General Baptist Women in Orissa, India: Initiatives in Female Education, 1860s–1880s

Abstract

This article looks at the General Baptist mission in Orissa, India, from the 1860s to the 1880s, with particular reference to the way women who served within the mission fulfilled a role in teaching and encouraging girls and women, especially by setting up schooling. The challenges of a time of desperate famine, with many orphans being cared for, are examined. The General Baptist mission worked with other bodies, notably and crucially with the interdenominational Female Education Society. A major aim was that, through the work of the female teachers, local teachers would be equipped. The argument here is that there was integrity in what was performed, and thus, this article offers an alternative to interpretations that dismiss the validity of the mission endeavours. The Orissa mission continued on beyond the 1880s, with wider fellowship eventually happening through the Church of North India. This study does not go beyond the 1880s as that would introduce a new phase with the amalgamation in 1891 of the General and Particular Baptists and their overseas missionary societies.