Tamil Nadu Timeline

Conversion

5 events, 1820 to 2002.

  1. 1820

    1. 7 Jul 1820PalayamkottaiReligion

      Rhenius begins CMS mission in Tirunelveli

      Church Mission Society missionary C. T. E. Rhenius arrived in Tirunelveli and built a large Protestant mission based at Palayamkottai.

  2. 1838

    1. 5 Jun 1838PalayamkottaiReligion

      Death of missionary C. T. E. Rhenius at Palayamkottai

      C. T. E. Rhenius, the missionary known as the Apostle of Tirunelveli, died at Palayamkottai.

  3. 1898

    1. 1898ChennaiReligion

      Iyothee Thass founds the Sakya Buddhist Society

      After embracing Buddhism in Ceylon, Iyothee Thass founded the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras, launching a Tamil Buddhist revival among Dalits.

  4. 1981

    1. 19 Feb 1981MeenakshipuramReligion

      Meenakshipuram mass conversion

      Several hundred Dalits in Meenakshipuram village in Tirunelveli district converted from Hinduism to Islam, citing caste discrimination.

  5. 2002

    1. Oct 2002 to 2006ChennaiLegislation

      Tamil Nadu anti-conversion law

      The AIADMK government introduced a law against forcible religious conversion, which was withdrawn after the 2004 Lok Sabha election and formally repealed in 2006.