Making Missionary Heritage Alive through Archival Research: Experiences of a Researcher-Archivist

(Not to be quoted without author’s consent, meant only for the Conference and its publications)

 Dr. Daniel Jeyaraj*

Introduction

There is a truth in the saying: People are not dead as long as they are not forgotten! Archival researches revive memories of the past and capture the contextual work atmosphere of those who were involved in producing the archival records and served humankind in their various capacities. Memories—whether edifying, painful, shocking, or disgraceful—are essential for reclaiming the peculiarities of traditions and identities. Archival researches build bridges between the past and the future by involving the present, planning realistic and reasonable activities and programs, and by restructuring customs and traditions. It uncovers facts, events and opportunities that were missed, thwarted, forgotten, buried, misrepresented or misinterpreted. It triggers recollection of the process by which identities, mental and behavioral habits of a particular community were shaped. Regained memories enables people to realize who they actually once were and are now. This in turn enables people to pass on memories to contemporaries and future generations through preservation of documents, and celebrations of festivals and anniversaries.

1. Three challenges

This essay, which is a work in progress, deals with three challenges that are concerned with missionary movements. They are not new challenges. However, currently, in the context of major historical shifts and cultural changes, they call for a fresh look at our heritage and active involvement to answer the accusations.

1.1. Challenge number One: Christian Mission and Colonialism are identical!

After a long inner debate and discussions with representatives of Indian religions, I became a Christian around 1980. The Bible in the Tamil language played an important role in my turning to Christian faith. At that time I was studying advanced German language courses in the city of Pune. Some of my classmates remarked that I had joined the most oppressive institution on earth—the church, and that I had become a traitor! They explained that the church was exploiting people all over the world and was working to destroy the local cultures. This puzzled me greatly because the church that I was attending was financially dependent on Indians for help and no one ever preached that we had to give up our social ties or choose a different national allegiance. I resolved to find out the truth. After completing my basic theological degrees in India, I had gotten a scholarship from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany through its administrative and care-taking agency Oekumenisches Studienwerk in the city of Bochum. Consequently, in October 1991, I was admitted to the Faculty of Theology at the Martin Luther University Halle–Wittenberg to write a doctoral dissertation. Many members of the Lutheran churches, many co-students and a lot of Germans spoke of Christian mission work as a colonial enterprise. The 500^th year anniversary to commemorate the conquest of South American continent by Spanish forces marked several memorial services in 1992. The lectures and witnesses that I heard revealed the deep guilt feeling of several Christians in particular. Soon illustrations were quoted from Christian Crusades against the Muslims, Jews and others. The example of Portuguese Padroado mission in India—introduction of Inquisition in Goa in 1560 and forced conversion of the St. Thomas Christians with Oriental (Nestorian) Syriac Church tradition to take over occidental Latin Church tradition—was mentioned. Several persons felt that the establishment of East India Companies in the so-called Christian countries Portugal, England, Netherlands, Denmark and France (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) were aimed to spread their church traditions in their respective colonies.

 As a church historian I knew of the disgraceful and really humiliating episodes in the history of Christianity. However, I thought that mere (superficial) guilt feeling and (apparent) resignation couldn’t be the only available answer to deal with the past. Earnest guilt will seek for ways and means for reconciliation, serious review of present national and international practices of neo-colonialism through unjust trade policies, monetary and developmental aids, increased military buildups, and ecological exploitations. It will also look for new ways of doing Christian mission. At the same time, it will balance the Western polemics against Christian mission, colonialism and guilt complex with the assessment of those who were directly under the influence of mission and colonialism. It will identify different kinds of Europeans who went overseas. Most of the Europeans were driven by political, economical and commercial motives to exploit other lesser-privileged people in different parts of the world. They were of the opinion that their cultural values, administrative and military skills would prevail upon others. On the other hand, few Europeans, mostly Christian missionaries helped the same oppressed people to regain their human dignity, be aware of their rights and responsibilities, to attain economic independence and social recognition. In the course of time missionary intervention would destroy the colonial powers themselves. In this context, a study of the first Protestant mission to India, namely the Danish-Halle Mission in Tranquebar (1706–1845) can offer important insight.

1.2. Challenge Number Two: Christian Missions destroys Culture!

It is an old complaint against Christianity. In recent days some Indian (extreme) nationalists and militants, who claim that they only are the custodians, cultivators and communicators of Indian culture, often view terrorists, militant fundamentalists, apostates, intruders, traitors, violators, exploiters, aggressors, immigrants, unpatriotic people, anti-nationalists, barbarians, demons, and the like. It becomes increasingly difficult to get government permission to construct church buildings. The history of Christianity in India is examined to bring out instances when some Christian leaders—in accordance with the conventions of their days—characterized Indians as “heathens” or Indian religions as that of the devils. Terms such as “soul winning” and “harvesting souls” are understood in pure military terms. Every Christian mistake is magnified out of proportion and presented to the media. It is noted that churches in India needed to become indigenous and should not have ties with Christians living outside of India, especially in the Western countries. The burning of the missionary Graham Stains and his two sons in a jeep, in a village in the State of Orissa on January 22, 1999 and its aftermath attracted worldwide attention. The visit of Pope John Paul II to India on November 7, 1999 was looked at as events that promoted “Christian fundamentalism” encouraging Indians to show more allegiance to the Pope than to Indian deities.

 In India, several adherents of the larger religions, which, for the sake of convenience, is called Hinduism, blame Christians for “forced” conversion using allurements such as monetary benefits and promises for job, better education for the children and the like. Christian hospitals, schools, orphanages, sanatoriums for tuberculosis and leprosy patients are viewed as conversion agents that use dishonest method to lead people away from Hinduism. It is also contended that Christians convert the economically poor, emotionally immature, socially neglected, and intellectually ignorant people living in the hills and villages. It is asserted that conversion increased the “powerlessness of the majority” or “fear of the majority.” The first Christian converts and their generations that are living in the north-eastern Indian States of Nagaland, Megalaya, Manipur and Mizoram are characterized as proselytes who could not think for themselves or make any intelligent choices. The number of Christians in India belonging to all Christian persuasions—about twenty million—are compared with thinly populated countries in the West and claimed that Indian Christians outnumbered the total population of certain countries (Sweden, Denmark, even Australia!). All Westerners—whether tourists, industrialists, diplomats, academics, researchers or traders—who come to India are viewed as representatives of Christianity. There is a tendency to identify anything from the West with Christianity. For example, Valentine Day is considered a Christian festival promoted by the western public, and that it would pollute Indian culture. Another popular assumption leads to the erroneous conclusion that all the people living in Western countries are confessing and practicing Christians. Without any trace of historical awareness, “Hinduism” is portrayed as the non-missionary, peace-loving and tolerant religion in the world, which allowed all kinds of intrusions. Every Indian historian will know the fate of Buddhists who ruled India for several centuries, but were reduced to an insignificant minority or expelled to neighboring countries. From time immemorial India has been a land of multiple religions, cultures, languages and groups of people. Some extreme groups within Hinduism wish to reduce the plurality and diversity of Indian cultures and religions to all to a single generic identity “Hindu.” Non-Hindus are viewed as non-Indians. Thus, Christians along with Muslims are considered to be traitors. In the name of nationhood, national honor, national pride, and selfless love for India, hatred is preached and a few people who think of themselves as the true patriots and the only children of India practice violence. They propose a ban on conversion and wish to get it legalized. Well-informed and impartial people will immediately see the historical ignorance, cultural arrogance, inability and unwillingness to discern between falsehood and truth, and the denial of freedom of conscience enshrined in the Constitution of India, unhealthy considerations of tribal groups and Adivasis as Hindus. These kinds of allegations against Christians need to be responded to.

1.3. Challenge Number Three: William Carey—the father of Protestant missions?

The missionary legacy of William Carey is exceptional. In the Anglo-Saxon world he is repeatedly referred to as the father of modern missions. Scholars who hold this view believe that he inaugurated the mission movements inspired by the financially self-supporting Moravian missionaries. Voluntary agencies were responsible for organizing, funding and supervising missionary work. Carey’s magnificent work An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792) is cited frequently. Even a provisional bibliography on the life and work of Carey, as it has been systematically compiled by the illustrious Center for Study of the Life and Work of William Carey, D.D. 1761–1834 (located at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA), fills more than one hundred pages. Almost every mission agency and every study guide on missions refer to the revered name of William Carey and his colleagues and emphasize their manifold contributions. He deserves to be remembered and honored. His dictum “Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God” continues to inspire countless Christians all over the world.

 Often mission historiography does not refer to the Protestant missionary work in India, especially in Calcutta before the arrival of William Carey in November 1793. Even the recently published Journal and Selected Letters of William Carey seems to think of Carey as the founder of Protestant mission / church in India.[1] With all due respect and recognition to what Carey had accomplished, it must be emphasized that he was not the first Protestant missionary pioneer in India. For the sake of historical accuracy and more truthful mission historiography, the following is mentioned. Almost 150 years before Carey’s arrival in Calcutta the Dutch missionary Abraham Roger, who had spent ten years (1631–1641) among the Tamils in the Dutch colony of Pulicat near Madras, published his famous work entitled Open Door to the Hidden Heathendom (1651).[2] His fellow countryman Philip Baldaeus (1632-1671) spent two year in the Dutch colony of Nagapatnam (1660–1662), not far from the Danish colony Tranquebar. Baldaeus’s famous work entitled A true and exact description of the most celebrated East-India coast of Malabar and Coromandel (1672)[3] shows his interest in religious traditions of Tamils and Sri Lankans. Both of them had interpreters to gather religious information. Baldaeus was also interested in missionary work. However, his time in India was too short. Carey knew about the ministry of the Dutch missionaries and of Ziegenbalg in South India.[4] His reference to Ziegenbalg is important because the Tranquebar Mission helped Carey to perceive his work in India in proper context. He knew that he was not the founder of the Protestant mission in India.

 The first Protestant missionaries who stayed in India for a longer period than the Dutch were the Lutheran missionaries of the Royal Danish-Halle Mission, also known as the Tranquebar Mission. They established churches, schools, orphanages, a printing press, a paper mill, a mission library and an internationally cooperating network. They studied and documented not only the religious life, but also the plant and animal life of South India. From the arrival of the first missionary Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1682–1719) in Tranquebar in 1706 to the death of the last missionary August Frederick Kammerer in 1837, there were fifty-four missionaries working in India. Among them, the linguist Benjamin Schultze (1689–1760), the Hebrew scholar Christopher T. Walther (1699–1741), the great missionary diplomat and royal priest Christian Frederick Schwartz (1726–1798), the Bible translator Johann Philipp Fabricius (1711–1791), the educator Christopher Samuel John (1747–1813) and the lexicographer John Peter Rottler (1749-1836) were some outstanding figures. Among the Tranquebar pioneers were some well-known Indian Christian leaders: Rajanaikkan founded the Lutheran Church in Tanjore in 1727. Aaron was the first Indian Lutheran pastor ordained on Dec. 23, 1733. Among his successors Diago (1709–1781, ordained on October 22, 1740), Ambrose (ordained on April 9, 1749, died in February 1777), Philip (1731–1788, ordained on December 28, 1772), Rajappen (ordained in 1778) and Sattyanadan (ordained on December 26, 1790) were known for their pastoral and missionary work. A special mention must be made to Clarinda, the great woman founder of the Lutheran church in Palayamkottai. Schwartz dedicated it in 1785. However, the Swede, John Zechariah Kiernander (1710–1799) became the first Protestant missionary to work in Calcutta.

 Normally, biographers of William Carey such as the learned George Smith in his work entitled Life of William Carey—Shoemaker & Missionary (1909, reprints 1913, 1922) considered Kiernander as the missionary only to the Portuguese in Calcutta, not to Indians. Carey himself knew of the Protestant Christians in South India. He wondered why the Lutheran missionaries insisted on a proper theological education before employing someone in the service of mission. It cost money to sustain theologically trained missionaries. Hence, the Lutherans were about to abandon many of their mission centers. On the contrary, Carey wished to employ people according to their talents and abilities. On August 4, 1801 he wrote to Andrew Fuller:

“On the cost from Madras to Palmcottalon [sic, i.e. the city of Pālayamkōttai in Tamil Nadu, South India] are reckoned about 40,000 Christians, and yet the cause is in danger of dropping through for want of Labourers. It would be highly uncharitable to suppose all these men to be nominal Christians especially when we remember that Ziegenbald [sic, i.e. Ziegenbalg] Schwartz, and Geriche [sic, i.e., Gericke] and others were and are men of genuine piety and evangelical sentiment. How then is it that men are not found in some tolerable position who are proper for the ministry without having constant supplies from Europe? I suppose it to be wholly owing to this, that the Germans and Danes think it unlawful to employ any one in the ministry except he have gone through the formalities of a collegiate education. We hope to profit by such reflections and such facts as these and to make all the use we can of the gifts which God may give us in the church.”[5]

Though Carey himself reflected on employing Indians in missionary training and used the practice of the Tranquebar missionaries to sharpen his view, his biographers have not given due attention to this fact. Later on, Carey was to set up a theological institution of higher learning in Serampore in 1818. Even in this he seems to have imitated the theological seminary of the Lutherans in Tranquebar established in1716! It is a fascinating endeavor to mention briefly the origin, growth and consolidation of the Tranquebar Missionaries.

2. Ascertaining the Gospel and Culture Interaction

2.1. Preparations to meet the challenges

I completed my basic theological training at the Union Biblical Seminary in the city of Pune in April 1990. The remarks of my friends that Christianity was a handmaid of western colonialism and it amounted to the destruction of Indian cultures occupied me ever since. I wanted to study how the first Protestant missionaries to India related to the local colonial government in Tranquebar and to Indian culture. It was not an easy task to find resource materials and scholars in India. The archive at the United Theological College in Bangalore, India houses a small collection of printed materials and microfilm copies of the Tranquebar Mission. I came to know that I had to approach the Archives of the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale), Germany. In 1989 I wrote a letter to Professor Arno Lehmann, the outstanding historian of the Tranquebar Mission. In his great work Es begann in Tranquebar [in English: It began in Tranquebar], that was published to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the Tranquebar Mission in 1956, Lehmann outlined the major contributions of the Lutheran missionaries in India from 1706 till 1845. I was not aware that he passed away in 1984! His students—Professor Helmut Obst, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Martin Luther University Halle–Wittenberg and Professor Arno Lehmann replied to me that they would give an admission provided that there was a scholarship. In this connection Professor Hans-Werner Gensichen (1915–1999), whose great grand father Laurentius Gensichen was a member of the group in the city of Berlin that selected B. Ziegenbalg as a missionary (1705), recommended me to Oekumenisches Studienwerk in Bochum. I was granted a three-year scholarship. At my arrival in Bochum on September 20, 1991 I was informed that I needed to take a German language test to get admission into a German university. Seven days later I passed this exam. On October 16, 1991 I reached Halle and began my research work.

 Slowly I became aware of the great wealth of the archives at the Francke Foundations. It houses a vast number of unique manuscripts—letters, diaries, reports, treatises and drawings that were written both by the missionaries and Indian Christians. The documents are written in German, Latin, Tamil, English, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek and Hebrew. I was greatly encouraged to find about 250 palm leaf manuscript bundles written in Tamil and Telugu. With a scholarship aid of the Francke Foundation I could prepare three detailed catalogues for the manuscripts in Tamil. Since the King in Denmark was the sending agent of the missionaries, there are many manuscripts kept in the Royal Archives and Royal Library in Copenhagen. I spent few months going through the archival holdings. One of the greatest discoveries of this time was the finding of the original German manuscript of Ziegenbalg entitled the Genealogy of the Malabarian Gods (1713). From 1710 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK, established in 1698) in London established contacts with the missionaries in Tranquebar. Hence a significant number of letters is found in their archives, now preserved in the Library of the Cambridge University. Around 1890 the letters and other manuscripts that were in Tranquebar were shifted to the archives of the Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Leipzig, Germany. Moreover, there are a few manuscripts found in the India Office and Oriental Collections at the British Library in London. I could visit all these archives and collect enough data. Life in Europe was not simple and was expensive. I had to depend on my sponsors for help. Several friends helped me with accommodations and food. At the same time, there were many events that evoke bitter memories: some Neo Nazis could not and would not accept anyone who looked different and there were several insults. In the meantime, the joy of archival research, my mentors and many loving friends in Halle helped me directly and indirectly to carry out my research successfully. The Faculty of Theology at the Martin Luther University Halle–Wittenberg awarded me the degree of the Doctor of Theology for my first dissertation entitled Inculturation in Tranquebar (November 1995) and the postdoctoral Habilitation degree for the second dissertation with the title South Indian Religions—Bartholomaues Ziegenbalgs Genealogy of the Malabarian Gods, philological edition of the text along with a textual analysis and glossary (October 2000). For the past eleven years I have been recollecting the memories of our Christian tradition.

2.2. Evaluating the Issue of Church and Colonialism

Mother tongue reflects the essence of every culture. Martin Luther taught of the importance of knowing the mother tongue (i.e., the dialects) of common people to communicate the Gospel of Christ effectively. There were several Jesuit missionaries (e.g., Henerique Henriques 1502–1600 and Roberto de Nobili 1577–1656) in South India who knew Tamil well and wrote Tamil texts. Ziegenbalg and his colleagues were aware of the existence of rich Tamil (Jesuit) literature and learned from it. With the help of school children and Indian language teachers Ziegenbalg and his successors could communicate the message of Jesus Christ in Tamil efficiently. Within eight months Ziegenbalg learnt enough colloquial form of Tamil for conversation. Within two years he reviewed 119 Tamil books. On August 22, 1708, he expressed his resolution to translate the Bible. After almost three years, on March 31, 1711, he completed the first draft of his New Testament translations. In 1714 the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostle were printed in Tranquebar. Ziegenbalg’s successors Benjamin Schultze, Christopher T. Walther and Johann Philipp Fabricius, the “master of Tamil”, revised the Bible translation. In 1796 the whole Bible was available in chaste Tamil. Besides, in collaboration with the Tamil Christians the missionaries could produce a rich body of Christian literature consisting of catechisms, hymns, treatises on Christian theology and history of Christianity, polemic and apologetic literature, and the like.

 About ten months after their arrival in Tranquebar, Ziegenbalg and his colleague Heinrich Plütschau baptized their first converts on May 12, 1707. Slowly an indigenous church began to grow and spread. By 1726 a Lutheran church was established among the Tamils living in the (English) city of Madras. Rajanaikkan, a Tamil convert became the founding father of a Lutheran church (1727) in Tanjore, the capital city of the Kingdom of Tanjore. Wherever the Tamil Christians went looking for employment or living, they kept their newly found Christian faith. C.F. Schwartz was perhaps the most famous missionary of the Tranquebar Mission. He worked as a missionary, diplomat, scholar, pedagogue, and founder of schools and churches. His knowledge of different languages (German, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, English, Tamil, Marathi and Persian) helped him to relate to people of all persuasions without the aid of interpreters. Common people, Tamil and Muslim rulers, princes and the British East India Company officials trusted him implicitly. As a Lutheran he was employed by the Anglican SPCK. He worked as a chaplain for the army of the East India Company stationed in the city of Tiruchirappalli. He was happy to experience that one of his women converts, the widow Clarinda, founded a church in the Garrison City of Palayamkottai (1778). She erected a church building for her growing church. In 1785 Schwartz dedicated this church building, which is now known as the Clarinda Church. Slowly, but steadily the Tamil Christians made their presence felt in major cities and several villages.

 The missionaries did not envisage the church as a colonial enterprise. The colonial power in Tranquebar suspected the works of the missionaries and tried to hinder them in every way. The missionaries disregarded the consciously enforced separation of Europeans from the Tamils. They knew the Tamil language and corresponded with a large number of influential Tamils inside and outside the colony. They visited their temples, investigated their religious practices and conversed with devotees of various persuasions. They could easily block the gathering of secret intelligence and flow of revenues, hinder the commercial enterprise, and thus threaten the very existence of the colonial government. After all, the Danish colony Tranquebar was administered and maintained, not by Europeans, but mostly by Indians. Indian tax collectors, interpreters, accountants, police people, judicial experts, and businesspeople looked after the welfare of the colony. Most of them were non-Christians, normally anti-Christian. During the time of Ziegenbalg there were only twenty-four Danes and about 500 Europeans (including soldiers). Within the city of Tranquebar there were more than 3000 inhabitants mostly related to the affairs of the Company and about 30,000 people living on the Company land spread over fifteen villages. Very few Europeans were sympathetic towards the missionary cause. Generally, there was a fundamental difference between the purpose of the Colony and the missionaries. The colonialists wanted to exploit people. On the other hand, the missionaries wanted to build them up and help them to help themselves. These opposing goals did not allow the colonialists and missionaries to collaborate with each other. When the colonial authorities in Copenhagen decided to combine the works of the missionary with that of their chaplain in Tranquebar, the mission was ended (circa 1837).

2.3. Evaluating the Issue of Church and social dislocation

Neither the missionaries nor the Tamil Christians consciously promoted the process of social dislocation. They retained their cultural identity because they knew that borrowed identity would not last long and split identity would lead to disloyalty. On the other hand, dual identity—being Christians and Indians simultaneously—would enable them to participate in the emergence of an indigenous church community rooted in the local soil. It would give them opportunity to develop their mental and behavioral skills by practicing Christian values in an Indian context. For them the conversion was a change of heart and mind, will power, reasoning faculty, and revision of life purpose and orientation. Ziegenbalg mentioned in his dialogue with a Tamil that conversion did not consist of changing one’s name or exchanging the place of worship (e.g., church instead of temple), but placing trust in Jesus Christ and resolving to do good.[6] In another conversation he meant that the converts had their freedom, to dress, eat and drink the same things, as they were accustomed to.[7] Conversion did not nullify the codes of honor and social dignity, but transformed the mind and heart, and enabled continuous social interaction and transformation. Thus, Ziegenbalg did not want to transplant European Christianity among the South Indians. In his view, Christian church in India could learn from European Christianity, but would have to be essentially an Indian indigenous institution rooted in an Indian cultural context. This perspective remained valid for a long time. Even though the European missions disappeared from India, Indian churches continued to remain and still exist today.

 Ziegenbalg laid the foundation for Protestant social action in Tranquebar. He was convinced that the ‘service to soul’ should not dismiss the ‘service to the body’, because soul and body were inseparable entities. This holistic aspect had a special bearing on the Christians in Tranquebar. Due to the peculiar Indian religious and social institution ‘caste’ Christian converts had to face severe consequences. They lost their social ties with their families, friends and neighbors. They considered the converts unwanted and polluted people in the society. It was not easy to find social security, employment and marriage partners. It was difficult for them to find a place to build a house and schools to educate their children. The Christians in Tranquebar wanted to initiate help for self-help. The educational principle was grounded in the fact that God in Christ wanted, loved and accepted all people, not only a mere section of the population as it was thought in Tamil country. Every person had his/her dignity and self-worth. This new inner consciousness was the first step towards the independence of the Christians.

 Immediately after his arrival in Tranquebar in July 1706, Ziegenbalg invited a Tamil schoolmaster and his students to his home and requested him to conduct his school there. Ziegenbalg wanted to learn not only the Tamil language but also the way in which the Tamils were teaching the children in the schools. He wanted to create a learning situation in which pietistic principles could be associated with the traditional learning situation of Tamil children. The students’ prior knowledge was to serve as a starting point for introducing the new knowledge. Soon schools for boys and girls were established. It was an unusual event in the history of South Indian educational system. Girls were not sent to any school. They were married at a very young age. There was a strict social segregation between boys and girls. Above all, it was thought that ordinary girls and women did not need to have any academic learning. It was customary that some aristocratic women and the devadasis (female servants of deities) had some formal academic training. The devadasis were expected to learn the art of reading, writing, memorizing, singing and dancing in the temples as well as in public events such as festivals. Normally, the devadasis were reckoned to be temple prostitutes. Hence, education did not appeal to ordinary women. Contrary to the socio-cultural practice of their day the Christians in Tranquebar established a school for girls. They believed that the education of women was important for betterment of the society. Non-Christians in Tranquebar, who had been observing the functioning of mission school, admitted their children in the mission hostels. Ziegenbalg noticed that education should be made possible to all children; and non-Christian children in Christian schools would imbibe Christian values and would eventually help their parents to give up prejudices against Christians. School children would be admirable bridge-builders between the missionaries and the Tamils.

 The medium of instruction in the schools was Tamil. The Christians insisted that between one and two o’clock in the afternoon all the school children should learn things “according to the Tamil way of learning” and practice writing on palm leaves. The students were learning Martin Luther’s Catechism with explanations by J.P. Spener, fundamental sayings of the New Testament, church hymns/ music, art of writing letters, mathematics, botany, medicine and navigation.[8] Vocational training was given for the jobs of clerks, teachers, printers and the art of paper manufacturing.[9] In order to become familiar with Tamil religious traditions, Ziegenbalg emphasized that children should learn with discernment the Tamil classical compositions and learn to sing the poems according to proper Tamil melodies.[10] The church and school created a community that was related to the context and culture of the Tamils and simultaneously enabled them to practice their beliefs in a meaningful way.

 From 1715, the mission schools were catering to the need of both Christian and non-Christian children free of cost. Schwartz and his friend Sullivan raised the matter to local princes in Tanjore and Sivaganga and requested them to donate the tax revenues from certain villages to meet the expenditure. With Schwartz’s help self-supporting charity schools were established in the cities of Tanjore, Ramanathapuram, Triuchirapalli and in Tirunelveli. It is matter of great joy to mention that Dr. Avil Pakir Jalaluddin Abdul Kalam, currently the President of India, was the student of the Schwartz Higher Secondary School at Ramanathapuram.

 The Christians in Tranquebar introduced western medicines to treat all people irrespective of their religious affiliation or social status. The first Protestant medical missionary to India was a medical doctor named Caspar Gottlieb Schlegelmilch. He did not live long. He died in August 1730. His successor, Dr. Samuel Benjamin Cnoll reached Tranquebar in August 1732 and served there till February 1767. Until the end of 18th Century medicines prepared in the pharmacy of the Francke Foundations were sent to India. Schwartz introduced the vaccination against chicken pox. In the course of time the Tranquebar Pioneers learnt not only to deal with the symptoms of social injustice, but attack the systemic evil itself. The inhabitants of Cuddalore suffered greatly due to the war between the French and Hyder Ali. At the request of the Tranquebar missionary C.W. Gericke, Hyder Ali did not attack Cuddalore (1782) any more. He cared for the people as their “father.” Schwartz was unable to see the suffering of people. The King of Tanjore, the Nawab of Arcot, and the businessmen money lenders of the English East India Company were the major cause for imposing heavy tax on people. On August 20, 1790 he sent a letter to the Governor of Madras Presidency with the following opening words:

“Permit me humbly to address you on behalf of this country of which you are constituted guardians & Defenders & in whose prosperity or Distress you are concerned. Every Government is to be supported by a rational administration of justice without which both King & Subjects cannot prosper. This proposition needs no proof being self evident. All Nations confirm it at least in Theory, Experience, nay, all history gives us the strongest proof that a Country without justice is a ruined Country.”

Due to Schwartz’s intervention, a Court of Justice was established in Tanjore. A fair tax system was planned. On the whole, the population of Tanjore was helped.

 The Christian community demonstrated a blend of continuity and change. On the one hand, they were rooted in Indian soil and were concerned with Indian people. They have incorporated religiously neutral elements such as dress and language in their daily life. They have rejected those elements that are connected with worship of multiple deities. They have transformed several other concepts such as education. On the other hand, they learned much from European Christians. Indian churches have relationship with other churches all over the world. Their theological concept that they all belong to the one body of Christ enables them to enter into dialogue with other churches. The degree of success is not always optimal, but the fact that they are all Christians gives them their identity. The Christians became examples of interculturality. Moreover, they influenced the missionary thinking of their contemporaries in Sri Lanka, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, North America, Poland, even the Slavic people living in the cities of Petersburg and Königsberg. The Christians living in the small villages realized that they belonged to a larger humanity and worldwide family of Christians. Their local roots enabled them to be open to national and international realities. Their interconnectedness and differences mark the creative tension between continuity and discontinuity of identities.

2.4. Evaluating the Protestant Missionary Work in Calcutta before Carey

2.4.1. Kiernander and his missionary work in Calcutta

There have been some studies on the missionary relationship between two Danish colonies Tranquebar in South East India and Serampore in North East India.[11] I had the joy of discovering more than 150 letters and reports of Kiernander preserved in the Mission Archives of the Francke Foundations. Kiernander’s great grandchildren, now living in England and in New Zealand, were kind enough to send me some of their recollections of their great grandfather in Calcutta. A brief summary is provided below.

 The Swede, Johann Zecharias Kieranandar (1711–1798) was the founder of the Protestant mission in the city of Calcutta. Kiernander was a Lutheran missionary of the Tranquebar Mission working in the city of Cuddalore; there he was married to Miss Wendela Fischer, a woman of some wealth. After the French East India Company took over Cuddalore in May 1758, Kiernander could not live there any longer. Kiernander left Cuddalore and reached Calcutta on September 29, 1758. Bartholomäus Lebrecht Ziegenbalg, a son of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Director of the Danish East India Company in Serampore (1758–1760) invited Kiernander to come to Serampore and hold divine services. When Kiernander’s first son (born on Nov. 4, 1758) was baptized, Robert Clive, the founder of British political rule in India, and his wife Margaret Clive, William Watts, a leading officer of the East India Company in Calcutta and his wife France Watts were the godparents. In honor of Clive and Watts, Kiernander’s son was given the name “Robert William Kiernander.” Robert Clive had given him a house to live in and carry out educational work. In December 1758, Kiernander established a school and it attracted many students. By December 1759, 175 children were learning at the school. He gave free tuition, food and lodging to about thirty needy children. On May 9, 1761 his wife Wendela passed away. On February 10, 1762, Kiernander was married to Ann Wolley, a widow of a British naval officer. Five years later, Kiernander and his wife left the house of the Company and bought a place for themselves. On May 27, 1767 Kiernander laid the foundation stone for the first Protestant church in Calcutta. Three years later, it was dedicated on December 23, 1770 with the Hebrew name Beth Tephilla (House of Prayer, now known as the Lal Girja, ‘the Red Church’ or the ‘Old Mission Church’). On June 9, 1773, his second wife passed away. According to her wishes, Kiernander sold her jewels and invested the money in educating school children. Exactly one month after her death a foundation stone was laid for a new school building to accommodate about 250 children. On March 14, 1774 this school building was dedicated. Kiernander’s health began to fail. Four years later his eyesight began to deteriorate. His son Robert William Kiernander, who had received his education in the schools of the Francke Foundation in Halle (Saale), returned to Calcutta in 1775. His involvement in constructing, buying and selling buildings plunged the Kiernander family into bankruptcy. Kiernander had requested the SPCK to send younger missionaries to assist him. In 1775, the SPCK sent John Christmann Diemar (1745–1792) as their missionary to Calcutta with a specific commission to help Kiernander. Kiernander and Diemar could not understand each other, mostly because Diemer was not keen on taking up the mission work. He used the school fees collected from the children for his own private use. In the same year of his arrival Diemer married Mary, a daughter of Charles Weston, a wealthy English businessman in Calcutta, and went to live with his in-laws. The tension between Kiernander and Diemer became unbearable. Diemer found fault with Kiernander that he had not registered the mission in the name of SPCK, but on his own name. Diemer did not want to believe that the SPCK did not support Kiernander for several years and Kiernander supported and the mission by himself. However, in 1777 the SPCK asked the Tranquebar missionary König to mediate between the two. König failed to reconcile the contending parties. In 1778, the SPCK sent another missionary Gerlach, who was also unable to stay in Calcutta for a long time. Kiernander thought that he had to secure endowments for the church and schools. He borrowed money from several people in Calcutta, bought land in costly locations, and constructed buildings for rent. At that time, the East India Company lowered the land price and Kiernander lost his wealth. By the time his son Robert W. Kiernander died in 1791, Kiernander was reduced to poverty. His creditors wanted their money back. When Kiernander’s properties—his house, school and church—were about to be auctioned, Charles Grant bought them on October 31, 1787. From that time onwards, David Brown, the chaplain of the East India Company ministered in the mission church without payment. Grant, Brown and William Chambers (the brother of Robert Chambers, the chief justice in Calcutta) formed a society and managed the former properties of Kiernander. Grant, Brown, Chambers and another chaplain of Company John Owen had requested the SPCK to send missionaries. From 1788 Brown was working mostly for the mission. He made suggestions to extend the mission work throughout the present State of Bihar. He desired that future missionaries should learn Bengali, Sanskrit, mythology, history, law and literature of Indian people. In April 1789 the SPCK sent Pastor Abraham Thomas Clarke. On his arrival he joined the East India Company and did not work with the mission. Kiernander left Calcutta and settled down in Chinsura, the Dutch colony close to the Danish colony Serampore. Grant, Brown, Chambers, Owen and Sir Richard Udny (factor and resident of the East India Company in Malda near Calcutta) helped together to improve and expand the mission work. On December 29, 1793 Kiernander was asked to dedicate these renovated mission buildings. In 1793 Grant went to England, met Charles Simeon (1756–1836) and informed him of the need for missionaries in India. The SPCK sent William Tobias Ringeltaube (1770–1816) as their missionary to Calcutta. He reached Calcutta in 1797, but could not stay there any longer. He complained that his salary was insufficient. Most probably, at that time, he was not fluent in English. He left Calcutta in 1798 and returned to England. However, Früchtenicht, a missionary sent by the Francke Foundations reached Calcutta in February 1799. He was supposed to learn Portuguese from Kiernander. What came of him, is not known. Kiernander passed away on December 29, 1799. One of his grandsons, Gent R.W. Kiernander, erected a tombstone for his grandfather in the Mission Burial Ground, Park Street, Calcutta: It reads: “Here rest in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection into eternal life the mortal remains of the Revd. J.Z. Kiernander, first missionary of the Church of England in Bengal, who died after a residence of 60 years in India, 29th December, 1799, aged 88 years, 1 month and 18 days.”[12] It is interesting to note the phrase “the first missionary of the Church of England.” It is still to be studied when the Church of England recognized him as their missionary. Kiernander’s great granddaughter, Sharon Probets summarizes the accomplishments of her grandfather with the following words:

“The success which attended him throughout his labours both at Cuddalore and Calcutta, was remarkable. For example, from 1776 to 1786, the increase to his Portuguese and native congregation in Calcutta was 518, and during the period of 88 years he baptized at least 209 adult heathen and received into his congregation 300 awakened and converted Roman Catholics. His liberality throughout life was conspicuous, at one time he supported 40 children at his own expense; at another he fitted up a house for his native congregation, then he built as before stated, at an expense of 60 or 70,000 Rupees, the old Church which was opened in December 1770. Next he added school rooms; lastly, a Parsonage House was erected. In the meantime, the poor ever found in him a friend and helper; and his hospitality to strangers and visitors to Calcutta was the theme of every one’s commendation.”[13]

The SPCK and the Francke Foundations could not agree with Kiernander’s mission in Calcutta. The SPCK may have wanted him to adhere to the teachings of the Church of England. On the other hand, the Francke Foundations were unhappy that Kiernander could not keep the Lutheran purity of doctrine and church practices. Kiernander and his colleagues acquired some knowledge of Portuguese, the lingua franca in Calcutta, and Bengali, the local language of the people. In those days, even the Bengalis themselves did not think high of their mother tongue. That they were not fluent in Bengali was a handicap. Kiernander wanted to compile a Bengali-English dictionary. But his administrative work deterred him from learning Bengali thoroughly. Kiernander lived among the Europeans. He did not get like-minded co-workers. He and his younger colleagues had contradictory opinions on the content of school education. Kiernander wanted to teach the Bible and catechisms. Gerlach wanted to teach Latin, and help the children learn “Arithmetic, Geometric, Navigation, Astronomy, Fortification &c.” Robert W. Kiernander taught Christianity. Gerlach taught mathematics, geography and history. Stark, a classmate of R.W. Kiernander in Halle (Saale) taught Latin and drawing. The school children educated in the mission schools found employment either with the English East India Company or with other business companies in Calcutta. By the time W. Carey reached Calcutta, these former school children of Kiernander may have been grown up, and well established. It is possible that they were helpful to Carey at least in some aspects.

2.4.2 Tranquebar Missionaries and William Carey

In Calcutta the Anglicans of the East India Company were familiar with the Lutheran missionaries or Anglican chaplains. They were expecting missionary substitutes from the SPCK, presumably with Anglican leanings. In 1793, the year when Carey reached Calcutta, the British Parliament thwarted the “pious clause” introduced by Charles Grand and William Wilberforce (1759–1833). There was a general fear that Christian mission would hinder the trade of the English East India Company and threaten its existence. Moreover, Carey as a Baptist and as a dissenter did not obtain the mandatory permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop of London to do religious work in India. This was probably the reason why he could not go on board an English ship to India. Whenever the Lutheran missionaries came from Halle via London, they sailed on English ships. The missionaries who were commissioned by the SPCK were on aboard English ships and reached Calcutta. But, Carey could not board an English ship. Since the Danish East India Company was accustomed to transporting missionaries to Tranquebar, Carey could get a place in the Danish ship Kron Princessa Maria and travel to Calcutta.

 Carey enjoyed the help of Kiernander’s close friends. To cite an example: Sir Richard Udny, the factor at Malda, helped to renovate Kiernander’s church. In 1794 his ferryboat Lotus overturned, sank into the river and Hoogly. R. Udny drowned. Dr. Thomas, Carey’s college knew the Udnys and sent a letter of condolence to George Udny and re-established his relationship with him. The Udnys were supporting the missionary cause, first of Kiernander, and then of Carey. George Udny invited Dr. Thomas and Carey to Malta, gave them annual salary and employed them. Later on, one of the Udnys became Vice-President and Deputy Governor of the East India Company in Calcutta. With the help of Udnys, Carey could live in an English territory before he could move to Serampore.

 There were three persons who enabled William Carey, either directly or indirectly, to find a place of refuge in Serampore, and to establish missionary work in that Danish colony. The life and work of C.F. Schwartz influenced not only Indians but also several Europeans living in the presidencies of Madras and Calcutta. Before moving to Serampore, Carey tried to establish contact with Schwartz and knew how the Tranquebar missionaries were carrying out their work, especially in relation to Bible translation and the caste.[14] Sunil Chaterjee, who has spent the major portion of his life to study the legacy of Carey, remarked the following:

“Ziegenbalg and Schwartz had no previous instance to follow, whereas Carey had the privilege of knowing the works of Ziegenbalg and Schwartz. He had also the advantage of studying Warneck’s Theory of Missions and the missionary works of the Lutherans and Moravians. Unfortunately, he had no direct connection with any of the earlier missionaries. Carey developed his own missionary principles.”[15]

The second person who had helped Carey was Colonel Ole/Olave Bie (1733–1805), the governor of Serampore (1772, 1776–1785, 1788–1797, 1799–1805). In 1773, Bie was the Secretary to the Danish East India Company in Tranquebar. He was a trusted friend and disciple of Schwartz. Bie often visited Tranquebar and had letter correspondence with the Tranquebar missionaries. He knew the missionary work that the missionaries were carrying out in South India. He wanted to revive a missionary interest in Serampore and gave Carey and his friends refuge.

 The third person seems to have been Carey’s second wife Charlotte Emilia Rumohr Carey (1761–1821). Carey’s first wife Dorothy Plackett (born in 1755) died in Calcutta on December 7, 1807. Charlotte, an invalid and sickly daughter of a wealthy de Rumohr and the countess of Alfeld in Schleswick and a former English student of Carey, was unable to recover from her illness. At the advice of Anker, a brother of Peter Anker (1786–1807), the famous Governor of Tranquebar and painter of South Indian scenarios, Charlotte was sent to Tranquebar. Since the ship brought her first to Serampore, she chose to remain there. In May 8/9, 1808 Cary married Charlotte and led a happy life. Peter Anker and Olav Bie were Norwegian-born Danes. Charlotte was also a Danish citizen because Schwleswick (now in Germany) belonged to Denmark. Colonel Bie did not live to see the marriage of Carey with Charlotte. However, Charlotte’s Danish citizenship might have strengthened Carey’s position in Serampore. Serampore became a secure place for Carey to develop his work.

 The Tranquebar missionaries and Protestant Christians in Tamil country were influential in many areas. They translated the Bible into Tamil and Telugu languages, were grammarians and lexicographers and studied the religious, social and cultural customs of the people. They translated Indian literatures into European languages. They established indigenous churches and public schools and helped the Christians to help themselves. They established a theological seminary to train future Indian leaders to reach fellow Indians with the gospel of Christ. Missionaries like Christopher Samuel John (1747–1813) were passionate botanists and astronomical experts. What the Christians in Tranquebar were doing, Carey did in Serampore. Carey’s contributions were truly magnificent. Christian missionary historiography cannot forget the link between Tranquebar and Serampore. Howell’s remark is significant:

“But without Tranquebar and the work of men like Ziegenbalg and Schwartz, there could have been no Serampore Mission for that was made possible only by the new Danish official attitude expressed through Colonel Bie, who in the earlier years of his service at Tranquebar had been influenced by Schwartz. Tranquebar paved the way for Serampore and the whole Protestant missionary enterprise in Northern India.”[16]

3. Making heritage alive

Research insights need to be made public. When the knowledge becomes public, then people can have access to it. Archival insights mentioned above can answer the allegation of colonialism and cultural destruction through Christian missionaries. A researcher-archivist functions as a bridge-builder, shares information, hidden and revealing meanings, and enables original research and publication of research results. A researcher-archivist enlivens the past and helps the people to contemplate the different changes that have occurred to them.

3.1. Through a Decade of Celebration (1996–2006)

After I had returned to Madras in December 1995 to work at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College (GLTC), the fruit of archival research became visible. With the help of the authorities of the GLTC a Decade of Celebration was planned to commemorate the arrival of Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar. In collaboration with the Francke Foundations a three day conference was planned for every year—once in India and in the alternate year in Halle (Saale). These conferences would deal with socio-religious themes and both Christian and non-Christian resource persons would address the issues from their perspective. These conferences were open to all people irrespective of their religious persuasions.

 In November 1996 the first conference on the ordination of the first Indian Lutheran pastor, Aaron (December 1733) was conducted. An effort was made to find out the descendants of Aaron, who were living in several parts of the world. Many of them participated in our Seminar. To perpetuate the memory of their grandfather, they endowed the Aaron Chair for the History of Christianity. I had the joy of holding this chair until September 2001. In October 1997, the second conference was held in Halle. It addressed the issue of the influence of the mission reports from India on the minds of Europeans during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was evident that the readers of the mission reports were changing their attitudes towards the people of other cultures. It was a significant contribution of that time to build and to strengthen bridges between two cultures and continents. Christian mission was not only moving from North to South, but also came back from South to North. It produced reciprocal influence and interculturality. In February 1998, the third conference was organized in collaboration with the School of Philosophy at the Tamil University in the city of Tanjore, the Francke Foundations and the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College. While it commemorated the 200^th death anniversary of C.F. Schwartz, it concentrated on his manifold contributions to the social life of South Indians. It was a great joy to see enthusiastic Christian and non-Christians scholars appreciating and evaluating the life and work of Schwartz. Local newspapers carried summaries of these lectures. Local school children enacted the life and work of Schwartz. A historian remarked: “We should not consider Schwartz a foreigner. He is one among us.” The prince at the Palace of Tanjore expressed: “It was Schwartz who saved us.” He referred to Schwartz’s involvement in protecting the minor Prince Serfojee II in 1792 and enabling him to get the throne in 1798. The fourth conference was held in October 1999, in Halle under the theme Contribution of Christian Missionaries to the Understanding of Aryan and Dravidian Concepts. Eminent scholars from India, Europe and North America participated in it. It gave intellectual nourishment. The fifth conference was held in Madras. It was about missionary contribution to betterment of women. Ranges of women issues were discussed. These annual conferences will continue until July 2006. Already, three volumes of these conferences are published. Manuscripts for the remaining two volumes are in press.

3.2. Through Collaboration with cultural and academic institutions

Apart from universities there is wide range of cultural and academic institutions that can be our partners in academic pursuit, and recovery and re-construction of our social identifies. In March 1998, three institutions in Madras, the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Madras, Max Mueller Bhavan, which is the German cultural institution and the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College combined forces and organized five public lectures in two different places. All the lectures were about German contribution to Tamil studies. Though Indo-German relationship dates back to the end of sixteenth century, much emphasis was laid on modern period, i.e., from eighteenth until twentieth centuries. In 1711, the Tranquebar missionary Plütschau and the Tamil Timothy Kudian were teaching Tamil language in the university at Halle. In 1716, Ziegenbalg’s Grammatica Damulica (Tamil grammar) was printed in Halle. There were eminent Tamil scholars in and around Halle. Dr. Thomas Malten spoke about the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies at the University of Cologne in Germany. The missionaries were the bearers of culture not only from Europe to India, but also from India to Europe. As people who were moving along cultural boarders, they became not only cultural communicators, but also translators. This mutual enrichment of the sending and receiving agencies attracted the attention of participants and journalists who wrote about their impressions. Many such joint ventures should be organized to make our cultural heritage alive.

 Generally, during the informal discussions, the conference/lecture participants question the one-sided understanding of culture; especially those critics, who think that Christians missions in India was an organ of colonialism and caused social dislocation. They do not want to believe that culture is more than a religion, and culture can never be static. The changing aspects of culture make life possible and fruitful. Many participants are astonished to find out why such critics are selective towards western influence on India. They avail the modern communication and transportation facilities imported from the West. Most of the Indian computer engineers in the Western countries are not Christians. They belong to the high castes. During their stay in overseas, they appear to be patriotic and write against conversions. Most of them seem to have been educated in Christian institutions. It is astonishing how western some of these “Indian patriots” are! Their education, language, lifestyle, house architecture, mode and means of transportation and work environment betray their addiction to contemporary western culture. Many of them are unable to understand the culture change they themselves go through either consciously or unconsciously. The resultant conflict is hurled at Christians and at other followers of minority religions in India.

A few participants were of the opinion that the multinational textile and food companies, manufacturers of modern motor vehicles, cinema movies, international tourism, multimedia, and the like contribute massively to the change of traditional cultural and social values. Not one religion can be made responsible for this change. Some conference participants pointed out that history of Christianity in India dates back to the first century AD. With almost two thousand years of history and cultural interaction, Christians can not and should not be considered as people who did not belong to India.

The missionary dictum of Ziegenbalg that mission is “a service to the soul as well as to the body”, has become a guiding principle for many Christians. Though Christians are only 2.4% of the total population their social, educational, medical and other philanthropic contributions are out of proportion. It is not the religious faith of the Christians that attracts bitter criticism, but the socio-economic implication of this faith in the lives of the converts. Once they realize their dignity, learn to read and be aware of their rights, privileges and responsibility, they do not allow themselves cheated easily. They learn to save money by avoiding overspending at religious festivals, for marriage and funeral services. The converts tend to give up alcohol consumption. They keep seeds to sow for the next season so that they need not borrow it from others. They do not go to village shamans (priests, magicians). The converts tend to form cooperatives to sell their agricultural and dairy produce so that they get rid of middlemen. They work toward self-sufficiency. Thus, the conversion affects the economy of the people. Local businesspeople, moneylenders, religious leaders, alcohol brewing people, and others who are accustomed to exploit the ignorance and inability of lesser-privileged people get offended and blame that the gospel of Christ destroys their culture. In reality, the gospel of Christ makes life humane and dignified. Some conference delegates realized that religions should not be imposed on anyone and should be prohibited. But it can be offered and people can be invited to come to faith. But if a person chooses to leave his/her ancestral faith and adopts Christian or any other faith, it should be possible.

Freedom of individual conscience is enshrined in the Constitution of India. This aspect should not be hindered in a secular democratic state. I become increasingly aware that archival research can address the contemporary socio-religious issues in India.

3.3. Through lectures and seminars in the West

Within the scope of my limited experience I came across several European Christians who suffer under guilt consciousness of mission enterprise. As indicated earlier, they invariably think of the Crusades and Spanish Conquista. Secularism has influenced them so much that many think only naive or unfortunate people could be Christians. After the end of Christendom the present generation knows very little about the Christian Bible, church or its mission. Some churches in Germany invited me to speak on missionary contributions. Some of my hearers thought that all the missionaries were great heroes and heroines. I needed to point out that without the help of Indian co-workers the few missionaries could not have accomplished much in India. Indian Christians helped the missionaries such as Ziegenbalg in learning the language, getting to know the religious practices of the common people and in being as bridge-builders between the missionaries and common people. Only in relation to Christianity had several people gotten their humanity, dignity and self-worth. In the cast-ridden society the gospel message “God loves all people irrespective of who they are”, is a challenge. It might knock off the proud; but surely raise the week and poor. Sometimes, I was invited to speak to theological students who were about to become pastors. At times I was with a few mission agencies. Now and then I interacted with people who are in charge for missionary causes in and out of Germany. During the Spring Semester 2001, the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey invited me to be their John A. Mackay Professor of World Christianity. It has the reputation of the first Protestant institution to offer academic courses in mission studies through Professor Charles Breckenridge (1836–1839). I was asked to offer a seminar on the Tranquebar Mission for doctoral students in the Department of Mission, Ecumenics and History of Religion. It provided me a great opportunity to share the joy of my archival and academic research with students from different nationalities and cultures.

 During my limited experience in the West, the impression I get is that Christians need courage and humility to bear the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Western cultural and religious situations were always pluralistic; but they tend to get more attention. Hence, it is imperative that Christians get to know what people of other faiths believe and do. Sensitivity, respect and faithfulness are some needed characteristics. Resignation and indifference are not helpful. Often, I have quoted the stories of Ziegenbalg, Schwartz, Timothy Kudian, Rajanayakkan, Clarinda and many others. They were living in religiously pluralistic contexts. Though time, space and circumstances are different, some basic principles of interreligious and intercultural encounter remain important. I have also noticed that several Christians in the West still think that the actual mission field is far away in a different country. They need to know that more Christians are now living in several southern countries than in the northern countries that were once considered (correctly or wrongly) to be Christian. Now the time is ripe for the western Christians to learn from the dynamism of Christians living in southern countries. Western churches need to be missional first in their own context, helping their members to act locally and think and involve globally. Mission is always a two-way street. Rediscovery of history and making it relevant to our present day context are tasks that fascinate me.

3.4. Through collection, preservation and publication

One of the major handicaps in India is a lack of missionary documents. The harsh climate destroyed them. Whatever was left, has been transferred to archives and libraries in the West. Currently The documents pertaining to the Tranquebar Christians are kept in the Mission Archives of the Francke Foundations in Halle, archives of the Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Leipzig, the Royal Library and Royal Archives in Copenhagen, the Oriental & India Office Collection at the British Library in London, and the Government Archives in Madras. Together with the edited and published reports, the missionary documents form a unique source of information for Indian studies. Besides information on the churches, missionaries and Indian Christians, there are detailed accounts on India, climate, vegetation, animal kingdom, languages, politics, commerce, agriculture, psychology, ethics, education, music, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, cosmography, religion, cultic practices, behavior patterns, temple architecture, and so forth. The wide spectrum of material found in the missionary documents requires a team of Indian and Western scholars representing different fields of knowledge for meaningful research. Western scholars who do not know Indian languages and Indian scholars who do not know European languages need to coordinate their research efforts for maximum success and mutual enrichment.

 These documents need to be made available to scholars in India. Hence, I was involved in cataloguing and preservation of the documents. For this purpose the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College in Madras started the Lutheran Heritage Archives. It has all the modern preservation facilities. It collaborates with several archives in and outside of India. Now it houses some unique documents on history of Christianity in South India.

 My doctoral dissertation published in Germany and conference volumes printed in Chennai have encouraged several scholars to look at the legacy of the Tranquebar Mission in a different light. Two years ago, I prepared detailed trilingual catalogues (Tamil, German and English) for the 104 Tamil palm leaf manuscripts and other Tamil paper manuscripts kept in the Mission Archives of the Francke Foundations. Now they are published on the Internet.[17] At present, my habilitation dissertation is being translated into English. When it is published, it will promote further intercultural study and discussion.

Conclusion

As far as Europe is concerned, the legacy of the Tranquebar Mission is past history; but for Indian Christians it is a living legacy filled with vigor and opportunities for further development. Recovering memories will increase the mutual, intercultural understanding between Indians and Europeans. Since recovering memories shows where we come from, it can help us learn the present reality, and plan the course of our action for building bridges between peoples, cultures, churches and nationalities. Working for this mutual enrichment has been a rewarding experience.

 -----

 Contact Address:

Dr. theol. habil. Daniel Jeyaraj

Research Professor (2002–2003)

Princeton Theological Seminary

36, Hibben Road

Princeton, New Jersey 08540

USA

Emails: daniel.jeyaraj@ptsem.edu and

             dr_daniel_jeyaraj@yahoo.com

Manuscript as on August 26, 2006

(Not to be quoted without author’s consent, meant only for the Conference and its publications)