§ 9. Mr. THURTLEasked the Under-Secretary of State for India the approximate number of adherents to the Indian branch of the Anglican Church in India, both European and Indian; and what percentage this bears to the total population of India?
§ Earl WINTERTONThe approximate number of Anglicans as ascertained in the Census of 1921 was 533,180, of whom 108,759 belonged to European and Allied races. The number represents a percentage of decimal 17 on the total population of India, including the Indian States.
§ Mr. THURTLECan the Noble Lord now explain why he said the other day that the figures which I quoted, which were approximately these, were quite inaccurate?
§ Earl WINTERTONYes. It was because the hon. Member was confusing two things. He was quoting the figures given by my Noble Friend the Assistant Postmaster-General, who referred to the number of Anglicans and gave the figures correctly. The hon. Member was referring to the total number of Christians. The total number of Christians in India is between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000.