Christianity, Conversion and Caste: Indigenization in Colonial Andhra

The history of Christianity in South India has always been an interesting theme for scholars across disciplines. Due to the peculiarity of the society, especially the caste system, Christianity has been conceived differently by the populace. The higher castes considered it as the religion of the ‘outcastes’, while Christianity was ‘liberating’ for the Dalits. Accordingly, mass movements happened in the Telugu-speaking Madras Presidency (or colonial Andhra Pradesh), and the depressed classes embraced the religion wholeheartedly. However, being influenced by the spirit of nationalism and an urge to liberate the country, the Christian converts decided to add ‘Indianness’ to Christianity. This led to the indigenization of the church and the establishment of the ‘Indian Church’. However, this process failed to cut the mustard in terms of liberation, and the Dalit converts ended up being ‘doubly marginalized’. In this light, this article will try to show how indigenization had pros and cons, especially the continuation of caste discrimination that plagued the church administration and the Dalits.