Indian Christianity

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA : M. M. NINAN
As a result Carey moved his place of work as a missionary in the Danish colony, Serampore, India,
where his work was supported heavily by the Danish Crown. Carey worked in an indigo plant to support
himself and his family. He developed the basic principles of Missiology as one enters into a new
culture. These included communal living, financial self-reliance, and the training of indigenous ministers
and communicating the gospel within the symbols and languages of the culture. During the first six years
he learned the local language and completed the first revision of his Bengali New Testament.
His first convert was a Sudra called Krishna Pal. The conversion of Hindus to Christianity posed a new
question for the missionaries concerning whether it was appropriate for converts to retain their caste. In
1802, the daughter of Krishna Pal, a Sudra, married a Brahmin. This wedding was a public
demonstration that the church repudiated the caste distinctions.
It was at this time the Richard Wellesley the Governor-General wanted to start a college to educate civil
servants. He offered Carey the position of professor of Bengali. This gave him the opportunity to mix
with pundits in many Indian languages. Carey wrote the first grammar of Bengali and Sanskrit, and
translated the Bible into Sanskrit.
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