From Criminals to Caretakers: the Salvation Army in India, 1882-1914
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FROM CRIMINALS TO CARETAKERS: The Salvation Army in India, 1882-1914 A dissertation presented by Emily A. Berry to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts December 2008 1 Abstract The British Empire of the late-nineteenth century represents the pinnacle of European imperialism. The nature of British colonialism was complicated, however, and nowhere more so than in India, England’s most prized colony. My dissertation examines the role of Protestant missionaries within this British imperial endeavor. Through a case study of the Salvation Army’s work in India, I illustrate the complexity of the relationship between missionaries and the colonial government. I address connections between the metropole and the peripheries of the Empire, while exploring the nature and influence of Protestant Christianity both at home and abroad. In England as well as India, the Salvation Army both reflected nineteenth-century British culture and challenged its norms of propriety, religious worship, and service. The Salvationists in India had a particularly complex and dynamic relationship with imperial authorities. Initially perceived as a threat to the peace of the Empire, the first missionaries in India faced legal persecutions, but over time the Salvationists actually became agents of empire. Through a variety of social service projects the organization proved its utility to imperial authorities and became the recipient of government subsidies. Most notably, the Salvationists collaborated with colonial police to create settlements for members of the so-called criminal tribes of India. My work emphasizes the influence of Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker on the Salvation Army’s complex interaction with the Indian Raj. He alternately led the Salvationists to both defy and support the British Empire, while continually focusing on the group’s primary goal of converting people to Christianity. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor Laura Frader for her guidance and support, Anna Suranyi for her helpful questions and encouragement, and Prasannan Parthasarathi for his expertise on South Asian history and his willingness to serve on my committee. Thanks to the Northeastern University History Department Faculty and Staff. I am grateful to have been a recipient of a Penna Travel Grant, which allowed me to complete this work with the addition of some excellent source material. Thank you to the staff of Snell Library, in particular to Rebecca Merz, as well as Judy and the folks in the Interlibrary Loan Department. I would also like to thank Gordon Taylor and the staff of The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre, whose archives provided a wealth of resources. Everyone there was very friendly and helpful. Thanks to Carrie Barlow and the facilities personnel at William Booth College. Thanks to the British Library and the staff of the Asian & African Studies room. In addition I would like to thank Yale University Libraries, and the New York Public Library. Most of all, I would like to express my appreciation to all of my friends and family who have given me their support and encouragement throughout this process. To Dan Giblin for his gift of a National Geographic which gave me the idea for this project, to Brooke Conti and Beth Yale for sharing the wisdom of their experiences, to Roger Green for his kind advice, and to all the many people who have been supportive of my work. I would especially like to thank my grandmother Lt. Col. Doris Berry who is truly an inspiration to me, and my parents Bill and Jane Berry who have always given me their love and support. Many thanks and much love to all. 3 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 Chapter I: India and the British Empire 17 Chapter II: Missionaries and the Raj 54 Chapter III: Religion and Victorian Society 82 Chapter IV: Origins of the Salvation Army 113 Chapter V: The Salvation Army ‘Invades’ India 160 Chapter VI: The Muktifauj Grows 205 Chapter VII: The Salvation Army and the Criminal Tribes 262 Conclusion 329 Bibliography 335 4 INTRODUCTION The nineteenth century witnessed the growth of British imperialism, and with the extension of Britain’s global empire came Christian missionaries. But exactly what role these preachers played in the colonial venture remains unclear. My dissertation contributes to the vast literature on British imperialism by addressing the question of the relationship between Protestant missionaries and the colonial government, thereby illuminating the ambiguous practices that made up British colonialism. My research focuses on the work of the Salvation Army in India during the period between 1882 and 1914, a location and time period which represent the pinnacle of the British Empire. The Salvation Army embodied nineteenth-century evangelical Protestantism, while at the same time displaying several unique aspects to its ministry both at home and abroad. Through a study of Salvationist missionary work, I examine the relationship between religion and imperial state power, as well as the interaction between Indian people and the European colonists, exploring the intersecting interests of religion, state policy, and indigenous culture. Ultimately, I aim to understand how the relationship between the Salvation Army and the British colonial government changed over time, as the Salvationists went from being viewed as disruptive and even threatening to the Empire to eventually collaborating with the imperial government on police projects. The context for this research is found in the large body of literature that has been published on the British Empire and India, which I will address in more detail in Chapters I and II. Works such as Bernard Porter’s The Lion’s Share, for example, have illustrated the complexity of the British imperial endeavor.1 And books such as Nicholas Dirks’ 1 Bernard Porter, The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism 1850-2004, 4th edition (Harlow,England: Pearson, 2004). 5 Castes of Mind, have examined the intersections of race, gender and social structure, paying particular attention to the nature and function of the caste system within Indian society. Dirks draws connections between colonialism and the rise of modernity.2 These and other similar works provided valuable context for my study, as I explore the Salvation Army’s work within the British Empire and their specific interactions with the Indian caste system. British imperial historiography also includes a significant number of texts on missionaries upon which my dissertation draws, while working to offer a new, unique contribution to this field. Jeffrey Cox’s work Imperial Fault Lines presents an examination of Christian missionaries in India during the period 1818-1940, focusing on the records of the largest British missionary group—the Church Missionary Society (CMS).3 More recently, Cox’s 2008 book The British Missionary Enterprise since 1700 offers one of the most detailed discussions of the efforts of Christian missionaries throughout the British Empire. Crucial to Cox’s analysis is his contention that, “Despite the centrality of Protestantism to British national and imperial identity, the historical relationship between religion and empire has been complicated and unpredictable.”4 My case study of the Salvation Army provides evidence to support Cox’s thesis, highlighting the complex role of Christianity in the British Empire and the manner in which the relationship between this particular church and the colonial state changed over time. Although a great deal has been written about British missionaries in general, with many focusing specifically on India, little has been said about the work of the Salvation 2 Nicholas Dirks, Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001). 3 Jeffrey Cox, Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity and Colonial Power, 1818-1940 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002), 1. 4 Jeffrey Cox, The British Missionary Enterprise since 1700 (New York: Routledge, 2008), 9. 6 Army in this regard. Peter van der Veer’s Imperial Encounters and Jeffrey Cox’s Imperial Fault Lines both refer to the Salvationists, but each includes only very brief examinations of the Salvation Army’s work in India. Van der Veer places great emphasis on the Salvationists’ connection to people defined as criminals, while Cox raises questions about the Salvation Army’s relation to imperial power. Cox argues that the Salvationists in India were “seduced by the lure of imperial power,” and their involvement with the British government actually detracted from the original intentions of their work, but he does not fully examine the issue in his book. 5 My research offers a more thorough understanding of the relationship between the Salvationists and the imperial government. I argue that within the space of colonial India, the Salvation Army pursued their agenda of winning converts, even when the British authorities disapproved of the Salvationists’ activities. Yet, over time the SA missionaries in India developed a mutually beneficial relationship with the colonial government, playing a new role as agents of empire even as they sought to fulfill their own religious goals. At the same time my case study of the Salvation Army in India represents a new contribution to understanding the role of gender within the SA. Recent histories of the Salvation Army, Andrew Mark Eason’s Women in God’s Army and Pamela Walker’s Pulling the Devil’s Kingdom Down, focus on the Salvation Army’s relationship to Victorian culture and discuss women’s instrumental role within the Army.6 Indeed, the Salvation Army has received much attention for the leadership opportunities it offered to 5 Cox, Imperial Fault Lines, 242. Peter van der Veer, Imperial Encounters: Religion and Modernity in India and Britain (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001). 6 Andrew M. Eason, Women in God's Army : gender and equality in the early Salvation Army (Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2003).