J. N. (John Nicol) Farquhar

Born in 1861, John Nicol Farquhar was a Scottish missionary, writer, and scholar best known for his work in India. He became closely associated with the YMCA there and wrote extensively about Indian religions, especially Hinduism, for English-speaking readers.

His books combined missionary concerns with serious study, and he became known for trying to explain Indian religious traditions in a clear, organized way. He is especially remembered for works on Hinduism and modern religious movements, and for taking part in the wider conversation about how Christianity and South Asian traditions met in the colonial period.

Farquhar died in 1929, but his writings have continued to interest historians of religion, missionaries, and scholars of South Asia. Today he is often seen both as an influential interpreter of Indian religion for Western audiences and as a figure shaped by the assumptions of his time.