Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty - Anti-proselytization Activities

Anti-proselytization Activities

During the mid-19th century, Christian missionaries indulged in open proselytisation in public institutions in the Madras Presidency. Their proselytisation activities were allegedly favoured by officials of the British government who preferred native Christians to Hindus in higher appointments in order to entice Hindu Indians to embrace Christianity . The religious stance of the Madras government was frequently condemned by the Hindu population. Lakshminarasu supported their cause and launched agitations against conversions.

On October 2, 1844, Lakshminarasu Chetty founded the Crescent, the first Indian-owned newspaper in the Madras Presidency for the "amelioration of the condition of Hindus". But right from the beginning, the newspaper faced strict government opposition. An advertisement sent to the Madras government for insertion into the government publication Fort St George Gazette was rejected. Further, the government resolved to enact a law wherein a Hindu convert to Christianity would not lose his ancestral right to own property. This was severely condemned by the Hindu community of Madras who under the leadership of Lakshminarasu Chetty, presented a memorial to the Governor on April 9, 1845. The government eventually withdrew its plans after prolonged discussions with the agitators.

Around this time, the Madras government tried to introduce the Bible as a standard textbook for the students of the Madras University. Students were often questioned on points connected to Christian theology and were denied government posts if their knowledge of Christian texts was found wanting. Hindus of the Madras Presidency protested against these measures. Lakshminarasu Chetty presided over a protest meeting at the Pachaiyappa's College on October 7, 1846 in which it was resolved to send a memorandum to the Court of Directors of the British East India Company. Their efforts were successful and moves to introduce Christian theology in the curriculum were disbanded. In 1853, the government, once again tried to introduce the Bible into the educational curriculum by its efforts were thwarted by George Norton, John Bruce Norton and Lakshminarasu Chetty.