Recently, as I was preparing to teach a seminary class, I became interested in researching the history of Christianity in Delhi. However, it shocked me how few resources I could find on this important topic.
As I dove into the few materials available, it surprised me to learn that Delhi’s first known Indian Christian received baptism only in 1852. This is around 1800 years after Christianity first came to India! Not only did the gospel take almost two millennia to reach Delhi, but it also means Christianity has had a short history in our nation’s capital.
The fact that Delhi now has an estimated 6 lakhs of Christians and thousands of churches means that the growth of Christianity in Delhi in the last 170 years has been nothing less than stunning.
Additionally, it surprised me to learn about the incredible life of Ramchandra, Delhi’s first known Indian Christian. He was a famous mathematician and a central figure in the 19th-century movement, the Delhi Renaissance.
Indian Church History Matters
Ramchandra was the de facto leader of the church in Delhi from his baptism in 1852 to his death almost 30 years later. We may justifiably call him the father of Christianity in Delhi. Yet, in my nearly 20 years of ministry here, I had never heard his name!
Learning about Ramchandra’s life has reminded me how much we lose when we neglect the study of history.
Below, I share a brief sketch of Ramchandra’s remarkable life. However, apart from the fascinating details of his story, my larger goal is to interest my fellow Indian believers in studying the history of Christianity in our country.
History provides us with a deeper understanding of where we are today. It gives us a broader perspective on what God has been doing in India and inspiration from those whose shoulders we stand on. We miss out on all these things when we neglect to study those who came before us.
The Early Life of Ramchandra
Ramchandra was born in 1821 into a family of the Kayasth caste. His father served in the government as a tehsildar (revenue collector) in the Delhi district. He was the eldest of six brothers.
Ramchandra had been studying in a private school when his father suddenly died when he was only 10 years old. As a result, his mother sold her jewellery and other possessions to support her children.
Perhaps to alleviate the financial suffering of his family, they arranged for him to marry a girl from a wealthy Kayasth family. He was only 12 years old at the time. Astrologers arranged the union according to the horoscope. Only after the wedding, did Ramchandra discover that his wife was deaf. She was a good woman and a devoted wife, and they had three daughters together.
His Education and Professional Rise
Later, Ramchandra entered the Government English School in Delhi. He remained there for six years and proved to be a promising pupil. After his schooling, he worked as a clerk. However, when the school later re-organised into Delhi College, he was able to win a scholarship and enrol as a college student. After graduation in 1844, the college hired him as a professor.
The next few years proved remarkably fruitful for Ramchandra as an intellectual. Ramchandra and Delhi College were at the centre of what we now call the Delhi Renaissance. During this time, Western science and mathematics were integrated into Urdu, which led to higher learning and creativity in Delhi.
Ramachandra founded two Urdu journals during this time. He wrote on topics ranging from news items, literary reviews, scientific articles, serialised translations, and shared illustrations.
In 1850, Ramchandra produced a mathematics book called The Problem of Maxima and Minima, Solved by Algebra. The book initially received minimal interest in India. However, the famous British mathematician Augustus De Morgan later enthusiastically promoted it. This book and its subsequent endorsement from De Morgan launched Ramchandra to international recognition and fame.
First Exposure to Christianity
Ramchandra was first exposed to Christianity through gospel tracts he had been given by James Thompson, Delhi’s first foreign missionary. However, Ramchandra had no interest in Christianity at that time. His exposure to Western science led him to atheism, showing contempt for the religious rituals of Hindus and Muslims.
Ramchandra initially had two objections to the Christian faith: First, if the English truly believed in Christ, they would try to teach their faith to others. Second, even if God existed, acknowledging him in a general way should be sufficient (apart from practising any particular religion).
All this changed in 1851 when a student asked Ramchandra to accompany him to St. James Church, one of two churches in Delhi at the time. He agreed to go just out of curiosity, but this experience turned out to be life-changing for him.
In the church, Ramchandra witnessed respectable Englishmen kneeling and praying earnestly. He later wrote about having a strong desire to read the Bible after seeing such devotion to God.
Delhi’s First Christian
Ramchandra started reading the New Testament in addition to English translations of the Quran and the Gita. He also engaged in discussions with Hindu, Muslim, and Christian leaders. He was eventually persuaded that Jesus was the only one who could offer salvation.
This caused a period of inner turmoil for Ramchandra: Should he keep quiet about his faith and follow Christ secretly, or declare his faith publicly through baptism? He knew receiving baptism would mean losing his caste and dissolving his family relationships. He also began to wonder how he would find marriage partners for his daughters.
After struggling with this question for nearly a year, Ramchandra finally decided to receive baptism and make his faith public. The big day took place on 11th July 1852. Thankfully, by this time, he had also led a friend named Chimman Lal to Christ, who was a doctor from the same caste.
Ramchandra and Lal took baptism in St. James Church with a packed congregation of curious onlookers. It is said that the whole of Delhi was set aflutter by these high-caste Hindus publicly expressing their devotion to Christ.
Delhi’s First Christian Community
Following his baptism, Delhi’s first Christian faced rejection from his family and caste community. His wife was forcibly separated from him against her will for nine years, before their eventual reunion.
During the mutiny of 1857-58, most Christians in Delhi were killed (including Chimman Lal). Miraculously, Ramchandra escaped by running to a village 15 kilometres away from Delhi. He stayed there for a month before retreating to hide in a jungle.
After the mutiny, Ramchandra re-assembled the few believers who survived in Delhi. The fledgling church was able to survive in large part because of his leadership.
Over the years, Ramchandra led dozens of others to Christ, including future church leader Tara Chand. It is said that even the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar summoned Ramchandra to dissuade him from becoming a Christian. However, this only led to one of the Emperor’s servants coming to faith in Christ.
Ramchandra eventually became the headmaster of India’s first engineering college, Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now IIT Roorkee). Later, he became a tutor to the Maharaja of Patiala. However, the church in Delhi continued to look to Ramchandra for guidance until he died in 1880.
A Rich Legacy
Ramachandra’s life is one that all Christians in India should be familiar with, especially those of us in Delhi. As Indian Christians today, we stand on the shoulders of the pioneers and giants of the faith who have gone before us. When we neglect our Christian history, it is to our detriment because we miss out on the rich perspective and inspiration it can give us.
