Search this section
minority of them. The lives and thoughts of Kalagara Subba Rao, Mungamuri Devadas, and Bakth Singh attracted the attention of writers. Rajaiah Paul and Kaj Baago, professors at United Theological College (UTC), Bangalore, and Ravela Joseph, a professor at Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad, narrated the stories and analyzed the theologies of native leaders. Baago traced the imprints of Hindu philosophy in the writings of Subba Rao and characterized the movement around Subba Rao as an indigenous expression of Christian theology. Viewing the movements around Subba Rao and Devadas as native expressions should not imply that CSI and other churches with initial ties to the Western missionaries were not indigenous. Rajaiah Paul rightly viewed the Church of South India as an indigenous church. Although missionaries negotiated the union when faced with decolonization, and they continued to exercise ecclesiastical authority even after the emergence of a “national” church, the congregations consisted of Telugus who articulated and practiced their faith within their own cultural terms and social needs. Although liturgies resemble those of Western churches, one can decipher imprints of Bakhti tradition in the hymns that Christians in CSI and other denominational churches sing.
RECLAIMING AN IDENTITY: 1981-2008
Tales of indigenous churches and local heroes continued to fill the pages of literature about Telugu Christians. Ravel Joseph and Pulidindi Solomon Raj continued to interpret the influence of classical and folk traditions on Telugu Christian piety and practice. However, the essays and books written during this phase have a slightly different accent. The agendas of the writers, interests of the readers, and commitments of the publishers have shaped and reflected the tone of this literature. The writers are not accountable to missionary patrons or to the doubting Thomases in the North Atlantic world. Religious historians committed to their students and colleagues in the discipline produced most of the literature from this phase. They address academic communities that critically engage the faith and practices of Telugu Christian communities. The writers are trained in universities and seminaries with a wide spectrum of theological shades, ranging from Birmingham University to Wisconsin-Madison University. Some are published in the West by companies as varied as Eerdmans in its History of Christian Mission Series and Harrison House, a publishing wing of Oral Roberts University committed to the expansion of American Christianity around the world. A majority are published in India by organizations such as the Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK), which is Christian and ecumenical, and Manohar Publications, which is committed to the social history of South Asia. Seventeen are revised versions of theses or dissertations submitted to research institutions, such as Acharya Nagarjuna University, Vijayawada, and the United Theological College. Journal articles occupy a larger space in this period. At least twenty-eight of the ninety-four documents are published as journal articles.
Page 20A large number of Telugu writers contributed during this period, although the number of titles in Telugu is fewer. Ironically, except for the historical fiction by Kalyana Rao39 and an anthology of poems and songs compiled by Gogu Shyamala,40 there are rarely any journal articles or books published in Telugu. Forty-two Indian authors have contributed to the writing of a history of Telugu Christianity in Andhra and twenty-six of them are Telugus. Only thirtyseven writers from the Western world contributed to the study of Christianity in Andhra. Why would twenty-six authors whose mother tongue is Telugu prefer to write in English? First, many of the essays or books were revised versions of the theses that were originally written in colleges and universities where English is the medium of instruction. Second, the authors were addressing non-Telugu readers who were more fluent in English than in Telugu. Third, not many Telugu publishers would consider the Telugu of these Dalit writers as brahminical or classical enough to be published. There is a small remnant of biographies during this phase. The biographies of six Western missionaries or colonial officials found a place in this genre. The protagonists in these biographies are not as hallowed as those in the earlier periods, as most of these were earlier written as dissertations in universities where missionary movement was suspect. The writers placed the lives of colonial agents, such as C. P. Brown, and Protestant missionaries, such as Anna Kugler and Anthony Groves, within the context of British imperialism. At the same time, we cannot ignore the hagiographies produced on Bakht Singh,41 P. J. Titus,42 and Ananda Rao Samuel.43 There is also a continuity of the tradition of tracing native cultures within Telugu Christianity. Rayi Ratna Sundara Rao analyzed Telugu hymns and hymn writers, identifying the impact of Bakhti tradition on Telugu Christianity.44 Ravela Joseph highlighted Purushottam Choudari’s contribution to Christology in India.45 Pulidindi Solomon Raj’s analysis of the Devadas’ movement and Michael Bergunder’s findings on Pentecostalism in Andhra are other significant and insightful additions to this literature on indigenous expressions of Christianity in the Telugu context.46 Besides analyzing the influences of native cultures on Telugu Christianity, many histories from the period account for the social change of the Christian communities and locate the movements within and toward Christianity in their political and economic context. The emergence of Dalit Studies within the discipline of theology is an influential factor for the shift in studying Christian communities in India. In a provocative essay presented at the United Theological College, Bangalore, in 1981, Arvind P. Nirmal argued that the act of theologizing is a human task, and social identity and the interest of theologians shape their theologies.47 He proposed caste as the key to understanding Christian theologies in India and suggested no Indian Christian theology is relevant unless it takes into consideration the experiences of the marginalized groups who constitute Christianity in India. Although it was a presentation at a faculty seminar, it had its immediate repercussions in the way that Christian communities since then have been studied. We can see the ramifications of the essay on the writings on the Telugu Christian communities as well. A majority of the texts in this period, especially those from M. E. Prabhakar and Geoffrey Oddie, underline the social location of the communities.