Disability and Christian Theology in Colonial India

Abstract

It was not the state but the missionaries that first gave special attention to the disabled in Colonial India. In other words, the conceptualization of awareness about special care and education for the disabled in India started with the Christian theological idea of disability and with the idea of charity. Christian missionaries established special education institutions in India with funding from overseas charitable societies. Through the preaching of Christianity in these schools, missionaries constructed the idea of ‘divinity of brokenness’ for the disabled in India. They preached about the divinity of suffering and used education as a tool to integrate the disabled into Christianity. The missionaries primarily used basic interpretations of the Bible to create an awareness of the care needs for the disabled among the local populations. They tried to spread the Christian ideology that everything under God’s patronage was a created image of God and that everyone held a high value. Most importantly, they maintained that all believers were created by God, and each has a mission to fulfil based on his/her destiny. For every evangelization, the missionaries quoted the Bible for more support and interpretation. The rooted dogma of having a life for a purpose was spread across the country to advocate the significance of the disabled in society. The missionaries indoctrinated the idea that ‘in a healthy church, everybody belongs.’ Christianity was appealed as a religion of ‘inclusion’ and this continuous mission work among the disabled population increased the popularity of Christianity in India.