Gandhi Before Gandhi

Author(s): Bipin Doshi, Priti Shah
Publisher: Jain Academy Educational Research Center Promotion Trust Mumbai

Page 27

A GANDHI BEFORE GANDHI
Authors' note
Mr. Virchand Gandhi's speech, reprinted from "Jain Philosophy' edition 1910- Bhagubhai Karbhari
This was the period when the state supported missionary activities were probably at the highest all over the world. Christianity was spreading with the furious zeal for "The whole world for Christ."
implies that; India is a land of heathens and, therefore, stands on the same level with the Andaman or the Fiji Islands. That a country which has been considered in all ages the world over, as being the Mother of all religions and the cradle of civilization, should be considered by Christians as heathens, show how much ignorance prevails in Christendom. I grant that such wrong impressions about India are caused solely by the missionaries who are noted, if not for anything else, at least for ignorance and lack of discrimination.
Virchand Gandhi during his stay in America learnt about the some missionaries of India, who were mischievously misguiding the Christians in Britain & America. He also learnt that they were misrepresentating the true picture of our country to other Christians. Under the garb of education and human services they were not only spreading Christianity, but were challenging the vital fabric of spiritual, social and moral life of our country. His patriotism and his love for our social, spiritual and moral culture needed a vent. His speech' Have Christian Missions to India Been Successful?' is full of feeling of heart, meticulousness of mind and solidity of speech
Missionaries- A narrow, dogmatic creed
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, Ignorance prevails in Christendom You have heard the scholarly views of our friend and brother (Bishop Thoburn). The views, as they have been presented to you, must appear so to those who have not seen or understood the other side. I am most grateful to the Nineteenth Century Club that they have honored my country by giving me the opportunity to express my views on the subject of Christian Missions in India, which may not be very important to the Christians of America, as they are rich and may well afford to misspend their money, but it is of great importance to my country as it has the tendency of affecting India vitally. But to you, the members of the Nineteenth Century Club, the subject seems to have presented an unusual importance, from the fact that this nation spends thousands of dollars for a work, the necessity of which is doubted by many even in this country. Christian Missions to India
In the first place, the men sent out to India on missionary duty are, as one European says,
Authors respect and wahre the great contributions of missionaries to India especially in the field of social services and education. However, to prove that his love for his country and his religion was a great as that of Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi relevant to that era this article is reprinted