• Dr. R. Ramasubramanian

Social service and reforms have always been intertwined with religious thought and effort in every land. India saw religious activism leading to various reformist movements in the 19th century. In the process of social evolution, the Protestant missionaries played a vital role. Tirunelveli district was the garden of Protestant Missions. The missionary societies, S.P.C.K., S.P.G, C.M.S. and the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society (C.E.Z.M.S.) did selfless and devoted work in Tirunelveli district for many years. The Zenana work formed an important part of the missionary work of the Protestant Missions. In Tirunelveli, the women missionaries of C.E.Z.M.S., S.P.G. and C.M.S. were involved in the Zenana mission work with its head quarters at Palayamkottai. The Zenana missionaries took care of the sick and the suffering. They taught them the values of neatness, punctuality, discipline, service, manners and character. The Zenana centres yielded wonderful results and the Zenana Mission engaged in visiting and teaching women in their homes. It opened schools exclusively for the girls. Zenana teachers were given training by the missionaries for three days in a week. The Zenana girls were given education in vernacular and English in rented buildings. The Zenana missionaries instituted training programmes for women in general and children in particular. The Zenana Missionaries strongly condemned the devadasi system and vehemently opposed the immorality and obscenity perpetuated in the name of religion. Amy Carmichael attacked the evil system of keeping temple prostitutes and rescued many girls who were dedicated to the temple gods. The Zenana missionaries fought against this evil practice. Child marriage was not limited to the upper castes alone the depressed classes too practiced it. This evil system was vehemently attacked by the Christian missionaries. In their attempt to have child marriage abolished, they took recourse to by the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872. To uplift the widows and the poor, the women missionaries introduced lace making, sewing, embroidery, spinning, and basket making.

Social service, reforms, S.P.C.K., S.P.G, C.M.S., C.E.Z.M.S., Palayamkottai, Zenana Missionaries, Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872

"SOCIAL SERVICES OF ZENANA MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.581-591, June-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907081.pdf

"SOCIAL SERVICES OF ZENANA MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp581-591, June-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907081.pdf