India is home to hundreds of languages, and today the Bible is available in full or in part in a great many of them. This is the result of more than three centuries of patient translation work by missionaries, Indian scholars, churches and Bible societies. Here is a short overview.
Christianity in India before printed Bibles
Christianity has a long history in India. The Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala trace their origins to the apostle Thomas, and Christian communities there are many centuries old. These churches used the Bible and liturgy in Syriac for worship. For most of history, however, there were no printed Bibles in Indian languages for ordinary readers.
Tamil: the first printed Indian-language New Testament
In 1706 two German missionaries of the Danish mission, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau, arrived at Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) on the Tamil coast. Ziegenbalg learned Tamil and translated the New Testament, which was printed at Tranquebar in 1714–1715 — the first printed New Testament in an Indian language. Work on the Old Testament continued after his death, completed by his colleagues, including Benjamin Schultze.
William Carey and Serampore
The most famous name in Indian Bible translation is William Carey, an English shoemaker turned missionary who arrived in Bengal in 1793. In 1800, with Joshua Marshman and William Ward, he established the mission at Serampore, near Calcutta (Kolkata).
- Carey's Bengali New Testament was printed in 1801.
- With Indian pandits and colleagues, the Serampore team translated and printed Scripture, in full or in part, into dozens of Indian languages and dialects.
- The Serampore press also printed grammars and dictionaries that helped develop the study of Indian languages.
Later scholars revised many of these early translations, but Serampore laid foundations for Bible translation across India.
Other languages
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, missionaries and Indian Christians translated the Bible into many more languages. For example:
- Malayalam — Benjamin Bailey of the Church Missionary Society in Kottayam produced a Malayalam Bible, completed in the 1840s, and printed Malayalam books with type he helped design.
- Hindi and Urdu — Henry Martyn, a chaplain in the East India Company, translated the New Testament into Hindustani (Urdu) in the early 1800s; Hindi translations followed and were revised over time.
- Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia and others — translations were produced by different missions and later revised by committees including Indian scholars.
- Northeast India — languages such as Khasi, Mizo and others received Scripture in the 19th and 20th centuries, often requiring translators to create a written form of the language.
The Bible Society of India
The Bible Society of India traces its origins to the founding of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society in 1811. Over two centuries it has worked to translate, publish and distribute Bibles across the country. Today it publishes Bibles in a wide range of Indian languages, including large-print, pocket, pulpit, children's and diglot (two-language) editions, at affordable prices.
Revision and new translations
Languages change, and new translations continue to be made. Many Indian languages now have both a traditional, widely used translation and newer versions in contemporary language. Work also continues in languages that still lack a complete Bible.
Why it matters
Reading Scripture in your mother tongue allows God's Word to speak to the heart. The work of translators — often unnoticed — has made it possible for families across India to read, pray and worship in their own language.
Read our guides to choosing a Telugu Bible and parallel and bilingual Bibles, or browse BSI Bibles.