remarked Soonderbai Powar,
when relating some stirring events that occurred at the
Sharada Sadan in the early months of 1893.
" The people are saying it is all because I am living
with Ramabai that the girls are becoming Christians,
and that I am the cause of all the trouble; but I have
been away in England for several months, and on my
return find all the girls attending Ramabai's prayer-
meetings. How could it be my fault ? "
Nevertheless, it was apparent that Soonderbai was re-
joiced at these developments, and not so very much in-
wardly disturbed at the blame meted out to her by the
offended Brahmin community.
Since leaving America to begin her life-work in In-
dia, spiritual enlargement had come to Ramabai. From
time to time, in the early part of the past decade, India
58 PANDITA RAMABAl
was visited by earnest Christian evangelists from Brit-
ain and America. Such men as Dr. Pentecost, Henry
Varley, John McNeill, and a host of others not so well
known, have gone on what are called " cold-weather
tours," visiting the large cities, and addressing Euro-
pean audiences, and also natives through an interpreter.
Each of these seemed to have some special message, and
most were greatly helpful in re-emphasizing the foun-
dation truths of the Christian faith, leading many out
into a truer and deeper Christian experience.
Ramabai always eagerly embraced these opportun-
ities, and, as she learned new lessons, incorporated them
into her life and practice. In all these various minis-
tries that helped her, it is but fair to say that Ramabai
studied her Bible and made sure there was a " Thus
saith the Lord " for all that she accepted. It was her
practice then, and still is, to devote the early morning
hour, from five to six a. m., to the study of God's Word
and prayer. In those days she was usually joined by
Soonderbai, her own little daughter, Manorama, and
that section of her pupils whom she called her own
family.
In the prosecution of her work, Ramabai was contin-
ually meeting with high-caste girls who were not wid-
ows, but who were in circumstances of destitution and
moral danger. Ramabai's American supporters gave
her a generous personal allowance, very little of which
OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION 59
sufficed for her own simple needs. She employed the
surplus in caring for a number of these poor girls, who,
not being widows, but either deserted wives or destitute
orphans, were not eligible for support from the funds
of the Sadan. Some of these were maintained in Mis-
sion Schools at Ramabai's expense, and she received
some as members of her own family. A few she adopt-
ed entirely, they having no natural guardians to whom
they owed any sort of allegiance.
Ramabai felt it was her duty to instruct these girls
in the principles of the Christian religion. They were
therefore aroused an hour before the other inmates of
the Shadan to join in the early morning Scripture study
and prayer. Neither was the door closed against any
others who might be drawn to come and listen from
motives of curiosity, or from a genuine desire to learn
what it was in Ramabai's religion which made her so
different from any one they had ever known before. And they did so, till, at the time of Soonderbai's return
to India in the spring of 1893, fully half of the widows
were attending these early morning meetings, and the
Spirit of God was evidently applying the teaching
powerfully to many hearts.
At this time there were two other resident teachers
in the school, who, though professing Christians,
neither showed any sympathy with the movement nor
attended the prayer-meetings.
6o PANDITA RAMABAI
As in a thrifty English household fruits are preserved
and pickles made for winter use^ so a good Brahmin
housewife has her season for drying and preparing a
store of various fruits and herbs for use during the
rainy season. Their season comes in the month of
May, while ours is an autumn function. At this time,
the middle of the hot weather, school holidays were
given in Poona ; Ramabai's store room was likewise re-
plenished—and a vacation from school work meant the
employment of the girls in all the mysteries of preserv-
ing, pickling, and preparing tamarinds, limes, mangoes,
chillies, and the various spices used in the complicated
culinary art as understood in well-managed Brahmin
households. But it was not all work; now and then
some delightful excursion was arranged, looked for-
ward to, and much enjoyed.
It was the time of an Indian festival in the middle
of these holidays, and on the eve of the principal day of
the feast Ramabai told her pupils that she had ordered
conveyances for the morrow to take them to a beautiful
spot, a few miles away, for a picnic. They would go in
charge of the aforementioned teachers, and she trusted
they would have a very happy time. To the eager in-
quiries as to why Bai and Ukka were not going, she
replied that they had need of a day alone with God;
adding that if any of the girls wished to stay and join
them, thev were at liberty to do so. Out of a total of
OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION 6i
sixty or sixty-five, about thirty elected to forego the
picnic and remain for a day of prayer. The whole day
was spent in devotion, the study of the Scriptures,
prayer, and exhortation. Before it was ended, more
than twenty declared themselves to be inquirers after
the truth, and some seemed to have really received it
into their hearts with joy and gladness.
Ramabai and Soonderbai were filled with joy. A
small Christian Endeavour Society was formed, of-
ficers appointed, and a little upstairs room set apart for
a prayer room.
But " a city set on a hill cannot be hid," and it was
soon noised abroad that Ramabai was making all the
girls Christians. Then arose a storm.
From time to time Ramabai had encountered difficul-
ties from her Brahmin friends. In Bombay a " Man-
aging Committee " had been appointed, who aimed to
make the Sadan a strictly Hindu home, and imposed
full observance of caste restrictions, the effect of which
was to shut Ramabai and other Christian teachers out
from certain parts of the dwelling. No pupil was free
to attend any sort of Christian service, but any might
worship at Hindu temples. This being decidedly
against the strict neutrality enjoined by the American
Committee, an appeal was made, and Ramabai was in-
structed to resume the management herself.
In an interview published in a Madras paper concern-
62 PANDITA RAMABAI
ing the conversions just named, Ramabai said:
" When we came to Poona, an Advisory Board was ap-
pointed to advise me with regard to outside matters-
purchase of land, building, etc. They had nothing
practically to do with the internal management of the
Sadan. This Board consisted of three well-known
Hindu gentlemen. We went on satisfactorily for some
time, but when the number of girls attending my private
prayers rose to about twenty, the matter was reported
to them. We did nothing in secret. My room was al-
ways open. They asked me whether some of the girls
attended my private prayers. I replied that they did.
Then they asked me to prevent them from doing so.
I told them I could not conscientiously do that—I could
not restrict my intercourse with the pupils. As a Chris-
tian was at the head of the institution, the girls must be
more or less under Christian influences. The members
of the Advisory Board therefore tendered their resigna-
tion, and issued a circular-letter to the parents and
guardians of the scholars, asking them not to send their
girls to the Sadan."
About twenty-five of the girls were thus withdrawn. Many affecting scenes occurred. Some parents yielded
to the entreaties of their daughters, and allowed them
to remain, with the strict promise not to attend the
prayer meetings in future. Some poor girls were car-
ried off to certain persecution and ill-usage. In one
OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION 63
or two cases where Ramabai knew they would be taken
av/ay to inevitable moral ruin, she resorted to various
justifiable expedients to save them.
The escape of one girl, in which my household had
some share, was in some of its features as sensational
as that of many an old-time negro slave. The escape
was from as real a slavery. Only part can be told here.
This lassie was one whom Ramabai had adopted as her
own. Her mother, a Gujerathi widow, was living the
life of a temple woman in Bombay (a " holy " Hindu
harlot). A prominent Hindu reformer in Bombay, edi-
tor of a newspaper, sent the girl to Ramabai to save
her from her mother's fate. But when he heard that
the girls were becoming Christians, he joined in the
popular outcry, and incited the mother, vile as she was,
to claim her daughter. He was only one of many who
plainly showed that they would rather see Hindu girls
become harlots than Christians.
A chronic complaint, at that time troublesome, was
a reason for sending the girl to a hospital in Bombay,
This would gain time. A message was sent also to me
asking me to visit her, and if possible devise some way
of saving her from her threatened fate. Owing to the
riots then raging in Bombay between Hindus and Mohammedans, it was some days before I could get to see
her. Mrs. Man Sukh Lai, then living in our house,
accompanied me, and visited her frequently afterwards.
64 PANDITA RAMABAI
To her the girl opened her heart. She wanted to be
sent away where her mother could not get at her to
ruin her. She dreaded the day of her discharge. Fre-
quently the mother and some priests wei'e found there
at the visiting hour. They brought her the Hindu
Shastras and wanted to take her Bible away from her.
Day by day the hospital was watched at the hour of dis-
charging patients. But, by the kindness of the matron,
we were permitted to remove her at a different hour,
and at once sent her out of the city to the care of a
missionary friend; Ramabai being purposely kept in
ignorance of her whereabouts. But the mother con-
tinued to trouble Ramabai, claiming now that her
daughter was two years younger than she herself had
stated when first given to Ramabai, while the latter
believed her to be of legal age to decide for herself.
Renewed torrents of abuse were poured out upon
Ramabai by the entire native press. She was then
consecrated up to the point of not caring for her own
reputation—but her school must not be ruined. She
came to me and said the school would be ruined if the
girl were not given up. I declined to have any hand in
producing the girl, but at Ramabai's entreaty gave her
the name of the missionary friends who had taken charge
of her. They finally arranged to bring her to the head
police office in Bombay and let the matter be decided
there. The girl was brought, but the mother did not
OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION 65
keep the appointment. The Christian PoHce Superin-
tendent declined to give her to the Hindus who came
to represent the mother, and she was again removed
by my friends. A subsequent attempt to gain posses-
sion of her was at once abandoned when it became known that the missionary in whose house she had been
staying had baptised her ! The deed was done, she was now a Christian, and was at once reHnquished to her
fate by her mother and the priests. Ramabai's perfidy was again pubHshed to the world, although the baptism,
administered at the girl's own ardent desire, took place
entirely without Ramabai's knowledge or consent.