The Great Commission Under British Raj (1858–1947)

Many Christians neither pay attention to, nor understand what missions are. So did I when I was young. My childhood days were spent in Madras, Srikakulam and Rajahmundry where my parents served the A.P. government . As little children, my siblings and I attended Sunday school regularly, and occasionally we ran into the local missionaries. I still remember how they paid attention to us even though we were of no importance to them. They gave us small gifts like picture cards of Lord Jesus and small Bible story books.

Their gestures of love made a great impact on my young mind. As we grew older, our church activities reduced to a minimum except for regular church attendance. While in Andhra University, a Canadian missionary couple ministered to the students. Their weekly visits delighted us, their Bible studies and prayers encouraged us and their love strengthened us. But I never tried to understand why they were doing what they did. I read the Bible but my understanding at that stage was shallow. It never occurred to me that through Matthew 28:18-20 the Lord was speaking to every believing Christian including myself and not just to the eleven disciples only : “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” And He also said to them “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). AsI grew older the meaning of “the great commision” given by the resurrected Lord, began to sink into my mind.

Christian Missions : The dictionary meaning of “mission” (n) is a special assignment given to a person or a group of persons to go abroad for political and commercial purposes. The word “missions” is not in itself a biblical word. The singular form mission comes from the Latin language and means basically “the act of of sending”. “Christian Mission” is the calling of a religious organization to go out into the world and spread its faith. These organizations were formed by committed Christians in obedience to the Great Commission. Missions always involve sending individuals and groups called “missionaries” across geographical boundaries for the purpose of proselytism. This involves evangelism and humanitarian work especially among the poor, unprivileged and undeveloped peoples. Missionaries have the authority to preach the Christian faith, create employment opportunities by establishing educational institutions, hospitals and vocational schools. They help people improve their living conditions.

Early Missionaries : The Christian church started on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon people in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-13) From that point of time the disciples began to travel to other countries to preach the gospel. It is believed that St. Thomas brought the gospel to India. We read about Paul’s missionary journeys. The followers of Christ did not hesitate to go to the farthest ends of the earth to preach the good news. This was risky and full of trouble. Yet they ventured at the cost of their lives and changed the world because they loved the Lord and people.

Foreign Trade : India became the center of attraction for international trade during the period between 16th and 18th centuries. As early as 15th century Europeans became interested in developing trade opportunities with India and a new trade route to East Asia. The Portuguese were devoted to this task. In 1497 Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese royal navigator and explorer led an expedition around the cape of Good Hope and across the India ocean. In May 1498 he sailed into the harbor of Calicut on the Malabar coast opening a new era for Indian history. In the following centuries more and more European merchants surged in and their activities were restricted to trade and evangelism. The Dutch displaced the Portuguese as masters of the seas around India in the 17th century and the Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602. Two years later its main rival, the English East India Company was started. Both companies did business in spices and gradually shifted to textiles, particularly India’s characteristic light cottons. By the 18th century British sea powers matched that of the Dutch and the European rivalry in India began to take on a military dimension. The French became a serious threat to the English. By this time the Mughal Empire was experiencing its rapid decline and regional kingdoms were emerging. Consequently many wars were fought. At this chaotic stage the British managed to grab the reigns.

British Rule in India :The history of the British Raj refers to the period of British rule on the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947.The system of governance was instituted in 1858 when the rule of the East India company was transferred to the crown in the person of Queen Victoria who was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876. It lasted until 1947 when the British provinces of India were partitioned into two sovereign dominion states : the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, leaving the princely states to choose between them. In the 18th century, and even more so in the 19th century, missionaries based in Britain saw the Empire as a fertile field for proselyting for Christianity. All the main denominations were involved, including the church of England In the earlier years of its rule the Company had taken a position of neutrality with regard to the religious and social affairs of its subject. The company decided not to interfere with the traditional cultures of the people by supporting missionary work. They feared that the missionaries might offend the Hindu subjects of the company and create unrest.

They thought that the work of the missionaries could affect their business policy and the diplomatic role of the East India Company. Arguments for and against setting up missions in India took hold of the company. At that time, Charles Grant served as Chairman of the British East India Company and also as a member of Parliament (M.P.).

He was very influential both in India and Britain as well. He was motivated by evangelical Christianity. He championed the causes of social reform and Christian missions in India. Grant sought only for an official endorsement of the East India Company for his proposal to start a missionary endeavor. At that time, the only missionary minded Christian figure in England, who had the status to bypass the East India Company and influence the Government itself, was John Wesley. The battle for missions heated up again in 1813 when the Company’s Charter came up for renewal.

William Carey’s work had earned immense respect for missions, in Bengal as well as in England. There was a great unrest in the British Parliament in the year 1813 when the issue of permission to start missionary movement on India was asked. But the missionaries and their political supporters had prepared for a formidable attack. It was argued that Indians were in the darkest plight. The conversion of India to Christianity would spell temporal benefits to the heathens. They believed that the conversion would further consolidate the empire. Consequently Charter Act of 1813 made provisions to grant permission to people who wished to go to India for promoting moral and religious improvements. In other words the Christian missionaries were given authority to propagate English and preach their religion on the subcontinent of India. Funds were also granted to promote such efforts. The charter act of 1833 laid down regulation of permanent presence of missionaries in India and also made provision for Anglican hierarchy at Calcutta. Missionary Societies were formed in England to endorse and support willing missionaries to go to India. With the expansion of the British Empire, missionaries began to arrive and Christianity began to spread.

Dioceses were formed at Madras and Bombay. Ever since then there existed a renewed cooperation between the missionaries and the colonial power in helping one another in their missions. With a clear vision the Evangelicals now had access to India and could begin spreading the Gospel to the idolatrous heathen Indians. The Church Missionary Society and the London Missionary Society joined the Baptist Missionary Society in the initial missionary efforts for translating the Scriptures and establishing schools. Their efforts were based on the prior legendary work of the Rev. William Carey and the Baptist Missionary Society at Serampore. William Carey arrived in India in 1793 and began his work in Calcutta. He was the pioneer of the Evangelical missionary movement in India. He translated the Bible into Bengali, Marathi, Sanskrit and Punjabi languages.

He helped the Indian social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy prohibit “sati” (an evil custom among the Hindus that the wife throws herself on the funeral pyre of the dead husband and burns herself to death). In his missionary zeal Carey lived practically the teaching of Jesus in Luke 18:29-30 “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive—— eternal life”. He served the community at the cost of his own family and faced many hardships.Numerous conversions and rigid rules imposed by the British government at this period posed a threat to the Hindu culture and the result was the Indian Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. Following the Mutiny, the missionary focus rested on the use of educational and medical missions as vehicles for conversion. The primary interest of the Raj was to keep control over India and the dominant interest of missions was to work for the conversion of Indians to Christianity. But in the colonial situation they found themselves in need of one another so mutual support was but natural. The missionaries suffered a lot for bringing education and awareness of social justice to the people living in the rural areas of India. There may be hundreds and hundreds of British missionaries who selflessly endeavored to bring salvation and enlightenment to multitudes in India but a few of them stand out and their memory remains indelible in the annals of Christianity in India. The Church Mission Society created and maintained several educational institutions in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The CMS College of Kottayam may be one of the pioneers in popularizing secondary education in southern India. Former Indian President K.R. Narayanan was an alumnus. The services rendered by Benjamin Bailey to Kerala are commendable. He translated the Bible into Malayalam and was considered as the father of Malayalam printing. The successors of the protestant churches established by CMS are the Church of South India and the Church of North India. One of the missionaries sent by CMS was Frank Lake, a medical doctor from Britain. He headed the Parasitology Department of the Christian Medical College of Vellore. CMS extended its services by sending missionaries to Madras, Travancore, Agra, Meerut, Benaras, Bombay, Tirunelveli, Calcutta, Punjab, the T elugu country, Allahabad and Kashmir. Rev. George Cran and Rev. Augustus Des Granges arrived at Vizagapatam in 1805. They were sent by London Mission Society. They were followed by many more from LMS and they established schools for boys and girls separately. It took quite a long time to have some converts and the LMS church was started. The Bible was translated into Telugu language and printing press was set up. Rev. John Hay, Mr. R.D.Johnston, Mr. Jonathan Couch Brain and Mr. William Dawson and a few other British Colonial officers, Eurasians and a few native Christians made necessary activity possible at the LMS station that was set up at Visakhapatnam. Native Telugu Baptist pastors like Purushotham Choudhary, Das Antharvedy and Pulipaka Jagannadham(LMS) were ordained and they served as missionaries in Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam areas. Amos Sutton was an English General Baptist missionary to Orissa.

General Sir Arthur Cotton was a British General and irrigation engineer who devoted his life to the consstruction of irrigation and navigation canals through British India. He traveled in Telangana with the help of two missionaries E.E.Jenkins and George Fryar and set up a missionary station in a village called Sironcha in Maharashtra (its on the border of Telangana and Maharashtra). Henry Little and William Burgess went to Secunderabad from Madras and were responsible for starting Telugu Methodist Church in Hyderabad in 1879. Charles Walker Posnett arrived in Secunderabad in 1895 and visited a village called Medak and the ultimate result was the Diocese of Medak which is spread over five revenue districts of Northern part of Telangan region of former Andhra Pradesh state. Several English women also served in India as doctors, nurses and teachers. Edith Mary Brown was a British medical doctor and educator. She started a Christian medical training center in Ludhiana, Punjab which has turned out to be today’s Christian Medical College of Ludhiana. Many other Protestant Mission Societies were formed in various other countries and denominations. The British allowed their entry and the local people were benefited. Among the many missionaries who arrived, some were ordained pastors, some doctors, nurses, teachers and helpers. Their wives also carried the responsibilities of their husband in missionary work. Local people were trained as gospel workers, school teachers and Bible women. The light of Gospel illuminated many dark areas. The living conditions of the poor and uneducated improved. Unity was built up and all Indians gathered under one banner as one nation. The British Raj proved to be a boon and not a bane as some believe. The British had selfish reasons for doing what they did, but like it was written in Romans 8:28 “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Evidently India was in God’s plan of salvation and so it worked out for our good. The missionaries exhibited pure love and compassion towards strangers. They left their comfort zones and sacrificed their lives for the salvation of those in darkness. If the great commission is meant for each one of us, what are we doing in obedience to it? We may not be able to speak and reason out like Paul, Barnabas and Apollos did, but can we at least distribute gospel tracts whenever we have an opportunity. According to tradition Purushottama Chaudhary who was born in an orthodox Bengali Brahmin family had found the absolute truth that Jesus Christ was the Son of God by reading a gospel tract probably written by William Carey.

He not only embraced Christianity but led hundreds of non believers to Christ. We are inspired every day by singing the Telugu hymns he wrote. We must become aware that it is our responsibility to share with others what the Lord has done in our lives !! I believe each one has more than one story to tell others of the great things He has done in his or her own life. Be a missionary in your own sphere and tell others what the Lord has done in your life liken the man in Luke 8:39 “ ‘ Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”