They also commissioned a history of their activities and buildings in South India entitled Brotherhood and Benevolence. The rhetoric of Masonry spoke about universal brotherhood, but individual Masons felt that crossing racial barriers was going too far. But Masons refused Hindus, arguing that Masonry believed in a single Deity, which Muslims and Parsis did, but not Hindus. (But Cursetji sidestepped all three British Masonic systems by going to Paris and getting accepted by a French Lodge. Masons, meanwhile, were also discovering – sometimes almost inventing – the apparently ancient roots of Masonry, some of which they argued could be traced back to ancient religions like Hinduism.By the end of the 19th century Masonry in India was becoming integrated.

Source: Economic Times October 06, 2017 18:22 UTC