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Language and Religion in Modern India: the Vernacular Literature of Hindi Christians Language and Religion in Modern India: The Vernacular Literature of Hindi Christians The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Peter Dass, Rakesh. 2016. Language and Religion in Modern India: The Vernacular Literature of Hindi Christians. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Divinity School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:32108297 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA LANGUAGE AND RELIGION IN MODERN INDIA : THE VERNACULAR LITERATURE OF HINDI CHRISTIANS A Dissertation Presented by Rakesh Peter Dass to The Faculty of Harvard Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in the subject of Theology Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts April 2016 © 2016 Rakesh Peter Dass All rights reserved iii Advisor: Professor Francis X. Clooney Rakesh Peter Dass Language and Religion in Modern India: The Vernacular Literature of Hindi Christians Abstract A persistent interest in a particular type of Christian witness is found in a substantial amount of Hindi-language Protestant (hereafter, ‘Hindi Christian’) literature in modern India. Across a range of texts like Hindi translations of the Bible, theo-ethical works, hymns, biblical commentaries, and poems, this literature calls attention to a form of Christian witness or discipleship that both is credible and recognizable and is public. This witness aims to be credibly Christian: as I will show, Hindi Christian texts have regularly rejected a Hindu concept like avătār in favor of a neologism like dehădhāran to communicate a Christian notion of incarnation in a predominantly Hindu context. Yet, the variety of polytradition (or, shared) words found in Hindi Christian texts suggests a comfort with loose religious boundaries. The witness aims also to be recognizably Christian. For instance, Hindi Christian texts on theology and ethics persistently reflect on a virtuous Christian life with a view toward perceptions in multifaith contexts. Perceptions of Christians matter to the authors of these texts. The attention to Christian witness in such literature, then, is to a very public form of witness. A reading of the works of three prominent Hindi Christian scholars – Benjamin Khan, iv Din Dayal, and Richard Howell – will show how a focus on the pluralistic context of Hindi Christian witness has shaped influential texts on ethics, theology, and evangelism in Hindi. This dissertation is a first attempt in the academy of religion to study Hindi Christian texts in modern India. As a result, it seeks to achieve two goals: provide an introduction to Hindi Christian literature, and understand a prominent theme found in such literature. It is by no means an exhaustive study of Hindi Christian literature. Rather, it maps a literary landscape and subjects one trope therein to further examination. Protestant Christian literature in India has generally portrayed the purpose of Christian discipleship in two ways: by describing it as a response to salvific grace and by denying it is works righteousness. Hindi Christian texts shed light on another rationale: to present a credible and recognizable witness in a multifaith public context. v Contents Title Page i Copyright ii Abstract iii Acknowledgments vii Dedication x 1. Credible and Public: Hindi Christian Literature 1 Hindi Christian Literature and its Social Message 2 Scope of the Study 8 Contribution to Scholarship: Why Study Hindi Christian Literature 12 Language, Religion, and Identity 16 The Broader Context of Hindi Christian Literature 24 Outline of Chapters 42 2. Hindi Christian Literature: Sources and Themes 47 Sources of Hindi Christian Literature 50 Themes in Hindi Christian Literature 56 A Theology of Relations: Soteriology in Hindi Christian Literature 75 A Responsibility to Witness 79 3. Theology and Language 85 Why Translate: Christian Uses of Hindi 92 Why Hindi? 97 How to Translate: An Introduction 103 Dehădhāraṇ in Hindi Christian Literature 110 Linguistic Choices in Action 121 4. Discipleship and the Formation of Faith: Hindi Christian Guidebooks 126 Discipleship and the Formation of Faith 127 Hindi Christian Guidebooks: A Brief History 134 Guidebooks and their Content 141 The Social Goals of Good Works 161 vi 5. Theology, Ethics, and Society 171 Ethics and Interfaith Relations in the Writings of Benjamin Khan 175 Theology and Public Relations in the Writings of Din Dayal 201 Evangelism and Christian Identity in the Writings of Richard Howell 209 Christian Witness in a Pluralist Society 217 6. Message Matters 222 Hindi Christian Literature: A Conclusion 223 A Credible, Recognizable, and Public Witness 228 Areas for Further Research 241 Trishanku, Christians in Films, and the Tale of Two Meetings 253 Bibliography 260 vii Acknowledgments Thanks be to God. I would also like to express a singular word of thanks to Professor Francis X. Clooney, SJ: mentor extraordinaire and pastoral advisor. Frank encouraged the exploration of unchartered territory and helped define the scope and substance of this project in a way that allowed for the patient study of new and unused sources. I am further grateful for both past and current members of my doctoral team who read the dissertation in its entirety or in part with much patience and care and who guided this project through its various stages with timely advice and constructive comments: Professors Susan Abraham, Ali S. Asani, Arun W. Jones, Charles M. Stang, and Ronald F. Thiemann. Insightful conversations with a wide range of advisors and colleagues further enriched this study. They include Professors Kimberly C. Patton and Anne E. Monius, Rev. Dr. Ipe Joseph (former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in India), and participants at different fora like the Conference of the New England-Maritimes Region of the American Academy of Religion (Boston), the Comparative Doctoral Colloquium at Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge), the Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies (Oxford), the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute of the World Council of Churches (Busan), Ways of Knowing: Graduate Conference on Religion at Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge), and the Asian Theological Summer Institute at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (Philadelphia). I am very grateful to those participants at these gatherings who attended the sessions where I presented my findings; their comments and questions helped refine this study in numerous ways. viii Modern research across years and nations requires considerable institutional support and my research would not have been possible without the generosity and collaboration of the following institutions. The South Asia Institute at Harvard supported two research trips to India that were indispensible to field research. Harvard Divinity School’s Dissertation Fellowship and Travel Grant, the Selva J. Raj Endowed International Dissertation Research Fellowship of the American Academy of Religion, and the Educational Grant Program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offered the time and space both to complete the project and to enrich it with research at the missionary archives in Angus Library at the University of Oxford. In India, two institutions deserve special acknowledgments: the Hindi Theological Literature Committee based in Jabalpur served as the primary source of Hindi Christian texts. Its efforts were complemented by the Delhi-based Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In concert, these two groups provided both research personnel and invaluable research assistance. To each individual in these organizations who reviewed my work and found it worthy of support, I offer my deepest gratitude. Finally, I am also thankful to the International Journal of Hindu Studies for agreeing to publish part of chapter three in a forthcoming issue. This study was a very collaborative effort and the following people deserve special mention as instrumental partners since this project first took shape: Rev. Dr. John H. Anand (my primary collaborator in India), Emily Burgoyne (my primary advisor at Angus), Rev. Dr. Ashis Amos, Daniel Manorath (who travelled to Lucknow in India to collect books on my behalf), Kathryn Kunkel and Barbara Boles (who managed the doctoral process with great care), Beth Flaherty (who helped me fundraise the resources needed for research), and Ram Ikbal Rai (who served as ix my travel agent in India and helped me gather a library of Hindi Christian texts during numerous trips to Delhi and Jabalpur). John Anand, the long-serving and current editor of the Hindi Theological Literature Committee, deserves a special word of gratitude. He spent countless hours educating me on Hindi Christian texts, endured endless rounds of questions and clarifications in person and over the phone, sent me hundreds of Hindi Christian books and materials on my request, and introduced me to scholars and authors of Hindi Christian materials throughout India. This project would surely not have been possible without his involvement. x For S. Chapter One Credible and Public: Hindi Christian Literature 2 HINDI CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND ITS SOCIAL MESSAGE Hindi Christian literature is not yet a subject of academic study in the West or a subject for scholars beyond
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