{
  "bookName": "History of Christianity in India: Source Materials",
  "authorName": "M. K. Kuriakose",
  "publisherName": "Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge",
  "publicationYear": 2011,
  "chapterNumber": 179,
  "chapterName": "1938. The Social and Economic Conditions of the Punjab Christians",
  "pageFrom": 370,
  "pageTo": 372,
  "pages": [
    {
      "pageNumber": 370,
      "ocrText": "370\nHISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA\n179. THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE\nPUNJAB CHRISTIANS (1938 A.D.)\nThe empirical study of the Christian community in India is a\nrecent phenomenon. One of the pioneer examples of the use\nof the tools of the social sciences to understand Christianity\nin India was the study of village Christians in the Punjab made by\nE. D. Lucas and F. Thakur Das in the late 1930s. This passage is\ntaken from their book, published in 1938, The Rural Church in\nPunjab, pp. iii-v.\nSocial Conditions:-Village Christians are an oppressed people\nwho receive scant respect often the reverse-at the hands of the\nnon-Christian groups. Notwithstanding the fact that Muslims\nare in the majority in most of the villages studied, yet strong caste\nprejudices still prevail. A weakening of caste barriers and more\nsocial fluidity can be observed amongst the upper classes, yet these\nso-called higher castes still look with repugnance upon the menial\nclasses, especially those whose occupation is in any sense defiling,\ni.e., that of the chamarangs (tanners) and the chuhras (scavengers)\nwho are now mostly employed as agricultural labourers. There is,\nhowever, this significant difference that the stigma of his caste\ndoes not attach so much as formerly to the individual who has\nentered some non-hereditary occupation. The higher social groups\nhave an inherited pride which blocks more liberal respect being\nshown by them to the menial groups but the tendency now is to\nattach the stigma to the occupation n alone and not to the people\nemployed in it. However group habits and attitudes are modified\nvery slowly and gradually. The mass conversion to Christianity\nof the chuhra group has to some extent modified the social stigma\nresting upon them especially where they are known to have given\nup the eating of carrion and left-over food as the result of increasing\nself-respect and cleanliness under the inspiration of their new faith.\nThe social disabilities which still persist and stigmatize them as an\ninferior people will probably persist so long as they remain mere\nagricultural labourers, for the most part paid a pitiful wage in kind.\nThe most effective agency in breaking down this social barrier\naside from that mentioned above is the spread of the educational\nsystem, mostly rural primary schools. Missionary activity has\ninspired other religious groups to the work of social uplift-and\nMr. Gandhi's influence and that of his followers have contributed\nto the same end.\nIf the Christian groups could be trained in more skilled trades\nand escape, at least a portion of them, from their present serfdom\nit would contribute to their better social standing. And yet should\nthey give up the flaying of dead cattle for instance at present one",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 371,
      "ocrText": "SOURCE MATERIALS\n371\nof their prerogatives-they would lose a valuable source of income\nas each hide removed brings in from one to two rupees. Here is\nwhere economic income and social standing are in direct conflict.\nEconomic Conditions:-About 85 per cent of the Christian\ncommunities in these areas work either as agricultural labourers\npaid largely in kind or as tenant cultivators on a yearly contract.\nIn either case their position is very insecure and they are completely\nat the mercy of the land owning classes. The average income of\nthe landless labourers, who constitute over two-thirds of the entire\ncommunity, is about Rs. 125 per family per annum. The size of\nthe average family is between 5 and 6 members including children.\nThe tenant cultivators constitute another 15 per cent of the com-\nmunity and their average net income per family per annum runs\nto a little over Rs. 150 in the Pasrur area and about Rs. 86 in the\nNarowal area depending on the size of the tenancy. The other\noccupations open to this community in the villages are gut-making,\ntrading in hides and skins, brick-moulding, casual labour and\ntanning. A few of the more highly educated have broken into\nother occupations such as cobbling, pottery-making and are occupied\nas school teachers or preachers under the Church or Mission. A\nfew have left the villages and are found in cities and cantonments\nas gardeners, cooks, grooms, chauffeurs, mechanics, workmen in\nfactories and Railway Workshops, etc. Before the depression\nthese urban immigrants were accustomed to send remittance to\ntheir families in the villages but owing to the lack of employment\nand the low wages at present existing, these remittances have nearly\nceased.\nThe Christian communities in these areas nowhere constitute\nover 15 per cent of the village population and the average is about\n7 percent. They are not allowed to own land, not even the land\non which their houses stand. Not only in economic but in social,\ncultural and religious matters they are almost certain to be domi-\nnated by the land owning groups.\nThere is wide-spread purchase and sale of brides. This practice\nis common throughout this area, and in fact, is wide-spread through-\nout the Punjab. Such a custom degrades the position of women,\nis one of the main causes of debt and prevents the building up of\nanything resembling Christian family life. To eradicate this evil\nmust be one of the immediate objectives of the Church in the near\nfuture. One of the main reasons leading to the purchase and sale\nof brides is the disparity in in the numbers of males and females.\nThere are roughly 8 women to 10 men in the Christian village\ncommunities.\nAt least 82 per cent of the Christian community is in debt. The\ndebt equals the entire family income of nineteen months. The rates",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 372,
      "ocrText": "372\nHISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA\nof interest average about 25 per cent per annum and the interest\nrate on loans connected with marriages are considerably higher.\nThe psychology of the debtor is interesting, the most common\nattitude being a certain pride in a fairly substantial debt as showing\nthe standing and credit of the debtor. The co-operative move-\nment so far has failed to inculcate thrift, saving and avoidance of\nwasteful expenditure. It is necessary that the educational process\nshould pay more attention to this aspect of the community life.\nVillage primary day schools of four classes, and boarding\nschools of eight classes or even high schools have been established\nvery widely in this area as in other areas. There is no restriction\non Christian children entering schools controlled or taught by\nnon-Christians. Bu But as a matter of fact, most Christian children\nand parents prefer the Christian schools as is evidenced by the\nvery much higher percentage of children of school-going age attend-\ning the village school under a Christian agency than that under any\nnon-Christian agency.\nThe education of girls has made considerable headway and a\nvery hopeful start has been made both in co-education and in the\nintroduction of trained women teachers into village schools. The\ngreatest need of the future is a re-orientation of the educational\nprocess whereby from the very beginning the teacher and the\nteaching will be intimately related with the everyday life of the\ncommunity. The key to this re-orientation lies in the training of\nthe future generation of teachers. A very hopeful start has been\nmade along this line at Moga and a few other places.\nTwo or three great difficulties face the Church in attaining a\nsatisfactory standard of self support.\nThese difficulties may be enumerated as follows :-\n(a) Widespread dispersion of Christians in small groups\nthroughout the villages. Each pastorate must include anywhere\nfrom 7 to 15 villages in order to enable their joint contribution\nto support the pastor.\n(b) The difficulty in training lay-leadership and preparing\nthem to share in the general Christian discipline and the raising\nof funds for the pastorate, and\n(c) The training of pastors to be real leaders of their people\nwith regard to every aspect of life.\nThe present average family contribution in this area runs between\nRs. 1 and 2. This is also roughly between 1 and 2 per cent of the\nfamily income. The main difficulty in increasing this amount is\nthe little surplus left after the most essential family needs have been\nmet.",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}