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Bible Encyclopedias
India
The Catholic Encyclopedia
or In popular language the name "India", in its widest extension, is taken to include British India proper, Native States, Portuguese and French India, Burma, and Ceylon, and is even sometimes stretched to include Indo-China. In its strictest sense, however, it means the Indian Empire properly so-called. The Indian Empire, as at present constituted, comprises (besides the peninsula) Burma, Aden, the Laccadive, Maldive, Andaman, and Nicobar Islands, but does not include Ceylon, which is a Crown colony politically distinct. Its total area exceeds 1,800,000 square miles — fifteen times that of the United Kingdom, nearly one — sixth of the area of the whole British Empire, and three- quarters of the area of Europe. About 1,000,000 square miles are directly under British rule, the rest consisting of Native States and Agencies and the small possessions of France and Portugal. The greatest length, from Kashmir to Cape Comorin, is 2,022 miles, and the greatest breadth, from Eastern Burma to Karachi, 2,520 miles. The land frontier measures about 6,000, and the coast line about 9,000, miles. It will be useful at the outset to point out the impossibility of forming one united conception of anything connected with India. It is not a country but rather a continent, comprising such a variety of physical features, climates, seasons, products, races, religions, customs, and languages as to require an encyclopedia by itself. Nor can any amount of knowledge gathered in one part of this immense territory be taken as applicable without qualification to another.
The peninsula is separated on the north from Tibet and Central Asia by the Himalaya, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram mountains, and some lower ranges divide it from Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Attached to the Bombay Presidency is a certain portion of Baluchistan bordering on the Afghan frontier. Within its general boundaries there are several small portions of territory belonging to Portugal and France, having their centres of government at Goa and Pondicherry respectively. In point of contour, Bengal, Sind, Rajputana, and the Punjab are flat, being formed by the alluvium of the Ganges and Indus respectively. The rest of the peninsula is roughly speaking a plateau rising abruptly at the western edge and gradually sloping down to the east coast. As a consequence the watershed line is generally at the summit of the western Ghats, 30 to 100 miles from the west coast. From this point a few small rivers run their short course to the Arabian Sea, but the greater ones rise in the heart of the Ghats and run across the whole peninsula, increasing in volume as they progress, and empty their waters into the Gulf of Bengal (Mahanadi, Godaveri, Kistna, Kaveri, etc.). In the more northerly parts, however, the plateau recedes inland, and here two rivers of considerable size (Tapti and Nerbudda) run into the Arabian Sea. The average level of the Deccan plateau is under 2,000 feet; but it contains many ranges and isolated mountains rising over 4,000 feet, chiefly along the western edge, and there are still higher parts in the Mysore and neighbouring districts, where the highest point is 8,840 feet above sea level. The coast is for the most part flat and straight, with a considerable number of small indentations suitable for small craft; but there are very few large harbours: Karachi (mostly artificial), Bombay, and Marmagoa are the only ones which are practicable on the west side, while on the east there is not a single one, Madras harbour being purely artificial, and Calcutta over 100 miles up the River Hooghly. The climate is on the whole dry and rainless for two-thirds of the year, during which time crops are possible only by means of irrigation. The rainy season (called the monsoon) occupies the remaining four months but differs on the two sides of the country. On the western coast it lasts from June to September, while on the east coast it occurs from October to December — in each case the rain being borne on to the land by the sea breeze. The rainfall on the western coast strip is about 70 inches, while on the Ghat line it sometimes rises to 300, but falls in the interior to 30, 20, and even less than 10 inches. In the northern parts and on the east coast the rainfall is less, while in the desert districts of Sind, Rajputana, etc. it is very scanty. About the Himalayas the conditions approach more nearly to those of Europe. One-half of the latitude of India falls within the tropics. Ice and snow are entirely unknown except in the high altitudes, and hail is rare and phenomenal. The temperature, which varies much locally, falls in the aggregate rarely lower than 50° and rise in parts as high as 120° in the shade. In the tropical portions there are two hot seasons, the one before and the other after the rains (May and October). With due precautions against exposure to the sun, avoidance of chills, a carefully adjusted diet and judiciously regulated exercise, Europeans find the country on the whole healthy though enervating; but any weakness in the constitution is more likely to reveal itself there than at home, especially among men who go out after the prime of life. The people as a whole are of a mild and inoffensive character, and obsequious to the European; and except for a chance of robbery among the remote hill tribes, the traveller is everywhere as safe as he would be in any part of Europe.
India is covered over with a network of railways, along which the chief business centres and the chief objects of interest for the traveller are situated — the rest being accessible by journeys of a few miles by tonga along decent roads. Except in the cities much frequented by Europeans hotels are scarce; but refreshment rooms and even sleeping rooms are found in the more important railway stations, otherwise resort must be had to "travellers' bungalows", in some of which food can be obtained by previous notice. In Native States respectable Europeans are accepted as guests of the State, and guest-houses are provided for them. In other remote districts resident European officials can be relied upon for incidental hospitality in case of emergency. In a few large cities such as Calcutta, Bombay, and Karachi, European commodities of every kind are obtainable, and the social and domestic life differs in no way from that at home. The same is true to a more limited extent in towns occupied as military stations. Elsewhere it is generally impossible even to obtain anything so European as a loaf of bread, except at the refreshment room of the station, if there is one.
One of the peculiarities of Indian life is the hill stations, "suburban towns" they might be called, to which those who have the opportunity flock from the plains in the hot seasons, and occasionally at other times, to recover from the enervating influence of the plains. For instance Darjeeling, Simla, Mussourie, Murree, Nainital, etc., on the slopes of the Himalayas; Mount Abu in Rajputana; Khandalla, Poona, Matheran, and Mahableshwar, in the western Ghats; Bangalore, Wellington, and Conoor, in the Mysore hills; Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, in Ceylon.
According to the census of 1901 the total population of the Indian Empire amounted to 294,361,056, of which 62,461,549 belong to the Native States, and 231,899,507 to strictly British territory. The whole of this population is divided racially as follows: (1) The Aryans, mostly in Northern India and the Deccan, about 221 millions or nearly three-fourths of the total; (2) The Dravidian races of Southern India, about sixty millions; (3) The Kolarian aborigines of the Central Provinces, from four to five millions; (4) The Tibeto-Burmese, above eleven millions; (5) Europeans, a fluctuating figure something over 170,000; (6) Parsees, about 94,000; (7) Jews, 18,000 — smaller classifications being omitted. The prevailing languages are correspondingly the Aryan (Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujerathi, Uriya, Sindi, etc.); the Dravidian (Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Canarese); the Kolarian (Santali) and the Tibetan and Burmese. There are also very many minor languages confined to small districts or single tribes. The lingua franca of the country is Hindustani, or Urdu, a mixture of Hindi with Persian and Arabic words, and written in the Arabic or in the Devanagiri character — its prevalence being due to the Mogul domination.
The historical vicissitudes of India have been likened to the waves of the ocean flowing into a shallow bay, one following after another and each obliterating wholly or partially the effects of the preceding. It may also be likened to a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colour and form, as kingdom after kingdom has risen and fallen, coagulated and disintegrated, and as the supremacy has passed from hand to hand. The ancient portion of this history is almost without dates, and even the events themselves are mostly gathered from precarious references. Consequently, as regards origins, even what is certain must from the nature of the case be vague. Down to some unascertainable date (possibly about 1,500 B.C.) India was inhabited partly by the various aboriginal peoples (Kolarians, etc.) whose remnants are still found surviving in the country, and partly by Dravidian immigrants who had superseded these aborigines at some very early period. About that time the great Aryan family divided into two sections, one passing southwards into India. This Aryan race in great part held aloof from the people they subjugated, whom they regarded with contempt. But in some degree mixture was inevitable; and thus a large number of local tribes, some pure Aryan, others aboriginal, others mixed, came into existence. When Alexander the Great made his expedition to India in 326 B.C., his sphere of activity did not extend beyond the Sutlej. After his death and the breaking up of his empire, the people of India, under the leadership of a prince of Patna (305 B.C.) forced the Greek invader to relinquish all share in the country. Many of the Indian tribes were then gradually consolidated into an empire which reached its highest organization under Asoka (272 — 232 B.C.). The empire of Asoka comprised practically the whole of the peninsula except the portion south of Madras, which was held independently by the more ancient Chola, Pandya, Chera, and Satuja dynasties. Soon after Asoka's death, his kingdom broke up into several smaller ones bearing the names of Kalinga, Andhra, Malwa, and Magadha, besides numbers of minor states. Early in the Christian era fresh Scythian hordes poured into India and founded the Kushan Empire, which comprised the whole north — west down to the Vindhya Mountains. This empire reached the summit of power under King Kanishka, the great patron of Buddhism who ruled about A.D. 120. By the fourth century A.D. the Guptas and the Western satraps rose in importance, and divided the supremacy between them till the latter were swallowed up by the former. The Gupta Empire lasted till the end of the fifth century A.D. when it was destroyed by a Mongol tribe, called the White Huns. In the sixth century the White Huns were overcome by the Persians and by Turkish tribes, and their hold on India fell before a confederacy of Indian princes under the King of Magadha. In the beginning of the seventh century there existed two supremacies — that of the north under a king of Thaneshwar, and that of the south in the hands of the Chalukyas, with the River Nerbudda as the boundary between them. These organizations soon fell to pieces, and for several centuries India became once more a congress of petty chieftaincies.
The next foreign invaders were the Mohammedans of Afghanistan, who gradually took possession of the northern half of the peninsula, while in the south the supremacy of the Chalukyas was succeeded by that of the Cholas. In the fourteenth century the Afghan Empire had expanded over almost the whole of the country, the chieftaincies of Kashmir, Orissa, Kutch, Junagarh, and the Comorin Coast alone retaining independence. But there was a constant tendency among the various provinces of this empire to throw off the yoke, in which for the most part they succeeded. In the fourteenth century the country south of the Kistna was held by the Indian princes with their capital at Vijayanagar, while north of this the Bahmani kingdom, and those of Malwa, Gondwana, Telingana, Behar, Bengal, Jaunpur, etc., were in various degrees independent of the Afghan dominion of Delhi. Two hundred years later the Afghan empire had shrunk up towards the Himalayas and was fringed round with more or less independent kingdoms which now included Rajputana, Sind, Multan, Gujerat, Malwa, Gondwana, Khandesh, Berar, Bidar, Golconda, Ahmednagar, Bijapur, etc. The year 1526 marks the entrance into India of the Moguls, who under the famous Akbar (1556-1605) finally broke the Afghan power and set up the Mogul supremacy in its place. The empire of Akbar comprised the provinces of Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Oudh, Allahabad, Ajmere, Gujerat, Malwa, Behar, Bengal, Khandesh, Berar, Ahmednagar, Orissa, Sind, and Kashmir, the southern boundary being roughly speaking marked by the River Godaveri and the latitude of Bombay. South of this extended the Moslem sultanates of Ahmednagar, Bidar, Golconda, and Bijapur, south of which lay their enemy, the Indian confederacy of Vijayanagar. The latter power was irrecoverably defeated by the former in the battle of Talikot (1565). The barrier which had withstood the Moslem power for three centuries was thus removed; and this prepared the way to an extension southwards as far as Mysore — the sway of the southern princes having now declined so as to become almost negligible. But these victorious Moslem sultans were in turn attacked from the rear by the Mogul power which under Aurung-Zeb (1658 — 1707) swallowed up the Kingdoms of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda. But the Mogul supremacy, like all former ones, was incapable of permanency. Besides successful efforts after independence made by the tribes of the north, a new enemy now appeared in the rising power of the Mahrattas (Aryans of the Deccan) who under Sivaji (1627 — 1680) played havoc wherever they went. By 1750 the Mahratta confederacy had extended over the greater part of Central India and the western coast, while the Mogul Empire had been resolved into several kingdoms of which Rajputana, Ahmedabad, Oudh, Behar, Bengal, the Nizam's dominions (Hyderabad — Deccan) were the chief — the Dravidian princes still reigning on the Canarese and Travancore coasts. By the end of the eighteenth century, the Mahratta confederacy had still further extended its range northwards so as to include Rajputana.
Meanwhile various European powers were gradually securing a footing in the country. First came the Portuguese in 1498, and secured certain strips of the western coast (Goa, Chaul, Bombay, Bassein, Damão, Diu). More than a century later the Dutch, sworn enemies of the Portuguese, established themselves in Nagapatam, Madras, Pulicat, etc., besides wresting Cochin and other portions of territory from the Portuguese. The English East India Company (founded in 1600) soon acquired stations at Sarat, Calicut, Masulipatam, Madras, and (by cession) Bombay (1661 — 5). Before 1700 the French had secured Masulipatam, Pondicherry, and Chandernagore, while at the same time the Danes held Tranquebar and Serampur. In the conflict which followed the Portuguese, Dutch, and Danes counted for little, and the two last named powers ultimately lost all footing in the country. The struggle was chiefly between the English and the French, both of whom tried to win the various native princes over by persuasion, treaty, subsidy, or force, and played them off against the opposing power. The growth of the English supremacy was steady but gradual. By the battle of Plassey in 1757 they became virtually masters of Bengal. By 1784 they had secured sway along the east coast (Circars and Carnatic). In 1795 they were dominant in Bengal and Behar, the Circars, Madras, Carnatic, Malabar, etc. In 1805 they had reached up the Ganges valley as far as Bellary and along the Kanara coasts. In 1823 British territory reached almost all round the coast from Assam to Gujerat, and extended inwards in such a way that the Native States resembled islands in a sea (Travancore, Mysore, Nizam's dominions, Kolhapur, Mahratta States, Rajputana, Oudh, etc). In 1843 Sind was added to the British dominions; in 1849, the Punjab; in 1854, Nagpur; in 1856, Oudh; and in 1885, Burma. Where conquest or cession by treaty did not take place, the Native States were taken under military protection, the British troops stationed in them being an effectual preventative of revolt or foreign alliance. The conquest of India would present an interesting study in ethics, as would most other conquests in the world, but one thing is clear: the history of India before the English supremacy was a history of war, devastation, arbitrary rule, fall of empire upon empire, chaos, and insecurity, while under British rule it has become precisely the opposite. The foregoing sketch, inadequate and incomplete, will suffice to convey a general impression of the whole field; and it will be rendered more intelligible if read with Joppen's "Historical Atlas of India", from which it has chiefly been taken.
British India
India is at present divided into British territory, independent Native States, and protected Native States — which latter are in varying degrees under the sway of the supreme executive authority of the Governor — General of India, more commonly known as the viceroy. For purposes of administration the Indian Empire is divided into the nine great provinces of Madras, Bombay, Bengal, Eastern Bengal and Assam, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the Punjab, Burma, Central Provinces and the North — West Frontier Province, under officials variously designated governor, lieutenant — governor and chief commissioner — the minor charges being Coorg, Ajmere — Marwara, British Baluchistan, and the Andaman Islands, each under a chief commissioner.
Of independent States there are only two, Bhutan and Nepul, both in the Himalayas. Of the protected States, Hyderabad (Deccan), Baroda, and Mysore are the most important, while the smaller ones are to a great extent grouped together into Agencies, e.g., Rajputana, Kathiawar, Central India, etc. The chiefs of these protected states retain their own internal administration, but under British supervision, which is exercised sometimes through political agents, in other cases by political residents. The princes have no right to make war or peace, or to send ambassadors to other states, or to maintain a military force beyond a certain specified limit; and the supreme government can exercise any degree of control in case of misgovernment; moreover, some of them are required to pay a fixed annual tribute.
Portuguese India
The actual Portuguese possessions at the present time within the peninsula are Goa, Damão and Diu. Goa is a tract of picturesque and fertile country on the West Coast about 250 miles south of Bombay, measuring 63 miles in length by 40 miles in breadth. It comprises a nucleus of "old conquests", Goa, Bardez, and Salcete (to be distinguished from the Island of Salsette near Bombay); an outer belt of "new conquests"; and the Island of Angediva. The population borders on half a million; the majority are native Catholics whose ancestors were converted centuries ago. Freedom of religion is tolerated, but no public form of worship other than the Catholic is admitted within the "old conquests". Goa is regarded as an integral part of the Portuguese Empire, and (with its two dependencies, Damão and Diu) forms a province subject to a Governor — General. Damão, 100 miles north of Bombay, a fortified Portuguese town with a small outlying district in the interior, has an area of 82 square miles with a total population of over 50,000. Diu is a small fortified island at the southern point of the Kathiawar coast, measuring about 7 miles by 2, with a population of something over 12,000. (For ecclesiastical particulars see under Goa and damao).
French India
The French possessions consist of five settlements. Of these Pondicherry is the chief, having an area of 115 square miles and a population of about 150,000. Next comes Karikol with 53 square miles and 26,000 inhabitants. The rest are much smaller, namely, Chandernagore, near Calcutta, Mahe, on the Malabar coast, and Yanaon, north of Madras, the total area of French India being 203 square miles, with a total population of about 300,000. In British territory round about Pondicherry, etc., there are also a number of small plots, the sites of former French factories, over which the French possess certain rights. Administration is in the hands of a governor residing at Pondicherry. (For ecclesiastical particulars see Pondicherry, archdiocese of.)
There has arisen in India of recent years a wave of national aspiration, which is by some viewed with alarm, and by others with indifference. It originated or first manifested itself by the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1886, which began to hold annual meetings wherein "to give voice to our aspirations and to formulate our wants" (Gokhale in 1905). In 1904 a party — protest against the partition of Bengal was followed by an attempt to force the hand of Government by the boycott of imported goods in favour of Indian manufactures (Swadeshi movement), which in turn developed into an effort after "national revival". This movement issued in a certain amount of seditious writing, systematic spread of disaffection among the masses, and even resort to anarchistic methods such as the use of bombs, etc. Given that the element of sedition and violence is suppressed with a firm hand, the movement does not (in the present writer's opinion) forebode anything like a mutiny, or jeopardize British dominion. But in its constitutional elements, which are based on democratic ideas derived from European education, it will have to be reckoned with. Viewed in this light, it means that an ever — increasing number of Hindus, who have been educated on English lines and many of them in English universities, realize keenly their position as British subjects, claim equality with Europeans in talent, education, and citizenship, seek to be admitted more extensively to Government offices, aim at a representative instead of an autocratic form of government, demand financial autonomy for the country, etc., etc., and are endeavouring to develop public opinion in favour of all these points, first among their own class, then among the community in general. No one can quarrel with this aspiration so long as it is worked on constitutional lines, and in a measure calculated to promote the real welfare of the country. The practical difficulty arises from the fact that while in the eyes of most Europeans the country is not yet ripe for such measures, the promoters of the movement either believe that it is ripe, or else that by pushing the matter the country can be made ripe far sooner than if matters are left alone. This seems a fair and moderate view of the movement, putting aside the more extreme tendencies connected with it. With regard to the policy of Government in dealing with the situation, account must be taken of the tendency of the Oriental mind to respect power and to take advantage of good nature. Anything like leniency or long — suffering in dealing with disturbance is in India sure to be taken as a sign of weakness, and hasty endeavours to pacify the people by partially acceding to their demands will only be interpreted as indications of fear, and an encouragement to further agitation. A firm determination, on the part of Government, not even to entertain any idea of concession till all signs of disorder have permanently disappeared, would probably be more effectual than any other measure.
It does not come within the scope of this article to discuss the political situation. Our only concern here is to dispel certain false or exaggerated notions as to the relations between Government and people. There does not, it is true, exist in India much positive patriotism in favour of British rule; but at the same time neither does there exist anything like a deep or widespread spontaneous indignation. The mass of the people usually confine their interest to the narrow horizon of their own personal wants. They find that contact with Europeans brings a great increase to their revenues; and in fact there is a danger of whole classes being spoiled by the lavishness with which, compared with former times, they are remunerated for their services. It is quite certain that the people prefer to deal with European rather than with native officials. On the whole, Government is considerate in remitting or reducing taxation as soon as scarcity is felt. A considerable grievance has been removed or greatly diminished by the reduction of the salt tax, but a minor grievance remains regarding the toddy tax (native palm — tree liquor). It is true that preferential treatment in favour of British trade has done much to destroy the older native industries; but this has been amply compensated for by the increased facilities of obtaining articles of comfort and convenience, as also in the employment given to natives in government posts, office work, public works, industries, outlets for produce, etc. No one will deny that detailed improvements in administration are possible and desirable; but the grievances which exist, while affording matter for constitutional representation, are not sufficient to justify any real disaffection, still less resort to violent measures.
The really serious evils of India as felt by the masses are three in number. The first is the artificial creation of famines. The constant recurrence of famine in India is not due to local scarcity of food; for it is notorious that there is always in the country at large plenty of grain for the people and abundance to spare — a fact proved by the undiminished exportation which goes on all the time. The cause of famine is due simply to the combination of the native grain — dealers, who buy up the supplies and establish famine — prices as soon as the first sign of scarcity is observed. All other explanations of famine in India are either false, or inadequate and negligible. Government expedients of famine relief — works and free distribution of food are neither adequate nor radical. The proper and effectual remedy would be for Government to make laws keeping the prices down and forcing the merchants to sell at those prices. This, however, Government will not do, on the plea of not interfering with freedom of trade — thus losing sight of the duty of the State to protect particular classes of the population from what is equivalently gross oppression. The second evil is the extraordinary usury practised by the native Marwaris or money lenders, who have the people at their mercy in times of stress, and who carry on their business in such a way that getting into their hands usually means total ruin. The necessity of borrowing small sums of money being recognized, the only remedy would be for Government either to provide some means of meeting this need on moderate terms, or else to legislate in some effectual manner for the restraint of the professional money lenders — a matter easy to theorize about but difficult to achieve. The third evil in India is petty tyranny, extortion, and corruption on the part of subordinate native officials. Such a charge can only be proved in detailed cases, but its widespread existence seems to be universally admitted and complained of. And as such acts are done under cover of authority, the blame of them is popularly attributed to the British Government, which in truth is utterly incapable of coping with the evil. With the removal or diminution of these three evils, and a few adjustments of taxation in view of local circumstances, India would be a most prosperous and happy country as far as good government can make it one.
These remarks, based on six years' careful observation in the country itself, ought to put writers outside India on their guard against the monstrous misrepresentations which are so frequently circulated in the press.
In India, there are five universities, namely, those of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Allahabad, and the Punjab. They are all organized on the examining-body system, having affiliated to them a large number of teaching colleges, some of which are worked by Government, some by missionary bodies, etc. Below these come numerous high-schools, middle schools, primary- schools, and technical schools of various kinds, to a total of over 160,000. Of those institutions 27,220 are public, 73,192 aided, and 60,057 private and unaided. According to the census of 1901 the statistics of literacy run as follows:
Males Able to Read and Write — 14,690,080
Males Unable to Read and Write — 134,752,026
Females Able to Read and Write — 996,341
Females Unable to Read and Write — 142,976,459
Total — 293,414,906
It should be noted that immense progress has taken place since then; but even now it is estimated that only 25.3 per cent of the boys and 3.4 per cent of the girls of school-going age attend school.
Mention has already been made of the Aryan tribes which immigrated into India many centuries before Christ. It was during their sojourn in the Punjab that the first sacred hymns were composed (the Rig Veda). While pushing eastwards and southwards, the first beginnings of the caste system were formed and the rest of the sacred books written (see Vedas). Their religion, which had in the first instance been a simple kind of nature and hero-worship, was developed by the Brahmin priests and sages into a highly ceremonial cult with a theoretical background of emanative pantheism as formulated later on in the Vedanta. While the speculative and liturgical portions of the Hindu religion were being developed by the educated classes, the popular religion was being transformed by contact with the older local tribes. The polytheism induced by the co-existence of various local deities received a monotheistic explanation from the Brahmins, each god being regarded as a particular manifestation of the supreme one. Buddhism came into existence in the sixth century B.C. (Gautama Buddha fl. circa 527 B.C.). It adopted many of the fundamental ideas of the prevailing Brahministic creed and developed its ascetical consequences, but made no account of the system of caste, and afterwards degenerated into saint and hero worship. During the following centuries Buddhism gradually spread throughout the country, and constituted a formidable rival to Brahminism. A reaction, however, supervened, during which Buddhism gradually disappeared from the land, though it continued to prevail in Burma and Ceylon. From the thirteenth century A.D., Brahminism has retained a permanent hold over at least three-quarters of the population. Out of a miscellaneous collection of elements — Vedic pantheism, Puranic mythology, aboriginal animism, polytheism, demon worship, and sorcery, there developed a promiscuous system of religious belief and practice which became hereditary, and which may be called "exoteric or popular Hinduism" as distinguished from the esoteric or philosophical religion of the select few. The study of Hinduism therefore naturally falls into two corresponding parts of which a totally separate treatment is necessary (see BRAHMINISM). Besides Hinduism in these two senses of the term, there exist certain other religions, the chief of which may be enumerated as follows: --
(1) Animism and a promiscuous collection of archaic low cults and superstitions, still maintained by the more remote aboriginal tribes — a survival of the time prior to the Aryan immigration; and also rife to a great extent among the masses of Hindus. (2) Jainism, a form of religion allied equally with Hinduism and Buddhism and found chiefly in Gujerat and Kathiawar. Its alleged founder Mahavira is said to have died just when Buddha was entering into his missionary labours (circa 527 B.C.). (See JAINISM.) (3) Sikhism, an off-shoot (originating in the Punjab in the fifteenth century A.D.) claiming to be a purification of Hinduism, in which, however, the worship of a sacred book has largely taken the place of the worship of images (see SIKHISM). (4) Zoroastrianism, brought into India by a body of Parsees who fled before the Mohammedan conquerors of Persia, and reached India about A.D. 700. This religion has neither influenced nor been largely influenced by Hinduism, and is still kept up among the Parsee community exclusively (see Avesta; Parsees). (5) Mohammedanism, introduced into India by the Moslem conquerors, who, beginning about A.D. 1000, gradually spread their domination over the land till in the seventeenth century it reached almost to Cape Comorin. Large numbers were brought over from Hinduism to this creed. But they retained much of their old caste and ceremonial ideas, and thus brought into existence a modified form of popular Mohammedanism, outwardly resembling Hinduism in many points — among which hero-worship directed to tombs of saints corresponds largely to the Hindu worship of images (see MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM). (6) Christianity, said to have existed among the White Huns, through whom it may have contributed to the Krishna legend; prevalent from very early times on the Malabar coast and to some extent in several other parts (see THOMAS CHRISTIANS); extensively spread by the Portuguese from the year 1500, and afterwards by missionaries of other European nations. In recent times Christian ideas have exercised much indirect influence on the educated classes of Hindus, resulting partly in efforts to purify popular Hinduism of its grosser elements, partly in adopting a more rationalized interpretation of Hindu ideas and practices. But the popular religion among the masses remains untouched.
According to the census of 1901 the religious statistics of the Indian Empire stand as follows: — The votaries of Hinduism number 207,147,026, or about three-quarters of the total. The Mohammedans come next with 62,458,077. The Buddhists number 9,476,759, almost exclusively in Burma and Assam. Animism prevails among the aboriginal tribes to the number of 8,584,148. Christians come next with a total of 2,923,241. The Sikhs (chiefly in the Punjab) number 2,195,339; the Jains (chiefly on the western coasts), 1,334,148; the Parsees (chiefly in Bombay), 94,190; the Jews, 18,228 — the rest being insignificant or unclassified. The Christian statistics are detailed as follows:
Church of England: 111,764 Europeans; 35,781 Eurasians; 305,917 Natives; 453,462 Total
Presbyterians: 9693 Europeans; 1439 Eurasians; 42,799 Natives; 53,931 Total
Baptists: 2108 Europeans; 2017 Eurasians; 216,915 Natives; 221,040 Total
Methodists: 5998 Europeans; 2420 Eurasians; 68,489 Natives; 76,907 Total
Congregationalists: 421 Europeans; 140 Eurasians; 37,313 Natives; 37,874 Total
Lutherans, etc.: 1400 Europeans; 287 Eurasians; 153,768 Natives; 155,455 Total
Latin Catholics: 33,964 Europeans; 45,697 Eurasians; 1,122,508 Natives; 1,202,169 Total
Syrians: 6 Europeans; 1 Eurasians; 571,320 Natives; 571,327 Total
Others: 4323 Europeans; 1469 Eurasians; 145,284 Natives; 151,076 Total
The history of the Catholic Church in India can be divided into the following sections: (1) From the earliest times down to the advent of the Portuguese, and especially the traditions regarding St. Thomas and the community believed to have been founded by him (see THOMAS CHRISTIANS). (2) Portuguese missionary enterprise dating from the year 1498, a brief outline of which appears under Goa. (3) The dispute regarding concessions to Hindu usage, commencing with Robert de Nobili in 1606 and ending with the final decisions of the Holy See in 1742 (see Malabar Rites; Madura Mission). (4) Propaganda missionary enterprise, commencing about the year 1637. (5) The conflict of jurisdiction between the vicars Apostolic of propaganda and the Portuguese padroado, commencing in the eighteenth century, reaching its climax in 1838, and its final settlement in 1886 (see Goa, Archdiocese of; Padroado). (6) The establishment of the hierarchy in 1886 and subsequent organization down to the present time. Besides the special articles referred to, local details will be found under the different dioceses. Here it will be sufficient to take a brief survey of the whole. From very early times there existed on the Malabar and Coromandel Coast a considerable community of native Christians claiming to have received the Faith from the Apostle St. Thomas, whose martyrdom is held to have taken place near Mylapur, three miles south of Madras. His reputed tomb seems to have been in the hands of Nestorians, and the community generally appears for several centuries to have been ruled by bishops from Persia or Babylonia who were also Nestorians. When the Portuguese came into India, they set themselves to the task of removing this Nestorian taint and bringing the community into union with the Catholic Church, and this was accomplished by the Synod of Diamper in 1599. In 1653, in consequence of domestic quarrels, a revolt took place, followed by a conciliation of the great majority, while a certain minority fell away, and became later on a prey to Jacobite influences. The Syrian Catholics — as they are called on account of their liturgy — still flourish and are governed by three vicars Apostolic at Ernakulam, Trichur, and Changanacherry respectively.
Portuguese missionary enterprise, which began shortly after 1500, partly followed the progress of conquest, but also extended beyond it, so that large communities were formed in the south of the peninsula and as far as Madras on the east coast, and Damão on the west, while sporadic efforts were made from time to time further northwards, as far as Bengal, Agra, and even Tibet. The chief successes were, first, within the strictly Portuguese territory of Goa, where the fullest influence of the State lay at the back of the missionaries; secondly, on the Fishery Coast about Cape Comorin; thirdly, in the inland districts of Madura; fourthly, in the districts of Bassein, Salsette, Bombay, Karanja, and Chaul on the western coast, north of Goa. The Franciscans and Dominicans were the first orders in the field, soon to be followed by the Jesuits and Augustinians, and later on by the Carmelites, Theatines, Hospitallers of St. John, and Oratorians. The tide of enterprise reached its highest soon after A.D. 1600, by which time vast numbers had been enrolled in the membership of the Church. The work of attending to the wants of such large communities naturally placed a limit on further missionary expansion. Moreover, as the power of Portugal itself began to decline, there was a falling off in the supply of missionaries, and after the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773 it may be said that missionary progress under Portuguese patronage came practically to a standstill. Meantime the Holy See, recognizing the inadequacy of the Portuguese resources to deal with so vast a country, began to provide independently for the spread of the Gospel by appointing vicars Apostolic, under Propaganda, the first being that of the Deccan, afterwards called the Vicar Apostolic of the Great Mogul, and finally the Vicar Apostolic of Bombay. This appointment, made about 1637, was followed by others down to recent times, till the whole of the country outside the actual sphere of Portuguese ministrations was in some way provided for. It soon happened that where the vicars Apostolic came into contact with the Portuguese clergy there arose a conflict of jurisdiction — the vicars Apostolic resting their claims on the direct delegation of the Holy See, while the Portuguese party took their stand on the ancient prerogatives of the patronage as well as the prescriptive right of possession. The policy of Rome throughout this conflict was to support unequivocally the position of the vicars Apostolic, at the same time recommending them to use caution and thereby avoid dissension where possible. The strained relations between the two parties reached a climax when in 1838 the Holy See cancelled the jurisdiction of the three suffragan Sees of Crangaqnore, Cochin, and Mylapur and transferred it to the nearest vicars Apostolic, and did the same with regard to certain portions of territory which had formerly been under the authority of Goa itself. The struggle, which was most fierce in the districts of Bombay, Madras, and Madura, continued till 1857, when a concordat was drawn up which gave comparative peace to the churches, but left the two conflicting jurisdictions almost in statu quo. Finally in 1886 another concordat was established, and at the same time the whole country was divided into ecclesiastical provinces, and certain portions of territory, withdrawn in 1838, were restored to the jurisdiction of the Portuguese sees. The delineations made in 1886 were afterwards supplemented by adjustments and subdivisions down to 1899, since when the ecclesiastical distribution has been stable. The following lists will summarize the main facts thus described: (1) The old foundations of the Portuguese Padroado: — Goa, 1534; Chochin, 1557; Cranganore, 1600; San Thomé (Mylapur), 1606. (2) Vicariates founded before 1800: — Great Mogul, 1637; Malabar, 1659; Bombay and Tibet, 1720: Ava and Pegu (Burma), 1722. (3) Vicariates founded from 1800 to 1886: — Tibet, 1826; Bengal, Madras, and Ceylon, 1834; Madura and Coromandel, 1836; Agra and Patna, 1845; Jaffna, 1847; East and West Bengal, Vizagapatam, Pondicherry, Coimbatore and Mysore, 1850; Hyderabad (Deccan), 1851; Mangalore, Quilon, and Verapoly, 1853; Poona, 1854; Central Bengal, North and South Burma, 1870; Punjab and Kashmir, 1880; Kandy, 1883; East Burma, 1886. (4) The hierarchy as established in 1886 consisted of eight archbishops bearing the titles of Agra, Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Goa, Pondicherry, Verapoly, and Ceylon, each having his subject dioceses, vicariates and prefectures Apostolic. (5) The following new subdivisions were made after 1886: — Kashmir, Nagpur, Trichur, and Kottayam, 1887; Assam, 1889; Ernakulam, and Changanacherry, 1890; Rajputana, 1891; Bettiah, 1892; Galle and Trincomalee, 1893; Kumbakonam, 1899. To these must be added the three vicariates Apostolic of Burma.
The ecclesiastical organization connected with India does not by any means coincide with the political divisions of the country. India consists of eight ecclesiastical provinces, seven of which are in the peninsula and the eighth in Ceylon. The Provinces of Agra, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Verapoly are entirely in the Indian Empire. The Province of Goa comprises Portuguese India and some portion of British India, besides the suffragan sees in Africa and the Far East. The Province of Pondicherry comprises French India and some portion of British India, as well as the Diocese of Malacca in the Straits Settlements. The Province of Colombo is entirely in Ceylon and so outside the Indian Empire. On the other hand, the three vicariates of Burma, which at present belong to the Indian Empire, are not part of ecclesiastical India proper, and lie outside the Apostolic Delegation of the East Indies. The same is true of Aden, which belongs politically to the Bombay Presidency. Our best course, therefore, in giving ecclesiastical statistics, will be to take the general group just described, indicating certain subtractions which must be made in order to bring the figures into relation with the Government census of India.
(1) Province of Goa. — In the Archdiocese of Goa 299,628 belong to Portuguese territory and 35,403 to British territory. In the Diocese of Damão 2,213 belong to Portuguese territory and 69,789 to British territory. Out of these latter, 26,419 are Goanese living in Bombay island, under the personal and not territorial jurisdiction of Damão. The suffragan sees of Cochin and Mylapur are entirely in British territory. The more remote suffragan sees in Africa and the Far East are omitted from the list. (2) Province of Pondicherry. — In the Archdiocese of Pondicherry 25,859 belong to French territory and 117,266 to British territory. The suffragan sees are all in British India except Malacca, which is altogether outside India. (3) Province of Verapoly. — The three Vicariates of Ernakulam, Changanacherry, and Trichur consist of Catholics of the Syrian Rite, with a total 325,281 (Thomas Christians). By subtracting the figures for French India, Portuguese India, Malacca, and Ceylon, and separating off the Syrian vicariates, the total results for the Indian Empire (including Burma) for the year 1908 are as follows: — Latin Catholics 1,439,066; Syrian Catholics 325,281. A comparison with the census of 1901 reveals an increase of 190,325 Latin Catholics, and 2,695 Syrian Catholics — which is probably a fair estimate of progress during the last eight years. As far as older statistics can be obtained for purposes of comparison, the total number of Catholics in British India (not including Burma or Ceylon) in 1857 was 801,858. In 1885 they had risen to 1,030,100 and in 1905 to 1,582,186.
One of the peculiarities of ecclesiastical India, though not unknown in other parts of the Church, is the existence in certain places of what is popularly known as a "double jurisdiction". The historical explanation lies in the fact that when the jurisdictional conflict was brought to a close in 1886, the Padroado sphere of influence was not restricted to Portuguese territory, but allowed to remain in many parts of British India where the Padroado clergy were in actual possession. In the first place the See of Goa was allowed to retain a considerable part of the coast country north and south of Goa; while the two ancient Sees of Cochin and Mylapur and the newly erected See of Damão were all three totally in British territory. But it happened that in the case of Mylapur there existed certain widely scattered and isolated parishes which were actually under Portuguese clerical administration, and these were retained as exempted churches in the midst of Propaganda territory. Thus to the Bishop of Mylapur belong no fewer than fifteen separate churches scattered over the Diocese of Trichinopoly, with others in Madras, Calcutta, and Dacca giving a total number of twenty-eight. In the Island of Salsette, near Bombay, which was made over to the Diocese of Damão, six churches remained attached to the Propaganda jurisdiction of Bombay. In some of these places both jurisdictions exist side by side, the one holding territorial sway, the other possessing exemption. In Bombay a more special arrangement was made — the archbishop under Propaganda enjoying territorial jurisdiction, while the Bishop of Damão holds personal jurisdiction over those who are Goanese by birth or otherwise connected with Padroado rule; and a certain complicated code exists for determining the jurisdiction to which individuals belong (see under Goa; Bombay; Damão; St. Thomas of Mylapur). In the Archdiocese of Verapoly (Malabar Coast) another form of double jurisdiction exists, this time based on a difference of rite. There the Latins are under the Archbishop of Verapoly, while the Syrian Christians (Syrians not by race but by liturgy only) in the same territorial limits are assigned to three vicars Apostolic of the same rite.
Under the Portuguese regime, the first missionary work was done by the religious orders. In course of time a large body of native secular clergy came into existence, some of whom strongly developed the apostolic spirit; but in general their work was to take charge of the parishes and mission-stations which had already been founded by the missionary orders. On the expulsion of the religious orders from Portuguese territory in 1834, the whole care of the faithful devolved on the secular clergy, who at present work in the Dioceses of Goa, Cochin, Mylapur, and Damão — a few being European Portuguese, and the rest natives of India. Of recent years a few Jesuits have been introduced in the parts which lie outside Portuguese territory.
Similarly the vicariates Apostolic were initiated and continued to be worked by European missionaries of different orders and nationalities, assisted by such secular native or other priests as they were able to train up. When the hierarchy was established in 1886 the same regime was retained, the bishops being generally of the same order or congregation. The foregoing list shows the orders and nationalities in the various dioceses. The fewness of missionaries of British extraction in India is sometimes made a matter of criticism by Englishmen not conversant with history. They forget that at the time when India was assigned to vicars Apostolic, England was not in a condition to send out foreign missionaries. Secondly, it is much less than a century ago since England began to acquire anything like a general footing in the country. Even at the present time the clergy of England have their hands full in attending to the needs of their own country, and have few men to spare for outside enterprise. Then again, as regards the far greater part of India, the nationality of the missionaries is a matter of indifference, since the work is almost entirely with native communities, who have to be dealt with in the vernacular. In the larger towns, where English is a current language, the clergy manage to equip themselves with a sufficient knowledge of English, and the same is true of military chaplains, though in individual cases a deficiency may sometimes be found. Those who travel will never come across a European missionary in British territory who cannot make himself understood in English, and in the majority of cases the proficiency attained is remarkable.
The actual statistics of the clergy for the whole ecclesiastical group already described may be estimated approximately at 2,800 priests, of whom about 1,050 are Europeans, and about 1,750 of native extraction. By a cross division about 2,000 may be classed as secular clergy (including the Mill Hill Fathers and the Foreign Mission Fathers), and about 800 as members of religious orders or congregations. There are also more than 500 brothers of various orders and congregations, and about 3,000 nuns; and the number of churches and chapels served rises above 5,000.
The figures of Catholic population given above include only those who are ascertainably members of the Church — all converts being subjected to careful tests and instruction before baptism. The numbers are mostly made up of native Christians, partly of the higher but chiefly of the lower castes, together with a certain percentage of Europeans belonging to the army, government and civil service, railways, etc., and a number of Eurasians. The Catholic population is densest among the Thomas Christians of Travancore, where the ecclesiastical divisions are of the smallest. The coast districts east and west (the scene of the ancient Portuguese and French missions), and especially the south of the peninsula, come next in order of numbers: and here the dioceses are larger. The farther north we go the more scanty the Catholic population becomes. Thus the Province of Agra, which in dimensions covers almost as much space as the other seven provinces taken together, contains the smallest number of Catholics — this being a field which has only begun to be worked in recent times. At present the largest mission centres for natives are in Chota Nagpur, (Diocese of Calcutta) the Godaveri districts (Hyderabad), the Telugu districts (Madras), the districts of Trichinopoly, Madura, Pondicherry, Kumbakonam, Mysore, etc., in the south. Smaller but growing missions are in the Ahmednagar District (Poona) and the Anand District (Bombay). It has been estimated that the number of converts baptized in the year 1903 amounted to about 16,000; while the number of catechumens preparing for baptism counted about 45,000. At the present time the rate of progress, though not definitely ascertainable in detail, has certainly advanced.
One of the moot questions in connection with India is the real or supposed difference between missionary progress in the past and in the present. The prevailing surface impression is that the Catholic body of India was build up suddenly within the space of say a century and a half by the Portuguese missionaries, the fruits of whose enterprise we inherit and to some extent keep up without adding much thereto in modern times. Special investigation would be required in order to give a documented answer; but the following considerations will help towards a sound view of the case. In the first case, the reason usually regarded by non-Catholics as an adequate explanation of past success, viz., that the Portuguese spread the Gospel by force; or, as it is sometimes said, "at the point of the sword", is certainly an exaggerated one, and in many respects false. There are on record a few isolated cases in which, equivalently at least, physical force was used — for instance, where a ship-load of captured pirates were given the option of embracing Christianity or being thrown into the sea. But such acts were entirely unsupported by authority, ecclesiastical or civil, besides being so rare as not to count. As to the policy of the state, the local tendency was rather to be tolerant of paganism and to let religious propagandism go; and when, under pressure from the King of Portugal, an organized policy of support for the Faith was framed, physical coercion was not one of its elements. It may safely be said that there existed in the legislature no law forcing a born pagan to become a Christian; nor was compulsion exercised in practice. The methods adopted by the State consisted, first, in a ruthless destruction of pagan temples, and fouling of sacred tanks in districts where the civil power was fully dominant and the Gospel had been preached; and also in forbidding the public exercise of any alien religion within the Portuguese confines. Political and social advantages of various kinds were attached to conversion, and corresponding disabilities to non-conversion; and in certain parts, all adults over the age of fifteen were compelled to listen to Christian instructions on Sundays under pain of fine and, if obdurate, of expulsion from the district. This policy had partly the effect of bringing converts, often of dubious quality, into the Church, and partly of driving away from Portuguese confines those who were tenacious of their ancestral creed. But it is to be noted that these measures were by no means carried into effect uniformly at all times and in all places, and their sphere was in any case confined to the narrow limits of actual Portuguese territory, or even to a small radius round the chief centres such as Goa and Bassein. More defensible and even praiseworthy methods were also in vogue, such as making great account of public baptisms of converts, in which the Portuguese nobility stood sponsors to the neophytes and bestowed on them their illustrious family names — hence the prevalence of De Souzas, De Mellos, Almeidas, Pereiras, and even Albuquerques, etc. among the people to this day. Another usage was to rescue slaves from the slave-dealers, either by capture or purchase, and turn them into Christians; or again, to take charge of all orphans and bring them up in the Faith. In some cases outside Portuguese territory, conversion was promoted by affording protection to the helpless classes against the tyranny of the Mohammedans, as occurred on the Fishery Coast. Hence it seems clear that practices savouring of coercion were in some cases a partial, but never the sole or adequate, cause of conversions. This is shown by the fact that missionary work proceeded with equal or even greater success in districts altogether remote from state influence, e.g. Madura, where the missionaries worked on lines of persuasion alone, unaided by even the mere prestige of Portugal at their back.
If then, as must be admitted, the progress of missionary success in modern times is not so notable as in the past, a complexity of causes must be assigned, of which the following are the chief: — The early missionaries had the advantage of being pioneers working in an open field. They were at first unhampered by the existence of large communities of Christians needing constant parochial care. They had, moreover, the stimulus of novelty, and their message had also the advantage of novelty. It came to the people as a surprise, and large bodies of converts could be brought in before the enemies of the Faith had time to formulate objections to Christianity and to imbue the minds of the people with them. Besides this there were no Protestant missions in those days (the first beginning of Protestant enterprise was at Tranquebar in 1704), so that Christianity was able to present an undivided front to the country, as there were no rival sects and creeds to be played off one against another. Then again, the terms on which Christians were admitted to baptism were much more lenient than nowadays. A willing disposition, accompanied by a brief instruction, was in many cases taken as sufficient grounds for admitting thousands together to baptism; whereas at present a careful course of instruction and probation lasting at least a whole year is the usual requirement — less reliance being placed on subsequent instruction and training than was formerly the case. The result is probably a better quality of convert nowadays than in many instances was then secured. If it is allowed that the prestige of the Portuguese State went then for a great deal in favour of conversion, it must be added that at present the professed neutrality of the British Government is nothing short of a public encouragement of indifferentism. The ideas of Western civilization are also undoubtedly an important obstacle to the progress of Christianity in modern times, for they materialize the people's minds and interests, induce agnosticism or indifferentism, sophisticate the simple, and encourage the worldly — disintegrating the old creeds, but building up nothing in their place. Of obstacles inherent to the people themnselves, rigid conservatism of mind and the trammels of the caste system are certainly of the first magnitude. Hence it is found today, as it was found in Portuguese times, that in places where the pressure of the State was unfelt, the Brahmins were the most difficult to convert, and the low-caste and no-caste people the easiest. In modern times the greatest missionary success is invariably found (1) among the aborigines or depressed classes; (2) among those who are without caste and outside the influence of the Brahmins; (3) in districts most remote from railways and centres of civilization; and (4) in places where one missionary body alone holds the field. Among the educated classes, especially those who have been trained in the European manner, conversions are extremely rare — sometimes on account of indifferentism and unbelief imported from the west; sometimes for want of practical seriousness of purpose in religious discussion, of which many are extremely fond; and sometimes on account of a certain slackness of mind and a tendency to vague viewiness, or symbolism and poetic fancy instead of a love of facing and gripping facts — a peculiarity temperamental to the eastern mind.
Besides strictly ecclesiastical ministrations to the faithful and efforts for the spread of the Faith, the clergy of India take a prominent part in the educational work of the country. The latest complete collection of statistics in this branch was compiled in 1904. It includes the whole ecclesiastical group already mentioned with the exception of Burma (according to Krose some of the figures for Burma can be supplied as follows: — schools, 151, with 8,983 pupils; orphans, 958). The following particulars are taken from this list:
Male education
23 ecclesiastical seminaries with 697 native students; 8 scholasticates of religious orders with 101 scholastics; 15 novitiates with 79 novices; 12 university colleges (most of them small ones) with 1,343 students; 67 high schools for boys with 9,771 students; 251 middle schools with 23,889 pupils; 2,465 primary schools with 98,687 pupils; 4 normal schools with 77 pupils; 26 industrial schools with 977 pupils; 17 schools for catechists with 277 students; 114 male orphanages with 5,141 inmates; 76 boarding schools with 6,037 inmates.
Female education
67 novitiates for conventual orders with 450 novices; 61 high schools with 3,202 pupils; 248 middle schools with 15,229 pupils; 683 primary schools with 41,263 pupils; 11 normal schools with 186 pupils; 59 industrial schools with 2,335 pupils; 138 female orphanages with 7,489 inmates; 108 boarding schools with 5,220 inmates. The total number of children under education in Catholic schools is 204,481 (137,326 boys and 67,155 girls). This figure includes 12,650 orphans of both sexes.
It is to be noted that the numbers of pupils in schools includes a large proportion of non-Catholics. The policy of opening our schools to outsiders is due to the fact that in many places the Catholics are either too few or too poor to maintain efficient schools and colleges for themselves alone, and the admission of others is in most cases the only means by which a good education under Catholic auspices can be secured. Under such arrangements religious instruction is given apart to the Catholic pupils; but the slightest show of propagandism has to be avoided with regard to the others. The part played by the Catholic clergy in the general educational work of the country, as well as the results, second to none, which are obtained, brings great prestige to the Catholic body. It also establishes excellent relations with large numbers of better-class Hindus, Mohammedans, Parsees, etc., who openly express their indebtedness to the "Fathers" who have educated them, and are commonly ready to befriend them. It is mainly to this prominence in educational work that the Catholic clergy owe the high esteem which they enjoy in the country.
Catholic literary enterprise
On the whole the Catholic clergy of India do not make much use of the press as a means of exercising influence on those outside the Fold. Their publications consist mainly of the Scriptures, Bible histories, catechisms, prayerbooks, and works of instruction, some in English, but most in the vernacular, executed at mission presses in Calcutta, Bombay, Trichinopoly, Mangalore, Agra, Bettiah, etc. Of Catholic weekly newspapers there are several such as "The Catholic Herald of India" (Calcutta); "The Examiner" (Bombay); "The Catholic Watchman" (Madras); "The Catholic Register" (San Thomé) — all in English; "O Crente", official organ of the Archdiocese of Goa; "O Anglo-Luisitano", representing the Goan community in Bombay; beside several others in English and sundry local idioms. On the whole the Catholic press confines its attention to Catholic interests without entering into the social or political affairs of the country. For the use of the clergy a "Promptuarium Canonico-Liturgicum" is published at Ernakulam. Mention should also be made of the "Madras Catholic Directory", giving the status of the dioceses for the whole of India, and published annually since the year 1851.
The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Denmark, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. Their first step was to translate the Bible into Tamil, and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually spread to Madras, Cuddalore, and Tanjore. In 1750 Schwartz carried on the work thus begun and extended it to Tinnevelly near Cape Comorin. After the Lutherans came the Baptists, who began work at Serampur near Calcutta. In 1758 a Danish missionary first devoted attention to Calcutta. In 1799 there was a great outburst of energy at Serampur, whose missionaries are said in the space of ten years to have translated the Bible into thirty-one languages or dialects, and by 1816 had formed a community of 700 converts. The London Missionary Society entered the field in 1798. By the "New Charter" of 1813 the East India Company provided for the establishment of the Anglican Archbishopric of Calcutta, with three archdeaconries, one for each presidency. This led the way to further enterprise on the part of the Church Missionary Society, which started in 1814, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which followed in 1826. Their greatest successes were scored in Southern India, in the fields already opened by the Lutherans. In 1835 the See of Madras was established, and in 1837 that of Bombay. In 1877 two missionary bishops assistant to the Bishop of Madras were appointed for the Tinnevelly missions, and new sees were erected at Lahore and Rangoon, in Burma. The missionary Bishopric of Travancore and Cochin was established in 1879. The first missionary sent by the Church of Scotland arrived in 1830. Since then the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, the Wesleyan Methodists, the Salvation Army, and various other bodies, European and American, have been added to the list. Summing up the figures of progress, we find that in 1830 there were only nine Protestant missionary societies at work, with about 27,000 native Protestants in India, Burma, and Ceylon. In 1870 there were no fewer than thirty-five such societies, with an estimate of 318,363 Protestant Christians. In 1852 there were 459 Protestant missionaries and in 1872 there were 606. Features of the Protestant methods of work are: the spread of the Scriptures in the local vernacular; education of children, specially in vernacular schools; special efforts in the way of female education; and a very extensive use of native missionaries, not only ordained ministers, but also lay preachers both male and female (Hunter's "Indian Empire").
Great stress is sometimes laid on the rapid growth of Protestant numbers, and the relatively smaller increase of Catholic numbers. Thus Mr. J.N. Farquhar, writing in the "Contemporary Review" for May, 1908, offers the following comparisons (Catholics including Latins and Syrians, and comprising British and French but not Portuguese India; while Protestants include all native Christians in India excluding Burma):
1851: 732,887 Catholics; 91,092 Protestants
1871: 934,400 Catholics; 224,258 Protestants
1891: 1,313,653 Catholics; 559,661 Protestants
1901: 1,550,614 Catholics; 871,991 Protestants
From these and other figures he calculates that, whereas the Catholic increase for fifty years is only 111.5 per cent, that of the Protestant during the same period is 857.2 per cent. The question is a complicated one, because we do not know the methods by which the Protestant figures are obtained, i.e., whether they include only really initiated Christians; what proportion of the conversions are permanent, or how far pecuniary assistance has to do with many of them. Putting this aside, it is to be noted that whereas most of our Catholic energy is taken up by permanent ministrations to numerous stable bodies of hereditary Catholics, Protestant missionary enterprise is to a great extent of recent origin, and has had before it an open field. The different missionary societies on their first arrival find themselves free from pre-existing ties, and can give their whole energy to breaking new ground in remote districts, where there is always the best chance of securing rapid results. Only after the pioneer work is finished, and the Protestant converts are settled down as hereditary Christians, will the comparison of percentages provide a fair test. Moreover if percentages are left aside, and attention paid to the actual growth of numbers, it will be found from the above figures that whereas Catholics have increased by 817,727, Protestants during the same period have only increased by 780,899. This fact puts quite a different aspect on the case.
India is rich in archæological monuments of various kinds, and presents a remarkable variety of architectural works of highest excellence, embodying the history of the past. First come the stupas or topes connected with early Buddhism, and dating centuries before Christ. The chief of these are found at Sarnath near Benares, Baya, Sanchi, and other parts of Northern India, the scene of the original Buddhist movement, and at Anuradhapura, etc., in Ceylon. The country is also dotted over with Buddhist rock-cut temples and monasteries dating from a century before Christ to about the seventh century A.D., the most important being those at Ellora and Ajunta, Nasick, Badami, Kennery in Salsette, and Karli near Poona, etc.; besides these there are numerous Brahminical rock-temples dating from about the seventh century, apparently in imitation of Buddhist precedent. Of these the best known is that of Elephanta near Bombay. From the seventh century A.D. there was a great development of Hindu temple-building, chiefly in the South of India — of which noble specimens are Lakundi, Aivally, Paddatgul, Badami, etc., near Gadag, and also in the parts round about Madras. Hindu architecture reached its climax in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as at Vijayanagar, Madura, Tajnore, Trichinopoly, and other places near the Coromandel Coast. Nor should Benares or the Orissa Coast be omitted. In the thirteenth century the Jains of Rajputana had attained wonderful perfection in the marble carvings of the interiors of their temples, of which the finest specimens are seen on Mount Abu and at Girnar. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Moslem art also grew to the highest perfection in Agra, Delhi, and other northern centres, and also in the Deccan sultanates at Gulberga, Golconda, and Bijapur. At Ahmedabad a special kind of Moslem architecture was developed through the employment of Hindu workmen under Mohammedan direction, while in Sind the mausoleums are remarkable for the splendour of their interior decoration with encaustic tile-work. Among secular buildings the palaces of rajahs and sultans, and the hill forts of various chiefs, are objects of interest. Add to this the eminence attained by Indian artisans of the past in all kinds of jewellery work, brass work, enamel work, wood carving, weaving, and embroidery, and it will be seen that there is probably no country which might more profitably be visited by the art student than India.
Except for the reputed tomb of St. Thomas near Mylapur, the two shrines at the Great and Little Mounts close by, a few early stone monuments, and a few inscriptions on copper in Travancore, ecclesiastical antiquities are wanting before Portuguese times. The Portuguese churches of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though without pretension to high artistic style, were in many cases majestic and imposing. The finest group was naturally at Goa, but the ruins at Bassein and Chaul near Bombay are also of remarkable interest both for number and size. Elsewhere the churches are mostly of secondary importance. The presence of Portuguese Christianity is marked by numerous stone crosses of a peculiar shape scattered about the country, especially along the seashores and on the tops of hills near Bombay. Among modern buildings of note may be mentioned the cathedrals of Allahabad and Lahore, the college churches of Mangalore and Trichinopoly, and the parish churches of Karachi and the Holy Name, Bombay. The college buildings of Trichinopoly, Calcutta, Darjeeling, and Bombay are also worthy of mention.
With regard to religion, the Indian Government maintains an attitude of strict neutrality. The Church of England is not in any sense "by law established", and whatever official countenance is given to it rests purely on the principle of providing for the religious requirements of subjects belonging to its communion, e.g., by appointments and salaries for bishops, military chaplains, and subsidies for the building or maintenance of military churches. A similar patronage, etc., is extended to the Scotch Presbyterian Church, and in a less degree to the Catholic Church. No better statement of the details of the law can be found than that contributed by Mr. J.A. Saldanha to the "Examiner" of 23 February, 1907, and 24 July, 1909, which runs as follows:
In British India
One of the fundamental principles of the British Government in India is the toleration and equal protection of all religions. Every religious denomination enjoys the utmost freedom of action, and the religious privileges and susceptibilities of every community, caste, and class are respected with the most delicate care. This policy drew encomiums as early as 1818 from Abbé Dubois, a French missionary of Southern India, who in the preface to his treatise on "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies" attributes the strength of the British power in India among other causes to "the inviolable respect which they constantly show for the customs and religious belief of the country; and the protection they afford to the weak as well as to the strong, to the Brahmin as to the Pariah, to the Christian, to the Mahomedan, and to the Pagan". This attitude of toleration, protection, and equal treatment of all religions was affirmed in the most emphatic language in the royal proclamation of 1858": — "We declare it to be Our royal will and pleasure that none be in any wise favoured, none molested or disquieted by reason of their religious faith or observances, but all shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protection of the Law; and We do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under Us, that they abstain from all interference with the religious belief or worship of any of Our subjects, on pain of Our highest displeasure". Assemblies within religious edifices or outside are never to be interfered with in British India except in cases of disorder. The police authorities have only the right of licensing and regulating public assemblies on public roads under Act V of 1861. On the other had, under the same enactment they are bound to keep order "in the neighbourhood of places of worship, during the time of public worship". The utmost liberty is allowed to preach on religious subjects even in public streets, provided no cause is given to offend the religious feelings of the hearers or others, and no disturbance of public peace or obstruction to traffic is caused. No restriction is imposed on other means of propagating a religion, except such as would bring the measures within any of the offences against religion or the offence of defamation as defined in the penal code.
Even practices regarded by the educated classes as grossly superstitious are tolerated. It is only in places to which the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890, has been specifically extended that measures can be legally taken to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain on animals in connection with sacrifices, etc. But the superstitious and religious but inhuman practices of Satti and Thaggi have been abolished by the strong hand of law.
No native of British India, nor any natural-born subject of His Majesty the King resident therein, is by reason only of his religion, place of birth, descent, colour, disabled from holding any office under the British Government (3 and 4 Will.IV, c. 85). The scrupulous regard to the policy of non-interference with religious practices of the people in British India is carried so far that the courts have always refused to interfere with the internal autonomy of castes. The principle is that where the caste exercises its jurisdiction on a subject which interests its members, it is enough if it proceeds according to caste usage and exercises powers with due care and in accordance with custom (see I.L.R. 24 Bom. 30; 26 Bom. 174). Where a community is a private and voluntary religious society resting upon a consensual basis, the law observed is that the members make rules for themselves and may constitute a tribunal to enforce the rules, and the decision of that tribunal is binding when it has acted within the scope of its authority and in a manner consonant with the general principles of justice. When the decision of a domestic tribunal has been arrived at bona fide, the court has no jurisdiction to interfere (I.L.R. XI Bom. 174). Act I of 1880 is the only enactment in the British Indian Statute Book relating to religious societies. It confers on bodies associated for the propose of maintaining religious worship certain powers in respect of (1) appointment of new trustees in cases not otherwise provided for, (2) vesting their properties in these new trustees without a formal instrument, and (3) dissolution of the societies by three-fifths of their number at a meeting convened for such purpose. Questions regarding the validity of the appointments of any trustee, as to whether any person is a member of a society, etc., can be submitted for adjudication to the High Court. This Act confers only certain enabling powers on religious associations, and allows High Courts to interfere only when there are certain disputes within an association.
One of the striking features of the British Administration in India — the result of its respect for the customs of the people — is that by far the great mass of them are allowed to regulate their laws of succession, inheritance, property, etc., according to their immemorial usages. The enactments regarding succession, wills, etc., are intended for communities who are supposed not to have any set usages to fall back upon. The State scrupulously avoids interference even with the usages of converts to Christianity. In Abraham v. Abraham (9 M.I.A., 195) the Privy Council held, "The profession of Christianity releases the convert from the trammels of Hindu Law, but it does not of necessity involve any change in the rights or relations of the convert in matters with which Christianity has no concern, such as his rights and interests in, and powers over, property. The convert, though not bound as to such matters, either by the Hindu Law or by any other positive law, may by his course of conduct after his conversion have shown by what law he intended to be governed as to these matters." A recent decision of the Bombay High Court has gone so far as to recognize the legal existence of the peculiar system of Hindu co-parcenership among the native Christians of Kanara (8 Bom. L.R. 770). It is interesting to note how, where the State has thought fit to pass special enactments as to marriages and dissolution of marriages among Christians or converts, the usages of the Roman Catholics have been duly respected, as in the Christian Marriage Act of 1872 (Sections 9, 10, 30, 32 65), and the Dissolution of Native Converts' Marriages Act of 1866, Section 34, which provides that "nothing contained in this Act shall be taken to render invalid any marriage of a native convert to Roman Catholicism, if celebrated in accordance with the rules, rites, ceremonies, and customs of the Roman Catholic Church". Such laws or usages as inflict on any person forfeiture of rights or property, and may be held in any way to impair or affect any right of inheritance, by reason of his renouncing or having been excluded from the communion of any religion or being deprived of caste, have been declared illegal by Act XXI of 1851.
The only apparent exception to the policy of equal favour to all religious communities is the modest endowment of the established religion by the maintenance of Protestant Anglican Bishops and civil chaplains, and churches under their control and their establishment. This arose from the fact that the officers of the East India Company, who established British dominion in India, consisted mainly of Anglican Protestants; and while the East India Company took good care to maintain old Hindu and Mohammedan religious edifices and the establishments of their ministers of worship which had been endowed and maintained by previous rulers, it was but natural that it should have provided for an ecclesiastical establishment needed for the majority of its officers. The Government of India Act, 1833 (3 and 4 Will. IV, c. 85), while authorizing the Anglican ecclesiastical institution provides for the appointment of two chaplains of the Church of Scotland on the establishment of each presidency. "Provided always that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the Governor-General in Council from granting from time to time to any sect, persuasion, or community of Christians, not being of the United Church of England and Ireland, or of the Church of Scotland, such sums of money as may be expedient for the purpose of instruction or for the maintenance of places of worship".
In the last respect the Government of India cannot be said to be partial to Christians as compared with non-Christians; since it spends large sums of State money over a number of non-Christian religious edifices and institutions in continuance and perpetuation of the practice of their predecessors in the government of the country. This is done either directly by periodical payments, or indirectly by means of inams or grant lands free from assessment. The Anglican ecclesiastical establishments had their origin in the ancient chaplaincies attached to the East India Company's factories in India.
The Roman Catholic religion comes in for rather an insignificant share of the State's bounty. Catholic troops are allowed the ministration of Catholic priests, but the State does not maintain them on anything like the scale extended to Anglican chaplains — the expenditure on Catholic military chaplains and their establishments, etc., for the whole of the Indian Army amounting to Rs. 284,000 per annum. (The rupee varies in value from 30 to 32 cents.) An instructive commentary on this part of the subject is furnished by the figures of expenditure in the Bombay Presidency. The Church of England costs Rs. 289,708 per annum; the Church of Scotland Rs. 34,435; while the Catholic Church receives only Rs. 10,374, or about equal to the salary of one Anglican senior chaplain. (The monthly allowance of Rs. 500 given to the archbishop is for statistical returns.) Compare this with the annual cash allowances given to non-Christian temples and mosques, amounting to not less than Rs. 255,000; in addition to the enormous revenues derived from lands presented to them by the State, on which the mere assessment (which of course is not recovered) comes to close on Rs. 900,000. In other words, the British Government spends on non-Christian temples and mosques over eleven lacs of rupees every year in the Bombay Presidency alone. Whether this obligation is inherited from its predecessors, and if so to what extent, is more than one can venture to say. In any case it throws out into bold relief the extreme sensitiveness of the British Government to the religious susceptibilities of its non-Christian subjects.
In regard to educational institutions, the British Government in India generously patronizes and aids with grants schools and colleges established by individuals or associations, whether religious or secular. It is important to note that the Government educational authorities never think of interfering with the arrangements made in these aided schools for imparting religious instruction. What the Universities Act (VIII of 1904) and the educational codes require is that the schools and colleges should be efficiently maintained for imparting secular instruction up to the standard required. The question of the religious instruction of the pupils, even in institutions maintained by purely religious bodies, is one with which Government does not concern itself. Teachers of religion are not paid by Government as such, but they are allowed perfect freedom in selecting the subjects of religious instruction, the time of the day chosen, and the method of treatment. One cannot help wondering why this policy of the Government in India, viz., of non-interference with religious teaching in aided schools, cannot be adopted in England as a solution of its educational difficulty.
The British Indian law not only recognizes not only corporate bodies with rights of property vested in the corporation apart from its individual members, but also the juridical persons or subjects called foundations. A Hindu or a Mohammedan can establish a religious or charitable institution by simply expressing his purpose and endowing it; and the State will give effect to the bounty or at least protect it. A formal trust is not required for this purpose (I.L.R., 12 Bombay, 247; 7 Allahabad, 178). Under the native system of government it was looked upon as a heinous offense to appropriate to secular purposes the estate that had once been dedicated to pious uses (W. and B.; H.L. 202, 817). The State, however, in its secular executive and judicial capacity habitually intervened to prevent fraud and waste in dealing with religious endowments. It was quite in accordance with the legal consciousness of the people that the Bombay Regulation XVII of 1827 gave to the collector a visitatorial power enabling him to enforce an honest and proper administration of religious endowments. The connection of the Government in its executive capacity with Hindu and Mohammedan foundations was brought to an end for Bombay by Bombay Act VII of 1863, and for Bengal and Madras by ACT XX of 1863. But the existence of sacred property and of the rights and obligations connected with it as objects of the jurisdiction of the civil courts is recognized by the laws just referred to. The law which protects the foundation against external violence guards it also internally against maladministration, and regulates, conformably to the central principle of the institution, the use of its augmented funds. It is only as subject to this control in the general interest of the community that the State through the lawcourts recognizes merely artificial persons. It guards property and rights as devoted, and thus belonging, so to speak, to a particular allowed purpose, only on a condition of varying the application when either the purpose has become impracticable, useless, or pernicious, or the funds have augmented in an extraordinary measure. This principle is recognized in the law of England as it was in the Roman law, whence indeed it was derived by the modern codes of Europe, and is applied to religious institutions in India. The courts can draw up schemes for the management of a religious endowment and its funds, when internal disputes arise among its administrators or those interested in it, giving, however, due consideration to the established practice of the institution and position of the priests or ministers of worship and of other persons connected with it (see Justice West's remarks in I.L.R., 12 Bom. 247). Religious endowments have been held not to be vested in the public at large, but in that part of the public for whose religious benefit they were originally established (I.L.R., 7 All. 178).
The Courts in India have always refused to recognize the authority of the parishioners or the congregations of a church founded by the people themselves or their ancestors, and devoted to religious worship according to the Roman Catholic ritual, to manage or divert its temporalities independently of their ecclesiastical superiors subject to the See of Rome, much less to interfere in its public worship or change the character thereof. Whatever be the rights of what are called "juntas" in certain parishes, the congregations are not deemed to have any legal existence independent of the vicar under the vicar Apostolic or bishop deriving his authority from the pope (see the decision of the Madras High Court of Feb., 1895, and the sub-judge's decision conformed to it, printed in the "History of the Diocese of Mangalore", pp. 213-218).
In Native States
In the Interpretation Act, 1889 (52 and 53 Vict. ch 63), the expression "India" is defined as meaning British India together with any territories of any native prince or chief under the suzerainty of Her Majesty, exercised through the Governor General of India or through any governor or other officer subordinate to the Governor General of India. The territory of the Native States is not British territory; nor are their subjects British subjects. But the sovereignty over them, as Sir Courtenany Ilbert in his "Government in India" aptly observes, "is divided between the British Government and their rulers in proportions which differ greatly according to the history and importance of the several States, and which are regulated partly by treaties or less formal engagements, partly by sanads or charters, and partly by usage". The British Government has undertaken to protect these states from external aggression. But Government "as the paramount power (a) exercises exclusive control over the foreign relations of the State; (b) assumes a general but a limited responsibility for the internal peace of the State; (c) assumes a special responsibility for the safety and welfare of the British subjects resident in the State". The last is enjoyed by delegation from Indian principalities expressed by treaty or based on tacit and long usage. Such delegated jurisdiction is exercised also on British railways running through protected states, in civil stations, cantonments, and residences within them. In these areas a large number of British-Indian enactments have been introduced by the Governor General of India under the operation of ACT XXI of 1879, the preamble of which runs as follows: — "Whereas by treaty, capitulation, agreement, grant, usage, sufferance and other lawful means, the Governor General of India in Council has power and jurisdiction within divers places beyond the limits of British India." It is by virtue of this legislative provision, that the Divorce Act (IV of 1809, as amended by Acts XI of 1889 and II of 1900), the Christian Marriage Act (XV of 1872, as amended by Acts II of 1891 and II of 1892), the Administrator General Act (II of 1874, as amended by Acts IX of 1890 and VI of 1900), Married Woman's Property Act (III of 1874), Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act (as amended by Act XVI of 1890) and Pilgrim Ships Act (XIV of 1895) have been made applicable to subjects of His Majesty within the dominions of Princes or States in India under the suzerainty of His Majesty.
The British Government also exercises jurisdiction in some Native States over the subjects or a class of the subjects, of such states, which is called residuary; that is, what remains outside the actual sovereign powers exercised by the native princes. When any Indian chief dies without an heir, or leaving a minor heir, or proves himself incapable of ruling, the British Government steps in and administers the affairs of the State through their agent, and exercises what has been named by Sir William Lee-Warner ("Protected Princes of India", p. 330), substituted jurisdiction. In such case it is the Governor-General of India or the local governors that conduct the administration, while the British Indian Legislatures are unable to extend their authority over the native subjects of Indian Princes or their territory. It is the prerogative of the Crown and not of the British-Indian Legislatures, whose enactments may be introduced only by the British executive authority by means of special orders. In the exercise of the substituted jurisdiction, as in Mysore during a long minority administration, a large number of Indian legislative enactments have been introduced in several Native States. The Native States administrations have also built up their legislative code on the model of the British- Indian legislation. Thus we shall find that there is no State in which the Indian Penal Code or some code like it has not been introduced with all the provisions relating to offences against religion (Sections 296-298, Indian Penal Code). But there is not a single Native State which can boast among its legislative achievements any enactments similar to the Caste and Religious Disabilities Act (XXI of 1851), which declares as illegal "such laws or usages as inflict on any person forfeiture of rights or property or may be held in any way to impair or affect any right of inheritance, by reason of his renouncing or having been excluded from the communion of any religion or being deprived of caste". It is a masterpiece of British statesmanship and policy of toleration and equal protection of all religions. That it should not find a place in the statute book of a State like Mysore governed on the highest liberal principles, in which a native Catholic of the State rose to the eminent position of a judge of the Mysore High Court and then that of a member of the Council of Administration, and in which Christianity thrives splendidly side by side with Hinduism and every other religion, is an enigma which outsiders are at a loss to understand. The agitation for the introduction of legislation along the lines of the British-Indian enactment in the large Native States of Mysore and Travancore has failed woefully.
But for this flaw in the administration of the Native States, it must be said to their credit that the principle of religious toleration has been generally respected by Indian princes and rulers. There have been some rare instances in which the British Government has found it necessary to interfere on the score of religious intolerance of a chief. One of the notable cases was the refusal of Lord Ripon to allow the Maharajah of Indore to restrict the freedom of religious worship of the Canadian missionaries within their own houses and in their own premises, a privilege which has extended to their converts and dependents, the native subjects of His Highness. Though there are native rulers, who have not surrendered a jot of their internal sovereignty over their native subjects, yet their very existence is tolerated and guaranteed on the condition of their maintaining a just and peaceful administration combined with toleration of all religions — if not equal protection of all religious bodies and sects. The latter condition of equal protection could not be exacted from Indian chiefs by a European Government which boasts of an established Church supported by the State at home — though it has practically kept itself free from such an entanglement in India. So every Indian State has its established church — generally that of the religion of the chief — maintained out of public funds. Many a ruler has at the same time extended his patronage to religious communities other than that to which he belongs by grants of land to their places of worship and nemnuks or allowances to their religious ministers. There are numerous Christian educational and charitable institutions in native States, which have received large grants-in-aid from Indian chiefs and darbars. Christian bishops and missionaries are generally treated with marked respect and receive every courtesy from darbars and their officers. Christian religious propaganda is, it is true, looked upon with disfavour by the people, especially those of higher castes of Hindus, and with the almost impassable barriers of caste or fanaticism the progress of Christianity is necessarily slow in India, and slower still in most Native States which support an established church. Foreign missionaries in some States suffer from the prohibition against their acquiring lands, but this prohibition does not apply to native Christians, in whose names any number of lands can be purchased for the use of missions. On the whole, Christian missionaries have to be thankful for the liberal principles on which native administrations are conducted under the guiding hand of the British Government.
Ecclesiastical Literature. — From the Catholic point of view nothing in the way of a complete general history of the Church in India has yet been written, though the materials for such a work are abundant and might easily be collected. They consist chiefly of the records and histories of the different religious orders, collections of official documents, monographs on particular missions and biographies of eminent missionaries — as well as occasional literature of various kinds. Some rather scanty general histories have been written by Protestants; but most of them are vitiated by a marked animus against Roman Catholicism, and have to be read with caution. The following is a somewhat promiscuous list of works, most of which are easily accessible: On the Thomas Christians. — MacKenzie, Christianity in Travancore (1901); Medlycott, India and the Apostle St. Thomas (1905); Ratlin, Historiæ Ecclesiæ Malabaricæ (Rome, 1745); Geddes, The Church of Malabar and the Synod of Diamper (1694); Philipos, The Syrian Church in Malabar (1869); Kennet, St. Thomas, Apostle of India (1882); Milne Rae, Syrian Church in India (1892); Howard, Christians of St. Thomas (1864). Concerning the Portuguese. — Lafitau, Déscouvertes et conquêtes des Portuguais (1533); O Chronista de Tissuary; Souza, Asia Portuguesa (1666); Du Barros, Deccadas (1777); Dellon, Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa; Fonseca, Sketch of the City of Goa (Bombay, 1878); Bullarium Patronatus Portugalliæ Regum (Lisbon, 1868); Cottineau, Historical Sketch of Goa (Madras, 1831); Torrie, Estatistica de India Portuguesa (Bombay, 1879); De Souza, Oriente Conquistada (1881); D'Orsey, Portuguese Discoveries, Dependencies and Missions (1893); Danvers, The Portuguese in India (1894); O Orienta Portuguez; Gouvea, Jornada de Arcebispo de Goa (1609). On the Jurisdiction Struggle. — Life of Hartmann (1868); Strickland, The Goa Schism (1853); Bussieres, Historia do Scisma Portuguez (Lisbon, 1854); a copious pamphlet literature dating from 1858 to 1893, all out of print.
Monographs and Biographies. — Lettres édifiantes et curieuses by M. (1780); Betrand, Mémoires historiques sur les Missions (1847); Idem, La Mission de Madure (1854); Idem, Lettres édifiant et curieuses (Madura, 1865); Saint Cyr, La Mission du Madure (Paris, 1859); Guchen, Cinquante ans de Madure (1887); Moore, History of the Mangalore Mission; Suan, L'Inde Tamoule (1901); Litteræ Annuaæ Soc. Jesu (1573, etc.); Rerum a Soc. Jesu in Oriente gestarum volumen (1574); Carrez, Atlas Geographicus S.J. (1900); Goldie, First Christian Mission to the Great Mogul (1897); La Mission de Vizagapatam (1890); Tenant, Christianity in Ceylon; Fortunat, Au pays des Rajas [Rajputana] (1906); Coleridge, Life and letters of St. Francis Xavier (London, 1886); Monumenta Xaveriana (Madrid, 1900); Cros, Vie de St. François Xavier (Toulouse, 1898); Anthony Marz, Life of A. Hartmann (1868); Suau, Mgr. Alexis Canoz (1891); Zaleski, Les Martyrs de l'Inde (1900). General and Sundry. — Maffæi, Historiarum Indicarum Libri (Cologne, 1593); De Houdt, Histoire Generale des Voyages (1753); Croze, Christianisme de l'Inde (1758); Tieffentaller-Benouilli, Description do l'Inde (1786); Paulinus a S. Bartholomæo, India orientalis christiana (Rome, 1794); Murray, Discoveries and Travels in Asia (1820); Hough, Christianity in India (1839); Mullbauer, Geschichte der Kath, Missionen in Ostindien (Freiburg, 1852); Marshall, Christian Missions (London, 1862); Werner, Atlas des Missions Catholiques (1886); Idem, Orbis Terrarum Catholicus (Freiburg, 1890); Smith, The Conversions of India (London, 1893); Strickland, The Jesuits in India (1852); Idem, Catholic Missions in S. India (1865); Fanthome, Reminiscences of Agra. A series of travellers' accounts since the days of Marco Polo; The Bombay Gazetteer, the Madras and other manuals passim; Hunter, Indian Empire, and passim in Imperial Gazetteer; Madras Catholic Directory each year from 1851 to 1909; Buchanan, Christian Researches in Asia (1811); Da Cunha, Chaul and Bassein (1876); The Origin of Bombay (1900); Steward, History of Bengal(1813); Calcutta Review, V., p. 242; Portuguese in North India; Ibid. (April, 1881), The Inquisition; Vindication of de Nobili in East and West (Dec., 1905); Edwardes, The Rise of Bombay (1902); The Bombay Examiner files 1907 and onwards for History of Bombay Vicariate; a large ecclesiastical bibliography will be found in D'Orsey, Portuguese Discoveries, p. 379 seq.
Secular Literature. — Allen, Narrative of Indian History (1909); Cyclopedia of India (London, 1908); Smith, Early History of India; Smith, Asoka in Rulers of India series; Hoernle and Stark, History of India; Dutt, Ancient and Modern India (Calcutta, 1889-1890); Poole, Medieval India in Story of the Nations series; Bernier, Travels, ed. by Constable; Rulers of India series (Clive, Warren Hastings, etc.); Malleson, History of the French in India (London, 1868); Mallison, Decisive battles of India; Hunter, Brief history of the Indian peoples; Joppen, Historical Atlas of India; Hunter, The Indian Empire (London, 1893); Hunter, Imperial Gazetteer of India (1910); Haug, Essays on the Parsis, ed., West; Weber, History of Indian Literature (London, 1892); Cust, Modern Languages of the East Indies (London, 1898); Dowson, Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, Geography, History and Literature (1879); Monier-Williams, Modern India and the Indians; Hodgson, Essays relating to Indian subjects; Bigandet, Life or Legend of Gaudama [Buddha] (London, 1880); Barth, Religions of India (London, 1882); Davies, Hindu Philosophy; Jacob, Manual of Hindu Pantheism; Davies, The Bhagavad-gita; Gough, The Philosophy of the Upanishads and ancient Indian metaphysics (London, 1882); Phayre, History of Burma (London, 1883); Burnell, The Laws of Manu; Hislip, Aboriginal tribes of Central Provinces (1866); Watson and Kaye, People of India, races and tribes (1868); Gleig, Life of Munro; Tenuent, Ceylon (London, 1860); Thornton, British India; Crooke, Popular religion and folklore of N. India (Allahabad, 1894); Wilkins, Hindu Theology; Geary, Burma after the conquest; Malcolm, Political history of India; Williams, Hinduism; Erskine, India under Baber and Humayun; DuBois, Hindu manners and customs (Oxford, 1899); Rhys-Davids, Buddhism (New York, 1896); Wilkins, Daily Life and work in India; Padfield, The Hindu at Home; Manning, Ancient and medieval India (London, 1869); Williams, Thought and life in India; Elphinstone, The History of India (1866); Wheeler, The History of India (4 vols., London, 1874-76); Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan; Risley, The People of India; Monier-Williams, Indian Wisdom (London, 1876); MacDonnell, Sanscrit Literature (London, 1900).
These files are public domain.
Obstat, Nihil. Lafort, Remy, Censor. Entry for 'India'. The Catholic Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/i/india.html. Robert Appleton Company. New York. 1914.
