The so-called Mukti Revival, which took place between 1905 and 1907 in the Indian village of Kedgaon, is one of the few revivals of that time outside Europe, for which – in addition to missionary sources – extensive material on the perspectives of local participants has been handed down to us. Therefore, in the following, I will outline the context as well as the contemporary discourse about the Mukti Revival in order to illustrate two things: First, how controversial the status and theological classification of the revival has been among protagonists as well as observers; second, how the various participants positioned themselves along relevant ideological lines within the overarching colonial discourse. In this context, I will show how the colonial notion of civilization and ‘high culture’ undermined the conception of the revival as an authentic awakening of the Indian church, outlined by Mukti’s most prominent representative: the pioneer of feminism in India, Pandita Ramabai.