Recent studies of South India in the 19th- and 20th-centuries concentrate primarily on political and social issues. Studies of specifically religious developments, of religious encounter, institutions and movements, particularly of the 19th-century, have been few in number. The prupose of this study is to examine religious institutions, trends and developments in parts of South-east India, focusing on the Tanjore and Trichonopoly districts - areas famous for cultural and religious activity. It is recalled that neither Hinduism and Christianity were totally static forms of religious organization, ritual or belief, but were living traditions always in the process of change and adaptation. Thus, one of the major concerns of this book deals with continuities, conversion and change.