Protap Chunder Mozoomdar

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Protap Chunder Mozoomdar (Bengali: প্রতাপ চন্দ্র মজুমদার) (1840-1905) was a member of the Hindu reform movement the Brahmo Samaj, and a close associate of Keshub Chandra Sen. He is best known for his research into the "oriental" aspects of the teachings of Jesus.

Sen and his colleagues agreed that four Brahmos would study and report on the relationship between Brahmo ideals and the four major world religions (Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam). Mozoomdar was deputed to study Christianity. His resulting book, The Oriental Christ, was published in 1869. It was much discussed in the West, and eventually led to an important correspondence between Mozoomdar and Max Müller about the relationship between Hinduism and Christianity. After Mozoomdar published the correspondence it led to controversy in both Britain and India. Müller's efforts to get Mozoomdar to state openly that he was now a Christian were rejected by Mozoomdar, who argued that the label "Christian" did not properly articulate his own positive view of Jesus as a model of self-sacrifice, one whose actions and claims to divinity he interpreted from within the Brahmo philosophy. In turn Müller stated that Christians should learn from the Brahmos and should abandon the traditional Christian doctrine of Atonement.^[1]

Mozoomdar also wrote several books about the spiritual and social ideals of the Brahmo movement and a biography of Sen. He also wrote a biography of Ramakrishna, of whom he expressed deep admiration. He attended the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893 as a delegate for the Brahmo Samaj.