Samuel Satthianadhan (or Satyanatha) (d. 1906) was a prominent figure in Indian education who was a foundation scholar at Corpus Christi College. He was the son of the Rev W T Satthianadhan, a celebrated convert from the Hindu faith to Christianity, who was the first Indian to hold an Episcopal office. When Samuel returned from Cambridge he met with Krupabai Khisty (1862-1894), who was then recovering from the illness that made her quit her medical studies. They married and lived in Ootacamund where he served as Headmaster at Breeks Memorial School. After brief periods in Rajahmundry and Kumbakonam, they moved in 1886 to Madras, where he was made Assistant to the Director of Public Instruction and then Chair of Logic and Philosophy at Presidency College. Krupabai Satthianadhan wrote her famous novels Saguna (1886) and Kamala (1888) in this period (these appear in our Colonial Discourses series, Series Three, covering Indian Fiction). Their only child was born in 1887, but died after a few months. After 7 years of troubled health, Krupabai died in 1894. Samuel’s second wife, coincidentally named Kamala, also wrote stories.

This pamphlet considers the value of Christian missions. It acknowledges that they have often been considered failures because of the comparatively low number of converts, but denies that this is an appropriate measure of their influence.