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There were trans-cultural elements in some of these revivals, as in Khasi, and
subsequently this brought some conflict and confusion. Western missionaries
were mainly happy with the revival in the beginning, but when they saw some of
the unusual visible manifestations they began to disapprove because they were
unfamiliar with them. It seems that some of the western missionaries wanted to be
in command of the revival element, for there was more publicity and reporting,
including inaccurate reporting, which suggests that they wanted to control the
Pentecostal revival, as happened in Calcutta.
2.4. Conclusion
The present chapter shows that the quest for identity is a socio-religious and
missiological concern of Indian Christianity, including Pentecostals. Pentecostals
are an integral part of Indian Christianity which has had a long history. The Indian
Christian tradition is rooted in Eastern rather than Western Christianity. Although
both the Catholic and the Protestant form of Christianity were brought to India by
Westerners during the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries respectively, India has a
strong tradition of indigenous Christianity, as old as Christianity itself. It is true
that the eighteenth and nineteenth century missionary enterprises created an
earnest missionary passion and zeal among the indigenous population, and this
paved the way for a spiritual awakening. However, the above discussion shows
that Pentecostalism in India is not an imported religious movement; rather it is the
product of indigenous spiritual awakenings that took place in contextual style
among local people in several parts of the nation. Although there were some
western Pentecostal missionaries in India, they were not attached to the
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