ABSTRACT
Throughout the decades of the early twentieth century, efforts of Catholic and Protestant elites to envision a single, “Indian Christian community” had been strained by the sheer diversity of India’s Christian population. Yet, splintered as Christians were by region, language, denomination, and caste or “immemorial custom,” their project of becoming united as Indian Christians found new significance within the context of early twentieth-century politics.1 The system of communal representation led to the formation of representative bodies that articulated concerns and viewpoints of Indian Christians.2 But did these bodies speak for all Christians or only for English educated, urban elites? Perhaps the most pressing issue faced by Christian leaders was whether their notion of the Indian Christian community encompassed voices of converts from so-called “depressed classes.”3
