BEZWADA, DIOCESE OF — In India, a suffragan of Madras, it comprises the civil districts of Kistna and West Godaveri, plus three districts of East Godaveri. The population is 3,500,000, all of Dravidian stock, of whom 30 percent are Pariahs; the prevailing language is Telugu. Hinduism is the religion of nine-tenths of the people.
The mission originated in 1933 when it was detached from the Diocese of Hyderabad (Deccan) as a result of the growth of apostolic work in that region. Continuing its success, on 13 April 1937 it was raised to the status of a diocese. Like Hyderabad, the new mission is governed by the priests of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions of Milan. The number of Catholics rose from 23,000 at the founding of the mission to 38,000 in 1939, and at the latest report (1943) they number 41,543. Parochial works include educational institutions (industrial, normal, secondary and elementary schools), charitable undertakings (maternity hospital, orphanages, dispensaries), and social services (provident fund for catechists, rural credit banks for Pariahs, etc.); Catholic Action is very active (Scout groups, annual district festivals, meetings of village headmen, catechetical competitions, a monthly parish bulletin).
Assisting the mission are the Sisters of St Anne of Turin, their namesakes from Lucerne, and two indigenous congregations: the indigenous catechist Sisters of St Anne and those of the Infant Mary, with a total of about sixty sisters. The catechists number over 200. The total school population is 7,041 boys.
The difficulties facing the mission are the intense Protestant propaganda (missions of every denomination are at work), the spread of communism in some areas, and Indian nationalism, which is not well disposed toward Christian proselytism.