ARTICLES OF Dr. K.M. GEORGE

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(An article written in the book “In the footsteps of his master”, a festschrift volume edited by the present writer in honour of Bishop T B Benjamin as he completed his 101st birthday on May 17, 2008).

The formation of the Church of South India in 1947 was hailed as ‘the greatest forward step in church unity in modern times’, ‘a venture of faith’, ‘a momentous achievement in unity’, a beacon of light in our Christian world’ and so on. The Constitution of the CSI declares that “as episcopacy has been accepted from early times, it may in this sense be called historic”. Therefore the CSI episcopacy has no claim to antiquity or apostolic succession except for the use of expressions such as bishopric or episcopate. No doubt, CSI episcopacy has created history; in this sense it is certainly historic.

It is a known fact that the non-Episcopal Churches came into the Union with great reservation about episcopacy. They had not had any experience of episcopacy as a main form of church government nor had they any close contact with the working of that system of government. They came with the understanding that the relationship of the Bishop to the people should be that of Chief Pastor and Father-in-God, and that he is called to feed the flock of God, taking the oversight thereof as Shepherd, not as Lord either in act or in title but as an example to the flock. They accepted episcopacy as being necessary for the shepherding and extension of the Church in South India and were convinced that bishops were necessary both as chief shepherds and as leaders in Evangelism. To facilitate the function of episcopacy constitutionally, it was laid down in the Basis of Union that: The bishops shall perform their functions in accordance with the customs of the Church….those customs…. being named and defined in the written   constitution of the Church’. This meant that the CSI was to set up a new tradition with regard to episcopacy and follow it consistently, whatever might be the traditions of other churches. In other words it will not accept theories or theological concepts of any other Church but return to the New Testament pattern presented in apostolic times. The CSI found it necessary to include the following as the primary duties of bishops: ‘Teaching, supervision of public worship, pastoral oversight, ordination of ministers, administering…. The discipline of the Church, and assisting (when required) other bishops in the consecration of….Persons duly elected and appointed as Bishops’.

Episcopacy: Leadership Role

When we study the Epistles of Paul and Peter, who were commissioned by the Holy Spirit to organise local churches, and to tell them of God’s plan and pattern for these churches, we have a better understanding of Church leadership, especially the role of Bishops, Presbyters and Elders.

I Timothy 3: 1-7 is a key passage stating the qualifications of leaders; it is an important passage from the point of view of Church government. It deals with the person, whom the different versions of the Bible call bishop, overseer, elder and presbyter. There are two terms - presbuteros and episkpos - that describe the principal office-bearers of the Church on whose conduct and administration the welfare of the Church depended.

We notice in the New Testament that these leaders were formally set up for their office. They wereordained (Titus 1;5) (“appointed elders in every town”)  so that they were given due recognition and honour. They had to undergo a time of testing first, then if proved themselves blameless let them serve as deacons”). They were paid for their work (I Tim 5:18) “the labourer deserves his wages”. They were liable to censure (I Tim 5:29-22). These passages show that these leaders were not novices, but respected and experienced men.

In the early church, the office bearers had a dual function – leader and servant. He was answerable to God as well as to the people whom he led. Paul points out the chief qualification of a Christian leader as “If any man aspires to the office of a bishop……..must be above reproach…. Manage his own household well…. or he may fail into reproach and the snare of the devil”. (I Tim 3:1-7)   Apostle Peter preached the mighty Pentecost sermon on Christian leadership in I Peter 5:1. “Be shepherd of God’s flock that is under your care…eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock

Having looked into the biblical teaching of Paul and Peter regarding the choice, election or appointment of bishops it would be helpful to find out some of the essential characteristics the Church should look for in such an important office.(i) His spiritual life should be a source of inspiration for all. Though the office of the bishop entails a considerable amount of administrative responsibility, the most important characteristic should be his spiritual life; his devotion to the word of God, his personal prayer life and submission to the will of God. (ii) Authority of the Bible. Ordinary people look up to the bishop for guidance in all matters of faith and order based on the authority of the Bible. During the past few decades the question of authority of the Bible (including the Confession of Faith proposed by the Churches) has been seriously doubted, questioned or even rejected by some theologians the occupants of the high office of the Bishop. This situation has led to a lot of misunderstanding and confusion in the minds of many people. Very closely related to this idea is the question of the ‘Uniqueness of Christ’. The Indian Church faces a serious problem in this regard because of the pantheistic and polytheistic religious teaching in Indian philosophy and thought. (iii) Prophetic vision: The church leaders in the past have played a vital role in the prophetic vision of the Church and Nation, the Society and the Individual. The time has come for the leadership to think seriously of their role in this regard. (iv) Election propaganda and canvassing: When Paul says “if any one sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task”, he does not for a moment think that the aspirant should go or send his supporters from door to door or parish to parish for canvassing as a vote catching process seen usually in politics. It is the earnest desire that those who hold the key to election or selection of such a high office would prayerfully consider their Christian responsibility when the occasion arises.

Bishop Benjamin: an able administrator:

Christ Church parish, Trivandrum was passing though a crisis during the early days of of the CSI. There was a clause attached to the declaration of the CSI that if any church or parish did not want to join the united church, it would have the freedom to remain independent. Accordingly, Christ Church, Trivandrum was given the freedom to remain as an Anglican congregation under the direct supervision of the Anglican Metropolitan of India. Since all the pastors of the Travancore- Cochin Diocese had joined the CSI, an Anglican pastor could not be posted at the Christ Church. A Commission consisting of Bishops Lash, Legg and Jacob and Mr. K Mathan was set up and they recommended that the Christ Church should continue as an Anglican congregation under the direct supervision of the Anglican Metropolitan and the Central Travancore Diocese should depute a presbyter of the Anglican tradition as its vicar. Bishop C K Jacob asked the Rev. T B Benjamin to take charge of the parish and informed the commission that Benjamin Achen had the innate humility and simplicity and complete trust in the Lord, and he would be an ideal choice.

The Christ Church had two congregations: the English, and the Tamil and Malayalam together forming the second. Each congregation had its own separate committee, organist, sexton, gardener, vessels, and bells and so on. Bringing peace to the troubled parish was the main concern of the new vicar. Both Achen and Kochamma were willing to face whatever the future held for them. The other day the Bishop told the present writer that he had to conduct three services on Sunday (English, Malayalam and Tamil) with about half an hour break in between. So he had to meticulously plan the services, especially the sermons to limit to about 15 minutes. Kochamma told me that he used to write and practise all the sermons before hand at home. After the first service Kochamma used to his some breakfast (bread, egg and coffee) which he used to take in the vestry. He testified from his long period of service for 11 years that nothing was too greator hard if one trusts his Master absolutely. .                    

The North Kerala Diocese was a diocese passing through a similar crisis in the late 1950s. The North Kerala Diocese comprises the Trichur district of the former Travancore-Cochin Diocese and the former Malabar Basel Evangelical Mission of the SIUC. Although the Synod of the CSI recognised this Diocese as early as 1948, Episcopal and Presbyterian groups did not merge as one church; they functioned as two independent Churches and the bishop had no place in the administrative set up. The churches in Malabar were under the control of Malabar District Council with its own President while the churches in Trichur were under Trichur District Council with its own President. There was no common constitution for the Diocese. The first two Bishops resigned after a period of six years each.

The Diocese of the North Kerala was passing through an administrative crisis. Although the Constitution of the CSI has made practical provisions in selecting the bishop for a diocese and then getting it approved by the Synod, the diocese could not elect or select a successor in the usual way. So the Synod had to find an alternative method to select a new bishop of the diocese in 1960.

Strange and mysterious are the ways of God. On the 18th of October 1959 Benjamin achen received a letter. When he opened the envelope his eyes fell on the typed written single line. He could not believe his eyes. It was a letter from the Moderator of the CSI, the Most Rev. H. Sumithra stating that he was chosen to be the Bishop in North Kerala Diocese. He wondered “how can it be! I was neither a candidate nor on the elected panel”. But then he remembered that as there was only one name the Synod could choose even from outside the panel. When kochamma heard of that her immediate response was that why should they move to North Kerala and in fact achen preferred to work in some rural area in Central Kerala in a predominantly large backward congregation as at Kattamabakkal. It was certainly God’s choice to send him to North Kerala for bringing the healing touch to the troubled diocese. (Detailed information about the problems faced by the North Kerala Diocese is contained in an article written by William Davidson who worked as the Bishop Benjamin’s secretary for many years)

Bishop Benjamin: Man of Prayer and Masterly expositor of Biblical truth

As Encoh of old walked with God, TBB walked with God. Even from his younger days Benjamin Achen spent time with his Lord and Master. No doubt he inherited this character from his early training under the guidance of his father Archdeacon T K Benjamin.A classic example of his complete trust in the Lord is seen when he made the momentous decision of leaving his service at the Alwaye Settlement and joining the diocesan work. A casual glance at the books written by him would certainly reveal his trust in the word of God and the authority of the Bible. (A look at the article written by Rev. Dr. T M Philip would certainly give us a clearer picture of his great knowledge of the Word of God and the simple way in which he has expounded great biblical truth.

Bishop Benjamin: His simple life style

One of the greatest qualities of this servant of God is that he led a very simple life all through. Those of us who visit him at his present home in Kottayam see the same style being followed by him even today. (A number of writers in this book have dealt with this great quality of Bishop Benjamin).

Bishop Benjamin: an ideal Bible teacher

One of the primary duties of a bishop is ‘teaching’ and Bishop Benjamin followed it diligently. Bishops and priests have a dual role as preachers and teachers of the Bible. Probably it is not far from truth to state that most pastors spend more in preaching and ignore the equally important responsibility of being teachers. Even from the beginning of his pastoral ministry he devoted sufficient time to make sure that biblical teaching is given its rightful in the church’s ministry. It is not out of place if we mention that right from his first parish assignment he followed that principle. Recently the bishop told the present writer that he followed a series of sermons in the Ranni parish (more than seventy years ago) based on “Our Lord’s Prayer”. He followed this series both at the Christ Church parish Trivandrum and at the CSI Cathedral, Kottayam. A large number of university students used to attend the Christ Church Trivandrum to attend to his exposition of the Lord’s Prayer. In the early years of the CSI the teaching of confirmation candidates was far from satisfactory. So in 1977 Bishop T S Joseph requested Bishop Benjamin to write a series of lessons on Confirmation so that it could be used in all parishes and he obliged. This particular book is the one used in all our parishes for over 30 years. His booklet ‘My Baptism” has an interesting history. Benjamin achen’s first assignment was to Ranni parish. At that time there were a number of Pentecostal pastors visiting the homes of people and teaching them their special concept of Baptism. Benjamin achen felt it necessary to write a short booklet on “My Baptism”. Many years later Dr. Jacob Chandy saw a copy of this booklet. He approached Bishop Benjamin and suggested that it should be got printed and he readily agreed. Soon Dr Chandy published a large number of copies of the booklet and distributed to all the pastors of the diocese.

Bishop Benjamin: an ideal follower of Christ in the matter of forgiving others

Jesus as he was hung on the cross said: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” and Stephen, as he was stoned to death he prayed “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”. Bishop Benjamin’s ministry in North Kerala was not a bed of roses. Even before he arrived at Shornur there was a strong group of people (Basel mission followers) who were determined to create troubles and problems for him. Two names stand out in this category. The first and foremost is Samuel Aaron, attorney of the Basel Mission, a congressman, a great businessman and an anti-CSI man whose words were final in the community. Nobody dared to raise his voice against this great man. Aaron showed (outwardly) that he was happy with the Bishop but inwardly showed his enmity to the Bishop. He manipulated many schemes and filed several criminal and civil cases against the church. As the Bishop of the diocese was the leader he became first defendant in all (civil and criminal) cases (96 cases, to be precise). The filing of cases went on unabated. However, sometime towards the end of the Bishop’s ministry there was a particular case which Aaron would certainly lose. Therefore he felt something had to be done. He decided to approach the bishop and ask for his forgiveness by writing a letter to the court withdrawing the case against the diocese. Aaron came with his dozen followers the Bishop offered them coffee and asked them to take their seats. In the meantime a large number of church members (hearing Aaron’s manoeuvring) asked the Bishop not to forgive him and sign a paper for the court. But the Bishop forgave him and settled the case out of court.   One Mr. Poyyail, a retired Railway Guard was the second person. He was the leader of the South Malabar group and a trustee of the church. He had created many problems in the diocese. When the Bishop visited the church at Vaniamkulam he heard that Poyyail had a heart attack and the Bishop decided to visit him. The youth present in the church objected and requested the Bishop not to go to that house. But the Bishop went. In anger all the youth and parishioners except one John Sadanthan left. When Bishop reached the house Mr. Payyail was very much taken up by his love and concern. The next morning Poyyail (with a number of his friends) came to the Bishop’s house and fell at his feet and asked pardon. Although for some years he was repentant, it did not last long. However, one day he went to Calicut to file a case against the diocese and the bishop. On his return journey he collapsed in the train and died. One reaching Shornur the Railway staff recognised him and he was taken out of the train and that was his tragic end.          

Bishop Benjamin: A man of compassion

Bishop T B Benjamin is a man of compassion to the core. Seeds of compassion were seen through his veins even in his college days. As a student of UC College, Alwaye in early 19330s he took keen interest in the Allwaye Settlement School.  This institution was the result of a few old students of the UC College who were aware of the plight of the children of the backward class people who could not even dream of securing admission to the ordinary schools. TBB was able to watch these men at close quarters and he was filled with great admiration for their dedication under the dynamic leadership of the headmaster Mr. M Thommen and the fatherly figure of Mr. K C Chacko. Soon after completing his B A degree he joined the Alwaye Settlement School and worked there as teacher and warden. Teachers in the school were given a small salary of Rupees Twenty and that too only after meeting all the requirements of the school. During his service at the school he was able to enter into the life and ministry of the deprived and less fortunate members of the society.

The Rt Rev E A L Moore, the then Bishop of Travancore and Cochin had taken special interest in the life and work of the Alwaye Settlement. He used to make frequent visits to the Settlement where the Bishop could watch the young Benjamin and decided that he should be given similar responsibility in the rural areas of the diocese. During one of his visits to the Alwaye Settlement School Bishop Moore entered the classroom where TBB was teaching Geography. He watched closely his teaching and his interaction with the pupils. At the end of the class, the Bishop met Benjamin and said: “In our diocese majority of people are from backward community. So, why can’t you come and serve the diocese with the same concern”. That was the turning point in his career.

Benjamin’s first taste of appointment in the Diocese was that of an evangelist (upadesi as he was called) in a very rural small congregation at Erathumpamon in the Kuzhikkala parish. There were about 70 families; nearly all were converts from the Kurava community. The young church worker visited their houses very regularly and took special care to teach the illiterate adults among them. He mustered the co-operation of the young people of the village for playing volley ball together. The two years he spent in that village was a unique experience to him which provided him many an opportunity to have a closer look into the lives of the uneducated people of the society.

 Much water has flowed under the bridge from his first appointment at Erathumpamon and his appointment as priest at Ranni in 1937. It was a very bold step for the diocesan Bishop to send a priest who was trained in one of the best theological institutions in England to be posted in an underdeveloped village. A number of the church leaders spoke in whispers at the apparent blunder of this posting. However, young Benjamin achen did not think that way. To him it was the place where God had chosen for him.

The young Benjamin did not waste any time after taking charge of the parish. He was everywhere, even at odd hours too, looking after the needs of the people under his charge. One of the pressing needs of the parish was the eradication of illiteracy. Ranni parish had no less than 11 outstations stretching far and wide. It was in Ranni parish he bought a bicycle which became his constant companion for the next quarter of a century till he was elevated to the high Order of the Church.

A rare incident took place in the Ranni church on Christmas Day in 1940. There was a conference for Sunday school teachers and students at Mavelikara. Many wanted to attend the conference; but paucity of finance prevented them from going. Seeing the disappointment on the faces of these poor people the young achen suggested that they walk the distance from Ranni to Mavelikars covering places like Kozhencherry, Arammula, Chenganoor and Kodukulanji. They all agreed; the group led by the achen trekked the whole distance starting at 5 pm and reaching the destination at 2 a.m. No wonder they were accorded a rousing welcome by the other campers.

Benjamin achen’s heart was always with the poor and the downtrodden. Even when he had to accept the orders from the bishop to accept appointments like principalship of CNI or the vicarage of Christ Church Trivandrum he was keen on continuing his ministry with the weak and downtrodden especially ar rural places like Kattampakal.

Benjamin achen was not just a man of words only but a man of action and he followed it all through his life. Let me just quote an incident that happened while he was priest at Christ Church Trivandrum. Achen’s salary there was just Rupees 115 per month. He had three school going children. Near the parsonage there was another lady, also with three children. Kochamma used to give this neighbour ten rupees from their monthly salary. It so happened that on one occasion the lady came during the middle of the month when there was only Rupees Twelve with Kochamma. When the lady asked for money, Kochamma had to tell the truth that she had not bought the week’s ration from the shop and expressed her inability to give any money. Benjamin achen overheard the conversation. He asked kochamma whether they had any rice in the box to which she said in the affirmative. Achen then told her to give the money as they could suffice with the rice because they had only small stomach.. Kochamma gladly obliged. The lesson speaks for itself.

Another incident occurred quite recently at their residence at Kottayam. A poor man opened the gate and requested for alms. Kochamma was somewhere inside the house doing some household work. The Bishop got up and looked at the table drawer for some money. Finding none there he went inside and got some money. By the time he came out of the room the beggar had already left. The Bishop usually wears a dhothi and a shirt while at home. He never used to go out of the house without wearing a cassock. Even in his dhothi and shirt he got out of the house, opened the gate, followed the beggar and gave him his share. When Kochamma came back from the kitchen the Bishop was not there. She wondered what had happened. Soon she saw him coming back from the gate after giving a help to the needy beggar. Such is the compassion in this great servant of God. (Both these incidents were told to the present writer by Kcchamma herself).

Bishop had a special concern for the distressed personalities. When Benjamin Achen was parish priest in Trivandrum he used to visit mental hospital, state prison and so on. He used to meet prisoners convicted for capital punishment. Avery strange incident took place. There was a convict ready to be executed. During his stay in prison he was convicted of his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. His last wish was that he wanted a priest to pray for him and hold his hands and lead him to the place of execution. The jail authorities tried one or two priests, but failed in their attempt. The jail superintendent thought of Benjamin Achen (who was his classmate in school) and requested him to help in the situation. Without any hesitation Benjamin Achen agreed. On the appointed day, early in the morning at about 3 am TBB accompanied by the jailer went inside the fortified section of the highs security prison where he saw a few armed policemen standing guard of the area. When asked for the password, he gave a wrong word which immediately resulted in the security guards trying to sheet at TBB. Achen immediately gave the correct password which saved the situation. As the convict was led to the place of execution Benjamin Achen held his hand as was his wish and led him to be executed. .(Bishop Benjamin corroborated the whole story  in detail (April 22nd) even mentioning the name of the jail superintendent as one Velayudan).

Bishop Benjamin: A man of principles

A couple of incidents would suffice to show that Bishop Benjamin adhered to definite principles in life. The first incident took place in Trivandrum. When he was appointed to be priest at Christ Church, the members of the Malayalam congregation felt that his meagre salary of Rupees One hundred and fifteen per month would not be sufficient for his family and they offered an additional salary. This he refused stating that he was sent to Trivandrum by Bishop Jacob with a salary of Rupees one hundred and fifteen and he would be quite satisfied with that amount. (Maybe he was wise enough to feel that if he had received the additional salary he may be compelled to give favours to the Syrian group of Malayalees who worshipped at Christ Church). The second incident took place in Shoranur. The Home Board of the Basel Mission made three proposals to him. (i) They would pay his salary (which was much higher than the one provided by the CSI), (ii) they would provide educational grants for all the three children, and (iii) they would provide a car for his travel. He rejected all the three by giving answer in his characteristic way. To the first he said that he was CSI Bishop and he would live with the salary provided by the CSI. To the second he said that  it was his duty to look after the education of his children, and to the third his  reply was that he would only accept a car if the diocese could find money for purpose of buying it. What a great example of this humble servant of God!

Bishop Benjamin’s family life: an exemplary one. 

Bishop Benjamin was privileged to be born in Thevaruthundiyil family, a very prominent Syrian Christian family in Kerala. Benjamin (Baby, his pet name) was the seventh child of the Archdeacon T. K Benjamin. TKB was a scholar in Greek and Hebrew, who had inherited all the noble qualities of his father, later Kuruvilla Asan (a teacher in Maramon). TKB was the first graduate ordained minister of the Syrian Christian community. (Elsewhere there is an article written by the Rev. A C Oommen about the contribution of Thevaruthundiyil family to Christian education and church in Kerala).

Sister Rachel Joseph, of the Bethel Ashram at Tiruvalla was a cousin of Archdeacon. T.K. Benjamin. Just as Eleazer had the privilege of choosing a bride for Isaac, the son of Abraham, it was Sister Rachel who suggested the marriage proposal for junior Benjamin achen with Annamma (Kochu) the second daughter of Mr Mani K Oommen who originally belonged to Kottayam, then working with Darragh Smail Company at Alleppey. ( Kochu, the second daughter worked for a time with Sister Rachel at Bethel Ashram before getting married to junior Benjamin achen. It is interesting to note that the couple saw each other only at the wedding altar at the Pullad church on May 7, 1942.Before the marriage she had heard of the bridegroom’s spartan life and his love and care for the backward class people among whom he wanted to work. They are an ideal father and mother for their children – Benjy, Biju and daughter Gigi. (Quite recently their eldest son Benjy entered into eternal rest).

Bishop Benjamin: an ardent patriot

Benjamin Achen was a man of courage and conviction. Once he was convinced that a particular action was against Christian principles he had the courage to say ‘no’ in no uncertain terms. In the 1930s, Travancore was ruled by a Dewan, Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer, who was a despot. He wanted to rule the State as he wished. This resulted in the formation of a strong movement against his misrule. The Dewan gave permission to subdue this movement with ‘iron fist’. A group of Christian leaders decided to point out their opposition through a letter addressed to the Dewan. But the Dewan influenced a few bishops and priests to erect a statue of his in the heart of Kottayam. Many resented. Benjamin had no hesitation ti signing that document along with number of other church leaders. This inevitably led to the fact that TBB became a ‘noted person’ by the police. Fortunately the Dewan suddenly disappeared from Kerala and migrated to Madras. (It is worthy to note that in the famous Salt Satyagraha March led by Gandhi to Dandi, among the 78 members of the Sabarmati Ashram who accompanied Gandhi was a young man Thevaruthundiyil Titus, an agricultural student there).

WOMEN AND MISSION
(An article in the Souvenir Programme of Bethel Ashram, Varikad: December 1997)

Introduction :

For a very long period of time in history, almost in all cultures, the role of women was considered to be inferior to that of man. However, looking at several religious traditions during the earlier period, one could see that women certainly held high status. For example, in Hinduism, during the Vedic Period (from about 1500 BC), women enjoyed equal status. In the rite of initiations, upanaya, it was the husband and wife who jointly performed the ritual; even widows were permitted to remarry. Before the feudal period in Japan (about 12th century AD) women held high positions in all spheres of life. Founders of all the four major religions - Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity certainly were radical in their thinking and preaching. The Buddha heeded to the request of his disciple, Ananda, and agreed to the creation of an Order of ‘Nuns’ and ‘Monks’. This provision provided for the nuns an alternative to mere domesticity. Prophet Mohammed enhanced the position of women in Arabia. They were entitled to a share of inheritance; taught his followers to provide for widows who were destitute, banned infanticide which was prevalent among girl babies. There are even records of him having appointed a woman to lead prayers in a household of men and women. In Sikhism, Guru Nanak proclaimed equality of men and women. Even women were allowed to take an equal role in all the activities of worship. Jesus included women among his followers; he did not exclude any woman who even one was considered ‘beyond the pale’ in the society. Paul, who was considered as a misogynist (by some) declared in no uncertain terms, that there is ‘neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’

However, over a period of time, the contrast between the classical teachings of religion about the equality of men and women and the actual lived experience of women became very pronounced. Men seemed to have formulated religious belief, transmitted sacred writings, became sole interpreters, created institutions - religious and secular - and controlled all important rituals and worship forms. Women seemed to have almost submitted to their subordinate role at least in the public sphere. In the Japanese folk religion, although women held the knowledge of rituals, and even organised everything for them, it was only men who took part in the actual public appearance.  In Chinese popular religions, female ‘shamans’ dealing with yin forces and low order spirits were associated with women’s illnesses, childbirth and problems of infancy whereas male shamans or Taoist priests deal with higher forces (yang spirits and gods), which were considered to be ritually more powerful.

Major religions, too, seemed to have followed a similar pattern. In Hinduism, Brahmin priesthood had been confined to men. In Islam, men made all legal rulings, in some regions of the world; women were not even allowed to be present in the mosque worship. In Sikhism, even though all offices were open equally to men and women, only a very small minority of women, held official positions on gurudwara committees, or as leaders of worship. In Christianity, too, men (mostly celebrate) worked out many of the influential ideas in the first five centuries of the Church; men also formulated the significant developments of the medieval Church and the Reformation.

Women in Mission  

The final instruction of Jesus (Matthew 28:19) to the first apostles was unequivocal. Therefore at one level, Christianity is the story of the mission. From the earliest times, women were active as missionary apostles. Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:1-3) appear to be examples of husband and wife engaged in missionary activity together. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and beyond, missionaries were sent throughout Europe even further afield to provide Christian enlightenment to those considered as pagans. In AD 596, Pope Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury with thirty monks to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons. A large number of the receivers of the gospel themselves became missionaries, among whom were many women, as members of religious orders, Lioba, ‘born of a Wessex family’ was an early example.  She was invited by Pope Boniface in 748, with other women of the Abbey of Winbourne to evangelise Saxons, through the establishment of convents. Father Pierre Charles, S.J., in an article Missiologie Antifemiste(1951) states that there is clear and irrefutable evidence, though documentation is rare and spasmodic, that  in the early church women played a very significant role in the work of converting pagans and they were regarded as true bearers of the Christian message.’

For various reasons, in course of time, women became a marginal entity in the Church. Father Charles identifies two main reasons for this position.  Firstly, when they became part of missionary enterprise, their sole role was to educate the daughters of the European colonists. Secondly, they were perceived as taking an important role in some of the notorious heretical sects of the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; hence they could not be trusted to deliver the ‘true’ message.

From the seventeenth century, there was a change in attitude primarily due to the effects of Reformation, and in particular (in the Protestant Churches), clergy were allowed to marry. This certainly led to the involvement of women as wives and daughters of missionary men. With the European expansion overseas during seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a number of great Protestant Missionary Societies were formed. Some of them were the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, SPCK(1698), the Society  for the Propagation of the Gospel, SPG (1701) (the SPG. joined with Universities Mission to Central Africa in 1963 to become  the united Society  for the  Propagation of the Gospel), the London Missionary Society, LMS (1799), and others. Women missionaries began to create societies such as the Society for Propagation Female Education in the East (1834), The Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society (1854), Ladies Association (1866) for missionary service overseas by unmarried women. However, the main line societies showed very little interest in that exercise. It was the view of Henry Venn, the Honorary Secretary of the CMS that the main objective of the mission was to send out missionaries chosen carefully, and trained properly and who were fully acceptable to the Parent Church. One of the greatest advocates of women missionaries was Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), the Founder of China Inland Mission, who believed that ‘private soldiers are not less important than the officers’. To Taylor, if the Lord should call ‘the most illiterate man and send that illiterate man forth’, he could do a mighty work through him as He had his own universities.

The Early Nineteenth Century Womes's Education Of India

Although Hindu Scriptures did not forbid education to women, in the early nineteenth century, women were, by and large, denied access to formal education. There was deep-rooted prejudice against their education. Education of women was considered unnecessary, dangerous and unorthodox. Many believed that an educated woman would become a widow; many thought that education would spoil feminine qualities, would bring disgrace to the family. In the 1820s, the Governments of Bombay and Madras undertook studies about education of indigenous people, and the reports received by the Collectors, Judges and Commissioners showed very little mention of female students attending any of the common school of the Provinces.

The Coming Of Christian Missionaries To India  

As the East India Company was primarily a Trading Corporation, and interested only in making profit, it did not allow Christian missionaries to operate within Company’s territories lest their activities arouse the hostility of the natives, especially the elite.  Only after considerable pressure exerted by the missionary groups in Britain, particularly by the Evangelicals led by the Clapham Sect, that parliament agreed to include a clause in the Charter Act of 1813 allowing Christian missionaries to enter India. Evangelicals such as Charles Grant felt that the spread of Christianity was necessary to remove superstition and ignorance and that it could be done by introducing English education which would at the same time also create a class of natives loyal to the British rule. In this venture, neither the Company nor the Indian intelligentsia was to begin with, interested in the education of women. Despite strong opposition, some of them felt that women’s education would help them to oppose customs like child marriage, sati, and enforced widowhood.

Women's Educations in India   

Around 1820s schools have simultaneously sprung up in Bengal and Madras to teach women. In 1818, Robert May (LMS missionary started a school at Chinsurah in Bengal); Mrs Traveller (wife of a missionary of LMS) opened a school for Eurasian girls at Vepery, Madras in May 1819; but there were no Indian girls among the pupils. Mrs. Margaret Wilson (wife of Scottish missionary James Wilson) established Six Day Schools for girls in Bombay in the late ‘20s,

The Education Despatch of 1854 recognised the importance of girls’ education and also offered grants in aid. Initially the missionary societies limited their work to elementary schools; it was extended to secondary and college education as well. Wilson College of Bombay was the first Arts College to admit women. The first two girls to join the college in 1866 were two Parsis - Ratnabai Ardeshir Vakil and her sister Mehrbai. A second important agency for encouraging girls’ education was orphanages and boarding schools; they were established all over the country and generally supervised by the wives of missionaries. The third important agency of missionary education for women was the Zenana system. Wood’s Despatch of 1854 and the Hunter Commissions Report of 1882 recommended that Zenana teaching be brought under a comprehensive educational system and assisted through grant-in -aid. Usually girls from the upper caste/ class families did not go to school because Zenana education in Bombay was the Society for the Promotion of Female Education in the East in 1834 by an American missionary, (the Rev. Abel). The Ladies Association for the Promotion of Female Education among the Heathen, which was closely associated with the SPG, was established in 1866) 

Keshub Chandra Sen addressed a meeting of the Victorian Discussion Society in England in 1870, and he appealed to English women to do all in their power to effect the elevation of women and challenged them: ‘What sort of education do we expect and wish from you? An unsectarian liberal sound and useful education...... an education to make Indian women good wives, mothers, sisters and daughters’ The electrifying effect of his speech produced result; Annett Akroyd, a Unitarian arrived in Calcutta in 1872, and opened a school for girls in 1833.

The fourth area of work was to provide teacher training schools. As there was a prejudice against men teaching girls, the need for women teachers both for schools as well as for zenana education was soon felt. Mary Carpenter (daughter of a Unitarian priest who had been a friend of Raja Rammohan Roy and Dr.Joseph Tukaram) visited India four times during 1860s and 1870s. In 1869 she proposed establishment of a Brahmo normal school (as an activity of the Bramo Samaj Society) to train women teachers for girls school. In 1932, five of the seven teacher training colleges for women in British India were Christian Institutions and over 100 out of 157 students were Christians. The fifth area of work was the field of medicine. Christian missionaries were often required to provide medical care. Although Carey, Marshman or Ward (Baptist missionaries in Serampore) had no professional medical training, they were compelled to treat the sick. In 1810, the Baptist obtained a volunteer doctor, William Jones, who was accompanied by a nurse, Miss. Chaffin; she had the privilege of being called the first missionary nurse. St. Margaret’s Hospital Poona opened in 1892 by the Church of Scotland was the first one, exclusively for women.

One of the important lessons from the work of missionary women was the Indian response. Missionary efforts for women’s education and welfare were like a drop in the ocean. Indian social reformers – both men and women – emulated the missionary example.. Brahmo Samaj established Bambodhini Sabha, an association for women established in 1863; so also published Bambodhini Patrika, a Correspondence Course known as anahpur shiksha for girls (or education for women at home. In 1908, Seva Sadan was founded in Bombay; a year later a similar one was started in Poona. Later Seva Sadan was more than an institution. The result of all these was the emergence of a new family and a new woman among the liberal intelligentsia in the second half of the last century, creating a new role model of educated women. They introduced in to their homes cleanliness, thrift and order, and ran the house in an efficient manner. The woman was no longer in purdha, she could venture outside her home. She could go to school, accompany her husband to public functions and entertainment, join women’s association and perform philanthropic and charitable work. She became a good mother wife, and companion to her husband and a socially responsible member of society.

Work in Kerala

In Kerala, the Western Missionary Enterprise was begun when the CMS started its work in mid 1820s. The first missionary to Travancore Thomas Norton- landed at Cochin on 8th May 1816, and he started his work in Aleppey. The first school with 40 children was started in the Mission compound in 1817. Benjamin Bailey and his wife arrived from England in 1816; stayed with Norton till March of the following year, and then they moved to Kottayam. Mrs. Bailey started the school (in her own house in 1821) for girls of Syrian Christian families. She is known as the pioneer of women’s education in Travancore. Later Mrs. Baker (wife of CMS Missionary Henry Baker Senior) took charge of the school. Afterwards Mrs. Painter (wife of another Missionary) carried on the work. In 1888, the school was bifurcated. The one continued in Kottayam was named after Baker (the granddaughter of Henry Baker Senior) and the one transferred to Pallom was named after Claudius Buchman (the first Chaplain of the East India Company). These two schools are considered the Twin-Mothers of Girls education in Travancore. Women’s education spread fairly fast throughout the state; the result was that women in Kerala had more or less become equal partners in almost all walks of life.

Ashram Movement is not new to Indian Culture; it has deep-rooted long-standing history. Shantinikethan started by Rabindranath Tagore (1901), Satyagraha Ashram, Ahmedabad, by Mahatma Gandhi (1915), Christu Prema Seva Sangham Ashram in Pune by J.C. Winslow (1921), Christukula Ashram, Perunad and Christava Ashram, Manganam were testimony to it.

Bishop Gill and his wife were very keen to establish close links between western missionary ladies and their Indian counterparts to strengthen the bonds of friendship and enhance women’s work in the diocese. To begin this plan of action, two devoted Christian ladies Miss. Edith Neve (teacher at Buchanan Teacher Training School, Pallom) and Miss Rachel Joseph (Teacher at Baker Memorial School, Kottayam) spent many a day in prayer. They were finally called by the Lord to join forces. This gave birth to the Bethel Ashram, Varikad, Tiruvalla on January 12, 1922. With that humble beginning, Bethel Ashram has grown into a great institution Symbol of Women’s Work serving the needs of women in the Church of South India. This year Bethel Ashram celebrates its Platinum Jubilee.

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MISSIONARY MOVEMENT IN AND OF THE DIOCESE OF MADHYA KERALA DIOCESE

Introduction:

The history of Madhya Kerala Diocese dates back to the work of the Church Missionary Society in the State of Travancore. The Roman Catholics and Syrian Christians lived together for a century and a half, not of course in the best of terms. With the decline of the Portuguese power and the arrival of the Dutch it became difficult to provide adequate supply of priests to the region. The British took over Travancore as one of the Indian states under their protection and direction. The Revd R.H. Kerr the Revd Claudius Buchanan visited the Syrians in 1806 during the episcopate of Mar Dionysius, also for the purpose of investigating the state of the native church. Colonel Muroe (the second Resident in Travancore), a man of great Christian conviction suggested to the Church Missionary Society that a ‘Mission of Help’ should be sent to help in the training of the ministry and in the education of the people.  

Part I.
Mission of Help to the Syrians

The CMS started the Mission of Help to the Jacobite Syrians in 1816. The purpose of this Mission of Help was twofold.  (i) To effect the renovation of their church and to raise them from their degradation, (ii) hoped that ‘a strong and friendly Christian community will be a support to the British power in Malabar’. The first missionary to arrive in Travancore was Rev. Thomas Norton in 1816, followed by Benjamin Bailey (1816), Joseph Fenn (1818) and Henry Baker (Sr) (1819) in Kottyam. Norton concentrated his work among the outcaste in Alleppey while the ‘trio’ worked in Kottayam. In 1816 Benjamin Bailey established himself in the seminary in Kottayam, followed later by Fenn and Baker. Affectionate relationship between the missionaries and the students grew up and a number of them destined for holy orders. Up to this period of time services in the church were carried out in Syriac, which was hardly understood by the common man. There was very little teaching of the Bible existed in Malayalam. The missionaries succeeded in translating the whole Bible in Malayam. Baker set up a press for that purpose. No doubt the relationship between the missionaries and the Jacobite Syrians went on satisfactorily without many difficulties in the beginning; it did not last long, probably due to change in leadership of both the Syrian Church and the missionaries. When the pioneer missionaries were away on furlough new men Jospeph Peet(1833-1865) and W.J Wood Cock(1834-1837) arrived on the scene. The young missionaries were probably impatient about the slow progress being affected and perhaps made some rash actions. Although Rev. J. Tucker (Secretary of the Corresponding Committee at Madras), and Bishop Wilson (Anglican Bishop in Calcutta) tried to heal the wounds, the two uncompromising evangelists did not accept reconciliation. From 1835 onwards the new Metropolitan (Dionysius IV) became exceedingly hostile to the missionaries. Thus the breach became inevitable. It was at the famous Mavelikara Synod of the Jacobite Syrians (1836), the inevitable breaking of relationship of the CMS Mission of Help took place. Thus the Mission of Help to the Syrians came to an end.

Mission to the Masses

The ‘marriage’ of the Mission of Help with the Syrian Church lasted only for two decades. As the ties have been snapped, the missionaries did not have any further contact with the Syrian church. Just as St. Paul probably did not succeed with his mission to the Jews and hence moved to the gentiles the CMS missionaries turned their attention to the masses. At the end of the ‘break’ the Syrian Church received the Old Seminary and certain funds while the Mission received Munro Island and certain other funds.

Munro Island

 The Government donated Munro Island near Kollam to help with the work of Syrian College. Benjamin Bailey and Joseph Peer were appointed as trustees. There were nearly a hundred slaves living on the island. Even before the Maharaja of Travancore banned slave trade the Mission gave freedom to the slaves.

Peet’s Proclamation

On March 8, 1835, Joseph Peet went down to Kollam and gave a copy of the following document to the head of each family and informed them that they were free. “We, the undersigned, acting as trustees of Munro Island, do hereby declare that …. who has hitherto been a slave of the soil, is from this time liberated by us and made a free man, and that his wife and offspring are wholly and for ever free and are regarded by us only hired servants and that no one has any right to bring them to servitude again. At the same time, we declare that we do not consider ourselves as released from any just claim which he or his wife or offspring may have upon us according to custom, privilege of law in consequence of their having been slaves.”  It is interesting to note that this proclamation was before slave trade was abolished in the United States by President Abraham Lincoln.

After the separation the Syrians students were given freedom to attend what later became the CMS College in Kottayam. In 1840 this college made a real start when the Rev. John Chapman took charge of it. With the snapping of the ties, the missionaries then turned their attention to the despised and the down trodden Ezhavas, Hill Arians, and the outcastes of Central Travancore.  Soon a good number of the Syrians had become deeply attracted to the reformation of the Anglican Church and were unhappy with a number of inherited traditions. In some cases the whole Syrian parishes joined with the missionaries. This led to the missionaries serving them as parish priests too.

The missionaries started their work in various centres as Kottyam Mission, Hill Arian Mission, Alapuzha Mission, The Cochin Mission, Mavelikara Mission. Kottayam Village Mission was in charge of Bailey while Kottayam District Mission was under Baker with headquarters at Pallom. The missionaries had the credit of being the pioneers in the field of printing. Bailey translated and printed complete editions of (i) the Holy Scriptures and (ii) the Common Prayer Book. He also wrote both English and Malayalam dictionary and another Malayalam and English dictionary. In 1848 the first Malayalam periodical ‘Treasury of Knowledge’ was published. This magazine still comes out as the Diocesan Magazine.

Hill Arrian Mission

A turning point in the missionary work of the CMS missionaries was in 1848 when they started work among the Hill Tribes of Central Travancore.  The missionaries concentrated their work among their principal tribe among them, namely the Hill Arrians. It is interesting to note that mission was started as a result of a request of a delegation from among the Hill Arrians to the CMS Missionary, the Rev. Henry Baker (Jr), who is often referred to as ‘the Apostle of the Hill Arians’.

Alapuzha Mission

It was Rev. Thomas Norton, the first Anglican missionary to arrive in Travancore in 1816 at the suggestion of Col. Munro. Alapupha was outside the Syrian influence, which made it possible for Norton to concentrate his evangelistic work among the different races and religions in that commercial town.

The Cochin Mission

Revd. Thomas Dawson was the first missionary to be stationed at Cochin. Unfortunately he had to return home early in 1818 due to his ill-health. The Kottayam Missionaries paid regular visits to Cochin every fortnight. The services were held in the fine old church of St. Francis (built by the Portuguese which was finally taken over by the British and converted it into a Protestant Church). In 1824 Rev. Samuel Risdale arrived and worked among the mixed population comprising Indian, Portuguese, Dutch and English. The two schools, a boys’ and a girl’s started by Risdale had a number of converts. A few of the notable ones included John and Constantine. John was a Brahmin, and Constantine was Rama Varma (the son of Vira Kerala Rajah).

Mavelikara Mission

Revd. Joseph Peet was the first missionary who took his residence in Mavelikara and established work in Mavelikara, Poovathoor, Kodukulanji anmd Mallappally.

The Mallappally Movement

Mallappally holds a unique place of honour in the history of Missionary Movement.  Mallappally was the first nonconvert (Anglo-Syrian) congregation. Rev. George Mathen was the first Malayalee clergyman of the Anglican Church. No doubt Rev. John Hawksworth helped in its infancy.  Mallappally had the privilege of being the first centre where work among poor slaves in its neighbourhood, which produced fruits of labour. A schoolroom was erected at a place called Kaippatta. Mr. Mathan was the schoolteacher.  The slaves heard and received the good news. The first slave who received baptism was named Abel; this took place in 1854. This incident caused a great excitement in the region.

Part II

From the early part of the last century, the Dioceses had missionary work in the coastal region, the southern region, the hill area and outside the Diocese. For a time there was mass movement in the coastal area. The southern work was started from Mavelikara and it became known as the Adoor Mission.

Adoor Mission

Adoor Mission was the first missionary enterprise of the diocese as its Home Mission. It was started during the episcopate of Bishop Hodges in 1903. It began with the formation of two places, Adoor and Enath as mission centres A good number of people were converted and several other congregations also sprang up. Later they became pastorates and were joined with the rest of the Diocese.

Karapuram Mission

There were a thousand Ezhava families living in the coastal areas near Alleppey. In 1921 an extensive effort to reach them was started by a committee independent of the church. Through a generous contribution of Miss Isabel Baker, a CMS missionary, a school, hospital, and a coir factory were established under the title ‘Karapuram Mission’ in Shertala area. One of the important personalities of this work was none other than Sadhu K.I.Mathai (known as Sadhu Mathaichen), a founder member of Manganam Ashram. In 1953 the Diocese took complete responsibility of the mission, but without much success. However a new work known as ‘Chertala Mission’ was started.
Parkal Mission

Parakal: A New Vision and Adventure

 In 1916 the Diocese of Travancore and Cochin celebrated the centenary of the coming of the first CMS missionaries to Travancore and Cochin. One of the distinguished dignitaries who attended the function was none other than the late Bishop Azariah of Dornakal (one of the main architects of the formation of CSI and the first Indian to be raised to the episcopacy of Anglican Church). In one of the meetings he urged the diocese to consider the possibility of starting a ‘Foreign Mission’ outside the State by the Anglican Church of the Diocese. The Diocese accepted the challenge and decided to go ahead with the plan. According to the advice of Bishop Azariah a taluk in the Nizam’s dominion (Parkal taluk in Karimnagar District in Hyderabad State) was selected as the firs ‘foreign mission’ field.

Early work

M/s K.E. Eapen and A.J. Thomas were the pioneer workers and they arrived at Dornakal on February 22, 1924, and began Telugu language study. After a few months Mr. Thomas fell ill and both returned. However, in 1926 T.M. Thomas joined the mission and went back to Parkal. After necessary language study the missionaries settled down in 1927 at Kottrapalli, a village in the Parkal Taluk. January 20, 1930 saw the first baptism of 45 people from the Mala caste in China-Kodepaka village. After theological training the two missionaries were ordained as priests – Rev. Eapen in 1934 and Rev. Thomas in 1938. Meanwhile in 1934 the western part of the River Salivago, which was part of A.B. Mission field was transferred to our mission. In 1939 the mission field was divided into two pastorates. The consecration of Bishop C.K.Jacob was a turning point in the history of the foreign mission. Bishop Jacob and Bishop Elliott of Dornakal visited Parkal in 1945 and decided to send additional missionaries. Rev. T.S.Joseph (who later became bishop of the diocese) was sent in 1946 to take the place of Rev. T.M.Thomas who had left Parkal in 1942.  Rev. Joseph looked after Kattarapalli pastorate whlile Rev. Eapen looked after parkal Pastorate. After 30 years of meritorious service Rev. At the time of retirement there were 2486 baptised Christians in the mission. Rev. Joseph worked in the mission field till 1961 during which time he started a school. With just two pupils the mission started a class under a tree which school rose and became a high school.

Parkal Bethel Branch

Bishop C.K. Jacob visited Parkal in 1946. He felt it necessary to start women’s work in Parkal area. He requested Tiruvalla Bethel Ashram sisters Srs Edith Neve and Rachel Joseph to explore its possibility. On December 14, 1946 Sisters Mary Thomas and Mary John were commissioned to start work in Parkal. They reached there on January 20, 1947. Although from 1947 to 1955 women’s work was under the auspices of the Mission Board, from 1955 Tiruvalla Bethel Ashram took complete charge of its branch in Parkal area, namely, Parkal, Katarapally and Bhageeratapetta.  From 1969 the Sisters were assigned responsibility of running the boarding school.

Some of the missionaries who worked with Parkal Mission included Rev. I.C.Kurien, Rev. K.J.Chacko, Rev. Dr. E.V.Eapen, Rev. P.O. Ninan, Rev. John Mathew, Most Rev. K.J.Sanuel, Rev. K.J.Daniel, Rev. Dr. Kuruvila George.

Looking back to the work of the Mission over the last 77 years, one has to be thankful for the work done nearly in fifty centres, where there are nearly 20 evangelists including missionary priests. The Mission also has the services of three retired Telugu priests. There are six schools, three Bethel ashram centres, 2 homes for poor people, two nursery schools, a Homeo hospital, 60 teachers, 5 women workers, and 3 homeo doctors and so on. The present missionary in charge is Rev. Sumod Cherian.

Patpara Mission

It is an offshoot of an earlier attempt by the youth department of Central Travancore Diocese to enlarge its vision beyond Kerala. In the early 1950s Bishop C.K.Jacob, Bishops George Sinker and John Sadiq (both of Nagpur Diocese) challenged the youth of our diocese to enlarge their missionary vision to areas outside Kerala. There was a mission called ‘Gosner Mission’ working among the aboriginals (Gonds) in the Diocese of Nagpur. The Mission was started by six German missionaries in the early part of the last century. Owing to sickness and lack of basic physical comfort all the six missionaries succumbed to death. Many years later the CMS missionaries took over the mission. It was to that area in the Gond area Bishop Sinker challenged the youth of Central Travancore Diocese to establish mission work.  The Youth of the Diocese accepted the challenge and decided to send Rev. & Mrs A.I. George, Sister Rachel John of Bethel Ashram and Ms Annamma Cherian to start work in 1954. After a period of four years the lady missionaries were recalled. A few years later Rev. George joined the Diocese of Nagpur.  

It was at this juncture the Diocese decided to take up missionary work in Andhra Pradesh. Rev. I.C. Kurien was the missionary in the Parakal Mission at that time. Bishop M.M. John initiated the move to start missionary work in a new area. Very Rev. I.C.Kurien who was the missionary at Parakal at that time identified an area in a village ‘Mugalapally in Warangal district. Rev. P.O.Ninan and his wife Dr. Nancy Ninan (a Homeo doctor) were chosen as pioneer missionaries to start work there.  They reached there on October 20, 1967. They returned to the diocese after 16 years of service with the mission. Rev & Mrs Thomas K Oommen , Rev & Mrs Sabu K Cherian, Rev & Mrs John Mathew, Rev. Thomas Mathew continued mission and evangelistic work over the years.  

The present missionary is Rev. Mathew P.Oommen and his wife Dr. Saramma Mathew is a doctor. There are 8 congregations, 8 church workers. The work is sponsored by the Madhya Kerala Youth Department. Church like CSI New York, CSI Dubai, and parishes of Nedungadapally, South Puthupally, Mundiappally, Vakola (Bombay), Kollakadavu, and Almaya Sangadana support the work.

Mahoba Mission

Mahoba Mission is the missionary work initiated by Bishop T.J.Joseph and started by the Madhya Kerala Diocese in 1982 at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh in honour of the centenary of the diocese. Since there was not much progress the work was shifted to Mahoba within the jurisdiction of the Church of North India at a place called Charkhari in Hamirpur district of U.P. It is now known as UP Mission. With the baptism of six members by Bishop M.C. Mani on October 6, 1985, a congregation was formed. Revds C. K. Chacko and Joy C Daniel worked as early missionaries. Raju Jacob joined Charkari in 1993 and continued the work. A parsonage, school building and a Church were constructed. There is a congregation of more than a hundred members from surrounding villages. There is as a well-run English medium school. Besides the school work frequent medical camps are being conducted with the assistance of Lucknow Christian Medical Mission. Last year eye lenses were fixed for nearly 300 patients. Middle East CSI congregations generously contributed to the construction of buildings. Madhya Kerala Women’s Fellowship supplied large amount of money for their establishments.

Mysore Mission

The Mysore Mission was started in 1994 at a village called Hambapuram in H.D. Kotta district. Bishop Sam Mathew initiated the project. Rev. Kurien Mathew and Mrs Dr (Mrs) Ruby Kurien are the missionaries. Mrs Kurien runs a Homeo clinic. School work up to Standard VI class is carried on in three and a half acres of land. A parsonage, school building and church building were constructed and dedicated on August 26, 2001. Mr. Joseph William donated the cost of building the parsonage amounting to five lakhs of rupees and the CSI Dubai parish donated 12 lakhs for school building. The Women’s Fellowship of MK diocese deposited an endowment fund of 12 lakhs.

Vaikom Suvisesha Bhavan

The construction of Vaikom Suvisesha Bhavan was the culmination of a long felt desire of Madhya Kerala Diocese and Ettumanoor District to promote evangelistic work along the coastal district of Vaikom, Sherthala, Thaneermukam and Thrinayamkudam. A beautiful chapel in the heart of Vaikom was built by the Professional Fellowship of the Diocese as part of its Silver Jubilee project and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Sam Mathew dedicated it on September 6, 2001. Ettumanoor District has 9 parishes and 43 churches and it is hoped that evangelistic work would be strengthened by Vaikom Suvisesha Bhavan.

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PROBLEMS CONFRONTING EDUCATION IN KERALA

I am extremely happy to contribute an article for the ‘festschrift’ in honour of the Rev. Prof. K. C. Mathew, the Founder Principal of Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara with whom I have personal friendship for at least half a century. Since he has made valuable contribution to Higher Education in Kerala, I would like to share a few thoughts on the problems confronting education in Kerala, especially the Higher Education sector.

Vision of the Founding Fathers on Education

It is not far from truth when one makes a statement that education system in India (especially Kerala ) is in a confused state. The founding fathers of Independent India had clear views on education. They believed that students are the future citizens of the country and that the social, political and economic well being of the country depends largely upon what they do and how they behave. Since it is possible to mould their minds through educational institutions, They felt that the first step should be determined by the basic aims of education. Mahatma Gandhi has placed prime importance to cultural aspect and emphasised the aim, which the teacher and the taught should keep in mind. In one of his speeches to students in a college he said. ‘Your educational institution is worthless, if it is not built on a solid foundation of truth and purity. If you are not careful about the personal purity of your lives…..then I tell you that you are lost, although you may become perfect finished scholars’.  While addressing the students at Vellore he said: ‘all your learning or recitation of the Vedas, correct knowledge of Sanskrit, Latin, Greek and what not, will avail us nothing must be building up character’. When he visited Sri Lanka, in one of his speeches he said: ‘I notice already, that, as in India, so in this country, you are making education more and more expensive as to be beyond the reach of the poorest children. Let us all beware of making that serious blunder and incurring the deserved reproach of posterity’. After fifty years of life in independent India, how true does the Father of the Nation give the warning?

Dr. Radhakrishnan once said that the aim of education to turn out leaders of men, and universities should inspire young men and women with noble ideals, the lack of which render our education system outdated, as it leaves a wide gulf between the rosy dreams of the students and their practical life. A defective and faulty system of education makes the students disinterested in their studies and they become misfits in life. Time and time again, parents, teachers, educationists, politicians ( of all shades ) and social reformers say that the children should be the primary concern of the country; a loving care and an effective educational training for a balanced physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual growth are the inalienable rights of a child. They would add that the order of any society as well as the prosperity and well being of a nation depends primarily on the quality of young men and women who come out of the portals of educational institutions. Even since India became independent, endless speeches reports, seminars, conferences, workshops, commission reports and so one are produced in mountains of printed pages. The famous Kothari Commission stated that “the educational system should emphasise the development of fundamental social, moral and spiritual values…some periods must be provided in the time – table for this purpose. They should be taken not by especially recruited teachers but by the general teachers’.

Paradox in Education

At the time of Independence, Pandit Nehru and others had expressed confidence that total literacy could be achieved with 20 to 40 years. It seems that even after 50 years, it still remains a dream. Two – thirds of women and half of the adult population in India continue to be illiterate. The primary education continued to remain a grey area despite the substantial progress made by the country in higher education. Where are we today? About 40 percent of our population are living below the poverty line; almost 60 percent are illiterate. A very high percent of educated youth face emptiness, frustration and sense of insecurity, primarily due to lack of suitable employment. A comparison with China, Japan and other countries that were placed below or similarly placed with India in the above regard fifty years ago, it is starting to note that they have all marched ahead leaving India far behind. While India had five times the number of persons with higher education than China, the number of literate in the country was half that of development while India continued to lag behind.

Academic Excellence of Teachers

An area in which concerted effort should be made is constant improvement of academic and professional qualifications of teaching staff in colleges and universities. The universities have set up criteri for selection of teaching staff. But once they get the job, it seems that good number of them do not make any further effort to improve their academic and professional excellence. Many of them seem to be satisfied with what they had learned at the undergraduate and postgraduate level; the result being that they could impart only what they had learned as students, and nothing more. It is a common characteristic of higher education system in western countries that all teachers, lecturers, readers and professors must publish annually academic papers in recognised educational magazines. Or else they would have to face the consequence.  The usual phrase is 2Ps-Publish or Perish. In-service training for teacher ( at least once in 5 years ) has been recommended. This is urgently needed for changing the role of teachers from that of a mere classroom instructor to that of a person able to relate meaningfully with the activities of the students. It would inculcate in their sensitivity to the social aspirations of the new generation as well as the complex social reality in which the students are placed.

Examinations and Guidebooks

Our education system is geared for examinations. Subjects are neither taught ( for various reasons ) at sufficient length nor do the students have the textbooks. There is no change to teach them to do research on their own, or taking a position having an opinion, expressing their thoughts. There is hardly any opportunity to be creative. All that matters to them is to pass the examinations. To achieve this end, students have to collect a number of guidebooks (which are in plenty at the bookshops). If one examines the guidebooks, it can be seen that they are prepared having studied at length the questions that are asked for a number of years during examinations. As there is a high probability that several of these questions set in the guidebooks appear in public examinations, students have no choice but to resort to such guidebooks. No doubt there are a number of students who have never seen the textbooks or other reference books on the subject.

Many a time these examinations fail to measure what they are expected to measure. An examination is  a necessary evil. It offers an opportunity to many to learn the art of cheating at a very young age; it also helps to indulge in other evil practices that are so rampant today. Probably rethinking of the whole examination system should be made. Intelligence tests, personal interviews, cumulative classroom works, internal assessment and so on should be included to find out the efficiency of the students. G. K. Chesterton once said “the business of education is to tell us of all the varying complications, of all the bewildering beauty of the past……Education commands us to know them all that we may do without them all”. Will out educators devise a more appropriate examination system in our education system?

Autonomy of Universities

It is necessary to provide ( as much as possible ) autonomy to universities. This is the practice in a number of universities in the western countries. Looking at the situation in India, it seems that there is erosion of autonomy of universities. It is only natural that the Association of Indian Universities (ATU) has expressed grave concern the way in which their autonomy is being eroded by the functioning of statutory councils like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). At a recent meeting of the AIU a resolution was adopted, which says: “The autonomy of the universities must be fully preserved in terms of approving and monitoring of courses in university department and also approving and monitoring affiliated colleges and institutes.  The centralised statutory bodies should be only enabling agencies and not controlling agencies. It there is any clause in the various Acts that encroach this autonomy, the same should he amended in a suitable manner to ensure this autonomy”.

One tends to forget that it is good for the higher education system in India to consider granting autonomy status to a number of well – run colleges. To facilitate this process, there should be dialogues with college management, teachers and administrative staff to remove misunderstanding and promoting acceptance of autonomy status.

Ground realities in the present day education system

Loss of manpower in the higher education in India: What are some of the ground realities faced by the higher education in Kerala? Strikes, bandh, Hartal, and so on due to local, district, state, national and international problems have become the order of the day. To these can be added a number of other “calamities”. Increase of bus fares, increase of college and other fees, delay in publishing examination results, conflicts between student political parties, public and bus owners, public and police come like lightning. It is estimated that as a result of these unexpected and unnecessary actions about 30 percent of teaching hours are lost.

Holiday Culture: India seems to have a unique holiday culture. If one examines the holiday pattern of the Central Government employees, once can see that all Saturdays and Sundays are holiday for them. ie. 104 days in the year. Holidays declared by the Government on religious and national grounds come to 19, casual holidays 12; earned leaves 30 and computable leave15. This totals 180 days. It means that an employee is eligible to be away from office work for six months in the year with full salary and other benefits. For the rest of the six months, he is required to work only eight hours a day (in theory) or a total of 1480 hours. It is a  fact that there are only very few jobs and persons that demand 8 hours work in full. It is not an exaggeration to state that there are many who do one, two or three hours of work on a working day, while they attend to various personal needs for the rest of the day. While less and less work is being done, employees demand more pay and emoluments and very often the government submits (after a bandh, strike or so) to their demands. Punctuality and maximum work with sincerity should be the motto.

An objective evaluation of the existing ‘holiday’ pattern prevalent in colleges and universities reveals that there are various types of holidays. They are official public holidays (declared by the Government). In addition there are local celebrations, religious festivals, staff meetings, parents and teachers meetings, endowment distributions, sports festivals, union activities, college elections, holidays declared by the District Collectors ( due to various reasons – floods, storms and hurricanes, communal riots, death of VIPs ) and so on. All these amount to about 30 percent loss of working days. A number of teaching staff are actively involved in various activities – membership in panchayat, municipality, corporations, university senate, and government bodies. These amounts to about 10 percent of workdays. The net result of this entire unfortunate predicament, students in colleges and universities get only about 60 percent of their legitimate learning time. This raises another important issue. How can these students complete the syllabi assigned by the University for Examination? Of course the ready answer seems to be ‘tuition, tuition, tuition,’ in each of the subjects either by tutorial college or even by the same teachers who teach them in the college. What a paradox?

Running cost of higher education: it is estimated that Government, management, university, UGC, parents and community spend on an average about 1.5 lakhs of rupees to run a major college. This means that total annual expenditure to run a college would amount to Rs. 5 crores ( salaries of teaching and non – teaching staff, surrender salary, pension, T. A./ D. A., laboratory and library expenses, stationary, furniture, stadium, sports equipment, sports and cultural activities and conduct of examinations). It seems that the estimated cost for higher education in our state amount to more than 1000 crores. In addition to these, parents have to bear exorbitant expense due to unavoidable tuition, bus fares and other items.

Another unfortunate consequence is that many of our well – deserving candidates (if there was proper imparting of education in our colleges and universities) fail to reach top level positions such as IAS, IPS and so on. Kerala does not seem to produce sufficient number of candidates passing All India examinations, Professional Examinations and so on. Students and Teachers have become slaves to laziness due to regular bandh, hartal and so on. Who realises this predicament? Who can then blame the teachers who have become lazy? Who can blame the pear valuation system? Has it become a farce? How many of the parents spent their time crying over the death of their innocent sons or daughters who have died as martyrs in colleges due to political rivalry?
What is the future in store for the Higher Education in the country? Is it bright or bleak?

Value Based Education

It is not far from the truth when we hear people say that the education system in India (especially Kerala ) is in a confused state. The Founding Fathers of Independent of India had a clear vision of education. To them, students are the future citizens of the country and the social, political and economic well being of the country depends primarily upon what they do and how they behave. Mahatma Gandhi has given prime importance to culture and emphasised the aim, which both the teacher and the taught should keep in mind. He said:
“Your educational institution is worthless, if it is not built on a solid foundation of truth and purity. If you are not careful about the personal purity of your lives……..then I tell you that you are lost, although you may become a perfect finished scholar.” While addressing students at Vellore he said: All your learning on recitation of the Vedas, correct knowledge of Sanskrit, Latin, Greek and what not, will avail us nothing we must be building up character.” Dr. Radhakrishnan once said that the aim of education is to turn out leaders of men, and universities should inspire young men and women with noble ideals, the lack of which renders out education system outdated.

One of the significant developments that took place since India attained independence in 1947 has been a general acceptance that every single human being has a right to education. Respective governments in power used to appoint committees or commissions to review educational methods, needs and priorities, and those commissions (without fail) produced voluminous reports of their findings, each commission (without exception) pointed out the drawbacks or demerits of the existing systems and suggested remedial measures. The Sargent Report (1944) harped on the excessive importance attached to examinations, examiners themselves putting “ a premium on book learning of a narrow kind at the expense of original thinking and real scholarship”. The famous Kothari Commission (1966) stated that “the educational system should emphasise the development of fundamental social, moral and spiritual values…some periods must be provided in the time – table for this purpose.  They should be taken not by specially recruited teachers but by all teachers.

We see a paradox in education in India. At the time of Independence, Pandit Nehru and others had expressed confidence that total literacy could be achieved within 20 to 40 years. It seems that even after 50 years, it still remains a dream. Two – thirds of women and half of the adult population in India continue to be illiterate. Primary Education continues to remain a grey area despite the substantial progress made in higher education. Where are we today? About 40 percent of our population are living below the poverty line, almost 60 percent are illiterate, a very high percentage of educated youth face emptiness, frustration and a sense of insecurity due to lack of suitable employment. In comparison with China, Japan and other countries that were placed below or placed at par with India in the above regard fifty year ago, it is startling to note that they have all marched ahead leaving India far behind. While India had five times the number of persons with higher education that China, the number of literate in the country was half that of China and in development India continues to lag behind.

Education played a key role in all aspects of the life of the nation, be it social, economic and cultural from the 15th century. In all stages of education two specific principles emerged. During the Dark Ages formal education was the monopoly of the elite or the higher class of people and only informal education was accorded to the depressed or low class of people. The right of education and its distribution was in the hands of elite. The higher class retained monopoly of education and maintained slavery as a rule: they also organised education to suit these aims. The advocates of formal education did not bother to consider enquiry into truth, social justice and implementation as their legitimate remit. If anybody ever ventured to change this approach it was even considered against the will of God. If anyone dared to challenge this, he would be treated accordingly. Socrates for example had to pay a heavy price – his head.

Renaissance (French for rebirth) is in a sense, the culturally fruitful period of transition from the medieval era into the modern beginning of modern civilisation in Europe.  It is hard to assign the exact dates of the Renaissance, as there was considerable shading and overlapping. Some historians maintain that the Renaissance extended from the middle of the 14th to the middle of the 17th century. Its start and duration differed in different countries. Renaissance was to a large extent a revolt against the dogmatism and other worldliness of the Middle Ages, when scholars concentrated on theology and religious matters and almost ignored the classical heritage from Greece and Rome. The spirit of Renaissance also championed the importance of free inquiry;. Astronomy was reformed by Copernicus and Galileo, and science began assuming the modern form. Feudalism died out and a trend towards nationalism emerged. The discovery of America and the exploration of the Far East helped promote the revival of learning already in progress. It was during this period of renaissance, awareness of the need for education for all became a reality.

With Renaissance a new concept in education sprang up. Education is used to eradicate false teaching, and introducing new knowledge for the common good. Education became a commodity to be used for all, not for just a select group of people. Education rejected all teaching, which hindered man’s quest for freedom, development and social justice. New concepts in education also helped industrial and economic growth. Firstly, with the development of scientific and technical knowledge man is able to extract maximum economic growth. Secondly, education provided impetus to resist any factor, which hindered growth of independence and development. As a result, liberation, development and social justice became part and parcel of formal education.

With the phenomenal growth in information Technology, the system of education that has been practised all these years will disappear. A question will come up. Will there be any value – based education in the new concept? The new system will create two levels – an upper level and another lower level. The higher level is the group, which has the know–how in computer and internet etc. and the lower level is the ordinary group, which has no such knowledge. The second group will have no commercial value as they cannot contribute anything through modern IT. In the upper level there will be no vision for freedom, liberation and intrinsic value, and the lower group will become a useless exercise.

The first casualty of the information Age is the majority group of people who were ‘literate’ now turned ‘illiterate’. The usual accepted definition of a literate is that he is one who can read and write and communicate effectively. With this framework we have in India 56% literate. But with the advance of IT, a literate is one who can communicate in that language. This would make only 1% population in India as literate – computer literate.

Value based Education in Kerala Context

With the advance IT has made in all fields, although there is a fear that old values which have been part of out system may not survive, it is imperative to have value based education. It is an accepted principle that children ought to be our primary concern. It is the inalienable birthright of every child to claim a loving care and an effective education/training for a balanced spiritual, intellectual, moral and physical growth. It is the basic responsibility of parents, teachers, spiritual leaders and the elders of society at large to ensure that our children really enjoy these rights. It is a painful sight that these basic rights of our children are being blatantly violated, the result being heavy loss and agony. The quality of any society as well as the well – being and prosperity of any nation depends primarily on the quality of the young men and women who come out of educational institutions. The intellectual, moral, spiritual and socially important qualities of these children in turn are determined essentially by the value orientation, value identification and value inhibition that they acquire farm educational institutions. This shows the great importance of value education.

Schools and colleges have a special role to play. They ought to be effective centres for nurturing, developing and disseminating positive values, maintaining lofty values, recapturing the values we have lost and are about to lose and formulating new democratic, mores, and spiritual values for the real growth of humanness, fraternity, truth and justice. What do we see in our educational institutions? There is continued negligence of value education in them. This frightening deterioration in the moral, spiritual and even physical quality of life should be a matter of serious concern. Judging from the present situation in our campuses the future of the country is quite bleak. There are dozens and dozens of instances in colleges where normal education is a rare commodity. There are instances in colleges where normal education is a rare commodity. There are instances where students with the backing of their respective political members barge into the rooms of colleges including that of the principal and man – handle the occupants. Academic excellence and value orientation in higher education have been replaced by mediocrity, erosion of values and moral degradation.

One of the pressing needs of the present time in out country is an action plan for effective value education and an honest attempt by every body concerned, especially teachers most consciously and effectively to implement it. Human resources Development should proceed side by side with value education to bring out and develop human potential for the benefit of the individual and society. We have to lay down the objectives of value education in order to help students to develop basic values, attitudes and approaches in life that will enable them to go out of the campus as morally upright, spiritually inspired and socially concerned young men and women who will provide to be useful to them and to society.

The root cause of all the evils in society including bribery, corruption, alcoholism, drug-addiction, injustice against women and children and all forms of inhuman behaviours is erosion of values. It is only proper that we have to balance the knowledge and skills which science and technology have brought for us with the values and insights associated with ethics and region at its best. Children and youth of the day remain almost insulated form the glorious heritage of lofty ideals and values cherished and handed over down the centuries and consequently they are faced with a dreadful crisis of values. There can be no peace for the present generation and no hope for the future generation unless we meticulously develop a plan of action for peace and value education and implement it most earnestly on a war footing.

Academic Excellence of Teachers

This is an area where concerted effort should be made to secure definite improvement of academic and professional qualifications of teaching staff in colleges and universities. The universities have certain norms for selection of teaching staff. But the unfortunate situation that once they get the job, it seems that a good number of them do not make any further effort to improve their academic and personal excellence. It is a common requirement of higher education system in western countries that all teachers, lecturers, readers and even professors publish annually academic papers in recognised periodical and magazines Publish or Perish | It would be worth studying the state of academic excellence in our educational system and its relevance to teaching.

Holiday Culture

India seems to have a unique holiday culture. If one examines the holiday pattern of Central Government employees, one can see that most weekends are holidays for them. i. e. 104 days in the year. Holidays declared by the Government on religious and national groups come to 19 casual holidays 12, earned leave 40 and commutable leave 15. This totals 180 days. That means, an employee is eligible to be away from office work for six months in the year with full salary and other benefits. For the rest of six months, he is required to work only 8 hours a day ( in theory ) or total 1480 hours. It is a fact that there are only few jobs and persons that demand 8 hours work. It is not an exaggeration to state that there are many who do one, two or three hours of work on a working day, while they attend to personal needs for the rest of the day. While less and less work is being done, employees demand more pay and emoluments and very often the government submits (after a bandh, strike or so) to their demands. Punctuality and maximum work with sincerity should be the motto.

An objective evaluation of the existing ‘holiday’ pattern prevalent in colleges and universities reveals that there are various types of holidays. There are official public holidays (declared by the Government). In addition there are local celebrations, religious festivals, staff meetings, parents and teachers meetings, endowment distributions, sports festivals, union activities, college elections, holidays declared by District Collectors ( due to various reasons – floods, storms and hurricanes , communal riots, death of VIPs ) and so on. All these amount to about 30 percent loss of working days. A number of teaching staff are actively involved in various activities – membership in panchayat, municipality, corporations, university senate, government bodies and so on. These amount of about 10 percent of workdays. The net result of this entire unfortunate predicament is that the students in colleges and universities get only about 60 percent of their legitimate learning time. This raises another important issue. How can the students complete the syllabi assigned by the University for Examinations? Of course the ready answer seems o be tuition, tuition, tuition in each of the subjects either by tutorial colleges or even by the same teachers who teach them in the college. What a paradox.

Dharma Bharathi Institute

Some of you may feel that I have given a gloomy picture of value based education. You may have a right to feel so. However, I am not despondent about the negative aspect. Still there is a ray of hope if a concerted effort is made by all concerned. I would like to bring to your notice a group, which has been making serious attempts to emphasise value – based education. The group is called Dharma Bharathi, a National Institute of Peace and Value Education which was established in 1993 to promote spiritual  revitalisation and national reconstruction of programmes of Dharma RajyaVedi in educational institutions as a Practical Peace and Value Education Module. Dharma Rajya Vedi is an inter-religious and socio – political organisation for a new Indian Renaissance based on a synthesis of science and spirituality. It is inspired by the Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens as enshrined in the Constitution of India under Article 51 (A). Dharma Bharathi Institute succeeded in introducing its programmes in more than 300 educational institutions across the country within 5 years of its inception. The Institute has been publishing a bi – monthly journal by name ‘Renaissance’.  The success of the Institute and its programmes inspired the Madurai Kamaraj University to start a Pot Graduate Diploma Course in “Peace and Value Education” from 1997. The HQ is in Hyderabad, and they hope to develop this Institute as an autonomous Open University of Peace and Value Education that can provide a strong moral and spiritual foundation for India of the third millennium. They had five- fold objectives of value education for peace – Enlightened leadership, Responsible Citizenship, Universal solidarity an ecological consciousness, Harmony among religious and ethnic groups and Education for social transformation and nation
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