ABSTRACT
The interaction between Christian missions and Tamil society in the nineteenth century was complex and changed over time. In the preceding chapters I have argued that, in order to understand the complexities of this interaction, several important factors should be considered. First is the fluid and adaptable character of Tamil society as it was at the outset of British rule in South India. While the caste system may have been more rigid than contemporary social stratifications in Europe (and certainly was considered as such by many contemporary observers), we do not find the sharp divisions between communal groups that was to characterize much of Indian society in the years around the turn of the century. Communal identity was not static but could be exchanged for other communal identities which seemed better suited to the needs of the moment. The main characteristic of these wanderings back and forth across communal boundaries in the early part of the nineteenth century, however, was that they were usually group movements. Individual exchanges of one religious identity for another were uncommon.
