About R.C. Das Journals

R.C. Das edited his own small journal for twenty-seven years, from 1947 to 1973. He started with The Seeker and twice changed the name; despite name changes the content remained focused on reflections on church, mission, and evangelism in India, including many articles reprinted from other sources, original contributions by Das, and frequent news and commentary on issues of the day.

The Seeker began trilingual, with sections in English, Bengali and Hindi. By the end of the first three years it was an English-only journal. The Pilgrim, journal of the Christian Society for the Study of Hinduism, had started in 1941 (see the full extant contents also posted on this website). The Seeker was a much more grassroots publication at a more popular level. The Pilgrim struggled to find readers; it is impossible that The Seeker did better, although no details of publication numbers and distribution are ever shared.

When the Christian Society for the Study of Hinduism and The Pilgrim closed shop, Das absorbed the journal title into his own, thus The Seeker and Pilgrim. Das commented thus: “The Pilgrim was conceived in this holy city of Bharat [Varanasi], was born in Pallamcottai near Kanya Kumari [Appasamy as first editor] and ably nursed there and successively in other centres by worthy scholars like Appasamy, Chenchiah, Immanuel. But when in his early youth his foster-fathers have neglected him and even turned him out and unceremoniously and in his place have brought in a hybrid monster, the young pilgrim true to his nature and destiny has returned to his natural home in Kashi Dham - the sanctuary of pilgrims and seekers.” (The Seeker and Pilgrim, vol. 12 no. 1, pg. 33)

In 1964 the name changed again to The Church of Christ. Das gives an Explanation in a short article under that name. Das had built a debt of Rs. 600 in producing The Seeker and Pilgrim so had accepted an offer from south Indian friends to produce the magazine without charge. The final issue of The Church of Christ was from 1973 when Das was 86 years old. Reviewing these 27 years of regular publications gives a fascinating overview of church and mission in India from the perspective of a man convinced that a fresh engagement with issues from a Hindu perspective was vital for a valid representation of Jesus Christ in India.