This is a book by two redoubtable Jesuit scholars. Lancy Lobo is currently the Research Director of the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, while Denzil Fernandes was its former Executive Director. Those familiar with this Institute's work in social services and research will find this a sufficient introduction to the authors' pedigree.

This book falls within the genre of previous works such as "The Christian Community and the National Mainstream" by Prof. Louis d'Silva of Bombay University and "The Catholic Community in India" by Ka Naa Subramaniam. Yet each contribution to this vast subject is a unique and Herculean effort in itself.

In the authors' own words, in today's vitiated socio-religious atmosphere, "this volume is a humble attempt to bring to the notice of men and women of goodwill in mainstream society, the significant contributions of Christians to India... It is an evidence-based exposition of the Christian contribution to modern India's socio-cultural, economic and political life, not only for academics but also for ordinary readers." Let's get this straight: if this is a book by academics for fellow academics, it is par excellence. It should find a place in libraries and all institutions of higher social or religious learning.

This research work is divided into somewhat familiar heads: 1. Introduction to Christianity in India, 2. Education, 3. Health and Social Welfare, 4. Scientific and Economic Development, 5. Political, Administrative and Professional Services, 6. Language, Literature and Art, 7. Christian Encounter with Other Religions.

Since areas such as education and healthcare are well-documented and widely accepted, I will not dwell on them. One thing that stands out is that, aside from the Catholic bastion of Goa from the 16th Century, the pioneers in these fields across the rest of India were mostly foreign missionaries from the Anglican Communion.

Among Indians is Pandita Ramabai Saraswati (1858 – 1923), who became a Christian in 1883. However, in Maharashtra, where she worked, the public perception of her is that of a social reformer, not a Christian activist. Sadly, perception overrides factual evidence. A more contemporary name is that of Padmashri Thomas Kunnunkal, SJ, who passed away very recently. To him goes the credit for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Open School system.

In healthcare, too, we find that missionaries were in the vanguard, such as Clara Swain in Bareilly (1877), Edith Brown at Ludhiana (1894), and Ida Scudder in Vellore (1900). From the book, we learn that the first successful open-heart surgery (1961), the first kidney transplant (1971), and the first bone marrow transplant (1986) were performed by Christian Health Services.

In the area of scientific development, Christians contributed immensely to India. Joseph Tieffenthaler, SJ (1710 – 1785) was a leading geographer. The most famous case is the contribution to our space programme. It was the small church of St Mary Magdalene in Thumba (Trivandrum) that gave up its land under the visionary leadership of Bp Peter Pereira to Drs Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam for the country's first space rocket to be launched from there in 1963.

How can one forget the visionary contribution of Padmabhushan Dr Verghese Kurien (1921 – 2012), the father of the White Revolution, which made India the world's number one in milk production (approximately 25% of global production)?

Also of special interest is the Christian contribution to the Independence movement. Here again, Anglican foreign missionaries were in the forefront, led by Deenabandhu CF Andrews (1871 – 1940), Stanley Jones and Verrier Edwin. Thevarthundiyil Titus was one of the 70 marchers in Mahatma Gandhi's famous Dandi March. Several Bengali Christians, such as WC Banerji and HC Mukherjee, were also active in the Congress. At the 1887 Madras meeting of the Indian National Congress, 35 of the 607 delegates (6%) were Christian, a proportion far higher than the actual Christian population.

In today's supercharged era of ultra-nationalism, the singular contribution of Christians to the Defence Services deserved more space than the two paragraphs in the book. We have had two Defence Ministers, 6 Chiefs of Staff, one Param Vir Chakra, several Mahavir Chakras, and other gallantry and distinguished service awards.

As I said at the beginning, this fact-filled tome is excellent for academicians, but the very approach makes the narrative too dry for the average reader.

Minor hiccups aside, I would fully endorse this book as a valuable addition to Indian Christian literature and as a reliable, authentic resource. Our gratitude to the authors for their meticulous research, a true labour of love.