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;V 

IO S 60 

.I4M75 



A STUDY OF THE Y.M.G.A 

OF 

INDIA, BURMA & CEYLON 



-,_ '""*"' "si- 



Made as an integral part 
of the International Survey 



BY 

DR; A. E. BOLT 



ASSISTED 

.:- ' -:..-: -. -. - 

MESSRS. K. K. KUiRUVILLAi&^K. E. BECKNELL 



NATIONAI, COUNCIL Y.M.C.A., INDIA, BURMA & CEYLON 

5, RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA 

1933 




Clbc $lmver.sU\> of Chicago 
libraries 





A STUDY OF THE Y.M.C.A. 

OF 

INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON 



A STUDY OF THE Y.M.C.A, 

OF 

INDIA, BURMA & CEYLON 



Made as an integral part 
of the International Survey 



BY 

DR. A. E. HOLT 



ASSISTED BY 

MESSRS. K. K. KURUVILLA & H. E. BECKNELL 



NATIONAL COUNCIL Y.M.C.A., INDIA, BURMA & CEYLON 
5, RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA 



1043061 

CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT . . . . . . ' . . vii 

FINDINGS OP THE T.M.C.A. COMMISSION .... ... xii 

PAET I. THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 
IN ITS ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 

CHAPTER 1. Main Trends in the Historical Develop- 
ment of the Y.M.C.A. of India, Burma 
and Ceylon . . . . . . 3 

CHAPTER 2. The Y.M.C.A. in Bombay, Calcutta and 

Eangoon . . . . . . 10 

CHAPTER 3. The Y.M.C.A. in Colombo, Lahore and 

Madras . . . . . . 24 

CHAPTER 4. The Y.M.C.A. in the Mof ussil Towns , . 32 
CHAPTER 5. The Y.M.C.A. in Travancore and Cochin 40 

PAET II. THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION AS 
A FUNCTIONING AGENCY 

CHAPTER 6. Organization and Administration . . 51 

CHAPTER 7. Questions of Finance . . . . 72 

CHAPTER 8. The Indian Secretaryship . . . . 99 

CHAPTER 9. Membership . . . . . . 113 

CHAPTER 10. The Work of the Local Associations . . 120 

PAET III. THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE 
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 

INTRODUCTION TO PART III . . . . . . 135 

CHAPTER 11. The Programme in Physical Education . . 136 
CHAPTER 12. The Projects in Social Welfare Omitted. 

CHAPTER 13. Literature and Lectures .. .. 143 

CHAPTER 14. The Indian Students' Union and Hostel in 

London . . . . Omitted. 

CHAPTER 15. The Distinctive Contribution of the Y.M.C.A. 

to India . . . . . . . . 145 



vi 

PAGE. 
PART IV. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND EVALUATIONS 

CHAPTER 16. General Conclusions of Part I and Part II 159 

CHAPTER 17. Problems of Administration growing out 

of Social Conditions . . . . 168 

CHAPTER 18. Psychological Conditions bearing on the 

Extension of the Associations Omitted. 

CHAPTER 19, Lines of Cleavage in Y.M.C.A. Policy . . 173 
CHAPTER 20. Opportunities for Extension . . . . 195 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 

- A survey might be defined as an analysis on the basis of 
which plans are to be built for the future. It is not a venture 
in programme building but a preliminary step in that process. 
Opinions differ as to what type of analysis is most useful as a 
basis for programme building. In this case an attempt has been 
made to present, not so much a cross section of the present situa- 
tion, as a genetic picture revealing the growth and development 
of the two Christian Associations in India, Burma and Ceylon, 
down through the years. The value of the present study lies 
more in what light has been thrown on the nature and genius 
of the movements than in any detailed description of all their 
activities. The interest has been more in the life history of the 
Associations than exclusively in what they were doing at the 
time the survey was made. It is the belief of the survey staff 
that both the T.M.C.A. and the Y.W.C.A. are entering a period 
during which the process of building with Indian resources, both 
as to funds and personnel, will be increasingly emphasized. It 
is also a time when the need for clear distinction between the 
essential Association and the good things it does will be very 
real. It is hoped that the present survey will be of service in 
this connection. 

The survey of the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. of India, Burma 
and Ceylon is part of a world-wide enterprise in co-operation. 
The Foreign Divisions of the North American Associations and 
those movements in other countries which they are assisting 
with funds and personnel have together produced an inter- 
national survey under the supervision of a special committee 
chosen for this purpose in New York. This committee was made 
up 'of the following persons : 

Daniel J. Fleming, Chairman. 
William F. Eussell, Vice-Chairman. 
Mrs. John H. Finley, Secretary. 
William M. Kingsley, Treasurer. 
Miss Clara C. Benson. 
Mrs. Harry Emerson Fosdick. 
Eufus M. Jones. 
William H. Kilpatrick. 
Adrian Lyon. 
- Miss Florence M. Bead, 



viii 



The underlying purpose of the entire enterprise will be best 
conveyed by the following quotations from the preliminary plan 
drawn up for the International Survey Committee : 

"According to the terms of reference under which the 
present project was launched the planning of the survey 
was to be guided by the following general considerations : 

(1) Emphasis shall be laid upon the study of the work 

and of the fields of opportunity of the two organ- 
izations from the point of view of the largest 
statesmanship, with a view to discovering what 
curtailments, modifications, or advances in policies 
and programme promise the largest release of 
the constructive forces within each country and 
community. 

(2) The survey shall also make a study of the supporting 

constituency in this country (U.S. A.), including 
the objectives of the work as seen by them, and 
the measure of their prospective support. 

(3) Since the work in all the countries in which the 

Young Women's Christian Association and the 
Young Men's Christian Association are co-operat- 
ing is in the hands of autonomous national move- 
ments, the study is to be carried forward from 
the beginning with the fullest participation of 
those movements. 

(4) To the degree that the method is consistent with 

sound procedure, the leaders of the communities 
and Associations studied are to be given an 
active part in the process of survey and appraisal 
in order that the results and methods may be 
built into the life of the national and local organ- 
izations. 

"Perhaps the most significant of these guiding principles 
is that the foreign work of the two Christian Associations 
is to be studied 'from the point of view of the largest states- 
manship'. This clearly means that the meticulous examina- 
tion into mechanical efficiency, which has so commonly 
marked social and educational surveys, is not to be stressed. 
While data bearing on the narrower aspects of efficiency 
should be gathered, the emphasis must be placed elsewhere. 
The major object of the survey is to provide the most funda- 
mental possible appraisal of a great social enterprise." 



ix 

The same document laid down the following five major 
lines of inquiry to serve as guides for the several national 
surveys : 

(1) What are the basic assumptions, presuppositions, 

and purposes underlying and controlling the 
foreign work of the North American Associations ? 

(2) In what respects is the present work of the national 

Associations indigenous to those areas to which 
the North American Associations have gone, and 
to what extent have the North American elements 
become naturalized in those areas I 

(3) What results have followed the work of the Associa- 

tions in the several countries *? 

(4) How efficient is the administration of the foreign 

work of the North American Associations and 
of the work of the Associations in the several 
countries ? 

(5) How is the work of the Associations supported ? 

When the staff representative of the International Survey 
Committee, known as the regional consultant for India, Burma 
and Ceylon, reached India he was presented with a questionnaire 
from the Indian Y.M.C.A. which reflected a different viewpoint 
from that contained in the five questions just enumerated. The 
Indian questionnaire assumed that the study should be made of 
the Indian Association, with special emphasis on its own admin- 
istrative problems, rather than as part of a wider fellowship. The 
New York plan assumed that the distribution of resources was 
a matter of concern only to North American and Indian officials 
of the Christian Associations. There are, however, at least three 
other parties interested in the affairs of the Indian Associations : 
the Indian community, the European community in India, and 
the supporting constituency of the North American secretaries. 
The greater part of the so-called increase in indigenous support 
of the Indian Associations is actually an assumption of increased 
financial responsibility on the part of the European population. 
The donors in India have been taking over the burden from the 
donors in North America and are therefore to be considered when 
policies are drawn up. It seemed best, therefore, to confine 
the present study to the work in India on the assumption that 
what the New York Committee really wanted was a clear picture 
of this work on the basis of which future plans of co-operation 
could be built. Fortunately, the outline as drawn up by the 



st 

North. American Survey staff lent itself very readily to the study 
contemplated by the Indian Y.M.C.A. 

After consultation with representatives of the Indian 
Christian Associations, in the fall of 1929, two national com- 
missions were set up to take charge of the proposed surveys. 
The personnel of these commissions was as follows : 

For the Y.M.C.A. : Eev. S. K. Chatterji, M.A. 

Clifford Manshardt, B.D., Ph.D. 

P. O. Phillip, B.A. 

Prof. E. Ahmed Shah, M.A. 

Eev. T. G. P. Spear. 

J. H. Gray, M.D. 

K. T. Paul, O.B.E., B.A. 

B. L. Eallia Earn, B.SC., B.T. 

For the T.W.C.A. : Mrs. K. M. MacDonald. 

Miss H. Bose. 
Mrs. F. Burnett. 
Miss P. Madden. 
Mrs. V. M. Elahibaksh. 
Miss O. Lawrence. 

These commissions met early in October, 1929, and appointed 
the following staff : 

National Consultants : K. K. Kuruvilla, M.A., B.D. 

Elizabeth Z. Kuruvilla. 

Technical Associate : H. E. Becknell, B.A., M.A. 

Special Eesearch Associate : Bernice Becknell, B.A., M.A. 

This staff, part of which was unable to start work before 
January, 1930, has sought to build up a picture of Association 
work in India on the basis of official census records (unfortunately 
the 1921 Census was the latest available), Association records, 
observations and interviews. Extensive photographs were taken 
of the work and the negatives filed with the Foreign Divisions 
in New York. 

The staff has, with one or two exceptions, visited every 
important Association in India, Burma and Ceylon, and desires 
to bear witness to the courtesy and co-operation encountered 
everywhere. The officers of the Associations have given unspar- 
ingly of their time and have patiently filled out schedules and 
questionnaires. It is the deepest hope of the survey staff that 
this report, and similar ones now under way, may serve to furnish 



xi 

guidance and help to organizations that have been able to com- 
mand the loyalties of so splendid a body of men and women. 
There is no way to record by scientific analysis that complex 
of courage, patience, sympathy and insight which lies at the 
foundation of any movement. The staff simply wishes to take 
this opportunity to record its knowledge of the existence of these 
imponderables and of the essential part they have played in the 
history of the Association movements of India, Burma and 
Ceylon. 



FINDINGS OF THE Y.M.C.A. COMMISSION. 

The Commission in receiving the report prepared by the 
survey staff on the work of the Young Men's Christian Association 
in India, desires to acknowledge the great value of the material 
assembled and presented therein. While the time available for 
studying the report in detail was limited, the main issues that 
emerge from a study of the report were carefully considered by 
the Commission as a whole and the following findings were 
adopted : 

I. GENERAL. 

(1) There has been a great development of pioneering 
projects, which for the most part have done valuable work, e.g., 
rural reconstruction, students' hostel in London, lecture depart- 
ment, Association Press, physical education and industrial welfare 
work. 

(2) Although the total membership of the Association 
has increased, active membership has remained stationary, and 
active members are taking a diminishing share in the control 
and work of the Association. 

(3) The Associations in the smaller centres have not received 
an adequate share of men or money as compared with the Associa- 
tions in larger centres. 

(4) The paid secretaries have increasingly come to dominate 
and become the soul of the Association movement. 

(5) It would seem that the Y.M.C.A. has felt constrained 
to work on too wide a front in relation to its available leadership 
and financial resources. 

(6) We would recommend that the Y.M.C.A. should now 
enter upon a period of consolidating the work in hand and mak- 
ing it really effective. 

(7) We would recommend a period of looking in, of self- 
purification, that the work of the Association may be the more 
effective. 

(8) We would recommend the transferring of such work 
as can now be carried on by other agencies, and the strengthening 
of those areas in which the Y.M.C.A. can make a definite and 
unique contribution to the building of Christian character. We 
would recommend that no new work should be entered into with- 
out a full consideration of the relation of the new to the existing 



xm 

programme and that the immediate governing principle in the 
future should be effective intensification rather than expansion. 

(9) We would recognize the validity of the present aims 
of the Association, but we recommend that care should be taken 
to divide in due proportions the Association's resources of men, 
money and energy amongst the different spheres of work. 

II. MEMBERSHIP. 

(1) We recommend that steps be taken to revive the idea 
of membership as a "fellowship for service," which should be 
parallel to and supplementary to the existing fellowship of paid 
secretaries as a "fellowship for expert service". In order to 
secure this we suggest : 

(a) That only one class of membership equally open 
to both Christians and non-Christians be estab- 
lished, subject to the articles infra on Organiza- 
tion, from which it will be seen that the final 
control of material and personnel rests with those 
who sign the Paris Basis ; 

(6) That secretaries should particularly endeavour to 
direct the energies of Christian members to the 
service of the Christian Church as well as to the 
general community ; 

(c) That attempts be made to provide definite outlets 
for the non-Christian members. 

III. ORGANIZATION. 

We consider that a central organization such as the National 
Council is necessary for the cohesion and development of the 
Association in the existing conditions in India and that on the 
whole it is exercising a necessary and beneficial influence. 

(1) We recommend that the measures be considered for 
securing the active participation of a larger number of the 
National Council in the work of the Council. 

(2) We recommend that where local conditions make it 
possible (a Christian population, local initiative, etc.), regional 
councils which would be closely related to the National Council 
may be set up to develop work in that area. (Beginnings might 
be made in Madras, Ceylon and Travancore.) 

(3) We would recommend that the same principle be 
observed in regional councils as is recognized in (1) above for the 
National Council, 



XIV 

(4) We would recommend that the possibility be considered 
either of sending to the National Council representatives re- 
sponsible to regional committees, or of dividing the work of the 
National Council among special committees working in specific 
areas in specialized departments of activity, touch being main- 
tained with the National Council by means of travelling secretaries. 

(5) We recommend that in local Associations the organiza- 
tion shall be that of a board of trustees to hold property, appoint 
secretaries and pass budgets, and that the membership of the 
board shall consist of Christians who accept the Paris Basis of 
membership. Further, there shall be a board of management, 
which shall be elected by all the members, and shall conduct 
the active affairs of the Association. 

(6) We recommend that the Association study the possibility 
of securing more Indian representation on the boards of Associa- 
tions in the leading port cities. 

IV. PERSONNEL. 

(1) We suggest that security of tenure of secretaries might 
be increased by following up a preliminary period of probation 
of three years with admission to the permanent staff on longer 
contract, and that some means of decreasing the hazard of un- 
employment should be studied. 

(2) We would express the following principle with relation 
to foreign financial assistance. Self-support does not necessarily 
mean full self-support. It may mean increasing local support 
and control. A continuance of foreign gifts is not to be dis- 
paraged if it can be looked upon as a basis of fellowship and not 
as a charity. 

(3) In the interest of further developing self-support on 
the part of the Indian Association we recommend the appoint- 
ment of an Indian revenue secretary (in addition to the present 
revenue secretary) who, realizing the magnitude of the task 
before him, shall accept the long time task of mobilizing Indian 
resources for Association support. 

(4) We recommend that the general secretaryship of local 
Associations be reserved for Indians. 

(5) To enable local Associations to employ Indian general 
secretaries of sufficiently high standard we recommend that 
foreign money be sent in the place of foreign secretarial personnel. 

(6) We believe that foreign secretaries, for specialized posts 
are still needed in India. 



XV 

(7) We recommend that the requirement that every foreign 
secretary should learn an Indian language should be strictly 
enforced. 

(8) We suggest that the possibility be explored of recruit- 
ing foreign short-term secretaries on a smaller salary basis than 
that of the permanent staff. 

(9) We consider that large city and town Associations 
using foreign personnel should make a larger contribution to 
the National Council by way of compensation, that the smaller 
Associations may profit therefrom. 

(10) We recommend the raising of endowments as an added 
source of support for the work of the local Associations and specific 
projects. 

V. HOSTELS. 

We recommend that non-student hostels be separated from 
the general work of the T.M.C.A. and operated as Y.M.C.A. 
hotels. These hotels may be run either on Indian or European 
lines, but must not be racially exclusive. 



PART I 

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHKISTIAN ASSOCIATION IN ITS 
ENVIEONMENTAL SETTING 



CHAPTER 1. 

MAIN TRENDS IN THE HISTOEICAL DEVELOPMENT 
OF THE T.M.C.A. OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 

The following discussion is not presented as a thorough-going 
history of the Y.M.C.A. movement in India, Burma and Ceylon, 
but rather as a general introduction to the more detailed treat- 
ment of the various topics within the scope of this survey found in 
the ensuing chapters. It is an attempt to .summarize the salient 
features of the organization's development in its broad outlines. 
In this development three distinct phases are to be discerned. 
The first falls roughly in the period 1850-1890 and is characterized 
by spasmodic, unco-ordinated activity in various cities of India 
and Ceylon. The second, dating from 1890 to the World War, 
represents the period of unification and consolidation during which 
the work was extended to Burma and was largely dominated 
everywhere by the ideal of the building-centred " four -fold " 
programme. During the last period, since the World War, the 
conception of the Y.M.C.A. as a service agency has been developed 
and given expression mainly through elaborate projects in social 
service carried on by the central organization on a national scale. 

The work of the first period represents the initiative of British 
and North American missionaries and businessmen, who had 
known the Association movement at home and attempted to 
develop similar work in the country of their adoption. There was 
no unity of action between the various centres, and indeed very 
few of them knew of the existence of the others. Some idea 
of the range and number of these early Associations will be deriv- 
ed from the following tabulation, on which they are listed accord- 
ing to the date of organization. No account is taken in the 
records of the casualties, of which there were not a few. For 
instance, both Calcutta and Colombo suffered temporary set- 
backs at times, and many of the smaller centres passed completely 
out of existence. 

The First Y.M.C.A.'s by Date of Organisation. 

Year. India. Ceylon. 

1854 .. Calcutta. 

1861 .. Kandy. 

1875 . . Bombay. 

Lahore. 



Year. 
1877 
1880 
1881 

1882 

1884 
1885 



1886 



1887 



1888 



1889 



1890 



India. 
Simla. 
Nagercoil. 



Erumapra. 
Valakam 

Poona. 



Adoor. 

Anarmala. 

Ellampiram. 

Kannikal. 

Koovapalli. 

Salem. 

Bombay (Bandora). 
Masulipatam. 



Ceylon. 



Mannipay. 
Colombo. 

Galle. 

Jaffna College. 



Eoyal College. 



Pasnmalai College. 
Trichur. 

Cochin. Wofendahl. 

Koduwalunji. 

Mussoorie. 

Meyoor. 

Karungal. 
Kottayam. 
Kunnankulam. 
Seoni Chappra. 

Bangalore. Kornegalle. 

Bombay (Grant Road). 

Hyderabad. 

Madura. 

Tanjore. India (Contd.) 



Bombay (Parel). 
Chingleput. 
Coonoor. 
Dindigul. 

Hyderabad (Indian 
Christian Union). 
Karachi High School, 



Kolani. 

Madras. 

Muirabad. 

Ootacamund. 

Pala.mcottah. 

Tripatore. 

Vellore, 



These early Associations were carried on entirely under 
volunteer leadership. The membership was made up for the 
most part of small groups of young men, either Europeans away 
from home on business and in need of a stabilizing factor, or 
young Indians, usually Christians in those days, in whom these 
pioneer progenitors of the movement proper had a friendly interest 
or toward whom they felt a sense of obligation. The activities 
were not greatly diversified, consisting in weekly or semi-weekly 
Bible classes and prayer meetings, with an occasional charitable 
undertaking of some sort, in addition, such as feeding the poor 
or conducting Sunday school classes for children. 

The year 1890 may be said to mark the beginning of a new 
era. On January 9th the first employed foreign secretary, Mr. 
David McConaughy, arrived in India and started work in Madras. 
This event inaugurated the official co-operation of the Indian 
Associations with Y.M.C.A. movements in other lands and also 
1}he rise of an employed secretariat, which are both trends that 
have characterized the movement ever since. At the same time 
other tendencies were set in motion. There developed a move- 
ment towards national cohesion and organization, and together 
with the almost precipitate rise of the " four-fold " programme an 
associate, or non-Christian, membership slowly grew up and large 
buildings of the institutional kind were erected. Types of work 
were undertaken that demanded more and more financial support 
from both India and abroad, and all the problems incidental to 
consolidation and expansion were introduced. This second 
period lasted until about 1915. Then came the war with its 
abnormal impetus to the work and the undertaking of new pro- 
jects with the troops in India, France and the Near East. The 
few years of the war represent a period of transition, for by 1920 
the emphasis had shifted away from the " four-fold " programme 
to a type of activity that may be classified as social service. 

It will of course be understood that no hard and fast lines 
can be drawn between the three periods here outlined. The 
changes in organization and programme emphasis did not take 
place abruptly but shaded into one another so gradually as to 
make the problem of setting dates a difficult one. The three 
periods, however, do represent in it general way the main stages 
of development of the Indian Y.M.C.A. 

Mr. McConaughy's arrival in India was the direct outcome 
of efforts in South India and Ceylon. The Y.M.C.A. at Jaffna 
College, founded in 1884 immediately applied for affiliation with 
the STorth American movement. A few vea<rs later, an American 

/ / 



6 

student secretary, Mr. L. D. Wishard, made a world tour in the 
interests of Association work and included India among the coun- 
tries he visited. He was able to arouse considerable interest in 
behalf of the work in India on his return to ISTorth America. In 
1888, a missionary conference at Madras officially requested 
the Worth American International Committee to send out a secre- 
tary to work with the students of that city. As a result of these 
various efforts, Mr. McConaughy was finally appointed to India 
but given freedom of choice as to the field in which he was to work 
and the type of programme he was to develop. He arrived in 
Madras at a time when Mr. Wishard happened to be there again 
and they at once laid plans together for the advancement of the 
movement. 

In less than a year after Mr. MeConaughy's arrival, plans 
were under way for the first national convention " in response 
to suggestions received from ten or more Associations in India " 
(National Convention Report. 1891, p. 4). The wording of the 
call to this convention reveals the strong sense of evangelistic 
responsibility felt by these pioneers towards " the millions of 
perishing young men in this great land " (Opus citatum, p. 6). 
The convention assembled at Madras in 1891, with a delegation 
composed of twenty-six Indians, seven Europeans and two 
Anglo-Indians. The chief topic of discussion was the best means 
by which the existing Associations might co-operate. There 
was general agreement as to the desirability of some sort of union, 
but opinion differed as to whether this should be by districts or 
on national lines. The latter plan was finally adopted and the 
first national committee elected. The convention, furthermore, 
defined the function of the Association as work with, for, andJby 
young men. While reserving the control of the organization for 
the active membership, determined by affiliation with the Chris- 
tian church, the ranks of the associate membership were opened 
to all young men of good moral character. 

Central in the programmes of the Associations, during this 
period, was the religious work. The real purpose for which the 
organization existed was held to be that of leading young men 
into closer relationship with Christ. While non-Christians were 
welcomed into the general membership, it was never forgotten that 
all works and all active members had a distinct duty of evan- 
gelization towards these young men. At the same time, other phases 
of the "four-fold" programme were not neglected. Physical work 
was begun in Calcutta, in 1896, and developed in all the leading 
Associations, as the buildings were erected. Student work received 



especial attention in the earlier years of this period ; in 1896 there 
arrived three secretaries for such work : Mr. Frank Clark to serve 
in Bombay, Mr. Campbell White in Calcutta and Mr. Sherwood 
Eddy on the National Council. In 1895, the first Indian em- 
ployed, secretary, Mr. V. S. Asariah, was appointed for work among 
the Tamil-speaking students. While boys' work was an early 
concern of the pioneers, as appears from resolutions passed at 
national conventions, it has been promoted on the initiative of 
local Associations more than by the national organization. It 
has consequently not been very well developed, on the whole, 
except perhaps in Calcutta where there has been a boys' work 
secretary consecutively since 1904. Educational lectures and 
courses were developed in all leading Associations, and a monthly 
magazine, Young Men of India, was early started as a national 
organ. 

Principles governing financial support were laid down by the 
first conventions. While it was recognized that foreign secretaries 
would be needed to build up the work in India and that large 
buildings were desirable to house the movement, it was felt that 
foreign gifts would be necessary to finance both. On the other 
hand, it was agreed that workers recruited in India, Burma and 
Ceylon should be supported by funds raised in those countries, 
and that local Associations had a certain responsibility for the 
support of the national organization. (National Convention 
Report, 1896, pp. 49-50.) 

The work steadily expanded along these lines until the war, 
and increased in membership, personnel, financial resources and 
buildings. While evangelism was recognized as the avowed 
mission of the movement, during this period, church relationships 
were carefully maintained and the Y.M.C.A. sought to make clear 
its desire to supplement the activities of the church rather than to 
compete with them. At the beginning of 1,902, Mr. McConaughy 
returned to North America and his place as general secretary was 
filled in 1904 by Mr. E. Ci Carter. While the " four-fold " pro- 
gramme was the basis of the work, other tendencies were begin- 
ning to make themselves felt which were to receive greater 
development after the war. In 1913, for instance, a department 
of rural -work was added to the national programme when an 
Indian secretary, Mr. K. T. Paul, joined the staff as associate 
general secretary. At about the same time Mr. J. N. Farquhar 
retired from student work, which had hitherto engaged his 
attention, and devoted himself to the organization of a literature 
department. In 1912 the student Y.M.C.A.'s separated from the 



8 

city movement and formed an organization of their own. Since 
that time such work among students as has been done by the 
Y.M.C.A. of India, Burma and Ceylon has been limited largely 
to non-Christians. In 1910 a small training school for secretaries 
was opened in Calcutta and moved to Bangalore, in- 1912. 
Unfortunately, it had to be discontinued, in 1921, mainly for 
financial reasons and because of the difficulty in securing students. 

Then came the war and with it such expansion as had not 
been thought possible even a few years before. Funds poured 
into the treasury both from India and from abroad. The war 
years mark the peak of the building era, as will appear in a later 
chapter. Special war work was carried on in France, Mesopo- 
tamia, British East Africa, Palestine and Egypt as well as in 
India itself. A lecture department was established which found 
its greatest usefulness in the closing years of the war. 

As a result of this war activity important changes were 
brought about within the Y.M.C.A. movement. In the first 
place, no conventions could be held between 1910 and 1920, a 
circumstance which inevitably weakened the interest of the lay 
leadership. Furthermore, the national organization had been 
called upon to promote large undertakings and so not only became 
greatly interested in social service projects, but also became a 
more powerful agency. It greatly increased the prestige of the 
whole movement in the eyes of the general public and tended 
to give it the character of an agency for community service. 

Just after the close of the war a physical training school was 
started in Madras, under the leadership of Mr. H. C. Buck. The 
school is well known all over India for its training of leaders in 
community athletics and recreation programmes. In 1919 a project 
in industrial work was started in Eagpur in co-operation with the 
Empress Cotton Mills. A similar project was started in Bombay 
early in 1925 . The programme in rural reconstruction was develop- 
ed in Southern India. Anew enterprise in religious work was 
the establishment of an ashram at Puri by the Rev. B. C. Sircar, 
which in its method of approach differed greatly from the 
energetic evangelism of the earlier days. A department of Anglo- 
Indian work was created by the national executive, during this 
period, and a study of the Anglo-Indian situation was completed 
by Mr. W. Hindle in 1926. However, nothing further seems to 
have been done along this line. 

The financial situation of the movement, and particularly 
of the national organization, has been a difficult one since the 



9 



war. Not only were the special war funds gradually exhausted, 
but world-wide economic depression has forced the friends of the 
Indian movement, both at home and abroad, to curtail their con- 
tributions in drastic fashion. There has been a steady decrease, 
accordingly, in funds and personnel sent from other movements. 

The same period has, however, witnessed the development 
of indigenous leadership, and again especially in the national 
organization. The brilliant achievements of this body are asso- 
ciated especially with the names of Mr. K. T. Paul and Dr. S. K. 
Datta, men who have made the Y.M.C.A. known and respected 
not only in India but also in Europe and North America. 

Such then, in brief outline, has been the history of the 
Y.M.C.A. of India, Burma and Ceylon. Space has not permitted 
adequate mention of the dominant personalities that have shaped 
its course ; indeed such a task would be an impossible one in any 
case, for there have been many devoted workers and the con- 
tribution of most of them can never properly be measured. An 
idea of the general development, as suggested by- the membership, 
buildings, and personnel, may be derived from the following table. 
Unfortunately, full figures were not available later than 1925. 

Development of the Y.M.C.A. between 1890 and 1925. 

1890 

Number of Asso- 
ciations . . 35 

Total Number of 

Members .. 1,896 

Total Number 
of Active Mem- 
bers . . 1,01(3 

Number of Build- 
ings Owned . . 2 

Value in Rupees 

Current Expenses 

in Rupees . . 15,067 

Foreign Employ- 
ed Staff . . 1 

Indian Employed 

Staff .. 2 

*Figure for 1907. 
fFigure for 1913. 



1901 


1910 


1920 


1925 


151 


158 


241 


66 


6,550 


12,100 


10,463 


10,759 



2,381 
16 



4,035* 
26 



57 



2,164 
42 



6,17,200 16,51,856 32,74,862 35,82,181 

58,041 3,72,310 3,78,409 9,07,819 

12 57 f 70 43 

7 29f 153 84 



Sources for this Chapter : Worman, Clark : " Early History of 
the Y.M.C.A., 1854-1900," and "National Convention 
Eeports," 1891-1926. 



CHAPTER 2. 

THE Y.M.C.A. IN BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND 

RANGOON. 

A. THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND. 

That the Young Men's Christian Association is essentially 
the product of the modern commercial or industrial city is a fact 
so widely recognized that it scarcely need be argued here. With 
the introduction of steam and machinery into the manufacture 
of goods, workers were uprooted from their scattered villages, 
the world over, and drawn into the great urban centres. These 
workers were, for the most part, young unmarried men, unused 
to the complexity of city life, and unprepared to meet the moral 
hazards created by the congestion of their new surroundings. 
The modern city opened up a new frontier in the world of morals 
and made heavy demands on personal character. Former social 
customs and usages, based on the simple life of village and farm, 
could not stand the stress put upon them and new ones had to be 
created. Life in the new city presented a definite challenge to 
organized religion ; such organizations as the Y.M.C.A., the 
Salvation Army, and others, were the reply of the Protestant 
Christian forces in England, the continent of Europe and North 
America. The history of the Association movement in the West 
is a vivid story of the attempts of dedicated religious men to 
grapple with the moral problems of modern youth. 

A study of the map of India, Burma and Ceylon will at once 
suggest that what has taken place in the West has been repeated 
with perhaps even greater emphasis in the East. Before the 
coming of the British, with commerce as their chief concern, the 
great urban centres of India were in the interior. Even the great 
Moghul Emperors showed comparatively little interest in their 
coasts and ports. The important cities of pre-British India 
Lahore, Delhi, Patna, Hyderabad, Madura, Kandy, Mandalay, 
to name only a few of them were largely significant for the con- 
centration of political power which they represented. To-day 
these ancient centres are, for the most part, of secondary impor- 
tance to the life of the country. It is only within recent years 
that the political headquarters of British India have been moved 
from Calcutta to Delhi, thus restoring to the latter city "some of 
its ancient prestige. Others in this group of formerly great cities 



11 

retain significance as religious centres or as places of historic 
interest. 

Cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Eangoon and a few others 
along the coast represent a new type in India. They are the 
product of British commerce and industry. Before the coming 
of the British the three cities named above were small villages 
of no importance ; to an invading commercial group, however, 
they offered strategic points of vantage from which the trade of 
the country might be controlled. Calcutta and Eangoon are 
located at the mouths of important waterways to the interior, 
the Ganges and Irawaddy rivers, by means of which produce could 
be transported to the sea and out to foreign" markets. With con- 
trol of these waterways, the economic exploitation of the 
country was made comparatively easy. The development of 
Bombay, which has an excellent harbour but no great river con- 
nection with the interior, was dependent on the extension of other 
means of transportation. 

Calcutta, Bombay and Eangoon are to-day the three leading 
cities of the British Indian Empire and the nerve centres of its 
commercial life. From the point of view of economic develop- 
ment, 'Calcutta is both the oldest and largest ; it claims indeed 
to be the second city of the British Empire itself. In 1921 it had 
a population of 1,327,547. Bombay was next in line with 
1,175,914. The population of Bombay has greatly increased in 
recent years and the total number of persons within the corpora- 
tion of the city is now considerably larger than that within the 
corporation of Calcutta. The population of Calcutta, however, 
has been able to spread to the suburbs in a manner not possible 
in Bombay, which is situated on an island. Unlike conditions 
in Bombay, there are few large mills and factories in Calcutta 
itself, and less than half the number in the whole industrial area 
of which Calcutta is the centre are located even within the 
suburban municipalities. They are spread for thirty miles along the 
banks of the Hugli, the most important branch of the Ganges 
delta. The third of the cities here under consideration, Eangoon, 
has grown faster than Calcutta but is still small in comparison. 
In 1921 the total population was only 341,962. An interesting 
fact about the population of this city is the surprisingly large 
Hindu element. In 1921 there were 125,002 Hindus as compar- 
ed with 111,571 Buddhists. This situation, in the Buddhist 
country of Burma, is caused by the heavy migration of South 
Indians to Eangoon. These are usually Hindu men, either un- 
married or without their families, who are attracted to the v city 
by the economic opportunities there offered. 



12 

The population in these three cities is racially complex, but 
it is characteristic of nearly all groups that the male element 
strongly predominates. The proportion is two to one for the 
total population in Calcutta and Rangoon, and only slightly less 
in Bombay. This seems to indicate that large numbers of men 
are being attracted, who do not regard the city as home but 
rather as an exceptional opportunity for economic improvement. 
There is of course a tendency for certain groups to settle perma- 
nently in the city. This is particularly true of the Anglo-Indians, 
among whom the proportion between the sexes is roughly equal. . 
The Anglo-Indian is the product of white and Indian inter-mar- 
riage and may be regarded characteristically as native to the 
Indian city. His taste and manner of life are urban. The group 
which most nearly approximates the Anglo-Indian community, 
with respect to settled habits, is represented by the Indian Chris- 
tians. The chief movement within the population of these great 
cities occurs among the non-Christian Indians and the Euro- 
peans. Many of the former own land and homes outside 
the city, where their women folk remain and to which they can 
return when employment is scarce. The Europeans are likewise 
usually only temporary residents ; the term " home " for most 
of them connotes England or the continent of Europe. In the 
opinion of experienced observers, this tendency of Europeans to 
regard India as only a transient dwelling place is actually on the 
increase. It will be seen from these considerations that life in 
the great cities of India is unsettled and restless. The various 
racial groups remain as such, but the individuals especially with- 
in the dominant ones are constantly changing. The atmosphere 
is that of a camp rather than of an established home. 

Another significant aspect of the population situation, in 
these cities, is the fact that the several racial groups tend to follow 
marked lines of economic differentiation. Broadly speaking, the 
Europeans represent the moneyed and controlling class ; they 
are usually the employers. The Indians are, on the whole, the 
employees. There is a slight exception to this general rule in 
Bombay, where an Indian employing class is developing, consist- 
ing of wealthy Parsees who have been remarkably successful 
in the cotton industry. The point to be noted, however, is that 
the European is generally regarded in the public mind as the 
employer and the Indian as the employee. This situation is of 
course reinforced by the political system, according to which 
Europeans occupy the major positions and the authority of the 
British Parliament is supreme. 



13 

The racial composition of the three cities here studied is 
roughly the same. There are three main ethnic groups, each of 
which is subdivided by socio-economic factors. In the first place, 
there are the Europeans and allied peoples, among whom three 
classes are to be distinguished. At the top of the social scale 
are the commercial, professional, military and government groups; 
they maintain clubs for their own use and tend to move in exclu- 
sive circles. Trades people and skilled artisans make up a middle 
class, and lower in the social scale than these is a third group con- 
sisting of domiciled Europeans, British soldiers and Anglo- 
Indians. This grouping cannot be regarded as absolute, for ex- 
ceptions and variations do exist, but it is a useful classification 
for the purposes of this report. The second large racial element 
consists of the Hindu population. Social standing within this 
group is still controlled more by the caste system, albeit relaxing 
in many ways, than by economic considerations. Prom the 
standpoint of the Y.M.C.A. and its interests, however, they may 
be classified as students, clerical workers, professional and busi- 
ness men, and unskilled labourers. The Mussulman community 
represents the third significant racial group. Social distinctions 
are not so marked among them as in the other two cases. As a 
group they are just emerging from illiteracy and as yet have only 
a small student and professional class. The Mussulman masses, 
in these cities, are unskilled labourers ; they tend, however, to 
take up semi-skilled occupations as soon as possible, and in Cal- 
cutta nearly dominate the situation in the simple handicrafts 
such as carpentry, masonry and others. This element of the 
population does not figure very largely in the life of the Associa- 
tions. 

Before closing this section, special mention should be made of 
the missionary group. Although numerically small and of limited 
means, their social standing is nevertheless good in the European 
community and their influence on the work of the Associations 
important. As a class they are respected by their fellow-country- 
men in business and government, and receive from them support 
for their work. 

B. THE HISTORY OF THE LOCAL Y.M.C.A.'s. 

The Y.M.C.A.'s of Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon were 
founded by young Englishmen in search of an opportunity for 
fellowship, mutual improvement and religious service. The 
Association of Calcutta was the first to be organized in India. 
The first such enterprise on record was started in 1822 by the 
Bev. John Lawson and others, and was known as the Calcutta 



14 

Christian Juvenile Society. In 1854 another organization was 
founded bearing the name of Y.M.C.A. It seems to have had a 
library and reading room, and the list of officers and committee 
members suggests that the work was intended for the benefit 
of young Europeans in the more fashionable parts of the city. 
Whatever may have been its origin and purpose, the organization 
soon went out of existence. (<7/. J. N. Farquhar, "Old Stal- 
warts of Bow Bazar ".) In 1850, the name of the Calcutta Chris- 
tian Juvenile Society was changed by vote of the members to the 
Young Men's Christian Association ; it was able to maintain itself 
without interruption until 1882. It is of interest to point out, 
in this connection, that George Williams and his friends started 
their work in London in 1844 ; only six years later the movement 
had clearly taken root in Calcutta. From this may be seen how 
close was the relationship between the English community in 
India and the home country. 

Between 1850 and 1882, the Calcutta Association was strongly 
evangelistic in character. The activities consisted of prayer 
meetings in private houses, a "literary" class, a circulating 
library, a reading room, and a Sunday school. The programme was 
intended for young Europeans and Anglo-Indians living in the 
congested sections of the city. The atmosphere of these early 
days is reflected in the onicial reports. For instance, the objects 
of the Association are denned as " the spiritual and intellectual 
improvement of young men, the extension of Christian truth, 
and the promotion of religious interest". The membership was 
open to all young men who " profess to be followers of Christ". 
The secretary of the organization wrote of it in 1860 as follows : 

"It is a glorious thing for those who desire to make the 
world better, happier and holier than it is, by spreading the 
Kingdom of the Redeemer, and to refresh themselves with 
each other's presence, opening their hearts freely, and 
kindling a brighter flame on the altar of devotion than 
might otherwise burn there." 

It is probable that the growth of ordinary missions in the 
city deprived the Y.M.C.A., in 1882, of its reason for existence 
and its financial support. The Association was reopened in 1890 
when Mr. L. D. Wishard, of the North American movement, 
visited India. With the co-operation of the Calcutta Missionary 
Society, Mr. Wishard was able to secure, in 1893, the services of 
Mr. J. C. White of the United States as the first employed officer 
of the Association. From this time on the Y.M.C.A. moved for- 
ward rapidly. By 1898 the "four-fold" programme was approved 



15 

as is reflected in the restatement of purpose : " to promote the 
spiritual, intellectual, social and physical interests of the young 
men of Calcutta." Active, that is to say, voting, membership was 
restricted to members in good standing of the Protestant 
churches, but all other privileges of the Association were open to 
" any young man of good character". 

The Association of Bombay was started in 1875 by a group 
of young Englishmen, who, in the words of their first report, felt 
that, 

"At a time when unbelief under many forms and from 
many quarters is making attacks on Christian faith, in a 
land where idolatry has acquired immense power over many 
millions of the human race, in obedience to the teaching of 
the Word of God, much may be done by Christian young 
men in the sphere in which God has placed them to bear 
witness to the truth. Let it be the aim of all who join the 
Association, in consistent dependence upon the strength 
and guidance of God, to manifest by life and word that they 
are followers of Christ." 

This fellowship was in close relationship with the church, and 
its meetings, like those of the Calcutta group, were essentially 
for the purpose of deepening anii extending the Christian life. 

The early development of the Bombay Y.M.C.A. presents 
one of the finest examples of effective lay leadership to be found 
in any Association in India, throughout the history of the move- 
ment. For twenty years it was directed on a volunteer basis by 
the earnest men who founded it ; during this period it developed 
from a small Bible class to a strong "four-fold " work housed in 
three branches, practically those now operating, and with a mem- 
bership of 463 of whom nearly two-thirds (62.4 per cent) were 
in the " active " class. Mr. Frank J. Clark, the Association's 
Honorary Secretary, attributed their success to three things, of 
which he said : 

" The first needs no remark. Without prayer no one 
could expect any success whatever. As regards the second, 
it lies in the old proverb : ' If a thing is worth doing at all, 
it is worth doing well.' Thirdly, the plan for getting hold 
of young men was to make friends with them." (Worman, 
" Early History of the Y.M.C.A.".) 

As far as Eangoon is concerned, it so happened that in April 
1893 a young Englishman came to this city from Madras. His 
name was Gradiner and he seems to have made the transfer for 



16 

business reasons. In Madras he had been a member of the Y.M,C.A, 
and had come under the influence of Mr. David McConaughy. 
the first General (i.e., National) Secretary on full time. Mr. Gra- 
diner immediately set about organizing an Association in Eangoon, 
the object of which he defined in his first report as being " to lead 
young men to the Saviour through the instrumentality of young 
men." He quoted one of his friends as saying : 

"I do not like to hear the remark that the Association 
does a work which the churches cannot do. Church mem- 
bers working through this or any other Association repre- 
sent the Church at work." 

After the turn of the century, these three Y.M.C.A.'s enter- 
ed upon the policy of employing a trained staff, both Indian and 
foreign, to build up and carry on the work. The following table 
throws light on the development in this regard : 

Trends in Leadership. 

Calcutta 1901 1919 1926 

Honorary Secretaries . . 1 2 

Employed Foreign Secretaries 2 5 5 

Employed Indian Secretaries . . . 8 5 

Bombay 

Honorary Secretaries . . 2 

Employed Foreign Secretaries 1 2 5 

Employed Indian Secretaries . . 4 3 

Bangoon 

Honorary Secretaries . . . . 

Employed Foreign Secretaries 1 4 3 

Employed Indian Secretaries 1 2 2 

It will be seen that the tendency is clearly away from volunteer 
leadership and that, in more than half of the above instances, 
the foreigners outnumbered the Indians on the employed staff. 

Interesting changes were taking place at the same time with- 
in the membership, as may be seen from the following figures 
for Calcutta and Bombay. The record for Eangoon is too inac- 
curate to be included but suggests substantially the same trend. 



17 



Proportions between Active and Associate Membership. 



1894 
1901 
1919 
1926 



Active. 

1.68 
286 
268 
295 



Calcutta. 
Associate. 

88 

185 

1,221 

1,772 



Total. Active. 



Bombay. 
Associate. Total. 



256 

471 
1,489 
2,067 



317 
233 

147 



193 
143 
499 



510 
376 
646 
821 



Membership Changes in regard to Racial Composition. 



Calcutta. Bombay. 

European. Indian. Total. European. Indian. Total. 



1894 
1901 
1919 
1926 



255 

285 
316 
633 



1 

186 
1,173 
1,434 



256 

471 
1,489 
2,067 



448 
303 
307 
455 



62 

73 

339 

366 



510 
376 
646 
821 



The steady rise to complete dominance of the associate and Indian 
memberships, respectively, will be noted. The data for the three 
preceding tables were compiled from the national convention 
reports. If the figures on the approximate value of buildings and 
property, as given in the same documents, may be relied on, then 
significant increases are to be noted, as will be seen in the follow- 
ing table : 

Values of Buildings and Property Owned by the Y.M.C.A. 

(in rupees) 



Calcutta. Bombay. Rangoon. Total. 



1894 
1901 
1907 
1919 



2,500 25,800 .. 28,300 

1,09,083 43,015 9,308 1,61,406 

5,46,000 2,15,000 1,50,000 9,11,000 

9,57,475 5,40,793 3,06,352 18,04,620 

After 1919 these Associations acquired no new buildings except 
a small hut for industrial work in Bombay. 

The implications of the rapid increase in material posses- 
sions, above indicated, were reflected somewhat in the preceding 
tables on leadership and membership. The Associations became 
more complex organizationally and offered greatly more diversi- 
fied programmes. The young men who first worked as volunteers, 
especially in Calcutta and Bombay, later took their places on the 
boards of directors. As they became successful in business, they 
wished to see the Associations firmly established and helped to 
secure funds for the buildings and equipment. The questions 
that confronted them at this stage had to do with finances and 
2 i- 



18 

administration. The programme was entrusted to full time employ- 
ed officers. It would appear to be self-evident that these Asso- 
ciations came to lose their character as intimate, informal socie- 
ties of deeply religious comrades, and grew into general agencies 
for social service. These Associations were greatly aided in their 
desire for expansion by the missionary spirit of the movements 
in England and North America. After about 1900 these fellow- 
Associations, and particularly the latter, began sending to India 
both experienced secretaries, whose salaries were paid abroad, 
and increasingly large amounts of money for buildings. 

0. PRESENT STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL Y.M.C.A.'s. 

The organization of the three Associations here under consi- 
deration consists of a board of directors in charge of the entire 
work in each city and subordinate committees of management 
to supervise the individual branches. The racial composition 
of the three city boards in 1928, appears below : 

Boards of Directors Analysed by Race. 

Indian European 
Members. Members. 

Calcutta .... 5 .15 
Bombay . . . . 3 31 

Eangoon . . . . 10 11 

It is indeed only to be expected that in these cities where the 
Association is a traditional adjunct of the European community, 
especially in Calcutta and Bombay, this element of the popula- 
tion should predominate on the controlling boards. On the 
branch committees there is a marked tendency to follow the same 
racial pattern as obtains in the general membership. This will 
be clear from the following table : 

Committees of Management Analysed by Race. 

Indian European 
Calcutta Members. Members. 

Bhowanipore (Indian) . . . . 8 3 

Boys' Branch (Indian) . . . . 9 1 

College Branch (Indian) . . . . 13 2 

Central Branch (European) . . . . 12 



19 

Indian European 
Bombay Members. Members. 

Proctor (Anglo-Indian) . . . . 8 

Byculla (Cosmopolitan) . . . . 9 4 

Central Branch (European) . . . . 10 

Rangoon 

Central Branch (European) . . . . 15 

Town 'Branch (Indian) . . 18 

The boards of directors are the ultimate authority in the 
affairs of the Associations. They hold the property, control the 
distribution of funds, and appoint the employed officers. The 
latter act as their agents in carrying out the details of administra- 
tion and conducting the programme. The chief point of interest 
about the present secretariat of these three Associations is the 
proportionately large number of foreigners among them. Of the 
nineteen secretaries at present sent from abroad for service in the 
local Associations of India, nine or nearly half of them are on the 
staffs in Calcutta, Bombay and Rangoon . Each of these Associations 
has had the services of a North American physical director for a 
number of years ; these men devote considerable time to organ- 
izing community playground work in their respective cities. The 
majority of general secretaries, on the other hand, have been 
Englishmen. This has been the case particularly since the war. 

The membership in 1929 totalled 2,039 in Calcutta, 577 in 
Bombay, and 786 in Rangoon. Over sixty per cent of them were 
students and clerks, a circumstance easily accounted for by the 
character of these cities as university and commercial centres. 
The group of business and professional men was likewise consi- 
derable. Of special interest is the fact that, in all three Associa- 
tions, the nucleus of the Indian branches is formed by groups 
of young Madrassi Christians, who came to the great cities in 
much the same way and with much the same outlook as did the 
groups of young Englishmen who founded the European branches. 
This is particularly true of Calcutta (Bhowanipore Branch) 
and of Rangoon (Town Branch). As was to have been 
expected, the bulk of the Anglo-Indian membership of the 
entire Indian movement is to be found in these three cities. 

The programme is substantially the same in all three of these 
Associations. It is almost entirely building-centred and 
institutional in character. The most significant community ser- 
vice is the work done by the physical directors in developing 



20 

public playgrounds and in organizing community athletics. The 
most valuable part of the building programme is the student hostels 
maintained in all three cities under the supervision of a secre- 
tary on full time. Another distinctive feature in Calcutta and 
Bombay, and especially the former, has been the work for Anglo- 
Indians. The three central branches for Europeans, on the other 
hand, have experienced great difficulty in interesting their 
members. They have become little more than inexpensive 
hotels with very meagre social and lecture programmes ; the secre- 
taries in charge all express the greatest discouragement at the 
existing lack of response. 

In the matter of physical equipment, the Calcutta T.M.C.A. 
owns four large buildings and an army hut, the latter erected in 
1917. The oldest building was purchased in 1896 and houses 
not only the college institute, but also a branch for Bengali boys 
and a schoolboys' hostel. It is in very bad condition but the 
site is of considerable value. The other buildings were erected 
in 1902 (Central Branch), 1915 (University Student Hostel) and 
1916 (Anglo-Indian Branch). In 1928 the board rented a large 
building for the work with Indians. All buildings are fairly well 
located from the point of view of accessibility to their several 
constituencies. For some years the question has been under 
consideration of the advisability of selling the central building 
and putting up a less pretentious structure on a less expensive 
site. 

The Bombay Y.M.C.A. owns four buildings, namely, the 
Central Branch erected in 1906, the Byculla and Proctor Branches 
in 1913, and the student building put up in 1911. The central 
building is well located near the Fort for the class of men it is 
designed to serve. The close proximity of the Proctor and Byculla 
buildings can only be justified on the grounds that one serves Anglo- 
Indians and the other an Indian constituency, the assumption being 
that the two groups cannot be attracted to the same quarters. 
The student building is near Wilson College. 

The Rangoon T.M.C.A owns three buildings, the oldest and 
largest being the Central Branch, erected in 1905 and accommodat- 
ing an institute, a hostel and a boys' department. It serves a 
European and Anglo-Indian constituency and is beginning to 
show signs of serious deterioration. In 1913 the Association 
built a hostel which can accommodate a warden and his family 
as well as forty high school boys. The third building and its site 
were recently purchased for the Association by the English 
Y.M.C.A. It is not a very convenient house that had been 



21 

previously rented by the Bangoon Association for its work 
among Indian immigrants. 

The fact already indicated that these three Associations 
receive nearly half the assignments in foreign personnel, made to 
local centres, is of considerable importance from the point of view 
of finances. It practically means that the bulk of their personnel 
budgets is being met from abroad. The average cost of main- 
taining a foreign secretary in India is estimated to be Es. 12,700 
a year. By representing the foreign secretaries actually on the 
staff in terms of rupees on this basis, an attempt is made in the 
following table to suggest the financial significance of the contri- 
bution made to these Associations : 

Financial Equivalents of Assignments in Foreign Personnel. 

(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Calcutta . . 50,800 50,800 50,800 50,800 50,800 

Bombay . . 12,700 38,100 38,100 25,400 12,700 

Rangoon .. 38,100 25,400 25,400 25,400 25,400 

Total Rs. . . 1,01,600 1,14,300 1,14,300 1,01,600 88,900 



The contributions made by these Associations to the Indian 
National Council, during the same period, will be of interest in 
this connection. 

Contributions made to the National Council. 
(in rupees) 



Calcutta 
Bombay 
Rangoon 

Total Rs. . . 16,744 11,620 10,159 8,253 8,679 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


8,831 
5,913 
2,000 


5,380 
3,865 
2,375 


5,189 
2,970 
2,000 


4,026 
2,227 
2,000 


4,407 
2,272 
2,000 



It will be seen that the Associations have not been able to make 
comparable returns to the National Council for the assistance they 
have received. Instead of building up their own resources and 
being able to make larger contributions to the national work 
they have actually had to decrease the amounts sent in by fifty 
per cent in five years. 

The three main sources of support on which these Associa- 
tions depend are public contributions predominantly from the 



22 

European community, membership dues, and earnings in the 
form of fees and rentals. The trends taking place in this matter 
may be studied in the following tables : 

Contributions Received. 
(in rupees) 



Calcutta 
Bombay 
Rangoon 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


35,620 
34,735 
17,454 


33,357 
21,081 
12,663 


33,210 
16,715 
13,007 


25,799 
12.429 
13^70 


23,221 

12,829 
13,018 



Membership Dues. 
(in rupees) 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


10,645 
10,156 
10,904 


12,158 
9,914 
10,184 


12,262 
8,573 
9,773 


11,213 
7,589 
9.393 


10,949 
7,180 
9,510 



Calcutta 
Bombay 
Rangoon 

Earnings. 
(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Calcutta .. 1,20,975 1,12,025 1,26,538 1,36,049 1.67,692 

Bombay .. 1,46,720 1,41,037 1,31,305 1,32,928 1,27,568 

Rangoon .. 94,725 90,801 96,266 86,432 1,06,008 

The contribution income, it will be seen, has rapidly decreas- 
ed during the five year period, and especially so in Bombay ; in 
Rangoon, on the other hand, the amount has not varied signi- 
ficantly since 1925. With regard to membership dues the situa- 
tion has been fairly stable, on the whole, but the tendency is to- 
wards decrease in Rangoon and especially in Bombay. In earn- 
ings there have been notable increases except in the case of 
Bombay. This Association, it will be seen, is fast losing ground 
financially on all three counts. Apart from the subsidies re- 
ceived in the form of personnel from abroad, these Associations 
are tending towards self-support. Calcutta claims to meet ex- 
penses with regular fees and dues to the extent of about 92 per 
cent ; Bombay about 90 per cent ; and Rangoon 85 per cent. 

D. SUMMARY. 

From the standpoint of investments, membership and em- 
ployed leadership, the Y.M.C.A. movement of India is strongest 
in the great port cities of Calcutta, Bombay and Rangoon. These 



23 

cities are the products and nerve centres of foreign commerce and 
British rule : they have consequently been the focal centres of the 
European population. They are, moreover, regarded by both 
Indians and Europeans as places in which to make a living rather 
than in which to establish homes. The result is a general pre- 
dominance of the male population with the notable exception 
of the Anglo-Indian communities. Social distinctions are clear- 
ly drawn as between races and within each ethnic group ; there is 
in fact a definite tendency for class lines to become accentuated 
in the cities of India. 

The Y.M.O.A. in these cities is rooted in the life of the Euro- 
pean commercial community. Not to understand this fact is 
not to understand the present problems of these Associations. 
The movement was started by Englishmen and originally con- 
ducted almost entirely for English and Anglo-Indian young men. 
The Associations functioned at first as religious fellowships, with 
out paid leadership or elaborate equipment. The programme was 
distinctively religious. After 1900 large buildings were secured, 
trained personnel employed, the programme diversified, and a large 
associate membership developed. The better class Europeans 
came to lose interest in the Associations as fellowships, preferring 
their own exclusive clubs, and now regard the work primarily 
as a charity for lower class Europeans, Anglo-Indians and Indians. 
The central buildings in all three cities are dedicated to work 
with Europeans and the leading secretaries are British and North 
American. The most outstanding aspects of the programme are 
the community recreation work, the student hostels, and the 
institutes for Anglo-Indians. It is important to emphasize the 
fact that the European community, hitherto the main-stay of 
these Associations, has been markedly defecting in recent years. 
The European membership is not interested in the programme and 
aspiration of the Y.M.C.A., and the income from contributions 
has decreased sharply. 



CHAPTER 3. 
THE Y.M.C.A. IN COLOMBO, LAHOKE AND MADEAS. 

A. THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND. 

There is but one good reason for grouping together three 
such diverse cities as Colombo, Lahore and Madras, but that 
reason has an important bearing on the structure of the local 
Y.M.C.A.'s. These cities have attained roughly the same degree 
of commercial and industrial development and are to be ranked, 
from this point of view, immediately below the leading cities of 
Calcutta, Bombay and Bangoon. The European community 
has consequently been smaller and less influential, in this second 
group, a circumstance which has resulted in a more advanced 
stage of Indianization in the Associations. It has also influenced 
the type of secretary called from abroad. While Associations 
with predominantly European boards and memberships have 
shown a marked preference for Canadian and British secretaries 
those in which the Indian element preponderates have usually 
found the American point of view more congenial. 

In their historic development these cities have been very 
different but have tended to resemble each other increasingly under 
British rule. Colombo, with a population in 1921 of 244,000, is 
the main city of Ceylon, an island inhabited by more than four 
and a half million people. It is essentially the product of British 
occupation and its modern development is to be dated from the 
opening of the harbour in 1885. 

The population of Ceylon still bears the traces of the many 
invasions, from peoples differing widely in race and religious affilia- 
tion, to which the island has been subjected in the past. The 
earliest conquerors were the Sinhalese from North India, in the 
sixth century B.C. About 300 years later, the island was convert- 
ed to Buddhism and at the same time the first challenge to Sin- 
halese rule was presented by Tamil warriors. This inaugurated 
a state of almost continuous warfare between the two factions 
that lasted until the arrival, in 1505, of the Boman Catholic Portu- 
guese. By 1656 more than 900 Portuguese families of noble 
birth are said to have been living in Colombo ; the large number 
of Boman Catholics in the present population may be traced to 
this source. In 1602 the first Dutch ship arrived ; after a conflict 
lasting fifty years, these new Protestant invaders gained 



25 

supremacy over all previous ones and formally took possession of 
Colombo. The Dutch were primarily concerned with develop- 
ing trade and, in contrast with the Portuguese, adopted a policy 
of conciliation with the native inhabitants. Their practice of 
recognized inter-marriage has given to the resulting, so-called 
"Burgher", population a social standing not generally accorded 
Eurasians anywhere. In 1796, the island changed hands for the 
last time when the Dutch ports were ceded to the British ; six 
years later Ceylon was declared a " crown colony," the original 
policy of administering it from India having proved unsuccessful. 
Under the new order the interior of the island was opened up to 
commerce by the construction of roads and the development of 
coffee, tea and rubber plantations. 

Lahore occupies in the north a commanding position similar 
to that of Colombo in the south. It lies in the centre of the 
Punjab, which bore the brunt of the great Mahommedan thrust 
into India. Its recorded history goes back thirteen centuries, 
during which time it has repeatedly changed hands in the 
struggle for supremacy between Hindu and Mahommedan, Sikh 
and Christian. To this day the city is the headquarters for many 
religious movements within Hinduism and Islam. 

Since the British occupation, in 1855, Lahore has shared the 
fate of the entire Punjab, which is described as follows in the 1921 
census : "The years 1855-1860 represent a period of resilient 
recovery from oppression expressed by an unusual rate of 
increase in the population. During 1860-1881 this rate of increase 
declined, at first under normal conditions but in the later years 
accelerated by poverty and disease. The decade 1881-1891 was 
one of good crops and relative prosperity, subsequently checked, 
however, by pressure on available resources. In 1896 the Punjab 
was visited for the first time by the plague. After 1911, disas- 
trous harvests and the unparallelled loss of life in the influenza 
epidemic of 1918 renewed, in modern times, the region's 
age-long struggle against poverty and pestilence. In 1921, the 
population of Lahore was 281,781." 

Madras, with a population in 1921 of 526,911, is the port 
city of Southern India. It grew up as a result of the British oc- 
cupation, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and has 
been called the birth-place of British India. An enthusiastic 
writer has expressed this idea as follows : 

" Possibly some day a gifted sculptor will typify the birth 
of the British Indian Empire in some such way as this : in 



26 

the centre a globe ; to the west of it, Queen Elizabeth sign- 
ing the charter incorporating the Honourable East India 
Company ; on the opposite side, the Maharajah of Vizia- 
nagram sanctioning the gold-plated haul conveying Madras 
to the merchants. At the feet of the two sovereigns the 
sculptor might well place an English trader of the seventeenth 
century, yard measure in hand, and an Indian weaver deli- 
vering the stipulated length of stamped calico." 

The concessions made to the East India Company by the Rajah 
of Chingleput included the stipulation that it was to be custom 
free at the port of Madras and that only half the usual custom 
was to be paid on goods transported through his territory. Under 
these advantageous conditions, the Madras trade rapidly attained 
significant proportions. 

After this diversity in historic development, the three cities 
here studied present certain similarities in general structure that 
are of interest. In the first place, the relatively low stage of 
Industrialization is probably responsible for the fact that they 
are one-centre cities. They have not as yet taken on that 
diversity characteristic of the more active cities, in which one 
section is developed for educational purposes, another for 
business, industry, residence, and so on. Nor are class lines 
drawn with the same rigidity as yet. However, in both Madras 
and Lahore the beginnings of diversification have manifested 
themselves in the projected plans to move the educational institu- 
tions to the suburbs. 

Mention has already been made of the smaller European com- 
munities in these cities, as compared with those studied in the 
preceding chapter. If grouped, however, according to the 
relative size of the Christian community, the six cities would be 
ranked as follows : 

Relative Size of Christian Communities (1921). 

Colombo . . 65,462 or 268 per 1,000 inhabitants. 

Madras . . 44,161 84 

Bangoon .. 25,309 74 

Bombay . . 68,170 58 

Lahore . . 11,287 40 

Calcutta .. 41,226 31 

The strength of Christianity in South India is at once revealed 
by the above table ; it will be remembered, moreover, that there 
is a heavy migration from this part of the continent to Eangoon. 



27 

Accordingly in comparing the work of the several associations, 
throughout this report, it should be borne in mind that those of 
the south have a distinct advantage over the others in this respect. 
With the exception of Calcutta, these cities follow the same order 
when ranked according to the degree of literacy in English attain- 
ed by the total population, as will be seen below : 

Relative Number of Literates in English (1921). 

Colombo . . 37,927 or 155 per 1,000 inhabitants. 

Calcutta . . 175,275 132 

Madras . . 65,079 124 

Rangoon . . 40,551 119 ,, ,, 

Bombay . . 110,540 94 

Lahore . . 25,717 91 

By way of summary, it can be said that Colombo, Madras and 
Lahore are alike in the degree of industrialization attained, in 
their structure as one-centre cities, and in the size of the European 
communities. The two former, however, reflect the wider distri- 
bution of Christianity in South India and exhibit a larger group 
of literates in English than is the case in Lahore. The materials 
out of which to build an Association are accordingly more at 
hand in Colombo and Madras. 

B. HISTORY OF THE LOCAL Y.M.O.A.'s. 

The early history of all three of the Y.M.C.A.'s here under 
consideration is closely connected with the missionary community. 
It was in response to the request of a missionary conference in 
Madras, in 1888, that the first North American secretary was sent 
to India, and it was in Madras that he made his headquarters. 
Many missionaries joined the first Y.M.C.A. in Colombo, organ- 
ized in 1882, and played a conspicuous part in its early develop- 
ment. The Lahore Y.M.C.A. came into being as the result of a 
revival meeting conducted by the Eev. Summerville ; from the 
very start Forman College played an important part in its 
development. 

While the Y.M.C.A. of Lahore originally had a European 
membership, which, however, rapidly became predominantly 
Indian after 1894, the Associations of Colombo and Madras ap- 
parently always have had a prevailingly indigenous constituency. 
Early membership analyses are available for the two latter As- 
sociations and will illustrate this point. 



28 
Membership of the Madras Y.M.C.A. Analysed by Race (1893). 

Indian . . . . . . 141 

Eurasian . . . . . . '81 

British . . . . . . 19 

American . . . . . . 4 

Armenian . . . . . . 2 

Portuguese . . . . . . 1 



248 



Membership of the Colombo Y.M.G.A. Analysed by Race (1901). 

Sinhalese . . . . 104 

Tamil .. .. .. 40 

Malay . . . . . . 3 

JrctTSGQ * _L 

Burgher . . . . . . 91 

European . . . . . . 44 

Australian . . . . . . 3 

American . . . . . . 1 

Moor . . . . . . 1 



288 



That there was at first a tendency at Lahore to follow the 
Association pattern evolving in Calcutta and Bombay, is further in- 
dicated by the fact that for the first twenty years the affairs of the 
organization were managed by British volunteer secretaries, and 
subsequently until 1912 by employed secretaries from Scotland. 
At Madras and Colombo there were employed secretaries almost 
from the beginning and they have been very largely from the 
United States. On the other hand, while the chief employed 
officer in these two latter Associations is till a foreigner, the general 
secretary at Lahore, between 1925 and 1930, was an Indian. 

C. PRESENT STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL Y.M.C.A.'s. 

The boards of directors in charge of these three Associations 
are cosmopolitan in personnel, as may be seen in the following 
table : 



29 

Boards of Directors Analysed by Race (1928). 

Colombo. Madras. Lahore. 

Indians 23 10 9 

Anglo-Indians 6 1 

Burghers 7 

Britishers . . 8 5 

Americans 1 2 

The total membership, in 1929, at Colombo was 1,404 ; at 
Madras 1,207 ; and at Lahore 544. The cosmopolitan character 
of the Associations is interestingly reflected in the membership 
distribution according to religious affiliation. 

Membership Analysis according to Religion (1929). 

Colombo. Madras. Lahore. 

Christians .. 950 210 110 

Hindus .. 163 500 291 

Mahommedans 55 49 92 
Buddhists 





759 
No Data .. 91 448 

The bulk of the membership (over 70 per cent in each case) was 
found to be between twenty and forty years of age, with the em- 
phasis on the late twenties and early thirties. The occupational 
distribution was as follows : 

Membership Analysis by Occupations (1929). 

Colombo. Madras. Lahore. 

Clerks .. 678 115 80 

Business Men .. 228 179 62 

Professionals .. 225 164 45 

Students .. 38 223 84 

Govt. Officials 28 46 

All Others 9 50 

Unemployed . . 1 31 164 



1,207 712 531 

No Data .. 199 495 13 

The " four-fold " programme is probably receiving nowhere 
more thorough recognition than in the three Associations here 



30 

studied. Colombo, with its modern building, conducts an active 
gymnasium work and is carrying on a very creditable enterprise 
in adult education, especially with regard to training for citizen- 
ship. The Government of Ceylon has given official recognition 
to this last project. Lahore, in addition to its vocational courses, 
conducts a well-rounded educational programme on religious and 
cultural subjects. Madras has made a speciality of lecture courses 
on a wide range of topics. It likewise operates an outdoor 
gymnasium and actively co-operates in religious services that are 
broad and vital in outreach. However, careful observation 
indicates that a new interest is emerging in these Associations, 
especially at Madras, which is coming to represent the main driv- 
ing force in the work. The educational and athletic programmes are 
being made increasingly to serve a wider social goal than hitherto 
and by affording different racial and social groups an experience 
of associated living are being used productively in the interests 
of Christian brotherhood. The individual is being integrated into 
a new corporate life. The general secretary at Madras has exhibit- 
ed the skill and insight of an artist in his ability to manipulate 
Association machinery towards this end. 

The funds with which the work is financed are derived princi- 
pally from public contributions, membership dues, and fees and 
rentals for services. The trends may be studied in the following 
tables : 

Contributions Received. 
(in rupees) 



Colombo 

Madras 

Lahore 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


8,588 
9,872 
7,308 


8,446 
11,633 
5,464 


8,993 
12,229 
8,957 


12,403 
7,536 
7.627 


16,762 
6,720 

8,275 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


8,137 
1,975 
821 


10,357 
2,533 
1,067 


15,989 
3,570 
1,066 


17,898 
3,934 

2,477 


14,192 
4,204 
2,346 



Membership Dues. 
(in rupees) 



Colombo 

Madras 

Lahore 

Earnings. 

(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Colombo .. 65,086 110,846 139,027 142,390 163,448 

Madras .. 18,820 17,275 21,965 22,902 23,333 

Lahore .. 7,465 7,131 8,638 8,518 9,288 



31 

It will be seen that these Associations have been able to maintain 
better financial condition, during the five year period, than was 
true in Calcutta, Bombay and Eangoon. All three have been 
gaining ground, but especially Colombo with its modern build- 
ing. Lahore derived an additional income from shop rentals 
that increased from Es. 2,520 in 1924 to Es. 7,453 in 1928. The 
falling off since 1926 in the contribution income of the Madras 
Y.M.C.A. is to be attributed to the absence on furlough of the 
general secretary. The contribution income of all three Associa- 
tions is derived from indigenous sources to a considerably larger 
extent than is true in the leading cities, and the number of donors 
of this type, especially at Colombo, is on the increase. 

D. SUMMARY. 

The fact that the cities of Colombo, Madras and Lahore are 
less advanced industrially than the great cities of the Indian 
Empire, has meant that they have possessed smaller European 
communities, which in turn has entailed a more cosmopolitan 
constituency for the Associations there. The local Y.M.C.A.'s 
have attained a relatively high degree of Indianization with re- 
spect to lay leadership, membership and financial support. These 
Associations are in good condition, both from the economic and 
from the functional point of view. There is an interesting trend, 
especially at Madras, in the direction of using the resources of the 
Association creatively to the end of significant corporate living. 



CHAPTER 4. 
THE Y.M.C.A. IN THE MOFUSSIL TOWNS. 

A. THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND. 

The so-called " Mofussil " towns of Hyderabad, Bangalore, 
Madura, Trivandrum and Coimbatore were of importance before 
the coming of the British, when the Indian States were at the 
height of their power, and before trade was deflected to the great 
port cities. They are all situated in the south of India and, with 
the exception of Trivandrum, in the interior of the country. 
During the decade 1911-1921, the population either decreased or 
increased only slightly in Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Coim- 
batore, as well as in other towns of this type. The greater in- 
creases in Bangalore and Madura can be explained by special 
circumstances. The 1921 census report affirms : " There is no 
tendency in the south of India towards the growth of genuine 
town life." 

Hyderabad was once the seat of the viceroys of the Moghul 
empire ; it is now the capital city of the native state of the same 
name, a territory with a population of 12,435,627 (1921). In 
addition to being the headquarters for all the state departments, 
Hyderabad is important as an educational centre. There are 
two colleges of liberal arts, nine high schools, a law school and 
a medical school ; about 5,000 students attend these institutions. 
Situated off the chief lines of transportation, the city is isolated 
from the main streams of commerce and industry. 

Bangalore is the capital of the native state of Mysore, one 
of the most progressive in India. Like Hyderabad, it is the seat 
of the government and an important educational centre. Since 
the Maharaja lives in the city of Mysore, however, Bangalore 
loses some of its prestige and importance as the capital of the 
State. The town is built in two sections, the city proper and the 
cantonment. In the latter are stationed a number of European 
troops, and the twenty-five per cent increase in the population, 
during 1911-1921, is largely accounted for by the soldiers sent 
there after the war. The government is trying to develop the few 
local industries ; there is some manufacture of cotton, woollen and 
silk fabrics, and also some weaving of gold and silver lace. 

Madura was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of 
Pandya, and is now the second city in the Madras Presidency. 



58 

It is the administrative and judicial centre of the government 
for two districts. Two colleges and six high schools are among 
its educational institutions. Situated in the heart of the cotton 
growing area, Madura is unlike most other mofussil towns in that 
it has a thriving spinning and weaving industry. The Madura 
Mills & Co. is a concern employing about 5,000 people, and there 
are in addition some 1,800 active handlooms in the place. Addi- 
tional handicrafts are represented by wood-carving, dyeing, and 
the making of gold and silver threads. Madura is furthermore 
the site of some of the oldest organized Christian enterprise. The 
Jesuits were the pioneers in the seventeenth century ; the 
most important among the subsequent Protestant undertakings 
has been the work of the American Mission. 

Coimbatore is likewise an important town in the Madras 
Presidency, being one of the political centres in the 
southern part. Like Madura, it is situated in the cotton area 
and 3,750 people are employed in its three spinning and weaving 
mills. There is a small coffee business, in addition. While there 
are only a few educational institutions, students come from all 
over the presidency to its agricultural college. About 1,500 boys 
attend the high schools. Coimbatore has long been a centre of 
missionary activity, and four organizations are at work there 
now ; these are the Eoman Catholic Church, the London Mission- 
ary Society, the Church of England and the Lutheran Church. 

Trivandrum is the capital of the native state of Travancore 
at the very tip of the continent. It is the residence of the Maharaja 
as well as the seat of the administration. Its four colleges and 
numerous high schools attest to its importance as an educational 
centre and are attended by some 5,000 students. The town is 
considered to be the special field of the London Missionary Society, 
but there are likewise Anglican and Syrian congregations there. 

The social structure of life in these towns is not advanta- 
geous to Association development. While the six cities first 
studied have considerable industrial population, these towns can 
claim practically none. Madura, the most important in this 
respect, has 6,000 or 7,000 workers at the most in its local indus- 
tries. As a result the European population is also very small. 
The relatively large proportion of Europeans at Hyderabad and 
Bangalore, consists largely of soldiers stationed in the canton- 
ments. There are not more than a dozen or so Europeans in the 
other towns. In regard to the Christian community, comparison 
with the other cities studied so far indicates that, while many of 

3 F 



34 

the mofussil towns rank high proportionately, the actual num- 
bers concerned are so small as to put them at quite a disadvan- 
tage. This may be verified in the following table : 

Relative Size of Christian Communities (1921). 

Colombo . . 65,462 or 268 per 1,000 inhabitants. 

Trivandrum . . 9,525 131 

Madura . . 7,332 ,, 99 ,, 

Madras . . 44,161 84 

Coimbatore . . 6,392 82 ,, 

Eangoon . . 25,309 ,. 74 - 

Bombay . . 68,170 ,, 58 

Bangalore (City) 4,945 42 

Lahore . . 11,287 ,, 40 

Hyderabad . . 13,717 34 

Calcutta . . 41,226 31 

Bombay and Hyderabad appear to be exceptions to the general 
rule, established for the Y.M.C.A.'s of India, that a correlation 
exists between the strength of the Christian community and the 
strength of a local Association. While the Christian population 
of Bombay is substantial, the Y.M.C.A. there is a steadily losing 
ground ; in Hyderabad there are actually more Christians than 
in Lahore, but the local Association is not half as strong. This 
indicates, of course, that while the Christian community has an 
important influence on the growth of an Association, it is not the 
only factor in the situation. 

Since the work of the Y.M.C.A. is confined to the English- 
speaking element of the population, the mofussil towns are again 
at a disadvantage as will be seen below. Full figures for Coim- 
batore and Trivandrum were unfortunately not available ; as 
regards the male population, however, there were respectively 
2,400 and 6,249 literates in English in these towns in 1921. 

Relative Number of Literates in English (1921). 

Colombo . . 37,927 or 155 per 1,000 inhabitants. 

Calcutta . . 175,275 132 

Madras .. 65,079 124 

Eangoon . . 40,551 119 

Bangalore (City) 13,167 111 

Bombay . . 110,540 94 

Lahore . . 25,717 91 

Madura . . 8,946 64 

Hyderabad . . 22,451 56 



35 

The English-speaking communities of Hyderabad and Bangalore 
are relatively large for mofussil towns, and may be attributed 
to the influence of the military cantonments established there. 

By way of summary it can be said that the mofussil towns of 
South India are not in the main stream of the commercial and 
industrial life of the modern empire. As a result, the local Asso- 
ciations are rather at a disadvantage in that they have not large 
communities of Christians, literates in English, or wealthy Euro- 
peans to draw on for the general maintenance and support of their 
work. On the other hand, the importance of these towns as educa- 
tional centres represents a real opportunity for work among young 
men. 

B. THE LOCAL Y.M.C.A.'s. 

As was found to be the case with the Associations studied 
in the preceding chapters, these T.M.C.A.'s owe their origin 
largely to missionary influence. The Association at Trivandrum 
was started in 1873, by a Miss Mary Bourne, a member of the 
Church of England Zenana Mission and supported by the London 
Missionary Society. The Madura Association had its beginning 
in 1886 at Pasumalai College, a mission enterprise. The work in 
Hyderabad was started by a man who had seen the Bombay 
Association in action. While there is no record of the origin of the 
Bangalore and Coimbatore Associations, the strong probability 
is that they were started by missionary effort also. 

While there was, in the very beginning, a European and 
Anglo-Indian membership at Bangalore and Hyderabad, all five 
of these Associations have, throughout most of their history, at- 
tracted a preponderantly Indian constituency. In the course 
of tune, the same increase of the associate over the active member- 
ship took place that was recorded in the larger Associations. This 
will be clear from the following table : 

Trends in Membership. 

Hyderabad 1891 1901 1907 1919 1929 

Active .. 106 75 64 19 141 

Associate .. 6 2 6 64 344 

Total .. 112 77 70 83 485 
Bangalore 

Active .. 38 30 75 101 357 

Associate 15 118 343 83 

Total .. 38 45 193 444 440 



36 

Trivandrum 1891 1901 1907 1919 1929 

Active .. 14 33 32 80 129 

Associate . . 9 22 38 128 212 

Total .. 23 55 70 208 341 

Coinibatore 

Active . .. 30 47 89 

Associate . . 22 50 226 



Total . . 52 97 315 

Madura 

Active .. 40 25 28 14 

Associate 3 21 

Total .. 43 25 28 35 

(NoTE. : -The figures for 1929 really distinguish between "Christian" 
and "non-Christian" members, but may be taken to represent the 
difference between "active" and "associate". Unfortunately the records 
for Coimbatore and Madura were incomplete.) 

Before 1900, all of these Associations were managed by 
volunteer leadership. In the new century, the shift to employed 
officers took place, as was true of the whole Association move- 
ment, but very few foreign secretaries came to these mofussil 
towns. In 1929 there was one such secretary at Hyderabad and, 
ten years earlier, there was one each in this city and at Bangalore. 
Otherwise, the. employed staffs of these Y.M.C.A.'s have been 
Indian during the last decade. The total staff, in 1929, numbered 
three at Hyderabad, two each at Bangalore and Trivandrum, and 
one each at Madura and Coimbatore. 

The lay leadership in these Associations is apparently made 
up of Europeans and Indians in equal numbers, but nearly all of 
the former are at Bangalore j and more especially Hyderabad, 
where the military cantonments are located. The details, so 
far as they are available, appear in the following table : 

Boards of Directors Analysed by Race (1928). 

Indian European 

Members. Members. 

Hyderabad . . . . 8 27 

Bangalore . . . . 7 7 

Trivandrum . . 14 3 

Coimbatore . . 11 3 



31 

The distinctive contribution of these Y.M.C.A.'s from the 
point of view of programme, is that they function as community 
centres for social life. The general secretary at Coimbatore has 
had training in physical education and so is able to enrich the local 
programme by introducing sports and games for both the member- 
ship and the community. 

The fundamental problem of the mofussil Associations is 
financial. Between 1912 and 1928, they all acquired buildings 
of their own largely through contributions from abroad. These 
buildings were modelled after the larger structures in the cities 
without proper account having, been taken of the fact that there 
was no comparable industrial and wealthy European community 
on which to fall back for financial assistance. As a result, most 
of these Associations are in difficulty over the expenses of main- 
tenance. They are likewise embarrassed by the charges involved 
in employing professional secretaries. The National Council 
has sought to remedy the situation by making annual appropria- 
tions to the work of the mofussil Associations. The trends within 
the, main sources of income for these Y.M.O.A.'s during the 
period 1924-1928, may be studied in the following tables : 

Contributions Received. 
(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Hyderabad 4,647 5,117 6,604 4,039 5,158 

Bangalore 2,298 1,819 2,698 2,401 2,254 

Trivandrum 915 482 717 1,071 349 

Coimbatore 695 277 350 533 456 

Madura 372 30 977 1,062 1,130 

Membership Dues. 
(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Hyderabad 1,320 1,180 1,249 1,295 1,361 

Bangalore 987 1,358 1,169 1,362 1,568 

Trivandrum 749 671 419 610 668 

Coimbatore 725 650 670 645 648 

Madura 800 727 829 1,176 1,006 

Earnings. 
(in rupees) 

1924 . 1925 1926 1927 1928 . 

Hyderabad . 6,785 .11,970 54,431 < 82,635 1,23,884 



Bangalore 
Trivandrum 
Coimbatore 
Madura 



16,842 17,992 15.204 13,046 17,312 

732 1,259 1,624 538 1,659 

3,118 3,285 3,069 3,075 4,025 

" 87 342 1,194 2,455 2, 



38 

National Council Grants. 
(in rupees) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Hyderabad .. .. 2,368 2,500 1,770 1,300 

Bangalore .. 4,266 3,422 4,600 2,500 3,600 

Trivandrum .. 1,260 945 1,260 1,200 1,151 

Coimbatore .. 667 672 672 550 412 

Madura .. 2,400' 2,340 2,440 2,060 1,960 

While the trends are spasmodic and uneven, it will be seen that 
the earnings are nevertheless distinctly on the increase, and that 
the contributions and dues are in general holding their own, albeit 
with difficulty. The grants from the National Council have been 
on a diminishing scale. Although no cash subsidies have been 
granted, during this period, to the six large Associations, the 
National Council has helped them with foreign personnel, which 
means a very much larger financial contribution than anything 
given to the mofussil Associations. This may be seen in the 
next table, in which the foreign personnel have been expressed 
in terms of rupees, at the rate of Es. 12,700 a year each. 

Total Grants from the National Council. 
(in rupees) 



1924 


1925 


1926 


1927 


1928 


8,593 


9,747 


11,532 


8,080 


8,423 


, 12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 



Cash to Mofussil 
Personnel to Mofussil 

21,293 22,447 24,232 20,780 21,123 
Personnel to 2nd 

Group Cities . . 1,27,000 1,14,300 88,900 76,200 76,200 

Personnel to 1st 

Group Cities . . 1,01,600 1,14,300 1,14,300 1,01,600 88,900 

C. SUMMARY. 

The mofussil towns were of greater importance under pre- 
British India than is now the case. They are now centres for the 
local administration and for education, but do not participate 
to any great extent in the modern commercial life of the empire. 
Wealthy Europeans therefore are not attracted to these towns 
and there are relatively small communities of literates in English. 
This is not quite so true of Bangalore and Hyderabad, where large 
numbers of European troops are stationed. 



3d 

While there is a real field for the Y.M.C.A. in these towns, 
especially among students, the local Associations are handicapped 
financially in carrying on their work. This is primarily due to the 
fact that they all own buildings that presuppose a wealthier sup- 
porting constituency than can be developed. The present pro- 
gramme is valued particularly for its social aspect ; the Associa- 
tions are functioning in these towns as informal community centres. 



CHAPTER 5. 
THE Y.M.C.A. IN TRAVANCOEE AND COCHIN. 

A. THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND. 

Travancore and Cochin are the two largest of the Madras 
States, and are situated at the south-western tip of India. They 
occupy a combined area of 9,104 square miles, somewhat isolated 
from the rest of the continent by high mountains, on the east, 
and by the ocean, on the west. The combined population, in 
1921, was 4,985,142 and the bulk of it (over 80 per cent) was in 
the larger state of Travancore. That this is one of the most 
densely populated areas of India is indicated by the fact that 
Travancore ranks seventeenth in point of area, among Indian 
states and agencies, and only third in point of population. 

The inhabitants of this area are predominantly rural. The 
1921 census classified 90 per cent of the population of Travancore 
and 87 per cent of that of Cochin as in this category. There were 
3,956 villages (karas)* in Travancore and 38 towns. The popula- 
tion of these states has certain common features that differen- 
tiate it somewhat from the rest of India. 

In the first place, Travancore and Cochin are the site of the 
oldest Christian enterprise in the empire. Indeed, there are 
more Christians proportionately (in 1921 as many as 1,429,071 
or 29 per cent of the total population) in these states than anywhere 
else in India or, in fact, Asia. They are numerically stronger 
than the caste Hindus. More than hah 5 (53.6 per cent) belong 
to the Syrian Church, just under a third (30. 4 per cent) are Roman 
Catholics, and the rest (16 per cent) are distributed among the 
various sects of Protestantism. These Christians are, on the 
whole, a very conservative group ; their religious life expresses 
itself more often in devout personal experience than in service 
to others. 

From the point of view of literacy, these states rank very 
high. Within the Indian empire, Travancore is second only to 
Burma in this respect. If 15 per cent of the total may be taken 
approximately to represent the population of school age, then 

*A kara is a former land division representing an area of 1 . 93 square 
miles and a population of 924 ; the present sub-division is called a 
pakuthi and represents an area of 17.5 square miles and a population of 
69,188. 



41 

71 per cent of this group actually are at school in Travancore. 
In the total Madras States (only slightly larger than Travancore 
and Cochin combined) the degree of literacy is 212 per 1,000 in- 
habitants, and even higher (294 per 1,0.00) within the Christian 
community. Literacy in English, on the other hand, is not very 
widespread, being only 14 per 1,000 inhabitants in the total popu- 
lation, and 21 per 1,000 among Christians. The state devotes 
one-fifth of the gross revenue. to promoting education. 

Women enjoy a much better social position in Travancore 
than anywhere else in India. This state ranks first in the empire 
with respect to female literacy. The circumstance that inheri- 
tance has been traced through the female line, for the past several 
hundred years, has given to the women of this area a real economic 
importance, and so has served to make them self-reliant and 
independent. 

Throughout Travancore and Cochin, the so-called "commu- 
nal" problem one of the most acute with which rural India 
is faced -is in evidence. The several villages are welded into 
self-contained and exclusive groups by communal loyalty. It 
is difficult to raise the spirit of the people to the concept of a wider 
fellowship. This feeling exists not only between communities of 
different religions, but also between those belonging to different 
sects of the same religion. It is particularly strong between 
groups of Christians. The rivalry between communities is in- 
tensified by economic pressure. From the point of view of agri- 
culture, the area is already over-populated. In addition, while 
the many schools and colleges have produced a number of educat- 
ed men of average ability, these individuals are extremely reluc- 
tant to leave the country and seek a living elsewhere. Conse- 
quently, there is great competition among them for state appoint- 
ments and other posts. Public office is determined to a large 
degree by communal favouritism and petty politics, a circumstance 
that has made the situation in Travancore and Cochin particularly 
annoying. 

The question of land tenure in Travancore is unusually com- 
plicated. For the purposes of this report, however, it will suffice 
to say that, broadly speaking, holdings are of two kinds : those 
owned by the state and leased to the peasant cultivators (the 
ryots), and those owned by the high caste Nambudiri Brahmins 
and cultivated by their tenants. Disputes over payments and 
constant litigation have been marked features of relationships, 
in the latter case. An additional twist is given to the situation 
in recent times, because of the circumstance that Christians who 



42 

have acquired means through commerce and industry are now 
buying the ancient proprietary rights from the Brahmins. 

The peasants are, as everywhere in India, exceedingly anxious 
to gain access to the land, although capital invested in proprie- 
tary rights does not yield an interest of more than three per cent. 
Few people, however, own sufficient ready money to make such a 
purchase. This means that recourse is had to the money-lender, 
a recognized "institution" of rural India. The phenomenal 
increase in the number of banks all over Travancore is likewise 
indicative of this state of affairs. An authority on Indian rural 
life estimates that three-quarters of the population are in debt. 
(Slater: "Some South Indian Villages.") The fact that the 
already dense population is still rapidly increasing, in this area, 
means that the land is being constantly sub -divided and is suf- 
fering deterioration. Agriculture is being rendered profitless. 
The census report of 1921 estimated that even 

" With favourable monsoon and land breezes, the state 
cannot produce sufficient paddy to maintain the population 
for seven months in the year." 

To sum up briefly, the population of Travancore and Cochin 
may be thought of as unusual in the Indian empire on account 
of the high degree of literacy attained, especially by the women, 
and on account of the strength of the Christian community. The 
inhabitants live for the most part in small villages and country 
towns. Between such groups communal rivalry is very intense 
on account of both religious differences and economic competition. 
The area is too densely populated for the proper support of its 
inhabitants. 

B. THE HISTORY OF THE Y.M.C.A. MOVEMENT. 

The communal conflicts and the litigations over land tenure, 
prevalent in Travancore and Cochin, led devout Christians to 
withdraw from the field and to give themselves up to the 
cultivation of their spiritual life. Prayer unions were con- 
sequently organized and evangelistic activities promoted. In 
this atmosphere the Y.M.C.A. came into being, in about 1870. 
The first Association to be organized was that of Trivandrum, the 
capital of Travancore, in 1873 ; the history and structure of this 
organization were treated in the preceding chapter. 

The history of the Y.M.C.A. in Travancore and Cochin may 
be divided into four periods. During the years 1870-1889, a few 
isolated Associations were founded through individual effort. 



43 

During the next decade, the several Associations came into rela- 
tionship one with another, especially through the efforts of 
Mr. McConaughy who visited Travancore in 1892. The number of 
Associations increased from six to thirteen, during this time. 
Between 1898 and 1913, the work in Travancore and Cochin was 
placed under the guidance of a district union, and assigned to 
the care of a travelling secretary, appointed on full tune. The 
arrangement was not very successful, however, although many 
Associations came into being at this time. In 1913, out of a total 
of 160 local Y.M.C.A.'s in all India, 83 or more than half were in 
Travancore. 

The modern period may be said to have begun with the 
appointment of an Indian to the national general secretaryship and 
the arrival of a foreign secretary in Travancore, Mr. L. A. Dixon. 
The latter's work was interrupted during the war, when he was 
called to service in Mesopotamia. It was after the war that Mr. 
K. T. Paul, the National General Secretary, conceived the idea 
of a project in rural reconstruction, which had a direct bearing 
on the Associations of Travancore. In 1924, a demonstration 
centre was organized and a rural programme developed by Dr. 
Hatch with the co-operation of Mr. Manuel and Mr. Jesudas. 
This centre is part of the general project in rural reconstruction 
promoted by the National Council, and is described in detail in 
a separate report of this survey. 

The importance of the work in this area from the point of 
view of developing an indigenous movement, was early recogniz- 
ed by a secretary of the district union, previously described, a 
Mr. G. Alexander. Sections of his report for 1909 are worth 
quoting at this point. 

" Travancore and Cochin are the most Christian countries 
in all India If the Y.M.C.A. movement had been develop- 
ed in Travancore and Cochin with anything like the care and 
solicitude bestowed on it in other, parts of India, one cannot 
help thinking that it would have created a great missionary 
zeal and have become the means of sending forth the Chris- 
tian young men, in these countries, with God's message of 

Salvation to other parts of India In Travancore and 

Cochin, owing to the large number of Christians to be found 
everywhere, there is no difficulty in forming Y.M.C.A.'s by 
scores, but these Associations have to be carefully watched, 
repeatedly visited and sympathetically nurtured in their early 
years, otherwise they will soon lose all vitality and become 
extinct. 



44 

"It is a well-known fact that a large proportion of the 
Christians in Travancore and Cochin are Syrians of the Jaco- 
bite persuasion, and to them the present definition of 'voting' 
membership is unacceptable. It is therefore very much to 
be desired that what is known as the Paris Basis should be 
adopted for India and Ceylon, or at least for Travancore and 
Cochin.* With this change in the test for membership, 
with the appointment of a general secretary for all Travan- 
core and Cochin, and with the erection of large buildings in 
important and strategic centres, there is a glorious future 
for the Y.M..C.A. movement in these states, and through 
it to the glorious cause of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
and not only in these our countries but in all India ....'* 

C. PRESENT STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL T.M.C.A.'s. 

In addition to the Y.M.C.A. of Trivandrum, already describ- 
ed, there are Associations in the towns of Alleppey, Kottayam, 
Kunnamkulam and Quilon. The bulk of the movement in this 
area, however, consists of the little village Associations ; there are 
about one hundred of these, exclustive of those related to the 
demonstration centre at Marthandam. The control and leader- 
ship of the movement is almost entirely in the hands of Indians, 
and largely on a volunteer basis. While the National Council 
subsidizes two foreign and six Indian employed secretaries for 
this area, largely in connection with the demonstration centre, and 
while there are in addition three Indian employed officers locally 
maintained, most of the work is in the hands of some 1,900 Indian 
volunteers, acting as secretaries or on boards and committees. 

On the financial side, the National Council is making heavy 
contributions to the work in Travancore and Cochin. This is 
chiefly in connection with the demonstration centre at Marthan- 
dam, that receives some Es. 7,000 out of the total of Es. 9,000 
which is annually contributed. Only about Es. 1,000 of this 
amount is raised in Travancore itself, mainly from European 
planters. It has not been possible to raise more locally for several 
reasons. In the first place, the Christian community in this area, 
as indeed everywhere in India, is in relatively humble circum- 
stances. Moreover, each denomination makes heavy demands 
on its members for its own work. Non-Christian sentiment, 
which in other parts of India liberally supports the work of the 
Y.M.C.A., has not been enlisted in Travancore and Cochin owing 
to the evangelistic emphasis and limited appeal of the programme. 

*The Y.M.C.A.'s of India, Burma and Ceylon, in convention 
assembled, adopted the Paris Basis in 1920. 



45 

It will be interesting to discuss, general conditions in the 
town and village Associations separately. In the four towns of 
AUeppey, Kottayam, Kunnamkulam and Quilon, the local Associ- 
ations are now housed in substantial buildings of their own. These 
have, in each case, been made possible by grants from the National 
Council. For many years the local secretary at Alleppey was like- 
wise subsidized by the National Council, but is now supported 
locally. This has meant an increase in local sense of responsi- 
bility .and has had beneficial effects on the work. During the 
past two years the hostel has been full to capacity, and a con- 
tinuous programme of diversified activities has been maintained. 
The affairs of the Kunnamkulam Association became so involved, 
in 1926, that the management was taken over by the National 
Council. Two years later, conditions had improved to such an 
extent that the work was entrusted to a new board of directors. 
At about the same time, the National Council was obliged to dis- 
continue the annual subsidy, and with it the services of the employed 
officer, whose place was taken by a volunteer. The record of 
the Kottayam Association has been one of steady, unpretentious, 
but effective service, under the direction of Mr. M. C. Samuel. 
This gentleman was subsidized by the National Council until 
1929, when his place was taken by a secretary whose support 
was met locally. The boys' hostel and the programme of games, 
religious and educational activities have shown a steady increase 
in patronage. In general, the trend in these town Associations 
appears to be in the direction of greater local responsibility for 
the work. 

The village Associations are run entirely by volunteers and, 
except in a few cases, without any buildings of their own. Meet- 
ings are held in churches, schools, or private houses. The typical 
programme is predominantly religious, with devotional and study 
periods, but also includes games, talks on various subjects, night 
classes, and social service. While all of these Y.M.C.A.'s define 
their aim in terms of meeting the " needs of young men and boys, 
spiritual, physical, intellectual, social and economic," the actual 
plans for meeting these needs vary all the way from a weekly 
prayer meeting to more elaborate and pretentious programmes 
than can be considered feasible for these organizations. Yet, 
small as the average village Associations are, their vitality is not 
to be denied nor their importance in the aggregate minimized. 
Much might be accomplished through them if the right leader- 
ship could be found to co-ordinate their efforts. An illustration 
of what can be done is afforded by the work of the demonstration 
centre at Marthandam. 



46 

The work of the rural reconstruction project is confined to 
an area roughly within a five mile radius of Marthandam. This 
is not a hard-and-fast boundary, of course, and a few of the village 
Y.M.C.A.'s related to the project are as many as fifteen miles 
away from the centre. The section is situated in south Travancore 
and is one of the poorest in the country. This is due both to the 
hilly, unfertile soil and to the dense population. The village 
Associations in this area carry on much the same programme 
as that of the other village Associations, but, in addition serve 
as distributing agents for the information given out at the 
centre. They are the means whereby the principles of the pro- 
gramme in rural economics may be spread and made available 
to large numbers of people. It was most fortunate that these 
Associations preceded the organization of the centre, for they 
have given the work a distinct advantage over similar enter- 
prises of the government that suffer from inadequate publicity. 
The Association members and secretaries are experienced and 
also imbued with the spirit of service, so that they become 
the most effective kind of demonstrators. They spread 
knowledge both by example and by active propaganda. It is 
largely through the Y.M.C.A. village organization that, during 
the last few years, improved varieties of poultry have been 
distributed through the area, with the result that these poor 
country people can now ship eggs twice a week to their co- 
operative society at the centre. Other cottage industries that 
have benefitted by the work are bee-keeping, weaving, gardening, 
and cattle raising. Information has also been spread on rural 
sanitation, temperance, physical education, and similar topics of 
general interest. The village Associations in this area, often 
referred to as the "rural" Associations, enjoy membership in 
the circulating library maintained at the demonstration centre. 
Each is allowed ten books a month, and is supplied with a tin 
receptacle for its own use. 

The possibility of work through the village Associations of 
Travancore and Cochin, similar to that done in the interests of 
rural reconstruction, is very great and only awaits adequate 
vision and leadership. Nothing is being done at present by the 
local Y.M.C.A. movement in behalf of the 300,000 outcastes living 
right in their midst. The Christian fellowship itself could only 
be enriched and deepened by being set to work productively in 
behalf of these depressed classes. Similar lines of organization, 
largely dependent on volunteer leadership, as obtain at Mar- 
thandam, could be relied on to co-ordinate the efforts of the local 
Associations. The problem of intercommunal reconciliation is 



47 

another very urgent matter, in this area, and one of peculiar 
interest to the Y.M.C.A. The marked vitality of these little 
village Associations indicates their importance to the whole 
movement in India, from the point of view of making the ideals 
of the T.M.C.A. known and real to the indigenous population. 

D. SUMMARY. 

The Y.M.C.A. movement in Travancore and Cochin is estab- 
lished in the capital, Trivandrum, and in four additional towns, 
but is particularly identified with the numerous little village 
Associations scattered throughout the country. The wide spread 
of literacy and of Christianity render these states exceptionally 
propitious for Association enterprise under indigenous leadership. 
Equally great opportunities for real service are offered by the 
depressed economic condition of most of the people, crowded as they 
are into an over-populated area that cannot adequately support 
them. Significant beginnings have been made, both towards 
meeting these opportunities and in demonstrating the possibili- 
ties of co-ordinated effort among these Associations, by the work 
of the Marthandam demonstration centre of the National Council's 
project in rural reconstruction. There are similar opportunities 
for ministering to the depressed classes, for deepening the life 
of the Christian community by altruistic service, and for striking 
at the acute communal problems of these states that might be 
explored by similar co-operative effort. The T.M.C.A.'s of 
Travancore and Cochin are impressive demonstrations of the 
ability of Indian leadership to carry on programmes of interest 
to Indians. 



PART II 

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHKISTIAN ASSOCIATION AS A 
FUNCTIONING AGENCY 



CHAPTER 6. 
OEGANIZATION AND ADMINISTBATION. 

A. INTRODUCTION. 

The growth of the Young Men's Christian Associations of 
India, Burma and Ceylon, in terms of membership, property and 
personnel, has been attended by an increasing complexity of 
organization and an intensifying of the problems of administration. 
The extent of this growth has been discussed in other chapters 
of this report, but for the purpose of visualizing the attendant 
difficulties in the field of control, a short recapitulation will be 
in order. The summary table, given at the end of Chapter 1 and 
compiled from the National Convention Beports, is herewith 
repeated in somewhat amplified form. 

Development of the 7.M.C.A. between 1890 and 1925. 

1890 1901 1910 1920 1925 

Number of Associa- 
tions .. 35 151 158 241 66 

Total Membership .. 1,896 6,556 12,100 10,463 10,759 

Active Membership 1,016 2,381 4,035* 2,164 

Associate Member- 
ship .. 93 2,154 4,081* 8,595 

Number of Buildings 

Owned .. 2 16 26 57 42 

Value in Rupees .. 6,47,20016,51,85632,74,86235,82,181 

Debt in Rupees 

(on Buildings) 2,51,340 98,062 50,685 

Current Expenses 

in Rupees .. 15,667 58,041 3,72,310 3,78,409 9,07,819 

Foreign Employed 



Staff 


1 


12 


57f 


70 


43 


Indian Employed 












Staff 


2 


7 


29f 


153 


84 



* Figure for 1907. 
t Figure for 1913. 



52 

These figures indicate that up to 1920, the local Associations 
grew enormously in number, in equipment, in current expendi- 
tures, in employed staff, and in total membership. (The decrease 
between 1910 and 1920 in membership is due to the secession 
of the college Associations.) The period 1920-1925 witnessed 
the readjustment and retrenchment after the war. It will be 
noticed that, while there is little change in the total membership 
during these years, there are increases in the associate member- 
ship, in the value of buildings owned, and markedly in the 
current expenditures. The employed staff decreased considerably 
at the same time. 

Two major conclusions may be drawn from the above facts. 
In the first place, the largest increase in buildings, 
employed staff and (presumably) associate membership took place 
between 1910 and 1920. Secondly, the retrenchments made 
necessary by financial difficulties after the war resulted in a reduc- 
tion of staff. In other words, the net result of the phenomenal 
growth of the organization prior to 1920, was to leave the Associa- 
tion with a huge physical equipment and a large non-voting mem- 
bership on its hands, and with a staff only sufficient, in many 
places, to take care of the business management. 

B. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL: FIRST PERIOD (1891-1920). 

An understanding of the present administrative system will 
be best conveyed by a consideration of the most significant steps 
in its evolution. As indicated in the foregoing chapters, the 
first Y.M.G.A.'s 6f India were formed by groups of European 
young men who had probably had some contact with the move- 
ment started in London by George .Williams. The structure of 
the early Associations was naturally patterned after the parent 
'organization. There is evidence, however, that some of these 
first groups had no very definite aim, or conception of qualifica- 
tion for control, and suffered many vicissitudes in consequence. 
Mr. David McConaughy, the American pioneer secretary in 
Madras, discussed the subject of membership basis at some length, 
at the first national convention in 1891. Extracts from his 
address are worth quoting at this point. 

"It is not to be wondered at, perhaps, that in the early 
stages of their development, some Associations should have 
been diverted into general evangelistic meetings in hos- 
pitals, and jails, and homes for old women, in fact into almost 
every sort of work except that for which the Young Men's 
Christian Association was expressly designed, mz. t the work 



53 

of reaching and winning the young men of the ' 
to Christ. : 

" Shall we not avail ourselves of the ripe experience that 
has been gleaned through many and expensive experiments 
by those who have been before us .?. . . .We stand uppn the 
shoulders of the pioneers of George Williams of England, 
and Pastor Cook of France, and George H. Stuart of America, 
and other noblemen who met at the First World's Confer- 
ence at Paris in 1855, and wrought out the international 
alliance. 

"Our first duty is to our members .... (but) our basis 
should be a broad basis, as regards the scope of the work- 
load enough to extend its privileges to all deserving young 
men, absolutely without distinction of race or creed or occupa- 
tion Broad as our basis ought to be as to the classes we 

seek to reach and as to the methods we employ, it should at the 
same time be a restricted basis as concerns the control .of the 
Association. The right to vote and hold office should be 
carefully kept within the hands of the Active members, who 
must be communicant members of Christian Protestant 
Churches. This is the vital point our loyal allegiance to 
the Church of Christ ; not apart from, but apart of, her com- 
munion ; not an auxiliary to the Church, much less a substi- 
tute for the Church in any sense or in any degree ; not even 
undenominational the Association is in fact the Church 
at work in a definite direction, for the young men of the world. 

" Hence our basis should be fixed unchangeably, not only 
(as to) the rights of voting and holding office, but also (as 
to) the possession of property . (which should be) in the hands 
of those who belong to the Christian Church and who re- 
present, the beliefs of those who founded the Association. 
Only Active members should serve on Committees. This 
rule should apply also to the Boards of Trustees, as these are 
required and created, to hold property that will be acquired. 
Here a temptation may arise, to enlist men because of their 
business ability, social position, wealth, or influence in the 
community, even though not really Christian men. Nothing 
will be lost but much gained by .adhering loyally to the 
principle of retaining the control of the organization entirely 
within the Christian Church. While the right of manage- 
ment is vested in .the Active membership thus exclusively, 
the privileges should be extended, alike to all." 



54 

Mr, McConaughy further stated that, while the constitution of 
the Madras Y.M.C.A. provided that any young man who was a 
"member in good standing of a Christian Protestant Church " 
.might become an active member, the practice of the Association 
tended to prevent any from being so classified unless they agreed 
to act in some capacity in connection with the work. The test 
was one of service as well as of church membership. 

The address of Mr. McConaughy at the 1891 convention 
is quoted at such length because of its very direct bearing 
on the subsequent development of the movement in India. The 
principles there set forth were to become the foundation stones 
of the entire Association. The convention unanimously adopted 
the Paris Basis for active membership with the following addi- 
tional qualifications : 

" That the Active membership of such Associations (as 
wish to attend future national conventions) shall be composed 
of young men who are members in full communion of Chris- 
tian Protestant Churches ; and we hold these Churches to 
be Christian Protestant, which do maintain the Scriptures 
to be the only rule of faith and practice, and do believe in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, 
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, in whom dwelleth all the 
fullness of the God-head, Who was made sin for us though 
knowing no sin, and Who bare our sins in His own body on 
the tree, and that His name is the only name under Heaven 
among men whereby we must be saved from everlasting 
punishment." 

Mr. McConaughy submitted to this convention a model con- 
stitution, which embodied his principles and which he suggested 
for the use of local Associations, especially in small towns. A 
copy of this document is appended to the report of the conven- 
tion. The early records indicate that this constitution was 
generally adopted, with only occasional slight alterations to suit 
local conditions. 

The convention of 1891 likewise marked the launching of a 
national organization of the Y.M.C.A/S of India. In a paper 
entitled : " How can the existing Associations best co-operate 
to extend our work to reach the young men of India .?" Dr. E. 
Sargood Fry, a lay delegate, argued the need for "a practical 
knowledge of and sympathy with each other and each other's 
work " and also for some "means of communication one with 
another when we return to bur several stations and homes". His 
proposed solution was a national committee with a secretary " who 



shall not confine his work simply to one Association, but wh6 
shall serve all". As regards the necessary finances, he had hopes 
" that the strong Associations of England and America might be 
willing to increase the help they are already giving". 

There was some discussion after this speech. Mr. Frank 
J. Clark, the veteran volunteer secretary of the Bombay Y.M.C.A., 
pointed out the fact that a " district union " had recently been 
formed in the Bombay Presidency and suggested a similar plan 
for the Madras area. Another delegate felt " that the sugges- 
tion to form district unions was no doubt practicable, but there 
should be something more than that". He called attention to 
the fact that the national convention was a reality and advocated 
the creation of a national committee. Mr. McConaughy, who 
subsequently became the first national secretary, argued for such 
a committee in the interests of extending the work throughout 
India. He believed, on the basis of his experience, that district 
organization would grow naturally from national organization. 
Mr. Clark opposed the suggestion on the grounds that " here in 
India the distances were too great for one secretary," and favoured 
organization by presidencies with a secretary for each. 
Mr. McConaughy a'hswered that, although the members of such 
a national committee would live all over the country, the difficulty 
of transacting business could be overcome by having the annual 
meeting at the same time as the convention and disposing of such 
additional matters as required the concurrence of the whole com- 
mittee by mail ; the ordinary routine would be entrusted to a sub- 
committee, as was the practice in England and North America, 
the personnel of which would all live in one place, or vicinity, so 
as to make frequent meetings easy. 

The upshot was that the convention preferred the national 
organization and formally resolved that 

" With a view to extending the Young Men's Christian 
Association's work throughout India, an Indian National 
Committee be appointed by this Convention, for the pur- 
pose of mutual encouragement and co-operation and that 
the Committee be empowered to add to its members." 

The committee was accordingly organized and Mr. McConaughy 
appointed secretary; The North American International Com- 
mittee subsequently assumed responsibility for the suppbrt of an 
additional secretary for the Madras Association. . 

By the time of the national convention of 1894, .this national 
committee had so commended itself that the decision was reached; 



to form a national union. An elaborate constitution was adopted 
for this organization and its management entrusted to a National 
Council, composed of twenty-one members representing all parts 
of India and Burma. Representation on the Council was deter- 
mined by the proportion of active members, in a given area, to 
the total active membership of the Indian movement. The con- 
stitution recognized from the beginning the existence of district 
unions and the possibility of others being formed, .but treated 
them on the same basis as a local Association. In other words, 
the constitution tacitly approved of district unions but gave 
them no definite status in the national organization. In this 
way, the idea of district unions was incorporated but was not 
sufficiently defined to ensure its usefulness. The constitution 
further stated that a fundamental principle of the Indian national 
union should be the recognition and promotion of the complete 
autonomy of each local Association and each district union, in 
India and Burma. As will appear, however, from the discussion 
of the allocation of foreign personnel and funds to these units, 
a process which has always been effected through the National 
Council, this "complete autonomy" must be liberally interpreted. 
Finally, in order to carry on its routine business, the Council 
was authorized, by the constitution to " elect froin its members 
an executive committee, consisting of five or more members resid- 
ing in the same locality." 

Notwithstanding the vagueness of the relationship between 
district unions and the national organization, earnest attempts 
were made to establish such unions in various parts of India. 
As already noted, there was an organization of this type in the 
Bombay Presidency even before the appointment of the national 
committee. There are records of similar organizations in the 
Punjab and in Travancore and Cochin, The functions of the 
Punjab union. included arranging for periodical district conven- 
tions', promoting inter-visitation between local Associations, pre- 
paring the way for and establishing new Associations, and 
co-operating with the National Council in assisting the Associations 
by means of correspondence and publications. The union for 
Travancore ' and Cochin was entrusted particularly with co-ordinat- 
ing and extending the work of the village; Associations. At the 
natio'nal convention of 1901, reports were received from both of 
these latter district unions, out no mention is made of , the Bombay 
organization. ; 

! In 1907, the local Associations of 'Ceylon formally joined 
the national union and the Council was enlarged to thirty mem-; 



57 

It was stipulated that these men should represent all parts 
of India, Burma and Ceylon and that not more than two of them 
should be from Ceylon. Several proposals were also made at this 
.convention to change the membership basis. The desire was 
manifest to enunciate a formula that would be acceptable to the 
Jacobite Christians and the Anglican High-Churchmen, who 
objected to the word "Protestant". Owing to the great differences 
of opinion, however, no decision was reached, and since there were 
no conventions between 1910 and 1920, the matter was not settled 
until that time. The convention of 1920 adopted the relatively 
simple Paris Basis which does not require church membership. 

; The National Council's report for 1920 covers the entire 
decade 1910-1920. It records the fact that, in the absence of con- 
ventions during this period, vacancies had been filled, as consti- 
tutionally authorized, by the Council itself and that, as a result, 
it had not been practicable " to ensure the adequate representa- 
tion of the different parts of India, Burma and Ceylon." Due 
to force of circumstances incident to the war, the work of the 
National Council had been carried on largely by the executive 
committee and a great centralization of authority had taken place 
at the headquarters in Calcutta. The Convention of 1920 pro- 
ceeded to deal with the question of decentralization. As re- 
corded in the official report, it 

"considered that the time had come to establish regional 
committees, with a view to closer supervision and to de- 
centralization at the national headquarters ; and to include 
a clause in the constitution empowering and instructing the 
National Council to arrange for the formation of such com- 
mittees and the appointment of regional secretaries, when- 
ever the Council, in consultation with the local Associations 
concerned, should consider the time ripe for such a step." 

The constitution was further amended to provide that the National 
Council should meet at least once a year, in addition to the monthly 
meetings of the executive committee. 

From the standpoint of organization^ the most significant 
step taken was the proposal for regional committees. This may 
be regarded as an inheritance from the idea of district unions. 
It should be noted, however, that whereas the district unions were 
autonomous and voluntary organizations in a given area, with 
greatly diversified functions, the proposal of 1920 was for regional 
committees appointed by the National Council, to which the 
Council would delegate, at its discretion, "any or all of its respective 
responsibilities in the respective areas." The work was to 



58 

supervisory and would naturally involve the services of an 
employed officer who would take his orders from the national 
general secretary. The influence of " war-time " psychology 
may be observed in this arrangement ; it was essentially a mili- 
tary organization with chief authority at the top. In no real 
sense of the word can the proposal be interpreted as " decen- 
tralization "; it merely called for a delegation of responsibilities 
that were still primarily vested in the national agency. 

C. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL : SECOND PERIOD (1920-1930). 

The convention of 1920 marked the close of a distinct epoch 
in the life of the Y.M.O.A. of India, Burma and Ceylon. Prior 
to this date, the Association had passed through two phases. 
The period of 1891-1910 witnessed the growth and development 
of an essentially lay organization. As noted earlier, during the 
decade of 1910-1920 the Association grew tremendously with 
respect to buildings and equipment, membership, and employed 
staff. Owing to the exigencies of war-time administration, the 
movement practically handed over complete authority to the 
National Council. The most significant point to be made, however, 
is that authority actually passed into the hands of tne employed 
secretaries. As will appear in the chapter on personnel, it was 
during this time that the professional secretaryship gained ascend- 
ancy over the honorary secretaryship, in the local Associations. 
In other words both the difficulties involved in managing a com- 
plex war programme and the growth of institutional equipment 
brought it about that the actual, albeit never the legal, control 
was transferred from laymen to employed officers. 

The story of the readjustment after 1920 abundantly sub- 
stantiates this point. As will appear in the chapter on finance, 
the years immediately following the war were burdened with 
terrific financial problems among the local Associations. By 
1922, the state of affairs had become so acute that drastic action 
was called for. The group that faced the situation in all its 
aspects was a conference of secretaries, which met in January of 
that year. This conference reached three important decisions 
which were later adopted by the National Council and are of signi- 
ficance for the movement to-day. 

In the first place, they agreed upon some general principles 
of strategy that may be briefly summarised as follows. Qua- 
lity of service was to be emphasized rather than extent of an 
activity or occupation of the field. In actual practice, this meant 
curtailment of . the existing work and .concentration on certain 



69 

activities that might serve as "beacon lights " or demonstration 
centres. Strategic areas of activity recommended for such con- 
centrated effort included work with the educated classes in towns 
and cities, high-grade rural work in a few centres, boys' work, 
and model centres for army work. 

The second decision had to do with organization. In contra- 
distinction to the action taken by the national convention of 
1920, two years previously, the secretaries favoured instead of 
regional organizations the appointment of associate national 
secretaries, who should assist the national general secretary in 
developing the local Associations. In order to facilitate the 
administration, these associates were to be located permanently 
in selected areas outside of Calcutta, the national headquarters. 
This was obviously a further step in centralized control, for the 
associate secretaries were to be in no way responsible either to 
the local Associations or to a . regional committee; they were 
simply the subordinates of the general secretary. The third 
momentous decision reached at this time was to the effect that 

" an advisory committee of five secretaries should be 
appointed by .the National Council to co-operate with the 
National Council in its revenue work and report back to the 
next Secretaries' Conference." 

During the twelve months following this conference, the 
principles of curtailment and concentration were put into effect. 
The burden of making the decisions with regard to staff reductions 
or closing work was actually carried by this " advisory committee", 
officially designated as the revenue commission. Their decisions 
were submitted for approval to the executive of the National 
Council. By the end of 1923, the revenue commission had become 
so powerful that it formally requested the executive committee 
to refer to it " all important changes having financial implica- 
tions before finally passing them." While this proposal 
caused some discussion in the executive committee, it was finally 
approved. 

That this development caused some consternation, in certain 
quarters, may be seen from the following letter written by an 
administrative officer of the North American International 
Committee to one of his colleagues : 

" I have also read the report of the revenue commission. 
I am positively alarmed at the way in which this commis- 
sion is dealing with questions which, it seems to me, only 
partially belong within its sphere. If the Indian National 



60 

Council does not look out, it will have a powerful secre- 
tarial commission operating alongside of the Executive, and 
a commission which has too large a foreign personnel. It 
is important to get the money, but what is the use of getting 
it if, after it is secured, it has weakened the Indian move- 
ment in the process. I feel pretty strongly about this and 
hope that some steps may be taken to point out the danger." 
(B.C. Jenkins to F. V. Slack, May 13th, 1924.) 

The revenue commission acknowledged the criticism and tried 
to meet it, in their meeting of November 12th, 1924. The consti- 
tution was altered to enlarge the staff and include laymen, as 
may be seen from the following extracts from the minutes. 

" The Commission shall be composed of sixteen representa- 
tives who shall be selected as follows : 



" Eight members to be elected by the Secretaries' 
ference, four secretarial members to be nominated by the 
National Executive, four members who shall be laymen to 
be nominated by the National Executive. It shall be open 
to the local Associations to recommend the names of suitable 
representatives. 

" The Chairman and Honorary Treasurer of the National 
Executive shall be ex-offioio members of the Revenue Com- 
mission. 

'' The Commission shall elect a working Committee of five, 
three at least of whom shall be local representatives, to 
attend to necessary business apart from the annual meeting." 
(Revenue Commission Minutes, 1924.) 

However, no real change in the situation was effected by this 
constitutional amendment, for of the seventeen persons that 
attended the next annual meeting all were employed secretaries."* 
Further changes were then proposed and, as finally adopted by 
the next secretaries 1 conference, provided that the revenue com- 
mission should consist of the honorary treasurer of the National 
Council and fifteen other members secretaries and laymen eight 
to be appointed by the secretaries' conference and seven by the 
national general secretary, " with a view to representing all 
interests, as far as it may be possible." The provision for a 
working committee was dropped. 

* The revenue commission threw open its annual meeting, by special 
invitation, to interested individuals. 



61 

The outcome of the new arrangements was that at the next- 
meeting of the commission, in 1926, the attendance was twenty 
twelve being secretaries on the commission, one the honorary 
treasurer (a layman), and seven secretaries on the national staff. 
The record since 1926 indicates that there never has been more 
than one layman on this important commission. It was ac- 
cordingly not found possible to check the increasing power of the 
secretariat. The power of the revenue commission itself, how- 
ever, was curtailed two years later. In November, 1928, the 
national secretary for finance raised the question of abolishing 
the commission and entrusting its functions to another body. 
The action taken on this suggestion was to change the name to 
" budget reviewing committee " and to limit its competency to 
financial questions exclusively. 

It should be said, in all fairness, that sincere efforts were made 
to have lay representatives on the revenue commission. But 
even the few who were induced to accept appointment did not 
find it possible to attend meetings. This difficulty is experi- 
enced by nearly all similar organizations, in these days of many en- 
gagements and complex business relationships, and is especially 
common among such societies in India as try to work through 
representatives from all parts of the empire. A meeting of the 
revenue commission usually involved a week's time, including 
the travel period ; moreover, the expense attached to such 
attendance was frequently prohibitive. 

Eeference has often been made, in the foregoing pages, to 
the Secretaries' Conference. This institution parallelled the 
Revenue Commission, after 1920, and in a very real sense came to 
exercise that guidance of the whole movement that rightfully 
belongs only to the national conventions. 

It will be seen from the discussion so far, in this section, 
that instead of effecting decentralization, the Association has 
actually made little progress in bringing local and national work 
into productive relationships. The attempts to give the local 
Associations some share in the control of the movement have 
resulted in vesting too much power in the employed secretariat. 
With the growth and strengthening of the national organization, 
the regional or district units have been relegated. Among the 
by-products of centralization, albeit influenced by other causes 
as well, has been the loss, to the Association movement as a whole, 
of that interest among laymen which was once so vigorous in 
India. That there has been considerable appreciation of the 
dangers in the present administrative system may be gathered 



62 

from the abortive attempts at decentralization, recorded above. 
Further evidence is afforded by a memorandum submitted by 
the Secretaries' Conference to the National Convention of 
1926, and recorded in the official report of that gathering as 
follows : 

"At the Secretaries' Conference held at Waltair a proposal 

was made to recommend to the Executive certain very 

important and fundamental changes in the constitution. 
Our experience after working on the constitution has shown 
that the control of the Association movement in India .... 
largely lies in the hands of a few, and that we have failed so 
far to link up the local Associations in the general work of 
the National Council. The reasons may be stated to be 
as follows : 

" The National Council is elected at a Convention to be 
representative of all Indian interests ; the constitution does 
not specifically state Association interest. Being a body 
thus constituted, it consists of persons who are unusually 
absorbed in their own work, and have little or no time to 
give to the work of the National Council. Among them are 
included quite a substantial number of persons whose con- 
nections with the local Associations, or even the Associa- 
tion movement generally, is remote. The result has been 
that it has not been possible to obtain a National Council 
that would really function." 

The report then indicates that certain constructive proposals 
were made calculated to ensure the direct representation of 
local Associations, either individually or in groups, with power 
to fill vacancies or send substitutes vested .in the local 
Associations rather than in the National Council. The report 
continues : 

" The Executive has not had sufficient time at its disposal 
for enquiry, nor is it in possession of sufficient facts, to be 
able to make a recommendation to the Convention, but it 
believes that it would be well to investigate the advisability 
of these changes in the constitution, which would bring about 
direct representation of the local Associations. They trust 
that these changes, if undertaken, may result in the interest 
of all Associations in the general movement being enhanced, 
and that the local Associations will thereby undertake more 
fully the responsibility which ought to lie on them." 
(National Convention Report, 1926, p. 20.) 



63 

D. THE LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

Because of the requirements for affiliation in the national 
union, and also owing to the fact that model constitutions were 
made available to the early Associations, practically no varia- 
tion exists in the organization of the local centres. Legal author- 
ity for the management and policy of the work is everywhere 
vested in a board of directors, made up of laymen, and all proper- 
ties are held by boards of trustees, likewise volunteer in per- 
sonnel. The National Council, early in its development, made 
the provision that there should not be more than one Association 
in each city or town. Accordingly, the various branches in a 
given centre are organized under one central board of directors ; 
the branches are in the hands of separate committees of manage- 
ment, limited in power and responsible to the central board. 
The personnel of these committees is sometimes appointed by 
the board and sometimes elected by the active membership of 
the branch in question. 

As indicated earlier in this report, the growth of the asso- 
ciate membership has had an important bearing on the adminis- 
tration of the T.M.C.A. Not only has the active membership lost 
its significance as a controlling force, but the fact that elaborate 
privileges have been extended to the large associate membership 
has entailed organizational problems of such magnitude as to put 
a premium on good business judgment and financial experience, 
so far as the boards and committees are concerned. It is a 
matter of common observation that the great institutions 
developed by the Y.M.C .A. have compelled the movement to retain 
on its boards men who can give it status with the wealthy com- 
munity. As a result, the present situation is often such that a 
wealthy group of directors are managing affairs in behalf of a 
large, unrepresented associate membership. Furthermore, while 
the membership is largely Indian or Anglo-Indian, the tendency, 
especially in the great port cities, is for the boards to be Euro- 
pean, to a considerable extent, as may be seen in the following 
table : 

Boards of Directors Analysed by Race (1928). 

Nationals Europeans 

Calcutta 5 15 

Bombay 3 31 

Bangoon 10 11 



M 

Nationals. Europeans. 

Colombo 36 1 

Madras 11 8 

Lahore . . 9 7 

Hyderabad .. 8 27 

Bangalore 7 7 

Trivandrum 14 3 

Coimbatore 11 3 

In general, the tendency is for the boards to become increasingly 
indigenous as the Associations become smaller ; the little village 
Y.M.O.A.'s are almost completely in the hands of Indians. The 
Colombo Association is an exception to the general rule, with an 
almost entirely indigenous board in one of the larger organiza- 
tions. The large European element at Bangalore and, more 
especially, at Hyderabad is to be attributed to the presence in these 
towns of the European military cantonments. 

As regards the racial composition of the branch committees, 
information is available only for four of the larger Associations. 
The facts are given below : 

Committees of Management Analysed by Race (1928). 

Nationals. Europeans. 
Associations in 1st Group 

Branches for Nationals . . 57 10 

European and Anglo-Indian 

Branches . . . . . . . . 45 

An Association in 2nd Group 14 1 

It will be seen that, in the cities of the first group, where Euro- 
peans are in control of the boards of directors, they are also com- 
pletely in control of the European and Anglo-Indian branches! 
However, branches in which the membership is indigenous are 
almost entirely in the hands of nationals. Since the board has 
complete authority over the branches, it will be seen that the 
racial situation offers opportunities for friction between the board 
and a branch. 

Additional information is available for a sampling of the 
lay leadership in the larger Associations. The data are 
presented first 011 the number of years these men have been in 
service. , 



65 



Length of Service of Lay Leadership (1928). 

r On Boards and On Non-European 

European Branches Branches 

Nationals Europeans Nationals Europeans 



1 


1 2 years 


2 


1 5 


5 


1-10 


10 


1 1 FC 
J- J.J ,, 


15 


120 


20 


125 


25 


130 



19 

21 

9 

7 



Over 31 



No Data . . 



60 
26 



34 
14 
4 
3 
1 
1 



57 

47 



18 

13 

12 

8 

5 

5 

3 

1 

65 
13 



3 

2 
3 



9 
5 



It will be observed that the nationals tend to remain in service 
somewhat longer than do the Europeans. Possibly the fact that 
Europeans generally do not remain in India for long periods may 
account for this circumstance. 

The record of attendance at meetings does not show much 
variation as between the different groups. On the whole, no 
great interest on the part of the majority is indicated. 

Attendance at Meetings qf Lay Leadership (1928). 

On Boards and On Non-European 
European Branches Branches 

Nationals Europeans Nationals Europeans 

..5 9 4 

..7 7 14 

..5 10 1 

..' 2 11 7 

..6 6 3 1 

..5 4 3 

..16 30 13 1 



1 meeting 

2 meetings 

3 
4 

.5 

6 

712 



5? 



No Data . . 



46 
40 



77 
27 



45 
33 



2 
12 



The data with regard to age are more complete than on the 
other matters presented so far. It will be. observed that the lay 
leaders are, in more than half the cases, over forty-one years of 
age. 

5 v 



66 

Age of Lay Leadership (1928). 

On Boards and On Non-European 

European Branches Branches 

Nationals Europeans Nationals Europeans 

20 years and less .... . . 1 2 

21 25 years .... . . 2 1 

2630 ..2 7 11 3 

3135 ..8 8 13 

3640 ..14 20 12 1 

41 years and over 45 57 36 7 

69 92 75 14 

No Data . . 17 12 3 

The general secretaries at the branches concerned were asked 
to rate their laymen as to their contact with the ordinary member- 
ship. The results are presented in the following table : 

Estimated Contact of Lay Leadership with the Membership (1928). 

On Boards and On Non-European 

European Branches Branches 

Nationals Europeans Nationals Europeans 

None .. ..1 13 7 1 

Bare .. ..13 26 12 2 

Occasional .. 10 36 36 6 

Frequent . . 30 16 16 1 

Regular . . 17 13 5 2 



71 104 76 12 

No Data . . 15 . . 2 2 

It will be noticed that, while the membership contacts of the 
nationals serving on the boards appear to be more frequent than 
those of the European leaders, neither group was thought to be 
in very close touch in the branches. This suggests that the 
branch committees may be rather nominal in character and have 
no very deep interest in the work. 

Information with regard to the professional occupations of 
the lay leadership was available for the board members of the 
Mofussil Associations as well as for those analysed above. The 
data are as follows : 



67 

Lay Leadership Analysed by Occupations (1928). 

Leading Second 
T.M.O.A.'s Group Mofussil Total 

Ministers ..24 6 16 46 

Other Professions .. 93 31 53 177 

Government Servants . . 7 . . 7 

Industrial Executives 10 . . 1 11 

Business Executives 43 7 7 57 

Business Employees 20 8 1 29 

All Others 5 5 2 12 

Eetired . . . . 2 . . 2 

341 
No Data .... . . . . 21 

It will be seen that all groups of Associations draw heavily on 
the professional classes for their lay leadership. In Calcutta, 
Bombay and Kangoon there is likewise good representation from 
the business world, and especially of executives. It will be 
recalled that these are the Associations that have the most 
extensive physical equipment. 

As was indicated in the foregoing section of this chapter, 
the local Associations are not adequately represented on the 
National Council. The interests of the larger centres in national 
affairs are taken care of only through the general secretaries of 
these Associations. The smaller units are represented either by 
a district secretary, as in the case of Travancore and Cochin, or 
by some staff member of the National Council who has travelled 
in the mofussil area and knows the local situation. This is parti- 
cularly serious for the Mofussil T.M.C.A.'s because they are very 
heavily dependent on the National Council for support ; it has 
even been suggested recently that the salaries of the employed 
officers of these Associations be paid from Calcutta. This was 
because the local boards have sometimes been irregular in their 
payments, due -to financial difficulties, and have thereby in some 
cases caused actual hardship for the secretaries. The plan sug- 
gested was that the boards should pay back an equivalent sum to 
the National Council. The result of such an arrangement would 
of course be a further centralization of power in Calcutta. 

The lay leaders of the local Associations take very little 
interest in the affairs of the national movement. In fact, lay 
representation from all quarters, at the National Conventions, 



68 

does not more than roughly equal that of the employed staff. 
In 1923, there were 68 delegates at the Convention of whom 36 
were secretaries ; in 1926, there were 31 secretaries out of a total 
attendance of 67. On the latter occasion, the situation was 
formally recognized and regretted in the following terms : 

" Recognizing that the Association movement, from its 
earliest years, has been maintained through voluntary leader- 
ship, and that the importance and necessity of a trained 
and consecrated secretariat to meet ever-expanding needs 
does not in any sense decrease the necessity of the leader- 
ship of laymen, but rather increases it, the Conference would 
reiterate its abiding conviction that sacrificial voluntary 
leadership in all departments, branches and activities is 
essential to the fulfilment of the Association's great responsi- 
bility to the boys and young men of the world. The 
Conference recommends that in the composition and leader- 
ship of committees, and in the attendance at and participation 
in conferences, both national and international, there should 
always be a much larger proportion of laymen than of secre- 
taries." (National Convention Report, 1926, p. 224.) 

E. CO-OPERATION WITH FOREIGN MOVEMENTS. 

The extent to which the Young Men's Christian Associations 
in other countries, particularly in England and North America, 
have aided the development of the movement in India has been 
set forth in other chapters of this report. The records of the 
Association bear ample testimony to the anxiety of these co- 
operating Y.M.C.A.'s not to let their contributions in any way 
hamper the development of the Indian movement. In 1892, 
with a view to extending the work throughout India, an ' appeal ' 
for men and funds to support them was very carefully prepared 
and addressed to the English National Council, the North Ame- 
rican International Committee, and the Australian Intercolonial 
Council, " with the request that it be published as widely as 
possible and circulated among the Associations." (National Con- 
vention Report, 1892, p, 87.) The response to this appeal was 
almost immediate from all three groups and subsequently con- 
tinued to grow in volume, especially as far as the International 
Committee was concerned. 

In 1913, the Indian National Council took the following 
action : 

" RESOLVED that we believe it would facilitate the work 
of the Y.M,C,A. in India and Ceylon, if the foreign Councils 



69 

and Committees of Y.M.C.A.'s doing work in India would 
regard the National Council of India and Ceylon as their agent 
for all work in India and Ceylon. At present, many of the 
foreign Councils deal directly with the local Associations 
with reference to secretaries, finance, etc., and do not inform 
the National Council of what they are doing. Yet, when 
there is any difficulty, when a secretary resigns or is 
invalided, the burden is placed on the National Council." 

The report of the 1920 National Convention records (p. 20) that 
this minute, on being sent to the organizations concerned, " re- 
ceived their hearty assent and has ever since been loyally obeyed." 
The Indian National Council now theoretically makes all assign- 
ments of foreign personnel and allocates all foreign subsidies. 
It has, however, departed from this rule in some instances and 
granted the privilege of assigning secretaries to specific centres 
to some councils " whose foreign work is in that stage of develop- 
ment which makes it desirable to have a special place on which 
to focus its giving." 

Both the English National Council and the North American 
International Committee follow the practice of appointing one 
of the men they send out as " senior secretary," whose function 
it is "to act for and speak on behalf of the Committees in 
appropriate matters, the authority of the National Council and of 
the entire staff being suitably guarded." (National Convention 
Report, 1920, p. 21.) The following recommendations con- 
cerning the relationship of the North American senior secretary 
to the National Councils of the movements to which they are 
sent, were drawn up, in 1926, at a conference at Lake Placid in 
the United States, and were subsequently accepted by the 
executive committee of the Indian National Council : 

" The Foreign Committee of the National Councils of the 
U. S. A, and Canada sends out a secretary to another country 
as a member of its employed staff, and enters into an under- 
standing with him on the basis of which understanding he 
goes abroad to serve another Association movement. While 
maintaining this relationship, the Foreign Committee allo- 
cates him to a national movement for service as a secretary 
of such movement for periods of time specified in its under- 
standing. During these periods, the secretary is respon- 
sible as a secretary to the National Committee, but the 
Foreign Committee is still responsible for him in the same 
sense that it is responsible for members of its home staff, 
in all respects, except within the range of duties which are 



70 

involved in the original allocation to and understanding with 
the National Committee. 

" The following are included in this continuing responsi- 
bility which the Foreign Committee sustains to its 
secretary : 

To pay his salary. 

To provide allowances for his children. 

To provide him with a suitable residence. 

To safeguard the health of himself and members of his 
family. 

To provide for necessary vacations. 

To make satisfactory provision for the education of his 
children. 

To provide furloughs at times specified in the original 
understanding. If a furlough appears to be necessary 
at any time other than as specified in the original under- 
standing, the time for such furlough shall be subject 
to negotiation between the Foreign Committee and the 
National Committee. 

" In the matter of the original assignment of the secretary 
to his post, and in the matter of his transfer from one place 
to another, the Foreign Committee is involved in the same 
way as it would be in North America, when one of its secre- 
taries is transferred from one place to another, that is, it 
should be satisfied that such conditions as safeguard the 
health of himself and members of his family are acceptable 
to the secretary himself, and furthermore that the funds 
necessary for a satisfactory transfer are provided. 

" In order to enable the Foreign Committee fully to carry 
out its obligation to its secretaries, whose services have been 
allocated to a National Committee, it is to the advantage of 
the Foreign Committee and the National Committee con- 
cerned that there should be a special secretary of the Foreign 
Committee within the intimate coTincils of the National 
Committee, who will be explicitly entrusted by the Foreign 
Committee with the responsibilities for its obligations to its 
secretaries on tKe field. Within this scope his' responsibi- 
lity is final, and he is answerable to the Foreign Committee 
for his actions. 

" Whenever the discharge of these obligations, referred to 
above as belonging explicitly to the Foreign Committee, has 
implications affecting the policy or programme of the National 
movement, these should be shared fully with the national 
general secretary ; likewise, when the policy and programme 



71 

of the National movement have implications which may 
involve the discharge of obligations borne by the Foreign 
Committee, these should be shared fully by the national 
general secretary. 

" Whenever questions arise which are not fully included 
in the specified list of obligations of the Foreign Committee, 
as indicated above, such questions shall be taken up with 
the national general secretary ; and it shall be the respon- 
sibility of the national general secretary to decide finally,, 
after -consultation, whether the question at issue is, or is 
not, included within the list of obligations mentioned above. 
If the question at issue is likely to prove a precedent, then 
whether or not it should be included in the list of obligations 
mentioned above, should be dealt with by negotiations 
between the National Committee and the Foreign Com- 
mittee, and either added to the list of obligations indicated 
above, or omitted from that list, in which latter case it shall 
no longer be within the scope of the responsibilities of the 
Foreign Committee. 

" The secretary of the Foreign Committee responsible for 
the above, will also, when. explicitly so charged, act as its 
agent in the disbursements of its funds and in the acquisi- 
tion, sale and use of its property." 

F. CONCLUSIONS. 

The foregoing facts and general discussion indicate that the 
chief administrative problems now confronting the Young Men's 
Christian Association of India, Burma and Ceylon may be for- 
mulated as follows : 

How. is the active membership to be made more effective 
in the control of the local Associations ? 

How may the local Associations, especially in the large 
cities, be released from the present unfortunate racial situa- 
tion in which they find themselves, whereby national branch 
committees are subordinated to European boards of directors? 

How may the lay leadership be induced to take greater 
responsibility for the control of the movement ? 

How may the National Council be rendered more ade- 
quately representative of the local Association ? 

How may foreign contributions in personnel and funds be 
distributed more equitably among the Associations ? 

How may the relationship and service of the National 
Council to the local Associations properly be defined ? 



CHAPTER 7. 
QUESTIONS OF FINANCE. 

A. INTRODUCTION. 

It should be obvious that any comprehension of the financial 
problems of the Young Men's Christian Association of India, 
Burma and Ceylon demands an acceptance of the fact that the 
movement is essentially a missionary enterprise. As such it has 
created difficulties for itself that are common to all missionary 
endeavour. Some of the most important centre about the ques- 
tion of self-support. There are those who would test the degree 
to which an organization has become indigenous by the extent 
to which it is able to care for its financial maintenance from local 
sources. They would say that the interest of the community may 
be measured by its willingness to bear the cost. 

The Y.M.C.A. of India faced the problem of self-support, 
with all its implications, from the very beginning. It is the pur- 
pose of this study to reveal the financial problems which the 
leaders of the Association encountered during the course of its 
development, to describe the methods used in attempting to 
solve these problems, and to evaluate the financial situation in 
the Association to-day. It is hoped that by means of this review 
of the past and evaluation of the present, soine light may be 
thrown on the question of meeting the problems of the future. 

B. EARLY FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. [Omitted.] 

C. TRENDS REGARDING BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. 

The following table sets forth at a glance the extent to which 
the various groups of local Associations have acquired property, 
by five-year periods, since 1896. The data were extremely diffi- 
cult to secure, in the absence of systematic record keeping, and 
were compiled from old documents belonging to the local Associ- 
ations. The survey is indebted to Mr. 8. S". Barling, of the 
National Council staff, for the excellent work done. 

The figures do not represent present values, but of neces- 
sity only the original cost. Furthermore, the data were compiled 
for all local Associations and not simply for those studied by this 
survey. While the "first group " centres are the same as in the 
preceding chapters, there are four Y.M.C.A.'s in the -""second 



First 
Group 


Second 
Group 


Mofussil 
Group 


Village 
Group 


Army 
Group 


Total 


. . 232,000 


188,513 


.... 


.... 


.... 


420,513 


. . 513,544 


.... 


.... 


.... 


.... 


513,544 


. . 188,325 


.... 


.... 


.... 


.... 


188,325 


. . 544,216 


80,000 


223,380 


77,355 


67,500 


992,451 


. . 362,166 


282,600 


187,672 


11,000 


118,500 


961,938 





428,279 


41,131 


36,000 


.... 


505,410 


7,391 


117,878 


308,321 


43,043 


157,915 


634,548 


. . 1,847,642 


1,097,270 


760,504 


167,398 


343,915 


4,216,729 


43.8% 


26.0% 


18.0% 


4.0% 


8.2o/ 


100.0% 



73 

group" below, twenty-five Mofussil Associations, and twenty - 
one village Associations, in addition to the four army centres. 

Association Building Record by Groups of Y.M.C.A.'s and 

by Five-Year Periods. 

(in rupees.) 



1896-1900 
1901-1905 
1906-1910 
1911-1915 
1916-1920 
1921-1925 
1926-1930 

Total 



As was to have been anticipated, the table indicates that the 
building programme started in the large cities and then spread 
out to the smaller centres. Generally speaking, the equipment 
of the Associations in the first group was put up before the war. 
Of the figure shown for this group, during the period 1916-1920, 
the greater part (Es. 2,06,166 out of the total Es. 3,62,166) was 
used for the national headquarters building in Calcutta ; the 
balance was for the Anglo-Indian branch of the Calcutta Associa- 
tion. The building period for the centres in the second group 
really started in 1916, although Madras owned a structure costing 
Es. 1,88,513 as early as 1900. These Associations acquired the 
bulk of their property between 1916 and 1925. As far as the 
Mofussil centres are concerned, two building periods are indicat- 
ed ; one between 1911 and 1920 and the second since 1926. The 
amount spent on the village Associations is not large and was 
made chiefly during the years 1911-1915 and again since 1926. 
The expenditure for army buildings took place during the war : 
the sum of Es. 1,57,915 shown for the period 1926-1930 was for 
the Simla Association which is only partially planned for army 
work. 

The following figures indicate the proportion of the total 
property acquired an each five-year period : 



74 



Per cent. 

1896-1900 .. .. 9.9 

1901-1905 .. ..12.2 

1906-1910 .. .. 4.5 

1911-1915 .. ..23.5 

1916-1920 .. ..22.8 

1921-1925 .. ..11.9 

1926-1930 .. ..15.2 

100.0 

As previously noted in this report, the above percentages clearly 
indicate that the decade 1911-1920 was the most active period 
of building construction in the history of the Indian movement. 
Nearly half (46 . 3 per cent) of the present equipment was acquired 
at that time. This is especially noteworthy since the period 
includes the four years of the Great War, when conditions gene- 
rally were very unsettled. The years 1921-1925, on the other 
hand, represent a relatively quiescent period. This was a parti- 
cularly difficult time, as will be apparent from the discussion to 
follow. The only building of any consequence to be erected was 
the large central plant at Colombo. In conclusion, it will be 
interesting to note the proportionate distribution of the total 
property among the several groups of Associations, in each five- 
year period, as may be done in the following table : 

Percentage Distribution of Buildings and Equipment among 
Groups of Associations by Five-Year Periods. 

First Second Mofussil Village Army 
Group Group Group Group Group Total 
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. 



1896-1900 


55.2 


44.8 


* 








100.0 


1901-1905 


100.0 





* 


* * 





100.0 


1906-1910 


100.0 


* 





. . * * 





100.0 


1911-1915 


54.8 


8.1 


22.5 


7.8 


6.8 


100.0 


1916-1920 


37.6 


29.3 


19.6 


1.1 


12.4 


100.0 


1921-1925 


* 


84.7 


8.2 


7.1 


* * 


100.0 


1926-1930 


1.2 


18.6 


48.6 


6.8 


24.8 


100.0 



Total 



43.8 



26.0 



18.0 



4.0 



8.2 



100.0 



The funds, with which the Association's buildings were 
erected, are analysed according to source in the following table. 
Unfortunately the data available did not always reveal the 
necessary detail. The classification " Other Sources " includes 



75 

gifts from interested individuals outside the locality, money from 
the sale of old property, debentures, and in a few cases gifts from 
other foreign Associations than those listed. It is felt, however, 
that the record is sufficiently complete to convey the essentials 
in the situation. 

Total Building Funds Analysed according to Source. 

Es. Per cent. 

Local Contributions .. 9,76,474 or 23.2 

Government Subsidies .. 4,85,364 11.5 

Indian National Council .. 1,84,500 4.4 

English National Council .. 2,72,565 6.4 

International Committee .. 15,10,922 35.8 

Other Sources .. .. 7,86,904 18.7 



Total ..42,16,729 or 100.0 



The situation within each group of Associations is given below in 
percentage form : 

Total Building Funds Analysed according to Source and 

Groups of Associations. 

First Second Mofuasii Village Army 

Group Group Group Group Group 

Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 

Local Contributions .. 27.3 22.1 19.9 22.3 12.1 

Government Subsidies .. 14.1 18.4 2.7 

Indian National Council 0.9 3.0 19.1 34.7 

English National Coun- 
cil . . 14 . 8 .... .... .... .... 

International Committee. 27.7 41.2 63.2 21.8 9.1 

Other Sources .. 16.1 17.4 11.2 34.8 44.1 



Total .. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

As was to have been expected, the Associations that derived 
the largest proportion from local contributions are the strong 
centres in Calcutta, Bombay and Eangoon. Government subsi- 
dies have been granted to only the larger Associations, those in 
the second group having received a greater proportion. The 
English National Council has made its building contributions 
exclusively to the three leading Associations. It is interesting 
to note that, while the North American International Committee 
has given the Associations in the first group more than a quarter 
of their building funds* it has financed the buildings in the second 



76 



group to the extent of 41 . 2 per cent, and in the Mof ussil towns, 
to the extent of 63.2 per cent, of their respective totals. The 
English National Council has not sent any funds for buildings 
to India since 1915 ; the International Committee, on the other 
hand, has contributed the major portion of its gifts for this 
purpose since that date. 

The two preceding tables indicate that the largest sources 
for building funds have been local contributions and the North 
American International Committee. It will be interesting to 
study the proportions derived from these sources by the several 
groups of Associations, in each of the five-year periods. The 
following table presents the facts regarding the local contribu- 
tions : 

Proportions of Building Funds derived from Local 

Contrib'iitions. 





First 
Group 
Per cent. 


Second 
Group 
Per cent. 


Mof ussil 
Group 
Per cent. 


Village 
Group 
Percent. 


Army 
Group 
Per cent. 


Total 
Per cent. 


1896-1900 


21.5 


16.9 





* * 


.... 


19.5 


1901-1905 


32.7 


. * * 


.... 








32.7 


1906-1910 


80.2 


> * * 


.... 


.... 





80.2 


1911-1915 


15.7 


50.0 


32.2 


2.8 


25.9 


21.6 


1916-1920 


12.1 


29.2 


13.7 


68.2 


17.7 


18.9 


1921-1925 





19.7 


* * 


44.4 


* 


19.8 


1926-1930 


100.0 


2.6 


17.3 


27.1 


1.9 


12.3 



Total 



27.3 



22.1 



19.9 



22.5 



12.1 



23.2 



Prior to 1911, the construction of buildings was confined to 
the Associations in the first group and to Madras, among those 
in the second group ; it will be seen that the trend was in the 
direction of greater proportions of funds from local contributions. 
Between 1911 and 1920, most of the buildings in the second group 
and in the Mofussil towns were erected, as well as many of those 
owned by the three leading Associations. It will be noted that 
the proportions derived from local contributions have been on 
a diminishing scale, after an original rather high figure. This 
is largely due to the fact that very much more expensive build- 
ings have been put up since 1911 than was true before that time. 
While the local contributions secured in the leading cities and 
the Mofussil towns have been on a diminishing scale since 1911, 
in actual rupees, this has not been the case for the Associations 
in the second group. As far as the latter are concerned, the sums 
received in the periods 1916-1920 and 1921-1925 were approxi- 
mately the same and each more than double the amount secured 



77 



during 1911-1915. The significant fact remains, however, that 
instead of erecting buildings within the limits of even growing 
local resources, these Associations have preferred to put up more 
expensive structures with greatly increased outside aid. 

In the following table the facts are presented in the same 
form with respect to the contributions of the International Com- 
mittee : 

Proportions of Building Funds derived from the 
International Committee. 



1896-1900 
1901-1905 
1906-1910 
1911-1915 
1916-1920 
1921-1925 
1926-1930 

Total 



First 
Group 
Per cent. 


Second 
Group 
Per cent. 


Mofussil 
Group 
Per cent. 


Village Army T . , 
Group Group lotal 
Percent. Percent. Percent. 


21.6 


44.9 





32.Q 


10.1 


* 





* 


10.1 


18.2 


* * 





. . . .. 


18.2 


33.3 


18.8 


45.6 


21 


5.2 31.6 


63.0 


27.8 


53.5 


18.2 


42.4 





46.7 


100.0 


27.8 


49.7 





63.3 


76.6 


56.2 10.3 55.4 



27.7 



41.2 



63.2 



21.8 



9.1 



35.8 



This table supplements the information on the preceding one 
and clearly establishes the point that the Indian Associations 
have depended on North America for their building funds in 
greatly increasing proportions, especially since 1915. In actual 
rupees, the contributions have been as follows, for the period 
1911-1930 : 

Es. 

1911-1915 .. 3,13,168 

1916-1920 .. 4,03,416 

1921-1925 .. 2,51,131 

1926-1930 .. 5,51,694 

The two tables together indicate that the International Com- 
mittee has helped to put up buildings, particularly in the centres 
of the second group and in the Mofussil towns, that were well 
beyond the means of the local constituency. This is especially 
to be regretted in the former instance, because local contribu- 
tions were on the increase in these centres, as already indicated. 
But while local contributions increased from Bs. 40,000 to 
Es. 84,255, during the period 1911-1925, the corresponding in- 
crease in the gifts of the International Committee was from 
Es. 15,000 to Es. 2,00,000. It was only to be expected that fi- 
nancial difficulties would be the inevitable result by such a state of 
affairs. The matter of upkeep and maintenance, once a building 



78 



is erected, is an additional question that calls for careful study 
before such an undertaking is launched. The present financial 
situation in the local Associations, which has resulted primarily 
from their buildings, will be discussed in detail in a later section 
of this chapter. 

D. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL. 

1. Sources of Income. 

The main sources of income for the National Council are 
indicated in the following table, for every other year, during the 
period 1900-1928 : 

Sources of Income and the Total Expenditure 
of the National Council. 
(in rupees.) 

Contributions 

in India. 

Associa- Indivi- 
tions duals 

1900 
1902 
1904 
1906 
1908 
1910 
1912 
1914 
1916 
1918 
1920 
1922 
1924 
1926 
1928 

It should be said at once that, owing to the way in which 
the records are kept, it was not possible to separate out from the 
" Other Sources " the contributions of the International Com- 
mittee prior to 1920, or any of the contributions from the English 
National Council and other foreign movements. That the Indian 
National Council had received revenue from these movements, 
however, is acknowledged in the Convention Report for 1920. 

" Prior to the outbreak of the War, the National Council 
secured its funds from local Associations, grants from a few 
bodies in India in recognition of services rendered, grants 
from foreign Councils and Committees, and private sub- 
scriptions secured by personal solicitation." (p. 23.) 



709 


844 






1,111 


518 






878 


413 






1,162 


3,470 






1,579 


11,479 






1,783 


8,268 






3,720 


12,726 






3,163 


9,519 






390 


824,955 






522 


1,574,284 






50 


85,125 


833,722 


.... 


96,100 


87,120 


21,168 


41,254 


113,070 


15,003 


39,738 


105,000 


12,709 


28,926 


95,000 



Inter- 






ITI_ J. rt l 


national 
Com- 


Other 
Sources 


Total 
Receipts 


j.otai 
Expendi 


mittee 






' 




204 


1,757 


1,747 




1,057 


2,686 


2,517 




1,685 


2,976 


2,931 




6,998 


11,630 


11,259 




4,252 


17,310 


15,313 




12,584 


22,635 


21,544 




31,703 


48,149 


45,763 




50,799 


63,481 


61,961 




715 


826,060 


379,727 




33,057 


1,607,863 


1,345,374 


533,722 


16,715 


935,612 


837,816 


87,120 


65,367 


248,587 


383,983 


113,070 


48,703 


224,195 


208,091 


105,000 


84,821 


244,562 


242,015 


95,000 


85,168 


221,810 


223,507 



79 

"Steady and most generous support came (during the war 
period) from foreign Association Movements, especially the 
English National Council and the International Committee 
of North America. On March 1st, 1916, the English National 
Council began giving a grant of a thousand pounds per men- 
sem, later increased to two thousand pounds, besides which 
it carried a large amount of expenditure for Indian troops 
in France, and sent various special gifts to India from time 
to time. The International Committee contributed $ 2,000 
a month, from January 1916 for two years, then increas- 
ing the amount to % 6,000. It also gave a special grant of 
$ 250,000 in July, 1919, toward the expenses of work among 
Indian troops." (p. 24.) 

Perhaps the most striking thing in the above table is the 
total derangement during the war of the trend in the contribu- 
tions received in India. This international catastrophe upset 
the Association's finances completely. The movement was called 
upon to handle an extensive emergency programme, at a time 
when it was undergoing its greatest development in the regular 
work. Because of the need for united and quick action, during 
these years, the financial affairs and general control of the entire 
movement, both local and national, were put into the hands 
of the National Council. Instead of conducting individual 
financial campaigns, therefore, as had been the practice before, 
the local Associations joined the national organization, and all 
together went before the public for funds. The situation is 
described in the Convention Eeport for 1920 as follows : 

" On the outbreak of the War, it was decided to make a 
special appeal for the Army Work, separate from the civilian 
funds, and during 1914 and 1915 this was carried out. Cer- 
tain grave difficulties arose, however, with this plan. It 
separated the emergency from the regular work so decidedly, 
and so much effort for army funds had to be spent by those 
responsible also for the administration of the Civilian Work, 
that it seemed essential to find some more satisfactory 
method. This was made all the more necessary by the need 
of local Associations to keep their own regular activities 
going, and a wide canvas for Army Work funds soon showed 
that very serious results might come thus to the various local 
Associations. After much consideration, therefore, the 
principle of the Joint Financial Campaign was adopted, by 
which the local Associations and the National Council pooled 
the amounts they needed for their respective budgets, under 



80 

all heads, and approached the public jointly for the entire 
sum." (p. 23.) 

By 1924, these special war-time arrangements had been 
given up ; it will be seen that the local Associations were able to 
make substantially larger contributions to the National Council 
after the war, albeit on a steadily diminishing scale than had 
been the case before that time. 

The contributions from individuals increased in the main, 
it will be noted, until the war period. In 1916, a striking increase 
took place, which was nearly doubled two years later. The eight 
lakhs of rupees, in 1916, and the nearly sixteen lakhs, in 1918, 
bear eloquent testimony to the public confidence of India in the 
Association's war service programme. The steady decrease in 
contributions, since 1922, on the other hand, is disturbing. 

Information is available on the number of Indian and Euro- 
pean contributors to the National Council, and of the specific 
amounts given by them, for the years 1927, 1928 and 1929. Prior 
to 1927 the detail is not recorded. The period covered is how- 
ever of special interest because there occurred, in 1927, an attack 
on the Y.M.C.A. by another organization, known as the Euro- 
pean Association, and an unfavourable effect on public contribu- 
tions was expected to result from this action. The facts are 
presented in the following table. Attention is called to the cir- 
cumstance that the donors here studied contributed to the 
National Council only ; the facts for the local Associations are 
given elsewhere. 

Contributions to the National Council Analysed by Race and 

Size .of Gifts. 

1927 1928 1929 

Us.*, Indians Europeans Indians Europeans Indians Europeans 

1 10 

11 20 

21 30 

31 40 

41 50 

51 100 
101 250 
251 500 
5011,000 
Over 1,000 

Total 

The total amounts received within each gift bracket are given 
in the next table. 



304 


496 


204 


517 


161 


565 


53 


188 


21 


149 


33 


153 


28 


116 


26 


66 


25 


101 


6 


8 


1 


10 


1 


10 


23 


37 


12 


31 


17 


27 


16 


24 


7 


13 


13 


15 


7 


9 


4 


5 


5 


8 


5 


2 


1 


1 


* 


1 





1 





. 





4 





1 





1 


* 


1 


.. 442 


882 


276 


793 


255 


835 


33.4% 


66.6% 


26.0% 


74.0% 


22.4% 


77.6% 



1,520 


2,480 


1,020 


2,585 


805 


2,825 


795 


2,820 


315 


2,235 


495 


. 2,295 


700 


2,900 


650 


1,650 


625 


2,525 


210 


280 


35 


350 


35 


350 


1,035 


1,665 


540 


1,395 


765 


1,215 


1,440 


2,130 


665 


1,105 


1,195 


1,335 


1,265 


1,715 


770 


955 


1,015 


1,470 


2,430 


795 


500 


295 





440 


* 


1,000 


* 


.... 





3,494 


# 


1,329 


m * 


1,326 





1,338 


9,395 


17,114 


4,495 


11,896 


4,935 


17,287 


36.5% 


64.5% 


27.4% 


79 fi/ 
'^ D /o 


22.2%. 


77.8% 



81 

Gifts received by the National Council Analysed by Size 

and Race of the Donors. 

1927 1928 1929 

Es. Indians Europeans Indians Europeans Indians Europeans 

1 10 

" 11 20 

21 30 

31 40 

41 50 

51 100 

101 250 

251 500 

5011,000 

Over 1..000 

Total 

It will be seen that, in 1928, there was a decided falling off 
both in the number of donors and in the amounts received, among 
Indians and Europeans alike, but more especially among the 
former. In 1929, there was a complete rally as far as the Euro- 
pean donors are concerned, but an additional decrease among 
the Indian donors. It will be noted further that the bulk of con- 
tributors, Indian and European alike, make only small annual 
gifts of Es. 10 or less. In 1929, as many as two-thirds of the 
total number were subscribers in this class. What the process 
of money raising means to the National Council, particularly 
since the donors are scattered over wide areas of territory, is sug- 
gested by this fact. It will be of interest to discover what parts 
of the country have been particularly affected by the changes. 
This may be gathered from the following table : 

Contributors to the National Council Analysed 
by Residence. 

Total Indian. Total European. 

1927 1928 1929 1927 1928 1929 

Assam .. .. .. 7 10 5 207 164 189 

Bengal .. . . ..12 6 6 115 243 295 

Bihar and Orissa . . 47 55 43 155 162 102 

Bombay Presidency ..24 10 5 21 12 39 

Central India and Rajputana 2 4 1 1 

Central Provinces . . 36 . . 42 7 . . 46 

Madras Presidency . . 157 120 79 92 84 68 

Punjab .. .. .. 89 60 46 84 86 63 

Travancore and Cochin* . . 6 . . . . 55 



380 261 230 737 751 803 

United Provinces . . . . 48 15 14 115 42 53 

.Miscellaneous .. .. 14 .. 11 30 .. 29 



Grand Total 442 276 255 882 793 885 

incomplete. " 

6 



82 

It will be seen that, with the exception of the considerable 
numbers in the Central Provinces and Central India, no net in- 
crease is recorded among the Indian contributors anywhere. 
Among the European donors, there were slight increases in the 
Bombay Presidency and the Central Provinces and a very sub- 
stantial increase in Bengal. In view of the fact that the attack 
from the European Association took place in Calcutta (Bengal), 
it would seem evident that the effects of this hostility were not 
very far-reaching. Other considerations probably had far more 
to do with the changes recorded. One of the most important 
factors was undoubtedly the degree of effort in soliciting made 
by the Y.M.C.A. For instance, a special attempt was made, 
in 1928, to cultivate the region of the "Dooars " in Bengal, an 
area formerly not visited by revenue secretaries. In the Madras 
Presidency, on the other hand, the North American secretary 
was on furlough, during this period, and the area was accordingly 
not cultivated as thoroughly as usual. There are, however, three 
very significant facts that emerge from the above figures. In 
the first place, while there were, in 1927, twice as many European 
as Indian contributors to the National Council, the ratio in 1929 
was 3.5 to 1, in favour of the Europeans. Then, a very definite 
relationship is indicated between the number of contributions 
received and the effort put forth to get them. Finally, it has 
been demonstrated that the Association's revenue secretaries 
can go into a new area and cultivate it with good results, even 
when the movement is under public criticism. 

At the close of the war, the Indian National Council was 
faced with the problem of demobilising its army work and re- 
adjusting itself to normal times. The great increase in buildings 
and equipment which the Associations had experienced between 
1911 and 1920, together with the brilliant success of the war 
service programme, made the leaders of the 1920 Convention look 
forward to the future with optimism and large plans. The national 
general secretary was able to secure a special gift of over eight 
laMs of rupees, in 1920, with which the National Council paid 
off its war deficits and established a working capital of two lakhs 
for its regular work. 

The period of 1920 to 1924 represents the most trying time 
in the history of the Y.M.C.A. in India. Despite the optimism 
of 1920, the movement encountered difficulties too complex for 
it to master. These are set forth, to some extent, in the Conven- 
tion Eeport of 1923 : 



83 

" The Convention (of 1920) saw an Association Movement 
at the crest of a great wave of a universally appreciated enter- 
prise of service, with a far-flung network of activities, and 
saw also a wide public who were joyously participating in 
those activities and looking to our Movement for large and 
varied services, which they were willing to support financially. 

The work of the Calcutta Convention (1920) reflects an 

attitude in the minds of the leaders which bears little corres- 
pondence to the actual history of the three years which followed 
it. The causes are not far to seek. Like the rest of the world, 
India had to experience an unprecedented depression of 
business, which had a much greater and much more sudden 
effect than was anticipated on the Association's revenue, 
and consequently on its staff. But more, the course of 
public events in India took on revolutionary aspects, and 
their various currents necessarily brought a Movement like 
ours, which deals with the young manhood of the nation, 
opportunities as well as trials which could not have been 
anticipated, and for which it was not adequately prepared. 
The general course of the triennium may, therefore, be de- 
scribed as a struggle on the one hand at continual adjustment 
to rapidly decreasing resources, and at the same time at a 
determined endeavour to render the best and the most timely 
service demanded for the vital interests of the Kingdom in 
India." (National Convention Report, 1923, p. 5.) 

As already indicated in the preceding chapter, the Secretaries' 
Conference of 1922 was the first group " to face seriously the 
problem of National Council revenue and to accept responsibi- 
lity for it." This Conference authorized the revenue secretary 
to appoint an advisory committee of five secretaries (the pre- 
cursor of the well-known revenue commission), which should study 
the problem of revenue from the point of view of both the local 
Associations and the National Council, should guide the revenue 
department in forming its policy, and should seek to justify the 
Council's budget to the local Associations. The National Council 
officially recognized this committee and charged it with making 
recommendations to the executive committee of the Council and 
to the Secretaries' Conference. 

The advisory committee worked out a policy entitled " A 
Ratio Plan of Revenue " and also submitted a second memo- 
randum on the question of subsidies to local Associations. As 
the discussion on these two documents progressed, the necessity 
was felt of one body to consider the whole problem of revenue 



84: 

In all its aspects, including the policy of grants-in-aid to local 
Associations, subsidies in foreign personnel, the size of the Coun- 
cil's annual budget, methods of raising money, and similar mat- 
ters. Accordingly, a revenue commission was appointed to 
consist, as finally constituted in 1924, of sixteen members all but 
one of whom were professional secretaries. 

The revenue commission decided at its first meeting on very 
drastic cuts in the budget of the National Council, on the accep- 
tance of the ratio plan in general outline, and on a list of local 
Associations to receive subsidies for their current budgets. The 
executive committee accepted these recommendations practi- 
cally in their entirety. At subsequent meetings, the revenue com- 
mission worked out the ratio plan in detail. The scheme called 
for a classification of the local Associations in order to effect an 
equitable distribution of the financial burden. Associations in 
the first class were asked to give to the National Council four 
annas of each rupee received from the public. Associations in 
the second class were asked to give two annas of each rupee so 
contributed. A third class of Associations was designated as 
" self-supporting " and was required to make no contribution to 
the National Council, but at the same time was to receive no sub- 
sidy from this body. The Associations in the fourth and last group 
were those in need of grants-in-aid from the National Council. 

The minutes of the revenue commission record the complete 
failure of this ratio plan because of the inability of the Associations 
in the first two classes to meet their own expenses with the balance 
of their contribution income, after making their payment to the 
National Council. The commission was forced to reduce and re- 
adjust the assessments every year. The following table indicates 
the proportion of its contribution income assigned each year to 
the Associations studied by this survey, for the period 1923-1927. 
After 1927 the scheme had broken down completely and no as- 
signments were made. It should be noted that the classification 
of the local Associations adopted by the revenue commission are 
not those agreed upon for the purposes of the survey : 

Number of Annas of each Rupee of Contribution Income 
Assessed from the Local Associations. 

1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 

Bombay 4 4 3 33 

Calcutta ..4 4 3 3 2i 

Madras ..4 2 22 2 

Bangoon '.. .. 2 2 . 2 2 . .\ 



85 



Lahore 

Colombo 

Coiinbatore 

Bangalore 

Hyderabad 

Madura 

Trivandrum 



may be noted in the following table :- 



1923 


1924 


1925 


1926 


2 


1 


1 


1 


. % 


4 


3 


3 


. . 


2 


2 


2 


* 


2 


1 


1 


9 9 


1 


1 


1 


9 * 


1 


1 


1 


. . 




6* 


1 


1 in 


annuall 


Y by 


these 



1927 

1 

2 
1 
1 
1 
1 

Associations 



1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Bombay 6,397 5,913 3,865 2,970 2,227 2,272 

Calcutta 7,000 8,831 5,380 5,189 4,026 4,407 

Madras 2,763 1,483 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,250 

Rangoon 2,000 2,375 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 

Lahore 700 500 500 500 700 500 

Colombo 500 2,600 2,000 2,000 2,000 

Coimbatore 25 50 

Bangalore 100 225 .. 210 

Hyderabad .. 450 365 292 350 

Madura 50 65 .. 100 120 

Trivandrum 200 80 50 50 

Since 1927, the local Associations have been paying simply 
what they could without any regular allotment. Similarly, the 
grants-in-aid have come to be assigned by special arrangement 
of each case rather than according to a ratio plan. By the early 
part of 1928, the whole question of contributions from some local 
Associations and grants-in-aid to others had become so involved, 
and the whole situation so unsatisfactory, that proposals were 
made for an intensive restudy of the whole problem. This prob- 
lem may be regarded as the most acute with which the National 
Council is faced to-day. In the following table are set forth some 
interesting facts bearing on the matter : 

Financial Relationships of the National Council and 
the Local Associations. 



Local Associations 
Total Membership 

Cost of Buildings, etc. 
National Council 
Total Expenditures 
Receipts from local Associations 



1910 


1925 


Decrease 


Increase 


12,100 
Rs. 
11,22,382 


10,759 
Rs. 
35,82,161 


Per cent. 
11.1 


Per cent. 

% * * 

319.0 


21,544 
1,783 


2,28,091 
16,247 





1,068.7 
911.2 



86 

The strain of contributing to the National Council experi- 
enced by the local Associations is indicated to some extent by the 
fact that, while their contributions to the National Council in- 
creased nearly three times as much as did the cost of the build- 
ings and equipment they acquired during this period, their total 
membership actually decreased by quite a substantial amount, 
at the same time. The increase in the receipts from local Asso- 
ciations comes within 100 per cent of equalling the increase of 
the total expenditures of the National Council. 

2. Avenues of Expenditure. 

As the supervisory agent of all the Y.M.C.A.'s of India, 
Burma and Ceylon, the National Council has not only had the 
responsibility of making grants-in-aid to such Associations as 
could not finance themselves without assistance, but has also 
conducted projects of general interest to the movement and 
carried on certain programmes of its own. While the income of the 
National Council is not specifically earmarked for given purposes, 
it is usually understood that the funds received are to be used 
more or less definitely for those undertakings that most interest 
the donors. In the following table the expenses of the National 
Council are classified according to the funds from which they 
are expected to be met : 

Class " A " ; to be met from the contributions of foreign 
Associations : 

General Administration. 
Salaries of the National Staff. 
Eural Department. 
Lecture Department. 

Class " B " ; to be met from investments of the National 
Council : 

Literature Department. 

Department for Eeligious Work. 

Training Department. 

Building Department. 

Class " C " ; to be met from local subsidies and contribu- 
tions : 

Grants-in-Aid to Local Associations. 

Army Work. 

Student Work. 
Class " D " ; wholly self-supporting : 

Industrial Work. 

Association Press. 



87 



Lecture 


Total "A" 


Income 


2,293 


1,37,651 


87,130 


3,332 


1,10,169 


86,986 


9,167 


1,08,341 


1,13,070 


8,346 


1,18,754 


1,22,914 


7,000 


1,19,390 


1,14,987 





1,12,467 


1,13,283 


4,291 


92,491 


1,00,000 


8,302 


90,571 


96,769 



In the following tables, the actual amounts needed for the several 
departments, together with the amounts received for their main- 
tenance, are given for the years 1922-1929, which represent the 
period of post-war readjustment. 

Class "A " : Expenditures and Income from Foreign Associations. 

(in rupees.) 

Genera] Salaries Rural 

1922 36,189 61,074 38,095 

1923 33,304 43,437 30,096 

1924 26,520 42,606 30,048 

1925 32,226 46,943 31,239 

1926 35,638 46,254 30,498 

1927 30,017 50,149 32,301 

1928 20,991 37,412 29,797 

1929 26,187 26,883 29,199 

It will be seen that the most substantial reductions were made 
with respect to salaries and general administration. The ex- 
penses of the rural department were cut in 1923, but since that 
time have varied only slightly. The amounts spent by the lec- 
ture department have been most irregular, from year to year. 

Class " B " : Expenditures and Income from 
National Council Investments. 
(in rupees.) 



1922 
1923 
1924 
1925 
1926 
1927 
1928 
1929 



ture 


Work 


j-irtmiii 


3,587 


8,311 


8,453 


732 


7,790 


1,102 


4,399 


4,814 


789 


7,939 


5,650 


3,131 


6,785 


4,800 


6,167 


6,149 


5,773 


4,287 


3,311 


6,583 


2,601 


616 


1,870 


1,124 



1,066 



7,733 



1,369 
1,394 



21,417 


22,771 


9,624 


11,193 


10,002 





24,453 


9,658 


17,752 


13,630 


16,209 


11,482 


13,864 


10,073 


5,004 


10,046 



The departments in this class require only small annual expendi- 
tures and might be grouped together as part of the general office 
and miscellaneous expense of the National Council, rather than 
as separate projects. The (Indian) staff reductions made neces- 
sary by financial difficulties, after 1922, took place largely with- 
in these departments. The work of the literature department 
is carried on by a foreign secretary ; the religious work has been 
entrusted as an additional responsibility to the revenue secre- 
tary, likewise a foreigner ; the training department is now under 
the direction of the Madras Physical Training School, in the 
hands of two physical directors from abroad ; and the building 
department has been closed since 1929. 



88 



At the risk of burdensome repetition, attention is called to 
the fact that the funds obtained by the National Council are in 
no way designated by the donors for the purposes here indicated. 
The classification was made on the basis of the prevailing under- 
standing of how the several funds are used. Thus it is generally 
supposed that the money received from "unoccupied" areas 
(i.e., where there are no local Associations) is given largely to the 
army work, and that the receipts from the stronger Associations 
are used for the grants-in-aid required by the others. In the 
case of the Government grants, an exception to the general rule 
is encountered, for these funds are definitely specified for use in 
student work, and particularly for the Indian student hostel in 
England. The figures for the Class " C " expenditures are given 
in the following table, together with the appropriate sources of 
income. The expenses of the revenue department are added to 
those of the army work, 

Class " C " : Expenditure and Income from Local Sources. 

(in rupees.) 



1922 
1923 
1924 
1925 
1926 
1927 
1928 
1929 

It will be seen that, after substantial decrease between 1922 and 
1925, the expenditures for army work have been on the increase 
again, during the last four years. The grants to local Associa- 
tions, on the other hand, increased up to 1925 and then steadily 
declined. The decreased expenditures for student work during 
1922-1925 were practically reversed during 1926-1929. 

The industrial projects are taken care of by grants made 
by the companies whose workers are being served. The Associa- 
tion Press is self-supporting. 

By way of brief summary of the foregoing material, it may 
be said that in a general way the contributions received from 
Associations abroad, the bulk of which come from the Inter- 
national Committee, are used to pay the expenses of the general 
administration of the National Council, of the rural work, and 
of the annual deficit on the lecture department. On the other 



Army 


Un- 


Local Associations. S2*,^,* 


Govern- 


Work, 
etc. 


occupied 
Areas. 


Grants to 


Amounts 
from 


fcJUUUXsUV 

Work. 


ment 
Grants. 


91,897 


90,605 


12,092 


* * 


18,746 


5,500 


26,785 


30,827 


20,600 


20,684 


17,118 


2,000 


12,550 


42,221 


20,557 


21,168 


14,001 


5,500 


18,331 


41,254 


25,557 


16,247 


13,294 


12,500 


29,710 


43,072 


21,053 


15,003 


13,409 


12,500 


28,691 


33,392 


19,262 


13,096 


15,500 


15,500 


25,798 


28,926 


17,778 


12,709 


16,250 


16,832 


35,807 


32,219 


16,805 


13,217 


18,258 


16,933 



89 



hand, funds are secured in India to cover the cost of the army 
work, the student work, and the subsidies to local Associations. 
The other items of expenditure are not very considerable. 

.The above figures do not, of course, include the additional 
subsidies made by foreign Associations to India in the form of 
personnel. Exact equivalents in rupees for such assistance cannot 
be computed, but it is estimated that the sum of Es. 12,700 per 
annum approximately represents the cost to the foreign Associa- 
tions of maintaining the average secretary in India. On 
this basis, the foreign staff of the National Council, during the 
period under consideration, is expressed in terms of rupees, in 
the f ollowing table : 

Foreign 8taff of the National Council Expressed. 



(in rupees.) 



Type of Secretary 
General 
Regional . . 
Army 

Building . . 
Lecture . . 
Literature* 
Physical Work 
Association Press 
Eeligious Work 
Eevenue . . 
Training . . 

Total 



General . . 
Eegional . . 
Building . . 
Literature* 
Physical Work 
Association Press 
Eeligious Work 
Eevenue . . 
Training . . 



Total .. 1,65,100 1,27,000 1,14,300 1,27,000 
*Provides his own support. 



1922 


1923 


1924 


1925 


25,400 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


6,350 


31,750 


31,750 


31,750 


12,700 


* 








25,400 


25,400 


25,400 


25,400 


12,700 


12,700 





% 


12,700 


12,700 


* * 


* 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


19,050 


19,050 


19,050 


19,050 


25,400 


12,700 


38,100 


25,400 


* 





f * . 


12,700 


1,65,100 


1,52,400 


1,52,400 


1,52,400 


1926 


1927 


1928 


1929 


25,400 


19,050 


19,050 


25,400 


31,750 


25,400 


25,400 


25,400 


25,400 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 





12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


19,050 


12,700 


12,700 


6,350 


12,700 


6,350 


6,350 


6,350 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 


12,700 



90 



One of the secretaries in the above list designated as a regional 
secretary is giving his time to the rural area and might possibly 
be called a rural secretary. 

In concluding this section of the chapter, the following table 
is presented in which are indicated the channels into which the 
National Council directed its resources, in 1929 : 

National Council Disbursement of Resources (1929). 



General Administration* 
Rural Work 
Lecture Department 
Literature Departmentf 
Religious Work 
Training and Physical Work 
Building Department 
Army Work 
Local Associations 
Student Work 
Association Press 

Total 



Cash 


Personnel 


Total 


Rs. 


Per 

cent. 


Rs. 


Per 
cent. 


Rs. 


Per 

cent. 


57,070 


34.3 


57,150 


19.5 


1,14,220 


24.9 


29,199 


17.5 


* 


* 


29,199 


6.3 


8,302 


5.0 





. . 


8,302 


1.8 


616 


0.4 


12,700 


4.4 


13,316 


2.9 


1,870 


1.1 


6,350 


2.1 


8,220 


1.8 


1,124 


0.7 


25,400 


8.7 


26,524 


5.8 


1,394 


0.8 


12,700 


4.4 


14,094 


3.1 


31,807 


19.1 


. . 





31,807 


6.9 


16,805 


10.1 


1,65,100 


56.5 


1,81,905 


39.7 


18,258 


11.0 


. . 




18,258 


4.0 





* 


12,700 


4.4 


12,700 


2.8 



1,66,445 100.0 2,92,100 100.0 4,58,545 100.0 
36.3% 63.7% 100.0% 



* Includes regional administration and income production. 
t The Secretary provided his own support. 

It will be seen that the National Council used about a 
quarter of its total resources for its administrative expenses, and 
another two-fifths were assigned to the local Associations. As 
pointed out in part one of this report, however, the relatively 
small cash subsidies are made to the smaller Associations, while 
the bulk of the personnel subsidy (all but Es. 25,400 in the above 
table) goes to the six strongest Associations. 

B. THE LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

The discussion of the financial situation in the local Associa- 
tions will be confined to the five-year period, 1924-1928, which 
represents fairly normal conditions after the reorganization in- 
troduced by the revenue commission. The study will further- 
more be concerned only with those local Associations selected by 
the survey for special investigation, and will make use of the same 
classification followed in part one of this report. By way of re- 
capitulation, it will be in order to reproduce this classification 
at this point. 



91 

First Group Associations . . Calcutta, Bombay and Eangoon. 
Second Group Associations . . Colombo, Lahore and Madras. 
Mofussil Town Associations . . Hyderabad, Bangalore, Tri- 

vandrum, Coimbatore and 

Madura. 

The Associations in the first two groups are the six leading cen- 
tres in the T.M.C.A. movement of India, Burma and Ceylon ; 
it is felt that the five selected among the smaller units are fairly 
typical, as far as general problems are concerned, of this class 
of Association as a whole. 

1. Sources of Income. 

There are three main sources of income common to all three 
groups of Associations here studied, namely : public contributions, 
membership dues, and earnings in the shape of rentals and fees 
for the services offered. The following table will serve to indi- 
cate the trend in regard to contributions : 

Contributions Received. 
(in rupees.) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

First Group .. 87,809 67,101 62,932 51,798 49,068 
Second Group .. 25,768 25,543 30,179 27,566 31,757 
Mofussil Assns. .. 8,927 7,725 11,346 9,106 9,347 

It will be seen that there has been a steady decline in contribu- 
tions for the three leading Associations, during this period, a 
smaller increase for the Associations in the second group, and 
some fluctuation for the Mofussil centres resulting in roughly 
the same amounts in 1927 and 1928 as were received in 1924. 
For further detail within each group of Associations, reference 
is made to the appropriate chapters in part one. 

The contributions received from the public come from private 
individuals and also from business corporations. In the follow- 
ing table, the number of donors in each class is given for every 
year, in the period studied, and for each group of Associations : 

Donors to the Local Associations. 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 
First Group 

Indians .. 296 191 223 245 229 

Europeans .. 311 225 265 215 239 
Corporations . . 330 229 247 231 239 



Second Group 

Indians 
Europeans 
Corporations . . 

Mofussil Associations*- 

Indians 
Europeans 
Corporations . . 



1924 

88 

120 

90 



153 

63 

4 



92 



1925 1926 1927 



226 
189 
115 



335 
43 
11 



283 
177 
127 



357 

58 

6 



325 
171 
130 



371 

56 

5 



1928 

291 
150 
119 



371 

53 

6 



* Includes figures for the Kottayam Association in addition to the five 
here regularly studied. 

In general, the corporations may be taken as being European, 
especially in the leading cities. It will be seen that the greatest 
decline, in the first group, took place among the European 
donors and especially among the business corporations. Not- 
able increases, on the other hand, are recorded for the Indian 
donors to the other two groups of Associations. A further analy- 
sis of the donors, according to the size of their gifts, will be of 
interest at this point. 

The situation will be presented first for the Associations in 
Calcutta, Bombay and Rangoon. 

Individual Donors to the Associations of the First Group 
Analysed by Race and 8ize of Gifts. 



Rupees 



1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 
Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. 



1 10 


99 


131 


31 


59 


57 


69 


76 


66 


61 


61 


11 20 


30 


35 


14 


28 


22 


28 


41 


36 


34 


35 


21 30 


52 


56 


25. 


50 


36 


70 


43 


60 


46 


56 


31 40 


I 


1 


1 


1 


3 


3 


6 


2 


4 


4 


41 50 


54 


43 


50 


48 


53 


55 


46 


28- 


43 


41 


51100 


48 


29 


52 


29 


42 


26 


28 


14 


32 


29 


101250 


10 


12 


15 


6 


7 


9 


3 


7 


7 


11 


Over 250 


2 


4 


3 


4 


3 


5 


2 


2 


2 


2 



Total .. 296 311 191 225 223 265 245 215 229 239 



It will be seen that the greatest decreases took place among those 
contributing ten rupees and less, and especially so among the 
Europeans, and again among those whose gifts ranged from forty 
to one hundred rupees, in both groups. The figures for the cor- 
poration donors follow: . ; 



93 

Corporation contributing to the Association* of the First Group 
Analysed by Size of Gifts. 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 
Es. 

125 .. 69 36 51 45 64 

26 50 ..94 44 50 56 52 

51100 .. 65 51 54 54 55 

101250 .. 62 58 57 45 40 

251500 .. 19 21 19 19 19 

5011,000 ..15 13 12 9 7 

Over 1,000 .. 6 6 4 3 2 



Total .. 330 229 247 231 239 



It will be seen that the corporations represent the large donors 
to these Associations and that significant decreases have been 
taking place especially in the highest bracket. The total de- 
crease noted in the contribution income of these centres, for the 
period under consideration, is to be attributed therefore largely 
to the decrease in gifts from this source. 

Turning to the Associations in Colombo, Madras and Lahore, 
the facts are again first presented for the individual donors. 

Individual Donors to the Associations of the Second Group 
Analysed by Race and Size of Gifts. 

Rupees 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. 

1 10 

11 20 

21 30 

31 40 

41 50 

51100 
101250 
Over 250 

Total ..,88 120 226 189 283 177 325 171 291 150 



Very remarkable, in the above table, are the substantial increases 
in the higher brackets and especially among the Indian donors. 
The figures for the corporation donors follow. 



25 


24 


68 


56 


68 


54 


97 


45 


88 


34 


10 


22 


33 


22 


57 


21 


57 


27 


35 


26 


28 


28 


53 


47 


72 


39 


83 


35 


64 


29 


. 


1 


2 


2 


3 


2 


8 


3 


6 


4 


5 


19 


38 


27 


26 


25 


28 


15 


37 


14 


13 


15 


24 


24 


41 


22 


43 


33 


36 


32 


4 


9 


7 


9 


13 


12 


8 


8 


20 


. 8 


3 


2 


1 


2 


3 


2 


1 


5 


5 


3 



94 

Corporations contributing to the Second Group Associations 
Analysed by Size of Gifts. 

Es. 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

125 . . 31 36 43 42 41 

26 50 39 51 53 57 42 

51100 . . 15 19 19 21 23 

101250 ..5 4 6 8 9 

251500 .... 5 62 4 



Total . . 90 115 127 130 119 



It will be seen that, while the corporations of these cities have 
not contributed such large amounts to the Associations as did 
the firms of Calcutta, Bombay and Eangoon, no gift being record- 
ed higher than Es. 500, they have nevertheless increased in 
number, during the period studied, and notably in the higher 
brackets. The total increase in contribution income noted above 
for these Associations is derived largely, it would appear, from 
corporations and Indian private individuals. 

Finally, the facts are here presented for the donors to the 
Mofussil Associations. 

Individual Donors to the Mofussil Associations Analysed by 

Race and Size of Gifts.* 

Rupees 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. Ind. Eur. 



1 10 


73 


17 


206 


4 


228 


13 


225 


14 


216 


10 


11 20 


36 


21 


64 


21 


75 


22 


89 


27 


88 


15 


21 30 


26 


9 


30 


6 


26 


10 


31 


7 


34 


8 


31 40 


2 


1 


5 


3 


3 


2 


3 


. , 


3 


2 


41 50 


5 


11 


12 


4 


9 


8 


14 


5 


11 


8 


51100 


6 


4 


12 


4 


8 


2 


6 


3 


11 


7 


101250 


3 





4 


1 


7 


1 


2 





6 


2 


Over 250 


3 





2 





1 





1 


* 


2 


1 



Total .. 153 63 335 43 357 58 371 56 371 53 

* Includes figures for the Kottayam Association in addition to the five here 
regularly studied. 

These Associations are clearly supported primarily by Indian 
donors ; increases are to be noted for these contributors in all 
brackets. Gifts from corporations are received in very small 
numbers, by these centres, and with one exception all such gifts 
were of Es. 100 or less, during the period studied. 



95 

So much for the contribution income. The trend in regard 
to membership dues may be studied on the following table : 

Membership Dues. 
(in rupees.) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

First Group .. 31,705 32,256 30,608 28,195 27,639 

Second Group .. 10,933 13,957 20,625 24,309 20,742 
Mofussil Associations 4,581 4,586 4,336 5,088 5,251 

It will be seen that, while the revenue from this source steadily de- 
clined in the leading Associations, the reverse was true among the 
other centres and especially among the Associations of the second 
group. Further detail on this head will be readily obtained in 
the appropriate chapters of part one. 

By far the largest single source of revenue for all local Asso- 
ciations is the earnings from fees and rentals, in connection with 
the regular services. The trends may be studied below : 

Earnings. 
(in rupees.) 

1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 

First Group .. 3,62,420 3,43,863 3,54,109 3,55,409 4,01,268 
Second Group . 91,371 1,35,252 1,69,630 1,73,810 1,96,069 
Mofussil Assns. 27,564 34,848 75,522 1,01,749 1,49,379 

These earnings represent receipts from hostels, restaurants, 
educational classes, socials and similar features. Among the 
Mofussil Associations, Bangalore and Hyderabad both include 
the revenue from their army canteens under this head. While 
there is some variation as between individual Associations, as 
may be noted in part one, there have been on the whole substan- 
tial increases in this category, in all groups. It is of special in- 
terest to observe that, while the income from membership dues 
has been declining in the leading Associations, during the period 
studied, the reverse is true of the income from earnings. This 
seems to indicate that the Associations in question are developing 
as "service agencies " more than they are as " fellowships ". 

Additional sources of income for some of these Associations 
are Government grants, endowments, and subsidies from the 
National Council. Government grants have been made regular- 
ly to the Associations in Calcutta, Bombay, Eangoon and Lahore 
(the latter on a diminishing scale), during the period studied, 



96 



and somewhat irregularly to the Associations in Hydera- 
bad, Madura and Trivandrum. Calcutta and Lahore are the 
only Associations with endowments, that of the latter being con- 
siderably smaller. Subsidies from the National Council are made 
only to the Mofussil Associations. 

In concluding this section, the sources of revenue above 
discussed will be presented in relation one to another, in the follow- 
ing table, in percentage form. The figures are for the year 1928 
and are presented separately for each group of Associations. In- 
asmuch as the Hyderabad Association derives an unusually large 
income from earnings, for this class of Association, the Mofussil 
group will be presented in two forms, with and without the 
Hyderabad centre, for purposes of comparison. 

Sources of Income of the Local Associations (1928). 



Contributions 

Members' 

Earnings 

Governm 

Endowment 





Leading 
Associa- 
tions 


Second 
Group 


Mofussil 
Group 


Mofussil 
without 
Hydera- 
bad 




Per cent. 


Per cent. 


Per cent. 


Per cent. 


>ns 


9.0 


12.1 


5.3 


9.9 


p Dues . 


. 5.1 


7.9 


3.0 


9.0 


* 


. 74.1 


74.8 


84.5 


59.9 


it Grants 


. 3.9 


2.3 


2.5 


4.5 


it 


7.9 


2.9 


* 





ouncil . 
Total . 








4.7 


16.7 


. 100.0 


100.0 


100.0 


100.0 



2. Avenues of Expenditure. 

Owing to the fact that the local Associations do not keep 
uniform records, the data secured from them on expenditures 
are confused and on the whole not very satisfactory. Some Asso- 
ciations reporting no outlay under the heads of " Compensation " 
and " Commodities " clearly misunderstood the terms, and others 
were confused between "Commodities" and "Miscellaneous Ser- 
vices." The tables are therefore not very reliable and are not 
reproduced in this report. They may be consulted, however, 
in the files of the International Survey. 

The bulk of expenses for all Associations, as was to have 
been anticipated, comes under the head of general maintenance 



97 

and salaries. Only the larger Associations make regular contri- 
butions to the National Council, as will be recalled from the dis- 
cussion of the revenue commission's ratio plan of assessment. 
The Associations in Calcutta, Bombay, Eangoon, Madras, Banga- 
lore and Hyderabad have been paying relatively substantial sums 
in interest on loans, during this period, and the Madura centre 
has done so since 1927. All three of the leading Associations, 
moreover, are carrying accumulated debts on operating expenses, 
and four of the Mofussil Associations are similarly encumbered. 
This indebtedness is covered, in the first instance, by overdrafts 
on the security of their property and investments, and, in the 
second case, chiefly by grants or loans from the National Council. 
In 1928, the indebtedness of these centres was as follows : 

Es. 

Calcutta .. .. .. 35,000 

Bombay . . . . . . 17,871 

Eangoon . . . . . . 15,000 

Hyderabad .. .. .. 20,000 

Bangalore . . . . . . 2,265 

Madura . . . . . . 1,200 

Trivandrum . . . . . . 330 

According to statements secured from the general secretaries 
of these Associations, budgets are regularly prepared in all centres. 
The procedure followed is substantially the same in all cases ; the 
secretary of the branch or department prepares the first draft 
for presentation to the committee ; this body, after scrutiniz- 
ing the document, hands it on to the board of directors for final 
sanction. Nearly all of the Associations here studied have been 
experiencing difficulty in accurately estimating their regular in- 
come and expenditure for the subsequent year. All accounts 
are, apparently, submitted to a thorough-going audit once a year. 
Whenever there is more than one branch in a given city, the ac- 
counts are centralized. The six leading. Associations own their 
buildings, land and equipment, but the National Council holds in 
trust the property of the Mofussil centres. The general secre- 
taries, on the whole, reported a favourable attitude on the part 
of the community towards the Association's business methods. 

F. CONCLUSIONS. 

In the foregoing discussions of the financial situation of the 
Y.M.C.A. movement in India, Burma and Ceylon, the major 
facts have been presented with regard to the sources of income 

7 F 



98 

and avenues of expenditure of the National Council and the 
local Associations. From these facts there emerge certain im- 
portant questions that may be formulated as follows : 

What sources of revenue are open to the Young Men's 
Christian Association in India ? 

What are the conditions necessary for self-support, as 
far as both the National Council and the local Associa- 
tions are concerned H 

What distribution of the contributions from abroad will 
be most advantageous for the movement as a whole ? 

It is not within the scope of this study to answer these questions, 
that being the proper function of the administration of the move- 
ment itself. Valuable opinion on this subject will be found in 
Appendix B of this report, from persons intimately associated 
with the Association's financial problems. This appendix prob- 
ably embodies the best informed judgment available on the 
above questions. 



CHAPTER 8. 
THE INDIAN SECEETARYSHIP. 

A. INTRODUCTION. 

In the present organization of the Young Men's Christian 
Association in India, Burma and Ceylon, the employed secre- 
tary plays a very important part. That this has not always been 
the case will be recalled from earlier chapters of this report. Even 
to-day a large amount of work is being done by volunteer, or 
honorary, secretaries in the smaller centres. In the towns and 
cities, however, and in the work of the national organization, 
the employed secretary occupies the place of major leadership. 
A study of the problems of this group is accordingly in order. 

The purpose of this investigation is to discover such areas 
of friction and maladjustment as may exist in the personnel 
situation, and to appraise the significance of the secretaryship 
to the movement as a whole. A study of this kind must neces- 
sarily be confined to broad issues and fundamental policies. It 
should also be pointed out that personnel studies are likely to 
bring to the surface more criticism and bitterness than the situa- 
tion actually warrants. By this process, however, defects in 
policy and sources of maladjustment may also be indicated. Cer- 
tainly to get at the root cause of personnel difficulties is to dis- 
close some of the factors that determine the success or failure of 
the organization itself. 

In the following table, the trend away from honorary secre- 
taries and towards the use of employed officers may be studied : 

Trends in T.M.C.A. Leadership. 

Honorary Employed Employed Total 
Staff Indian Foreign Employed 
Staff Staff 

1891 .. ..35 2 1 3 

1892 .. ..41 2 1 3 
1894 .. ..69 4 4 8 
1896 .. ..60 7 7 14 
1899 .. ..107 9 15 24 
1901 .. ..116 7 12 19 
1903 .. ..82 4 24 28 



100 

Honorary Employed Employed Total 
Staff Indian Foreign Employed 
Staff Staff 

1905 .. .. 50 4 28 32 

1907 .. ..59 16 35 51 

1910* .. .... .. .. 60 

1920 .. .. 19 153 70 223 

1921 .. ..24 91 72 169 

1922 .. .. 24f 103 52 155 

1923 .. .. 24f 81 47 128 

1924 .. ..32 80 45 125 

1925 . . 35 84 43 127 

1926 .. ..34 80 42 122 

1927 .. ..40 SO 38 118 

1928 .. ..44 69 33 102 

1929 .. .. 48 70 36 106 

* Incomplete record. 
t Estimated. 

It will be seen that the number of honorary secretaries 
consistently increased between 1891 and 1901. The first period of 
Association history in India was clearly one of volunteer leader- 
ship. However, from the year 1891 onwards, the employed staff 
was likewise on the increase. At this time the Association had 
become self-conscious as a national organization and was holding 
national conventions regularly every three years. The opinion 
is warranted that these employed secretaries, who were giving 
their full time to the work, were coming more and more to domi- 
nate the policies of the movement. It will have been noted above 
that, beginning with 1903, the number of honorary secretaries 
declined while the employed secretariat increased enormously. 
By 1920, only 19 honorary secretaries are recorded while the em- 
ployed officers numbered 223. 

The years 1920-1924 were critical ones for the Association 
and took heavy toll of the personnel. The Indian employed staff 
dropped from 153 to 80, during this period, which represents a 
decrease of 52.3 per cent. At the same time there was a drop 
from 70 to 45 on the foreign employed staff, or a decrease of 64.3 
per cent. These were abnormal years of readjustment after the 
war period. Many secretaries had been engaged for temporary 
war service and were released after 1920. By 1925, the situation 
had about returned to normal. At that time there were 35 
honorary and 127 employed secretaries on the staff. Since then, 



101 

there has been a slight increase in the former group, and a con- 
tinued decrease in the latter group. The financial curtailments 
forced upon the movement, at this time, are reflected in this 
situation. The financial difficulties of the Associations abroad 
are likewise seen in the steady withdrawal of foreign personnel. 

While the following analysis of the staff relates to an abnor- 
mal period, it does serve to indicate the way in which economic 
pressure influenced the readjustment of the Association's affairs. 

Racial Composition of the Employed .Staff (1920-1924). 

1920 1924 

Indians .. ..150 79 

Anglo-Indians . . 3 1 

North Americans . . 28 24 

British .. ..40 20 

Swiss . . . . 2 1 

223 125 

It will be seen that, while reductions took place all along the line, 
the most drastic cut occurred among the Indian secretaries, and 
the second largest cut among the British secretaries. 

An interesting development in recent years has been the 
fact that other foreign Associations besides those of England and 
North America have been sending secretaries to India. During 
the period 1926-1928, the movements in Australia, New Zealand, 
Denmark and Sweden each sent a representative to serve the 
Indian Association. The Danish and Swedish secretaries were 
sent to special centres related to the fields served by the mission- 
aries from these countries. 

On January 1st, 1930, there were 107 secretaries on the 
employed staff of the Association, and 43 honorary secretaries. 
Of the former, 36 came from abroad and were supported by foreign 
movements. The remaining 71 secretaries were Indians, Anglo- 
Indians, Ceylonese and a few locally supported Englishmen. 
From many points of view, the Indian employed officers number- 
ing 55 in all are the most significant group on the staff. This 
study is confined to a consideration of their problems only. 

B. THE PRESENT INDIAN STAFF. 

In August, 1920, after prolonged investigation and study, 
the National Council adopted a plan for standardizing the Indian 



102 

secretaryship. These rules have guided the personnel policies 
of the National Council ever since. 

With these regulations in mind, it will be of interest to survey 
the present situation among the Indian secretaries. Information, 
with varying degrees of completeness under the several heads, 
was available for all but five of the present Indian staff. 

/ 

1. General Characteristics and Background. 

The educational attainment of the present staff is given in 
the following table : 

Education of the Indian Staff (1930). 

High School only . . 7 

1 2 years of College . . 11 
3 4 years of College without 

graduating . . . . . . 7 

B.A. Degree . . . . . . 18 

M.A. Degree . . 6 

B.D. Degree . . 1 

50 

Of the eighteen holding B.A. degrees, seven had also done some 
post-graduate studying without taking advanced degrees. It 
will be noted that half of the above group had had less than a 
full college education. In this connection, it will be of interest 
to compare the present staff with former Indian secretaries, in 
ragard to educational attainment. Information is available 
on nineteen men who have left the work since 1924, and is given 
herewith. 

Education of Former Indian Secretaries. 

High School only . . 8 

Some College Education . . 1 

B.A. Degree . . 5 

M.A. Degree . . 2 

B.D. Degree . . . . 1 

Technical Degrees . . 2 

19 

Nearly half the number, it will be seen, had had only a high school 
education. While no generalization is warranted from such small 



103 

figures, the opinion may nevertheless be hazarded that some col- 
lege education tends to enhance a man's chances of succeeding 
in the secretaryship. 

Nearly two-thirds (65.8 per cent) of the present staff have 
had additional formal training in Association methods. Of these, 
28.9 per cent were sent to North America for training either in 
the Association Colleges or in the local Associations ; the remain- 
ing 36.9 per cent have taken courses either at the former secre- 
tarial school at Bangalore or at the present school for physical 
education at Madras. 

Seventeen (the 28.9 per cent above mentioned) of the pre- 
sent Indian employed officers went to North America for train- 
ing, at the time indicated below : 

Period when the Indian Staff Trained in North America. 

Between 1910 and 1920 . . 8 

1920 1923 .. 4 

1923 1926 .. 3 

Since 1926 .. 2 

17 

Of these seventeen, three have since left the Association. Two are 
at present at Dr. Eabindranath Tagore's institution at Santi- 
niketan, Bolpur, one being principal of the college and the other 
principal of the high school. The third is charity commissioner 
in Colombo, Ceylon. Of the fourteen who are still in Associa- 
tion work, three are wardens of Indian student hostels in England 
and Scotland, five are general secretaries in local Associations, 
two are doing welfare work, one is a physical director, one is in 
rural work, one has charge of the Association Press book store, 
and one is in charge of a branch for boys. The record of these 
seventeen men is of practical significance, in. that a considerable 
outlay of money was required for their education, and in that 
they were sent to North America specifically for training. It 
should be said at this point that a number of the other Indian 
secretaries on the present staff have had the advantage of foreign 
experience, either in connection with war service or as secre- 
taries of the English and Scotch hostels for Indian students. 

The data on church membership, so far as available, are given 
in the next table. It will be seen that, while there is rather a 
wide distribution between the various Protestant sects, there is 
also a great predominance of Anglicans. 



104 

Church Membership of the Indian Staff (1930). 

Anglican . . . . 30 

Presbyterian . . 4 

Lutheran . . 3 

Wesleyan . . . . 3 

Mathoma . . . . . 2 

Methodist Episcopal 2 

Baptist . . . . 1 

Congregational . . 1 

Scotch Episcopal . . 1 

47 
No Data . . . . 3 

Information is available for thirty-nine secretaries as to their 
activities in the church before taking up Association work. Of 
this number, twenty-eight had been Sunday school teachers, 
sixteen had served as lay preachers, and fifteen had been members 
of the church board. 

The present age of the Indian staff is given in the following 
table : 

Age of Present Indian Staff (1930). 

Under 30 years . . . . 4 

31 35 years . . 5 

3640 .. ..19 

4150 .. ..6 

51 55 . . 4 

38 
No Data . . . . 12 . 

It will be seen that the modal age group is the later thirties, and 
that most of the secretaries are over thirty -five, with a consider- 
able proportion over forty. This indicates either that very few 
new secretaries are being recruited or else that older men are 
being admitted. As will appear later, the first alternative is more 
nearly the case, a situation of serious import for the Association. 
Information on age at the time of entering the secretaryship was 
available for the entire present Indian employed staff, and is pre- 
sented in the next table : 



105 

Age of Indian Staff on Entering the Work: 

Under 21 years . . 4 

2125 years . . . . 23 

2630 .. ..14 

31 35 ,, . . 13 

OO ,, . . . JL 

55 

It will be seen that most of the secretaries were under twenty- 
five when they first entered the work, and that the modal age 
group is the early twenties. The mean (or weighted average) 
age is between twenty -four and twenty-five. On the other hand, 
there was also quite a high proportion that joined the work after 
thirty. The latter probably trained first for some other voca- 
tion, possibly teaching, and became interested in the Associa- 
tion later. 

The record is not so complete with regard to place of birth, 
as may be seen from the following table : 

Place of Birth of the Indian Staff. 

South India and Travancore 22 

Bengal . . 5 

Punjab . . 4 

Bombay Presidency . . 3 

Ceylon and Miscellaneous . . 4 

38 
No Data . . . . 12 

Of special interest is the obvious preponderance of South India 
and Travancore as the region from which Indian secretaries are 
recruited. This fact is easily understood in view of the strength 
of the Christian community, in that part of the empire, and in 
view of the many spirited local Associations. 

By way of further indication of the background from which 
these men came, it will be of interest to consider the vocations 
of their fathers. By far the greater number are the sons of pro- 
fessional men, and notably of pastors, as may be seen below : 



106 

Occupations of the Fathers of the Indian Staff. 

Pastors . . . . 12 

Teachers . . . . 7 

Other Professions . . . . 10 

Business Employees 5 

Miscellaneous . . 4 

38 
No Data . . . . 12 

Some information was secured on the vocations followed 
by the present staff before they joined the secretariat. The 
material is presented in the following table : 

Previous Occupations of the Indian Staff. 

Teachers . . . . 19 

Business Employees . . 9 

Students . . 8 

Lecturer . . . . 1 

37 
No Data . . . . 13 

It is interesting to note that, while the educational world is clear- 
ly the best field for recruiting, as many as nine (or nearly a 
quarter) of the above number came to the Association from busi- 
ness positions. 

Of special significance is the fact that as many as twenty- 
eight of the present Indian staff (71.9 per cent) had been mem- 
bers of the Association before taking up the work as a profession. 
Twenty-three had taught Bible classes for the Association, and 
twenty-four had been lay delegates to national conventions. 
Eighteen had served first as honorary secretaries. Others had 
been camp leaders, chairmen of committees, or teachers of the 
educational programme. Seventeen had lived in Association hos- 
tels. These men had thus had considerable contact with the 
movement before they actually became employed officers. 

2. Conditions of Work. 

Significant light on the personnel situation within the organ- 
ization will be thrown by a consideration of the length of time 
the present staff has been in service. The figures are given below 
as of January 1st, 1930. 



107 

Length of Service of the Indian Staff. 

: 1 5 years . . . . 5 

5 : 110 . . . . 6 

10 : 115 . . . . 25 

15 : 120 . . . . 11 

20 : 125 . . 3 

50 

The above table clearly indicates that younger men are not being 
attracted to the work in the right proportions ; only five of the 
present number have served less than five years. As many as 
thirty -nine, or nearly four-fifths, of the above group have been in 
the work ten years or more. The average term of service is about 
fourteen years. 

The following table is a record of the number of centres 
served by most of these secretaries. Changes due to war service 
or training are not included : 

Number of Centres Served by the Indian Staff. 

17 secretaries worked in 1 centre only. 
8 ,,2 centres. 

5 3 

7 4 



K K 

55 55 55 

2 J) 55 7 55 

1 55 55 " 55 



45 

5 No Data. 

Two general modes of behaviour are indicated by the above 
figures. On the one hand there is a considerable group, the 
larger numerically, that tends to remain in one Association for a 
long time. Seventeen men have served the same organization 
since entering the work, and twenty-five have served only one 
or two Associations. On the other hand, as many as fourteen 
secretaries have been employed by four to eight different centres. 
It will be recalled (see preceding table) that no period of service 
exceeds twenty-five years in all. The conclusion is warranted 
that real cause of maladjustment must have existed in some of 
these cases. 

Further light on this problem is shed by the following table, 
on which the length of time served in any one Association, exclu- 
sive of war service and training, is indicated. From the preceding 



108 

tabulation it appears that the forty-five secretaries together served 
123 different terms, or periods in one centre. These periods are 
analysed below according to their duration : 

Periods of Service Analysed by Length of Time Served. 

37 periods, or 30.0 per cent of the total, lasted : 6 1 yrs. 

8 6.5 1:11:6 
13 10.5 1:72 

7 5.7 ,,2:12:6 

11 9.0 2:73 

16 13.0 ,,3: 1 5 

22 18.0 5:110 

9 7.3 over 10 



123 100.0 

The average length of service in any one centre rendered by the 
group of forty-five secretaries was between two and three years. 
Slightly more than half of the terms analysed lasted two and a 
half years or less. 

In the next table a rough comparison is made between the 
range of income of the above forty-four Indian secretaries and a 
similar range for nineteen North American secretaries. Accord- 
ing to the statement of the senior secretary of the English National 
Council, the range of income of foreign secretaries other than 
North American would be about the same as that here indicated 
for the representatives of the International Committee. 

Total Income of Indian and North American Secretaries 

Compared. 

North 
Es. Indians Americans 

501 1,000 . . 2 

1,001 2,000 . . 6 

2,001 3,000 . . 9 

3,001 4,000 . . 9 

4,0015,000 .. 2 

5,001 6,000 . . 7 

6,001 7,000 . . 4 1 

7,001 8,000 . . 3 1 

8,001 9,000 . . 1 

Carried over 43 2 



109 

North 
Es. Indians Americans 

Brought forward 43 2 

9,00110,000 

10,00111,000 . . .. 3 

11,00112,000 ,.1 1 

12,00113,000 .. .. 2 
13,00114,000 

14,00115,000 .. .. 1 

15,00116,000 .. .. 4 

16,00117,000 .... 3 

17,00118,000 .. .. 2 

Over 18,000 .... 1 

44 19 

It will be seen that, while the income for the middle fifty per cent 
of the Indian secretaries ranged from Es. 2,000 to Es. 6,000, the 
income for the corresponding group of North Americans ranged 
from Es. 10,000 to Bs. 16,000. 

There has been a " Secretaries Provident Fund " in operation 
since 1923 and open to all secretaries on the regular cadre. 
Forty-six members of the Indian staff now participate in the 
arrangement. The plan calls for an annual payment of 6 per 
cent of a member's salary each from the secretary himself and 
from the employing body. At the age of fifty-five, the secre- 
tary is entitled to the full amount standing to his credit with 
interest. If he leaves the work before attaining that age, the 
amount due to him is determined by a series of rules covering all 
possible eventualities. 

D. ATTITUDES OF THE INDIAN STAFF TOWARD THEIR WORK. 

Thirty-two of the Indian secretaries filled out a question- 
naire dealing with the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of their 
work. Among other things, they were asked to rate eight items 
pertaining to the secretaryship on a scale of six points, ranging 
from "very unsatisfactory " to " very satisfactory ". The com- 
posite answer was as follows : 

Chances for personal growth . . . . Fairly satisfactory. 

Chances for professional development . . Fairly satisfactory. 

Chances to participate in the work . . Satisfactory. 

Chances for education . . . . Fairly unsatisfactory. 



110 

Chances for leisure, recreation, etc. . . Fairly unsatisfactory. 

Staff relationships . . . . . . Satisfactory. 

Salary situation . . . . . , Fairly satisfactory. 

The secretaryship as a profession . . Fairly satisfactory. 

It will be seen that the group as a whole considered the chances 
offered for participating in the real work of the Association and 
the staff relationships to be satisfactory. The chances for per- 
sonal growth and professional development, the salary situation, 
and the secretaryship as a profession were rated as only fairly 
satisfactory, while the chances for education and recreation were 
thought to be fairly unsatisfactory. There were of course indivi- 
duals whose opinion differed considerably from the group opinion 
as here stated. 

There were on the questionnaire sub-questions pertaining 
to each of the main items already listed, which were designed to 
elucidate further the secretary's general evaluation. With re- 
gard to the first item, nearly all agreed that work in the Associa- 
tion definitely contributes something to their personal develop- 
ment. They stated that the work took about all the energy they 
had, but some added that perhaps it released more energy, on the 
whole, than it took. Nearly everyone agreed that they were 
better, more alive and bigger persons for being in the Y.M.O.A. 

Most of the secretaries seemed to feel optimistic about their 
chances for professional development in the Association, but 
opinion was divided as to the value of Association experience as 
a preparation for other vocations, in case a transfer became 
necessary. While most of the secretaries felt they had ample 
opportunities for participating in the work, and were conscious of 
being a part of the national and world movements, eleven out 
of the twenty-eight recording the fact said that they were not 
doing the work for which they felt themselves best fitted. 

As indicated above, the majority were not very happy about 
their chances to keep up their mental development. If they found 
any period for study, it was on their own time. They said there 
was no provision in their schedules for systematic study and that 
the National Council gave them no help in this respect. Similarly, 
most of the group indicated that they had very little time to 
themselves or for recreation. The work called them away from 
home at the times when their families might be together. A good 
many said they were so closely tied to their work that they could 
not participate in the life of the general community as much as 
they would like to. 



Ill 

While the majority opinion indicates that staff relationships 
are on the whole good, a number mentioned the fact that they 
hardly ever see the national secretaries. A number also report- 
ed that they had very little in common, in a social way, with the 
foreign secretaries. Nevertheless, the men filling out this ques- 
tionnaire did feel that, on the whole, their working relationships 
were happy. 

With regard to the salary situation, the comments varied 
greatly. Fourteen out of the twenty-eight answering this ques- 
tion said they were not satisfied with the present arrangement. 
Some of them said the scale itself was satisfactory, but since there 
was no pension or adequate retirement fund they felt insecure 
about the future. A few mentioned that, though they were on 
a definite scale, they had not received the increment due them 
because their local Association was in financial difficulties. 

Generally speaking, the group was of the opinion that the 
secretaryship ranks high among the vocational opportunities 
open to Indian Christians, but that the uncertainty of Association 
finances introduces an element of insecurity with respect to the 
future and to old age. It is possible that the effect of the drastic 
staff reductions made necessary after the war is reflected in this 
judgment. 

The staff was further asked to estimate their average number 
of working hours per week. Eeplies were received from thirty- 
seven secretaries. The group average estimate was a working 
week of fifty-seven hours, distributed among the following acti- 
vities : 

40 per cent of the time was given to administrative routine, 
25 per cent to conference with individuals, 
20 per cent to committee work, 
10 per cent to study and preparation for the work, 
5 per cent to actual class work. 

100 per cent. 

This is the composite rating for the entire group ; it should, of 
course, be emphasized, representing administrative as well as 
programme secretaries. The above distribution does, however, 
indicate to some extent the proportion in which the Association 
makes use of the various talents of its staff. 

The secretaries were likewise asked to estimate the distri- 
bution of their time according to the people with whom it was 
spent. According to the judgment of the group : 



112 

40 per cent of their time was spent alone, 
20 per cent with members individually, 
15 with members in groups, 

10 per cent with members of the community as individuals, 
10 per cent with members of the community in groups, 
5 per cent with their colleagues on the staff. 

100 per cent. 

One measure of a secretary's contact with the movement as 
a whole, not mentioned so far, is his membership on Association 
committees. Only fourteen of the forty-three answering this 
question indicated that they were serving on any such com- 
mittees. Three of these were members of the secretaries pro- 
vident fund committee, two were serving on the budget reviewing 
committee (the former revenue commission), and one each was 
on the secretaries alliance committee and on the boys' work com- 
mittee. The other committees represented were in connection 
with the local work. 

E. CONCLUSIONS. 

From the foregoing facts and discussions, the following ques- 
tions emerge for special consideration : 

In whom should responsibility and control be vested for 
recruiting, training, placing and transferring the indigenous 
employed staff? 

What principles should govern the relationship of the 
foreign secretary to the present work ? 

What principles should govern the standards for the salary 
and allowances of the Indian and foreign employed staffs ? 



CHAPTER 9. . [ 

> .'."'' 

MBMBEESHIP. 

The time, and funds at the disposal of this survey did not 
permit any official count and analysis of the present membership 
of the Young Men's Christian Association. The following brief 
study was compiled from the reports of the national conventions, 
supplemented by statements and records from the leading local 
Associations. For the period 1910-1920, which included the 
emergency war service, no reports are available/ 

The trend in membership, as indicated in the following table, 
shows a fairly steady increase between 1891 and 1910 with rela- 
tively little change after that year. The decrease recorded for 
1920 was due to the separation of the student Associations from 
the city movement, which took place in 1912. 

Trend in Membership. 

Total Number of 

Membership. Associations. 

1891 .. .. 1,896 35 

1892 . . . . 2,219 45 
1894 . . . . 3,793 78 
1896 ..- .. 4,600 74 
1899 .-. .. 5,265 131 
1901 .. .. 6,558 151 
1903 .-. .. 6,957 110 
1905 .. .. 6,937 108 
1907 .. .. 8,502 120 
1910 . . . . 12,100 158 
1920 . . . . 10,463 242 
1925 .. .. 10,759 66 

Information is available for studying the individual growth 
between 1901 and 1929 of all the local Associations selected for 
special attention by this survey, with the exception of Madras. 
The material is presented below : 

Growth of Membership in Ten Local Associations. 

1901 1907 1919 - 1925 1929 

Bangalore . . 45 193 444 426 440 

Bombay . . 376 550 646 - 821 357 

Calcutta .. 471 732 1,489 1,967 2,139 

8 F 



114 

1901 1907 1919 1925 1929 

Coimbatore .... 52 97 241 515 

Colombo . . 288 .. 377 1,015 1,406 

Hyderabad .. 77 70 183 451 485 

Lahore .. 73 59 428 532 544 

Madura . . 25 28 35 140 

Eangoon .. 433 562 968 776 786 

Trivandrum .. 55 70 208 215 341 

The classification of the total membership is not complete 
for all Associations, but enough information is available to indi- 
cate the general trend. In the following table the membership 
is analysed according to " active " and " associate " classes. 

Trend in Active and Associate Memberships. 

1891 
1892 
1894 
1896 
1899 
1901 
1903 
1905 
1907 
1910 .. .. .. 12,100 

1920 .. .. .. 10,463 

1925 .. 2,164 7,270 1,325 

It will be seen that the active membership far outnumbered the 
associate class between 1891 and 1901, that the two groups were 
roughly equal during the period 1901-1907, but that when the 
record is resumed in 1925 the associate membership had out- 
grown the active group more than three times. The latter 
had, moreover, substantially decreased in actual numbers. 

The classification by races is more complete, on the whole, 
and is given in the next table. 

Trend in Racial Composition of the Membership. 

Indian, etc. European and No Data 
Anglo-Indian 

1891 .. 1,074 813 9 

1892 .. 1,096 1,057 66 
1894 .. 1,935 1,482 376 
1896 ... * 4,600 



Active 


Associate 


No Data 


1,106 


93 


697 


1,267 


98 


854 


1,990 


282 


1,521 


2,167 





2,433 


3,184 


391 


1,690 


2,383 


2,144 


2,031 


3,472 


3,485 





3,434 


3,488 


15 


4,035 


4,081 


386 



115 

Indian, etc. European and No Data 
Anglo-Indian 

1899 .. 3,978 1,287 

1901 6,558 

1903 .. 5,379 1,578 

1905 .. 3,268 2,313 1,356 

1907 .. 5,502 2,729 271 

1910 12,100 

1920 10,463 

1925 .. 7,130 1,376 2,253 

While the European and Anglo-Indian membership has grown 
only slightly, during this period, and has apparently been on the 
decrease since 1907, the indigenous membership has grown enor- 
mously. Some of the Associations that were originally intend- 
ed for Europeans are now serving an Indian constituency. This is 
especially the case in the Mofussil towns and to a large extent in 
Lahore. The data were unfortunately not sufficiently complete 
to furnish an analysis according to religious affiliation. 

The 1929 membership of the eleven local Associations 
especially studied by this survey was analysed more in detail. In 
the first table are presented the facts with regard to the length 
of time the present members have been in the Association. 

Length of Present Membership in Eleven Local Associations 

(1929). 



6 months 

1 year 

2 years 

3 

4 

5 ,, 

6 
7' 

8 

9 
10 



Ordinary 
Member- 


Hostel Total 
Member- Membership 


ship 


ship 


Per cent 


1,066 


452 


1,518 or 


27.4 


1,302 


206 


1,508 


27.3 


543 


223 


766 


13.8 


250 


25 


285 


5.2 


219 


20 


239 


4.3 


160 


5 


165 


3.0 


179 


12 


191 


3.5 


113 


11 


124 


2.2 


247 


5 


252 


4.6 


151 





151 


2.7 


352 





332 


6.0 



4,572 959 5,531 or 100.0 



116 

The fact that over two-thirds of the members studied (68.5 per 
cent) have not been in the Association longer than two years sug- 
gests a fairly rapid turnover in the group as a whole. No signi- 
ficant difference on this head appears to exist between the hostel 
members and the ordinary programme participants. The distri- 
bution according to age is as follows : 

Age of Members in Eleven Associations (1929). 

Per cent. 

5 10 years old . . . . 85 or 1.6 

1115 .. ..419 7.9 

1620 . . .. 897 17.0 

2125 . ,, .. .. 1,244 23.6 

2630 .. .. 1,117 ,,21.2 

3140 .. .. 941 17.8 

Over 40 .. ..575 10.9 



5,278 or 100:0 
No Data . . . . 253 

It will be seen that nearly half of the group studied were in the 
twenties, and more especially in the early twenties. From the 
following analysis according to vocation it will be noted that 
over half are business employees and students. 

Vocations of Members in Eleven Associations (1929). 

Per cent. 

Business Employees .. .. 1,842 or 35.4 

Students (all types) .. .. 1,073 20.6 

Business Executives .. .. 781 15.0 

Professional Men .. .. .. 721 14.0 

Government Officials . ; .. 273 5.3 

Artisans and Mechanics .. .. 143 2.7 

Domestic Servants and Unskilled 

Labourers .. .. .. 104 ,, 2.0 

Artists and Journalists .. .. 37 0.7 

Unemployed .. .. .. 222 4.3 



5,196 or 100.0 
No Data . . . . . . 335 



It will be recalled from the tables dealing with the income 
from membership dues and from earnings in Chapter 7, E, that 
while the receipts from dues are decreasing in the leading 



117 

Associations, they are on the increase in the other centres studied. 
The income from earnings is markedly on the increase in all groups 
of Associations. The indication is that people are making use 
of the privileges offered by the Y.M.C.A. and are apparently satis- 
fied with what they receive ; in the strongest Associations a grow- 
ing tendency is evident to regard the Y.M.C.A. as an agency from 
which services can be bought rather than as a fellowship to be 
joined. 

There are other indications of the waning significance of 
Association membership itself and the growing interest in service 
features. As indicated earlier in this chapter, the active member- 
ship is now far outnumbered by the associate class. Further- 
more, it is at present the practice to make no demands on active 
members that are not also made on the associate members. In 
former times they were called on to make special pledges concern- 
ing their conduct, such as keeping the morning watch, but no such 
requests are made now. There is moreover little evidence to show 
that active members take their voting privilege very seriously. 

The effect on the programme of this change in emphasis has 
been marked. Members are left a good deal to themselves while 
activities are planned with a wider audience in mind. Association 
secretaries are becoming community servants. That the movement 
itself is aware of this state of affairs, and questions its value to 
some extent, will be seen from the following quotation from the 
National Convention Report for 1924-1926 : 

" The National Executive would point out to the Conven- 
tion that the whole question of membership and its signi- 
ficance will have very shortly to be re-examined ; for, in spite 
of the increased importance (i.e., numerically) in member- 
ship, the non-membership activities of the Association for 
quality of work it would appear are still among the best 
achievements of the Association. A statement like this 
needs explanation before its significance can be appreciated. 

"In a number of the local Associations there are activi- 
ties, for which the local Boards are responsible and yet which 
have no membership features ; these are a form of service to 
the community in which the ordinary membership of the 
Association does not share. Dr. A. G. Noehren, in his report 
on the Physical Department, has pointed out very clearly 
that the Physical Directors most of whom are recruited by 
the Foreign Committee of the U.S.A. and Canada* for 

*This body succeeded .the International Committee in 1925 ; it was a joint com- 
mittee of the independent National Councils of the two North American movements. 



118 

service in India nave served the local Associations not by 
a particular service to the membership so much as by a ser- 
vice to the community in general. For example, in the 
Bombay Association most, if not all, of the time of the Phy- 
sical Director has been given to developing a programme for 
physical education among the students in the training col- 
leges, or (to) helping the University with the physical educa- 
tion of their students .... In some other parts of India, the 
local Physical Director has become the chief adviser on 
physical education to the Education Department of the local 
Government. 

" In another city in India a secretary, who was set aside 
for work in an Anglo-Indian centre, soon was led into the 
community itself, and was enabled thereby to devote his 
time and his energies to serve that community in a wider 
manner than would have been possible if he had devoted 
himself to the specific task of administering the particular 
centre, of which he was in charge. As we have already indi- 
cated, some of these services to the community at large 
would appear to be of extreme value, but it has raised the 
question and will continue to raise the question as to how 
far, in a country like India where doors of opportunity are 
opening up in all directions, the Association movement 
should confine itself and its workers to a membership pro- 
gramme." 

The hostels form an important part of the Y.M.C.A. activi- 
ties. They serve to increase the Association membership and 
are also a source of income to the organization. But among the 
residents there are very few, perhaps ten per cent, who take any 
real interest in the programme. From answers to a questionnaire 
circulated among hostel residents, it appears that very few attend 
the religious services offered. Not one expressed a word of ap- 
preciation for them nor felt the need for such activities. One 
secretary in charge of a hostel said he had given up the idea of 
running a religious programme. On the other hand, almost every- 
body apparently makes some use of the facilities for physical 
activities. Appreciation was also expressed for the social and 
lecture programmes. The feature of the work most often cited for 
approval was the opportunity provided for meeting men of 
different provinces and countries on a level of equality and 
friendship. 

The sum total of the opinion secured, however, indicated, as 
noted above, that the hostel membership as a whole was rather 



119 

indifferent to the programme offered. This is partly due to the 
transient nature of the group, as suggested earlier in this chapter 
by the fact that the majority of the present membership have not 
been in the hostels for more than a year or two. Another factor 
in the situation is the circumstance that the hostels are managed 
largely by junior secretaries or young assistants who are not 
always the equal of the residents in intellectual attainments. 
Under these conditions, the best purposes of the Association can 
obviously not be achieved. 



CHAPTER 10. 
THE WOKK OF THE LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

Owing to the restrictions on this survey, in terms of time, 
and also to the fact that qualified investigators were not easy to, 
secure, no formal study or appraisal were undertaken of the pre- 
sent programme in the local Associations. Studies of the major 
projects of the National Council are presented in part three of this 
report, to follow. In this chapter are brought together briefly 
certain considerations that will throw light on the work done in 
the local centres. 

A. HISTORICAL NOTES. 

In the first place, there is valuable insight to be derived 
from a study of the historical records. It will be recalled from 
earlier chapters that certain well-defined phases are to be dis- 
cerned in the evolution of the typical Association. The first 
stage has often been called the Bible study period because of the 
prevailing almost exclusive emphasis on formal religious activi- 
ties. Then followed a period when the curriculum was enlarged 
to take account of the individual's full personality. The next 
step was to enlarge the range of the Association's field and to 
extend the work to include welfare and service projects affecting 
Christians and non-Christians alike. The tendency at this stage 
was to reach out from the building into the community at large. 
Finally, there is at present discernible in certain Associations, 
notably Madras, a tendency to shift the emphasis away from 
formal instruction towards education through graded social ex- 
perience. According to this conception, character is built through 
successful experience in associated living ; life in the Association 
itself constitutes an education. ,The following brief summaries 
of the life history of the representative local Associations will 
illustrate the general trend. 

The History of an Association in a Leading Port City. 

This Association started as a religious fellowship amongst 
spiritually minded Europeans. It carried on for twenty years 
with an unpretentious equipment and volunteer leadership. Its 
active membership at this time was roughly twice as large as the 
associate membership. So far as can be deduced from the records 
responsibility for the extension and growth of the work rested 



121 

on the general membership, led by a few important committees. 
The same group controlled the policies of the Association. Dur- 
ing this period, branches were established in various parts of the 
city and a rather notable extension programme was maintained. 
The equipment was limited to a lecture hall and a coffee room. 
Finances were taken ^care of from the pockets of the members. 

After twenty years, an employed secretary was secured on 
full time and he soon began to agitate for a larger building. In 
due time such a building was acquired, followed in the course 
of years by other buildings and the employment of additional 
secretaries. Subtle but real changes occurred in the control of 
the Association. The functions of the board of directors increas- 
ed in importance and this body caine to be elected less from the 
general membership and more from the large interests of the city. 
Government and municipal officials were chosen, for instance, 
as well as representatives of the city's business and industrial 
life, and other leading citizens of the same calibre. The clergy- 
men on the board were made honorary vice-presidents of the or- 
ganization. Furthermore, the budget increased in size, and finan- 
cial support was secured less from the members and more from the 
general public. The associate membership grew to equal the 
active class, which in turn increased only slightly during this 
time. One gets the very definite impression tha.t active member- 
ship came to mean less and less, and that control went by default 
to the employed staff and the board of directors. The Associa- 
tion at this stage was primarily an educational institution and 
only secondarily a fellowship. There was an emphasis on equip- 
ment and such features as can be served by equipment. The 
success of the work was tested by the numbers brought to the 
buildings. 

The second period lasted approximately until the war years 
of 1914-18: Certain developments took place during the actual 
war period that left, the Association a different organization when 
it was over. The'Y.M.C.A. then began to call itself a service 
agency and to send its employed officers out from the buildings 
into the communitv. The Association movement now became 

V 

largely identified with the personnel of trained experts in physical 
education, community service and welfare work, who were fur- 
nished on request to the government, to business corporations 
and to public institutions, or who were sent into ^ given neigh- 
bourhood to work for social betterment. The key to service 
was the need of the community. The necessary funds were fur- 
nished by the government and the general public, and secured 



122 

by the board of directors now chosen quite largely for their ability 
to secure the desired backing for the trained staff. At this time, 
the Association established five community centres and adver- 
tised its work as part of a world-wide community service. Active 
membership had become quite ineffective ; only insignificant 
sums were received in membership contributions. The term 
" member " was applied to those individuals who had come 
together to receive the services of the staff ; they were the bene- 
ficiaries of the programme. This period may be characterized as 
the stage of social service under the leadership of trained secre- 
taries. 

The third stage in the development of the Association under 
consideration has not been superseded by any newer practice. 
The life of the organization, as a matter of fact, is visibly becom- 
ing weaker. One branch is facing dissolution for lack of moral 
stamina, another is in financial straits, and the constituency of 
a third is dwindling. Fellowship appears to be at a very low ebb. 
This particular Association exhibits very little courage in the face 
of opposition from certain community groups. Only slight 
financial and moral support is secured from the membership at 
large. The basic difficulty appears to lie in the fact that the As- 
sociation is trying to do social work but is not itself a socially 
significant entity. It tries to teach what it cannot exemplify 
and is limited by the moral neutrality of its own members. 

The History of an Association in one of the Cities 
of the Second Group. 

This Association was founded expressly to meet the spiritual 
loneliness of young Europeans away from home. In the words 
of one of the annual reports, the original hope was that " by 
God's grace it might be used to secure Christian fellowship and 
kindly interest between those who love the same Master." The 
organization functioned for nearly twenty years with very little 
equipment and with volunteer leadership. The programme was 
almost entirely religious in nature and for the immediate benefit 
of the founders and members themselves. In fact, one of the 
conditions of membership was attendance at certain Bible read- 
ings. 

The original life impetus of this Association had worked it- 
self out after roughly twenty years and the work was closed. 
Within a year, however, it was reopened under new management 
and with a new purpose. The organization was then carried on 
primarily for the Indian population and put into the hands of an 



123 

employed officer from abroad. Between this time and the war 
years occurred the institutional development typical of the Asso- 
ciation movement as a whole. The four-fold programme was in- 
troduced, buildings were acquired, and branches developed in 
various parts of the city. 

After the war period the Association continued to develop 
primarily as an educational institution rather than as a social 
service agency. It attained an advanced stage of Indianization, 
in regard both to lay leadership and financial support, and its 
employed staff became dominantly Indian. This Association 
is noted for its active student work and also for its programme for 
boys, as well as for the more ordinary features of the typical As- 
sociation programme. A significant development in very recent 
times has been the emphasis on racial and religious tolerance. 
Hindus, Moslems and Christians alike are admitted to the boys' 
camps, for instance, where religious services are conducted both 
for the entire group together and for the followers of each faith 
separately. To quote another annual report : 

" As a Christian Association, the T.M.C.A. is firmly loyal 
to its Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, and to the Way of Life 
as taught by Him. But without, deflecting in any way from 
its fundamental loyalty to Him, it stands for a broad-minded 
policy of tolerance and mutual respect for each other's point 
of view." 

B. PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE WORK op THE LOCAL ASSOCIA- 
TIONS. 

Group and individual interviews wore secured all over India, 
by the survey staff, on the general subject of the work and func- 
tion of the local Associations. Some 200 people, representing 
the Associations and also the several communities, participated 
in the group discussions, which are briefly summarized below : 

Question No. 1 : " What is the most useful and valuable thing 
about the T.M.C.A. in your community f " 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

The programme in physical education . . 5 

It promotes internationalism . . . . 2 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

It promotes inter-communal friendship . . 3 

It is a non-proselytizing institution . . 2 

It promotes internationalism . . . . 2 



124 

It provides an opportunity for social ex- 
perimentation . . . . . . 2 

It spreads the Christian outlook on life . . 1 

The hostels . . . . . . . . 1 

The programme in physical education . . 1 

It furnishes club life inexpensively . . 1 

It is a non-political institution . . 1 

It has a big building . . . . 1 

It stimulates the community because it 

is a new venture . . . . 1 

The personal work with individuals . . 1 

Answers received in the Mofussil towns : 

It acts as a town social centre . . 4 

It promotes inter-communal friendship . . 2 

It promotes internationalism . . . . 2 

The rural work . . . . . . 1 

The programme in physical education . . 1 

Its freedom in social experimentation . . 1 

Answers received in rural Travancore : 

The work in religious evangelism . .. 15 
It promotes inter-denominational friend- 
ship . . . . . . 4 

It promotes inter-communal friendship . . 2 

It furnishes a platform for lecturers . . 2 

The programme in physical education . . 2 

It organizes small religious groups . . 1 

It spreads the Christian outlook on life . 1 

It promotes internationalism . . . . 1 

It keeps the children out of mischief . . 1 

The Sunday schools .. ... . . 1 

Quite striking in the above analysis is the recurrent emphasis 
on the Association's function as an agent of reconciliation. While 
certain programme features are praised more in some parts Of the 
country than others (this is notably the case with respect to the 
religious work of the Travancore village Associations), the bulk 
of the answers from all over the country have to do with the way 
in which the Association cuts across social barriers of one kind 
or another. In the port cities, where perhaps significantly little 
was offered in praise of the movement, it was at least given credit 
for being to some extent international. In the cities of the second 
group, the term used most often was " inter-communal " ; in the 
Mofussil towns the Association was thought of as a " community 



125 

centre " ; in rural Travancore the emphasis was on " inter-deno- 
minationalism " and " inter-communal friendship ". Every- 
where, moreover, much the same idea is to be noted back of the 
praise for the Association's ability as a social pioneer and for 
its purpose of spreading the Christian outlook on life. 

Since the Madras Association represents the place where the 
principle of reconciliation has perhaps so far received the greatest 
development and expression, the testimony of some of the friends 
and members of this Association will be of interest at this point. 

"I consider the striking and enduring contribution of 
the T.M.C.A. to be two-fold : 

1. It shows that the Christian spirit must of necessity 
express itself in love and service, apart from any question 
of response from society. The Christian filled with the love 
of Christ is attracted to the suffering, the needy, to the 
lovable and the glorious, even if a single soul is not con- 
verted. Christian life operates without a thought to the fruit 
or returns. This aspect of Christian life appeals to the Hindu 
who is taught to appreciate, in the Gita, ' unmotivated love 
and work '. 

2. The T.M.C.A. disarms the persistent suspicion against 
proselytising movements, that behind all philanthropy of 
the Christian Church is the one predatory motive of captur- 
ing men for the community and for the church. The 
Y.M.C.A. does not preach Christ in ' words ' nor engage 
in invasions of non-Christian society. It spreads Christ 
by contagion, by living a free, natural, spontaneous Chris- 
tian life with others. There is a Christianity of which the 
symbol is not an angler's rod or fisherman's net. That 
Christianity India needs and the Y.M.C.A. gives. 

" I have been a member of the Y.M.C.A. for over fifteen 
years and a member of the hostel for over ten years. I have 
also taken part in the activities of the Association through- 
out. I did not join the Y.M.C.A. with an extraordinary 
expectation of what the Y.M.C.A. can do for men like myself, 
No one is, however, more surprised than myself when I find 
that the services that the Y.M.C.A. renders to the young 
men in the city are far more than what I expected it to be 
capable of doing. The Y.M.C.A. has been regarded as a 
foreign institution, in this country, and in these days of grow- 
ing nationalism all institutions that have a foreign origin are 
looked upon with a certain amount of prejudice and suspicion. 



126 

I decided not to look at the activities of the Association with 
prejudice, and that helped me to form a correct estimate 
of what the Association has done for the country. It has 
been a powerful factor in cementing the bonds of fellow- 
ship between the various communities, in this Presidency, 
and has helped them to cultivate a spirit of brotherhood in 
the true sense of the term. One of the reasons why it suc- 
ceeded in enlisting the sympathy and support of the men 
of other religions and races appears to me to be the fact that 
it avoided the narrowness and formalism connected with 
orthodox Christianity, and at the same time it held true to 
the fundamental principles of Christianity, such as love, 
service, etc. It did not attempt to promote evangelism and 
thereby create, in the minds of men of other religions, a 
sense of fear. By the adoption of this policy, it has won the 
support and co-operation of young men of other religions, 
and has helped them to appreciate Christ better. I am 
thankful to the T.M.C.A. for the very great services it has 
rendered to men like myself, and for forgiving whatever 
ingratitude they may have shown toward the Association. 

" All religions, in their pure essence, may not differ in their 
spirit or tendencies, but the teachings of Christ are within 
easy grasp of an average man, who often lacks the acumen 
to predicate his God and the value of his life through the 
intricate rituals and doctrines that abound in some other 
religions, such as Hinduism. To him the T.M.C.A. is a 
source of healthy influence, inasmuch as Christ's ideals are 
made familiar to him without direct preaching or propaganda. 
The frank and genial atmosphere of the Association, created 
and maintained by successive secretaries with an earnestness 
to be of real service to humanity, wins many to sobriety of 
purpose and ways of service. It is no mean privilege for any- 
body to be associated with the work of the Y.M.C.A., which 
is the one and only institution in the city that affords opportu- 
nities for cordial and effective service. They that do not 
utilize the institution, but by preference or habit spend 
their evenings in several clubs, whose tendencies are not 
always commendable, are to be pitied. 

" The Y.M.C.A. may not have achieved anything very 
spectacular, but it has achieved a thing of solid worth and 
value. It has helped tremendously to create an atmosphere 
which makes it possible for leaders of thought, in the different 
religions, to come together on a footing of perfect equality 
and intelligent and sympathetic understanding, to discuss 



127 

seriously without rancour and animosity questions of the 
ultimate values in religious experience. Free from the ob- 
session of denominationalism and the prejudices of sectari- 
anism, it has succeeded in providing a thoroughly cosmopolitan 
platform, where serious-minded persons belonging to any 
religion, who possess spiritual experience of value, may dis- 
course on the great issues of life. This, to my mind, is the 
best contribution of the Y.M.C.A. in this country. 

"Christian literature here thirty or forty years ago was 
very hostile, almost bellicose, in its attitude towards the 
great religions of India. Now there is a great change in 
the angle of vision, there is more sympathetic understand- 
ing and intelligent appreciation. This change is due to a 
great extent to the influence of the Y.M.C.A. movement." 

The second question asked in the group interviews had to do 
with the main criticisms brought against the local Associations. 
The answers were as follows : 

Question No. 2 : " What is the chief criticism brought against the 
Y.M.C.A. in your community ? " 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

The big buildings are too expensive . . 6 

The lack of ethical freedom . . . . 5 

The hostels are merely cheap rooming 

houses . . .... 5 

The Y.M.C.A. yields to race prejudice . . 4 

The religious work is neglected . . 3 

There is no objective . . . . 2 

It has lost the European community . . 2 

It restricts political discussion . . 1 

The boys' work is neglected .. .. 1 

The controlling board is out of touch 

with the members . . . . . . 1 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

The big buildings are too expensive . . 2 
The leadership is too transient . . 2 
It encourages the formation of expen- 
sive habits . . . . . . 1 

It is restricted in political activity . . 1 

It violates distinctions of taste . . 1 

It has lost the European community . . 1 

Too much work for 'natives ' . . . . 1 



128 

Answers received in the Mofussil towns : 

The Y.M.C.A. is controlled only by 

Christians . . . . . . 2 

It encourages the formation of expensive 

and idle habits .. .'. .. 1 

It depends too much on the personality 

of the secretary . . . . . . 1 

It mixes in politics .. .. .. 1 

It restricts discussion on industrial and 

political problems . . . . . . 1 

The Y.M.C.A. is too expensive . . 1 

Answers received in rural Travancore : 

The big buildings are too expensive . . 2 

Inadequate attention given to rural work 1 

The programme has become stale . . 1 

It fosters expensive habits . . . . 1 

It neglects the religious work . . . . 1 

It does not reach out into the country . . 1 

It will be seen, in the first place, that there was more criti- 
cism in the leading port cities than anywhere else. The criti- 
cisms brought against the movement everywhere, furthermore, 
fall into two general categories : those that are obviously the 
complaints of partisans and that, consequently, may be regarded 
to some extent as indirect testimony to the reconciling activity 
of the work, and those that question the value of the big build- 
ings and their tendency to foster expensive habits. 

Several questions were asked in these group discussions that 
had to do with the functioning of the Association's machinery. 
Since matters of this sort have a direct bearing on the work an 
organization is doing, the answers will be introduced at this point. 
It will be of interest in this connection to bear in mind the detailed 
discussions in the foregoing chapters. 

Question IsTo. 3 : " What is the matter with the Secretaryship as 
a Profession ?" 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

The discrimination in salaries between 
European and Indian secretaries . . 5 

The lack of equipment for the Indian 

staff . . . . . . 3 

There is little fellowship between Secre- : 
ta.ries. . . ... . . 3 



129 

Specialists are not allowed to do their 

work . . . .. . . 2 

There is no security for the Indian staff . 1 

The Indian secretaries are not trained . . 1 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

There is no security for the Indian staff. 5 

The prestige of the white secretaries in 
the community is harmful to the 
Indians . . . . . . 3 

The hours are too long ; insufficient re- 
creation . . . . . . 3 

There is little security for the European 
staff . -. . . . . 1 

Specialists are not allowed to do their 
work . . . . . . 1 

There is not enough good fellowship . . 1 

Answers received in the Mofussil towns : 

The Indian staff is at a disadvantage 
because it has to depend on local 
subscriptions for its salary . . . . 1 

Answers received in rural Travancore : 

Specialists are not allowed to do their 
work . . . . . . 1 

The Indian secretaries are not trained . . 1 

The Indian secretaries are subordinated 
to the foreign secretaries . . . . 1 

The use of honorary secretaries is in- 
advisable . . . . . . 1 

European secretaries are still needed . . 1 

Question No. 4 : " What obstacles are preventing the 'Y.M.C.A. 
from becoming Indian or from taking root in the country !" 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

The high salaries of the secretariat . . 1 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

The high salaries of the secretariat . . 1 

The Indian lack of initiative . . . . 1 

No answers were received in the Mofussil towns. 
Answers received in rural Travancore : 

The inability of the Indians to support it. 3 

9 P 



130 

The big buildings . . . . . . 3 

The general public is not aware of it . . 1 
The people are not educated up to its 

ideals . . . . . . 1 

Question No. 5 : " What changes would you advocate in the 
organization of the ~X.M.C.A.V 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

Decentralization of the National Council. 4 

More Indians on the boards of directors . 2 
Making the National Council function 

more in local communities . . . . 1 

Abandon the European work . . . . 1 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

Decentralization of the National Council . 3 
Make the National Council function in 

the local community . . . . 3 

(Maintain the National Council as it is) 2 

More Indians on the boards of directors . 2 

Decentralization of the local Associations. 1 

Answers received in the Mofussil towns : 

Decentralization of the National Council . 1 

Answers received in rural Travancore : 

Decentralization of the National Council . 1 

Make the National Council function in the 
local community . . . . . . 1 

Question No. 6 : " What are the special financial problems of the 
Y.M.C.A. ?" 

Answers received in the leading port cities : 

The inability of the Indians to raise 
money . . . . . . 1 

Answers received in the cities of the second group : 

The unwillingness of the Indians to 
raise money . . . . . . 2 

The inability of the Indians to get money 1 

The Y.M.C.A. is not supported enough 

by its members . . . . - . . 1 

No answers were received in the Mofussil towns. 



131 

Answers received in rural Travancore : . 

The unwiUingness of the Indians to raise 
money . . . . . . 1 

There is no Indian secretary for finance 1 

The failure to study Indian methods of 
financing . . . . . . 1 

Indian Christians support a large number 

of other causes . . . . . . 1 

(Western financial aid is justified 
because of the existence of Western 
exploitation) . . . . . . 1 

C. OBSERVATION AND APPRAISAL OF THE FOURFOLD PROGRAMME 
BY THE SURVEY STAFF. 

The following brief comments are based on visits, extensive 
conversations, and the returns from questionnaires to members. 
They are not offered as thorough-going studies but simply as 
suggestions, for what they may be worth. 

The so-called four-fold programme still appears to be the con- 
scious policy of most local Associations, but there is evidence 
that enthusiasm for it is on the decline. The real driving force 
appears to be elsewhere. This is particularly the case, perhaps, 
in the Associations of the second group in Madras, Colombo 
and Lahore where the four-fold work is in a more flourishing 
condition and is more extensively patronized than in most Associa- 
tions, but where the vitality of the organization is increasingly 
finding expression in the new emphasis on education through the 
experience of group reconciliation and associated living. Brief 
statements on the several aspects of the programme will be in order 
at this point. 

Educational Worlc. Programmes in this field are of two kinds. 
There are formal classes in commercial and related subjects, which 
are a source of income to the Association, and which are appar- 
ently meeting a real need of the community. In addition, tne 
average Association offers to its members the opportunity to hear 
speakers, often distinguished visitors from abroad, lecture on 
various topics usually of an inspirational or cultural nature. 
These lectures seem to be very much appreciated especially by 
older men. But there is room for more informal education of this 
kind on a more systematic basis. At present, lectures are seldom 
arranged in series nor are forum discussions much encouraged. 
The choice of topics is often rather opportunistic and determined, 



132 

more than anything else, by the chance availability in the city 
of men whose names have publicity value. The suggestion is 
offered that, in this field of informal education by well-planned 
lectures and discussions, the Association has a real opportunity 
and one more closely related to the fellowship aspect of the move- 
ment, to its function as an agent of reconciliation, than are the 
formal classes of a vocational nature. 

Physical Work. It will be recalled that this department 
came in for considerable favourable comment in the group dis- 
cussions. It is perhaps the most popular aspect of the whole 
programme, as far as the membership is concerned. Towards even- 
ing, in almost every local Association, the courts are full of young 
men taking part in games of one sort or another. Most of the 
Associations were found to be well equipped for indoor exercises, 
but many have no secretaries in charge of the work. There are 
physical directors at Bangalore, Calcutta, Coimbatore, Colombo, 
Madras and Rangoon, but their activities are largely confined 
to the general community and very little, if anything, is done 
for the members at the buildings. 

Religious Work. The programme under this head consists of 
Bible study circles, discussion groups, Sunday meetings, and 
special lectures. The latter have already been commented upon 
under the head of educational work, and are the only popular 
items on the list. The other activities are not well attended. 
Some secretaries report that they have given up Bible classes and 
religious programmes because of the indifference of the members. 

Social Activities. This is a popular and very important part 
of the Association programme. By means of picnics, dinner parties, 
dramatics and other pleasant social occasions, individuals of 
differing races and religions can be, and often are, brought 
together in good fellowship. Members and other volunteers are 
offered opportunities for social service through the Association's 
programme of night schools, evening classes, and lantern lectures 
in outlying villages, or through hospital visitation and similar 
activities. 



PART III 

THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE 
YOUNG MEN'S CHEISTIAN ASSOCIATION 



INTRODUCTION TO PAET III. 

The major projects now being conducted by the National 
Council of the Y.M.C.A. of India, Burma and Ceylon are in phy- 
sical education, rural reconstruction and social welfare work. 
There are in addition departments dealing with literature and 
publications and with lectures, in India, and the important work 
for Indian students in London. In the following chapters are 
presented reports by experts on the programmes in physical educa- 
tion and social welfare. A similar report on the project in rural 
reconstruction was necessarily too extensive for inclusion here. 
It accompanies this report in a separate volume. Less formal 
accounts of the remaining activities of the National Council will 
be found after the report on the work in social welfare. 

It will be of interest to introduce, at this point, the remarks 
of a distinguished friend of the Indian movement. Sir Ewart 
Greaves, member of the British" delegation to the League of 
Nations, former president of the National Council of the Y.M.C.A., 
and generally prominent in the affairs of Calcutta, observed that, 
in his opinion, the greatest achievement of the Indian Y.M.C.A.'s 
consisted in their technical ability in developing recreation for 
the individual through Association activities and through civic 
playgrounds. When the city of Calcutta planned its system 
of public playgrounds, it had been obliged to turn to the Y.M.C.A. 
for an outline because no other organization knew how to do such 
work. The training school in Madras was the key to the further 
development of Association activity in this field. A second line 
of successful endeavour, according to Sir Ewart, was the project 
in rural reconstruction. " Cities in India are an excrescence," 
he observed; "the basic life of India is in the villages." The 
government's educational system had helped people get out of 
the villages but had not helped the villages themselves. In 
attempting to meet this problem, under the leadership of Mr. 
K. T. Paul, Sir Ewart felt that the Y.M.C.A. had embarked upon 
an enterprise which deserved every encouragement, and to the 
possibilities of which there were no limits. 



CHAPTER 11. 
THE PROGRAMME IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

A Y.M.C.A. LEADER'S EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAMME 
IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

With reference to the Indian Y.M.C.A.'s work in physical 
education, it must be said that only those local Associations have 
done anything worth while in this field that have had foreign 
physical directors on their staffs. We are just making a begin- 
ning with Indian physical directors. At present I would say that 
Madras, Calcutta, Rangoon, Lahore, Colombo, Bangalore and 
Coimbatore are the only Associations doing real work in physical 
education. Of these, Calcutta, Colombo and Bangalore now 
have Indian physical directors j Rangoon has a foreign physical 
director ; Madras has both an Indian and a foreigner on its staff 
for this work ; and at Coimbatore the Indian general secretary 
has also been trained as a physical director. In any case, whether 
the Associations now have, or have had, either type of leadership, 
the major portion of the work has been for the community at 
large and very little, if any, exclusively for Y.M.C.A. members. 
As a matter of fact, if both types of work are to be done, and they 
should be, the local Associations will be obliged to employ two 
men, one for developing a programme in the building, and another 
for community service. 

The greatest contributions which the Y.M.C.A. has made in 
the field of physical education, in India, have been in the service 
rendered to the several governments in developing programmes in 
schools and colleges throughout entire provinces ; in introducing 
the idea of public playgrounds and getting them started in 
various cities ; in training indigenous leadership to carry on these 
various activities ; in launching the Olympics and giving an 
impetus to the "play for everybody" programme ; in establishing 
scientific physical education in the country; in improving the 
standard of performance and of sportsmanship ; in giving dignity 
to the profession of physical education ; and in placing a Chris- 
tian emphasis on competitive activities. 

Our mistake has been, and still is, in depending too much 
upon foreign personnel. Our local Associations must come to a 
realization of the value of strengthening the physical work for 
their members. This they must do both by employing Indian 



137 

physical directors and by raising the necessary funds for it. Com- 
munity service must also be continued but likewise under Indian 
leadership, paid for by the Y.M.C.A. with the assistance of liberal 
grants from municipal and provincial governments. The school 
of physical education at Madras must be continued to meet the 
growing demand for trained leadership throughout this large 
country, but it must be improved to such an extent that it will 
no longer be necessary for Indians to go abroad in order to pre- 
pare for work as physical directors. 

The physical work of the T.M.C.A. in India has, from its 
inception, held a prominent place in the Association's develop- 
ment. The assumption back of the work from the start was that 
the great mission to India, in this field, lay in trying to present 
the Christian interpretation of the body to non-Christian Indians, 
rather than in simply building a department into the Association 
movement and thus completing the triangle. It has therefore 
never been restricted by the usual departmental regulations or 
by membership limitations. Physical directors have always 
aimed at the interpretation of their ideals, and at the exploitation 
and advancement of them, in the widest possible field. From the 
first, they have always enjoyed official or semi-official contacts 
with the government, through the departments of education 
and other departments, and have found through this means a 
wide and fertile field for the exemplification of their ideas and the 
demonstration of their methods. By making demonstrations 
in schools, by training teachers, by writing text-books, by planning 
programmes, by advice and guidance in official circles, as well as 
by developing and conducting physical education programmes in 
the buildings of local Associations, we believe that we have had a 
real part in awakening India to a partial realization of her physical 
needs, and in pointing the way to a programme for national physical 
regeneration which carries with it an additional value in building 
character, and which is a really new thing in Indian life as we 
found it. 

This consideration of the work will be divided into three 
sections, dealing with the pioneering stage of 1908-1919, with the 
period of stabilization between 1920 and 1929, and with some 
suggestions to govern future policy. 

1. The Period of Pioneering (1908-1919). 

: The first ten years were frankly experimental years and the 
work was promotional in character. To say that we were emi- 
nently successful would not be beyond the bounds of modesty. 



138 

To watch a work develop from a single demonstration in a local 
Association to a city -wide programme, to a province-wide pro- 
gramme, to a nation-wide programme, has been something that falls 
to the lot of few men. To meet the crest of this rising wave of 
expansion came the World War with all its attendant upheaval. For 
a time it had no restraining effect on the work bnt rather stimulated 
it. In the year 1918, the Association had more men in the field, 
was covering more territory, was receiving more money in govern- 
ment grants for its physical activities (some Es. 50,000), than 
at any time in its history before or since. In this development 
the local Associations kept pace fairly well ; they were assisted 
by the respective provincial physical directors and every 
effort was made to see that men related to the local govern- 
ments as advisors were also loyal to the Association and its 
programme. 

After the war the period of demonstration and promotion 
was about complete. India had taken to physical education. 
The work was a going concern. But the rapid development had 
also created problems. In some ways, the physical work had 
out-stripped the other phases of the Association programme so that 
there was some tendency to separate it from the movement and 
to develop it as an enterprise by itself. Furthermore, the move- 
ment was often embarrassed by the fact that a desire for the 
physical programme was expressed at points where no local Associa- 
tions existed, and that the beginnings of the organization of a 
centre were undertaken that could not be followed up. It also 
became evident that the work as carried on by the North Ameri- 
cans was so very unusual, from the Indian viewpoint, both in 
scope and in the demands made on the directors that it would 
not be possible to transfer it on the existing basis to Indian leader- 
ship. Clearly a period had been reached when a change in leader- 
ship and a new emphasis were called for. 

2. The Period of Stabilisation (1920-1929). 

From what I can gather, in the absence of written records, 
the department of physical education went through the same 
changes that characterized the whole movement, at this time, 
but in less drastic fashion. The special war work leadership was 
demobilized, there was a retrenchment on the Indian staff, and 
the general programme was consequently reduced. Aside from an 
annual all-India competition in physical activities, which was 
subsequently abandoned, there was little in the way of inter- 
Association programme that might bind the local centres together. 



139 

The programme in the local Associations appears to have emphasized 
revenue-producing features, at this time, such as tournaments 
and other entertainments. There has been a certain revival, 
recently, in a few places of interest in activities between groups 
in the same city. The provincial organization for the Olympics 
is still in Association hands, in most cases. Government con- 
tacts have often been lost or materially weakened, due generally 
to the fact that a government wanted more service than the 
Association secretaries were free to give. Political changes 
also affected relationships, and the old basis of ' adviser to 
government in physical education' came, generally speaking, 
to an end. 

In the country itself, however, important changes with 
regard to physical work took place during these years. India 
nationally espoused the cause of physical education when it in- 
cluded such work as a necessary item in its platform of reform. 
Physical exercise is now regarded as basic to proper living by all 
in India. Demands have been made in most states and pro- 
vinces for compulsory physical education in the schools and col- 
leges, and the municipalities have realized the value of public 
playgrounds. There has also arisen a most encouraging demand 
for trained Indian leadership of high grade. In other words, 
the movement for modern physical education has advanced by 
leaps and bounds. The limited Association staff has endeavour- 
ed as best it could to cope with this advance, but the old leader- 
ship of the T.M.C.A. is being challenged at various points. 

Several important activities in this field are still in opera- 
tion and call for mention at this point. The Indian Olympic 
Association was originally organized by the Y.M.C.A. and is still 
active. Through the hasty action of one of its secretaries, 
however, the movement has lost some of its prestige in this enter- 
prise. The city -wide programmes of the Calcutta and Hyderabad 
Associations have placed physical education on a sound basis 
and in an advantageous position in these cities. Through its 
magazine " Vyayam," the Y.M.C.A. is able to make itself felt in 
many quarters and is provided with a good medium for talks on 
physical education. The organization and successful adminis- 
tration of the school of physical education, in Madras, represents 
an undertaking that bids fair to have wider influence than any 
other single thing the Y.M.C.A. has done. It represents the 
best contribution to physical education the movement has 
made and the one which most aptly expresses the spirit of the 
Y.M.C.A. 



140 

3. Suggestions to govern Future Developments. 

With regard to foreign leadership in physical education, it 
is suggested that only a limited number shall be recruited in future 
and for specialized pieces of work. The policy of supplying 
T.M.O.A. secretaries to provincial or other state governments 
should in general be discouraged, and no attempt should be made 
to enter relationships with additional governments on the basis 
developed in the past. The National Council needs a regular 
staff of five physical directors from abroad to undertake the 
general administration and promotion of the work, throughout 
the movement, and to conduct the school of physical education 
in Madras. 

With regard to Indian leadership in this field, it is suggested 
that indigenous staffs be encouraged everywhere. To this end, 
it is necessary to raise the standards of the school to the highest 
potential, from the professional viewpoint, so that men may be 
turned out that are the equals of any trained abroad. 

In the matter of programme, it is urged that the local Associa- 
tions continue the broad attitude of the past and make the ser- 
vices of their staffs available to the general community as well 
as to the building membership. It is further suggested that no 
attempt be made to standardize the programmes in all of the local 
centres, but rather to encourage each Association to work out a 
programme for itself in consultation with the representatives of the 
national staff. The entire movement should back the school of 
physical education wholeheartedly as the best single expression 
of its ideals and services to India, in this field. Other projects 
worthy of the consideration and support of the movement are 
the further development and administration of athletics, sports 
and games generally in India ; the development of a national 
stadium in Delhi ; and the promotion of a state-wide programme 
in such a state as Mysore. All means that further the cause of 
physical education in India, and the best good of the Indian 
people are to be commended for support to the Young Men's 
Christian Association. 

THE NATIONAL Y.M.C.A. SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

The following data on the school of physical education in 
Madras were secured by the survey staff in consultation with 
those most familiar with the work. In an appeal to the Govern- 
ment of Madras, in 1929, the officers of the school recounted the 
growth of the institution in these terms : 



141 



cc 



In 1920 we had five students, in 1929-1930 we have 
seventy-five. These were selected from a list of 125 appli- 
cations, many of those refused being well qualified to take 
the course but (having to be). .. .barred because we had 
not the facilities to accommodate them, thus delaying for 
two years the starting of the work in the colleges and schools 
from which they were deputed." 

The school claims as its field of service the training of men 
for professional activities in the line of health education, indivi- 
dual and public recreation, public sanitation, the physiology of 
exercise, and the physical side of the Association's fourfold pro- 
gramme. It expects to find a place for its graduates in local 
T.M.C.A.'s, missions, and schools of all grades and types such as cor- 
poration schools, district boards, government and private schools. 
Most of the students in training at the time of the survey were 
deputed to the school on stipends from educational institutions. 
The officers expected the number of independent students to in- 
crease in the future, however. Additional fields open to the 
graduates were given as municipal or corporation (especially 
railroad) playgrounds, colleges and universities. Men were being 
trained for playground work in Calcutta, Colombo, Bombay and 
Madras. The universities of India are gradually introducing 
compulsory physical education. The University of Madras re- 
quested the principal of the Y.M.C.A. school to make a survey of 
the situation with regard to physical activities among the consti- 
tuent colleges. As a result of this study, the university substi- 
tuted compulsory physical education for compulsory military 
training. In 1929 the requirement was that each college have 
a full time physical director, of the grade of college professor, on 
its staff by June 1930. These are to be men with B.A. degrees 
and likewise with diplomas from the Y.M.C.A. school. There 
were at the time of the survey fifty students in the school prepar- 
ing for work at the university. 

The officers of the school feel that more work is crowded into 
the one school year, on the present basis, than is consistent with 
thoroughness. The health instruction, for instance, they consi- 
dered to be only about a quarter of what it ought to be. This 
was due to the meagre equipment, however, as much as to the 
crowded schedule. The existing facilities are too primitive even 
for demonstration purposes. It is impossible for the students 
to be neat or to carry out the principles of hygiene they are 
taught in the lectures. The housing and eating arrangements 
are hard on morale. In one year, students develop skill as players 



142 

but are not adequately trained to be good teachers and coaches, 
The period is too short for normal practice and for proper reading 
and study. 

With better equipment, a larger staff, and a longer period of 
study the school could not only do its present work more 
thoroughly, in the opinion of those actually conducting it, but 
could also enlarge its scope. The lectures on sex hygiene might 
be expanded to include some treatment of the problems of popu- 
lation increase. Indigenous activities and resources for recrea- 
tional programmes could be investigated and more adequately 
drawn on. The school is still too largely built on American 
standards and ideals. On the other hand, the school has developed 
the only eclectic programme in physical education in India, having 
chosen the best from all other existing systems. The officers claim 
to be working in behalf of physical education itself rather than 
of any system of physical education. 



CHAPTER 12. 
THE PEOJECT8 IN SOCIAL WELFARE. 

[Omitted.] 



CHAPTER 13. 
LITEEATUEB AND LECTURES. 

The National Council maintains two departments that con- 
cern themselves with the subject of informal public education. 
The department of literature and publication has sought, among 
other things, to provide the more thoughtful element of the Chris- 
tian community in India with valuable religious literature, and 
the department of lectures has aimed to spread information by 
means of carefully prepared series of lantern slides. The salient 
information on these two departments is brought together in the 
following brief statements. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE AND PUBLICATION. 

Seldom has the characteristic T.M.C.A. policy of giving 
free rein to strong men been more thoroughly justified than in 
the case of this department. Dr. J. N. Farquhar's achievement, 
represented particularly in his Religious Quest of India series of 
books, will long be remembered as an outstanding event in the 
religious development of India. 

The department was founded in 1911 under the leadership 
of Dr. Farquhar. An idea of its growth between 1912 and 1919 
will be conveyed by the following table : 

Growth of the Department of Literature and Publication. 

Titles. Copies. 

1912 .. ..6 13,000 

1913 .. ..9 15,000 

1914 .. ..12 18,000 

1915 .. .. 9 23,000 

1916 .. ..25 67,000 

1917 .. ..35 173,000 

1918 .. ..31 161,000 

1919 . . . . 42 220,000 

The marked increase in the latter years was largely due to the 
fact that, during the war, the department furnished considerable 
literature for the Y.M.C.A. army work, all over the country and 
even abroad. Many books were imported, at the same time, 
and for the same purpose. Between October 1918 and Sep- 
tember 1919, a total of 324,276 books, magazines .and pamphlets, 



144 

both in English and the vernacular, to the value of Es. 1,07,934-2-9 
were supplied to army centres in India and overseas. 

At the present time, the department has achieved self-sup- 
port. Of the total sales during the months Of May, June, October 
and November, 1929, which amounted to Es. 17,705 including 
both cash and credit sales, roughly 17 per cent were made to the 
Young Men's Christian Association and roughly 63 per cent were 
made to the various missions. 



CHAPTER 14. 

THE INDIAN STUDENTS' UNION AND HOSTEL 

IN LONDON. 
[Omitted.] 



CHAPTER 15. 

THE DISTINCTIVE CONTBIBUTION OF THE T.M.C.A. 

TO INDIA. 

In the preceding chapters of this whole report, the various 
aspects of the programme and functioning of the Young Men's 
Christian Association have been discussed in considerable detail. 
In concluding this part, and before taking up the general conclu- 
sions and evaluations of the survey, it will be of interest to indi- 
cate briefly the special place which the Association movement 
has occupied in the life of India. This will be done in two ways : 
First will be presented a short appreciation, by an Indian mem- 
ber of the survey staff, of the outstanding contributions to India 
made by the Y.M.C.A. Following this statement, notes will be 
introduced for purposes of comparison with regard to the main 
features of the leading indigenous societies of India, engaged in 
similar work. 

A. AN APPRECIATION OP THE Y.M.C.A. MOVEMENT BY A MEM- 
BER OF THE SURVEY STAFF. 

The preceding chapters have dealt with the several aspects 
of the work of the Y.M.C.A. in India. Such an analysis, like 
the dissection of a flower, destroys the general impression of 
beauty. It is desirable in that it helps discover the strength and 
weakness of a given organization, but if subsequently no glance 
at the whole is taken, the very life of the organization will be 
missed. In the following paragraphs an attempt is made to indi- 
cate the chief areas in which the Y.M.C.A. movement has made a 
definite contribution to the life and thought of India. 

The Y.M.C.A. came to India at a time when the country 
was just beginning to recover from the tragic experiences of the 
Indian Mutiny. Some of the most important local religious or- 
ganizations were founded during the last quarter of the nineteenth 
century. The Arya Samaj was established in 1875, the Theoso- 
phical Society in 1875. the Deva Samaj in 1887, and the Eama- 
krishna Mission in 1897. All these organizations attempted to 
revive ancient Hinduism. During this same period, the small 
Y.M.C.A.'s scattered over the country were consolidated into a 
national movement (1891) with a distinctively Christian message. 
While the other societies preached renunciation, the Y.M.C.A. 
presented the Christian ideal of personality. Its characteristic 
10 F 



146 

fourfold programme emphasized the potential value of the whole 
man. Thus, at a time when Hinduism was seeking afresh the 
truths of its own religion, Christianity was able to supplement 
these through the Y.M.C.A. in a way which the missions did not. 

Together with this increased religious interest, there develop- 
ed in India an increased national and social consciousness. The 
first expression of this second movement was in the Indian National 
Congress of 1885. Definite organizations to embody and further 
its ideals subsequently arose, one after the other, from the 
beginning of the twentieth century down to the present day. 
Eabindranath Tagore developed his father's ashram (religious 
retreat) into an educational institution in 1901 ; G. K. Gokhale 
founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 ; Behramji Mala- 
bari and Dayaram Gidurnal started the Seva Sadan in 1908 ; 
Lala Lajput Eai founded the precursor of the Servants of the 
People Society in 1920 ; and Mahatma Gandhi organized the All- 
India Spinners' Association in 1925. 

When many of the above organizations, in response to the 
widespread popular interest in the victory of Japan over Eussia 
and to the public indignation over the partition of Bengal, follow- 
ed the path of intense nationalism, the Y.M.C.A. proclaimed in 
India its message of the universal Kingdom of God. This 
message of the Kingdom has had two aspects ; it has been concerned 
with improving conditions here on earth, and also with develop- 
ing the spirit of brotherliness. 

With respect to the first aspect, the Y.M.C.A. has made com- 
mon cause with all organizations in India that stood for the social 
and material welfare of the people. In this attempt to further 
the Kingdom, the movement not only strengthened the work it 
had previously engaged in, but discovered new fields of endeavour 
as well. After the war, the project in rural reconstruction was 
started a work that affects the lives of some 200,000 people. 
The literature department presented a new approach to Hinduism 
and opened up a fresh avenue for the study of comparative reli- 
gion. The lecture department, with its stereopticon slides, has 
carried on its educative work for social betterment in many parts 
of India. Physical and health education have developed tre- 
mendously in India through the Y.M.C.A. Projects in social 
welfare among industrial workers have been started, and the 
importance of work with boys, as well as with young men, has 
been stressed. 

In its work the Y.M.C.A. has not only joined forces with the 
indigenous organizations, but it has also been a pioneer in guiding 



147 

others into paths of useful service. Its hostels and various under- 
takings, the most important of which have been indicated, 
have been reproduced by other organizations. Mrs. Annie 
Besant, before starting the Young Men's Indian Associa- 
tion, visited the T.M.C.A. and closely studied its methods. In 
a recent memorandum submitted by the Madras representatives 
of this later movement to the local government, the Y.M.C.A. 
is pointed to as the model they wish to follow. The Y.M.C.A. 
has introduced new methods of adult education that have found 
ready acceptance in many parts of India. 

But, as already indicated, the Kingdom of God posits not 
only the social and economic welfare of a nation, but also the 
spirit of brotherliness and fellowship among its people in their 
relationships with each other and with other peoples. The chil- 
dren of the earth are to live as members of one family. In pro- 
claiming this ideal, the Y.M.C.A. has made one of its most notable 
contributions to India. The movement may be regarded as perhaps 
the greatest apostle of reconciliation in the country. Where the 
Christian church is divided, the Y.M.C.A. stands as a healer of 
divisions. In Travancore, it is the only organization that has 
any chance of bringing the different Christian communities 
together. Where Brahman conflicts with non-Brahman, where 
Hindu clashes with Mahomedan, the Y.M.C.A. offers to all a 
platform where they can meet. Local Associations, like those 
in Madras and Lahore, have become great community centres 
where every group is given the chance to hold meetings, and 
where various elements of the population Hindu, Mahomedan, 
European, and Anglo-Indian are brought together socially. 

The Y.M.C.A. has, furthermore, definitely contributed to 
the up-building of the Indian Christian church. While non- 
Christians had opportunities for self-expression and leadership 
in their own organizations, no such field was open to Indian 
Christians in their denominational activities, since responsible 
positions were filled by Western missionaries. The Y.M.C.A. 
was almost the first organization to advocate the development 
of indigenous leadership in Christian institutions. In accordance 
with this principle, when Mr. E. C. Carter retired from the national 
general secretaryship in 1913, the Y.M.C.A. invited an Indian 
Mr. K. T. Paul to succeed him. Mr. Paul guided the affaks 
of the movement from 1913 to 1930, when he was succeeded by 
another Indian general secretary, Mr. B. L. Ballia Earn, who had 
rendered distinguished service as the chief executive of the Lahore 
Association Closely associated with Mr. Paul, furthermore, 



148 

was Dr. S. K. Datta ; under the leadership of these two gentle- 
men most of the activities outlined above were inaugurated and 
developed. 

The Y.M.C.A. has been of assistance to the Indian Christian 
church in another way as well. There are serious young men 
within the church who have come under the influence of modern 
ideas and who feel the need of discussing the implications for their 
spiritual life. These young men have frequently found a sym- 
pathetic friend in the Y.M.C.A., where they were given the op- 
portunity of sharing their thoughts with others of the same type 
of mind, and of hearing notable speakers discuss some of their 
problems. 

B. NOTES ON THE LEADING SOCIAL AND EELIGIOUS ORGANIZA- 
TIONS OF INDIA. 

1. The Young Men's Indian Association. 

This organization was founded by Mrs. Annie Besant and is 
carrying on a work very similar to that of the Y.M.C.A. in Madras. 
It has a membership of 666 and is able to collect annually some 
Es. 3,000 in public subscriptions. The income from all sources 
amounted, in 1929, to Es. 62,813-8-2 and the expenditure to 
Es. 48,453-10-5. 

2. The Servants of India Society. 

This society was started in 1905 by GL K. Gokhale, C.I.E., 
for the purpose of recruiting and training men who would dedi- 
cate their lives to the cause of the country, and of promoting by 
all constitutional means the national interests of the Indian 
people. The organization is managed by a president, or " first 
member," assisted by a vice-president and a general council. 
Ordinary members are required to serve for five years under 
training before they attain full status. Members in training are 
classified as "associates," " attaches " and "probationers". 

Every member in training is granted an allowance of Es. 65 
a month for the first two years, and of Es. 75 a month for the 
remaining three years. Every full member is granted an allow- 
ance of Es. 90 a month for the first five years of service, of 
Es. 110 a month for the next five years, and of Es. 125 a month 
thereafter. Small allowances for rent and medical attention are 
likewise made, and the life of each member is insured for Es. 3,000. 
In addition to their regular political and social work, the mem- 
bers act as promoters for various other organizations in their 
vicinity. There were, in 1929, twenty-one full members in the society, 



149 

two " associates " in training, one " attache ", three " proba- 
tioners ", and two permanent assistants. The total amount ex- 
pended for salaries and allowances, in 1929, amounted to 
Us. 30,538. The main sources of income are given below : 

Income of the Servants of India Society (1929). 

Es. 

Contributions from Individuals . . 13,142 

Public Collections . . . . . . 6,000 

Fire Fund Collections . . . . 28,289 

Members' Earnings . . . . 7,623 



Permanent Income . . 55,054 

Additional Income . . 33,472 



Grand Total .. .. 88,526 



3. The Servants of the People Society. 

This society was formally opened in October 1921, by 
Mahatma Gandhi. Its constitution is modelled on that of the 
Servants of India Society, the chief difference between the two 
being their attitude towards the present political situation. While 
the Servants of the People is extreme in its views, the Servants 
of India is liberal. In December, 1920, a Tilak school of poli- 
tics had been opened by Lala Lajput Eai ; two years later its 
activities were stopped when the National College was founded 
to carry on the same work. When, in turn, the college was closed 
a few years later, its activities were transferred to the Servants 
of the People. 

The " probationers " of this society are given a monthly 
allowance of Es. 50. Members in training receive the same 
amount during the first year, and Es. 60 a month during the re- 
maining two years of the training period. An additional allow- 
ance of Es. 10 a month is given to married men. After the 
period of training, the monthly allowance for single men is Es. 75 
for the first five years, Es. 90 for the next five years, and Es. 100 
thereafter. Married men are given an additional Es. 10 a month 
for each child up to a family of four, and, if quarters are not avail- 
able on the premises, a monthly rent allowance of Es. 25 to Es. 40. 
The total income, in 1929, amounted to Es. 22,635-5-0 of 
which Es. 16,334 was derived from endowments. The total 



150 

expenditure was Es. 23,282-14-4 of which Es. 13,404-10-9 was 
spent for salaries and allowances. 

4. The All-India Spinners' Association. 

This organization was founded in 1925 by Mahatma Gandhi. 
It is an integral part of the national congress organization, but 
exists as an entity in itself with full power to administer its funds 
and follow its own policies. The association is managed by a 
central office which supervises and advances funds to the twelve 
provincial centres that cover a field of 2,655 villages. The general 
policy is to run only such centres as are likely to become self- 
supporting. There are, in addition to the provincial centres, some 
private centres to which loans are advanced from headquarters. 

Membership in the association is open to all men, eighteen 
years of age and over, who habitually wear Jchaddar (home-spun 
and home- woven cloth), and who deposit regularly every month 
with the treasurer, or any duly appointed agent, 1,000 yards of 
self -spun yarn, well twisted and even. In 1929, the member- 
ship exclusive of the " associate " and " life associate " classes 
totalled 2,011. During the same year there were 642 workers 
employed by the association, who received an average salary of 
Es. 25 a month. The total amount spent for salaries and allow- 
ances was Es. 1,91,022-1-2. The main sources of income were 
as follows : 

Income of the All-India, Spinners' Association (1929). 

Es. 

Public Subscriptions .. .. 1,26,892 

Individual Gift . . .. .. 66,501 



Total Donations . . . . 1,93,393 

Additional Income . . . . 7,733 



Grand Total .. .. 2,01,126 



5. The Seva Sadan. 

The Seva Sadan is a non-sectarian welfare organization 
founded by Behramji Malabari and Dayaram Gidurnal, in 1908. 
Several Indian ladies were also associated with the work from 
the beginning. The society is managed by a committee elected 
by the members. About 170 is the estimated figure for the total 
membership in 1929. The total income, in the same year, was 
Es. 43,549-11-8 of which Es. 5,770-7-3 was spent for general 
administration. 



151 

The work of the Seva Sadan includes welfare projects of 
various kinds. Classes for teachers in primary schools were 
started and eventually developed into a regular training college, 
with courses preparing up to the examination for the final certi- 
ficate granted by the Poona Government Training College. 
Classes in domestic education are provided for married women 
and older girls who are prevented from attending the ordinary 
schools by social barriers and other difficulties. Subjects taught 
include English, the vernacular languages, singing, home nursing, 
and hygiene. In order to equip very poor and illiterate women 
with some means of supplementing the meagre family income, 
an industrial department is maintained to give instruction in 
sewing, laundry work, cane weaving, knitting, and other home 
industries. Finally, there is a home for sheltering absolutely 
destitute women and children. 

6. The Arya Samaj. 

This society may be defined as a reformed, liberal movement 
within Hinduism, It was founded in 1875 by a Gujarati Brahman 
named Dayanand Saraswati. In 1892, the Samaj split into two 
factions known as the college (or cultured) party, and the vege- 
tarian (or Mahatma Gandhi's) party. The work is managed by 
a system of local centres and provincial assemblies that culminate 
in an all-India assembly. Eepresentatives to the various units 
are elected by the members. All members must be eighteen 
years of age or over and are expected to contribute at least one 
per cent of their income to the funds of the society. 

The work maintained is extensive and varied ; it includes 
religious, educational, social and political activities. This pro- 
gramme is carried out by missionaries and preachers, some of whom 
are on salary and some of whom work as volunteers. Most of 
the employed workers were originally Hindu pandits (learned 
Brahmans) and most of the volunteers have had an English educa- 
tion. Lala Lajput Eai said of one of their colleges : 

" The Principal is honorary (i.e., a volunteer) and has 

held the post with remarkable success. On the staff are 

several of its alumni, working in a missionary spirit on mere 

subsistence allowances." 

7. The Brahma Samaj. 

This society is another religious organization that, like the 
Arya Samaj, represents a liberal, reformed development from 
ancient Hinduism. It was founded in 1828 by Eajah Earn 
Mohun Eoy, and has undergone several sub-divisions in the 



152 

course of its history. In 1842, the movement divided into two 
sections under the leadership respectively of Devendranath 
Tagore and Keshub Chunder Sen. Another split occurred in 
1878, when a third organization the Sadarana Brahma Samaj 
came into being. This last society commands the greatest 
following and is the best organized of the three. 

There are about 200 local centres in all, of which about 20 
belong to the original movement (known now as the Adi Brahma 
Samaj), about 40 to Chunder Sen's party, and about 140 to the 
Sadarana Brahma Samaj. In the case of the third movement, 
each centre is managed by a committee elected by the members, 
and each governing committee appoints the local staff, not all of 
whom are on salary. The whole Samaj is controlled by a general 
committee of 100 members elected both from Calcutta, the head- 
quarters of the movement and from the provinces. This body 
appoints and supervises the " missionaries " of the movement. 
The latter are paid from Es. 20 to Bs. 100 a month. Support 
for the work is derived from public collections, individual dona- 
tions and endowments. 

8. SantiniJcetan and Sriniketan. 

In 1863, Devendranath Tagore acquired a plot of ground in 
Bolepur and founded an ashram (religious retreat) there which he 
called Santiniketan. His son, Babindranath Tagore, started a 
school at this place in 1901. It developed into a college by 1914, 
a school of arts was added in 1918, and a research institute in 1921. 
For some of the village people, Tagore has developed another 
institution in the same vicinity, known as Sriniketan, where there 
are a demonstration farm, a rural school, and activities in mass 
education. Workers from Sriniketan go out into the villages in 
order to assist the people with their economic problems and to 
give instruction in general subjects and health education. 

A life of simplicity is insisted on for the workers in both 
institutions. The whole enterprise has the status of a registered 
body with a regular membership and a constitution. Members 
are of three classes : " ordinary ", " life " and " honorary ". 
The assets of the institution amount to Bs. 7,03,884-8-3. 

9. The Deva Samaj. 

This Samaj is an organization for religious, social and educa- 
tional work and was founded in 1887 by Bagawan Deva Atma. 
Its affairs are administered by an executive council elected by 
the 32 members of the " representative body ", which is in turn 
elected by the general membership. In 1929, there were 69 



153 

workers carrying on the business of the organization, of whom 
17 are classified as " whole time " workers. This designation is 
given to those who have consecrated their entire lives to the 
Samaj, either as volunteers or on a nominal salary fixed by the 
administration. The amount received in subscriptions, in 1928, 
totalled Bs. 1,00,128 and the total expenditure was Es. 81,803. 

10. The Eamakrishna Mission. 

Sri Eamakrishna (1834-1886) was a Hindu saint who, 
through his piety and devotion, attracted a large number of 
young men. Among his followers was a young man named 
Swami Vivekananda, who founded the Eamakrishna Order of 
Sanyasins (ascetics) and the Eamakrishna Mission, in 1897. 
The object of the mission is to spread the truths of the Vedas 
through the sanyasis and to co-operate with the public in the 
service of humanity. 

The Order of Sanyasins is a monastic institution with several 
branches both in India and abroad, which are known as mutts 
and ashrams. In a good many centres, the mutt and the mission 
branch are housed in the same building and make use of the 
same personnel. There are now in all 64 organizations in the 
movement, of which seven are in the United States of America 
and one is in the Malay States. The management of the central 
organization is vested in the board of trustees " for the time being 
of the Indenture of Trust " ; this body appoints the local com- 
mittees and has the right of supervision over them. 

The funds for the work are derived from private donations 
from friends and devotees of the order and from the general 
public. The private donations are designated for the mainte- 
nance of worship services, for the celebration of sacred festivals, 
and for the sustenance of monks undergoing spiritual discipline. 
The gifts from the general public are used for permanent philan- 
thropic and educational institutions, for a provident relief fund 
to meet sudden emergencies, for a poor fund with which to alle- 
viate individual distress, and for a general fund to defray the 
general expenses of administration. Money raised in a given 
centre is used only for that centre. In 1925, the total income 
was some Es. 30,000. 

Membership in the organization is open to all followers of ? 
Eamakrishna, whether lay or monastic, subject to election at a 
meeting or to appointment by the governing body. Associate 
membership, subject to the same conditions, is open to all persons, 



154 

irrespective of colour, creed or caste, who sympathize with all or 
any of the objects of the movement. Monastic members are not 
required to pay any admission fee or regular subscription. Lay 
and associate members are charged an admission fee of Es. 5 and 
an annual subscription fee of the same amount. The latter may 
be commuted by the payment of Es. 100. 

11. The TheosopMcal Society. 

This society was founded in JSTew York City, U.S.A., in 1875. 
Henry Steele Olcott was its first president and Mme. H. P. Bla- 
vatsky its first secretary. After Colonel Olcott's death in 1879, 
Mrs. Annie Besant became president and has since that time 
been the leading figure in the movement. 

The organization is now a world-wide enterprise with head- 
quarters in India. Its objects are the promotion of universal 
human brotherhood, of the study of comparative religion and 
philosophy, and of systematic investigation into what is usually 
termed "occultism". There are branch units in forty-seven 
countries, at the present time, and responsibility for sanction- 
ing these " national societies " rests with the president of the 
world organization. National societies are authorized in coun- 
tries where there are not less than seven lodges, or basic units, 
which in turn must consist of not less than seven members who 
accept the ideals of the society. Each lodge or national society 
has the power to make its own rules, but these do not become 
valid until they have been confirmed by the president of the 
world organization. The world organization consists of a presi- 
dent, vice-president, treasurer, recording secretary, and the 
general secretaries of the national societies. It meets annually 
in India. A world congress of the movement must be held every 
seven years outside of India. 

The expenses of the headquarters in 1929 amounted to 
Es. 71,219 and the income to Es. 92,887, leaving a balance of 
Bs. 21,668. The amount spent on wages and salaries was only 
Es. 8,373. The organization's secretary said that most workers 
were self-supporting volunteers; 

* * * * 

From this brief review of the Indian organizations engaged 
in activities similar to those of the Y.M.C.A., certain facts stand 
out very clearly. 

Generally speaking, these societies are able to collect large 
sums of money, with greater or less difficulty, from the public 
for their current expenses. This clearly indicates that there 



155 

are plenty of resources in India waiting to be tapped. India has 
its wealthy men in the local princes, chetties (shopkeepers, espe- 
cially in South India), banias (merchants, especially in foreign 
trade), and tatas (village chiefs). How far these resources are 
open to the Y.M.C.A. is of course doubtful. Much depends on 
the policy to be adopted. If the T.M.C.A. should publicly declare 
itself as an inter-religious, or as a non-religious, organization, 
and should ally itself with a progressive political party, then it 
might secure more Indian support. If it adheres to its original 
ideal of a fellowship with a Christian body of control, it will not be 
able to draw much on the wealth of India. 

Another striking thing about the organizations reviewed is 
the fact that only very small proportions of the budget are spent 
in salaries for the workers. There are large numbers of volunteers 
in most instances, who discharge their duties faithfully and well. 
The small amounts required to meet the needs of the employed 
staff are often derived from endowments. The endowment 
system is an old one in India and is adhered to by modern organiza- 
tions. 

The objectives of these societies are clear and easily defined. 
Welfare organizations like the Seva Sadan do not engage in poli- 
tical or religious activities. The circumstance that the founders 
of many of these movements are still alive, and that the memory 
of those who have died is still fresh, may account to some extent 
for this clarity of purpose. 

In conclusion, mention must be made of an interesting and 
significant circumstance in connection with these indigenous 
societies, which has not been indicated in the preceding notes. 
Most of them have received, or are now receiving, assistance from 
Europeans in the form of funds or personnel. The founder of 
the Bamakrishna Mission had as his assistant Miss Margaret 
Noble, known as Sister Mvedita, and at the headquarters in 
Bellur to-day there lives a Western woman. Tagore's enterprise 
at Sriniketan is largely supported by an American lady. Mrs. 
Annie Besant is a British woman. When Mahatma Gandhi start- 
ed on his non-violent political campaign, he entrusted the ad- 
ministration of his ashram to a Miss Slade, and the assistant 
editorship of his paper Young India to a young Englishman. 
It will be seen that India still feels that Western people have their 
contribution to make and is eager for their help ; the only 
objection is to any concomitant assumption of authority and 
arrogance. 



PART IV 
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND EVALUATIONS 



CHAPTER 16. 
GENEEAL CONCLUSIONS OF PAETS I AND II. 

1. Main Trends in the Historical Development of the Y.M.C.A. 

Important dates in the history of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, suggestive of the three characteristic phases of its 
development, are : 

1875 : The founding of the Bombay Association, a reli- 
gious fellowship. 

1890 : The coming of David McConaughy, inaugurating 
the period of the " fourfold " programme. 

1914 : The outbreak of the World War, introducing 
the phase when the Y.M.C.A. functioned as a 
service agency on a large scale. 

While other religions entered India by land, Christianity 
came by water along with the commercial European population. 
The Association was first planted in the port cities and its strength 
is still in these centres. Social conditions that have proved 
favourable to the growth of strong Associations include : a large 
Christian population, a large European population, widespread 
literacy in English, a large number of students and business em- 
ployees, and a population movement of incoming Christians. 

2. The Y.M.C.A. in Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon. 

From the standpoint of material investment, membership 
and paid leadership, the Y.M.C.A. is strongest in the leading port 
cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Eangoon. These cities are the 
product of foreign commerce and inland trade. They are like- 
wise the nerve centres of British rule and consequently the focal 
points of the European population. The class distinctions of 
English social life have been transferred to these Indian cities 
and, in some cases, have been even more strictly drawn than in 
England. 

These cities, furthermore, attract large numbers of people of 
all kinds that increasingly tend to organize in communal groups. 
The great cities of India are, at present, places where both Indians 
and Europeans go to make a living but not to establish homes. 
The consequence is a predominance of males in the population 
as a whole, and a general state of transiency throughout the life 
of the city. The two sexes are roughly equal in distribution, 



160 

however, among the Anglo-Indians, an element of the popula- 
tion that is essentially the product of urban life. Eacially they 
represent the inter-marriage of Indians and Europeans. While 
essentially European in manner of life and loyalties, Anglo- 
Indians do not enjoy a very high place in the European social 
scale. Recent population movements have brought to these 
large port cities certain vigorous Indian Christian groups, notably 
from South India, that have been a significant factor in the de- 
velopment of Indian branches of the Y.M.C.A. in these centres. 

The Y.M.C.A. movement originated in the European com- 
munities of the large cities. The work was almost entirely for 
English or Anglo-Indian young men. The Association was es- 
sentially a religious fellowship of young Europeans of good social 
standing. For about the first twenty years the work was carried 
on with unpaid leadership and with small equipment. The mem- 
bership was predominantly of the " active " class. The 
programme was essentially religious. 

The following thirty years brought the increasing use of paid 
leadership, the acquisition of buildings, the decline in significance 
of " active " membership, and the multiplication of " associate " 
members, or privilege buyers. Early during this period there 
arrived the foreign employed secretary ; in contrast with the 
situation in the other cities and towns of India, this officer has 
usually been British in Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon. 

At the present time, the European community has deserted 
the Association as a fellowship and prefers its own exclusive social 
clubs. It continues to sponsor the work, however, as a charity 
for lower class Europeans and Anglo-Indians, and as a mission 
for Indians. The central buildings, representing the administra- 
tive headquarters of the Association, are reserved for non-Indian 
service. The control of these metropolitan Associations is in the 
hands of the commercial European community, and over sixty 
per cent of the general membership consists of business employees 
and students. These Associations have always enjoyed a large 
proportion of the services of the foreign secretariat in India. The 
programme is almost entirely institutional ; the most significant 
community service is represented by the work of the physical 
directors in developing city playgrounds and promoting com- 
munity athletics and sports. Financial support is derived chiefly 
from membership fees and dues, and from public contributions ; 
the latter have been markedly decreasing since 1925. Exclusive 
of the subsidy represented by foreign personnel, which is indeed 
a substantial amount, these Associations are largely self-supporting. 



161 

3. The 7.M.C.A. in Colombo, Lahore and Madras. 

These three cities are more advanced in industrialization 
than the Mofussil towns but less so than Bombay, Calcutta and 
Bangoon. Under the stimulus of modern commerce and industry 
Colombo, Lahore and Madras have developed new cities along- 
side of the ancient Indian centres. This is especially true of 
Lahore. In their present development, all three are the product 
of British influence. Madras came into prominence as the first 
foothold of British: occupation ; Colombo grew in importance 
when a new harbour was built ; the modern business city of Lahore 
is almost entirely distinct from the old walled city. 

The Y JVLC. A. in these cities has attained an advanced stage of 
Indian control as a result of several considerations . In the first place, 
there was a relatively small foreign community on which to draw ; 
then, the interest of the local, comparatively strong missionary 
group was in the direction 'of developing indigenous leadership ; 
and finally, the secretaries sent from abroad to these centres have 
been likewise in favour of indigenous control. On the other hand, 
the advanced stage of " Europeanization " of the local Indian 
or Ceylonese populations has made it easy for the Y.M.C.A. to 
become established on its own terms rather than in accord with 
primarily indigenous patterns. 

The local Associations in these cities rank high in the esteem 
of the general public. Since Lahore, Madras and Colombo are 
still essentially " one centre " cities, the community can be served 
from one central building more easily than is the case in Calcutta, 
Bombay and Bangoon. Personal leadership has its best opportu- 
nity in the cities here under consideration ; it is confronted with 
neither the conservatism of the villages nor the impersonal rela- 
tionships of the great cities. It is possible to establish the nucleus 
of a real fellowship. Generally speaking, American foreign secre- 
taries have gone to these cities rather than to the port cities in 
the first group. These Americans have, however, not usually 
held the chief administrative positions. The programme in these 
centres is relatively strong with respect to general education and 
religious work, but very little is being done in physical education. 
Summer camps are maintained by the Associations of Lahore 
and Madras, and the former centre is likewise noted for its pro- 
gramme in adult education. 

Financial support in the shape of public contributions is 
derived from the European and the indigenous populations in 
about equal proportions. In Colombo, Ceylonese secretaries 

11 F 



162 

find it possible to solicit both groups. All three centres derive 
the bulk of their necessary funds from membership dues and fees. 
The Lahore Association secures additional income from shop 
rentals, and the Colombo Association is at an advantage on 
account of its recently erected building. 

4. The Y.M.C.A. in the Mofussil Toivns. 

The Y.M.C.A. is limited in the Mofussil towns by the follow- 
ing environmental conditions : there is only a small industrial 
community and a small European population ; there is also only 
a relatively small body of business employees and students ; and 
the rate of literacy in English is lower. In addition, these As- 
sociations have received less help for the maintenance of their 
work than have the six leading centres from the Indian National 
Council and from abroad. They were planned according to the 
pattern of the city Associations, but in a setting that could not 
furnish the requisite financial support. 

The Y.M.C.A. in these towns offers a service as a community 
centre which is much appreciated. The buildings were erected 
largely with North American money and before the Associations 
had attained self -consciousness as a fellowship. The consequence 
has been that the Associations have been badly handicapped 
financially by top-heavy equipment. 

5. The T.M.C.A. in Travancore and Cochin. 

If an indigenous Association is to be defined as one in which 
indigenous leadership can secure indigenous support for a pro- 
gramme interesting to the indigenous population, then the rural 
Associations of Travancore and Cochin (together with some of 
the smaller centres in Ceylon) are the only ones in the Indian 
movement that can lay claim to the title. The Y.M.C.A. has its 
best opportunity for work in rural reconstruction in Travancore, 
because the welfare programme can be rooted in the religious will 
to live as expressed in the village Associations, and in the wide- 
spread literacy promoted and maintained by the Christian church. 

6. Organization and Administration. 

The theory of organization among the Associations of India 
is that of local autonomy. That is to say, while subscribing to 
certain common general principles as to purpose and membership 
basis, the local centres manage their internal affairs themselves 
and develop their programmes according to individual ability and 
the needs of the membership groups. In theory, control is 
vested in the " active " membership. The actual executive 



163 

control is, in the larger centres, in the hands of the local boards 
of directors ; the personnel of these boards is markedly European 
and dominantly so in Calcutta and Bombay. In Colombo the 
directors are predominantly indigenous and the trend is apparent- 
ly moving in the same direction in Madras and Lahore. The 
smaller Associations are to a large extent controlled by the 
National Council as a result of their financial condition. The 
Council erected buildings for them with foreign money, now holds 
their property in trust, and determines the annual cash subsidies 
to be granted. 

The theory of the national organization is that the local 
Associations, through their representatives at the national con- 
ventions, elect a National Council to look after the work in its 
national aspects. In theory a smaller group, called the executive 
committee, is derived from the Council to carry on the routine 
business. In practice the National Council, as such, seldom meets 
and the executive committee has little first-hand knowledge of 
many important issues that come up for decision. Since 1922 
there has been functioning a group, known as the revenue com- 
mission, composed virtually only of secretaries, which has exer- 
cised considerable influence and indirect control. The power of 
the revenue commission has however recently been considerably 
reduced. 

In the past various schemes of district or regional organization 
have been discussed and sometimes attempted. But, with the 
possible exception of the area organization in Travancore and 
Cochin, they have never succeeded very well. This failure may 
be attributed to the fact that these regional units had no real 
power as compared with the national organization. The con- 
stant emphasis on the necessity of building up the " national 
movement " has retarded the development of district or regional 
organization. 

As already noted, the boards of directors in the large centres 
are composed largely of Europeans. The Indian branches, on 
the other hand, are run by committees of management that are 
almost entirely Indian in personnel. Ultimate control is, how- 
ever, vested in the board. Europeans are in the minority, both 
on the boards of directors and on the branch committees, in most' 
of the Mofussil Associations. 



7. Questions of Finance. 



The expenses of the early Associations in India were met 
wholly from membership dues and the gifts of local friends. The 



164 

amounts involved were not great. The acquisition of extensive 
buildings and equipment precipitated financial problems that 
caused the Association to look outside its own membership to 
the community for aid. 

The building of Association equipment started in the large 
cities and then spread out to the smaller cities, towns and villages. 
The : buildings of Calcutta, Bombay and Rangoon were nearly all 
put up before the war (1915). In the case of the Associations in 
the second group, the bulk of the equipment was secured between 
1916 and 1925. The buildings in the Mofussil towns were put 
up chiefly during two periods : between 1911 and 1920, and again 
since 1926. The war years represent the most active construc- 
tion period for the movement as a whole. 

The funds with which the buildings were erected came from 
the following sources : 23 . 2 per cent from local contributions ; 
11.5 per cent from government subsidies in India ; 35.8 per cent 
from the International Committee of the North American Associa- 
tions ; 6.4 per cent from the English National Council ; 4.4 per 
cent from the Indian National Council ; and 19 . 7 per cent from 
other sources. The total investment has been distributed among 
the entire number of local Associations in the following proportions : 
43 . 8 per cent to Bombay, Calcutta and Eangoon ; 26 . per cent 
to Colombo, Karachi, Lahore and Madras ; 18 . per cent to the 
twenty-five Mofussil Associations ; 4.0 per cent to twenty-one 
of the village Associations ; and 8.2 per cent to the four army 
centres. 

The contributions from the English National Council have 
been used exclusively for buildings in the leading port cities. T v he 
International Committee 'has contributed over one quarter of the 
necessary funds for the buildings of Bombay, Calcutta and Ban- 
goon ; over two-fifths in the case of the Associations in the second 
group ; and nearly two-thirds in the case of the Mofussil Associa- 
tions. The gifts of the English National Council for buildings 
had practically ceased by 1915, while those from the International 
Committee have nearly all been made since that date. The 
tendency has been definitely towards a decrease in the propor- 
tion of local contributions secured for Association buildings. This 
is particularly true in the Mofussil towns where only a fraction 
of the cost has been borne by the local community. 

In 1929, the Indian National Council derived 57.2 per cent 
of its required income from foreign Associations, 10.0 per cent 
from government grants, 19.1 per cent from areas in which there 



were no local Associations, 7.8 per cent from the strong local' 
Associations, and 5.9 per cent from investments. The grants 
from foreign Associations cover the Administration expenses 
and the requirements of the rural, lecture and publication de- 
partments. The government subsidies are designated for the 
student work. The gifts from the "unoccupied" areas meet the 
requirements of the army work, and the contributions of the 
strong Associations cover the grants made to the weaker 
centres. 

The National Council retains nearly a third of the foreign 
secretariat for its own service. The rest go almost entirely to the 
six leading Associations. Cash subsidies are made to the Mofussil 
Associations. 

The income from public contributions to the National 
Council and to some of the larger centres is seriously on the de- 
crease. The total number of Indian donors to the work is largest 
in the Mofussil towns, and this number is also increasing. How r 
ever, the actual amounts received in contributions are larger in 
the National Council and the leading Associations than in the 
Mofussil towns. The income derived from earnings in the shape 
of rentals and service fees is on the increase almost everywhere 
with the notable exception of the Bombay Association. Member- 
ship fees as such, on the other hand, are decreasing in Calcutta. 
Bombay and Rangoon, but usually increasing in the other centres. 
The local Associations decreased their annual contributions to 
the National Council between 1922 and 1927, but have remained 
fairly constant since that date. 

8. TJie Indian Secretaryship. 

There is a widespread feeling of insecurity among the Indian 
secretaries attributable to several causes. For instance, local 
boards have shown a preference for foreijgn personnel, among 
other reasons, because their salaries are paid from abroad rather 
than from local resources. Then, Indian secretaries have little 
prestige in government circles. Consequently, when retrench- 
ment becomes necessary, the tendency is to start at the Indian 
secretary's end of the work. Conditions in India call for per- 
manency of tenure more than is the case in Western countries, 
because professional efficiency ends at a comparatively early 
age, as far as Association work is concerned, and no alternate 
occupations present themselves for older men. The problem of 
maintenance during old age is thus not provided for. Moreover, 
the possibility of promotion within the Association is seriously 



166 

limited at present by the fact that foreign secretaries are retain- 
ed to supervise the work. 

The morale of the Indian Secretariat also suffers from the 
practice of outside promotional agencies of exalting certain out- 
standing individuals for publicity purposes. The difference in 
the salary scale, allowances and equipment, is another source of 
difficulty. The predominance of European influence in the larger 
Associations, expressed on the boards and through the public 
contributions, limits the Indian secretary in the expression of his 
convictions on social problems. The immediate requirements 
of the work itself are so heavy that the Indian secretaries find 
little time for self-improvement, nor do they receive much gui- 
dance from their superiors in this regard. 

In general, the " senior secretary " is thought of as represent- 
ing foreign movements rather than the secretarial force of the 
Indian Y.M.C.A. The increased use of paid leadership during 
the war lost to the Association the practice of enlisting honorary 
secretaries for carrying on its work. 

9. Membership. 

The total membership of the Indian Associations has not 
increased substantially during the last decade. During the half 
century of Y.M.C.A. history to date, the " active " membership 
has sunk into insignificance ; the control once exercised by this 
group and the programme devised in its interest have likewise 
lost their original importance. 

10. The Work of the Local Associations. 

The programme of the Indian Associations has passed through 
three stages. At first, the Associations were religious fellowships 
and the work was designed to give inspiration and spiritual dis- 
cipline to the active membership. Then followed the period of the 
fourfold programme, which was a religiously motivated educational 
approach to the individual in all phases of his being. Since the 
war, the Association has become known and has increasingly 
functioned as a service agency. The programme is now designed 
to interest the public. 

The religious programme has become very small as compared 
with the other activities. While the educational work is ap- 
parently meeting a real need, it is rather opportunistic in nature. 
The formal classes in vocational subjects are in general fulfilling 
the purpose for which they were offered, but the possibilities in 
informal adult education are as yet largely unrealized by the 



16? 

movement. The programme in social service, as far as the local 
Associations are concerned, is largely entrusted to men who are 
poorly equipped for the task. The same is, on the other hand, 
distinctly not the case with respect to the promotion of com- 
munity athletics and playgrounds carried on by the Association's 
trained physical directors. The National Council is doing not- 
able work in its several undertakings, namely, in physical educa- 
tion, rural reconstruction, industrial welfare work, literature and 
publications, and stereopticon lectures. The only question about 
them is as to how far the movement can afford to maintain such 
work for a constituency primarily and very largely outside the 
Association buildings. 



CHAPTER 17. 

PEOBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION GEOWING OUT OF 

SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 

A. IMPLICATIONS OF THE ORIGIN OF THE ASSOCIATION MOVE- 
MENT IN INDIA. 

Christianity entered India in two ways ; it came as a mission- 
ary movement carried by men like William Carey and his friends 
and successors, and it came as the religion of the European popu- 
lation. The entrance of this latter type was at the port centres. 
These port centres are the product of European occupation and 
commercial development and here the European population 
planted the institutions with which it was familiar. The Young 
Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations were among the 
number. 

This twofold origin created certain problems of administra- 
tion for the Christian Associations which it is necessary to 
understand. Because the Associations entered with the Europeans 
at the port centres, they are widely scattered geographically. 
If the local language were employed, there are not two of 
these centres which would cany on in the same tongue. They 
are not naturally a unit of administration. Each one is more 
provincial than national in its consciousness. , 

Furthermore, the fact that the movements came in two ways 
created two types of Association which are marked in their diffe- 
rences. Those which were planted as missionary undertakings passed 
.easily into indigenous control. Of such the rural Y.M.C.A.'s in 
Travancore and Jaffna are examples. Those which came in with 
the European population have carried on in two ways. Some have 
passed after a transition period, and sometimes after a struggle, 
into Indian hands. Others have carried on as European Associa- 
tions and have administered certain projects for Anglo-Indians 
and Indians. Of such undertakings the Proctor Branch in 
Bombay is a good example for the Y.M.C.A. 

In the Y.W.C.A., the missionary Associations were those 
formerly classified under the vernacular department. In 1919 
there .were 40 such Y.W.C.A.'s with a combined membership of 
1,478 ; work was carried on among Indian women in six languages. 
Of the second type were those Associations organized in the city 



169 

department which in 1919 numbered 54 with a combined member- 
ship of 5,049'. The object of this department, in the words of the 
annual report for 1917, was : 

" To work for the welfare of all girls and young women 
not more suitably cared for by the vernacular and student 
departments. In practice this comes to mean that the city 
department works mainly among Europeans and Anglo- 
Indians." 

By one of the strange chances of history this city department, 
together with the college department, became practically the 
whole Young Women's Christian Association in India. Two 
events brought this about. The first was the visit of representa- 
tives of the World's Committee and the ISTational Board of the 
Y.W.C.A. of the United States, shortly after the war. On this 
occasion, it was recommended that: 

"Work be not organized so that Indian and non-Indian 
work become separate departments, valuing the importance 
of fostering intercourse between the two and the fact that 
there were so many Indians in present City Branches." 

The second event was the " retrenchment without warning " 
order which came from ~New York in 1924. Under pressure of 
retrenchment, the vernacular department was dropped and the 
Young Women's Christian Association became co-extensive with 
what had been the student and city departments in 1919. The 
Y.W.C.A. thus became, with the exception of the college work, 
practically identified with the non-Indian group of young women 
in India. - 

But both Associations, as their work becomes more thorough- 
ly indigenous, will have to adapt themselves to the language and 
customs of the differing areas, and will find themselves confront- 
ed with an increasingly difficult problem of central administra- 
tion. The survey finds in this circumstance good reason for the 
systems of provincial control advocated from time to time by the 
Young Men's Christian Association. 

B. DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE 
FOB, THE ASSOCIATIONS. 

.1. Literacy in English. 

Classifying the total number of literates according to sex, a 
heavy preponderance appears in favour of the men. 

Turning to the question of literacy in English, the same 
general trends are to be noted but the proportions are much 



smaller. Literacy in English is confined quite largely to urban 
areas and more especially to port cities. In the total population, 
160 males and 18 females per ten thousand are literate in English. 

One is impressed with the limitations which are imposed on 
the Young Women's Christian Association because of the com- 
paratively small number of Indian women who are literate in 
English in the cities in which the Association is located. 

2. The European and Anglo-Indian Communities. [Omitted.] 
3. The Christian Community. 

A map showing the distribution of the Christian population 
and the Christian Associations would indicate a close relation- 
ship between the two. The Christian community seems to fur- 
nish a large share of the people who are predisposed towards the 
Association and a large supply of voluntary workers. The Tra- 
vancore centres, for instance, carry on a large proportion of their 
work with honorary secretaries and this state has a higher pro- 
portion of Christians in the total population than any other in 
India. A large Christian population carries with it a high per- 
centage of literacy in English and this has in turn worked to the 
advantage of the Associations, since they have carried on their 
activities in English. The Associations appear to be very de- 
pendent on the Christian church to create the soil in which they 
can grow. 

4. Present-day Internal Movements of the Population. 

The distribution of the major communal groups in India 
indicates that their present geographic outlines follow approxi- 
mately the contours of the great racial thrusts which from time to 
time have penetrated India. It is not true that religions always 
coincide with race, but in general outline the distribution of Maho- 
medanism represents the projection for the central Asiatic Aryan 
thrust into India from the north-west,' while the Hindus hold the 
great central plains of India and are flanked by Mahomedanism on 
the one side and by Buddhism on the other. The latter evidently 
represents a backwash from Mongolian territory. 

In present times there are two population movements which 
are worthy of the attention of Christian statesmen ; one is the 
movement to the industrial centres and the other is a movement 
with a similar motive to the tea plantations of India, Burma and 
Ceylon. Both are having a marked effect on the religious distri- 
bution of the population. 



171 

Under the influence of these modern movements a new dis- 
persion of Christian forces is taking place. There is a record of 
2,264 Christians from a single place, Ahmednagar, moving to 
Bombay. The migration to the tea plantations of Ceylon has 
taken 25,000 South Indian Christians to Ceylon. The migration 
of Madrassi Christians, to Calcutta and Rangoon has furnished the 
nuclei of two Y.M.C.A. branches in those cities. The migration 
of Travancore Christians to Bombay has established two groups 
of Malayalam-speaking Christians there. 

In the .following table are recorded those Y.M.C.A. branches 
in India in which migrants from the Madras Presidency consti- 
tute a significant group : 

7.M.C.A. Membership Groups from the Madras Presidency. 

(1929) 

Student Hostel in London . . 144 out of 548 

Bhowanipore Branch, Calcutta . . 99 141 

College Branch, Calcutta . . 33 566 

Trivandrum Y.M.C.A. 23 341 

Town Branch, Rangoon . . 16 361 

Byculla Branch, Bombay .. 10 36 

Hostel, Colombo . . 4 39 

It will be seen that Associations are likely to be benefited when 
they are situated in the course of the natural flow of population 
from South India. 

In other places the population migration offers a challenge 
to the Associations which is as yet unmet. In 1921 the migra- 
tion from South India to Ceylon was 460,760, to Burma 270,993 
and to Mysore 269,675 and in each case the group was made up 
of plantation labour. Much has been done by the government to 
take the hazard for the workers out of such migration but since 
the Christian church does so much of its work among the depressed 
classes, which constitute the great bulk of this migratory popu- 
lation, the question may well be asked whether this is not a field 
in which Christian forces should seek to co-operate. Why work 
for migratory labour in North America and neglect it in India 1 
Of this opportunity, Mr. F. E. James, Secretary of the United 
Tea Planters' Association, and a former secretary of the Y.M.C.A., 
has said : 

" A new field is open to the Association which it is not 
accepting. There is an opportunity for service in connection 
with the large migration of workers to the tea plantations. 



172 

The companies have offered to finance welfare workers if the 
Association will furnish them." 

A third aspect of the present-day internal migrations is the 
change being brought about in the religious statistics of the large 
cities like Bombay and Calcutta. These are rapidly becoming 
Hindu strongholds. At the time of the 1921 census the Hindus 
constituted 71 per cent of the population of Calcutta. This fact 
in itself might have been expected, but the surprising thing is 
that during the previous twenty years, while the city increased 
by 14 . 7 per cent, the Hindu population increased by 23 . 9 per cent. 
The Mahomedans who represented, in 1921, 24.5 per cent of the 
population actually lost ground, during the same period, both in 
percentage and in total numbers. The Christians gained only by 
5 . 8 per cent or at a rate of just a little more than one-third as fast 
as that of the city itself. The Hindus are increasing almost twice 
as fast as the city. The explanation of this fact is not to be 
found in accessions by conversion from other faiths, but in the 
nature of the population movement which is flowing into the city 
to supply Calcutta and its mills with labour. Of the 1,327,547 
inhabitants of the city in 1921, 75 . 13 per cent were born elsewhere. 
Of this number one in every five, or twenty per cent, came from 
Bihar and Orissa where there were eight Hindus to every Maho- 
medan. 
: 5. The Natural Constituency of the Associations. 

A vocational analysis of the Y.M.C.A. memberships in eleven 
leading cities brought out the fact that, of the total number in 
1929, 35.4 per cent were business employees and 20.6 per cent 
were students. An additional 15.0 per cent was made up of 
business executives. A similar analysis of the memberships of 
five Y.W.C.A. centres indicated that, of the total number, 26 . 5 
per cent were students and 21.6 per cent were business girls. 
The largest single group in the women memberships 3 7.1 per cent 
of the total was made up of "professionals," presumably for 
the most part teachers. 

The conclusion seems clear that the natural constituency of 
the Associations, so far as the general membership is concerned, 
is the business and student population. It should be borne in 
mind that the Student Associations of the Y.M.C.A. were not 
included in this study, and that the students referred to above 
were discovered in the regular city memberships. 

CHAPTEK 18. 
[Omitted.] 



CHAPTER 19. 
LINES OF CLEAVAGE IN Y.M.C.A. POLICY. 

A. PROBLEMS OF FUNCTION AND FIELD. 

It is useless to try to hide from tlie friends of the Association 
the strain which the organization is under because of conflicting 
stages of programme development which are out of harmony with 
the original plan and purpose of the Association. In the outline 
of the three stages of Y.M.C.A. work given below there is an at- 
tempt to make clear these conflicting theories. The scheme is 
doubtless open to the criticism that certain lines have been over- 
emphasized. If so, it has been with the purpose of making clear 
the fact that the Association has moved from one stage to another 
and has not taken the trouble either to reconstruct its original 
theories in accordance with its present practice or to change the 
structure of the Association in accordance with the need of its 
present ideals. , x 

SUCCESSIVE STAGES OP Y.M.C.A. DEVELOPMENT. 

The Religious Fellowship Stage : 1875-1900. 

Basis of Association . . Common belief and shared re- 

ligious experience. 

Motive for joining . . Sense of responsibility for in- 

creasing the body of believers. 

Control . . . . By the active membership ; secre- 

taries chiefly honorary. 

Purpose of programme " . . To give members religious disci- 
pline and to make new con- 
verts. 

Financial support . . Contributions chiefly from mem- 

bers. 

The Stage oj Institutional Education : 190.0-1920. 
Basis of Association ... Student-teacher relationship. 

Motive for joining . . Teaching in the case of a few, 

learning in the case of the 
majority. 



174 

Control . . . . By the staff faculty and the 

boards of directors ; active 
members have practically no 
control. 

Purpose of programme . . To educate the public and to 

serve privilege buyers. 

Financial support . . . . Public contributions, endow- 

ments, membership dues and 
fees, government grants. 

The Service Agency Stage: 1920-1930. 

Basis of Association . . Giver-receiver relationship. 

Motive for joining . . Giving service in the case of a 

few, receiving service in the 

case of many. 

Control . . . , By social service experts and 

the boards of directors ; per- 
sons being served cannot be 
given much control. 

Purpose of programme . . Service to the needy (hostel 

members, under-privileged 
childhood and youth) and 
public service ; only slight ser- 
vice to the active member- 
ship. 

Financial support . . Public contributions (the As- 

sociation is regarded as a 
charity), endowments, fees, gov- 
ernment grants, and foreign 
subsidies. 

The strain in the present structure appears in the follow- 
ing ways. With regard to the basis of association, the original 
fellowship relationship is in conflict with the latter giver-receiver 
relationship. With respect to motive for joining, neither giving 
nor receiving service possesses sufficient dynamic to create a 
movement such as originally existed. The original democratic 
theory of control is out of harmony with the highly centralized 
control which appears to be inherent in the administration of 
concerns on a large scale. The active membership, having be- 
come insignificant, can no longer be called upon for collective 
acting and thinking. The original purpose of the programme to 
discipline the active membership by means of Bible study, prayer 



175 

meetings, and the like, is in conflict with the purpose developed 
later to educate and interest the public. The movement which 
was originally financed on a democratic basis is now forced to 
depend on the gifts of wealthy friends, European and Indian, on 
government grants, fees for services, and foreign assistance. 

1. The Programme of Reconciliation. 

The programme, objective and a structure of the Y.M.C.A. 
are inextricably intertwined. The objective of the Association, 
stated in general terms, is to lead the members of the fellowship 
in a continuous experience of reconciliation between God and 
man, and between man and other men. This experience is de- 
pendent on the structure and programme of the Association and 
constitutes the criterion by which both must be evaluated. The 
structure of the Association is important because through this 
means men are being given an experience in associated living ; 
the nature of the association either furthers the individual's ex- 
perience of brotherhood or thwarts it. In the same way the 
programme is to be judged by its capacity to develop the experience 
of fellowship between God and man, and between man and other 
men. It is at this point that the fourfold programme is inade- 
quate for the following reasons. 

The philosophy of the fourfold work was based on the ex- 
perience of the individual. It was something a man could, to a 
large extent, have by himself. It was a statement in terms of 
the character development of an isolated person, but the true 
Christian statement is richer in social content than this. Those 
who were committed to the fourfold programme were unconscious 
of too many group relationships which complicate the develop- 
ment of personality. Personality is more of a group product 
than they were able to recognize. A poorly conceived Associa- 
tion relationship thwarted even the social outlook of the four- 
fold programme. A programme more socially conscious would 
have faced the necessity of dealing with these conditions. 

While recognizing that the fourfold programme for the educa- 
tion of the individual still has elements of validity, there is evi- 
dence that new fields are opening up which are likely to over- 
shadow the former emphasis. Wherever the survey staff went in 
its investigations, it asked the question, "'What is the best work 
the T.M.C.A. has done in your community?" With certain 
variations that only emphasize the essential agreement, the 
answers have been everywhere the same. They have all centred 
around the one word " reconciliation". In Travancore it was 



176 

said that the Association has been a force for inter-denominational 
reconciliation ; in the Mofussil towns the Association seemed to be 
taking its place as a community centre; in Madras, Lahore and 
Colombo it was a force for inter-communal reconciliation ; and in 
the leading port cities, which seemed almost too much for the 
Association, the people interviewed at least felt that the Y.M.C.A. 
was responsible to some extent for overcoming race prejudice 
and in promoting inter-communal understanding. This, .then, 
seems to be the field which the public is assigning to the Associa- 
tion. The fourfold programme is still maintained, but it is no longer 
in the front windows. The Y.M.G.A. is publicly recognized as 
having a mission of reconciliation in India. 

But an organization cannot teach what it cannot exemplify. 
If the Association is to send people out to recommend a certain 
good life to other social entities such as villages, industries, and 
the like, it must first have achieved in itself that which it would 
recommend to ,others. The fellowship groups of the Association 
become then the test of whether it can expound the fellowship 
message to the world. The failure of the Association, when such 
there is, ! lies in the moral neutrality of the membership. If it Is 
to integrate a great city, that integration must take place first 
of all within the groups which the Association calls : together in 
its institutes and hostels. Here are its first responsibilities. 
It is the major objective of all its marching and counter-marching, 
and if it fails here it fails completely. 

- , 2. The Field of the Association. 

In its interviews with various Association groups in India, 
the survey staff found a great deal of diversity of opinion as to 
what is the proper field of Association work. In its original mani- 
festos the Y.M.C.A. declares itself to be an association of Chris- 
tian young men for such service as it can render to young men. 
If this is its function the Association might be looked upon as a 
flying squadron, operating on a particular sector for the church, 
a sector represented by young men. But the Association in 
India does not seem to have confined itself to this sector. It is 
rather like a flying squadron commissioned to operate on all 
fronts : rural life, industrial work, literature, and physical educa- 
tion. Perhaps this general commission to operate on all fronts can 
be justified because the Y.M.C.A. is in missionary territory 
where relief and welfare agencies are not as numerous as in the 
West. But the fact that the Association in India has carried 
on this widespread activity must be recognized. *It has often 



177 

been the Bed Cross of India in times of flood and community 
suffering. It' is entirely possible that as Western institutions 
multiply in India the T.M.C.A. will be compelled to divide with 
other agencies the territory which it has hitherto occupied largely 
alone. 

The distinctive characteristic of the Y.M.C.A. is not found 
in its philosophy, its theology, its ethics nor its methods of work. 
All of these can be found in other Christian organizations. In 
fact it seems everywhere to be something of a register of the rising 
and falling tides of the more liberal Christian element in a given 
community. Its distinctive characteristic is that it is a man's 
organization working for men and boys. 

3. The Religious Emphasis of the Association. 

A great many reasons have been given for the loss of religious 
emphasis in the Association programme. With the point of view 
which finds religous values in all useful activities the survey staff 
is in sympathy. The loss of interest in the distinctively religious 
is not something peculiar to the Association. The situation is a 
general one and affects the church as well as all other religious 
agencies. This situation can be roughly characterized as follows : 
Religious people have lost courage for their cause. They have 
courage only when they are conferring some kind of secular benefit 
on society. They have courage when they are building colleges, 
promoting better agriculture and offering people the benefits of 
a comfortable hospital. The church knows how to create crises 
in the minds of people which send them to these places. It says 
to a small boy, " You emaciated little rascal, why don't you de- 
velop some muscle?" and the small boy runs to a gymnasium. 
It says to another, " Your ignorance is colossal," and the boy 
hurries to a college. All religious institutions to-day seek to live 
by serving men in these secular needs to which the church calls 
attention. But neither the church nor the Association knows 
how to create a crisis which sends men to religion and the church. 

This is nothing short of calamitous for religion and religious 
programmes. The remedy is not an easy one. Someday there will 
be a rediscovery of the individual in religion and with that event 
will take place a discovery of the crisis in human living which 
sends men to religion and religious ministry. Until that time 
comes we may expect that men will go on trying to rationalize 
non-religious programmes as religious. When evangelism was the 
major enthusiasm of the Christian church the Association was 
12 j 



178 

evangelistic. The T.M.C.A. followed the humanitarian move- 
ment into social service. Wow that the humanitarian move- 
ment is rediscovering the individual we may expect to see this 
movement also reflected in the Association. 

The Association is not the church and is not to be compared 
with the church. It belongs to that group of " middle organiza- 
tions " which have been generated by the church for dealing with 
specific problems in society. Other organizations of a similar 
character are the Christian colleges, the Anti-Saloon League, 
the Christian neighbourhood houses, the American Sunday School 
Union and similar organizations. The Association was devised 
to deal with problems in a specific area which required certain 
special types of equipment. By the same token the Association 
ought not to be set over against the church. It is probably true 
that the Association does work which the church does not do. It 
would be meaningless if it did not. 

A good deal of unnecessary friction grows out of the rela- 
tionship between the church and the Association. The Associa- 
tion leaders claim to believe in the church, but their declarations 
indicate that the kind of church in which they believe is one which 
is so weak that it needs an Association alongside to help it. The 
reverse is however true, for the Association is very dependent on 
the church. If one compares the distribution of Associations 
in India, with the distribution of the Christian population one is 
impressed with the degree to which they coincide. The church 
seems to furnish the Association with conditions favourable to its 
growth, as indicated in the preceding chapter and Part I of this 
report. On the other hand, the Association has had the right 
of way, and has developed the skill, in work among men and boys 
which the church could not claim. It has been, furthermore, 
a meeting place for all churches. This service in a very real way 
strengthens the church as a whole. When either the church or 
the Association enter into a competitive relationship there results 
a fragmentation of the cultural process which is most unfortunate. 

4. The Association Movement and Its Hostels. 

A psychologist or a biologist would say that it is impossible 
to draw a distinction between an organism and its activities, but 
some degree of separation is sometimes necessary for the preser- 
vation of the organism. It appears to be necessary to the inte- 
grity of the Association movement, and to its freedom of action, to 
separate it out from the midst of the good things which it does.. 



179 

The Association, for instance, conducts hostels, but the move- 
ment is hampered when the ordinary residents in a hostel are 
regarded as members of the Association. Many of them have 
little interest in its activities outside of a desire for an inexpen- 
sive room. As one hostel group said to its secretary : 

"The trouble with the management of this place is that 
you assume that we are interested in the activities of the 
Association, whereas we are interested in getting a room 
as cheaply as possible. Whenever you include us in the 
Association it irritates us." 

This attitude, so frankly expressed, is apparently not an unusual 
one. 

There are four possible ways of regarding the work of the 
hostels : 

(1) They are a source of revenue and provide income ; 

(2) They are a contribution to the housing opportunities 

for people of inadequate income and ought not to 
be looked upon as income producing features ; 

(3) They are a place of residence for a small group of 

people who assume special voluntary responsibi- 
lities, along with the secretaries, in the Association 
work. 

(4) They are places where young men have a successful 

experience in social living and are to be valued 
from the standpoint of social and cultural training . 

Probably all of the hostels have some features which might 
classify under each of the four heads mentioned above. The survey 
staff has been impressed with the fact that if the hostel work is to 
rise to the best level, its highest possibilities must be taken seriously, 
and there must be more adequate personnel for this type of work. 
It might help to clarify the issue if the non-student hostels were 
called hotels conducted by the Association, and were thus dis- 
entangled from the Association movement proper. 

5. The Training School and Physical Education. 

The Young Men's Christian Association occupies a recognized 
place in India as a leader in physical education. The work which 
it first did in civic centres and for the Government is gradually 
being absorbed by the city and other Government agencies. But 
the training school has been recognized as a centre of all these in- 
terests. Here men come for the more thorough-going training that 
jg not yet available in other places, Jt would appear that a school 



180 

which has for a number of years been running with scarcely any 
equipment and has acquired a standing before the Indian public 
such that the 1928 Indian Year Book published by the Govern- 
ment calls it " the leading venture of its kind in India" might 
well be put on a more substantial financial foundation. Funds 
placed at the disposal of the present leaders in this enterprise 
could be wisely used. The enthusiasm of the survey staff for the 
school is unqualified. 

6. Active Membership and Control. 

The development of the Association from an early religious 
fellowship has been traced elsewhere in this report. The growth 
of buildings and equipment, and of paid personnel has also been 
indicated. But the most important of all the changes has been 
the shift that has taken place in the meaning of Association mem- 
bership. The significance of active membership in the Associa- 
tion has been consistently reduced. 

The active membership was once called upon for collective 
planning and thinking, and was the real life of the whole move- 
ment. It elected officers and directed policies. It was a fellow- 
ship of men and boys held together by a certain ideal of life. 
Buildings and equipment were accessories but rather unimportant 
accessories. Trained employed secretaries were useful but the 
Association carried on for years without them. In the develop- 
ment of the Association the importance of this fellowship of active 
members suffered gradual displacement. With the multiplica- 
tion of equipment there came to the forefront those who could 
use equipment and those who wished to take advantage of ser- 
vices such as hostels, gymnasia, and the like. The importance of 
a Christian fellowship group as the centre of the Association de- 
clined ; control of the Association, nominally still vested in the 
active membership, passed to a paid secretary and to a board of 
directors chosen from prominent people in the community to ad- 
minister the institution. The programme once designed to disci- 
pline the membership came to be something to interest the 
public. It shifted as the public shifted. The Association lost 
faith in its real genius and began to define itself as something 
which could only be realized with large equipment and large funds. 
It became not a common man's religious fellowship but in many 
cases a rich man's charity. 

As a by-product of this development, the Association found 
itself not something which the Indians, with their genius for re- 
ligious fellowship, could administer but something very much 
dependent on European and Forth American benevolence, In 



181 

times of transition like the present this becomes a great source 
of embarrassment. There grew up the fiction that a building 
could grow a fellowship in place of the experienced fact that a 
fellowship could grow a building. 

It is the belief of the survey staff that there is need first of 
all for disentangling the real Association from the good things it 
does and for releasing it for a career in accordance with its genius, 
expressed in terms and under circumstances in harmony with 
Indian life. It is not thought that this calls for a return to any 
one of the three phases through which the Association in India 
has passed, it is rather thought that each one of these phases 
made some contribution to the life of the Association and that the 
Association is richer because of each. 

From the first stage comes the idea of the Association as a 
fellowship which can be called upon for collective action and think- 
ing ; from the fourfold programme comes the idea of the well-round- 
ed individual ; and from the post-war period the thought of the 
social environment as the object of redemption along with the 
fourfold development of the individual. From all of these, there 
are contributing factors to a common ideal of a religious fellow- 
ship united in the search for the "good way" of personal and 
social life using such equipment as is available for the accomplish- 
ment of the task. 

It is not to be denied that the historic equipment of hostel, 
gymnasium and social rooms have been tools with which the real 
Association has enriched its ministry, but the attainment of the 
essential goal is not dependent on these and is in many cases 
realizable without them. It is not the identifying of the Association 
programme with some conventional kind of expensive equipment 
that has hindered the Association in its development in India. 
All around the Y.M.C.A. are movements which are offering to 
Indians the chance to join in sacrificial service ; they are rally- 
ing men by slogans which call for Indians to assume responsi- 
bility in programmes of national welfare. They are compelling in 
their opportunities for sacrificial living. In this field lies the 
real genius of the Association and in many places it exemplifies 
it splendidly. In these cases the active membership gathers 
together a group of men to assume collective responsibility in self- 
discipline and in public service. Such membership groups were 
found in the village T.M.C.A.'s in Travancore, in some of the 
student groups, and also in some of the city Associations. These 
fellowships of men constitute the real Association and their num- 
bers should be multiplied. These groups can use equipment 



but they are not dependent on it. In fact the heavy overhead 
involved in equipment was often found to obscure the goal and 
limit the freedom of the group. 

It is the belief of the survey staff that the essence of the 
Association consists in a group of men who are together experienc- 
ing reconciliation with God and man, that this fellowship is the 
heart and core of the Association and should be in control of it, 
and that any tendency which obscures this fact sooner or later 
deflects the Association into unfortunate channels. It is the 
belief of the staff that the Association in India needs evangelists 
who can dramatize before Indian youth the call for self-develop- 
ment and national service under the historic banner of the Chris- 
tian way of life. This call can be heard alike by men in great poverty 
and in great wealth. It can move in buildings and out of them. 
It can make use of churches and schools, it can thrive in the great 
out-of-doors. Its benefits will be the old historic benefits of a new 
status and fellowship in service. Such a movement can make use 
of all the equipment there is in India and more, but without this 
movement the present equipment will continue to disintegrate 
because there are not those who can bear the burden of its upkeep. 

The Association faces the necessity of understanding itself in 
the light of its avowed purpose to be a movement for ethical and 
spiritual leadership among young men. This objective should 
be conceived as in contrast to : (a) an Association built upon 
secretarial leadership j this is a modified type of clericalism ; (&) 
social service activities performed by a paid secretariat and using 
Western funds ; activities like playgrounds, rural centres, the 
Association Press and others, are admittedly good but are in no 
way the product of, or a substitute for, a more basic Indian de- 
velopment ; (e) the identification of the Association movement 
with a membership gathered together by the desire to be served, 
in short with privilege buyers ; (d) the benevolent activity of a 
supporting constituency to whom the Association means very 
little as a fellowship but rather an outlet for charity. 

B. PROBLEMS OF FREEDOM. 

It cannot be denied that religious organizations are under a 
great strain during a time of political upheaval such as that now 
going on in India. In the first place, there is the demand from 
the British Government that those organizations which have 
received Government grants should support it and fight the Indian 
National Congress movement. In addition to this, there is the 
unofficial demand of the supporters of the Y.M.C.A., such as that 



18S 

made by the European Association in Calcutta. There is also the 
pressure from the British members on the boards of directors. 
From the other side, there is the pressure from Indian groups as 
illustrated by the attitude of the Indian students in London and 
recorded in Chapter 14. 

The Association has denned its task to include education for 
citizenship. It has sought to avoid partisan politics ; it is how- 
ever hard to define the discussion of British and Indian view- 
points as engaging in partisan politics. There appears to be 
little doubt that fear of trouble has kept the Y.M.C.A. silent and 
inactive, in India, even in or<linary matters that would not arouse 
suspicion. The committee of management of the London hostel, 
on the other hand, has tried to draw a line that will allow consi- 
derable freedom of discussion but will, at the same time, not permit 
members to use the name of the Y.M.C.A. for propaganda. This 
appears to be the course of wisdom. 

In such situations there is a certain obligation on both sides. 
The Association is manifestly under the obligation of keeping to 
its historic function as a religious organization. On the other 
side, there is an ethical obligation on the part of the Government 
not to require of the Association a political loyalty which vio- 
lates the conscience of individual members. 

The Y.M.C.A. of India, Burma and Ceylon is faced with the 
necessity of thinking through its future in the face of possible 
exigencies in its social environment. If things continue much 
as at present the North American and British support will go on 
diminishing and the present small Indian support will have to 
grow larger. In this case, the organization should employ an 
Indian finance secretary who will accept responsibility for culti- 
vating an Indian constituency. It should further give attention 
to the acquisition of buildings that will produce income, by means 
of shop rentals or room rentals. Endowments should be raised 
for some of the special programme features such as the industrial 
work, the publication department, the training school, and the 
rural work. Simpler types of programme should also be developed 
that will have value without being expensive. Finally, more of 
the burden of self-support should be put upon the six leading 
local Associations. 

Some of the outstanding problems of institutional freedom 
and its relation to control and financial support will be discussed 
in the following sections: 



1. Religious Freedom and Religious Institutions. 

Religious institutions are governed by the following elements : 
(1) the formal and informal control exercised by the group that 
projects them ; (2) the recognized leaders, either elected or self- 
appointed, who serve the institution ; (3) the people who give- 
money and so furnish the support ; (4) the prevalent public opinion 
that surrounds the institution; and (5) the participants in the pri- 
vileges of the institution. 

The question of control is generally discussed in terms of 
numbers one and two and there is a failure to recognize how much 
three, four and five enter into the modification of the ideas of 
those who are nominally at the head. Very frequently leaders 
break with the authority of number one by encouraging the 
authority of three, four, and five. If the above analysis is accept- 
ed, a point of view is developed by which to establish the futility 
of any discussion of the question as to whether or not a foreign 
cultural or religious movement has really taken root in a country, 
which takes into consideration only one kind of control. 

This question of indigenousness is generally discussed upon 
the promise that the chief hindrance is Western Christianity re- 
presented in soine form of denominational control or, as is the 
case with the Y.M.C.A., in the form of the dominance of the 
American idea or the North American movements. But there 
are other kinds of control no less insidious. 

An investigation of some of the organizations which most 
loudly proclaim their freedom from the control of Western Chris- 
tianity Indicates that they are very much under the influence of 
the European community which furnishes most of the members 
of the local committees of control and the bulk of the financial 
support. Sometimes it is a Government subsidy which provides 
the funds, and Governments often have ways of dictating terms 
to those to whom they give. It is an interesting fact that the 
Missouri Lutherans in South India have been one of the first of 
the missionary bodies to forego Government funds in their schools 
because they. would not accept the terms which the Government 
imposed. Furthermore, an investigation of the forces of control 
might well indicate that although Western influences had been 
abandoned an institution had become, so sensitive to general 
public opinion, and especially to that of the non-Christian ele- 
ment, that a very subtle but real non-Christian control had been 
established. 

Now the fact that any agency is a possible source of control 
means also that it is a possible source of power, and the question 



of swaraj (self-government) in religion is a problem of the fusion 
of these forces and influences. The problem stated in terms of 
an educational institution is this: Can a faculty, governing 
boards and a body of students, be enlisted in a venture in which 
teaching and learning may have right of way ? In a religious 
institution it is a question whether or not a present religious 
fellowship is an end in itself, and its traditions, building equip- 
ment, governing boards, and institutional programmes its servants. 
It is a question whether the members are a group of privilege- 
buyers who exercise rights, or a fellowship of men who have 
assumed obligations. 

Is it not often seen that just in proportion as an institution 
over-emphasizes one side of its work, it complicates the problem 
of freedom ? Mr. Grugg, in a book entitled " The Economics of 
Khaddar," points out that if India tries tobuildher industry out 
of the power which is in machines, she will probably fail, but if 
India realizes the power which she has in men, she will probably 
succeed. There is a hint there which may be of value for swaraj 
in religion. Large buildings and heavy equipment are a rich 
man's game. If poor people try to play it, they land in slavery. 
On the other hand, brotherly fellowship, personal helpfulness 
is a game which the poor can play. In such material India is 
rich. Swaraj in religion and swaraj in economics may be made 
successful by the discovery of new kinds of energy and a new 
principle of organization. 

2. Institutional Organization and ihe Experience of Freedom. 

The people of India are committed to the cause of national 
freedom in objective, organization and programme. As at present 
visualized, the organization is not complete and the programme is 
not complete. For the religious and welfare agencies this means 
an opportunity to provide them with a knowledge of the experi- 
ence of freedom in associated living. Stated in another way, 
the missionary institutions are under obligation to give those 
in whom they are interested an experience which increases their 
power of self-government. 

Inconsistent with this objective is an experience of depen- 
dence oh charity or an institutional life so large that any kind of 
self-determination on the part of those being helped is impossible. 
This is illustrated by Calvert's remarks about the British Govern- 
ment to the effect that it had become so perfect that the Indians 
could not take it over. Miller said that his schools at Madura 
were beyond the Indians' ability to manage for another hundred 



186 

years. The maintenance of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, which is the product of Is orth American and European bene- 
volence, is in some places entirely beyond the reach of Indians 
and keeps them ever at the feet of the European community. 

The conclusion, therefore, is that institutions which are local 
administrative agencies must give some experience of democratic 
control to those whom they seek to help. This principle is in- 
consistent with control by administrative agencies from abroad, 
with control by benevolent providers of funds inside the country 
(whether they be Europeans or any other people to whom the 
Association means nothing as a fellowship), and with exclusive 
control by secretaries or boards of directors. It means a fusion 
of the five determining sources of control with the emphasis on 
the authority of the people of the country. 

In regard to programme, this ideal means that the kind of help 
which is given shall be such as can be appropriated by those for 
whom the experience in self-government is desired. It demands 
that that help must be given which will be really helpful to some 
one who is to be made increasingly free. This necessarily raises 
the question of the value of institutional missions and such pro- 
grammes as require large equipment. 

Benevolent missions have been going through a period in 
which the emphasis has been on the giving of material equipment. 
Without doubt the large schools, hospitals and central Y.M.C.A. 
buildings have been acceptable, but their deficiencies are begin- 
ning to be apparent in times when the emphasis is on freedom. 
Most of the large equipment is simply non-transferable. Its 
maintenance perpetuates an experience of dependence. Another 
criticism of it is that it accumulates a constituency who are not 
interested in an experience of freedom but are content with de- 
pendence. This condemns all missionary venture of this type 
to mediocrity. Control of a spiritual movement cannot be 
transferred to a group of privilege buyers. 

Viewed from the standpoint of the givers, the institutional 
mission is something which the rich can give to the poor: Are we 
not ready for a revaluation of missions from the standpoint of 
freedom ? Will not such revaluation bring to the forefront a 
new appreciation of the rare experience derived from giving a 
man that very intangible reality a Christian vocation ? 

Briefly stated from this standpoint, the following types of 
missionary work will recede into the background : Social welfare 



187 

institutions and settlements, medical missions, agricultural mis- 
sions, educational missions and the large institutions of the Chris- 
tian Associations. Many of these organizations become the basis 
for a disbelief in the Oriental's capacity for self-government. 
Consequently he is on the defence against them. 

On the positive side, the new evaluation of missions from the 
standpoint of freedom would bring to the forefront that mis- 
sionary appeal which holds out the allurement of the Christian voca- 
tion of the assumption of responsibility in the pursuit of the uni- 
versal community, and of fellowship with Christ in seeking the 
kingdom of righteousness. This experience can be transferred 
by the use of the simplest symbols. Large institutional life may 
be an encumbrance. 

Gandhi's whole programme which is a mighty challenge to his 
people to join with him in a great spiritual venture successfully 
scorns large equipment. It relies most on the appeal of the 
heroic. It speaks the language of symbols. It invites its mem- 
bers to spiritual discipline in j>rayer, meditation, clear thinking, 
and personal sacrifice. Missions under similar conditions would 
deal not with cultural deficiencies but with those old revolution- 
izing realities such as personal dignity, self-respect, freedom 
and the sense of mission in society. 

There is room for a transition period in which an attempt 
should be made to salvage the products of the period of institu- 
tional missions by raising endowments for those institutions which 
have been established ; by seeking to make the large institutions 
as democratic as possible through encouraging members and pri- 
vilege users to participate in management ; by gradually disen- 
tangling the religious movements from the institutional agencies, 
and organizing them under separate boards of directors, and the 
like ; and by demonstration work in certain fields where social 
work is still in its infancy. This latter should, however, be tem- 
porary in nature. A beginning can be made in the organization 
of free religious and social fellowships which will form the nuclei 
of the larger religious fellowships of the future. 

3. The Relative Merits of various kinds of Support from the 

Standpoint of Freedom. 

The chief sources of financial support for private institutions 
dedicated to religious, social and educational ends may be enu- 
merated as follows : Government subsidies, subscriptions from 
abroad, public contributions inside the country, subsidies from 
business corporations, and membership fees and donations. The 



m 

relative advantages and disadvantages of each will be enumerat- 
ed below : 

(a) Government Subsidies. The advantage consists in the 
availability of large amounts of money for expensive projects ; 
in fact, where the practice of private benevolence is undeveloped, 
Government grants are the only possible source of income. This 
method of financing welfare work is commonly accepted in coun- 
tries under British rule. 

The disadvantages, however, are serious. Without a doubt 
the practice accentuates the communal struggle. The British 
Government augments communal feeling by making grants to 
communal institutions, and then uses the existence of the com- 
munal problem to justify its continuance in India. Similarly, 
the missions and Y.M.C.A.'s participate in the system which 
accentuates the struggle and then, in turn, justify their existence 
in India because of the communal problem. Furthermore, a 
State-supported religious or educational body never acquires the 
right to criticise the State. Whenever it permits itself such dis- 
cussion it is accused of political tendencies. Finally, the possi- 
bility of acquiring large funds for buildings tends to emphasize 
the equipment side of the work to the detriment of other sides, 
as may be illustrated, for instance, by the overdevelopment of 
the hostel work in the Y.M.C.A. 

(6) Subscriptions from Abroad. Among the advantages 
must be mentioned the circumstance that the sharing of wealth 
by Christians in one part of the world with Christians in other 
parts does make possible the development of institutions and the 
extension of projects which would otherwise not be undertaken 
at all. Furthermore, this sharing of goods becomes the channel 
through which spiritual gifts may be shared to the benefit of both 
parties. Money given in this way relieves institutions from the 
necessity of applying to the Government for subsidies. The pro- 
motion of institutional growth in anticipation of future spiritual 
development appears to be a fairly well-recognized procedure in 
all missionary enterprise. 

The most significant disadvantage lies in the danger that 
the case with which such funds can be secured from abroad may 
warp the development of a religious movement in a given country. 
This may take place in the following ways : A type of leadership 
may be developed that spends its time cultivating contacts abroad 
rather than in developing resources, both spiritual and financial, 
at home. Since most of the money is administered through the 



189 

national headquarters, undue power may be lodged in this body 
and democratic development be thwarted. Foreign subsidies 
are often spent for the projects of special interest to the individual 
securing them, rather than for the basic needs of the movement 
as a whole. The development of the movement may be deter- 
mined by the wishes of the foreign donors more than by the needs 
of the indigenous population. Another disadvantage to be 
pointed out lies in the danger that such foreign subsidies may 
come to be the basis for buying entrance into a country in an 
economic or political sense. 

(o) Public Contributions inside the Country. This type of 
support is one stage nearer free, indigenous support than either 
Government grants or foreign subsidies. It represents the volun- 
tary interest of people that know the movement. Moreover, 
it is a source of income that can be developed and that grows 
as the movement grows. The practice also serves to educate in 
public-mindedness those from whom donations are solicited. 
Causes that seek such support shoulder, to some extent, the burden 
of public education in that they create public opinion intelligent 
as to their work. 

Among the disadvantages must be mentioned the fact that 
too great a reliance on public support may lodge real control 
outside the movement. The tendency is developed to live for 
the general public rather than according to the true genius of the 
movement. A spiritual and social fellowship tends towards 
institutionalism and may become a public charity. One way to 
make religion conservative is to load it down with institutions 
that can only be supported by the general public and more es- 
pecially by the business world. 

(d) Subsidies from Business Corporations. The advantages 
of such subsidies for welfare projects consist in the fact that large 
amounts are secured for expensive undertakings and that the skill 
and techniques of an organization like the Y.M.C.A. are put at 
the disposal of workers who need help. The disadvantages lie 
in the circumstance that the corporations control the funds and 
that consequently very little freedom is possible in developing 
the work. A sudden chance of policy may terminate the enter- 
prise at any time and leave the equipment and working staff 
without function. 

(e) Membership Fees and Donations. This source of income 
contains the only real basis for swaraj. A movement so financed 
can be free in its relations to the State and to society. Control 
is lodged inside the movement and true self-determination is 



190 

possible. If self -support is substantial it is still possible to secure 
additional income from shop rentals, endowments, or similar 
sources, without lodging control outside the movement. The 
movement which has won its freedom can ask others to co-operate 
on its own terms. For these reasons, this source of income is 
to be preferred to all others. 

The disadvantage of support from membership sources lies 
in the fact that poverty is always the price of freedom in religion. 
A movement so financed will probably have to manage with small 
-equipment, particularly in the early stages. Furthermore, a 
heavy burden is put on the leaders of the movement. Unless 
men of real ability and devotion are developed, a movement will 
not progress very far without the accessories which money can 
provide. 

In presenting the above considerations, no suggestion is in- 
tended that the Association confine itself to any one source of 
financial support. The purpose was rather to assess the advan- 
tages and disadvantages of each so that the Association might 
be in a position to evalute their relative values in the light of its 
own best interest. The Y.M.C.A. shares with all institutions 
and private individuals the obligation to consider the source of 
its support with reference to the effect of such support on its own 
soul as well as on its own body, especially in times of crisis. 

0. PROBLEMS OF CO-OPERATION WITH NORTH AMERICA. 

Systematically from one end of India to the other, the survey 
staff asked the question : Has the T.M.O.A. taken root in 
India H This question was interpreted to mean : If foreign 
support were withdrawn has the Association developed enough 
momentum to carry on with such Indian resources as it can com- 
mand 1 While the answers indicated a very widespread good- 
will toward the Y.M.C.A., among Christians and non-Christians, 
the conviction appeared to be very definite that the withdrawal 
of foreign support would substantially reduce the effectiveness 
of the Association although it would not kill it. The Y.M.C.A. 
is established in the Buropeanized sections of the country. It 
is most securely launched in the indigenous population in the 
southern part of India. The great weakness in the present situa- 
tion lies in the fact that Indians have thought of the Y.M.C.A. as 
a rich organization which did not need their small gifts and which 
was so far beyond the reach of indigenous support that they have 
developed no sacrificial attitude toward it. Buildings, equip- 
ment and salary scales have been approyed. on so high a level 



191 

that, with, the exception of some of the small places in South 
India, public support of the Association has not been seriously 
contemplated by the Indian population. 

As one reviews the development of the Indian T.M.C.A., 
one is impressed with the progress that has been made toward 
indigenous control. The appointment of Indian national secre- 
taries and the gradual increase in the number of Indian secre- 
taries in the local Associations are all milestones on the road of 
progress. But one is also impressed with the fact that there has 
been no similar progress in indigenous support. Control and 
support are so clearly associated that this becomes a very serious 
matter. As will be recalled from the discussion in Chapter 7, 
there has been in recent years a decrease in subsidies from abroad' 
and also a decrease in contributions from Europeans in India, 
with no corresponding increase in amounts secured from Indian 
donors. The maintenance of the present plant and programme 
appears to be beyond the capacity of the Indian constituency. 
If this continues to be true, the Association in India will be faced, 
and increasingly so, with a very critical problem. If truly indi- 
genous control is desired, the difficulty cannot be met by attempt- 
ing to finance the movement by means of large gifts from 
America. 

1. The Problem of Buildings. 

Of all the contributions received for Association buildings 
in India, 35.8 per cent has come from North America and only 
23 .2 per cent from local donors. These buildings are not modern, 
in 1930, and some are entering a stage of disrepair. Local funds 
are not forthcoming with which to restore them. 

There is no wisdom in bemoaning the size of a building. Size 
is a relative matter. A building with ample dormitory space 
might be self-supporting. A large building with an adequate 
supporting constituency might be much more economical than a 
small one. But there is wisdom in declaring that the size of a 
building ought to bear some relation to the extent of the avail- 
able financial support. One cannot escape the conviction that 
the Y.M.C.A. has not faced the fact that the efficiency of a build- 
ing must finally be tested by the ability of the Indian community 
to maintain it. Judged on this basis, the building programme 
in India has far out-distanced available resources. 

In the local Associations, there seems to be a widespread 
difference of opinion as to the relative merits of one central build- 
ing and of many small builcUngs. Opinion is also divided as to 



192 

whether a large building helps or hinders the work. There does 
not seem to be any doubt that large equipment is an importation 
from the West and represents Western benevolence. Nothing 
appears to embarrass the Indian public quite so much as the fact 
that here is something they can neither reproduce nor support. 
Furthermore, as already indicated, many of the present buildings 
are showing signs of age. The survey staff is inclined to believe 
that a simpler, less expensive type of work which makes larger 
use of human resources and lays less emphasis on equipment, is 
essential to the success of the Y.M.O.A. movement in India. 

The survey staff is quite clear in its judgment that the North 
American movement is under obligation to assist the Indian 
movement in reconstructing and simplifying its equipment. In 
some cities it will be possible to effect economy by combining 
the work of several branches in one centre. With a small amount 
of outside help, one modern building could be erected with the 
receipts from the sale of several out-dated buildings now in exis- 
tence. In other places endowments might be secured in the form 
of shops or offices to be rented. There are still other cases where 
it will be better to sell the equipment and start work without 
any building in place of the present programme . All such measures 
will be constructive, however, only as a new type of work is visu- 
alized which is less dependent than the present programme on 
physical equipment. 

2. North American Participation in the Indian Movement. 

North American participation in the affairs of the Indian 
Y.M.C.A. has taken the form of contributions in funds and per- 
sonnel. The extent of such contributions has been set forth 
in the preceding chapters of this report. It is the judgment of 
the survey staff that this participation has been of great value, 
and that it has in each period of development been justified by 
the special circumstances. The question to be considered now is 
the kind of participation that will be of most value in the future. 

There has been in operation, during recent years, a general 
policy of North American assistance known as the " light house " 
policy. According to this plan certain outstanding enterprises 
have been launched in India with liberal aid from North America ; 
sometimes it was a city Association, sometimes a rural welfare 
centre, or something of the kind. While the survey staff is con- 
vinced of the value of such " demonstration " projects, it believes 
them open to the following criticism ; They are maintained chiefly 



193 

by large foreign subsidies and, like any venture similarly financ- 
ed, do not "demonstrate" anytMng permanent. What they 
do make clear is simply that unusual people can do unusual things 
if they have unusual means with which to do them. Whatever 
may once have been the justification for such demonstrations, 
what is needed at the present time is the development of plans 
that rely more heavily on Indian resources in funds and leader- 
ship. North American donors to work in India should scruti- 
nize their experiments from the standpoint of the amount of self- 
reliance developed by them among Indians. Projects that further 
this end, even though they exhibit many imperfections, may 
rightly be classed as pertaining to a new " light house " policy. 

In addition to launching projects that develop self-reliance 
and to assisting in the process of salvaging the present building 
equipment, probably the most useful form which North American 
participation can take is in the field of leadership training. To 
this end the training school in Madras deserves every encourage- 
ment. A policy of " training on the job " should also be encour- 
aged and may be counted on for good results. 

The role of the foreign secretary in India will, in future, be 
less and less that of captain of the team and increasingly that 
of coach and team strategist. In other words, the general secre- 
taryship both national and local will be reserved for Indians. 
Of course, no Indian should be put in such a position just because 
he is an Indian. The task is to find and train Indians capable 
of doing the necessary work. 

The foreign secretary is at present the necessary go-between 
for the Association and the European community in India. He 
also introduces the international element and prevents the move- 
ment from becoming exclusively Indian. On the other hand, 
he is a liability in that his salary and standard of living are so high 
above the Indian standard that he conveys to the public the im- 
pression that little sacrificial living prevails in the Association 
and that Indian support is not needed. His standards of living 
are unconsciously absorbed, to some extent, by the Indian secre- 
taries and they also tend to live above the scale of other Indians 
similarly employed. 

D. PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION. 

An issue very much to the forefront at the present time is 
that of the relationship between the local Associations and the 
National Council. The arguments in favour of a strong, cen- 
tralized national organisation are as follows : There are certain 

13 F 



194 

kinds of work that cannot be handled by local Associations, such 
as the rural reconstruction project or the Association Press. 
Then there are certain relationships that can only be maintained 
through a central headquarters. Foreign missionaries or the 
Government must have some agency through which to address 
the Y.M.C.A. of India. 

Those who press for decentralization, on the other hand, 
argue that the National Council is of no great service to the local 
Associations and withholds from them funds which they could 
better use. With more responsibility and power vested in the 
local situation, more ability would be released that is now locked 
up. The strength of the Y.M.C.A. is now concentrated in eight 
cities which differ among each other in language, customs and 
local loyalties. Some kind of provincial administration could 
deal better with this situation than the National Council. If 
there is to be a national organization, however, it should repre- 
sent the different areas and be responsible to them. At present 
there is no check on the central committees through any kind 
of provincial election. Finally, it is claimed that the Y.M.C.A. 
of India will be judged in the long run by the vitality of its local 
Associations and not by the work of its National Council. For 
this reason nothing should be allowed to hide from Association 
leaders the importance of perfecting the work in the local com- 
mittees. 

The survey staff agrees with those persons who point out that 
these two points of view are not mutually exclusive. It is of the 
opinion that a more thoroughgoing, attempt should be made in 
the future than has been made in the past to create responsible 
provincial units that will elect' representatives to the central or- 
ganization, which, in turn, will speak for all of the Associations in 
India. 



CHAPTER 20. 
OPPOETUNITIES FOE EXTENSION. 

A. THE PORT CITY AS THE CENTRE OF CULTURAL CONFLICT 
IN THE ORIENT. 

Some of us went to the Orient thinking that the term " cul- 
tural conflict " connoted a rather academic dispute between 
Western theological convictions and Oriental standards in ethics 
and religion. Gradually it dawns upon one that cultural conflict 
is as widespread as the activities of human beings and that it 
is a clash not only of the intellect but also of all the competing 
interests in society. This struggle comes to a focus in the port 
cities of the Orient. It might better be called a conflict due to 
lack of culture rather than a cultural conflict. 

In the port city, which is the product of the sea-trader eco- 
nomy of the West and the old agricultural economies of the Orient, 
we find not only a diversity of ethical views but also competi- 
tion for business success. We find racial conflict. We find a 
struggle of nationalisms. And finally, and sometimes most bitter 
of all, there is the struggle of labour for the meagre opportunities 
to gain a living. Here East and West are often in deadly con- 
flict. The interpreter has a function to perform. He is already 
at work seeking to win favourable public opinion for chambers of 
commerce. He mixes in the gossip of the social club. He finds 
a voice in the editorial of the daily press. If the Christian Asso- 
ciations have anywhere in the world an opportunity to perform 
a work of interpretation and reconciliation, it is in these port cities 
of the Orient. A certain amount of good work has been done^ 
but the task has never been approached with the seriousness 
which it should command. If it was worthwhile for the Associa- 
tion Press in India to outline a programme of research and publica- 
tion, interpreting the great religious faiths of India to each other, 
it might be still more worthwhile to direct the work of the Associ- 
ation Press toward the task of interpreting these social conflicts 
which come to a focus in the port city. A field exists here which 
has 'as yet been unclaimed and if the Association Press was right 
in undertaking the work it did under Mr. Farquhar, it would be 
equally justified in entering this field. It would require some- 
thing of a research staff, but this was also required for the pre- 
vious enterprise. The whole realm of communal and racial con- 
flict exists in India as it exists in few other places so that India 

ISA F 



196 

might be regarded as a natural laboratory for tlie world in the 
investigation of such problems. Another line of attack in behalf 
of reconciliation presents itself in the hostel work. If it is worth- 
while to put up an international house alongside of a great uni- 
versity in America, it might be a great deal more worthwhile to 
equip institutions prepared to do similar work in the gateways 
to the Orient. 

B. THE RTIRAL FIELD AS THE. KEY TO INDIAN LIFE. 

Somewhere in the world it was meet that there be staged 
a fight for the life, the dignity and the worth of the small com- 
munity. There are reasons why this fight should be made in 
India, Out of a total of 316 million recorded by the 1921 census, 
283 million were classified as rural people living in 700,000 villages. 
The annual increase of the total population is about one and a 
quarter million, but the urban population increases at a rate 
sufficient to appropriate most of the industrial opportunities created 
by urban life, with the result that the rural population, year 
after year, maintains about the same proportion to the whole. 

There is an increase of population in centres like Bombay 
and Calcutta, but it is apparently recruited from the smaller cities. 
While the population of Bombay is growing, it is at the expense 
of the market towns which have not kept up proportionately 
with the increase in the country as a whole. Furthermore there 
seems to be a lack of permanency in India's urban population. 
A surprisingly large number of the immigrants to the city are 
urban by concevSsion rather than conviction and leave their fami- 
lies at home. In both Bombay and Calcutta there were in 1921 
about two males to one female. The ratio of females among the 
immigrants to Bombay from the Punjab is 199 per thousand. In 
many of the industrial towns the workers in the factories live in 
the villages and either walk or come in to work by bus. The 
Indian thinks of the village as home. He makes a living in the 
city, but he goes to the village to make a life. This predisposi- 
.tion toward the village will be to the advantage of any movement 
that aims to preserve the dignity and worth of village life. 

But not only is India committed to village life in fact and 
by preference, but her present culture bears the indelible stamp 
of village-mindedness. A new comer in India. is impressed with 
a certain preference for a personal face-to-face way of getting 
-things done. The Indian personalizes causes and movements. 
He conducts his business in a small but personal way. His land 
and his shops are divided up into small units. The small shop- 
keeper may be seen to do homage as he locks his account book in 



197 

his safe at night and the ryot to worship the little clod of earth at 
the corner of the field as he begins to plough for the new crop. Even 
cities like Bombay and Calcutta, with cows sleeping in the post 
office and on the sidewalk in front of the most exclusive hotels, 
show a friendliness for animal life which was born in the villages. 

: But all this might be the survival of a never-to-be-revived 
past and unless there are movements which express the vitality 
of present village life our thesis cannot be maintained. Such- 
movements, however, do exist.. Any far-reaching policy of re- 
construction must deal with the economic side of life. Business is 
a matter of needs and the chance to satisfy them . A stable nation is 
one in which people want what they ought to want and can get what 
they want. In India the approach to village life is manifold. There 
are the forces of the Government which promote village welfare by 
means of schemes for education, sanitation, better crop production, 
better credit, and better marketing. Closely associated with the 
Government are voluntary organizations such as the Young Men's 
Christian Association which enlist the people in co-operative 
effort for self -betterment. 

India is unique at present in that a widespread effort is being 
made to revive a village form of .government. There is a tradi- 
tion of self-government in the Indian village. Village headmen 
have felt a sense of social responsibility and the village dweller 
a sense of loyalty. The latter has historically looked to the 
leaders for guidance. The panchayet movement is an attempt 
to carry swaraj to the basic community in Indian life. It is a form 
of self-government that means accepting responsibility for all 
phases of village life. The encouraging fact about this move- 
ment is that the people seem to be grasping it as a part of a general 
programme of swaraj. In the Indian State of Mysore over 8,000 
villages have organized their pancJiayets since the movement 
started. If the tendency increases the time may well come when 
political power and experience may return to the smaller com- 
munities. 

But no social renaissance advances very far without leaders 
and a social philosophy of life. Here India is not lacking. To a 
Westerner the two best known names in this field are those of 
Gandhi and Tagore. Gandhi, of course, is interested in the free- 
dom of all of India, but again and again he comes back to the 
statement that he wants swaraj for the villager more than for any 
one else. He wants to see the ryot free from his burden of debt. 
On one side Gandhi has all the hatred of the money-lenders, which 
Jennings Bryan had of Wall Street. There is a certain. 



198 

similarity between the authority exercised by Bryan among the 
farmers of the West and that of Gandhi among the villagers of 
India. It is a moral authority, linked on the one hand to reli- 
gion and on the other to a Benjamin-Franklin doctrine of: work 
hard, be frugal, take care of your health, and discipline your pas- 
sions a doctrine which "Poor Eichard's Almanac" carried to the 
rural populations of America in an earlier period. Gandhi claims 
that the only person who ever beats this modern game is the 
person who makes himself independent of it. He is the leader of 
a revolt of the smaller community against the tyranny of a big 
city. 

Tagore also sees in the life of the village the hope of India's 
regeneration. He deplores the decadence which has come, a 
decadence due to the forces which have robbed the village of its 
significance. In his programme of education carried on at Santi- 
niketan he has made a large place for village reconstruction. He 
writes of the village as follows : 

" Villages are like women. In their keeping is the cradle 
of the race. They are nearer to nature than towns, and are 
therefore in closer touch with the fountain of life. They have 
the atmosphere which possesses a natural power of healing. 
It is the function of the village, like that of woman, to pro- 
vide people with their elemental needs, with food and joy, 
with the simple poetry of life, and with those ceremonies 
of beauty which the village spontaneously produces and in 
Which she finds delight. But when constant strain is put 
upon her through the extortionate claim of ambition, when 
her resources are exploited through the excessive stimulus of 
temptation, then she becomes poor in life ; her mind becomes 
dull and inactive and from her time-honoured position of the 
wedded partner of the city she is degraded to that of maid- 
, servant. While in its turn the city, in its intense egotism 
and pride, remains unconscious of the devastation it con- 
stantly works upon the very source of its life and 'health and 
joy." (Gity and Village.) 

But Tagore sees what Gandhi does not appear to see that 
the village needs the city to complement its own development. 
The village cannot bear the burden of population which it pro- 
duces. A certain amount of social drainage from the villages 
is wholesome. The village needs the city to consume its products, 
to stimulate its outlook. 

" The very factory of which I was complaining, though 
it has been the instrument of much wrong-doing ? is not a thing 



199 

of which we may say we would be rid. The machine is also 
an organ of oun vital force ; it is man's very own. If we 
have caused our hands to commit robbery, the remedy does 
not lie in cutting them off. They must be purged of then- 
sin. To try to improve ourselves by crippling ourselves is 
a counsel of cowardice. All the powers of man seek develop- 
ment and expansion ; we have not the right to ignore any of 
them. From the earliest times man has sought to make 
tools. No sooner has he discovered any new secret of nature 
than he has tried to capture it with the help of some machine 
and make it his own, whereby his civilization has entered on 
each successive stage." (Ibid.) 

Thus the moral and social forces of India are mobilizing for 
an attack on a problem of world-wide significance. Even the 
Protestant churches, which since the days of John Calvin have 
been sitting at the feet of urban gods, have just imported from 
America a rural leader of international reputation to guide them 
in their service to the villages. If they can join hands with the 
Indian leaders in this great cause, swaraj in the village may become 
a fact. 

The Y.M.O.A. has not only pioneered in this field, as indicat- 
ed in the special report on the rural work, but it has adopted a 
certain unique philosophy of education in its attempt to place 
knowledge at the disposal of the Indian village leaders. This 
education of key people who are subsequently able to accomplish 
the uplift of the community as a whole, is something rather unique 
in educational practice. 

Conventional education places knowledge at the disposal of 
people who want to escape from the community in which they are 
living. As a result our conventionally educated people are 
afflicted with the " climbing disease ". The bad effects of this 
are not so apparent in a land which has a big frontier to which 
the "climbers" may go. But in a country like India the climb- 
ers accumulate. In some way a new chapter in educational 
practice must be written. Not only must people be educated to 
want what they ought to want, but communities must be built 
in which people who want what they ought to want can get what 
they want. In the village of Eamanathapuram the Y.M.C.A. 
has a man trying to write this chapter. His name is Jayakaran, 
and he is placing knowledge at the disposal of people who intend 
to live in the communities in which they now are. 

The Eajah Naidu is president of the village board at Bama- 
nathapurara, His fathers and he have been " head men " of these 



200 

villages for generations. He himself owns about forty acres of 
land which he rents out to tenants at the rate of about Rs. 400 
per acre. The Rajah STaidu is a well set-up, intelligent man, 
who would pass for a leader in a rural group almost anywhere in 
the world. He has built a new home on a part of his land which 
he hopes will be the beginning of a model village. Across the 
road from the house he has set aside five acres and built there a 
travellers' rest house, a Hindu temple, and a community hall 
in one. The income from the five acres is used for the upkeep 
of the hall. It is a beautiful spot, well planted with fruit-bearing 
trees and shrubbery. The local board has supervision over the 
schools, roads, street lighting, and sanitation. Streets are lighted 
when there is no moon. One gets the impression that these vil- 
lages are far above the average in general development. 

The Rajah Naidu and Jayakaran are great friends. They 
smoke and hold long conversations about the welfare of the vil- 
lage ; they are guarding the community will to live. The survey 
staff asked the Rajah Naidu and his relatives about the contri- 
bution which Jayakaran has made to the village. Briefly stated, 
they enumerated the following : All agreed that the coming of 
this leader had advanced the village peace. Controversies over 
land were less frequent: All agreed that Jayakaran had enlarg- 
ed the range of the villagers' interests. New industries, better 
streets, and contacts with the outside world had thrown into the 
background certain controversies which used to be in the fore- 
front. These things had done much to lessen the importance of 
caste distinctions. Although the depressed classes were still 
educated in a separate school, there was a different attitude on 
the part of the village as a whole. The Rajah Naidu had become, 
so liberal in his own disregard of caste lines that he was looked 
upon with suspicion by some of the old villagers. 

0. THE Y.M.G.A. AND THE PROBLEM OF OVER-POPULATION. 

It is the belief of the survey staff that the Y.M.C.A., work- 
ing through its departments of physical education and rural work, 
is in a position to make a distinct contribution to the problem 
of over-population in India. Before presenting the suggestion 
in detail, however, it will be in order to analyse the problem it- 
self. 

A map of India on which the density of population is indicat- 
ed would establish the fact that the greatest concentration per 
square mile occurs in the Ganges valley and in the coastal area 
of the south. This immediately recalls to mind ? however, 



0-Ver-population is simply the reverse side of the economic situa- 
tion ; in a famine area ten people might conceivably constitute 
over-population. Famine areas accordingly are produced when 
both over-population and under-production are present. But 
social customs,- political laws and religious sanctions all play 
their part in producing economic conditions even as they do in 
increasing the population. Since over-population is a matter of 
the balance between available resources for food and other neces- 
sities of life, on the one hand, and the people dependent on these 
on the other, anything that unduly contributes to an increase of 
the population may be regarded as a factor in over-population. 
The following discussion falls naturally into two parts : an enu- 
meration of the Causes which decrease the national food supply, 
and an enumeration of the factors that increase the population 
dependent on this supply. 

On examining into the forces that increase or decrease the 
national food supply, one is immediately impressed with the small 
number that can be .classified as purely natural. The American 
Indian walked over the same rich soil as the American white man, 
and the larger returns collected by the latter may be attributed 
to the economic, social, moral and religious resources which the 
white man brought to bear upon the situation. Therefore, in 
enumerating the forces that determine the food supply in India, 
one must consider first of all the natural factors, such as: the 
extent and quality of the food-producing soil, the climate, the 
native plant and animal stocks, and the mountain and river 
systems. But it immediately becomes evident that what these 
signify is determined by economic and social factors, such as : 
the prevalent system of property holding ; available types of 
machinery for farming ; the system of barter, exchange or credit ; 
the labour supply ; and the organization of capital. These eco- 
nomic and social factors cannot be separated, however, from 
certain factors of a political kind, such as : the security of person 
and property, governmental co-operation with private enter- 
prise, and governmental control of credit, tariffs and transporta- 
tion. 

After enumerating the natural, economic and political factors, 
one becomes immediately aware bf the fact that they all root in 
a complex of human attitudes that can only be classified as moral 
and spiritual. Under this head are such matters as : habits of 
work and thrift ; scientific knowledge of the laws of nature ; capa- 
city for self-criticism and social evaluation ; freedom from inhi- 
biting superstitions ; the co-operative mind that makes for col- 
lective action ; .social imagination that can visualize -better ways 



202 

of doing things and can state objectives, devise policies and for- 
mulate programmes ; awareness of spiritual, moral and intellectual 
issues ; and sincerity and purity of heart. In the light of such 
enumerations, the old saying that there is more in the men than 
there is in the land takes on increased meaning ; what there is 
in the man is that total equipment, personal and social, with 
which he confronts nature. Therefore, whatever increases this 
equipment thereby increases the available food supply in a given 
area. 

Turning now to the factors that increase or decrease the 
population, one is again impressed with the relatively small part 
played by forces classifiable as purely natural. Such factors 
include : the proportion of women of child-bearing age, the phy- 
sical urge of both men and women, and such climatic and other 
natural conditions that are favourable to child bearing. But these 
conditions are all modified by certain social and economic factors 
of greater importance in the situation, such as : the prevalent 
family system (joint or single families), the approved age for 
marrying for girls, the existence of concubinage, and the parti- 
cipation of women in activities outside the home. Additional 
modifying factors are to be found in the political arrangements 
of the country. Conditions of war or peace determined the carry- 
ing out of the functions of married life. The State establishes 
the legal age for marriage, as for instance through the Sarda Act. 
The State punishes violations of the marital code. The State co- 
operates in protecting the health of women and children. 

But the more one studies the functions of home life, the more 
one is impressed with the fact that most of its activities are 
carried on in a realm which is more intimately personal than 
either business or politics. The real control roots in the intel- 
lectual, moral and spiritual eqiiipment which human beings bring 
to this experience. Under this head such considerations are to be 
classified as : religious sanctions and customs, moral standards 
as to sex relations among the unmarried, social imagination that 
visualizes experiences beyond those of the moment, the ability 
to exercise self-restraint and to organize one's life with reference 
to socially valuable ends, scientific knowledge of the laws of 
health and sanitation, ideals as to types which control in the 
world of sentiment, competing desires that struggle for supre- 
macy with the desire for sex gratification, and ideals of physical 
fitness or of discipline of the body. 

If this analysis is approximately correct, then it may be 
asserted that a high birth-rate is not something naturally inherent 



in any racial group so much as a product of social, economic and 
cultural factors, all of which it is possible to modify. It is espe- 
cially true that religious ideas and sanctions can influence the 
available food supply and also the population dependent on it. 
The approach of religion and ethics to the problem, then, is 
through the modification of those religious ideas that are an in- 
tegral part of the whole process whereby over-population is 
brought about. 

What, more in detail, is then to be the contribution of reli- 
gion in bringing about an adjustment of the population to avail- 
able resources ? First of all, there should be a clear-cut recogni- 
tion of the fact that the problem is a religious one and of concern 
to religious people. There should take place a revival of the 
doctrine of the sanctity of the soil and its resources. Other reli- 
gions are probably more sensitive than Christianity to feelings 
of this kind. Both Chinese and Indians have a feeling for land, 
water and animals which the Christians have largely lost. The 
ideal of a productive life, as over against lazy, wasteful living, 
must be made alluring and desirable. Communities must be 
developed and their resources explored, in which people have 
the chance to live not in luxury but with the satisfactions that 
come from having enough, along with the chance to enjoy fellow- 
ship in wholesome tasks. The possibilities of the continent life 
must be explored, in contrast to the life of sensual sexual en- 
joyment. If there are. satisfactions and resources in life beyond 
sexual enjoyment, then these satisfactions must be made real 
to people. 

Turning to a somewhat wider field, the will of God must be 
presented as made manifest in co-operative social planning. The 
adequate organization of society must be made a matter of reli- 
gious enthusiasm. The communist enthusiasm for the reign 
of the engineer is worthy of a wider acceptance. The socially 
fit should be encouraged to become the bearers of racial stock. 
There must be a scientific attack on the problem of social drain- 
age which will include : (a,) the training of people for fields of 
service in which skill and intelligence are required ; (&) making 
available to Indians access to other parts of Asia where the popu- 
lation is not so concentrated ; and (c) increasing population 
mobility and removing the hazards involved by social safeguards. 
Finally, whatever there is of value in birth control should be 
made a matter of common knowledge. 

It is not necessary to point out that the programme here visual- 
ized calls for the co-operative attack of all social forces, private 



204 

and public, on the problem under consideration. It may be well 
to indicate, however, that such an institution as the Young Men's 
Christian Association, with its publicly acclaimed reputation in 
physical welfare and rural reconstruction, is in somewhat of a 
unique position to furnish leaders who will think constructively 
along the lines of eugenics and the improvement of the natural 
food supply. It is entirely possible that an enlargement of the 
programme of the Y.M.C .A. in this direction would be the spearhead 
thrust for larger .national efforts. 



214-33 Printed at The Bangalore Press, Mysore Road, Bangalore City 







1060 






7? 



lolt, A.E. 

A study of the Y.M.G. 
of India, Burma & Ceylon 








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