Missionaries, the Hindu State and British Paramountcy in Travancore and Cochin, 1858-1936
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1 Missionaries, the Hindu State and British Paramountcy in Travancore and Cochin, 1858-1936 Kawashima Koji 'rCU'V'. i A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1994 ProQuest Number: 11010648 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010648 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 CONTENTS Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 5 List of Tables 6 Abbreviations 7 Glossary 8 Map: Travancore and Cochin in 1931 10 Introduction 11 1 Travancore State and British Paramountcy 32 2 The British Authorities and the Missionaries 92 3 Education: Compromise and Competition 13 8 4 Medicine: The 'Charitable State' and the Missionaries 189 5 The State, the Missionaries and the LowerCastes 240 6 Cochin: Different Developments in a Similar State 302 Conclusion 349 Appendix 359 Bibliography 3 63 3 ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to examine and explain changes in the triangular relationship between Christian missionaries, an Indian princely state and the British colonial authorities. It argues that, in the second half of the nineteenth century, the missionaries and the self-declared Hindu state of Travancore maintained a largely favourable relationship despite the clear differences in their respective religious positions. For its vigorous efforts towards 'modernization', Travancore needed the educational and medical activities of the missionaries. At the same time, the Madras government demanded the abolition of caste disabilities and supported similar demands from the missionaries. However, the situation changed significantly with the emergence of Hindu revivalism and communal movements in the late nineteenth century. The state as well as the higher castes became alarmed at the conversion of large number of the lower castes to Christianity. The British authorities, faced with the rise of Indian nationalism, became much more sensitive to religious feelings in Travancore and sought to avoid intervening in social and religious matters as far as possible, though, by contrast, intervention in Cochin remained, for various reasons, more active. In this way, the missionaries practically lost support from the British government. Instead, they were obliged to pay more attention 4 to the Maharaja and his government, which adopted various anti-missionary policies in the 1890s and 1900s. Nevertheless, the Travancore government still needed missionary educational and medical activities as well as their strong influence over the low-caste Christians who became increasingly assertive. But in the 1930s, their relationship became strained once more. The missionaries, who could not expect any substantial help from the British authorities, had almost no choice but to accept the situation. In this way, the Travancore state, while utilizing missionary activities, largely succeeded in preventing Christian influence from expanding further. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my research stay in India, I was helped by many people. I am particularly grateful to K.K. Kusuman, P.K. Michael Tharakan and M. Kabir, who gave me kind help and advice. In London, the comments of Peter Robb and Avril Powell were very helpful, and I wish to thank them. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to Shigematsu Shinji, Yanagisawa Haruka, Nagasaki Nobuko and Nakazato Nariaki, who gave me advice, comments and encouragements. I am greatly indebted to the Yoshida Scholarship Foundation and the Morita International Scholarship Foundation for their generous support, which enabled me to study in London and to do research in India. I also wish to thank the staff of the Kerala State Archives, the Kerala Legislature Library in Trivandrum, the National Archives of India in New Delhi, the Oriental and India Office Collections, the SOAS Library, the Salvation Army International Heritage Centre in London and the libraries of the University of Birmingham, the University of Kerala, the United Theological College in Bangalore, the Centre for Development Studies in Trivandrum and the CMS College in Kottayam. However, my greatest debt is to my supervisor, Professor David Arnold. Without his patience and encouragement as well as his comments and criticisms, I could never have completed this thesis. I would like to express my deep-felt gratitude to him. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Kawashima Masue, who has always supported me with her love. 6 TABLES 1 Educational Institutions of the LMS, 1866 2 Expenditure on Education, 1864-1878 3 Number of Aided Schools, 1870-1891 4 Number of Government Schools and Aided Schools, 1875-1894 5 Number of Pulaya and Paraya Pupils, 1910-1921 6 Number of Patients Treated in the Government and LMS Institutions, 1870-1931 7 Number of Patients Treated in the Aided Christian Institutions in 1896-97 8 Castes and Communities Treated in the General Hospital in 1879-80 9 LMS Medical Missionaries in Travancore, 1838-1937 10 Income for 1875 of the LMS Medical Mission, Travancore 11 Income for 1914 of the LMS Medical Mission, Travancore 12 Government Expenditure on Medical Institutions, 1910-1925 13 Communal Co-operative Societies in Travancore in 1932-33 14 Major Castes and Communities in Travancore and Cochin, 1911 15 The Percentage of Pupils Educated in the Government Schools in Travancore and Cochin, 1900-1931 16 Running Bodies of the Aided Schools in Cochin and the Number of Pupils 17 Number of Patients Treated in Government Institutions, 1870-1931 18 Communities of the Patients Treated in the Government Medical Institutions in Cochin State in 1888-89 7 ABBREVIATIONS AGG Agent to the Governor-General CAR Cochin Administration Report Ch.Sec. Chief Secretary CMS Church Missionary Society CMSA Church Missionary Society Archives CRR Crown Representative Records CWMA Council for World Mission Archives FR Fortnightly Report of the AGG G.O. Government Order KSA Kerala State Archives LMS London Missionary Society MPP Madras Political Proceedings NAI National Archives of India NNR Native Newspaper Reports OIOC Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library PSP Political and Secret Proceedings Sec. Secretary SMPAP Sri Mulam Popular Assembly Proceedings SNDP Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana (Yogam) TAR Travancore Administration Report TDC Trivandrum District Committee, London Missionary Society TGG Travancore Government Gazette TL Travancore Letters, London Missionary Society TR Travancore Reports, London Missionary Society 8 GLOSSARY agraharam : a village or street resided by the Brahmins. Arattu : a bathing festival, in which the image of the Sri Padmanabha was carried to the sea by the Maharaja. asan : a teacher in an indigenous school. avarna : castes outside the varna system. Ayurveda : Hindu system of medicine. Bhagavati : the name of a war goddess and tutelary deity of Travancore and other dynasties. Bhajana Mathom : a place of worship built for the lower castes by the Cochin government. devaswom : religious endowments and property belonging to temples. Dewan : the chief minister. kuppayam : a jacket which was worn largely by Syrian Christians and Muslims. Hiranyagarbham : a ceremony of rebirth, which gave the Maharaja the status of twice-born. Illam : the houses mainly of the Nambudiri Brahmins. makkattayam : a system of patrilineal inheritance. Mariamman : the goddess who was supposed to cause smallpox. marumakkattayam : a system of matrilineal inheritance which prevailed in Kerala. Murajapam : a sexennial ceremony in which Travancore State feasted Malayala Brahmins. nadu : the territory of a chieftain. naduvazhi : the ruler of a nadu. Padmanabha : another name for Vishnu: the tutelary deity of Travancore. padiyettam : a ceremony in which a new Maharaja was legitimized as Padmanabha Dasa, a servant of the deity. punja land : land lying submerged in water. savarna : caste Hindus. swamydroham : doing mischief to Padmanabha, or criticizing the Maharaja or the ruling family of Travancore. tindal : caste pollution. Tulapursadanam, or Tulabharam : a ceremony in which the Maharaja was weighed and an equal weight of gold was distributed among Brahmins. uttupura : a free feeding house for Brahmins, uriyam : forced labour demanded by the state, vaidyan : Ayurvedic practitioner. 10 Calicut Travancore and Cochin in 1931 50 100 km 50 miles / Kunnankulam / ,Trichur \ Madras Presidency COCHIN STATE i \ c $ ^ .v Ernakulam % British Cochi n.C*\Co\•Trippunithura Arabian Sea i i • Vaikam Kottayam Tiruvalla Alleppey Mavelikara 0 Adur Bombay Shencottah INDIA Attingal Madras i Trivandrum Neyyattinkara ° Attur Tittuvilei I, v Neyyur Nagercoilf& ° a \ Kottar - V f '.Comorin 11 INTRODUCTION This study seeks to show how, during the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a self-declared Hindu state changed itself into a modern state, how the state used Christian missionaries, who had a completely different religious position from itself, during the process of state- building, and how the British authorities were concerned in this process. The main focus of the dissertation