Conclusion

Abstract

Inviting conversions to Christianity and promoting social changes together constituted the mission of Telugu Biblewomen. Seeking potential converts among women and children, Telugu Biblewomen introduced the Christian faith and taught literacy in houses and streets. The mission paradigms and strategies of Telugu Biblewomen, in many ways, were similar to those of the Protestant foreign women missionaries, as they, to some extent, shared the same roots in nineteenth-century evangelical Christianity. At the same time, the social dynamics of caste and gender as well as the colonial backdrop impacted how Telugu Biblewomen perceived and practiced their mission, distinguishing them not only from Western women missionaries but also from their counterparts in other regions of the world. Gender solidarity may have spurred their shared enthusiasm to challenge patriarchal values in their cultures but it did not bypass national and ethnic boundaries.