The Holy War — Page xiv
Foreword The Church Missionary Society established its first Indian mission in 1799 with a plan to expand missions throughout the subcontinent. Within a span of a mere thirty years, the number of Christians in India more than quadrupled, growing from less than 100,000 in 1851 to over 400,000 in 1881. This explosive growth set British India aflame in a fiery atmosphere of theological debate, particularly between Islam and Christianity. It was against such a backdrop that a man by the name of Dr. Henry Martyn Clark appeared and founded the Amritsar Medical Mission in 1882. In 1893, he penned an open letter challenging the Muslims of Jandiala to a decisive debate, declaring that if Muslims shy away from this contest or suffer a crushing defeat, they would forfeit their right to confront the scholars of Christianity in the future, or to boast of Islam’s truth. When the challenge was brought to the attention of the Promised Messiah as and he was petitioned to represent the Muslims, he happily agreed and dispatched his disciples to Henry Martyn Clark to agree upon the conditions of the debate. He stated: Since I have been commissioned for such religious contests and, on account of divine revelation, know for certain that I shall be victorious in every field; therefore, Dr Clark has been forthwith informed through a letter that it is my earnest desire to take part in this contest so that the distinction between truth and