First World War and its Impact on German Lutheran Mission Societies in India.

Special Reference to Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission (1914-1916).

Jayabalan, Murthy

• Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9783736968431
• Print ISBN:
  9783736978430
• Edition: 1

This academic inquiry attempts to explore the state of relations between the German Christian missionaries and the Christian English government before and after World War I in India; the unpleasant consequences on German Missionaries and their families by the unwarranted attack of the German Cruiser SMS Emden on the Madras Presidency, aggravated further by the act of a former soldier in the guise of a missionary. It uncovers the involvement of the German military, Nachrichtenstelle für den Orient (NfO) and the Hindu revolutionaries in causing unrest in India to derail the economy and tarnish the image of the British Government. It exposes the joining forces of diametrically opposite ideologies, the German Christian Government, German Christian missionary in NfO and the Indian Hindu revolutionaries, on a common platform. Likewise, it uncovers the manipulation of the selfsame Scripture by the doctrinally similar Christian denominations to whip up their clashing nationalistic passions. Further, this research narrates the bitter experiences of separated missionary spouses, scattered family members, the plight of children, deportation, gruelling voyages, seasickness, experiences of missionaries as Prisoners of War (POW), etc. The following three methods were combined for this research: a World War I historiographical approach coupled with a collective biographical approach and an entanglement approach. I used archived and published English, German, and Tamil sources. The main archives were the Political Archives of the Foreign Office (PAAA) in Berlin, the archives of the Franckeshe Foundations in Halle, the Mission Society in Leipzig, the British Library in London, and the United Theological College Bangalore, the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai and Avanakappakam (National Archives), Chennai, the materials in the Political Foreign Office (PAAA) in Berlin concerning the correspondence between the Intelligence Service for the Orient and the Indian revolutionaries; the archive of the Franckeshe Foundation in Halle contained in the two-volumes in one file from the Indian Mission during the war (1914 -1916) and The Leibniz Centre for Modern Orient archives Berlin.

Table of contents

• Chapter one
• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Literature Review
• 1.2.Research questions
• 1.3.Sources
• 1.4.Methodology
• 1.5.A brief sketch of the Lutheran Mission in India
• Chapter Two SMS Emden, the German cruiser and the Bombardment of Madras
• 2. Introduction
• 2.1.SMS Emden
• 2.2.Karl von Müller
• 2.3.Bombardment of Madras
• 2.4.The purpose of the shelling
• 2.5.The repercussions of the attack
• 2.6.Impact of the Bombardment on the German Mission Societies
• 2.7.Conclusion
• Chapter Three Indian Revolutionaries in Germany and the Indian Independence Committeein Berlin
• 3. Introduction
• 3.1. German Political Interest in India
• 3.2.Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Hemchandra Kanungo Das
• 3.3.Indian Revolutionaries in Germany
• 3.4.Indian Independence Committee
• 3.5.Conclusion
• Chapter Four Contribution and cooperation of German missionaries in NfO and IndianRevolutionaries
• 4. Introduction
• 4.1.Nachrichtenstelle für den Orient
• 4.2.Prisoners of War (POW)
• 4.3.Structural Organization and Personnel
• 4.4.Revolutionise
• 4.5.Rev. Ferdinand Grätsch - Patriot, propagandist, and Pastor
• 4.6.Missionary Grätsch, Indian Independence Committee (IIC) and WarMinistry
• 4.7.Paul Walter
• 4.8.Jesuit priests
• 4.9.Conclusion
• Chapter Five Patriotism, Religion, and Indian Nationalism
• 5. Introduction
• 5.1. The British and their hidden agenda of Christianisation in India
• 5.2. Savarkar´s views on Christian missionaries
• 5.3. Hardayal and Christianity
• 5.4.Double standards of the German Government
• 5.5.Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Nationalism
• 5.6.Obeying the Authority (Obrigkeit) and German Mission Societies
• 5.7.German mission societies and German nationalism
• 5.8.Conclusion
• Chapter Six Impact of First world war on German mission societies in Germany andIndia
• 6. Introduction
• 6.1.Gossner's mission in Germany
• 6.2.Oraon Movement and Kaiser as a German Baba
• 6.3.Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission (HELM) during thetime of the first world war
• 6.4.Suspected German-born American Missionary Rev. Edward HansJulius Müller
• 6.5. Breklumer mission during the time of the first world war
• 6.6.Conclusion
• Chapter Seven First World War and Leipzig mission
• 7. Introduction
• 7.1.History of Leipzig Mission in India
• 7.2.Leipzig Missionaries
• 7.3.Ecumenical Engagement and Encounters
• 7.4.Condition and Contributions of the Natives
• 7.5.Leipzig missionaries smuggled mission reports and letters
• 7.6.Patriotism
• 7.7.Conclusion
• Chapter Eight Profile of the Leipzig Missionaries who the British Government suspected
• 8. Introduction
• 8.1.Johann Wilhelm Ruckdäschel
• 8.2.Georg Hammitzsch
• 8.3.Solider and missionary Christian Wagner
• 8.4. Missionary Hartmann
• Conclusion
• Chapter Nine Internment of the Missionaries in Ahmednagar
• 9.1.Introducing the internment
• 9.2.The internment camps
• 9.3. St. George Fort Madras (now Chennai)
• 9.4. Ahmednagar
• 9.5.Ahmednagar Camps Structure
• 9.6. A problem in the Prisons
• 9.7. Missionaries in Ahmednagar
• 9.8.The Internment Experiences of Leipzig Missionaries
• Conclusion
• Chapter Ten Golconda
• 10. Introduction
• 10.1. Golconda is a symbol of Nationalism
• 10.2. Denominationalism
• 10.3. Stages of Reparation
• 10.4. The sickness inside the ship
• 10.5. Unexpecting Landing
• 10.6. Landed in Germany
• 10.7. Conclusion
• 11. Conclusion
• Bibliography