1 A Brief History of India
A detailed chronological account of the history of India is
beyond the scope of this paper. However, I would highlight some key historical
events to set the stage for understanding the broader historical context of the
Bible translation movement in India.
1.1.1 The Mughals
A crucial aspect of Indian history is the colonial rule,
especially the British. Before Western colonial powers arrived in India, more
than five centuries of the Mahomedan invasion and rule in India came to its peak
with the establishment of the Mughal empire by Babur in 1526 (Wolpert 2009,
126).
The Mughal Empire was influential in Indian history, and it was at its peak in the
1600s under Emperor Akbar. However, the Mughals began to face internal
challenges and fragmentation, which increased throughout the 18th
century (Kulke and Rothermund 2016, 177–80).
1.1.2 The Colonial Powers in India
The spirit of maritime adventure and international trade was
developed in Europe during the fifteenth-century (Marshman 1876,
106).
The arrival of Vasco da Gama in Calicut, Kerala, on May 27, 1498, opened an era
of European imperial invasions into India, which lasted four and half centuries
until the British left India in 1947 (Wolpert 2009,
139).
After Vasco da Gama’s arrival, the Portuguese
conquered several areas of India and remained a major player in India in the
sixteenth century; they made Goa their capital on Indian soil in 1510 (Wolpert 2009,
141).
Following the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British arrived in India for trade
but eventually established colonies in different places. By the seventeenth
century, Portugal’s dominance weakened, and the Dutch emerged to challenge
Portuguese supremacy in maritime and influence in India. Dutch East India Company
was founded in 1602 and engaged in trade, establishing their factories and
colonies in India (Kulke and Rothermund 2016, 172–74). Further, the French East
India Company was established in 1664, but the Dutch prevented their initial
attempt to establish a foothold in India. Later, Francois Martin arrived in
India in 1668 and established a French settlement at Pondicherry, and the
French subsequently expanded their interest and influence in India (Kulke and
Rothermund 2016, 176).
Further, the English
East India Company’s first ship arrived in Surat on August 24, 1608, and
extended its influence into various parts of India throughout the seventeenth
century (Wolpert 2009, 148–52). The British focus on commerce transitioned
into imperial ambition by the mid-eighteenth century. From the East India
Company, Rober Cive and Richard Colley Wellesley accelerated this shift and
implemented aggressive policies incorporating military, political, and economic
dimensions. Clive’s crucial victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 against
the Nawab of Bengal marked a decisive turn in British rule in India. Clive
exploited rivalries among the local political figures to establish British
control over Bengal, transforming East India Company’s status as a mere
commercial venture into de facto rulers of Bengal (Wolpert 2009, 186–87). Further, Lord Wellesley
introduced the Subsidiary Alliance System, played a role in extending British
rule in India, and forced Indian rulers to accept British military assistance
and disband their armies, resulting in making local rulers vassals of the
British (Wolpert 2009, 207–9).
The emergence of British dominance in India in the
eighteenth century is characterized by three important features: First, the Mughal
administration was depleted. Second, the depletion of the Mughal empire and the
increasing influence of the colonial powers led to the emergence of kingdoms
and regional dynasties. Each of these regional powers had their own culture and
clashing interests. These regional kingdoms fought each other for supremacy.
The British took advantage of this situation by providing military assistance
to these regional kingdoms, resulting in the increasing supremacy of the
British in India (this tendency began with the French). Third, the British
engaged in several decisive battles in the eighteenth century that extended
their rule into different parts of India: Battle of Buxer (1764) solidified
control over North India; Mysore wars (1767-1799) extended British influence
into Southern India; Maratha wars (1775-1818) solidifying British supremacy
over India (Marshman 1876,
160,219-225).
Finally, though there were constant struggles and fights between these colonial
players to protect their trade interests as well as political influence in
India, especially between the British and the French, the British emerged as
supreme power over India during the eighteenth century (Kulke and Rothermund 2016, 183–90).
1.1.3 The Sepoy Mutiny
Though there were several mutinies against British rule in
the first half of the nineteenth century, the Sepoy mutiny in 1857 altered the
power relationship between Britain and India. The widespread resentment because
of economic exploitation, especially among the aristocracy, military grievances
among Indians (called sepoys) in the British army, and socio-religious issues,
specifically the rumor of British interest in forced conversion of Indians to
Christianity, caused this widespread rebellion against the British. The
immediate reason was that Indian soldiers were asked to bite cartridges greased
with cow or pig fat, and this offended the religious sentiments of both Hindus
and Muslims, leading to a widespread outbreak of mutiny starting at Meerut on
May 10, 1857. British suppressed the
mutiny. Subsequently, the British government dissolved the East India Company
and transferred the control of India directly to the British Crown, resulting
in the beginning of the British Raj in India (see detailed discussion, Marshman
1876, 492–522).
This mutiny ignited the early spark of nationalist sentiments and larger
movements for independence.
1.1.4 Nationalist Movements
After the mutiny, nationalist Indians began to mobilize and
spread nationalism among Indians. The nationalistic movement got much organizational
form with the founding of the Indian National Congress and its first annual
meeting in 1885 in Mumbai. Though initially, Congress consisted of elite
people, it was transformed into a mass national party from 1920 to 1939, under
the leadership of Gandhi (Wolpert 2009,
266, 315).
Gandh’s satyagraha movement, non-cooperative movement, and Quit India movement
were mass movements that ultimately led to the Independence of India from the
brutal, exploitative, and inhuman colonial rule of the British in 1947.
1.4.5 After Independence
I will highlight three important aspects of Indian history
here that are relevant in the context of the Bible translation. Firstly, poverty
was the biggest issue when the British left India. The government of India’s
immediate concern was to bring out people from poverty (Rogers 1996, 297). Indian
government focused on economic planning, industrialization, and liberalization
policies in the 1990s transformed India’s economy. India has undergone a
nationwide digital revolution for the last two decades. As a result of various
measures of government and non-government organizations, India’s poverty was significantly
reduced. As a result, Bible translation workers today may face fewer challenges
reaching out to Indian villages or living among the communities: better
communication and transportation system, health access, and education.
Secondly, in 1956, India reorganized its states based on diverse languages (Thrasher
1996, 195). This linguistic reorganization did not count hundreds of spoken minority
languages in these states. Often, the government does not want to keep
linguistic diversity consisting of all minority languages, and most of these
languages do not have linguistic developments such as the medium of education,
print materials, or orthography compared with other officially recognized
languages. Many unofficial languages need the Bible, and working among these
languages is challenging. Thirdly, Hindu fundamentalism has been on the rise in
India, especially for more than the last three decades. The violence against Christians
has been on a sharp rise since the late 1990s (Shani 2011,
297).
This brings considerable challenges to Bible translation works and Christians, such
as persecution, false police cases against missionaries, denying access to
villages, and hatred.
2 Demographic, Linguistic, and Religious Diversities in India
2.1 Demographic and Linguistic Diversity
India is a vast, diverse country regarding demography,
social-cultural aspects, geography, religion, and language. Anthropological
Survey of India acknowledges that India has 4635 unique population groups based
on DNA studies, and the ethnic diversity in the Indian subcontinent consisted
of four major ethnic groups, identified based on physical features: Caucasoid
(European), Proto-Australoid (Aboriginal Australian) Mongoloid (East Asian) and
Negroid (African). This ethnic diversity corresponds to four major linguistic
families spoken by Indians: Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, Indo-European, and
Tibeto-Burman (Genomic Diversity in People of
India: Focus on MtDNA and y-Chromosome Polymorphism 2021,1- 2). According to the 2011 Census
of Indian government, 1369 languages are spoken in India, and 10000 or more
speakers speak these languages. However, only 22 languages are officially
recognized, and the other 99 languages are categorized as “total of other
languages” (“Language: India, States and Union
Territories (Table C-16)” 2011, 4). In addition, Hindi and
English are the national official languages and languages of wider
communications.
2.2 Caste Diversity
India has a multilayer classification of its population into
language groups, caste, and religion. Caste in India refers to a localized,
endogamous, and hereditary group that is part of the hierarchy of the society (Deliège 2011, 47). Indian society is a
caste-based society with several categories: The general category consists of
higher caste groups; Scheduled Castes consist of many marginalized and Dalit
caste groups; scheduled Tribes consist of Indigenous tribes and communities;
and Other Backward Classes (OBC) consist of socially and educationally
disadvantaged caste groups (Guilmoto 2011, 30–31).
2.3 Religious Diversity
Indian religious
demography consists of Hindus (approximately 79.8% of the population), Muslims
(14%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.7%),
others (Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians (Parsis), Jews, and Baha’is,
together 2%) (“2022 Report on International
Religious Freedom: India,” n.d.). Hinduism is an umbrella term
that covers various philosophical and devotional traditions. India has the fourth-largest
Muslim population. Sikhism, Buddhism,
and Jainism originated in India. Hinduism is the dominant religion; and RSS, a
Hindu right-wing, emergent a major catalyst along with other Hindu activistic
organizations to spread communal and fundamentalist ideology among Hindus. As a
result, the idea of Hindu Rashtra was popularized, and RSS’s political wing,
BJP, began to emerge as a major political force in India. This development has
been a cause for frequent communal riots and various violence against religious
minorities, especially Christians (Heitzman 1996,119, 175–77)
3 History of Christianity
Christianity came to India in
C.E. 52 through the Apostle Thomas. After Thomas, Metropolitans or Catholicos
were sent to India by the patriarchs of Antioch, Babylon, and Armenia. In
addition, there was a small migration of Christians from the Persian Empire
during the persecution in the fourth century under the leadership of Thomas of
Kana. Syriac was the liturgical language of the church, and the early effort to
translate scripture and other Christian literature to the local language failed
(Frykenberg
2013, 34-38).
However, colonialism opened a new wave
of Western mission work in India. The Portuguese brought Catholicism and their
mission work to India (Shullai 2017,
326),
and they also forcefully converted other Christians, specifically St. Thomas
Christians, to Catholicism, which led to a struggle between both sides for a
long time (Frykenberg 2013, 40–41). The Danish colonial power
had two major settlements in Tranquebar in South and Serampore in Northeastern
India. The Danish East India Company was interested in trade, but they helped the
mission work of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau from Halle,
Germany, in Tranquebar and Serampore Trio in Bengal (William Carey, William
Ward, and Joshua Marshman). Though the British Colonial power had an ambivalent
attitude towards Christian missions, it is known that many British officials
supported and protected many missionaries in various parts of India (Shullai 2017,
327).
After independence, Indian churches continued their mission work and witnessed
tremendous church growth, especially in the last three decades.
4 History of Bible Translation in India
Though the Syriac Bible was present in Kerla from the third
or fourth century C.E., the Bible was translated into several Indian languages
with the arrival of eighteenth-century Western Protestant missionaries (Israel 2011,
3).
Hephzibah Israel, a translation studies scholar, identifies three phases of Bible
translation history as follows:
4.1 The first phase (16th and 17th centuries)
Early Catholic missionaries did
not translate scripture into any Indian languages as they believed that
scripture should be read in the original languages or translations approved by
the Roman Catholic Church. However, early missionaries translated some of the
Catholic literature and published them in the 16th and 17th
centuries (Robert de Nobili and Constanzo Giuseppe Beschi (Israel 2010,
87).
4.2 Second phase (18th and 19th centuries)
Protestant missionaries began to
arrive in India in the early 18th century, and they engaged in Bible
translation. Ziegenbalg translated the
New Testament into Tamil and published it in 1714-1715; a revised version was
published in 1722. He translated several verses together instead of
verse-for-verse translation. He adopted style and vocabulary from Catholic
literature translated and published in Tamil. He translated the Old Testament up
to Ruth, but he could not complete it. Benjamin Schultze (1689-1760), who came
after him as a missionary to Tranquebar, completed the translation of the
remaining part of the Old Testament and published the whole Bible between 1724
and 1728 (Israel 2010,
88).
In the second phase of Bible
translation, in the 19th century, organized mission organizations entered Bible
translation in India. A notable Bible translation movement was begun by William
Carey (1761-1834), the father of modern missions, along with Marshman
(1768-1837) and Ward (1769-1823) in the Serampore mission. They were part of the
Baptism Society, established in Serampore in 1793. They could translate the Bible
into 40 different languages, including Malay and Chinese (Israel 2010,
89).
Another major organized effort
to translate the Bible into the Indian languages came from the British and
Foreign Bible Society (BFBS), which opened auxiliaries in Calcutta (1811) and
Madras (1820) (Israel 2011,
37).
David Brown and Claudius Buchanan, the provost and vice-provost of the College
of Fort William in Bengal, set up a department of Bible translation in 1805 and
began translation projects in five Indian languages in 1806. However, the East
India Company discontinued the department, and Brown and Buchanan formed a
Corresponding Committee to continue the translation projects. They could carry
on the work for a few years, and later, the Corresponding Committee passed to
the Calcutta Auxiliary of the BFBS. The BFBS worked with major Indian languages
through its auxiliary to translate the Bible. Their efforts were more institutionalized,
and committees appointed by BFBS managed translations. They established a
network of translators, readers, production, and finance for Bible translation
by the mid-19th century. During this second phase, critical reviews were
published on translated Bibles in several Indian Christian journals, and theoretical
aspects of Bible translations emerged along with standardizing translation
practices (Israel 2010, 89–90; Israel 2011, 38-42
).
In the 19th century, the Bible was translated into several major
Indian languages:
a) Sanskrit (1818)
b) The East: Bengali (1806), Assamese (1832) and Oriya (1815).
c) The West: Marathi (1819), Gujarati (1823).
d) The North and Central: Hindi (1818), Urdu (1843)
e) The South: Kannada (1831), Malayalam (1841), Tamil (1728, 1871) and
Telugu (1854).
4.3 Third Phase (20th century)
In this phase, Bible translation
in India introduced modern advances in Biblical studies. Indians began to
develop expertise to engage in translation projects rather than depending upon
the expertise of foreign missionaries. Another important development in the 20th
century was the ecumenical union published ecumenical Bibles and also Bible translations
began to produce culturally sensitive translations (Israel 2010, 95–96).
Bible translation in India
greatly contributed to language development, literacy, social transformation, and
the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
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