Nidān Vol. 4, No 2, December 2019
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Nidān: International Journal for Indian Studies ISSN: 2414-8636 Vol. 4. No. 2. December, 2019 Published at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Editors P. Pratap Editor-in-Chief Emeritus University of KwaZulu- Kumar Professor Natal, South Africa Deepra Associate Researcher Center for the History Dandekar Editor of Emotions, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany Ajaya K Sahoo Associate Associate University of Editor Professor Hyderabad, India Editorial Board Members Member Institution Email Butler University, Chad Bauman [email protected] USA University of Michel Clasquin [email protected] South Africa Arun Jones [email protected] Emory University University of Goolam Vahed [email protected] KwaZulu-Natal Concordia T.S. Rukmani University, [email protected] Canada Knut A. University of [email protected] Jacobsen Bergen, Norway Universität Martin Bauman Luzern, [email protected] Switzerland Melbourne Purushottama University, [email protected] Bilimoria Australia Yoshitsugu Tenri University, [email protected] Sawai Japan University of Ramdas Lamb [email protected] Hawaii, USA University of Kim Knott [email protected] Lancaster, UK Corinne Nazereth College, [email protected] Dempsey USA Antoinette University of [email protected] DeNapoli Wyoming, USA Cleveland State Anup Kumar [email protected] University, USA Member Institution Email University of Brij Maharaj KwaZulu-Natal, [email protected] SA Centre for South Mathieu Asian Studies, [email protected] Claveyrolas Paris ISSN 2414-8636 © 2019 Copy Right Reserved: Nidān: International Journal for Indian Studies • Nidān is an international journal which publishes contributions in the field of Indian Studies • Articles published in Nidān have abstracts reflected in the Index to South African Periodicals • Nidān is now distributed only through electronic media as a freely accessed journal from its main website: http://nidan.ukzn.ac.za . It is also published from https://journals.ukzn.ac.za/index.php/Nidan • Articles published in Nidān are also available on Sabinet : http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_nidan.html • This periodical is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database® (ATLA RDB®), http://www.atla.com • The Journal is deposited in the National Library of South Africa Peer Review Policy All papers published in this journal are subjected to rigorous double blind peer review by two independent scholars in the field. Authors’ Guidelines Please see for detailed instructions on our website at http://nidan.ukzn.ac.za Submission of Papers Authors are requested to submit papers to the editor-in-chief by email as attachment in MS word format at: [email protected] Disclaimer Article/papers published in this journal are entirely the views of the authors. The editors and members of the editorial board are not responsible in any way for the views expressed by the authors. Table of Contents The Reformative and Indigenous Face of the Indian Pentecostal Movement Allan M. Varghese 1 “Tell Us This Story from the Beginning”: Genre, Dialogue, and Cultural Translation in Thomas Stephens’s Kristapurāṇa Annie Rachel Royson 21 The Strengths and Limitations of Bede Griffith’s Christian Advaita in Tamil Nadu Joshua B. Kulak 43 ‘Both Truly Christian and Truly Indian:’ A 20th century example of Indianised Christianity in the visions of E. Stanley Jones Nadya Pohran 61 In the Intersection of the Ecclesial Boundaries: An Ecumenical Exploration of Benjamin Schultze for the Sake of Madras Mission Peter Vethanayagamony 83 Subaltern Counterpublics: Dalits and Missionary Christianity in Kerala P. Sanal Mohan 97 From Hindu-Christian Contexts to Muslim-Christian Solidarities: Transreligious Activism and the Secular Servants of God (Khudai Khidmatgar) Timothy S. Dobe 119 Book Reviews Sahoo, Sarbeswar. (2018) Pentecostalism and Politics of Conversion in India. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press. Reviewed by Robert Stephens 142 Dandekar, Deepra. (2019) The Subhedar’s Son. A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian Conversion from Nineteenth-century Mahrashtra. New York: Oxford University Press. Reviewed by Goolam Vahed 151 Editor’s Note Once again, it gives me great joy to release the December 2019 (Vol. 4. No. 2) of Nidan. We have continued our theme on Indian Christians. In this issue, we have focused on why Pentecostal Christianity matters in India, we have dug deeper in to the cultural translation of the Bible in the former Portuguese Goa, we have explored how Indian Christianity could entrench itself through inculturation, and how that inculturation could happen through the adoption of the age old Ashram tradition of India. While these issues focus on Christianity in the broader context of Hindu culture, we also focused on the internal issues that matter to the Indian Christian church as a whole. In this regard, we focused on some precursors to ecumenical relations within Indian Christianity. But there are even broader issues that impact on Indian Christians—persistence of caste, the minority religions and the issue of “foreign religions” and the possibilities for Christian-Muslim solidarity in India. We have also included two book reviews—one on Pentecostalism in India, and the other on the 19th century conversion of Brahmins to Christianity. I hope these issues will tweak scholarly interest and pursue them further. For now we are proud to initiate a coherent discussion on these ongoing issues that matter to the broader Indian society. I wish to thank Dr. Deepra Dandekar for her phenomenal hard work in putting these papers together for the 2019 volume. I thank all the authors, peers who reviewed the papers, and all the technical staff who helped publish the journal. Finally, I thank the readers for their continued support for the journal. P. Pratap Kumar Editor-in Chief Nidān, Volume 4, No. 2, December 2019, pp. 1-20 ISSN 2414-8636 The Reformative and Indigenous Face of the Indian Pentecostal Movement Allan Varghese Asbury Theological Seminary [email protected] Abstract: The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is the most significant indigenous Pentecostal movement in India that has attracted scholarly attention. However, there seems to be a gap in exploring the relationship between IPC and the Syrian Christian tradition in Kerala. Therefore, this article attempts to fill that scholarly gap by arguing that the emergence of IPC was a gradual progression of an ongoing ecclesial reformation of the late 18th century among Syrian Christians in Kerala. While the IPC stands as a renewal and radical movement that was next in line for reforming the Syrian Christian Tradition of Kerala (one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world), it was also partly influenced by a historic Syrian consciousness, as native Pentecostal leaders continually insisted on their autonomy and independence from western, missionary leadership. This resulted in IPC becoming the largest indigenous movement in India. The following article presents these arguments by tracing the historical path from a reformative perspective along with a careful analysis of the life of K. E. Abraham. Even though the formation of IPC was a collective effort of numerous national Pentecostal workers, K. E. Abraham (1899-1974) was its chief exponent, who is often closely associated with the organization. Abraham’s life echoes the various ecclesial reformative teachings that led to his Pentecostal belief, subsequently prompting him to lead the Pentecostal movement, The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) as a renewal, radical and indigenous movement of the Syrian Christian tradition of Kerala. Key Words: Indian Pentecostal Church of God, Thomas Christianity, Kerala, Indigenous, Reformative, K. E. Abraham, Indian Pentecostalism. The Ecclesial Reformation of Thomas Christians in Kerala and the Formation of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is considered the largest indigenous Pentecostal movement in India and its indigenous nature has been a matter of study 1 Varghese / The Reformative and Indigenous Face for numerous scholars 1 (Bergunder, 2008; Hedlund, 2005a; Pulikottil, 2009; & Abraham, 2000). The emergence of such a movement before India’s political independence in the early 20th century prompted scholars to name it “an important expression of ‘Christian nationalism’” (Hedlund, 2005a: 217). However, beyond the political standpoint, as one considers the historical consciousness of Kerala 2 Christianity, IPC stands as a culmination of an ongoing ecclesial reformation that took flight among the Thomas Christians of Kerala in the 19th century. This paper examines the historical and theological progressions through a reformative lens3 and focuses on instances that steered the Thomas Christian tradition towards IPC. In the latter part of this paper, I shall pay closer attention to the life of K. E. Abraham, the founder of IPC, to explore various preceding reformative teachings that brought IPC to its existence as a radical, renewal and indigenous movement among the Kerala Thomas Christians. The Brief History of Christianity in Kerala: Through a Reformative Lens Christianity in Kerala claims its origin from the first century (AD 52), when Jesus’ disciple, St. Thomas, arrived and preached the gospel to high-caste Brahmins. Although there have been numerous speculations around the veracity of Thomas’ arrival, 4 as Kerala historian Sreedhara Menon notes, “the Christians in Kerala continue to attribute