C HAPTER 29
CHRISTIANIZING THE UNTOUCHABLES
I. Growth of Christianity in India. II. Time and money spent in Missionary effort. III. Reasons for slow growth.
I
How old is Christianity in India ? What progress has it made among the people of India ? These are questions which no one who is interested in the Untouchables can fail to ask. The two questions are so intimately connected that the endeavour for the spread of Christianity would be hopeless if there were not in India that vast body of untouchables who, by their peculiar circumstances, are most ready to respond to the social message of Christianity.
The following figures will give some idea of the population of Indian Christians as compared with other communities in India according to the Census of 1931.
INDIA AND BURMA
Population by 1891 Census 1921 Census 1931 Census Increase# Religion Decrease—
Hindu 216,734,586 239,195,140 #10.4
Muslims 68,735,233 77,677,545 #13
Buddhist 11,571,268 12,786,806 #10.5
Sikh 3,238,803 4,335,771 #33.9
Primitive Religions 9,774,611 8,280,347 — 15.3
Christian 4,754,064 6,296,763 #32.5
Jain 1,178,596 1,252,105 # 6.2
Zoroastrian 101,778 109,752 # 7.8
Jews 21,778 24,141 #10.9
Unreturned 18,004 2,860,187 . . . .
Total . . 316,128,721 352,818,557 #10.6