SIR,—The question is frequently asked, "What is the mind of
the Christian Church in India on the present political situation? And as all who know anything of that Church will readily agree, the first part of the answer must be that a considerable section of the Christian community has no views at all on the matter; it is not politically minded, not having, as yet, received the necessary educational background to enable it to become so.
None the less, there is a growing Christian intelligentsia, with certain national Church organisations through which it is able to express itself, and it may be of interest to those who are reading the correspondence in your columns under the above head to learn that a third official word has been spoken by a responsible Christian body.
The first of these words was that of the Metropolitan, Bishop Foss Westcott, whose appeal for negotiation was widely noted in the British Press a month ago. The second was a cable received about the same time and to the same effect from Mr. Rollia Ram, the Secretary of the All-India Christian Council executive. This, too, received some notice in our Press. The third word was contained in a cable, received in London last week, from Dr. R. B. Manikam, one of the joint secretaries of the National Christian Council. This organisation is affiliated to the International Missionary Council, and is the body with which the missionary societies of this country are mainly concerned in their ex- tensive co-operative work. The cable runs as follows: "Council Execu- tive appealed for conference or arbitration, Rollia Ram(%) resolution not considered but large measure Christian support.—Manikam."
It is only fair to add that though these three are the only official state- ments which have been made up to date, it is most probable that a con- siderable body of missionary opinion in India dissents from them and feels that the Government could do no other than it has done ; any such opinion, however, has no ready means of expression, for missionaries are not in India for political purposes. It is probably true, therefore, that despite the three official pronouncements of the Indian Church, Christian opinion in India is divided on this question, as it obviously is in this country, but whilst it appears here that the preponderance is for the Government, in India it seems likely that the reverse is the truth.—I am,
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