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CHAPTER -III
CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES AND MISSION STATIONS IN SIMLA AND PANJAB HILL STATES
The spread of Christianity and the first preaching of Gospel in the western
Himalaya region of India is barely 150 years old. The Christian missionaries who
were eager to spread Christianity in the Himalayas tried to attract the people by
establishing schools, colleges, dispensaries and orphanages. This work is not
only an outward expression of their ideology but it also needs to be understood
that all missionary activity was dual in character. It had both proselytizing and
political overtones associated with the work of empire building and its
preservation.
The missionaries of the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.), London and
other societies from the West, established Mission Stations in various parts of
Kotgarh, Simla, Kangra, Chamba, Lahaul and Poo,; in the erstwhile Simla and
Panjab Hill States, now parts of Himachal Pradesh. At about the close of 1840,
a meeting of some English residents was held at Simla to consider how the
truths of Christianity could be made known to the Pahahs.^ They raised
subscriptions amounting to Rs.6,000/- and applied through Bishop Wilson to the
Church Missionary Society inviting them to establish a branch of Mission Station
in the Himalayas. This period was, however, a time of great financial crisis for
the Church Missionary Society and it was compelled to close some of its
missions elsewhere. The Simla Committee undertook upon itself the
responsibility of mobilizing resources for the Society. Captain Jackson agreed to
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contribute Rs.600/- per year for life, while Charles Gorton, B.C.S., who left
Rs.25,000/- in the hands of the Church Missionary Society, were among the
major contributors.'* The Rev. Dr. J. Prochnow and A. Rudolph, commenced the
Mission at Kotgarh in 1843. They occupied the premises which used to be the
Mess House of the army garrison earlier stationed there.®
A lady living in England offered the Society in 1843, a sum of £ 25 a year
for ten years towards supporting two missionaries to be stationed at Simla and
Kotgarh. She proposed the name of Rev. Michael Wilkinson and he was
accordingly sent out as the head of the new Himalaya Mission.^ After the
conquest of Panjab on 24 March 1849 by the British, the v^ole of the North
western Himalayan region became accessible for evangelistic work. The Rev.
Robert Clark,® who was appointed incharge of the Church Missionary Society in
1851 had a vision of a great chain of Mission stations in the North-Western
Himalayas. He spent the rest of his life in the fulfillment of this vision. While the
great uprising of 1857, brought about a crisis in the fortune of the British in India,
the number of missionaries from all other nations increased considerably.
Among them were American and German missionaries, Methodists,
Congregationalists, Scottish and Canadian Presbyterians, Moravian missionaries
of the Church Missionary Society and the Salvation Army. Christian missionary
activities in Simla and Panjab Hill States can be divided as per Mission Station
as follows:
I. a) The Himalaya Mission station at Kotgarh (1843).
b) The Himalaya Mission Station at Simla (1845).
c) The Simla Baptist Mission (1865).
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II. Church Missionary Sodety Mission Station at Kangra (1854), and the Missionary Society of Church of Canada (M.S.C.C.) Mission Station at Kangra (1912).
III. The Moravian Missions at Lahaul (1854), and Kinnaur (Poo, 1865), or among the tribals and Simla (1900).
IV. Mission Stations in Ani, Chamba (1863) and Sirmaur (1895).
1. a) The Himalaya Mission Station at Kotgarti (1843)
Kotghur or Kotgarh or Gurukot, as it is called by the natives was a small
village situated on the slope of Hattu or Whartu, at longitude 70°29'30" east and
latitude 31°18'30" north. It is about 3,500 feet above the level of Satluj.^ It v as
here that the Kotgarh Mission, the oldest Mission of the Church Missionary
Society in the Panjab v /as established in 1843. The Rev. J. D. Prochnowand A.
Rudolph commenced the Mission at Kotgarh in 1843.""°
The Mission was visited in July 1844, by the Bishop of Calcutta and his
Chaplain, the Rev. J. H. Pratt, when Rev. J. D. Prochnow was admitted to
Priests Orders. ^ The Rev. J. H. Pratt, during his visit, made a tour of the area,
accompanied by the Rev. Prochnow, partly with a view of becoming better
acquainted vA{h the area and people, and also to make known the existence of
the Gorton Mission School Kotgarh (founded In 1842), to the inhabitants of the
numerous villages scattered along the mountain sides and in the valleys.
Rev.J.D. Prochnow also undertook extensive tours and distributed Christian
literature during 1845. In Kinnaur, one of the tribal areas, Prochnow met with
many wandering Tartars from Central Asia who were willing to receive and able
to understand the Tibetan Tracts. Rev.J.D.Prochnow reported that "there v^re
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many visitors here in our solitude during this season-among them, His Royal
Highness Prince Waidermar of Prussia, coming from the borders of Tibet, spent
a Saturday and Lord's day here, saw the school and attended divine service."^^
After the dissolution of the Himalaya Corresponding Committee in 1846
the Himalaya Mission Committee at Simla ceased to work. ^ The Mission was
placed under the Calcutta Corresponding Committee of the Church Missionary
Society, and was made a branch of the Panjab Church Missionary Society in
1852.'''* This Mission was divided into two parts with Rev. M.Wilkinson and his
son being stationed at Simla and the Rev.J.D.Prochnow having charge of the
original Mission Station at Kotgarh.''
Rev.J.D.Prochnow, however, was impeded in his vw)rk early in 1847 by
sickness in his family. He v^s, therefore, obliged to take his family to Simla and
returned to Kotgarh only at the beginning of October 1847. The Gorton Mission
School at Kotgarh had the advantage of a resident European teacher, Mr.Voss.
The school progressed very satisfactorily during all these years from April 1847
onv^rds. And the number of boys increased from seven to twenty seven. The
giri's school had nineteen girls. Many excursions were made during the year to
villages like Melan, Dalan, Mangsu, etc., in the neighbourhood of the station,
with the objective of can7ing their message to local people.
With the death of Rev.M.Wilkinson, on 5 November 1848, Simla was
abandoned as a station. Rev.J.D.Prochnow was the only missionary who
continued at Kotgarh with the assistance of Voss. Even Voss was compelled by
failing health to return to Europe. In the Kotgarh Mission the main concerns were
the two boarding schools for boys and girls and it seems that Rev. Wilkinson was
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successful in the conversion of two girls of the girls school, aged sixteen and
twelve years, who were admitted to baptism. ®
The importance of Kotgarh lay in it being an advanced post for the
excursions of Rev. Prochnow. He made two tours, one along the banks of the
Satluj, and another along the banks of the Beas. He advocated a joint Panjab
Mission for Kangra and its neighbourhood with Kotgarh. It would form, most
appropriately, a second station of the Himalaya Mission, and the missionaries
could reside alternately here and at Kangra. ^
Archdeacon Pratt wrote upon the same subject on 8 August 1849, that:
"Kotgarh has risen much in importance since the Panjab has been added to our
territories. Its value will be great as a centre from which other stations in the
plains may be commenced." ® The paucity of missionary labourers not only
prevented the Committee from making much progress, it in fact hindered and
even nullified the success v\/hich had been actually obtained.
After Rev.J.D.Prochnow had to proceed to Europe and the responsibility
of running the mission fell on Rev. J.N.Merk from Calcutta. He was
unacquainted with the language and could not do much till he acquired a working
knowledge of the local language for communicating with the Natives.""® He was,
therefore, mainly occupied in the study of the local language. He first visited
three schools in Kulu at varying distances from Kotgarh. After having been
accustomed to crowded school rooms in Bengal, he found in this area no more
than twelve or sixteen boys in a school.^ In the month of May 1852, he visited
Rampur and some other parts of the Bushahr State. He preached and spoke to
the inhabitants of small villages as he travelled. In June Rev.Merk made another
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excursion in this area and it seems that he was well received. Certainly, the
poor mountain folk might have wondered why a European was travelling from
hamlet to hamlet for no other purpose than that of speaking to them about God
and their salvation.^^
Rev.J.D.Prochnow returned to the Kotgarh Mission Station from Europe in
April 1853. Soon after this Rev.J.N.Merk was shifted to the new station of
Kangra. Before moving to Kangra, Merk baptized Kadshu, the first adult, and in
fact, the first native of this place.^ Rev.Prochnow, after his return in restored
health, undertook a missionary tour into Tibet and Chinese Tartary along with
Mrs.Prochnow and a lama as his guide. He could not obtain permission to enter
the Chinese empire and returned through Leh or Ladakh, Kashmir, Chamba,
Lahaul and Kullu.^
The work at Kotgarh station seems to have been carried on by the Rev.
Dr.J.D.Prochnow in a quiet way amidst much indifference of the people, and
opposition on the part of the relatives of those who offered themselves for
baptism. On the first Sunday in Advent, Rev.Prochnow baptized two adults, one,
the wife of his Catechist and the other, a youngman of the same station.^"*
Towards the end of 1857 Rev. Prochnow was compelled to accompany his vAfe
to Europe for medical treatment. He left India in 1858 and died at Berlin in
1888.^
After the departure of Rev. Prochnow the Kotgarh Mission underwent
many changes. This mission was supervised by many missionaries including
Rev.J.N.Merk (from Kangra, 1853-1873), Rev. Hermman Hoemie in 1858, and
Rev.Keene( 1853-1882).^ During this period there were about ten or twelve
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native Christians, two schools at Kotgarh, one at Theog, and two at Simla. At
each of these places there were European schoolmasters supported by the
Gorton Fund. Rev. Keene spent six months at Simla before he moved to
Kotgarh.2^
After a very careful discussion in the Calcutta Corresponding Committee
in 1859 felt that the Kotgarh station should be placed under the supervision of
the missionaries at Kangra; that a catechist of the Church Missionary Society
also be maintained at Kotgarh, in addition to the Government schoolmaster.^
Throughout 1860, the Kotgarh station had a resident European schoolmaster
and a catechist called Somnitz who was formerly an assistant of Rev. Prochnow.
Rev. J.N. Merk, who visited the Kotgarh mission station from Kangra in February
1861, found that the "work was being carried on by Somnitz and the native
catechist James Kadshu".^ The Kotgarh mission suffered a setback in the
death of Somnitz in August 1861. Thereafter, the mission work was carried on
by James Kadshu, who endeavoured to keep the little congregation together.^
In 1862, Rev. W. Rebsch was appointed to look after the work of the
mission. He remained there for almost two decades from 1862 to 1881. Besides
Kotgarh, he looked after the work at Simla. Rev. W. Rebsch, also attended large
melas at Rampur Bushahr, that were held twice a year. Rev. W. Rebsch
appeared to have derived encouragement mainly from the success of a system
of schools established in villages within a few miles from the station. During the
winter of 1864-65, he had eleven youths from the upper reaches of Kinnaur, who
were lodged and boarded to read the Bible, which they took vwth them on their
return to their homes. v In many of the villages scattered over the surrounding
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hills and valleys, Christian schools were established. These schools were in
Dalan (1865), Bhutti (1865), Shawat (1866), Pamlahi (1866), Shatia and
Baragaon (1873). Rev. W. Rebsch had a plan of building a Church, the funds
for which he tried to raise chiefly from amongst the summer visitors at Simla. In
1871, Beutel, a young German schoolmaster was appointed to assist the
resident missionary at Kotgarh.^ Rev. W. Rebsch received much
encouragement from the visits and the visitors expressed sympathy of both the
Governor-General, Earl of Mayo, and the Bishop of Calcutta for his work. But
the Church progressed rather slov^y ovy ng to the difficulty in finding workmen.^
Rev.W.Rebsch was looking after a branch mission among the fluctuating
and migratory native community of Simla. Towards the close of 1875,
Rev.James Kadshu, pastor of the Church Missionary Society Congregation at
Lahore, was brought to be pastor of the Simla congregation. But unfortunately, in
November 1876 he died. Mr. Hooper of the Lahore Divinity School (who visited
Simla for the sake of health), visited Kotgarh and Rampur, the capital of the
Bushahr State and was sufficiently impressed by the importance of these areas
as a field for missionary effort. However, the Calcutta Corresponding Committee
did not propose to continue the maintenance of these two hill stations by
European missionaries. It was hoped that native pastors would be provided for
the congregations. Rev.W.Rebsch, however, continued to reside at Kotgarh,
and also regularly visited Simla, where there was a community of native
Christians— mainly the servants of English visitors. Rev. W. Rebsch died at
Simla in 1895. The committee received emphatic appeals against the proposed
withdrawal of European missionaries from Kotgarh and Kangra.^ It, accordingly,
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sanctioned the stationing of the Rev. A Bailey (who was released from Dera
Ismail Khan by Rev. Thwaite's return) at Kotgarh in 1881. Upon taking of his
post at Kotgarh station, Rev. A. Bailey travelled hundreds of miles on foot and
preached the Gospel in a large number of towns and villages. His dispensary
was, particularly, of great help in attracting people. Bailey laboured for long at
Kotgarh with only a short interruption after his wife's death, when he was
assisted by Mr. Bateman in his work.
In 1890, the Church Missionary Society appointed Rev. H.F.Beutel to the
work connected with the Kotgarh Mission Station. At that time there was a school
at Kotgarh in which orphans were provided shelter and trained by the mission.
With the assistance of a few local helpers, mission work was carried in different
ways, not only through schools, but also by the direct preaching of the Gospel to
the people.* Extensive tours were occasionally undertaken into the
neighbouring towns of Bushahr, Jubbal, Keonthal, Kumarsain, Sangri, Suket,
Mandi and Kulu. Though, on the whole there were not many converts, the
Baptismal Register shows "184 names, of whom sixty were adults".*
The Bishop of Lahore visited Kotgarh in 1891, and confirmed three
candidates.Thirty two communicants received the Lord's supper on the Sunday
morning of the Bishop's visit, and the same afternoon he baptized a man, with
his wife and two children. Four catechists v^re engaged during a considerable
part of the year for touring the district. One was engaged in this manner for 135
days, and preached in 366 villages. Another spent seventy days within a radius
of twenty to fifty miles from Kotgarh, and visited some 240 villages. While the
third preached in 615 villages in the hill states of Kotgarti, Kumarsain, Khaneti,
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Sangri, Keonthal, Kotkhai, Kulu, Bushahr, and Delat. The latter calculated that
he had preached to about ten thousand people. ^ The fourth catechist visited
190 villages. In October 1891 Rev. Beutel, Mrs.Beutel and the catechists went
together through parts of Kulu and Bushahr, travelling over two passes 10,000
and 11,000 feet high, and crossing the river Satluj on inflated ox-skins
(mashaks)^ They were present at the annual fair at Rampur, as they were in
1890, and on five successive days they preached to the thousands of people in
the bazars, on the maidan, at the rivers bank, and in the Raja's courtyard. They
proceeded beyond Rampur to Sarahan, preaching in the villages en route.^
Again in 1893 a preaching tour was taken into Kulu, as far as Sultanpur. They
also visited the annual fair at Rampur.
In October 1894, Rev. Beutel toured for several weeks through Kulu, as
far as the Moravian Mission Station at Kyelang, in Lahaul. In the Jalori Pass he
and his party had to wade for four miles through snow twelve inches deep.
Beutel described his work at Kotgarh as "ploughing and sowing in patience, in
afflictions, in labours and also in tears"."" The Rev. Robert Clark, and also the
Rev.W.Rebsch (who occupied the station at Kotgarh from 1862-1881), also
visited Rev. Beutel at Kotgarh in May 1894." ^ After his ordination at Lahore in
December 1894. Rev. Beutel had a trying return journey from Simla to Kotgarh,
having to wade through knee-deep snow for several miles. He made a short tour
into KuLu to a mela at Dalash.'' In the autumn of 1895, Rev.H.F. Beutel had a
severe attack of fever, and a visit to Europe was ordered. He and Mrs.Beutel left
Kotgarh early in 1896, after tv^^nty five years of continuous service in India.**
During their absence Mrs.Paul, an honorary worker, taken temporarily into local
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connection, was stationed at Kotgarh. Rev. Dr.H.U.Weitbrecht also visited the
station in September 1896 when, in addition to administering the Sacraments, he
lectured to a large gathering of Christians and Hindus v^om the energetic
catechist, Munshi Jaswant Singh, had brought together. Rev.H.F.Beutel and
Mrs. Beutel returned to Kotgarh in November 1896. Rev.Beutel mentioned, "a
considerable degree of scarcity prevailed during the famine period in 1897 at
Kotgarh and the hill district in general".'*^ He opened relief works and employed
for a time, from fifty to eighty people in recovering waste land. We also learn that
he planted about a thousand fruit trees. The Christians it is said, contributed from
one-tenth to one-sixteenth of their incomes towards welfare v^rk. Several
catechists were at the same time engaged in touring the area and one of them
visited 314 villages.'^
According to Church records, Rev.H.F.Beutel, at Kotgarh, carried on the
work of pastor, preacher, teacher, doctor, judge, builder, farmer, gardener,
accountant, and correspondent; etc."*® But the main interest of his work lay in the
journeys which he and his native helpers made to the surrounding district. At the
beginning of 1898, the native agents, headed by Munshi Jaswant Singh, who
spent three months at Lahore, preparing for ordination, had a remarkable
experience of having preached God's word to a large gathering at the Raja's
court at Rampur Bushahr where he was specially invited by the Raja.'*
The work on Kotgarh was continued on the old lines by Rev.H.F.Beutel.
The Week of Prayer was duly observed in January 1899, and monthly meetings
were held for the native agents, though two of them had to be suspended for
constant quarrelling. Besides going to a number of villages in the neighbourhood
157
of Kotgarh, Rev.Beutel paid a visit to Ani in Kulu, where there was a little
congregation of about fifty, and who for eighteen months had no one to look
after them. He also went to the Rampur mela, at which the attention to his
preaching of the gospel was more marked than ever before. Amongst the
congregation one evening was the Raja of Bushahr. The Rev. Jaswant Singh,
who was ordained deacon in December, again paid a visit to the Raja who
received him with much kindness."*
It was under the care of Rev.H.F.Beutel that a flourishing orchard came
up at Kotgarh and the sale of apples helped forward the mission work. Among
those who visited the station during the summer of 1901, was Bishop La Trobe,
from Herrnhut, Germany, who was on his way to the Moravian Mission stations
in the Himalayas.'® Rev. Beutel refered to several itinerating tours taken by
himself and the native evangelists. Describing his travels he wrote, "Travelling
with two native companions we again preached the 'word' in some villages, and
also to some travellers resting in the shade of a Pipal tree, to whom we showed
and explained some Bible pictures, one of them 'Daniel in the Lions Den."^
Rev. Beutel also mentioned a young man, a former pupil, who confessed Christ
in the hour of death, and though not baptized died as a true believer. ^
Rev. J.Tunbridge, the successor of Rev. Beutel, for a while spent most of
his time on tours, covering more than six hundred miles on foot in a year, over
roads varying in elevation from two thousand to thirteen thousand feet above sea
level. His account of the ordeal of travel repudiates the general impression
about the luxurious lifestyle of missionaries.^ He states "Constant marching
and climbing these rocky mountain sides, av\^y from the beaten tracts, played
158
havoc with our footgear, vA^\ch ranged from English Boots to string shoes, and
sometimes blistered feet made moving a painful business. Our tent
accommodation was limited, there being seven of us for tvwD small shoulderies (a
sort of palanquin used in the hills and carried by two people). Where possible,
some took refuge at night in the villages, but caste restrictions, constantly made
this difficult. We had rain every few days, occasionally in torrents. More than
once I had to fix my umbrella over my head at night to keep dry. At other times a
fierce May or June sun, without any shade in the camp made the wearing of a
pith hat in the tent an inconvenient necessity. We had to learn how to endure
hardness in the matter of food too. In many parts fowls are not to be had, as the
higher castes, which predominate in the hills consider them unclean and do not
keep them, and our party was too small to afford a sheep, except as a very rare
treat, but we could nearly always get milk and lentils, and rice often did good
service".^
While on his way to Kulu he made a few converts while crossing into the
Waziri Rupi valley in Kulu. Tunbridge made his way to Malana, a village at an
elevation of nine thousand feet. We have from him one of the earliest description
of the village and its devta (local deity) system.^ Rev. J. Tunbridge, who
devoted himself especially to itinerating work, paid several visits to the country
district around Kotgarh. At Rampur, the old Raja showed great friendliness, and
invited the missionaries to proclaim the Gospel to the people of his court, but
they were opposed by the Raja's house priest, who is mentioned by records as
being a "bigoted Brahman". The annual mela in Kulu was visited by Rev.J.
Tunbridge, who spent a good part of the year at Simla. He noted that Malana
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had three outlets, two passes at 13,000 ft and 11,000 feet above sea level, while
the third was down a steep precipice scaled by a wooden ladder. The peasants
grew two kinds of crops only, cultivated rent free temple lands exclusively. The
villagers allowed no cases to go into British courts, levied tributes on several
other villages miles away in the name of their god {Jamlu Devta); and had most
exclusive marriage customs. There were some 700 inhabitants, mostly of one
caste. "Superstition and ignorance", said Tunbridge, "vied with each other for
ascendency."^ Their language differed from that of other parts of Kulu.
Tunbridge believed that they may have immigrated from Bushahr State and were
also said to possess a idol of gold. This, supposedly, had some connection with
Akbar, the Mughal ruler, as their saaifices were slain in Muhammadan and not
in Hindu fashion. Moreover, Muhammadan and Europeans could venture nearer
their temple than iow-caste Hindus and others. Strangers were escorted about
their village, and all contact with temple houses, sacred trees, etc. was jealously
guarded against.^
A medical mission was started in May 1903, in Kotgarh by the Church
Missionary Society, to which Dr.A.Jukes was appointed. The cost of maintaining
the medical mission was met by voluntary contributions. Dr. A. Jukes was
transferred from Abbottabad to commence medical work. He was soon to be fully
occupied, because a month or two after his arrival an outbreak of cholera
occurred. ^ Since there was no rest house in Kotgarh at that time dharamsala
(sarai) was also started in the mission dispensary. Even amidst this difficult
time, missionary activities were kept in mind. It is noted in the Church records
160
that a Brahman at Kotgarh who brought his son for treatment "showed a real
desire to learn about Christ."^
A great deal of the time of the Rev.W.J.Abigail in the year 1915 and 1916
at Kotgarh was taken up with the management of large orchards belonging to the
Church Missionary Society, from which it was hoped that a considerable income
would accrue. Rev.Abigail also superintended the everyday work at the station
and toured as and when he had opportunity. Rev. J.Redman, after thirty-six
years of service in India, v Drked at the Simla station. He also supervised the
Kotgarh Mission, where he welcomed, for a time, the cooperation of a former
member of the Cambridge Mission, Delhi, who had felt called to adopt the garb
of a sadhu. The hill folk were attracted by the novelty of seeing a European thus
dressed, and many opportunities were gained for religious conversations. The
Bishop also gave an address to non-Christians on "Immortality", Archdeacon
Warlow delivered one on 'The Resurrection", and Dr.Glover of St.John's
College, Cambridge, gave tv^ courses of lectures.® Between the two World
Wars, Rev. Philip David and Rev.Dhan Singh laboured at the Kotgarh Mission
Station.
One person who not only made immense contribution to the spread of
Christianity but also made an impact on the socio-economic life of the region
was Samuel Evans Stokes. Stokes, a great horticulturist was born in
Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania U.S.A., on 16 August 1882, in a rich
and illustrious American family.®' Some of his ancestors had participated in the
Boston Tea Party. A conscience which could not compromise with freedom was
part of his family heritage.-An ancestor named Ranulphus de Prairs had come to
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Britain with William the Conqueror, was made Lord of the Vil of Stok near
Chester and given fifteen Lordships. A descendent, Thomas Stokes of Lower
Shadwell, London, man-ied Mary, daughter of John Bernard in 1668. Being
Quakers, Thomas and his wife accompanied William Penn to America in 1677,
to avoid persecution. Thomas Stokes became one of the proprietors of Western
New Jersey. Williams Penn and his Quakers later founded the colony of
Pennsylvania, where a later Stokes built Harmony Hall in 1743, and the family
came to be known as the Stokes of Harmony Hall.®
Young Samuel Stokes had felt no attraction to the pursuit of the usual
achievements. He had read about India, and had heard stories from friends of
his father who had lived in the Orient. When Samuel Evans Stokes came to India
in January 1904, he was tv/enty-two years old. He began working in the leper
colony at Subathu adjoining Simla. While working in Subathu an earthquake
devastated Kangra. He volunteered for relief work among the victims of the
earthquake. It was in 1904 that Stokes first visited Kotgarh and was moved as
much by the extreme poverty of the villagers and the bleakness of their lives as
by the scenic beauty of the region.^ At that time evangelical work was at its
peak in Kotgarh, where almost all the converts came from the higher castes in
this area.
By the turn of the nineteenth century, the Kotgarh station of the Himalaya
Mission had become an important centre of missionary activity. Sadhu Sundar
Singh who was baptized in St.Thomas Church at Simla by Rev. Redman on 3
September 1905, came to Kotgarh in August 1906 vAth Samuel Stokes.® Later
Sadhu Sundar Singh and Samuel Evans Stokes were to go together on a tour of
162
KishtNA r in Jammu and Kashmir. Stokes came quite dose to Sadhu Sundar
Singh and developed great interest in Indian spirituality. In the autumn of 1910, a
boy belonging to the Gorton Mission School Kotgarh was baptized at Karnal.®^
Stokes had advised delay but the youth, v^o was sixteen years of age left
Kotgarh on his own initiative and went to Karnal for the purpose of getting
baptized. Stokes went to fetch him back. And on the return journey the boy's
uncle with other villagers attacked and seriously wounded Samuel Evans Stokes
and Father Masih of St.Stephens College, Delhi.^ The uncle and the others
were arrested by the police for grievous hurt and riot, but at Stokes intercession
the Government withdrew the prosecution.^
Shortly thereafter, Samuel Stokes left for Subathu. He wandered about for
seven years in different parts of India but v\/as repeatedly drawn to the beautiful
valley. He eventually decided to make India his home, and purchased the
property of Mr. Bates at Baro Bagh. ^ The house he built there he called
Harmony Hall. Stokes married Agnes Benjamin (Priya Devi), a local girl in 1912.
He lived among the people of Kotgarh as one of them. He accepted their life
style, customs and traditions as his own, and shared equally in their joys and
sorrows. Samuel Stokes and Agnes Benjamin, had four sons and three
daughters. When his third son, Tara Chand, died at the age of eight, Stokes
founded a school in his memory for the children of Kotgarh and named it Tara.^
As Stokes had lived on an apple orchard in the United States of America,
he found a similarity in the environment of Kotgarh with America. His library was
already well stocked with books about apple trees and orchards. He brought
delicious varieties- of apples, almost at the same time that they were being
163
introduced in the United States, in 1919. He planted a number of varieties -
Winter Banana, Jonard, Summer Queen and Golden Delicious etc.® Stokes
began the scientific and commercial cultivation of fruits, especially apples-an
endeavour which has today revolutionised the entire economy of Himachal
Pradesh and earned for it the title of the 'Apple State of India'.
Stokes, later, decided to renounce Christianity and converted to Hinduism
on Sunday 4 September 1932 and came to be known as Satya Nand Stokes. He
also converted his wife Agnes Benjamin and gave her the new name Priya Devi.
His children who were all baptized Christians were also converted to Hinduism.
This brought the missionary activities in these regions to a halt.
1 . b) The Himalaya Mission Station at Simla, (1845 A.D.)
The Himalayas seemed to present one of the most promising fields for
missionary activity. Leading English residents at Simla, such as Charles Gorton,
Captain Jackson, Dr. Laughton, Captain Graham, General Smith, Dr. Dempster,
Major Boileau and Captain Rainey, contributed largely towards the support of the
Himalayan Mission.^ But the Church Missionary Society, had been compelled
to refuse their application for a missionary on account of its peculiar difficulties.
Finding that there was hardly room for two European missionaries at Kotgarh, it
was decided to give greater attention to missionary work at Simla, where most of
the chief subscribers stayed. Even otherwise Simla was a relatively populous
town. Therefore, the Christian Protestant Mission in Simla was started in 1845
as a part of the Himalaya Mission, with Michael Wilkinson as the head of this
mission.^^
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Wilkinson and his family arrived at Simla on the 30 March 1845, and
proceeded immediately to Kotgarh. After working for a few months there he was
compelled for medical reasons to move to Simla. Upon his return to Simla
Michael Wilkinson immediately commenced his missionary work by building
schools. One of these was the Municipal Board School which v^s established
for the purpose of educating the sons of hill chiefs and others. He also erected a
school house and rest house for travellers at Theog close to the fort of the
Thakur.
Upon his first residence at Simla, Wilkinson established three schools.
But some difficulties soon were encountered in the management of those located
at a distance from his residence. Therefore, as Wilkinson wrote, "the two
schools at Simla are merged into one at my own residence. A school-house has
been built, and also a dwelling house. This is decidedly an advantage, especially
as the location is far away from the bazar and very retired. I have usually had
from 10 to 12 boarders, there are now 16. All support themselves and are under
my own immediate charge, assisted by a youth brought up in the Kotgarh school,
and who was sometime employed therein as a Monitor.Those who can read and
v/rite understand attend daily worship and Lords day service. To this no objection
has been made, and it is now even coveted. The work at this station consists of
schools, and preaching in the bazar." ^
Michael Wilkinson was constantly engaged in making missionary tours.
He preached the Gospel not only to the lower-classes but also to the chiefs and
other important people of the various native states of the hills. When Wilkinson
came to Simla he was one of the oldest missionaries in India and worked here
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tirelessely till he breathed his last on 5 November 1848. He lies buried in the
cemetery below the Bullock Train Office(Khalini).^ Michael Wilkinson's reports
reflected his disappointment about the missionary prospects of Simla. He states
that "owing to peculiar circumstances, the local land owners were opposed to the
establishment of schools." "* Simla was, therefore, abandoned as a station, and
the operations of the society were concentrated at Kotgarh. Archdeacon Bally
started a Native Pastorate Fund in 1874 to provide a good native pastor which
he considered was greatly needed. The Chaplain at that time agreed to
supplement his pay by a contribution of Rs.50/- a month out of Church funds.
The mission staff consisted of the missionary in charge, the native pastor, a
catechist, and a village reader. Towards the close of 1875, the Rev.James
Kadshu was brought from Lahore to be Pastor of the Simla congregation. He
unfortunately died in November 1876. The Simla congregation seems to have
fluctuated with the arrival and departure of European visitors. As regards the
Church Missionary Society's work, Simla strangely was the outstation for
Kotgarh. About this arrangement Hooper of the Lahore Divinity School who
visited Simla in 1879 v^ote: "I am decidedly of the opinion that Simla should if
possible be taken up more vigorously and not (at any rate v^ile the Supreme
Government is here) be treated as a mere branch of Kotgarh. The Native
Christians at Simla are most of them in great need of pastoral superintendence.
But, besides this, Simla attracts during the season a number of educated and
influential Natives and some of these are seeking after the truth and there should
be some one at hand to meet and by God's help to guide them. Thomas
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Edwards, honorary District Catechist, C.M.S., now lay pastor is full of zeal, but
he cannot undertake the work to which I have referred.'^
About Simla, Rev. Dr. H.U. Weitbrecht reported that "there was a
congregation of eighty six souls. The Indian native Christian Thomas Edwards,
acted for long as honorary lay - pastor and entered the service of the Panjab
Church Council. He later entered the Lahore Divinity College for receiving some
theological training before beginning his regular work". ®
Rev.Thomas Edwards a South Indian Native Christian^ formerly clerk at
Christ Church was in charge of the Simla mission in 1883. The native
congregation at Simla numbered 150 souls in the season. At Simla, a new
Church was built for the native congregation. The management of the Church
was administered by Rev.Thomas Edwards. The first stone of this Church was
laid on 8 September 1884 by Lady Aitchison, wife of the Lieutenant-Governor of
the Panjab. The new Church of St.Thomas (near Western Command
Headquarters) was consecrated by Rev.French, Bishop of Lahore on 9 August
1885. A congregation of 110 was present that included Lord and Lady
Dufferin.^ The Viceroy and Lady Dufferin received the Holy Communion with
the native Christians and other friends. At this time Thomas Edwards gratefully
acknowledged the help of Christian people among the Anglo-Indian official
community.' The Church was plain but well furnished with sitting
accommodation for over one hundred and fifty. Services were held in Urdu and
also in English for the benefit of the Bengalis who understood the latter language
better than Urdu.^
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At Simla, as Thomas Edwards observed, the number of worshippers at
the mission services increased largely during the seven years since the Church
was opened in 1885. In addition to the Sunday services and Sunday school, a
children's service was held on Wednesday, a Bible class in English on
Thursdays, and one in Urdu on Fridays. The School was raised from the upper
primary to the middle standard. A library and reading room were opened in
1895, chiefly through the efforts made by Thomas Edwards. Thomas Edwards
died suddenly on Sunday 28 January 1894 and some of his friends presented
the lectern and brass mural tablet which can still be seen in the St.Thomas
Church.They also erected a brass mural tablet to his memory in the Christ
Church at the Ridge. A Church Pastorate Endov mient Fund was started in 1896.
Rev. Dr. H. U. Weitbrecht was shifted from Batala to Simla in the spring of
1896 in order to take up the work of completing the revision of Urdu New
Testament. Weitbrecht's time was largely taken up in this work in which he was
assisted by Lala Chandu Lai, a native Christian from Lahore. Each portion of the
New Testament, when completed, was printed, and copies were sent to some
150 persons, natives and Europeans, and the notes received from them were
carefully collated and sifted.®^
Rev.P.Ireland Jones took residence in May 1899. His work was both
pastoral and evangelistic. The latter work was carried on by means of preaching
and visiting the bazar, and by discussion meetings for educated non-Christians.
A number of these gatherings were arranged in private houses for those who
spoke English.®^ Rev.F.Papprill took over the charge of the work at Simla from
P. Ireland Jones early in 1900.There was a permanent Hindustani congregation
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at Simla of about seventy which increased to one hundred and seventy during
the eight warm months of the year. An English service was held during the
season for Bengali Christians, a good number of whom were employed in
Government offices. With the Bishop's permission a Bengali service and Sunday
schools were started and conducted by one of these Christians for their fellow-
country men.® In this regard, Rev. G. T. Manley v^ote that 'In Simla there are
several hundred Indian clerks in high government positions, away from the
cramping and conservative influence of their homes, the mixture of races and
creeds makes them specially open to Christian influence, and altogether there
seems a very open door here.'^ Christian servants were visited by a catechist
and a reader, and the same workers preached in the bazars and visited the
neighbouring hamlets. Evangelistic meetings were addressed in the Young
Men's Christian Association (hereafter Y.M.C.A.) hall by the Bishop of Lahore,
and the Rev. Dr. H. U. Weitbrecht. Rev.G.T.Manley also spoke on four
occasions on The Religion of the Twentieth Century', 'Atheism', 'Christianity and
Evolution', and The Ressurection*. Rev.Manley also gave a lecture in the Town
Hall on 'The Views of Modern Science', which was attended by over five hundred
people. The Lieutenant Governor of the Panjab and the Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces v^re among the audience.®^
The Christians of Simla, it seems, were the cause of much anxiety for
Rev. F. Papprill because of their drinking habits and lack of spirituality. The
transfer of the native pastor, Rev.Jaswant Singh from Kotgarh to Simla v«s
expected to make some improvement in the situation. Meetings towards this end
were also organized and addressed in English by the Bishop of Lahore, Major-
169
General Scott, and others. Monthly gatherings of the missionaries took place at
Simla. Besides, his other duties, Rev.F.Papprill was given the additional work of
the Secretary of the Y.M.C.A. Though he undertook the additional duties
somewhat reluctantly, he discovered that the missionary work progressed better
by doing so as he came into contact with a number of men and in this process
misconceptions about his work were corrected.®^ In June 1903 the 'Keswick'
meetings were held in Simla for the benefit of the missionaries. Amongst the
speakers were Sir Andrew Fraser, F. Papprill, J.P. Haythornwaite and I.W.
Chariton.^ Papprill had the assistance of the Indian clergyman, Rev.Jaswant
Singh at Simla for a few months before the latter was transferred to Batala.®^
Rev. J. Redman succeeded Rev. F. Papprill at Simla. The congregation at
Simla numbered about seventy in winter and hundred and thirty four in summer
and was composed of three classes. There were clerks, most of them being
English-speaking Bengalis, who were engaged in the Government offices, and
among whom were some earnest, spiritual-minded men. Then, there were men
employed in the Government Press, most of whom were Urdu-speaking, and
who were regular in attendence at the services, but not so aggressive about
Christianity. Then, finally, there were the servants, of some of whom were by
their masters spoke in high terms. Rev. J. Redman took some part in the work
of the Y.M.C.A., for the sake of the opportunities which it afforded him of coming
into contact with non-Christians as well as Christians. Bazar work was carried on
throughout the year, and occasional visits were paid to the hamlets scattered on
the hills.®^
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Serious damage was done to the Church at Simla by the earthquake in
April 1905. Apart from contributions made by the European residents, the local
Christians contributed liberally for the erection of a new building. Rev. J. Redman
continued his missionary work by means of bazar preaching, the distribution of
tracts to Bengali clerks, and lectures in English for the benefit of educated
Indians.®^ A well-known member of the Christian community, Babu R. R. Raha,
passed away at Simla in July 1910. He had for many years been the manager of
the Panjab Bible and Religious Book Depot in Lahore, and he was thoroughly
respected by both Europeans and Indians for his sterling goodness.
Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, laid the foundation stone of a new Church
of St.Thomas, Simla, on 29 June 1912. Among those present on this occasion
were Sir Louis Dane (Lieut-Governor of the Panjab), Rani Harnam Singh,Sir
Robert Carlyle (Member of the Governor-Generals Council), Sir Spencer
Harcourt Butler (Foreign Secretary to the Government of India), General Sir
Robert Scallon (in command of the Burma Brigade) and a large gathering of the
Indian Christian community.^
The annual Simla convention was held from 3 to 8 June 1912 in the Tov^
Hall. Rev. H.B.Durrant, Principal of St. John's College Agra, conducted the early
morning meetings. On the eighth a largely attended missionary meeting was
held at Barnes Court, the residence of the Lieut-Governor of the Panjab, at the
kind invitation of Lady Dane.The Bishop of Lahore presided and several people
spoke on the occasion. Perhaps the most interesting amongst them was the talk
by Commissioner Booth Tucker on, "What the Salvation Army is doing in the
'Reclamation of the Criminal Tribes of India."®^
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The Viceroy and Lady Chelmsford were present at the anniversary
service at Simla, in 1916, as Lord Hardinge had been in 1915. Many leading
officials, including members of the Viceroy's Executive Council were also
present. The Bishop of Lahore, Canon, H.B.Durrant, preached the sermon. The
v ork of the Simla Zenana Mission which was carried on by the two deaconesses
of the Cambridge Delhi Mission included a School for Bengali girls at Simla.^
1. c) The Simla Baptist Mission (1865 A.D.)
The Simla Baptist Mission was begun by the Rev. Gulzar Shah in South
Colinga Street, Calcutta in 1865.^ His employment as a clerk in the Public
Works Department of the Government of India brought him to Simla for the first
time. This Mission was carried on with the help obtained, as regards work, from
a few Bengalis and, as regards money, chiefly from officials of the Government
of India, from the Simla Union Church, and from the Baptist Missionary Society.
The Mission did not belong to any Church or Society till the year 1880. It was
during this year that Rev. Gulzar Shah, fearing further complications that could
arise after his death, made over the Mission property to the Baptist Missionary
Society. The choice was made in consideration of their being the largest
subscribers to the mission for some years and, especially, of their help for the
new Chapel.
Gulzar Shah commenced Sabbath services for native Christians of all
denominations. There was no such service held in any other place in Simla at
the time. He preached to the Hindus and the Muhammadans who came up from
the plains as well as to the hill people in their villages. In 1866, two male and
one female teachers were appointed, but there were no direct conversions, and
172
no addition to the Church. In 1868, the first Chapel was built and two new
converts were obtained. The total number of converts (Hindus, Muslims and
Sikhs) baptized by the mission from its commencement till 1883, was one
hundred and thirty four.^ A new Chapel on the Cart Road was opened in June
1879. The number of the congregation increased v^th larger numbers of Indian
Christians who came to Simla year after year as employees of the Secretariat
and other Government offices. Separate services were held for Bengali and
Hindustani congregations.^
After the death of the Rev. Gulzar Shah in 1886 the work of the Simla
Mission was carried on by European missionaries of the Baptist Missionary
Society. Rev. James Smith v^o was well-known for his work at Delhi and
elsewhere, spent the last eleven yeas of his life in the Simla Mission. During this
period, the work on the foothills of Solan and Kalka area was felt to be important
enough to require the services of an additional missionary. George Smith, the
son of James Smith tookover charge of that work. In 1899, the Kalka outstation
also became independent and was placed under the charge of a European
missionary.^ After the death of the Rev. James Smith in 1899, several
missionaries held charge of the Simla work for a short-time. No residential
missionary was appointed till 1901, when the Rev. J. G. Potter and his wife
occupied the station. In 1904, the mission staff consisted of the missionary in
charge, a missionary and two local evangelists, two teachers, a colportem and
two Bible women. ^
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2 a) Church Missionary Society's Mission Station at Kangra, (1854 A.D.)
After the annexation of Kangra (part of Panjab) by the British in 1849,
Donald Macleod, the Commissioner of the division and afterwards Lieutenant-
Governor of the Panjab urged the Church Missionary Society to establish
missions at Kangra and Dharmsala. Kangra, was first visited by Rev. John
Nepomuk Merk from Kotgarh in the year 1851.^ In the spring of 1852,
Archdeacon Pratt strongly recommended the Church Missionary Society to
adopt it in connection with the Kotgarh station. It was on the arrival of Rev. Merk
at Kangra on 15 December 1853,^ and subsequent action by the Church
Missionary Society that the mission commenced functioning here in the
beginning of 1854. °° Almost immediately after his arrival he commenced
preaching the gospel in the bazars of Kangra, and in the surrounding villages.
He often met with opposition because Kangra and the neighbouring town of
Jav^lamukhi, were important centres of Hinduism in that part of the country.
The beautiful and richly-decorated temples were strong proofs of this fact.
Inspite of this. Rev. Merk was able to baptize a Brahman in September 1854
who for several years was a teacher of a Boys School at Jav^lamukhi. His
baptism was a solemn and joyful event for Merk. Most of the Europeans who
resided at Dharmsala, a hill station opposite Kangra, about eleven miles distant
from it, had shown a warm interest in the Mission, and given it their liberal
support. °
Kangra, was a place of pilgrimage and of passage and there were many
opportunities for missionary work amongst strangers. There was a small
Christian congregation of thirty-two converts, eleven of whom had been baptized
174
in 1855. ° A school was opened, but did not function well according to Merk for
want of an efficient European teacher. The residents nevertheless, continued to
provide for the incidental expenses of the station. Among the baptisms Rev.
Merk noticed the case of a Brahman from South India, who had been travelling
for fifteen years from shrine to shrine, and had a great repute for holiness, but
who he said, "found at last, in Christ, the only true rest for his soul". °^ Alongwith
this Brahman a Muhammadan fakir, v^th his wife and two children was also
baptized. Regarding the native converts. Rev. Merks wrote, "Their infirmities
and shortcomings show me that there is yet but a beginning of a work of grace in
their hearts". °^
In the early part of 1857, the year of the Mutiny, J. N. Merk was engaged
in preaching tours and spent some time at Chamba, where he encountered
much violent opposition. At Kangra, though much excitement prevailed during
the Mutiny, no outbreak occurred. The small native flock of twenty-nine
remained faithful. °^ His school, subsequently, recovered from the depression
which it had suffered during the Mutiny, and Merk was able to engage the
services of an efficient native-Christian schoolmaster. Even though the number
of students in the school increased, but the shortage of efficient teachers
persisted. °^ Merk had to draw largely upon his own time and strength. Mrs.
Merk ran a girls school with ten to fifteen pupils. Still Merk was unable to report
any cases of baptism or even of promising enquiries. The congregation slowly
started diminishing. In 1860, Rev. Merk spent four months touring the district but
met with no encouragement beyond attentive audiences. An European
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schoolmaster was also stationed at Kangra in the hope that the branch would
become more effective.
The number of native adult Christians v /as only ten, and no additions were
made during 1862. Rev. Merk also visited those parts of the valley in which there
were tea plantations. The planters consented most willingly that the Gospel
should be preached to their labourers. Whichever plantation the missionaries
went to, they found at eariy dawn several hundreds of labourers assembled,
listening quitely to their preaching before they went to work. Merk was hopeful
that a great movement could begin in these tea-plantations, where a large
number of people were collected.
Merk also found Dharmsala suitable for preaching as it was the
administrative centre of Kangra v^ere the concentration of people was in large
number because of the courts and other offices. Therefore, Merk located the
head catechist in the lower bazar at Dharmsala to see what opening he might
find for missionary work. The result, according to the Church records, was
satisfactory.^°^ Much of Merk's time was spent in touring the district, especially
among the coolies in the tea plantations. He also.engaged in the construction of
a Church for the use of the native Christians, which he hoped would serve to
make the Christians more noticeable to their Hindu countrymen. Merk was
greatly helped by Kadshu, a native of Kotgarh baptized by him at Kotgarh in
1853, in undertaking a long preaching tour to Mandi, Kulu, Lahaul, Pangi and
Chamba. For several years in the past Merk had visited Mandi regularly, and
had found it a good place for preaching.
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Rev. J. P. Menge was transferred from Lucknow in 1867 to Kangra to fill
the vacancy created by Merk's visit to Europe.^°^ James Kadshu was also
transferred and appointed a native Pastor in Lahore during this year. Menge
could not take missionary v^rk any further. He found little discipline and order in
the mission. His deteriorating health also proved detrimental to missionary
activities.
J.N. Merk returned to Kangra after several months' absence on 1 January
1870. He received a kind reception from the people on his return to the station.
Several youngmen, teachers in the mission school-who had themselves been
educated there and were respectable local residents expressed a desire to
convert to Christianity. But they faced considerable resistance. The case of
these new young converts caused considerable restlessness amongst the
population of various towns and villages of the district. Some baptisms did take
place. In all there were four adult baptisms, in eariy 1871. Even as Merk
reported favourably of the tiny native congregation (thirty six) they were unable in
any measure, to bring other people into the fold. Mrs.Merk and her daughter had
after their return from Europe engaged themselves with work in the Zenanas.^^
The Annual report from Kangra for 1874, was written by Mrs. Merk after the
death of J.N.Merk in October 1874. The Report spoke highly of him and his
work.^^°
After the death of J.N. Merk, Rev. C. F. Reuther was transferred to
Kangra from Faizabad in March 1875. At that time the native Christian
population of Kangra numbered forty and there was a congregation of twenty-
seven native Christians at Dharmsala. The number of native Christians however
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began to decrease. Several families left partly due to ill-health, and partly in
search of employment. One young man went with his family to the Lahore
Divinity School to study theology. There were, nevertheless, some additions as
well. Five members, one adult and four children were added to the Church by
baptism. With these baptisms the Christian congregation grew to forty-three
members, of whom the greater part were at Kangra, and the rest at Dharmsala.
Rev. Reuther was an energetic missionary, and had journeyed Palampur-east of
Kangra, Nurpur in the west, Jawalamukhi, Nadaun, and Sujanpur to the south of
Kangra. After her husband's death in 1879, Mrs. Reuther had taken charge of the
girls' orphanage at Amritsar for a time. She later came back to Kangra, and
virtually superintended the mission. Mrs. Reuther also died on 5 July 1885 and
her death was a big loss to the Kangra Mission.
Rev. R. Bateman who took charge of the Kangra Mission after Reuther,
stayed in the district during the hot weather of 1879. According to Bateman, the
inhabitants of Kangra, to judge from their demeanour at street preacfiing, v re
more opposed to the Gospel than those of any other place with which he v^s
acquainted. The school at Kangra did reasonably well during this time as an
educational institution and even gave some religious results. The headboy v^s
baptized by Bishop French in July 1879. In keeping with its decision, mentioned
earlier, the Corresponding Committee proposed to discontinue the management
of the hill stations of Kotgarh and Kangra by European missionaries. It was
hoped that native pastors would be provided for the congregations.
Kangra, an important centre of Hinduism and called "the Benares of the
Panjab","^ was visited by a large number of missionaries in the course of 1881.
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They wrote warmly of the work done in the school there. At Dharmsala, where an
honorary catechist connected with the Panjab Native Church Council was
working, the majority of the Christians were bandsmen in the Gorkha regiment.
At Kangra, where Mrs. Reuther and her daughter resided, evangelistic work was
carried on by catechists. Mrs. Reuther desaibed a preaching tour made by them
in response to an invitation from General MacNeill as follows; "A retired officer.
General MacNeill, who resides at Rylee, a village in the Kangra district had
written to me and asked for a married catechist to be located near him, with a
view to proclaiming the Gospel to the villagers in his neighbourhood, and had
offered to pay Rs.20/- a month towards his maintenance. No men being
available to be sent there, the next best thing seemed to be for the catechists to
visit those villages on their journey to Nadaun and Hoshiarpur. They had
considerable difficulty in finding them, as no proper road leads to them, and they
had to travel over pathless fields and climb over steep hills in search of them.
They were, however, well rewarded for their trouble by the eagerness with which
the people listened to the story of Christ's coming into the World to save sinners.
In one village the men gathered around them and begged with joined hands to
stay and tell them more about Jesus. The catechists talked to them till the
evening, and when they at last said that they must go back to the place where
they have left their things, and cook their food, the men entreated them to
remain, and offered to cook for them. Having supplied them with an ample meal,
they accompanied them to the village where they had arranged to spend the
night. The villagers near Rylee are small and scattered but in every one of them
the catechists met with a kind reception. The people are simple and apparently
179
unprejudiced, and willing to listen to the Gospel. They said they had never seen
native Christians and never heard of Jesus Christ. The catechists returned from
this tour much cheered by the encouragement they had met with in these out-of-
the-v\/ay hamlets. They had been in forty-seven villages, and had preached to
over a thousand persons."^^^
Rev. T. Holden was transferred to Kangra in 1887 from Muttan on account
of his v^fe's health. The boys school in Kangra by this time had 103 names on its
roll. T. Holden specially aimed at reaching the villagers and the numerous melas
held at Kangra gave him the opportunity for doing so. Holden mentioned the
baptism of a young Muhammadan native of Oonah (Una) on 7 September 1887.
Holden travelled over the greater part of the Kangra district during 1888,
preaching and selling books, and finding what he calls appreciative audiences in
most places.
Rev.Carl Gustav Dauble, a veteran missionary who had spent thirty six
years of missionary service mostly in the North-West Province (1857 - 1889
A.D.), was assigned to Kangra by the end of 1889. Upon his arrival, Carl Dauble
successfully appealed for help to the local fund and as a result, the staff was
increased by a Christian Headmaster for the Boys School, a catechist, three
readers, three colporteurs, and four Bible-women. One of the readers was
educated at Secundra and at the Allahabad Divinity School, and his wife was in
the Gorakhpur Orphanage. This man had a talent for music that was found
helpful in the bazar preaching. Mrs.Dauble found it easy to interact with the
women because of her medical knowledge, acquired at Secundra. This was of
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great help whenever an unusual amount of sickness was experienced. Several
of the out-stations were occupied by catechists and four adults were baptized.
Carl Dauble, described his second year at Kangra as an eventful one. He
baptized twelve adults. Some of these were the first conversions made at the
outstation at Palampur. A man named Udmi, a Sikh along v\/ith his wife, his aged
parents-the father being over 80 years and his four children v\/ere also among the
converts. They were baptized in Rev. Dauble's tent-Chapel while he was on tour
southv\/ard from Kangra. This tour was undertaken by Dauble and his wife on
camel-back. Udmi accompanied them on this tour and the former hoped that
many of his old disciples would follow his example and seek baptism.
Carl Dauble died in May 1892. During the three years of his residence at
Kangra the number of native Christians increased from 71 to 151.^^^ Fifty-one
adult converts were baptized during this period, four of them being lepers in the
asylum at Dharmsala. The increased number of catechists and Bible women of
the schools and outstations seems to suggest the fair success of Carl Gustav
Dauble and his wife in the Kangra station. '* The Bishop expressed his
happiness at the progress made by the Boys School under Rev. Brij Lai Datt.
Mrs.Dauble,"^ the widow of Carl Dauble however, continued to reside and work
at Kangra.
Rev. J. Tunbridge and his wife were transferred to the Kangra Mission
Station from the North-West Province and took up residence at Kangra in the
autumn of 1894. Tunbridge walked the entire distance of 170 miles from
Kotgarh to Kangra. A woman and her son belonging to Dhamnsala were baptized
at Kangra where they had shifted to receive instruction from Rev. T. R. Wade in
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August 1894. A leper in the Leper Asylum at this place was also baptized by
Wade earlier in the year. Rev. E. Rhodes, too, joined Tunbridge in Kangra at the
close of 1896. The native Christians, including unbaptized adherents, at this
point of time numbered 147. The schools, six in number v ith 277 boys and 34
girls, passed all the candidates presented for the Anglo-Vernacular Middle
Examination, and the grant earned was the highest on record. The States of
Kulu, Bushahr, Suket and Mandi were also visited by J. Tunbridge in the course
of a long tour of some 400 miles.
J. Tunbridge and E. Rhodes worked together at Kangra throughout 1897.
A special ten-day mission was conducted for the native congregation by Rev.
Ihsan Ullah in August and October 1897. Mr. B. Herklotes of Children's Special
Service Mission held services which were mainly attended by the young. The
inadequate supply of Christian teacher compelled the missionaries at Kangra
and other stations to employ non-Christian teachers. This disturbed Tunbridge
who felt that sometimes such teachers actively discouraged any leaning that
may have been perceptible among the scholars towards Christianity.^^^ At this
point of time Brij Lai Datt, the blind head-master of the boarding school resigned
and was replaced by a graduate of Lahore University. Two adults, one a blind
Muhammadan and the other a Rajput leper in the asylum were also baptized. '
It may be mentioned that E. Rhodes spent three months in evangelistic tours.
The main opposition to his efforts came from the Arya Samajists, and in one
place they even covered him with feazarfilth in their anger against his preaching.
At Dhamnsala, in the autumn of 1896 an unusual incident occurred. A
native clergymann, the Rev. Ihsan Ullah was invited to conduct a special mission
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for the English residents in English. Most of the residents, including civil and
military officers, attended some of the services. Urdu services were also held for
the native congregation and some differences of opinion were patched up. A
new Church in memory of the late Rev. Carl Gustav Dauble was opened in
September, 1897^^° Mrs. Dauble made a tour southward from her station at
Dharmsala, and also visited Palampur, Mandi, Hamirpur, and Nadaun. Her
previous visit to some of these places had been in 1891 and she was impressed
to find people who remembered it. Some school girls still knew the bhajans
which she had taught to them then.
J. Tunbridge reported that during 1898 Church committees were
established at Kangra, Sidhpur and Dharmsala v^ich undertook the upkeep and
repair of all Churches, and steadly aimed at self-rule, self-support and self-
propagation. E. Rhodes made two itinerating tours during the course of which
he visited many small towns, and distributed several hundred copies of Urdu
translations of Spurgeon's sermons as well as other forms of Christian literature.
The Bible classes in Dharmsala were well-attended. The men met in turn, in
each other's houses, and the women were taught by Mrs. Sage (formerly Miss
Dixie, of the C.E.Z.M.S.), the wife of then commanding officer at the station.
Confirmations were held at three centres in October, and twenty candidates
were presented. Three of these were the inmates of the Leper Asylum. There
were five adult baptisms during the year including a Mohammedan. One of them
was a policeman. The relatives of this policeman nearly succeeded in
kidnapping his little boy, but the baptism which took place soon afterwards
practically destroyed any hope they may have had of preventing the man from
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converting to Christianity. ^® Mrs. Dauble who was in her thirty-first year of
service in the mission-field made several tours in the district. Though she was
seriously ill during August and September she was successful in school among
Gurkhas. For the year 1899, E. Rhodes reported that the upper primary and
middle classes of the school were larger than ever before. He recorded the
words used by the Inspector, an old man, whose visit was the last before
retirement. He was himself an old mission school boy and said that he owed his
success in life, not so much to the education gained, as to the moral training. All
the highest and most trusted native officials he knew were educated by
missionaries.
The Rev. and Mrs. J. Tunbridge left Kangra in April 1900 to take a
furlough. Rev. E. Rhodes, too, was absent from the station for six months of the
year, first studying for Deacons Orders, at the Lahore Divinity School, and then
assisting for three months in famine relief work among the Bhil community of
Central India. In their absence Rev. Brij Lai Datt conducted the services and
took part in evangelistic work. The bazar preaching was frequently addressed to
people from distant areas such as Kulu, Ladakh, and Tibet, and to pilgrims from
Central Panjab and the North-West Provinces. Brij Lai Datt mentioned that "the
chief-citizens of Kangra did not attend the open-air preaching, but they cheerfully
welcomed evangelists who visited them at their houses he also learnt that a
Hindu judge, after an illness of some months, sent in the night for the Christian
Headmaster of the mission school to pray for his recovery. This the latter did in
the presence of many Hindus. The judge it is argued, afterwards openly
attributed his recovery to the Christian prayer."^^ Datt also observed that "a
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Brahman pleader in Kangra had published a work of fiction which included
numerous quotations from the scriptures. This was taken to suggest the
increasing familiarity of local people with Christianity. During this period no long
tours were undertaken, but the villagers within a radius of ten miles of Kangra
and its outstations, Sidhpur, Palampur, and Nurpur were visited." ^^
Rev. H.F. Rowlands succeeded to the charge of Kangra when the Rev. E.
Rhodes and his wife went home in March 1902. At Jawalamukhi, which Rhodes
had described as the "most idolatrous place in the Panjab", and where temples
were extremely numerous, six adults were baptized - three brothers and their
wives all cultivators of their own land. At Barwana, near Palampur, a barber and
his family were baptized. In February 1901, Rev. E.F.E. Wigram and students of
the Lahore Divinity School accompanied a missionary party in the district. They
were joined in March by Dr. A.H. Browne of Amritsar, and the Rev. J.A. Wood, in
their tour of the Mandi State.^^ In appreciation of the good work done the
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir W. Mackworth Young enthusiastically declared, "I have
known the Kangra Mission for forty years, but never before have I seen
symptoms of prosperity as they are today (1902)."^^
In November 1902, Dr. 8. W. Sutton was transferred from Dera Ghazi
Khan to Kangra. Sutton, had commenced medical work at Kangra on the
departure of the Rev. Rov\/land for England in March 1903. As the general
superintendence of the work fell on Sutton, the medical mission had to be left in
abeyance. "* Much time was spent over the school which had received an
adverse report from the Government Inspector in May and therefore required
thorough re-organisation. A fresh staff of masters was engaged and were
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placed under Rev. Brij Lai Datt, the former headmaster, who had retired from the
work, but came to the rescue in the emergency.
A terrible earthquake took place in the Panjab on the morning of 4 April
1905 in which 16,000 persons lost their lives.^^ Kangra and Dharmsala suffered
the most, and in the former town the Society's mission house was levelled to the
ground. Rev. H. F. Rowlands, Mrs. C. G. Dauble and Miss M. Lorbeer were
killed. The last named was a member of the Berlin Ladies Society, working
under the auspices of the CMS., who had just been transferred temporarily
from Agra to Kangra.^^ Several other missionaries and Indian agents of the
Society had a narrow escape. Sutton, with his children, was buried under a
mass of debris, but mercifully was not seriously hurt. Rev. Brij Lai Datt, the blind
Indian clergyman was unharmed and Paras Nath, another Indian clergymen,
was injured, and his wife and several children were killed. At Dharmsala Miss M.
Michaelis, of the Berlin Ladies Society, who was in charge of the little C.M.S.
School, was buried in the ruins for several hours, but all the fourteen children lost
their lives. Later Miss Michaelis went to Dalhousie for six months, but returned
to the district in autumn. In all, forty-six persons were killed in the mission-
compound, and even the Leper Asylum was levelled to the ground.
Relief measures were carried out by missionaries who came to Kangra
from outside. Among them were Rev. E. Guilford of Tarn Taran, Dr. AH.
Browne of Amritsar and Mr. S. Gillespie of Clarkabad. There were also
Government officials v\4io hurried to the spot. But their difficulties were
increased by the bands of men from the plains who joined the criminals in the
hills in a general loot. A kind of lawlessness ran riot for weeks/^^ In the autumn
186
of 1905 Rev. J. Tunbridge again took up his residence there. He found the
people more friendly than ever before.
The widespread ruin caused in Kangra district by the earthquake of April
1905, posed a difficulty for the missionaries in their efforts to minister to the little
groups of Christians and to try and make conversions. Both Rev. J. Tunbridge,
who was in charge at the beginning of 1906 and Rev. J.F. Snee, (who was
afterwards temporarily transferred there from Amritsar), suffered in health from
having to live in tents and the exposure to the severe cold in winter and the
scorching heat in the summer, apart from the constant journeys and the
occasional shortages of provisions. The former became seriously ill and had to
return home. ^®
2 b) Missionary Society of Church of Canada, Mission Station at Kangra, (1912 A.D.)
At the beginning of 1912, the work of the Church Missionary Society, at
Kangra was handed over to the Missionary Society of Church of Canada
(M.S.C.C), which it was hoped, would be able to make greater progress among
the 1,000,000 inhabitants of the district. Because of its various and extensive
commitments the Church Missionary Society had not been able to do much in
the Kangra mission. The Church of Canada Mission was governed by a local
Governing Board, of which the Bishop of Lahore was ex-officio Chairman.
Rev. R.H.A. Haslam, of Missionary Society of Church of Canada made
some very interesting observations that may be worth quoting extensively. He
noted: "Many have attempted to explain the cause of the unrest of the last few
years, but the root, as also the remedy, is difficult to decipher. Mighty forces
187
have been at work for the past fifty years which have disintegrated many of the
habits of thought and many of the practices which before then were regarded as
unchangeable and invulnerable. With increase in education has come the desire
to shake off the shackles of caste and custom.... Ancestor and rightful ruler are
alike held in little esteem. Independence of action and thought dominates. The
liberation, unfortunately, has only been intellectual, the result of western
education, and lacks thus'' the balance which can only come with the freedom
of the truth, by which alone both they and we can be made free. Even secular
officials in India today are feeling that had the Government been courageous at
the outset and given religious teaching in Government supported Schools, today
would tell a different story of loyalty and administrative power through the
enlighted and sympathetic support of India's sons. Political reforms are in the
air-today, but political reforms cannot take the place of inward moral reform of
life and character whereby alone India shall ever be in a position to be self-
governing. We do not fear mutiny, though a year ago it looked like it. The wiser
heads in the land are getting control of the youth and we hope for better things. I
cannot quite say what the results of the unrest has been or is on our mission
work. In some ways, I think, it makes for hope, in others it destroys hope, that
India will soon accept Christ. The independence will break away from bonds of
caste and custom and make acceptance of another faith easier, but in as much
as Christ is identified v^th the West, as such. His faith will be unpopular".^^
Rev. R.H.A. Haslam of the Missionary Society of Church of Canada
worked as a quasi-chaplain at Dharmsala among military and civil officers. This
v^s a considerable addition to his normal duties. But it was also that part of his
188
work which gave him recognition from the officers, who regularly supported the
mission with their donations. A significant addition to the work here was a small
dispensary below the Church, and to the west of the rest bungalow built by
Tunbridge, as a temporary mission house soon after the earthquake that rocked
Kangra in 1905. This dispensary, made of stone and dhajji \NorK provided an
opportunity to Mrs. Haslam for using her medical knowledge among many local
women and children.^^
In May 1909 Haslam spent a month touring through the native state of
Mandi and in British administered Kulu. It was the first opportunity he had to visit
Mandi, and the impression he gathered seems to have given him hope of making
some conversions. He was accompanied by Dr. G. B. Archer of Doyabah, a
place in the Nadia District of Bengal. About his visit to Mandi Haslam wrote:
"These sturdy, simple, straight-forward hillmen should make strong Chhstians if
won to Christ. In Mandi city there was a gathering estimated at from seven to
sixteen thousand people. A durbar had been held the day before and the
Commissioner and representative audiences in the city itself... Not withstanding
the excitement the crowd listened to the Gospel for two days with manifest
interest. I took a hundred gospels and gospel portions with me for sale. They
were brought up on our route and on my first-appearance in the streets of Mandi.
I cannot be satisfied to leave these 15,000 people and more without the gospel.
They must have it. The Kangra Mission must be better manned and that soon,
we passed from Mandi to Kulu, where I visited last year. The Mission has no
established work there, but I found a small congregation of Christians, seven in
all, consisting of a retired Indian with his son and son's wife and child, a Lahauli
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and his wife, and a Ladakhi, the latter of whom are in the good to see these few
meeting together for worship." ^^
From the beginning of 1912, by agreement with the Parent Committee
and with the concurrence of the Bishop of Lahore, the Missionary Society of the
Canadian Church agreed to undertake the entire responsibility for the Kangra
Mission. It was hoped that the Canadian Church would be able to develop the
Mission in a way that the Society, owing to many urgent claims elsewhere, could
not possibly have done. Haslam of the Canadian Church wrote from Kangra
that, "we leave the dear old Church Missionary Society with sincere regrets, for
our fellowship in the gospel with her workers has been very happy, but we
believe that for the larger interest of the Kingdom we are doing what is our duty
in assisting to establish a Canadian Church work in India and are assured of the
prayerful interest and support of our brethren in the carrying out of the plan "^^
At an ordination in Lahore Cathedral on the fourth Sunday in the Advent
(St.Thomas Day), the Bishop of Lahore admitted W. A. Earp and F. S. Ford of
the Canadian Mission in Kangra to Priests Orders.^^ Haslam saw great
opportunity in spreading Christianity in Kangra as he stated, "We held service of-
intercession in Upper Dharmsala for the English residents, a Parsi merchant
came and listened throughout with keenest attention. In the Arya Samaj Hall
around 200 Indians were present and were most reverent, standing throughout
the offering of the prayers and paying the closet attention to an address on 'Our
grounds for believing that God will hear Prayer". The gathering is remarkable for
being held in the hall of neo-Hindus sect which is violently anti-Christian. At the
close of the service several members of the sect thanked us for the service. May
190
I in closing appeal to members of the Church that this wonderful opportunity be
redeemed. There is a strategic element in opportunity. Iron must be struck when
hot, clay moulding when plastic Now is our special opportunity for striking and
moulding pray as never before for us and them that we may be enabled for the
work, and send us outmen and women."^^
He further stated that "Because of its primitive form of Hinduism, the
Kangra district is the most difficult field for evangelism, as there is a
comparatively small number of Christians, and the whole of the work is an
outreach to the non-Christians. The effects of Christian education upon the
culture of India can not be over estimated. Many of the social changes that have
taken place are due to the impact of Christian education upon the minds of the
leaders of the country, and one cannot over estimate its importance".^^
St. Paul's High School, Palampur was founded in 1923 under the
principalship of the Rev. F. S. Ford.^^ It v^s started as a high school with only
two senior classes. It developed over the years into a middle and high school
\Mth classes from primary upto matriculation. From 1934, until the time of his
death in 1947, Rev. Geoffrey Guiton was the Principal. St. Anne's Girls School
in Palampur and St. Hilda's Girls School in Kangra, were started by Miss
Elizabeth Giovetti,^^'' The emancipation of the women of India in general and
women of hills, in particular, was one of the greatest tasks sought to be
accomplished and the contribution, that v^s made in these Christian schools for
girls played a reasonably important role.
The Church Missionary Society and the Canadian Mission also
established the Maple Leaf Hospital at Kangra, St. Luke's Hospital, Palampur,
191
and Lady Willington Hospital at Manaii. The Manali hospital was a remote
outpost of the Canadian Mission at the far end of the Kulu valley on the road
leading to Leh and Ladakh. It grew from a rural dispensary into a small hospital
with twenty-four beds/'"® Dr. Florence Haslam was in charge of the Maple Leaf
Hospital at Kangra, for many years. It was first started as a small dispensary in
1912 by her mother Dr. Jean Haslam, whose husband Rev. R. H. A. Haslam,
was the first Canadian Secretary of the Kangra Mission.^^ The 'Palampur Leper
House', was also the centre of much activity and short courses in treatment were
given periodically to groups of new doctors.
Work amongst groups classified as 'criminal tribes' was a prominent part
of the activities of the Kangra Mission. An interesting case is that of such a tribal
having being given training at Industrial School at Palampur. He was Samuel
Akhtar, who later served in the Royal Indian Navy and ultimately on his return to
Palampur became a trained teacher at St. Paul's High School.^''° These 'tribes'
were usually wandering groups of people v^o made their living by various
means, some of which may not have been honest work. According to
administrative reports they indulged in thieving, sorcery, and snake-charming'.^"*^
Such people were considered troublesome by the Government which sought to
segregate them in settlements. One such colony was established near
Palampur and the inmates were put to work in the neighbouring tea fields. In
1930 the settlement was closed and an endeavour was made to rehabilitate the
inmates by settling them on the land under the supervision of landovi/ners. It was
a difficult task to make them give up their wandering habits.^''^
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3. The Moravian Missions Among The Tribals At Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur And Simla
Bohemia and Moravia were once two independent kingdoms situated in
Central Europe. Later they became provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After the First World War they formed part of the kingdom of Czechoslovakia.
Bohemia, now the northern province of the Czech Republic, lies to the south
east of Germany. Moravia is the eastern province lying between Bohemia and
Slovakia. "^ At one time (1275) both Bohemia and Moravia were fiefs of the
German Empire. Later (1345-78), the Bohemian king, Charles IV, was elected
the German Emperor. Originally a Lutheran community, the Moravians broke
away from the Lutherans in 1727, and started a new community called, 'Unitas
Fratrum' or The Unity of Brethren'. ' The 'Unitas Fratrum', known as the
Moravian Church, originated in a village in Kunwald ** in Moravia and is
remarkable for its missionary work. The Mission began life in 1457, and passed
through a period of persecution in Bohemia before it migrated to Saxony. It was
a small Church, but the congregations of the Mission fields abroad numbered
three times as much as those at home, and every member took some part in the
Mission work. The tenents of the Church are Evangelistic, Protestant and
Episcopal. There were three provinces of the Mission, Great Britain and Ireland,
the United States of America and Canada, and Germany with several continental
countries.''''
The Moravians laid great emphasis on preaching, which they made lively
by their ardent zeal and earnestness, and always led a life after the primitive
model. The general synod meeting held after ten years control led the policy and
193
funds of the Church as a whole and appointed a Board to Control the missions.
The Board was composed of an elected Bishop from each province and a
finance member. Each province had its ovwi legislative synod and executive. ''®
Inspite of their small size, the Moravians were also among the foremost pioneers
of the protestant missionary movement. In 1732, they sent their first missionary
to preach to the black slaves in the West Indies. Within a few years others set
out for Greenland, Labrador, North-America, Central Russia, Persia, Central-
America, Surinam, Canada, Tanzania, South-Africa, Ceylon and even the
Nicobar Islands. The Moravians, or United Brethren, made an attempt in 1740, to
establish a mission in Ceylon. ''
In 1777, two Brethren came to Bengal from Tranquebar at the request of
the Danish Asiatic Company. The Moravian Brethren worked for a period of
fifteen years (1777-1792) in Serampore (then belonging to Denmark and called
Frederiksnagar). Moravians also tried to obtain a foothold in Calcutta and Patna.
But as no success w^s obtained in this they lost heart and returned to
Tranquebar in 1791 .^^
The Moravian Mission was established much later at Kyelang (presently
headquarter of Lahaul & Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh) in 1854. '® The
founders of the Himalayan Mission originally set out to preach not to the Indians
or to the Tibetans, but to the Mongols. From the beginning Moravian
missionaries' objective was to reach the Mongol tribe of Central Asia. The first
two missionaries appointed in 1852, were to Keu>«.'*)ni,b^ European Russia and
Siberia into Central Asia.^^ But after repeated applications had been made, the
Russian Government refused to let them pass through their territories. The route
194
through China being, then, still obstructive to missionary enterprise had also to
be abandoned because of the refusal of the Chinese Government. A third way
via Ladakh was chosen. From Ladakh the missionaries were to penetrate to the
Mongolian tribes that inhabit the northern part of Eastern Turkistan. ^^ On 13
July 1853 the two missionaries, Wilhelm Heyde and Edward Pagell set out in the
company of Rev. Rebsch, who was returning to India. They went first to London.
Then on 3 August 1853, they embarked at Portsmouth, England, and landed at
Calcutta on 23 November 1853. ^ Wilhelm Heyde^^ and his companion spent
their time in pursuing their studies in the Mongolian language, determined in their
plan to reach Mongolia by crossing the barely known Tibet from Northern India.
Wilhelm Heyde and Eduard Pagell arrived at Kotgarh on 4 April 1854 and
stayed with Dr. Prochnow.^^ They decided that the best thing to do was to
establish themselves on the frontier of the forbidden country. To them the valley
of Lahaul seemed quite appropriate for setting up their establishment. They
informed the Mission Board at Herrnhut of their project at Kyelang, and on 3
March 1856 they received the authorization. On 18 April 1856 the British
Government also granted its permission with assurance of support. The
government further promised to furnish v^thout charge, the wood and stones
necessary for the construction of the mission house.^^ The Brethren had
bought a piece of land in the vicinity of Kyelang. With the founding of the
Kyelang Mission Station the Mongolian mission turned into the Tibetan or the
Himalayan Mission. Heyde and Pagell could not spend the first two or three
v\/inters at Kyelang. They used to return to Kotgarh by the end of October. A third
missionary Rev. Heinrich August Jaeschke, joined them in the month of March,
195
1858. Already forty years old, he was to be the Superintendent of the mission
with the special responsibility of studying Tibetan. He was .committed with
leading the direction of this mission work in Tibet. Once the mission house or
building was completed and the mission securely established it was decided that
the missionaries required wives. Arranged marriages, which are still common in
India, were then familiar enough in Moravian missionary circles. The Mission
Board in Herrnhut duly selected three brides and despatched them to
Calcutta.^^ In November, Heyde and Jaeschkes conducted each other's
wedding ceremonies before an enthusiastic congregation of Kyelang villagers.
Jaeschke's bride was Emilie Rosenhauer and Heyde's was Maria Hartmann. ^^
The Kyelang Mission Station rapidly took shape. Heyde spent the winter
of 1858 at Simla, learning the printer's trade. He purchased the material
necessary for printing. In 1858, Wilhelm Heyde obtained a lithographic printing
press from Simla and thus was published the first of many mission publications.
Berth's Bible Stories translated into Tibetan by Jaeschke. In the autumn of 1862
Heyde decided to leave Kyelang to establish a new mission elsewhere. His wife
was ill at that time and he had to send for a physician. On 24 October 1862,
they left Kyelang woth their little daughter Elly, aged two years, and with a
servant. After they had crossed the Rohtang Pass, at Dshaga (Jagat) Sukh, a
little Hindu village, a child was prematurely born but it did not survive. In the
spring of 1863, the Heydes settled at Dshaga sukh.^^ This transfer was made in
order to reduce the mission budget. In 1863 Rev. Rechler, arrived in Kyelang
and became Superintendent so that Jaeschke could concentrate on the
linguistic work. In April 1864 the Heyde left their hut at Dshaga sukh in order to
196
begin a station planned for Munsala. However, on 14 May 1864 they were
recalled to Kyelang to take the place of Jaeschke, who was leaving for Simla to
devote more time to the study of the language. ®
The Moravian mission in Kyelang, during most of this period, was
represented by Heyde and Pagell, who along with their families resided in the
well-built and substantial mansion that they had themselves erected and fitted
out in German style. ^^ Rev. Wilhelm Heyde remained at Kyelang for half a
century continuously, and returned to Germany to spend the last two years of his
life. His record "was one of absolute devotion to the work of the mission. He and
his v^fe left lasting effects of their life, and labours among the people of Lahaul".
Rev. Rechler, was followed by Friedrich A.Redslab (1892-1913), Kurt
Fichtner (1894-1905), Ernest R. Schnabel (1895-1920), Friedrich A.Peter (1935-
1940), and Otto Gerhard Hettasch (1900-1911). ®^ However, Kyelang in the
nineteenth century was famous, above all, for being home to Wilhelm Heyde,
who was based there till 1898.
As far as conversion was concerned, the success of the mission in these
remote parts was not very encouraging. The presence of these selfless
missionaries did not, however, go futile. The local people resorted to them for
advice and assistance, both in cases of sickness and adverse circumstances. In
the mission house at Kyelang an apartment v^s set aside as a guest-room, and
all who passed through Lahaul received the genuine kindness and generous
hospitability of the Moravian missionaries. There were few converts from
Kyelang. The first converts in 1865, were two Ladakhis, Sonam Stobgyes and
his son Samuel Joldan from the village Stok near Leh/®^ The first male Lahauli,
197
Dewazung, was baptized in 1872, and the second, Pal Trashi, only in 1909.^^
Almost all of the few converts of the Kyelang congregation were Ladakhis rather
than Lahaulis. The former, came to Lahaul as traders or as workers seeking
employment. Being outsiders the Ladakhis were less susceptible to local social
pressure not to associate with the mission. Such pressure came from the
families of potential converts. Resistance also came from the local monks and
from the thakurs, who were the leading landov^ers and who probably used their
influence against the mission. As early as 1870 the missionaries believed that
thakurs were plotting against them out of fear that their traditional predominance
would be underminded by the mission. The mission's relations v^th the thakurs
remained strained. In 1938, the Kyelang community imposed a boycott on the
Christians refusing to sell them any goods. ^ On any one who ever talked to
them, a Rs.50/- fine was imposed. The boycott was lifted after the intervention of
the District Commissioner but relations remained tense.
With the founding of the Leh Station in 1885, the Mission Board, several
times, discussed the possibility of closing the Kyelang station or at least
withdrawing European missionaries in order to concentrate the mission's limited
resources on Ladakh. Rev. Ernst R. Schnabal and his wife were at Kyelang for
about ten years and in the autumn of 1915, were repatriated to Germany.
During, and just after, the First World War, Kyelang actually was left without a
missionary. In 1921, Joseph Gergan, one of the first two Ladakhi priests to be
ordained arrived to take over and stayed until 1926, when he returned to Leh.
He was replaced by Rev.Walter Asboe. The last European missionary at
Kyelang, Friedrich A. Peter, served there with his sister from 1935 to 1940/®^
198
Friedrich A. Peter and his sister were forced to leave Kyelang after the
outbreak of the Second World War because the British Government suspected
them of Nazi sympathies. Although they were Swiss citizens, the government
wished to remove them from this sensitive area. It appears that the main reason
for the government's suspicions was that their parents were then residents in
Herrnhut in Nazi Germany. They spent the duration of the Second World War at
the Church of Canada Mission station in Palampur. Friedrich Peter, developed
his skills here as a 'rural uplift' worker for which he was subsequently awarded a
'Kaiser-i-Hind' medal. After the war, he briefly returned to Leh to review
proposals for an irrigation project there but subsequently moved to western
Panjab v\/hich by then had become part of Pakistan. Before he left, Friedrich
Peter had the dismal task of closing dov^ the Kyelang mission station and
selling the farm land, though the Christians were allowed to keep the Chapel and
burial ground. ®^
Several traces of the missionaries presence however are still to be found
in the tribal areas in the Western Himalayas. Many of the crops and plants the
missionaries introduced still flourish. The mission introduced potatoes, oats,
hops, and rye on their farm. In particular, potatoes and hops, first brought to
Lahaul by the mission have become a major and profitable export aop to the
rest of India.
The Moravian missionaries, for a long time had Kyelang as their main
base of work covering all the neighbouring valleys. Because of their building
skills Kyelang has the best houses, and a fine belt of poplar trees-another legacy
of the mission. Rye is cultivated by the people chiefly for the sake of straw,
199
though oats have all but disappeared. The mission kept statistics of rain and
snowfall at Kyelang for the Meteorological Department.
There were two Moravian mission stations in Upper Kinnaur in the
erstwhile Bushahr State. The first was at Poo (Pooh, a village in the upper Satluj,
and presently Sub-Divisional headquarter of Kinnaur district of Himachal
Pradesh) some fifteen miles from the Chinese Tibetan frontier. Poo was selected
as a mission station by Eduard Pagell, who desired to work and wait there until
Tibet was opened to the Christian Mission. ^^ The Poo mission station was
started in 1865 and for eighteen years Eduard Pagell worked patiently among
the people at Poo and the neighbouring villages where Tibetan is understood.
With the passage of time Pagell became popular because of his medical skill. By
1875, he recorded an average attendance of forty to sixty at his Sunday
service. ® However, there v\/ere few baptisms. The most notable in 1872 was
that of a high ranking Lama from Lhasa called Zodpa Gyaltsen, who was the son
of a member of the Dalai Lama's cabinet. ®®
The Rev. Eduard Pagell and his wife Friederike Machtle, died suddenly of
typhus, in January 1883. That summer they were replaced by Friedrich A.
Redslab, who stayed until 1885, when he moved to Leh. He was succeeded by
Julius Weber. Weber was much discouraged by his time in Poo as he felt that
the people had become Christians only for the sake of the benefits they could
get from the mission. When Eduard Pagell died in 1883, the Christian community
only consisted of a few converts, but the fmits of his unobtrusive work appeared
after his death. Theodor Schreve, who succeeded Weber in 1891, was more
successful. On Easter Sunday 1897 he baptized twenty-five Tibetans, and the
200
congregation increased to about fifty/^ Theodore Schreve set up a wool
industry by introducing handloom from Europe and teaching the people to make
blankets. The mission also employed twenty to thirty women in spinning. ^^ In
the 1890s and the early years of the twentieth century the Poo congregation
expanded comparatively. By 1908, there were sixty-four members/^ and it was
the largest of the Himalayan congregations among the tribals. Theodor Schreve
was aware of the danger of 'rice-Christians'— people who were converted for the
sake of material gains provided by the mission. But he thought of them as
potential Christians who would come under intense and effective pressure from
their employers to abandon their new faith unless he provided some form of
alternative employment. He, therefore, set up a small wool-industry (weaving of
blankets) as a means of raising the economic standards of the villagers and thus
making them independent of their former creditors.'''^
A second means of assisting the poorer Christians was to sell them cheap
grain. The major cause of trouble at Poo was that most, if not all, of these people
entered the congregation for a material motive rather than a search for the
saviour. In these circumstances pastoral care proved exceedingly difficult here
just as the Kyelang congregation. Further, again as in Kyelang, social pressure
from the relatives of the would-be converts was very great. Moreover, the
existing converts were mostly low caste persons belonging to the iron-smith
fraternity and this may have caused men of higher status to regard Christianity
as an inferior religion. In the face of all these difficulties the mission considered
closing the Poo station after the First World War. But Bishop Arthur Ward gave it
a reprieve during his visit to Poo in 1920. '* The difficulties of transport and
201
general expense continued to make it unworthwhile to maintain. Friedrich Peter
finally closed Poo mission station in 1924.^^ It was hoped that some other
Christian body might supervise the congregation or that the remaining Christians
might continue meeting, helped by occasional visits from other Moravian
stations. In fact, the congregation lapsed when the missionaries left. Tibet
remained the ultimate goal of the Moravians.
The second station in the erstwhile Bushahr State, was opened at Chini
near Kalpa (headquarter of district Kinnaur), also on the Upper Satluj valley. The
mission compound was just above the Hindustan-Tibet Road. The people of
Chini were Hindus and spoke a dialect called Kanawari (Kinnari). But, as it also
represented a place where Buddhism and Hinduism meet, the people of Chini
adopted many Buddhist customs. About 1850, the Church Missionary Society
had hoped to establish a mission station at Chini, but soon abandoned the idea.
In May 1900 Rev. Julius T. Bruske and his wife arrived and at once began work
by erecting two small houses which were finished before the v\/inter. In
December 1900, a school was started at Chini, and was pretty regularly attended
by twelve boys. ''® All of Mrs. Bruske's efforts to win over the girls and women,
however, proved in vain. The Chini station was manned by Julius T. Bruske for
eight years and was subsequently handed over to the Salvation Army. Bruske
also opened a school at Poo, but it was closed when the Moravian missionaries
left Poo, selling their entire property to the Salvation Army.^^
The Moravian mission in Simla was started in 1900 to look after all those
who spoke Tibetan/"^ In Simla, there was a permanent Tibetan population and
this number was considerably augmented in the winter by Tibetans seeking work
202
from October to April. Some of them came from the districts in which Moravian
stations were established. The work was begun by opening a school for boys in
Sanjauli, the attendence at which varied from thirty to thirty-five. The boys
received rudimentary instruction, but religious teaching was not neglected. Most
of the boys who attended this school also attended the Sunday school v\/here
Bible stories were read and explained. There were also meetings for men only in
which the fundamental truths of Christianity as compared vAih Islam were
explained. The Simla mission formed a base for the Moravian stations in the
interior, especially those at Kyelang, Poo and Chini in Kinnaur. The mission
acted as treasurer for all the stations and assisted them in several v\/ays. In
1902, it acquired Murryfield in Chotta Simla, as a residence for the missionary in
charge of the Simla work and as a home for the missionaries in the interior who
might require rest. '
The Moravians had always placed great emphasis on education. In
Lahaul, as elsewhere in British India, the government supported the mission's
educational activities with special grants. The mission farm in Kyelang was
Heyde's speciality. He had several reasons for setting it up. First he wished to
establish a modern farm to demonstrate new and more rational ways of farming,
to introduce new crops and to, thus, raise the material standards of the Lahaulis.
The most important, and in the longer term the most controversial, purpose of
the farm was to provide employment for Christian converts who were likely to be
ostracised from their own community. ^ The British Government was happy to
encourage new farming techniques and provided 190 acres of land. But before it
could be put to use, the mission had to dig ten miles of irrigation channels
203
through stony soils and rocks. In doing so they were able to demonstrate another
western technique— the use of blasting explosives. ®^ Once the farm was
established, it did make a valuable contribution to the Lahauli economy. The
Moravians introduced new crops such as turnips, lettuces and, best of all
potatoes which have today become a major cash crop of Lahaul. They also
improved the quality of the local sheep by cross-breeding with other strains. ®^
Quite evidently, many of the missionaries were men of considerable
intelligence and academic ability. In the course of their long periods of residence
among the tribals in the Himalayas they were able to acquire a knowledge of the
tribal culture that v^s rivalled by few Europeans. Much of this knowledge is
hidden in the mission reports and archives or has been lost altogether. The
Moravian community life was based on the principles of self-support. They
remained in daily personal touch with people and sought to instill in them values
that they held dear, such as, honesty, obedience, industry and loyalty to the
Government.
4. Mission Stations In Ani, Chamba And Sirmaur
There was no eccelesiastical administration in Kulu or Saraj. The Ani
mission station was founded by Rev. Marcus Carleton, an American missionary
who lies buried at Ani.^^ Marcus Carleton was born in Marshfield Vermont and
graduated from East Windsor Presbyterian College in 1854. From then on he
worked in the mission field for forty four years, never once returning to America
on furlough. Carleton's work in India seems to have been one long fight against
the making of what used to be called 'compound Christians', that is Indians who
were given work and homes on mission property. Marcus Carleton and his wife
204
came to Ani from the plains during a terrible famine with several convert Panjabi
boys who married local Pahari girls and settled down to farm on land bought for
them by the mission. The Chapel had originally been one of the out-buildings
attached to the house. But after, selling it to the Rana of Sangri, Raghubir Singh,
the Christians built themselves a stone Chapel. ®^ They were upset because
some of the Seventh Day Adventists from Simla had established their own
mission at Ani and had built a little stone Church nearer the village. The last
eleven years of Marcus Carleton's life were spent at Ani, in Outer Saraj, with his
second wife Eliza Calhoun, his first wife having died in 1881. His whole life was a
sort of protest against plans and methods v^ich he felt to be deterimenal to the
true interest of a self-supporting and self-propagating Church.''®^
But Rev. Marcus Carleton's methods were not always approved of by the
Mission Board and his letters are full of usually unsuccessful efforts to get
money. In April 1887 he wrote, "I therefore, fulfil my promise to tell you of my
Koolloo work. I have bought a good deal of property in several places for a rural
mission. The Ludhiana Mission made an honest attempt to take up Koolloo and
lent me Rs.300/- to buy confiscated property, old buildings etc. I did so, but the
Board ordered all such sums to be paid back to the Mission and Rs.300/- were
cut from my allowance at once. I then took up Koolloo vigorously and got help
from America".^^ Marcus Carleton was often called the 'jungle missionary',
because he preferred to live constantly in the open air and to eat only the
simplest food. His second v\ fe, Eliza Calhoun, remained for a little over a year in
charge of this remote Christian settlement after her husband's death in 1898.
Evidently no Presbyterian was subsequently found to supervise the work at Ani.
205
But in 1907, the Salvation Army took it over, by which time the orange groves
and orchards planted by the Carleton had begun bearing fruits. The new
missionaries started a flourishing local industry making jam and marmalade
v/hich found a popular market among the British families in Simla. ^
The Christian Mission in Chamba State was founded in 1863 by Rev.
William Ferguson, a minister of the Church of Scotland and was carried on by
him as an independent mission for ten years. In 1864, a valuable site was
granted by Raja Sri Singh for the headquarters of the mission.^^ In 1870, on
Ferguson's departure to Scotland on furlough, his place was taken over by E.
Downes, an officer in the Royal Artillery, who had resigned his commission for
the purpose of engaging in mission work. William Ferguson, had been a
chaplain for some years in the Crimean war and during the time of the Indian
Mutiny. He returned to Chamba in 1872 but again had to leave India. The
mission was transferred to the Church of Scotland in 1872, and Dr. J. Hutchison
was sent from Sialkot (now in Pakistan) to take over charge. ®® In 1875, the
mission staff was reinforced by the arrival of Weilesley C. Bailey. He was,
however, transferred to the plains in 1879. In 1884, the charge of the mission
was assumed by Rev. William Walker, who continued to hold it till 1894.^^ From
that year till the beginning of the twentieth century. Dr. J. Hutchison was again in
charge. The mission carried on preaching, educational and medical missionary
work. The native Church had a membership of a hundred in 1907, including
children, and was presided over by its own pastor. A beautiful Church was
erected at his own cost by Raja Sham Singh, and gifted to the mission for the
use of the Christian community in Chamba. Regarding the adequacy of
206
missionary occupation Dr. J. Hutchison wrote; "In a mountainous country like this
it might take a missionary a whole day to reach a single village, and there are
thousands of them in these hills. Our bazar preaching has reached many who
could not otherwise have been influenced, and many come to us in the hospitals.
Still this is only very poor provision for such a vast area. What shall we say of
the greater unreached tracts around us? To the north-west the nearest Mission
stations, are Jammu, v^ich is nine days journey, and Anantnag (Islamabad),
which is fourteen days journey, to the south-east Simla, which is twenty days
journey, to the south Pathankot, which is three or four days journey over the
road, to the north Leh in Ladakh, which is thirty six days journey. Even Kyelang
in Lahaul, the nearest Moravian station, is ten days journey, with a pass of
17,000 feet between to negotiate. The Jammu district of the Mission has an area
of 20,000 square miles between the Ravi and the Jhelum and only one
missionary". ^
In 1895, the American Presbyterian Mission of Ludhiana took up mission
work in the State of Sirmaur but the actual work was carried out by Indian
evangelists. The American missionaries from Ambala paid occasional visits to
inspect the work of the Indian missionary at Nahan(Sirmaur).^^ The Sirmaur
mission was managed by a Board of Control composed of both Indian and
American Ministers. The American Presbyterian Mission started work in 1895 at
Nahan, and this work was carried on intermittently until 1902.^^ In that year, it
was handed over to the Scandinavian Alliance Mission Society which placed
two missionaries there.^** They settled down in Nahan but did not stay long. In
1911„ the New Zealand Presbyterian Mission took over the management of the
207
mission work. One Indian missionary with one lady missionary were stationed at
Nahan. From time to time, the work was inspected by European missionaries
coming from Jagadhari now in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana State/*^ The
mission continued and flourished noticeably for some years. The Church which
was situated near the Chaugan in the town contained only one room and was
located in a building which belonged to the Kanwar Randip Singh of Nahan. The
Mission did not flourish much. All the Christians in the Sirmaur State were
immigrants. The Church was managed by the United Northern Church of India
with its head office at Jagadhari. The census records reveal that the number of
Christians was never large in the State. There were only 46, 37, 44 and 52
Christians in Sirmaur state in the year 1901, 1911, 1921 and 1931 respectively
(see Appendix V).
The above survey of the Christian missionary activities In the important towns
or areas of the erstwhile Simla and Panjab Hill States or the present Himachal
Pradesh reflects the zeal with which missionaries undertook their work, and also the
hardship they suffered. It is obvious that conversions to Christianity were not many,
except at Simla and Kangra, despite the efforts of the missionaries in the various
parts of North-Westem Himalayas. The most obvious contribution of the
missionaries was in the field of education including female education and medical
relief. We may also note the introduction of apples in Kotgarti by Rev. Beutel and
the later delicious varieties by Samuel Evans Stokes; potatoes, hops and the art of
knitting in Lahaul valley by Rev. Wilhelm Heyde and Maria Hartmann. These were
small beginnings in the direction of modernising horticulture and introducing a cash
connection in the life of the isolated hill folks.
208
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Church Missionary Society was established in 1799, by Church of England, Independent and Presbyterian ministers to strengthen missionary activites in Africa, Indian Sub-Continent, Middle and Far East.
2. J. E. Wilkinson, The Parochial History of Simla, 1830-1900. (Simla, Thacker Spink & So., 1903), p.69.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid, p.70.
5. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1843-1844, (London, 1844), p.64.
6. Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol. VIII-A. (Lahore, 1908), p.48.
7. J.E. Wilkinson, op.cit., p.71.
8. Rev. Robert Clark, was the third son of Rev. and Mrs. Henry Clark, and was born on 4 July 1825, at Harmston Lincolnshire. In 1842, young Robert Clark entered a merchant's house in Liverpool, and resided with the Vicar of one of the city Churches. In 1847, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge and threw himself whole-heartedly into studies. A remarkable movement was going on just then in the University. Cambridge was astir on the subject of foreign mission. Undergraduates interested in the evangelization of the world produced eventually a noble band of missionaries who went forth from Cambridge to fight the battles of the cross. Robert Clark became one of this circle and some of these men became his colleagues later in distant lands. In 1850, Robert Clark was ordained priest by Bishop of Lincoln and was appointed as a curator for a year in the Church of his Baptism and confirmation among his own people. In 1851, the young Clergymen received his appointment from the Church Misionary Society. Thus one of the most successful missionaries who worked and served in the North-Western India was moulded and sent out for preaching the 'Good-News' baptizing many and establishing a number of Mission centres. It was during his first tour of Kashmir valley in 1854, that Robert Clark first conceived the vision of a great chain of Mission stations in the Himalayas. And he spent the rest of his life in the fulfillment of this vision. His journey to the Frontier through Trans-Indus regions resulted in outlying two other chains of Missions which were to be connecting links between the Frontier, the Central Panjab onv\/ard through Sindh to the sea. Robert Clark not only served and laid the foundation of a number of Mission centers in Panjab and North-Western Frontier, vA^\ch
209
are now important parts of the Diocese of Amritsar (now Church of North India) and Lahore (now Church of Pakistan). Robert Clark died on 16 May 1900, at Kasauli.
9. Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol.VIII-A., op.cit., p.1.
10. 7/76 Ctiurchi Missionary Intelligencer, Vol.111. No.2, November 1852. A Monthly Journal of Missionary Information, (London, 1852), p.243.
11. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1844-1845, (London, 1845), pp.55-57.
12. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1845-1846. (London, 1846), p.74.
13. Church Missionary Record, for April 1847, (London, 1847), pp.73-80.
14. Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, Vol,VIII-A, (Lahore, 1908). op.cit, p.48.
15. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1847-1848. (London, 1848), p.ci.
16. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1849-1850. (London, 1850), p.cxxxvii.
17. Ibid., p.cxxxviii.
18. Ibid.
19. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1850-1851, (London, 1851), p.clvi.
20. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1852-1853, (London, 1853), p. 104.
21. Ibid.
22. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1853-1854, {London, 1854), pp.91-92.
23. Ibid., p.93.
24. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1856-1857, (London, 1857), p.98.
210
25. Ibid.
26. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1858-1859, (London, 1859), p. 114.
27. Ibid, pA 14.
28. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1859-1860, (London, 1860), p.115.
29. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1861-1862, (London, 1862), p. 133.
30. Ibid.
31. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1865-1866, (London, 1866), p.115.
32. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1871-1872, (London, 1872), pp. 103-04.
33. Ibid.
34. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1881-1882, (London, 1882), p. 102
35. Gazetteer of the Simla District 1904, Vol.VIII-A, op.cit, p.48.
36. Ibid.
37. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1891-1892, (London, 1892), pp. 117-118.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid.
40. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1894-1895, (London, 1895), p. 178.
41. Ibid.
42. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1895-1896, (London, 1896), p.220.
43. Ibid.
211
44. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1897-1898, (London, 1898), p.244.
45. Ibid., p.245.
46. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1898-1899, (London, 1899), p.236.
47. Ibid, p.237.
48. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1899-1900, (London, 1900), p.267.
49. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1901-1902, (London, 1902), p.255.
50. Ibid
51. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1902-1903, (London, 1903), p.242.
52. Ibid
53. Ibid
54. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1902-1903, op.cit, p.243.
55. Ibid
56. Ibid, see also Church Missionary Society, Kotgarh Mission, Report, 1903, pp. 1-15.
57. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1903-1904, (London, 1904), p.243.
58. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1908-1909, (London, 1909), p. 140.
59. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1916-1917, (London, 1917), p.63.
60. CM. Kashyap and Edward Post, Yankee in Khadi, The Story of Samuel Evans Stokes, article published in 'SPAN', (January, 1969), p.2.
61. Ibid, p.3.
212
62. Ibid.
63. Friedrich Heiler, The Gospel of Sadhu Sundar Singh, Abridged translation by Olive Wyon. This edition is jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Delhi and the Christian Institute for Sikh Studies, Batala, Panjab, (Delhi, 1989), p.54. First published in German in 1924 under the title, Sadhu Sunder Singh Bin Apostel des Ostens and Westens.
64. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1910-1911, (London, 1911), p.140.
65. The Church Missionary Society Gazette. November 1, 1910, Monthly Periodical, (C.M.S. House Salisbury Square, London, B.C.4), p.336.
66. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society, 1910-1911, op.cit., p.140.
67. CM. Kashyap and Edward Post, Yankee in Khadi, op.cit., pp. 3-4.
68. Ibid., p.4.
69. Ibid., p.5.
70. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1843-1844, op.cit., pp.63-64.
71. Ibid.
72. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1846-1847, (London, 1847), p.73.
73. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Afnca and the East, 1848-1849, (London, 1849), p.cxxiii.
74. Ibid.
75. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1878-1879, (London, 1879), p.63.
76. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1881-1882, op.cit., p.^Q2.
77. J.E. Wilkinson, op.cit., p. 73.
78. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1885-1886, (London, 1886), pp.113-14.
213
79. J.E. Wilkinson, op.cit, p.73.
80. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1896-1897, (London, 1897), p.230.
81. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1899-1900, op.cit, p.268.
82. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1901-1902, op.cit., pp.254-55.
83. Ibid., p.255.
84. Ibid.
85. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1902-1903, op.cit, p.2A^.
86. The Church Missionary Intelligencer- A Monthly Journal of Missionary Infornriation, August, 1903, (London, 1903), p.618.
87. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1903-1904, op.cit, pp.242^3.
88. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1904-1905, (London, 1905), p.243.
89. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1906-1907, (London, 1907), p.205.
90. The C.M.S. Gazette. September 2, 1912, Monthly Periodical, Church Missionary House, Salisbury Square, (London, 1912), p. 274.
91. The C.M.S. Gazette, October 1, 1912, Monthly Periodical, Church Missionary House, Salisbury Sqaure, (London, 1912), p. 308.
Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, op.cit, p.49. 92. Gazetteer <
93. Ibid., pp. 4!
94. Ibid.
95. Ibid., p. 50
96. Ibid.
97. Ibid.
214
98. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1853-1854, op.cit, pp. 93-94.
99. Ibid.
100. Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol. VII, Part-A, Kangra District, 1924-1925, (Lahore, 1928), p.213.
101. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1854-1855, (London, 1855), p. 100.
102. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1855-1856, (London, 1856), pp. 104-105.
103. Ibid.
104. ibid.,p.W5.
105. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1857-1858, (London, 1858), pp.126.
106. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and The East, 1859-1860, op.cit., p.^^9.
107. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1862-1863, (London, 1863), pp. 117-18.
108. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1867-1868, (London, 1868), p i 11.
109. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1873-1874, (London, 1874), p.96.
110. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1874-1875, (London, 1875), p.97.
111. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1881-1882, op.cit, p.W2.
112. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1884-1885, (London, 1885), p.116.
113. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1892-1893, (London, 1893), p. 125.
114. Ibid.
215
115. Mrs. Dauble (as Miss Stoephasius), had reached India as a missionary of the Berlin Ladies Society in 1868. In 1882 she was married to the Rev. Carl Gustav Dauble, who had joined the Society's staff twenty-five years earlier. After her husband's death in 1892, she continued her connection with the Church Missionary Society, residing at Dharmsala, and spending much of her time in itinerating.
116. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1897-1898, op.cit., 243.
117. Ibid.
118. Ibid, p.244.
119. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1898-1899, op.cit., p.235.
120. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1900-1901, (London, 1901), pp.299-300.
121. Ibid., p.300.
122. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1901-1902, op.cit., p.256.
123. Ibid.
124. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1903-1904, op.cit., pp.244^5.
125. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1904-1905, op.cit., pp.229, 244-45.
126. Ibid., p.229.
127. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1905-1906, (London, 1906), pp. 199-200.
128. Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society For Africa and the East, 1906-1907, op.cit, p.206.
129. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 2 August 1909, (London, 1909), pp. 241-42.
130. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 1 September 1909, (London, 1909), p.274.
216
131. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 1 October 1909, (London, 1909), pp. 306-07.
132. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 1 February 1912, (London, 1912), p.50.
133. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 1 January 1914, (London, 1914), p.80.
134. The Church Missionary Society Gazette, 1 January 1915, (London, 1915), p. 19.
135. C.R.H. Wilkinson, Thirst of India, p.32-40, (place of publication and year n.d.).
136. Ibid, p. 40.
137. Ibid, p.44.
138. Ibid., p.54.
139. Ibid, p.55.
140. Ibid., pp.42-43.
141. Ibid., pp.74-75.
142. Ibid., p.75.
143. Edward Langton, History of the Moravian Church, (London, 1956), p.29.
144. Ibid., p.7.
145. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church in India, article published in The Himalaya Mission, Moravian Church Centenary, 1885-1985, (Leh, Ladakh, 1985), p.27.
146. Gazetteers of the Kangra District, Part ill, Lahaul, 1917, (Lahore, 1918), p.205.
147. James Hough, The History of Christianity in India, From the Commencement of the Christian Era, Vol. Ill, (London, 1845), pp. 358-363.
148. Julius Richter, A History of the Missions in India, Translated by Sydney H. Moore, (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 131.
217
149. Gazetteer of the Kangra District, Part II to IV, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, 1897, (Lahore, 1899), pp. 21-22.
150. Ibid., p.22.
151. Ibid.
152. Gerhard Heyde, Fifty years Among the Tibetans, The Story of \Mlhelm and Mane Heyde. A Translation of the French edition by Douglas L. Rights, (Winston-Salem, N.C., 1953), p.5.
153. It was the summer day in the year 1837, in the Moravian village of Gnadenfrei, Silesia, a twenty year old boy was perched on a large farm wagon. His mother, a peasant woman, was tearfully bidding him goodby. The boy was August Wilhelm Heyde. He was leaving home to learn a trade. His parents were poor, and they had a large family to support. Their little home, which they had bought near Gnadenfrei, had been destroyed by fire. The Pastor of the village had found the boy a position as apprentice with a tinner at Herrnhut. Wilhelm Heyde had two great desires v^ich he was unable to realize, to possess a violin and to obtain an education. His learning was confined to what he could acquire by himself. His apprenticeship, which lasted six years, was very hard when his apprenticeship terminated, he did not wish to leave Herrnhut, for it had become a second home to him. Ibid., p.5.
154. Ibid., p.8.
155. Ibid., pp.8-9.
156. Periodical Accounts Pertaining to the Missions of the Church of the United Brethren, 23 {^860),p.343.
157. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church in India, op.cit., p.33.
158. Gerhard Heyde, Fifty years Among The Tibetans, op.cit., p. 16.
159. Ibid, p. 17.
160. A.P.P. Harcourt, The Himalayan Districts of Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, (London, 1871), p.87.
161. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church in India, op.cit., p.33.
162. Ibid., p.35.
163. Ibid.
218
164. Moravian Church House (London), Tibet Reports: Letter from F.A. Peter, 31 July, 1938.
165. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church in India, op.cit., p.35.
166. Ibid.
167. Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol. Vlll-A, Simla District, 1904, op.cit., p.51.
168. Periodical Accounts Pertaining to the Missions of the Church of the United Brethren, 30 0875-76), p.^^.
169. Periodical Accounts, 29 (1873-74), p.157.
170. Gazetteer of the Simla District, 1904, op.cit, p.51.
171. /Jb/d., p.35.
172. John Bray, Christian Missionaries on the Tibetan Border, The Moravian Church in Poo (Kinnaur), 1865-1924, (Unpublished paper), p.8.
173. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church of the United Brethren, op.cit., p.37.
174. Ibid.
175. Ibid
176. Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol.VIII-A, Simla District, 1904, op.cit., p.51.
177. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Church of the United Brethren, op.cit, p.38.
178. Panjab District Gazetteers, Vol. Vlll-A, Simla District, 1904, op.cit, p.51.
179. Ibid, pp.50-5^.
180. John Bray, A History of the Moravian Chruch of the United Brethren, op.cit, p.51.
181. Ibid
182. Ibid.
183. Penelope Chetwode, Kullu the End of the Habitable Worid, (London, 1972), p.30.
219
184. Ibid.
185. Ibid.
186. Ibid.
187. Ibid.
188. Gazetteer of the Chamba State, 1904, Panjab State Gazetteers, Vol. XII-A, (Lahore, 1910), p. 199.
189. Ibid., p.200.
190. Ibid.
191. Alexander Mcleish, The Frontier Peoples of India, A Missionary Sun/ey, (London, 1931), pp.70-73.
192. Sirmaur State Gazetteer Pari-A, 1904, (Lahore, 1907), pp. 56-7.
193. Alexander Mcleish, op.c/f., p.97.
194. Ibid.
195. Gazetteer of the Sirmaur State, Part-A, 1934, (Lahore, 1934), pp. 48-9.
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