What Motivated the Early
Christian Health Missions?
Anatomy of Transformation in
India
Dr.Vinod Shah
Presented at CCIH Annual Conference, May 29, 2005
Factors that affected
the health “caring”
Culture.
Role-modeling
Caring &
Relationship
Time
orientation
Low trust versus
High trust
Health
Subjective
Vs
Objective
cultures
Body soul
dissociation
Supremacy
Of family &
Corruption
Women’s
Disempowered
status
Women’s disempowered status
I
 Pregnant
women were not allowed
access to high caste practitioners
 Had
to access low caste women
traditional dais
 Dais
were illiterate women
The eldest son of the family pays his last respects to his
deceased father before completing the customary rituals and
putting torch to the funeral pyre.
Erotic sculptures abound
& temple prostitution was
one of the results
Decorated Sati from a
Hero-stone (Mahasati
Stone)
TBA

Donkey ride for pregnant women

Massaging/kneading the abdomen

Pulling on the cord

Cow dung as lubricant

Took responsibility for female-feticide and
disposal of body
No “caring culture”
 Lepers
were burnt or buried alive
 Sick in an “epidemic” were left to die
 Female children were sold to buy
food during an epidemic
 Mentally retarded, handicapped were
chained to trees
 Sick had no recourse to help
Caring not role modeled: Religion
sans caring-II
If I am at prayer…I will not leave
my prayer and go to help
someone…I don’t think it is
important.
If I leave my god and my karma
and help someone then my god
will get angry…my karma will be
lost…
Did god role model healing?
There is no such example of
God role modeling healing
IMPORTANCE OF THE BODY & THE
BODY SOUL DISSOCIATION-III
THE JUDEO CHRISTIAN CONTEXT
 The
Judeo Christian view would think
of the person as one “whole”
 The
body had intrinsic dignity
however deformed or diseased.
Even in death, the body needed to
be respected
One of the most difficult austerities a
practitioner can attempt is to hold his
arm upright in the air for twelve years.
It is said that if successfully completed,
the practice results in the attainment of
supernatural powers
Perhaps the most well known
austerity is lying on a bed of
sharp nails to overcome the
limitations of the physical
body.
Offerings are made to a mediator who is buried up to the
neck in sand. He suppresses the sensations of the flesh
while attempting to free his mind through meditation.
High and low trust societies
SENSE OF COMMUNITY-IV
IMPACT ON HEALTH/ ECONOMICS
ACCORDING TO FRANCIS FUKUYOMA.
Author of book on Trust
THE ORTHODOX INDIAN
CONTEXT
LOW TRUST SOCIETIES
LESS WEALTH CREATION
LESS SPONTANEOUS
SOLITARY WORSHIP
SOCIALIBILITY
FAMILY BUSINESS ONLY
LESS SOCIAL CAPITAL
Cont.
Subjective culture vs Objective
Low O/S ratio-V



We believe that each
organ of the body is
influenced by some deity.
When we deviate from
the path of religion …the
gods leave our side.
This is why we fall sick.
Subjective cultures versus
Objective cultures
Subjective
Objective
Changing standards
Absolutes
Non-shared
standards
Kings/Leaders above
Standards
Oral tradition;
scripture not rooted
in history
Widely shared
standards
Standards above
Kings/Leaders
Documentary
tradition; rooted in
history
Subjective cultures do not support
scientific development because
 Interpret
 Access
reality subjectively
knowledge subjectively
 Subjective
gender
attitudes in justice and
Indian religions…
 In
their fundamentals were
subjective till Global influences
reached them.
 WASAV
(Widely Accepted & Shared
Absolute Values) characterize an
objective culture and needed for
development.
 Polytheistic
idolatry does not produce
a WASAV culture.
Family versus truth-VI
A father and a
husband is like a
God
Country Rank
Country
2004 CPI Score*
Confidence Range**
Surveys Used***
1
Finland
9,7
9.5 - 9.8
9
2
New Zealand
9,6
9.4 - 9.6
9
3
Denmark
9,5
9.3 - 9.7
10
Iceland
9,5
9.4 - 9.7
8
5
Singapore
9,3
9.2 - 9.4
13
6
Sweden
9,2
9.1 - 9.3
11
7
Switzerland
9,1
8.9 - 9.2
10
8
Norway
8,9
8.6 - 9.1
9
9
Australia
8,8
8.4 - 9.1
15
10
Netherlands
8,7
8.5 - 8.9
10
11
United Kingdom 8,6
8.4 - 8.8
12
12
Canada
8,5
8.1 - 8.9
12
13
Austria
8,4
8.1 - 8.8
10
Luxembourg
8,4
8.0 - 8.9
7
15
Germany
8,2
8.0 - 8.5
11
16
Hong Kong
8,0
7.1 - 8.5
13
Family values & corruption
o
Scale of familism (World Values
survey code book 1994 & World Bank
statistics)
o
Correlates well with the CPI.(Regression
analysis)
o
Tribalism- Africa and India
What did the Christian Medical missionaries do?
Women’s
transformation
Transformation of
Ritualistic Hinduism
& Jainism
Sustainability
of
transformation
Women’s health
 Women
medical missionaries ushered
in “caring” for women
 Women in India did not access
hospitals
 Only home visits allowed and that
only by women doctors
Maharani’s locket
 Elizabeth
Bielby-1880
 Maharani of Panna
 Locket message to
The Queen
“The women of India
Suffer greatly”
SOME POINEER WOMEN MEDICAL MISSIONARIES IN INDIA
During the late 19th Century and early part of 20th Century
Name of Women
Affiliation to Mission
Place of work
1. Clara Swain
Year of
Arrival
1870
American Methodist Mission
Bareilly, UP.
2. Sara Seward
1871
American Presbyterian
Allahabad, UP
Mission
3. Seeyle
1871
Women’s Missionary
Society of America
Calcutta, WB
4. Sarah Norriss
1873
American Board of Medical Women
---
5. Rose Greenfield 1875
Society for female Education
in the east, UK
6. Elizebeth Bielby 1876
Zenana Bible and Medical Mission
UK.
Lucknow, UP
Ludhiana, Punjab
Name of Women
Year of
Arrival
Affiliation to Mission
Place of work
7. Ms Hewlett
1877
England Zenana Mission
Punjab
8. Ellen Mitchell
1878
American Baptist Board
Burma
9. Fanny Butler
1880
Church of England
Jabalpur, Mp.
10. Ida Faye
1881
American Baptist Mission
Nellore, AP.
11. Anna Kugler
1883
12. Elizabeth Beatty 1884
Lutheran Mission, US
Guntur, AP.
14. Jessie Carelton 1887
United Church of Canadian
Mission
United Presbyterian Church
of America
American Presbyterian Board
15. Matilda
Machphail
1887
Free Church of Scotland
Madras, TN
16. Ottoman
1890
Baptist Missionary Society
Ganjam, Orissa
13. Mana White
1886
Indore, MP.
Siakot, (Jammu Border)
Ambala, Punjab.
Name of Women
Year of
Arrival
Affiliation to Mission
Place of work
17. Edith Brown
1893
Society for Female Education
in the East, UK
Ludhiana, Punjab
18. Alene Calkins
1895
American Friends Mission
Chhatrapur, UP.
19. Pearl Chute
1896
Canadian Baptist Mission
Akkividu, AP.
20. Ida S Scudder 1900
Arcot American Mission
Vellore, TN.
21. Gertude Hulet 1904
Canadian Baptist Mission
Vuyyuru, AP.
22. Charlotte Pring 1915
Godavari Delta Mission
Narsapur, AP.
23. Catherine
American Methodist Episc.
Board
Jagadalpur, MP.
?
24. Annie Mackay
1926
Free Church of Scotland
Lakhnadon, MP.
25. Katherine
Lehmann
1928
?
Renigunta, AP.
Ida Scudder
 Not
a medical college but the
kingdom of God
(1918)
Catherine-Methodist churchredefined access
 One
Dr Catherine from the Methodist
church in the US travelled by
•
•
•
•
•
Ship for 6 months to Bombay
To Raipur by train for a week
Horse by several days to access the
mission station called Bastar
Methodist hospital built in 1892.
Largest Methodist congregation in India
Transformation of women

The highest number of women doctors in
the world
India is a huge “nurse factory”
 1947-95% of all nurses were Christian!


All traceable to the women’s medical
colleges and nursing schools established
by the missionaries
Ancient India did not have a culture
of “care”
By a “caring culture” I mean formalized
caring eg. Orphanages/hospitals
 Religion was divorced from “loving your
neighbor”
 No hospitals existed except during the
time of King Asoka in 2nd century BC
 Arya Vaidya Shalas existed for outpatient
care for the privileged

In what was a caring “void”
 Christian
•
•
•
•
Medical missionaries
ushered in a culture of care
The first hospital (Royal
hospital,Goa)in 1514 AD and then
thousands afterwards..
Orphanages…home for widows…
Sanatoria for TB, leprosy homes and
hospitals
Programs for epidemic care
Social work in India…


The kind of missionary
work which we see in
Christianity …that kind
of this did not exist in
India for a very long
time.
Now the social work
being done in
India…those going out
to help and serve
others is all because of
missionary & global
influences.
By 1940 AD….
 There
were 2000 Christian hospitals
in India
 Close
to 40% of all beds were made
up of Christian hospitals
 TB
sanatoria and leprosy institutions
were predominantly Christian
Dr. Alexander Duff 1806-78
Pioneer missionary educationist
 English education can have a
transformative effect on the Indian society
 Scripture education introduced but made
optional
 “Downward filter theory”-working with
High castes
 Schools and colleges -Calcutta, Madras
and Bombay

Christians ushered in a culture of
“care”
 Started
many NGO’s that looked at
specific needs of the poor and
provided succor
 Role
modeled caring
 Taught
“caring”
Welfare-Social capital did not exist
 The
only safety net for the poor was
o
The joint family
o
Individual philanthropy and
o
The caste system
The concept of the voluntary
sector….
 Indian
culture did not have this
concept of “volunteerism”
 “Activism”
for change was also not a
part of Indian culture. (Barring a few
exceptions no activists for social
change)
The concept of the ”voluntary”
sector…..



Christian missionaries pioneered the NPO
and NGO sector (Pande 1967,Terry 1983)
1810-1947 This time saw the emergence
of major Christian voluntary sector church
based and non-church based. (NGO’s)
Hospitals, Schools, Orphanages and other
welfare institutions flourished.
As a result …1825 onwards


Many Hindu bourgeoisie who studied in
English medium schools
Started social reform organizations for the
purpose of “caring”
•
Care of widows & remarriage
•
Care of orphans & preventing child
marriage
The many champions of “caring”
 Some
were Christians
 Some
liked “Christian” values but
were not Christians
 Most
were provoked by the Christian
gospel to “care” but remained Hindus
Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774-1833)
founder of “Brahmo Samaj”
A Hindu reformer and visionary,
Roy is considered by many
as the father of modern India.
Oil Painting by Atul Bose
Raja Ram drew inspiration from
William Carey
“The
first feminist”
Rishi Dayanand Saraswati 1824-83



Founded Arya Samaj
Spoke against idol-worship, casteism and
female subjugation
Assassinated in 1883 AD
The prime object of the arya samaj is to do good;
that is to promote physical, social &spiritual good
for everyone
Satyasodhak Samaj- Jyotirao
Phule-1875
Educated in “The Scottish mission
school”
Became a great educationist
Started “caring”institutions
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
 From
1854-55 he single-handedly
wedged a battle against the
extremist of the Hindu society and
insisted in the implementation of the
Widow-Remarriage Act in 1856.
As a result Indian religions were
challenged to reform
Vivekananda brought in a
new understanding of
Hinduism
Indian reformer





Vivekananda 1863-1902
Father was given to reciting from the Bible-for
amusement!
Studied in Presidency college-Calcutta
Later in Scottish church college studied English
literature and western logic which brought into
sharp focus the short comings of Indian society
Was influenced by Raja Ram Mohan Roy also.
Vivekananda
 He
elevated the status of the service
of fellow beings to the level of real
worship of God. (PS Kamanant)
 Established
Ramakrishna mission
which began caring
Ramakrishna mission was a
reformist reaction to the Christian
“caring”

CalcuttaRamakrishna M. Institute of
CultureAdvaitaAdvaita Ashram CalcuttaSRMSri
Ramakrishna Math
CalcuttaNarendrapurRamakrishna Mission College
UdbodhanMother's HouseVidyapithRamakrishna
VidyapithNew DelhiRamakrishna
MissionRajkot/GujaratRamakrishna Mission
AshramChennaiRamakrishna Math Mylapore
ChennaiRamakrishna Mission
AshramItanagarRamakrishna Mission Hospital
APVidyapithRamakrishna Vidyapith
ChennaiChengalpattuRamakrishna Mission Tamil
NaduMaduraiRamakrishna Math
CoimbatoreRamakrishna Mission Vidyalaya
Ramakrishna mission locale

BangaloreVivekananda
AshramKochiRamakrishna Math,
KeralaRanchiRamakrishna
MissionKaladiRamakrishna Advaita Ashram
KeralaPuneRamakrishna Math and
MissionHydrabadRamakrishna
MathVaranasiRamakrishna M.- Home of
Service RKMRamakrishna
VidyashalaKayamkulamSri Ramakrishna
Ashram, KeralaJharkhandTB Sanatorium RanchiMangaloreRamakrishna Mission
Ashram
Vivekananda
 Swami
Vivekananda wrote in one of
his letters :
 A hundred thousand men and
women, will go over the length and
breadth of the land, preaching the
Gospel of salvation, the Gospel of
help, the Gospel of social raisingup -- the Gospel of equality.
Karsondas Mulji-1832-71
Social Reformer, Educationist, Writer,
Pamphleteer
 While in Elphinstone college….
influenced by missionary John Wilson

The Primitive Religion of the Hindus
and the Present Heterodox Opinions
in his journal led to the famous
Maharaja Libel
 Widow remarriage-helped many

Micheal Madusudandas
English and Bengali writer




1824-1876 AD- became a Christian
Both ‘The Captive Lady’ and ‘Visions of the Past’
were written under the pen name Timothy.
Editor of “The Hindu Patriot”. He composed
Bengali plays such as ‘Sharmistha’, ‘Ekey Bole
Savyata’, ‘Buro Shaliker Ghare Ro’,
‘Krishnakumari’ and ‘Padmabati’.
In most of his plays, he criticized the lack of
“caring” present in the society.
Dadabhai Naoroji 1824-1917
 Grand
Old Man of India
 Studied in Elphinstone collegeinfluenced by Dr Wilson
 Went from door to door
recruiting girl students
 Freedom fighter-concerned
for women
 Member of the house of
commons
Initially Jains were into hospitals for
birds and animals only
 Jain
Bird hospital in Old Delhi
 Gaushalas are “old age homes” for
cows
Jains now have many hospitals
Bombay- Nanavati hospital, Sarvoday
hospital, Matunga hospital, Lilavati
hospital, Cardiac hospital in Matunga are
all Jain.
 Surat Mahavir hospital is Jain
 Ahmedabad Vadilal Sarabhai hospital is
Jain.
 Sri AmarJain hospital- Jaipur
 Bhagwan MahavirJain Hospital-Bangalore

In personal conversation with Jains
 We
(Jains) will not survive as a
religion unless we begin to care like
the missionaries..
 Now
Jains go abroad and raise
money from the US and the UK for
their hospitals and projects
Emergence of Gandhian NGO’s
 From
1947 to 1960 onwards many
new Gandhian NGO’s were started
Hindu Kusht Nivaran Sangh was
started at the behest of Gandhi.
 “Shame
on us…why should
missionaries… (Gandhi)
Mushrooming of NGO’s…
 Church
related and Christian
voluntary organizations led the way
for the mushrooming of NGO’s
 Though
not all the NGO’s are into
welfare more than 100,000 NGO’s
are into some form of caring
Other
caring
NGO’s
Ripple effect
Non-Xian
hospitals
Xian NGO’s
Advocacy
Restructured
Hinduism
Activists
Transformation
Doctors &
Nurses
Women’s
status
Christian
Hospitals
Training
Man power for
mission
Disaster 1947 onwards..
 700
Protestant hospitals in India
 Many
 No
Indian trained D & N
visionary leaders!!
 400
Xian hospitals closed in 40 years
Paradigm shift
Missionary failure- Developed programs
but not people
1 RUNNING PROGRAMS
PEOPLE BUILDING
2 Programs produces visible quick Harder and longer process
impact
involving several years
3 Anyone with skill can run
programs
Requires rapport with people
and will not happen unless you
are a authentic human being
4 Requires lot of capital for
infrastructure specially in the
healing ministry
Does not require large capital
for infrastructure
5 Not sustainable after the pioneer Long term – very sustainable &
has retired
greater impact
6 All about performing tasks or a
task
All about creating a visionary
Paradigm shift
Programme Development to
People Development - 2




Jesus – “Follow me and I will make you fishers
of men”.
Development of people more strategic than
programs.
Budgets do not reflect this – more used for
programs.
Learning from history – Disaster in India
Medical Missions - Custodians
of the Culture of Care
3 Types of Caring
– Commercial caring
– Professional caring
– Christian caring
India
West
Professional
Christian
Caring
Either way Christian caring is an endangered phenomenon