Chapter 5

LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND KERALA SOCIETY

Introduction

C o c i a l analysis is an integral component of the practice of liberation theology.

d l t s purpose is to find out the constituent elements and the dominant forces

in the society. The sorrows, beliefs, ideology etc. of a particular people are

intertwined with the major factors that constitute that particular society. The

dominant classes in the society may naturally be expected to defend the status-

quo. They often make use of religion to protect their vested interests, to impose

and legitimise the injustices inflicted upon the downtrodden. Conversely, there

may appear leaders and thinkers who would reinterpret the religious ideal in

favour of the poor and invoke God as their champion. They may call upon the

people to reform their ways and may threaten the powers that be with dire

consequences should they refuse to do so. They will use religion and God to

empower the poor. This happens because religion has, too often, been used as

a Cool for preserving unjust social privilege.

The social history of Kerala shows the evolution of divergent ways of life,

based on cultural and social differences; thii has, in turn, necessitated a

multilateral approach to development strategies. These different religions

coexist, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in conflict over their rights and

privileges. Kerala has always welcomed new ideas, new philosophies and new

movements. Liberation theology is a newcomer on the religious-political scene.

Its influence is still felt in certain regions and spheres of social and political life. In

order to assess the impact of liberation theology on Kerala society, thii chapter

proposes to make a detailed investigation into the complex interplay of

communal and religious factors in the state's recent hiitoy. It has also seemed

necessay, in the interests of a truly sociological analysi, to extend the surwy

beyond the recent past, into the remote hiirical antecedents of the current

communal and religious formations in the state. The main questions posed in this

chapter are: What are the dominant forces in Kerala society? Is it possible to

isolate and define the destabilising forces in thii society? What influence, if any,

does liberation theology stiU exert upon the thinking and behavioural patterns of

the people in the state? Apart from statistical material, interviews and theoretical

studies, questionnaires have also been made use of to try to find answers to

these questions.

Hinduism: An Overview

Hinduism is one of the oldest and most complex of the religions of the

world. During its long h i i r y , Hinduism has expressed itself through various

sects professing widely differing beliefs so that it would be extremely difficult to

identify its essential character.' Having surveyed the welter of beliefs and

practices that make up Hinduism, John Nox O ~ S ~ N ~ S :

It is not one religion, but rather a family of religions . . . Hinduism

is the whole complex of beliefs and institutions that have appeared

from the time when their ancient (and most sacred) scriptures, the

Vedas, were composed until now . . Hindus have an extraordinary

wide selection of beliefs and practices to choose from: they can be

pantheists, monotheists, agnostics or even atheisk2

According to Joseph Gaer, there is among the Hindus, a large number of

castes and sub-castes; these, as well as the numerous sects that arose within

Hinduism all profess certain beliefs in common:

Brahman, the eternal Trirnurti . . . Vishnu, the preserver; and

Shiva, the destroyer: Submission to fate . . ., the caste system . . .

the law of Karma, Reincarnation, Nirvana - the final stage reached

upon the emancipation of the soul from the chain of rebirths.

yogas, the disciplines which enable the individual to control the

body and emotions; and Dharma, the law of moral order . . . 3

Despite these similarities in beliefs, it would be difficult to formulate a

definition of Hinduism that would cover all its varieties. Is it a religion, a set of

religions or an amalgam of many philosophies? Christianity, Judaism etc. have

definitely been referred to a founder but no single founder can be named for

Hinduism. It is not at all a founded religion. Its holy Scriptures are of "immense

size and staggering variety.n4 It has no central organisation. Hence, it has

neither doctrinal nor organisational unity.

Etymologically, the word "Hindu" and "Hinduism" reveal a geographical

derivation. These are ". . . derived, via Persian, from the name of that river now

called the ~ n d u s . " ~ In the west, "Hinduism" is taken to refer to the beliefs and

practices of those who happen to live in the land of the lndus, and who do not

happen to be a Muslim, Chr-ktian, Parsi, Jainan or a Buddhist. Those who

belong to the Hindu badition may themselves refer to it in a variety of ways;

a y a dharma (the noble order or the noble law); sanatana dharma (eternal law);

Hindu dharma (Hindu law) etc. These different terms give some indication of

the complexity involved in the Hindu way and view of life. They indicate, too,

that in Hinduism "there are many different ways of looking at a single object,

none of which will give the whole view, but each of which is entirely valid in its

own rightn6

Not all Hindus share the same beliek or observe the same practices;

neither do they all live in India, nor are all Indians ~ indus . ' India might better

be described as a "subcontinentn implying no necessay connection between

name of the region and its religion. India has many distinct racial types and a

bewildering variety of languages. A. L. Bashan, a historian, defines 'Hindu' as

". . . a man who chiefly bases hi beliefs and way of life on the complex system

of faith and practice which has grown up originally in the Indian subcontinent

over a period of at least three mi~ennia ."~ Mahatma Gandhi pointed to the

ambiguity of Hinduism when he said: "A man may not believe in God and still

call himself a ~ i n d u . " ~ Gandhiji was expressing a paradox on which Hinduism is

based. Hinduism involves an inclusive vision of truth, a manner of

comprehending reality that excludes nothing - not w e n contraries and

contradictions - from its purview. Half a dozen racial elements have gone into

the making of the Indian population. The Negrito race seems to have penetrated

to India in the early centuries. The brown-black coloured people of

Cochin-Travancore known as Uralis, Malapandarams, Kudms, Ubdans and

Pulayans are the survivors of this race.'' The Proto-Australoid or Pre-Dravidian

race also entered Indii and make up the bulk of the lower class in India at

present; the lmhs and Muthuvans of Travancore are decedents of this race. The

Meditemnean or Dravidian race believed to be connected with the

Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy also made their way into India.

Some among the Tamilians, Telugus, Kanarees and Malayalees are descendants

of thii race." The Maharathies, Gujaraties, Coorgies and even Kanarees may be

traced back to the indo-Alpne race which migrated to lndia following the

Dravidian race from Central Europe. The Mongolian race which includes the

Chinese and the Japanese, is found in Assam and the Himalayan borders. The

Indo-Aryan race came to lndia from Central Asia. The Aryans or 'nobles' in their

victorious march across the country imposed their culture on the black

aboriginals and Dravidians of South India. They are generally thought to be the

originators of the dominant trends in Hindu religion and philosophy. Hinduism

has its roots in the institutions and the vedic literature of the ~ndo-Aryans.*

Successive waves of Aryan invasions have profoundly influenced the cultural and

political h i i r y of the Indian sub-continent. The Persian occupation of the Indus

valley (516485 B.C.), the Greek invasion of Alexander the Great (326 B.C.), the

Syrian incursion of Seleneus, a general in Alexander's army, in 305 B.C., the

Bactrian incursion (272-232 B.C.) - all of these have left their lasting

impressions on the composite culture of this country. The Parthian empire

extended its rule to Punjab (140 B.C.); the invasion by the nomadic tribes of

Seythia (140 B.C.); the Tokhari invasion around the middle of the first century

AD. enriched thii country. The fifth and sixth centuries AD. witnessed the

irruption of the two nomadic tribes from Mongol and the Muhammaden

incursion (637-715 A.D.).'~ These were further developments in the country's

socio-political scenario which added greatly to its ethnological complexity.14

Caste is a unique feature of the Hindu religion. There is an interesting

story relating to its origin in legend. Brahma created the first man1= - Manu;

from him came the four different types of men as Brahma had ordained it.I6

Accordingly, from Manu's head came the Brahmins whose task it was to perform

the functions of priests and sages; they were highly regarded even by the ruling

class. They were thought to be the noblest and most virtuous of men. The

khatriyas came from Manu's arms - they were the rulers and warriors of the

community. The Vaisyas came from the first man's thighs. They were the

merchants and farmers of ancient times. Then the Sudms came from Manu's feet

as the lowest class of men who were not allowed to study Vedas. According to

thii story, the caste system is a creation of Brahman - God himself.17 In other

words, it is divinely instituted. Swami Vivekananda gives the rationale behind

the caste system in the following words:

Caste is a natural order. I can perform one duty in social life, and

you another; you can govern a country and 1 can mend a pair of

shoes, but there is no reason why you are greater than I, for can

you mend my shoes? Can I Qovem the country? I am cleverer in

mending shoes, you are clever in reading Vedas, but there is no

reason why you should trample on my head . . . caste is good . . .

wherever you go there will be caste. But that does not mean that

there should be these privileges. They should be hocked on the

head . . . 18

But the caste system became more complicated and degrading when thousands

of subcastes came into being. Budha repudiated the caste system. When Budha

proclaimed that all are alike free, the low castes, the downtrodden, gave him

their whole-hearted support. The result was the persecution of the B u d d h i i by

high caste ~ i n d u s . ' ~ Caste is a Portuguese word and was used by them to

signify cast, mould, race, kind and quality. Or~ginally, it was applied by the

Portuguese, when they arrived in the East, to designate the peculiar system of

religious and social distinctions which they observed among the Hindu people,

particularly as founded on race. The Indian word which partially corresponds

with caste is "Jatin which means "the distinction of race."''

Hinduism in Kerala

The Hindu culture of Kerab has to be viewed against the above

background, namely, in the larger perspective of national, social and political

history. The region now known as Kerala had, at first, an egalitarian society

without any d i c t i o n of caste, colour or creed. But the "Aryan immigrants"

who are today represented by the ~amboodiries*' changed the character of

society and dismantled its egalitarian base. Thii "Aryanisation" eventually

divided the Kerala society into different social groups, some with special

privileges in the society. Thii ultimately led to the erosion of power of the

natives and helped the emergence of two parallel communities - Muslims and

Christians, who developed into powerful social forces able to play a dominant

role in the political, social and economic life of the state.

The Kerab society of today is the product of a gradual evolution. Ancient

Kerak was part of ancient Tamil Nadu which was divided into five natural

divisions* - Kurinchi, Palai, Mullai, Marutham and Neythal. It seems that these

names indicate the predominant characteristics of each place. Thus Kurichi is a

rocky or mountainous place, Palai is a dry waterless region, Mullai indicates

pastures and thickets, Marutham - the fertile land on the course of a river and

Neythal, the coastal lands. These places were inhabitedz3 by the Kuravas

(hunters) and Maravas; Paki territories were inhabited by Vettuvas or Eyians

(fighters); Mullai by Eradis, Mantadis, Konans, Kummbas and Veltis - then

known as Idaiyas (herdsmen); Marutham was inhabited by the Uzhavar or the

Vellalar (agriculturists); Neythal by Paravas (fisherman). Ancient Kerala, thus,

was inhabited by hunters, fighters, herdsmen, agriculturists and fishermen in their

own respective areas. A common feature of that society was that they spoke the

same language and belonged to the same race and caste distinctions were

absent." People were not divided into rigid social or occupational classes. "The

Kurava from the Kurinji temtoy could settle in Mullai and become an Idaya: if

he came to Marudam and took to farming he could become a Vellakn.

Similarly, a Vellalan coukl settle in Kurinji and become a ~urava . " '~ In ancient

Kerala, thus, there was enough room for social mobility; "tastelessness"

characterised this Dravidian culture. People led a simple life and did not profess

any particular religious but observed a mixture of primitive rites

and practices.27

Buddhism and Jainism exerted their influence in ancient Kerala; of the

two, Buddhism proved the stronger influence." Srimulavasm, now submerged

under the sea,29 was once a Buddhist pilgrim centre in South India. The Paliyam

copper plate of the Ay King (Vikramaditya) Varaguna (A.D.885925) bears

witness to the fact that hddhiism enjoyed the patronage of the king. The fifth

centuy AD. saw the influx of Brahmins of two classes - one that established

itself in the state for bade; the other ckss came later for spreading their

religion.30 This was the culmination of a process that had started centuries

earlier, in the third century B.C., when the first of the Brahmin migrants arrived

along with the Jainists and ~ u d d h i i . ~ ' The Brahmins, though a minority, soon

asserted themselves as a superior ckss, and converted the people who

frequented temples and other places of worship. Brahmin scholars also became

advisers to the native kings.32 They used their proximity to power centres to

spread "Chautunmmya" which ran counter to the principles of casteless

Buddhism. They tried to secure the support of the rulers and the wealthy

merchants. They considered kings and merchants as heirs of the superior class

and all others as their inferiors. Until then, a royal family might have come from

any social section. Evey known royal family from the time at least of

Mahapadma Nanda belonged to non-Kshatriya castes. The Mauryas were

known to be Sudras. The imperial Guptas claimed to be Vaisyas. The

Bharasivas were ~ r a h m i n s . ~ The Brahmins converted the native rulers of

Kerala into Kshatriyas who, in turn, became the patrons of the Brahmins who

were trying to create a social order based on Chatunmmya. The Brahmin

ascetics and scholars met the Buddh i i for dialogue; and in the disputations that

followed they established their mastey over their Buddhist rivals. This marked

the onward march of triumphant ~ i n d u i s m . ~ ~ The Namboodiri Brahmins in

Kerala organ'wd thernseives into a militant group and unleashed vigorous

persecution of ~ u d d h i s t s . ~ ~ The propaganda by Hindu revivalists like

Sankaracharya also contributed to the decline of ~ u d d h i s r n . ~ ~ They converted

Buddha viharas into Hindu temples. The Vadakkumnath temple at Trichur, the

Kurumba Bhagavathi temple, Kodumgalloor are both believed to have been

Buddhii shrine^.^' The Brahmins who grabbed most of the land and property

through the practice of the "Janmin tenant system also set up the Sudra caste.38

The Namboodiries probably wanted soldiers and mistresses, and therefore,

instituted the caste of Sudras (Nairs), the males acting in the first capacity and the

females in the second.39 Thus, even though, the Vaisyas are conspicuous by

their absence, with the creation of the Sudms, the society in Kerala was ordered

more or less along Chatunmrnya lines.

The immigrant Brahmins succeeded in restructuring Kerala society on the

Chatunmmya model by the eleventh ducat ion^' was denied to the

Sudras. Those who did not accept Hinduism were stigrnatised as "avamas" 42

"Untouchability", "Unseability" and "Unapproachability" were imposed on the

society.

The caste hierarchical order was strengthened by the theory of

"re-incamation," by which the lower castes would be reborn as higher castes if

they faithfully preserved and observed the caste laws. Another religious doctrine

that the "lower defiled the higher in a spiritual and ritual sensen43 also helped to

segregate every caste from every other caste. Certain occupations and types of

work were resewed for the lower castes and were considered to be degrading to

the higher castes. The roots of communalism may thus be traced back to the

eighth century A . D . ~ ~ Although Kerab has more or less freed itself from the

clutches of caste system, communalism continues to be a powerful force in

Kerala society. Political leaders are only too eager to arouse communal and caste

feelings among the people to win votes. Each community is anxious to maintain

a tight hold on political parties in order to grab power and sustain their social

influence. The newly constituted B.J.P.-Hindu Munnani has been making

inroads into the Hindu vote bank in the name of religion.

Muslims

The life and faith of a Muslim is anchored on five principles, namely,

profession of faith (shahadat), ritual prayers (namaz), religious tax (mhat), fasting

and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The very first pillar of Islam is the profession of faith: "There is no God

but God and Muhammed is the Apostle of ~ o d . " ~ ' The profession of faith is an

uncompromising declaration of Islam's monotheism; it proclaims the uniqueness

of Mohammed as a prophet for all Muslims. For the Arab people, during the

time of Muhammed, each town and village had its presiding deity who supported

the war effort of each town or village. Victory or defeat enhanced or degraded

the prestige of the parbicuhr deity concerned. Each God or goddess would

have a shrine. Moreover, the Arabs generally accepted AUah as the supreme

presiding deity but, in actual fact, he was ignored in favour of the local deity.

In Muhammed's time, the IG ba in Mecca, where many idols were placed,

was the centre of p.dgmage for the poIytheistic Ambs. It is against this

background that we have to see the affumation of the faith: "There is no God

but God". It denied all local deities and a f f i e d the uniqueness of God (tau

hid) - the creator of the entire world. To place anything or anyone on par with

God is the greatest sin (shirk). Mohammed is the last of the prophets of God.

According to the Muslim beliefs, it is through Mohammed that the Quran, the

very word of God, was given to the human race.

Ritual prayer in Islam is the supreme a d of worship. It has to be

performed only in the prescribed manner and is inflexible in structure. Salat

comprises five daily s e ~ c e s , the early morning prayer, the noon prayer, the

midaftemcon prayer. the sunset prayer and the evening prayer.46 It is

obligatory for every Muslim to give alms.47 It is meant to show concern for the

poor and to promote charity. 'Zakat' is also a means of purifying oneself and

one's property. The accumulated wealth has to be used properly; if not, it could

become impure and the only means of purifying it is to use it for the benefit of

His servants.

lslam prescribes fasting (Roza) as a duty of Muslims during Ramzan, the

ninth month of the Islamic year. Fasting means abstinence from food, drink,

smoking and sexual activity from dawn to sunset during the entire month of

R a m ~ a n . ~ ~ Pilgrunage to Mecca (Hajj) is the fifth pillar of the Islamic faii. It is

the duty of an adutt Muslim to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life-

time. Penonally, or by proxy, too, one can perform such a pilgrimage. In the

case of proxy, the person who makes the visit has to make it clear that he does it

for another person. Even after a person's death, a substitute could perform such

an act. No Hajj should be done on credit or by begging which will render it

invalid.49

North India, especially, Sindh, had come under the influence of Islam

from 724 onwards when it passed under the tutelage of the governor of Kufa

representing the Caliph. Arab traders had long been trading with South India.

Several of the Arab Muslim traders married natives and settled down in the port

towns of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The first Muslim invasion was led by

Ala Uddii Khiiji (12%-1316), but it was mainly intended for securing bcoty and

tribute. Mohammed bin Tughluq's (132551) campaign was mainly guided by

religious motives, namely, to build up a Muslim kingdom in the south."

&bar (1556-1605) welded the Mughal empire into a cohesive state.

Aurangazeb (1658-1707). during hi forty-nine years of rule, made forcible 51 conversions. Tipu Sultan, in 1784, turned against the Christians of Kanara and

forced them to become Muslims. Wherever Tipu won a victory, he either

"honoured the people with Islamn or sent them out of the world altogether. Tipu

was responsible for mass conversions and mass e ~ e c u t i o n s . ~ ~ However, the

Muslims who settled down in the coastal regions of Kerala were mas@ those

who were descended from the Arabs who had married local women.% They

converted a good number of lower castes, too.54

Muslims in Kerala

The Muslims in Kerala were the earliest Muslim settlers in India. Though

North India had the opportunity of coming in contact with Islam with the

conquest of Sindh by Mohammed Ibn Qusim (711-12). the encounter was a

short-lived one. The spread of Islam in North India began only with the

conquests of Mohammed Ghori (1175-1206). In Kerala, peaceful means such as

trade and missionary activities along with forced conversions helped the spread

of Islam.

Arabs had trade relations with Kemla even before the Christian em. The

Arab traders naturally spread their faith among the natives as early as the

seventh century A.D? It is believed that Cheraman ~ e r u m a l , ~ ~ the last Perumal

ruler of Kemla, accepted Islam and emigrated to Mecca to see the prophet. The

rulers, especially the Zamorins, extended their patronage for the spread of Islam.

In order to encourage trade, the native rulers encouraged fishermen to accept

Islam, "to man trading vessels.n57 The native kings also prospered through these

measures. The arrival of the Portuguese in 1498 halted the commercial

monopoly of the Muslims in Kemla. They wanted to bring the Zamorin of

Calicut under their control. The Muslims and Zamorin p i e d together to resist

the newcomers. But the Portuguese claimed superiority over the seas. If any

native ship wanted to sail over the sea, it had to secure a "pass" (cartas) from the

Portuguese and even if it did secure the pass, the Portuguese might seize it on

the trumped-up charge that it had been forged.58 The lamorin, through his

Muslim merchant friends, sought the help of the Sultan of Egypt; however, the

Portuguese emerged victorious. In 1585, the Zamorin allowed the new invaders

to build a port at Ponnani, one of the Muslim centres in the south.

Kunjali N was the commander of the Malabar fleet; he had fallen out with

the Zamorin. As a result, the Zarnorin and the Portuguese mounted a joint

offensive against Kunjali at hii headquarters at Kottakkal (1600). Kunjali

surrendered to the Zamorin. But the Zamorin handed him over to the

Portuguese; they hanged him and hiis men at Goa. The Zamorin, eventually,

deserted the Muslims and became an ally of the Portuguese. By this time, the

rulers of Kerala had been freed from dependence on Muslims for trade since the

Dutch, English and the Portuguese were competing to win the favour of native

kings. So the relations between the rulers and Muslims were strained and many

Muslims lost their job. They migrated from the coastal areas to the interior of

Malabar and turned to agriculture. Most of the land was owned by Hindu

landlords who were not too pleased with the prospect of Muslims moving into

the interior farmlands. Haider Ali, the ruler of Mysore, invaded Canara in 1763

and then Coorg. Subsequently he defeated the Kolathiri and the Zamorin. Later

Tippu Sultan, the successor of Haider Ali, established his power over Malabar.

But the third Mysore War (1790-92) marked the defeat of Tippu under the

"English-Marath-Nim coa~ i t ion . "~~ Under the treaty of Seringapatanam (1792).

Malabar came under the control of the English. During the Mysore invasion,

Muslims had joined hands with the invaders. Hence, Hindus and others quitted

the region in order to protect their faith and religion. Their property passed into

the hands of the Muslims. But when Malabar was ceded to the English by the

treaty of Serengapatanam, the English restored to the Hindu Janmis their

property and entrusted them with collecting taxes. This led to widespread

communal tension. The Hindu chieftains extorted exorbitant tax from the

Muslims. The Muslim tenants resisted all these unjust demands unitedly.@' Often,

this resulted in communal ~utbrusts.~' The English tmk care to keep the

Muslims away from the administration, and there was little attempt made to

educate the Muslims.

The Khilafat non co-operation agitation of 1920-22 exerted a powerful

influence on the Muslims of Malabar. The Muslims and Hindus pined hands

against the British. The imperial rulers did not like the new alliance between the

two communities. They played their cards shrewdly, seeking to divide and rule

the native communities. The result was the Malabar Rebellion of 1921-22.

"Agrarian oppression had forged a Mappila identity cenbed on mauhris,

mosques and martyr ~hrines."~' The district authorities' insensitive handling of

the Mappila leaders, and the raid on Mambram mosque (August 1921) resulted

in an attempt to set up an "Islamic State" and Hindus fled to Calicut and Trichur.

63 . The Indian National Congress disowned the Mappila rebels, slnce they drifted

from the non-violent methods to violent atrocities. In those days the term

"Mappila" conjured up an image of "fanaticism, violence" and forced

conversions ". . . in the minds of a badly frightened Hindu population."64 The

efforts of the Aryasamaj to reclaim the new converts to Hinduism and the

Mappila obstinacy to retain the new converts resulted in the reappearance of

communalism. The Muslim sects prepared themselves to meet "Militant

~ i n d u i s m " . ~ ~ This caused a further estrangement of the communities from each

other. In 1936, a unit of the AU India Muslim League was established in

M a ~ a b a r . ~ ~ In the Madras legislative assembly elections of March 1946, all the

Muslim League candidates emerged victorious67 which showed that the party

had struck deep roots in the communal psyfhe.

In the princely states of Tmvancore-Cochin, Muslims were slow to

organize themselves as a marginalised minority. In the "Sri Mukm Praja Sabha,"

which consisted of fifty elected members, there was no one to represent the

Muslim community. The main reason appears to be that the franchise was

limited to land-holders. The Muslims had to content themselves with a single

nominated seat. During the Dewanship of M. E. Watts (1925-29), the Muslims

pleaded for more representation for the community but their plea was turned

down by the authorities. After much deliberation, The All Travancore Muslim

Mahasabha was launched in 1930~' at Quilon. In 1932, there was a proposal to

reorganise Sri. Mukm Pmja Sabha and Sri Chitra State Council since the

Muslims, Ezhavas and Christians were not properly represented. The Nain were

overrepresented in the above two bodies. The three communities - the

Muslims, Ezhavas and Christians - formed "The Joint Political Congress" to

protest against the injustices meted out to their cornrn~ni t ies .~~ Later, the

government was forced to concede most of their demands. In Cochin, the

Muslims came to the forefront of social and political activities only from the

beginning of the twentieth century. The Cochin Muslim Education Association,

founded in 1917, spearheaded the educational and social reforms of the

Muslims. K M. Seethi, who was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly in

1928 and 1932 pioneered much positive legislation for the benefit of the

community.

After the partition of the country, several of the League leaders decided to

continue with the league although some felt that it had served its purpose and

could be wound up. Abdul Sattar Sait, Secretary of the Malabar League, was

appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Egypt and he left Malabar to take up the

post. The League Council met in Madras in 1948 and adopted the new name

"Indian Union Muslim League." The election v idoy of the Muslim League

candidates to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952 proved the political

relevance of the party.70 Soon after the reorganisation, the Muslim society's

history has been closely intertwined with that of the Muslim League. The Muslim

League has been vigorously pursuing the interests of the community, and is often

seen to do so to the detriment of other communities, especially the Hindus. The

Hindu Munnani owes its origin to the growing estrangement between the two

communities. The League itself is saddled with power hungry leaders who have

split the party to serve their interests. This has resulted in a weakening of the

party's bargaining power; however, the Muslims in Kerala can still tilt the balance

at elections in the more or less evenly fought contests between the major political

parties.

Syro-Malabar Church

The Syro-Malabar Church, formerly known as the Church of St. Thomas,

owes its origin to St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Malabar

indicates, in political geography, the Malayalam speaking areas in South India

while in physical geography, Malabar, during Portuguese occupation, indicated

the whole Malabar coast, the entire sea-shore overlooked by the western ghats

from Bombay down to Cape ~ o m e r i n . ~ '

The Christians of the Syro-Malabar church are generally known as

"Christians of St. Thomas." XU the beginning of the twentieth centuy,

ecclesiastical documents generally named them "Syrians", "Soriani" (or

~ u r i ~ a n i ) . " The origin of the Syrian Christians, both by literary and local

traditions, is closely connected with the evangelisation of St. Thomas in India.

St. Thomas, according to tradition, landed at Malienkara near Crangannore. on

the west coast of South India in A.D. 52. He preached the "good news" first to

the Jews and then to the Hindus and converted many from the high caste

Hindus. St. Thomas founded seven churches or seven communities,

"Maliankam, Palayur near Chavakad, Kottakayal near Parur, Kokkamangalam

or South Pallipumm, Niranom near Thiruvalla, Chayal near Nilackal and

Kurakkenikollam ( ~ u i l o n ) . " ~ ~ These were the various centres of his activity."

According to the "Acts of Judas ~ h o m a s , " ' ~ St. Thomas preached the

Gospel in the land of Gondaferes, the Parthian king, during the second quarter

of the first century AD. Cosmos Indicoplesistes, a Byzantine monk, who

travelled in the east between A.D. 520 and 525, says in his book, "Christian

Topography": " . . . in the place caUed Calliana there is a Bishop appointed from

Persia . . . there are clergy; these were also ordained and sent from Persia to .. 76 minister . . . the people . . . and a multitude of Christians. Some say Calliana

of Cosmos is Calicut or Qu~lon in Malabar or ~ ~ l a ~ o r e . ~ ~ It is reasonable to

assume that &mas is speaking of the existence of a Christiafi community in

Makbar.

Thus it is that St. Thomas Chnitians, members of the traditional Malabar

Church, trace their origin to St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

The ecclesiastical writers of the fourth century are unanimous in describing

St. Thomas' work in India. Medlycott, a Catholic Bishop of Tricomia, in his

book,78 "India and the Apostle Thomas" gives ample documents relating to

St. Thomas' mission in India. The migration of Christians under the leadership

of Thomas ~ a n a ~ ~ during the persecution of the Sassanian King, Sapor 11 which

began in 339 and lasted for forty years also helped strengthen the Christian

community in Kerala. There took place yet another migration of Christians to

Kerala in the latter part of the eighth and ninth centuries. Certainly, the increase

in numbers greatly improved position of the community in the state. At the

beginning of the thirteenth century, Iravi Karttan, a Cranganore Christian leader,

was raised to the position of grand merchant of Malabar - a royal title. It seems

that the title was bestowed on him in retum for financial and militarySo help the

Christian community had rendered in repelling Chola aggression.

When Marignolli visited Malabar in 1348, he found the Kollam Chriians

"masters of the public weighing office"" - a fad which clearly indicates that

Christians were honoured by the people and had a reputation among the

Hindus and Muslims. The term "Vyapari" (trader) was synonymous with

"Nazarani" (Kerala Christian). They owned merchant vessels and conducted

trade with Arabia, Burma, Sumatra, China etc. The fad that the rulers of

Malabar granted them special privileges indicates that the Christians were

influential and serviceable members of the society. Conversions of local people

swelled the numbers of the faithful and helped strengthen their influence in the

land. Buddhists and Jains also joined the powerful trading Syrian community.82

Geographical discoveries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries together

with the Renaissance and Reformation marked the end of the middle ages and

the dawn of the modem period in Europe. European explorers, together with

missionaries and traders, went out in search of new pastures. During this period

of expansion and exploration, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese sailor landed at

Calicut in 1498.'~ The Malabar Church, at the time of the arrival of the

Portuguese, was genuinely Indo-oriental The Malabar Church maintained

proper relations with the church of Persia and Mesopotomia. It received its

bishops continuously from these churches and also inherited the EastSyriac

liturgy. But "it was neither an off-shoot nor an integral part of these c h u r c h e ~ . ' ~

It enriched and d i e d the East Syrian liturgy by incorporating elements from

the Hindu way of life which was familiar to the Syrian ~hristians."'~

Until the arrival of the Portuguese, the Christians in k r a l a were an

entirely independent church without regular contact with the west while it

maintained its historical affiliations to the East Syrian patriarchate of Seleucia or

the Catholicate at Xgris. Sometimes the church was ruled by bishops sent by the

patriarch of Seleucia and the head of the Kerala church was called "The

Metropolitan and the gate of all ~ n d i a " ~ ~ or "Metropolita Indiarum." Although

sent by the East Syrian patriarch, the head of this church enjoyed considerable

autonomy. Fr. Campri describes the Church in 1607 thus:

According to information gathered from several chaldean book

and from well-known facts, the Bishopric of Serra (Kerala) was

always an archbishopric, as it is the most ancient in the whole of

India . . . Its archbishops and prelates were ahvays called

archbishop metropolitan of the whole of h e n d ~ . ~ '

The temporal administration was under the control of an archdeacon and was

known as the Archdeacon of all India. The archdeacon who was invariably an

unmarried priest was the social and political leader of the St. Thomas Christians.

People participated directly in the administration of the local churches. AU adult

members in consultation with the priest took administrative decisions concerning

that community. This assembly was also responsible for maintaining discipline in

the local church. Representatives of the local church in consultation with the

priests took decisions affecting the whole church The ecclesiastical headquarters

of the St. Thomas Christians were Crangannore and Quilon Eventually

Crangannore lost its importance and Angamaly took its place as the centre of the

church in north Makbar. The churches functioned as centres of worship and

social action.

It has already been pointed out that the Malabar church during the arrival

of the Portuguese was genuinely Indo-oriental. But the Portuguese considered

the law of Thomas, which was totally alien to them, as simply another name for

heresy and superstition. They tried to bring the Malabarians under the Latin rite

in order to bring them under the patronage88 of the Portuguese king. In order to

gain control of the Malabar church, the Portuguese accused Mar Abraham, the

then bishop of Angamaly and the Metropolitan of Malabar, and his colleague

Mar Jweph, of heresy. After the death of Mar Abraham in 1597, Dom Menezes,

the Portuguese Latin Archbishop of Goa, entered Malabar and convened the

synod of Diamper in 1599 which marked the full-scale latinisationsg of the

Malabar Church. People protested the latinisation process but their protest went

unheeded. The discontent in the Church irrupted into a revoltg0 in 1653 against

the Latin prelate of Cragannore - Gracia S. J., and ended in a sehism with

several of the faithful accepting ~acobitism.~'

During the pre-Portuguese period, the Christians had spread out over the

country and were known as "Nazaranis." Their social status equaled that of the

Brahmins and they were held in high esteem9' In order to keep their nobility

the Syrian Christians avoided even physical contact with the caste people and

accepted only high caste Hindus into the faii: "For the high caste Hindus, the

touch of a Nazamni was sufficient to purify articles defiled by the touch of the

low caste people."93 The Christians were highly cultivated people in both mental

and physical culture. They practised agriculture, trade and militay senrice.

They were loyal soldiers of Malabar and taught the use of weapons to their

children from age eight to twenty. Hindu kings built churches for Christians and

gave tax-free lands to secure Nazaranis' military service." The Christians also

served as min'kten and advisers to the king. They were allowed to ride

elephants, a privilege reserved for princes; they, alone, could sit before the kings,

a privilege reserved for ambassadors. Christians were not ready to give up any

of these privileges: "When the king of Parur, on the opposite side of the

Cargannore river, tried to admit the Nayars into the latter privilege sometime

during the sixteenth centuy, the Chriitians declared war on the king in protest

and the king was compelled to restore status quo ante.n95

The Thomas Christians were also known as "Mapilas" or nobles. Newly

converted Christians were not allowed to use this title. Thii title was common to

Jews and Mohammedans: Jews were known as "Juda Mapilas." Mohammedans

"Jonaka Mapiksn and Thomas Christians "Nazarani Mapilas." Kings honoured

them with special privileges and the grant of tax-free lands. The rulers built

churches for the Nazaranis. Thomas Christians were respected as loyal subjects

and victory in a war depended on the number of Thomas Christians on the

kings' side. Their temporal leader, archdeacon, enjoyed special status:

The archdeacon . . . is the first among the seventy two princes of

Perumpadapil, the archdeacon is, according to custom, the man to

crown the king in order that the king may be recognised as king; the

coronation consists in this that the archdeacon puts a gold cross on

the neck of the king, and he (the king) must wear this for five days

before he is called king of ~ e r u m p a d a ~ i l . ~

The king would, on such occasions, present the archdeacon with a ring. AU thii

goes to show the high social standing of the Namranis in the old Mahbar

communily. The Portuguese, who had little knowledge of the social status and

ritual practices of Namranis, came to thoroughly unwarranted conclusions about

them: 'The Portuguese ecclesiics, who were western Catholics and believed,

as all western Christians then did, that the Roman church was the only tme form

of the Church, its doctrines and practices the standard for all christiansng7

decided that Syrian customs were to be corrected according to the western

practice. So they hied to bring the Malabar church into line with western ways

through the agency of the Portuguese bishops. The Nazaranis resisted this

forced latinization process. a result of the revolt9' in 1653, Latin propaganda

jurisdiction was also introduced in Malabar. Thus the Thomas Christians were

divided between "propagandan and "padroadon jurisdictions. The propaganda

prelates were known as Vicar Apostolics; from 1700 to 1887 they were all foreign

Latin ~arrneli tes.~~ The hi i ly of the church in thii period is punctuated with

splits and divisions.lm Divisions occurred in the Church in 1715, 1799, 1861,

1874 and were led by Bishop Gabriel Pandari, Roccos and MeUus. A few who

followed Mellus became "Nestorians" in 1908.

In 1886, the padroado jurisdiction over the Malabarians was suppressed.

In 18%, the Malabarians were re-organised into three propaganda vicariates:

Apostolic of Trichur, Ernakuhm and Changanacheny. Local prelates were

appointed and in 1911, the Vicariat Apostakte of Kottayam was established for

the south i i . In 1917, the St. Thomas Christians came under the oriental

congregation.

In 1923, the Malabar Hierarchy was restored with Ernakulam as the

Metropolis and other un'b as suffragan eparchies. Since then, the Malabar

Church has expanded its ranks with several new dioceses set up in and outside

Kerab. It draws great strength and inspiration from the fad of its apostolic

lineage, from the realisation that it is as old as the universal church itself and is

not, unlike many churches in the third world, the creation of western mk%onay

activity. It is not a western religion. Now, the Malabar church expects to be

granted aU India jurisdiction over its members. The St. Thomas Christians

". . . are Hindus or Indian in culture. Christian in religion and Syro-oriental in

worship. The Syrian rites they use for worship have made them known as

Syrians also."101 After the attainment of autonomy, the Syro-Malabar Church

has made tremendous progress and expressed its vitality in missionary activities.

At present, the church is caught up in a controversy over liturgy. Bishops, clergy

and laity are divided into two opposing camps: one supporting the restored

liturgy, the other calling for several modifications in it. Needless to say, the

controversy now raging over thii issue has channelled the energies of the church

away from constructive engagement in the spiritual life into futile dissensions

among its ranks.

The Syro-Malankara Church

The Church in Kerala owes its origin to St. Thomas, the Apostle and

hence its members are known as St. Thomas Christians. It has been in

communion with the Catholic church ever since its foundation in A.D. 52. The

St. Thomas Christians were also known as Syrian Christians since they were

following the Syrian liturgy or form of worship which was in use till the middle of

the seventeenth century. But after the arrival of the Portuguese, the "latinising

[of] the liturgy and the indigenous customs"'" of the St. Thomas Christians

began and a section of the people broke awaylm from the Portuguese

eccles'ical authorities; within twelve years of the "Coonan Cross Oath,"

eighty-four churches of the separated Christians regained communion with

Rome whii thi i-two churches formed a separate church under archdeacon

Thomas whom they declared to be their Bishop after twelve priests had

consecrated him with the ritual imposition of hands. The separated Syrian group

appealed to various patriarchs for bishops whereupon the Jacobite patriarch of

Antioch sent a Bishop to Kerala in 1665. The new prelate refused to consecrate

Thomas as Bishop. The dissident Syrians were ruled by five successive "Mar

Thomasn without valid orders.

Since the division, several attempts were made by the dissident group in

the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for reunion, but it was only in 1930,

under Mar Ivanios, that a large scale reunion became possible. The Parumala

Synod of the Jacobite Episcopate in 1926 empowered Mar Ivanios, the Jacobite

Archbishop, to enter into negotiations with Rome for reunion. Pope Plus XI

welcomed the reunion attempts. As a result, the first reunion, under the

leadership of Mar Ivanios, took place on September 30, 1930. Subsequently,

there was an influx of tens of hundreds of people into the Catholic fold. In 1932,

Pope Pius XI established the Syro-Malankam hierarchy, comprising the

Archdiocese of Trivandrum and Thiruvalla. After the death of Mar lvanios

(Januay 25, 1953). his successor, Mar Gregorios provided energetic leadership

to the Syro-Maknkara Church till his death in October 1994. Pope John Paul I1

appointed Cyril Mar Baselios the new leader of the re-united church. The

Syro-Malankara Church is part of the St. Thomas Christian Community and has

deep roots in Christian antiquity and Indian cutture. "They are Christian in faith

and entirely Indian in ~ut ture ." '~ Thanks to the untiring labours of zealous

devotees, the re-union movement has struck deep roots in the Kerala church.

On August 28, 1977, Paulose Mar Philoxenos, the Metropolitan of the Makbar

Independent Syrian Church, was received into the Catholic church.'OS The

golden jubilee of the re-union movement was celebrated in December 1980.

The establishment of parishes for members of the Syro-Mahnkara church in

various parts of India and abroad points to the significant progress made in

maintaining and developing the traditions of thii branch of the universal church.

Pope John Paul I1 visited the Makbar Church in February 1982'~ and gave

whole-hearted support to the re-union movements and commended their entire

efforts in &ILL direction.

Origin of the Latin Church

There are two views regarding the emergence of Latin Christians in

Kerala. According to some scholars, they are the descendants of the natives

converted by the Portuguese while others hold that the Latins are latinised

St. Thomas Christians. The latter view has been elaborated and strongly

supported by those who are embarrassed by the social and educational

backwardness of the Latin Christians. In support of their view, they point to the

presence of large concentrations of Latin Christians in places where the St.

Thomas Christians were once predominant.'07 But even before the arrival of the

Portuguese there were Latin Christians in Kerala. Jonnes De Maringoly, a papal

delegate, who visited Kerala in 1348 testifies to the existence of a Latin Church

at Quilon. Fr. Placid, an authority on Kerala Church history, is of the opinion

that the Latin Church which existed in Kerala became extinct before the arrival

of the Por t~guese. '~~

According to K J. ~ o h n , " ~ the h t in Church in Kerak originated from the

activities of the European missionaries. The caste Hindus and caste Christians

considered the latins as second-rate Christians since these latter came from the

socalied lower castes. They were of a brownish complexion and belonged to

the chss of the untouchables at the bottom of the caste hierarchy of Kerah. Thii

was especially the case with those converted by Francis Xavier who concentrated

on this class. There was also resistance to their convenion. In the sixteenth

century, the Zamorin of Calicut forbade the convenion of some of the lower

castes fearing that the economic foundation of the feudal society might

co~apse."~ The mlen of Cochin and Kolathiri, too, opposed the Christiantimtion

of the lower castes. They were not ready to allow the healthy, well-built low

castes to join the Christian fold."' The Kolathiri, in 1507, wrote the Portuguese

king:

I desire that certain people whom I and my Nairs have as slaves

and belong to two castes, viz., the Tines (Tiyan) and the Mucoas

(f~hermen) should not be made Christians. For with the convenion

of these slaves, conflict may arise between our vassals and these

people. The Nairs derive their income from them and they do not

want to iase it."'

Those Latin missionaries who were working among the low castes were attacked

and the newly converted were harassed. Terror tactics were used to prevent

missionary activities and to stop lower castes from becoming Christians.

Fr. Paulinus da San Bartolomew has left an account of the atrocities committed

against Christians in Travancore. According to him, Marthanda Varma and his

successor Rama Varma, the rulers of Travancore, took several hostile measures

against the Chiktians between 1776 and 1789.

It is true that until the arriMl of the Latin missionaries the k m k Church

was in a dormant state. The St. Thomas Christians, who claimed descent from

high caste Hindus did not open the Church's doors to the lower castes. The

Church in Kerak was quite at ease with the Hindu caste system. Admittedly, thii

mentality was contray to the Bible's message. The Christians were also a part of

the minority privileged group and as such they Looked down upon the

untouchables and unapproachables. The Christian community in India

underwent drastic changes after the anival of the Portuguese. The Latin rite in

Kerak had become extinct before the arrival of the Portuguese. They

re-introduced the Lain rite in Mahbar in the sixteenth centuY.ll3 According to

Bishop Mundadan, "Until the 16th centuy there was only one Church in India;

it was the Church of the St. Thomas ~hristians.""~ In his opinion, there was no

trace of the medieval Latin Church when the Portuguese came to India. The

Latin Church emerged in and around the Portuguese enclaves and Portuguese

trade centres. Many groups of Mukkuvas became Christians. The Latin Church

is indebted to St. Francis Xavier for its estabbhrnent and growth. "The majority

of the Latin Catholics are the descendants of the converts from the f ihey coast

at the hands of Francis ~avier .""~ Francis Xavier converted during hi

missionary work (1542-1552) hundreds of people in Quilon and Cochin. The

Latin rite had the patronage of the kings. They used evey means at their

disposal to convert the people. "The Portuguese settlement, however, was not

accomplished without violence and strife . . . massacres took phce, and were

"116 followed by reprisals . . . Temples and masques were destroyed and "the

public worship of Hindus and Muslims forbidden in the Portuguese

settlements.n117 It was the protection and patronage of the Portuguese rather

than the Biblical mesage that attracted so many conversions. And the

Portuguese were only too eager to offer their assistance. Rome also

whole- heartedly supported the missionary work of the Portuguese.

The Latin Church in Kerala came under an indigenous regime in 1933

with the appointment of the late Archbishop Joseph Attipetty, the first Indian

bishop to be appointed for the Latin rite.

Caste in the Kerala Church

Christianity in Kerala cannot claim to have been an exception to the

general rule of the castedominated social consciousness of the indigenous

culture. "In spite of the dogma of Christianity and the efforts of the m'ksionaries,

the rank of a Christian in the community continues to depend on the caste

from which he was converted. Thii persists among the Christians themselves

even to the third or fourth generation.""* When a person becomes a Christian

the conversion does not make any significant change in his social status.

When a person is converted to Islam or Christianity, he

automatically loses the membership of his old endogamous group

fobwing a different religion, but, on the other hand, he does not

become member of any one of the endogamous groups of the new

religion. Thus he comes to acquire a 'stind status in the new

religious category and is usually referred to by others as a 'New

Christian' or 'New Muslim' implying slightly inferior status.119

The Catholics of Kerah, the most numerous among the Christians, are

not entirely free from the influences of the caste system in both their social

thinking and behaviour. Many of the caste elements of the Hindu society can be

identified, especially, in the relationship between the Syrians and the Latins.

They are two endogamous groups. The relationship between them in economic,

religious, educational and other fields are often marked by rivalry and

competition. The Syrians who are considered to be the descendants of d id

converts by St. Thomas and of high caste Hindus c k i superiority over the

Latins who were descendants of lower caste Hindus and whose h i i y only

dates from the arrival of the westemen. The Latins themselves concede the

point in a report recently published: the Latin community consists of castes and

sub-castes converted from Mukkuva, Ezhava, Nadar, Cheramar, Sambava,

chakravam communities which are well-known lower castes in Kerah.

The Syrians and Latins are under the Roman Pontiff but they have

separate administrative sub-systems. Neither the Syrians nor the Latins are

organised under any particular political party. Syrian-Latin inter-rite marriages

are not very common: "Most of the inter-rite marriages are between rich Latins

and poor or middle ckss Syrians. The rich Latin had to surrender hi wealth for

the sake of social status and prestige through marriage alliance with poor Syrian

According to Kathleen Gough, the Syrians enjoy a higher social

status than the lower caste Latins: "All Syrians were r e a d i diguishable from

the lower ranking Latin Catholics, converts to Catholicism from Portuguese times

who were drawn from various polluting castes."m Sonia Dougal's observation

on the inter-rite relations is quite relevant today: "The Christians of Kerala are

divided into rites, of which the two most important ones are the Syrians and the

Latins . . . The rites question is one of the touchiist of Kemh's problems.

People fight over it, quarrel over it, even hate each other over it."lZ3 In 18%,

the Holy see made a reorganisation of vicariates into Trichur. Ernakulam and

Changanacheny and appointed John Menacheny, Louis Pazheparampil and

Mathew Makil as prelates, respectively. But Mathew Makil being a Suddii did

not satisfy the majority Nordii. The ethnic rivalry resulted in the creation of a

special vicariate for S u d d i i at Kottayam by Pope Plus X. Thus Rome also

accepted the existence of caste differences in the Malabar church.lZ4

C. J. ~ u l l e r ' ~ ~ who studied the caste system among the Kerala Christians in 1971

classified Christians in Kerala into three broad groups, namely, Syrian Christians,

Latin Christians and New Christians (new converts to Christianity) indicating that

the three are, strictly speaking, three different caste groups.

Splits and divisions are endemic to the churches in Kerala. Kerala's

Christians are divided and subdivided into more than seventy-two

denomination^.'^^ The Catholics of Kerala practice three rites, the Syro-Makbar,

Syro-Malankara and Latin rites. The Syrian dioceses are under the sacred

congregation for the oriental churches and the Latin dioceses under the sacred

congregation of Propaganda Fide. The diocese of Kottayam has special

jurisdiction over the Sudd i i wherever they live; it remains an endogamous

group. In the organisation of dioceses, all ethnic groups were given due

representation.

Relations between the Syrians and the Latins have been nearly always

marked by "continuous competition and conflict." The Latins are well supported

by the all-powerful western Church. From the west, they regularly receive

substantial material and personnel support. Moreover, the fad that Rome, the

'capital' of Christendom is controlled by the western Latin Church lends great

weight and prestige to the Latin Church in Kerak. On the other side, differences

in origin and histoly between the Syrians and the Latins in Kemla work greatly to

the advantage of the former; the earlier the date of origin, the greater the social

status and prestige. Clearly, then, the Syrians are able to c k i superiority owr

their Latin rivals as members of an apostolic church dating back to the first

centuy AD. Ethnically, too, they c h i superiority, for, the early Syro-Malabar

community were converts from high caste Hindus. Christinisation couldn't

induce them to shed their caste mentality. The Syrians welcomed only high

caste Hindus into their fold. The Latins had no qualms over accepting kw caste

converts. Physical privations and the lure of wealth, combined with the zeal of

the western missionaries, attracted many to the church. W~thin the church,

forced Latinisation was resisted by the Syrians. Relations between the two

communities became, at times, tense and occassionally gave way to violent

outbursts. The situation improved somewhat when Rome granted autonomy to

the Syrian community. But the strife between these rivals continued in churches,

in the socioeconomic, political and educational fields and it still persists.

Syrians and Latins are two endogamous groups that try to maintain their

exclusiveness in liturgy, church administration and the development of

educational, social and charitable institutions. Conscious of their ethnic

superiority, the Syrians do not want too close an identification with the Latins.

The Latins themselves may welcome marital alliances with the Syrians and

r 127 graduate to the upper ckss by a process known as 'Sansiaitisation . The

Syrians, when they would consent to inter-rite marriage, would do so only with

the Latins who have good jobs, high economic status, educational attainments

and so on. There have also been occasions in the past when the two hierarchies

- Syrian and Latin - clashed over the question of territorial rights in the

setting up of parish churches. Although, as members of the universal church,

both groups profess the same faii and ideals, these are, too often, forgotten in

the snamble for presti~e and social influence. In order to check the unlimited

freedom enjoyed by certain parties, the Kerak Catholic Bishop's Conference

(KC.B.C.) at its meeting held at Ernakukm on April 13, 1973 kid down the

following norms:

No church or chapel is to be erected where there is already a

church or chapel of another rite within one kilometre in towns and

three kilometres in villages, without prior consultation with the

ordinary of that rite. In case of diigreement, the matter is to be

referred first to the bishops of the zone and then if necessary to the

KC.B.C. Only if no solution is anived at in this manner, recourse is

to be made to the Apostolic Nunciature for a final decision. Until

the matter is settled, no steps are to be taken to put up such

buildings wi th i these limits.

Even after formulations of these norms, several disputes have taken place

between the two rites.lZ9 It goes to show that the rivalry between the two

communities has its r o d s in racial and cuhral differences too complex to be

resolved by synodal decisions. The Syrian Christians, with their higher social

status, better economic resources, superior institutional and organisational skills

and, above all, their superior numerical strength are able to exert more political

pressure than the Latin Catholics. It must be admitted that "the superior-inferior

feelings between these communities manifested in other fields like marriage,

family, worship, education and social activities are a reality in the political field

ako."13' Caste and rite distinctions haw brought about some sort of political

polarisation. Most Syrians support the Kerah Congress factions while the Latins

support the Congress, although numerous Catholics of both group may also be

found in the left parties as well.

Kemh politics is largely a question of caste and communal politics. AU

political parties without exception, during elections, nominate candidates

belonging to the major local caste group. Where Syrians dominate, the political

parties fighting each other will see that theii candidates are Syrians and so with

other communities, too. Often, too, the Syrians and Latins come together to

fight a common enemy. Recent hiiy gives some striking instances: the Kemla

liberation struggle of 1957 against the fust Communist ministy; the agitation

against the Communist m i n i in 1967; the private college campaign against

the University Aet in 1972; public protest demanding reservation for dalit

Christians in 1996.

In short, then, caste affiliations are seen to play a crucial role in inter-rite

relations. In the politics and social life of Kerala, caste and community

considerations dominate over a1 other factors. The different churches will stand

together in matters affecting the interests of all the rites; othenvise, the issue will

be treated as a local problem and the rites not directly involved in it will content

themselves with an expression of sympathy and moral support.

Latin Chrtatlans and Liberation Theology

Latin Christians are one of the most backward communities in Kerala.131

Under the leadership of various dioceses, they are mobilising all their forces to

assert their claims and achieve parity with the forward communities. The vast

majority of them live in coastal areas. For livelihood, they depend on seasonal

fishing with country-made craft. With the depletion of fffih wealth in the sea, the

fsherfolk are faced with a crisis. There is stiff competition to exploit the ever

dwindling resources. The poorer fisherfolk are the losers in thii race; for, they

haw neither the technology nor the resources needed to complete with

proprietors of highly rnechanised fishing vessek. Thii has also created tensions

between the two classes - the owners of bawlers on the one hand, and the

coastal fishermen on the other. Caught up in thii cbss antagonism, the church

finds itself in a dilemma. It is unable to reject the claims of either group in toto.

The fate of the htins who live in the interior of the state is hardly better.

They are mostly daily wage labourers with little or no landed property of their

own. Only a small fraction of them haw been able to secure government jobs.

This means that the Latins whether living in the coastal region or the interior

haw a hard uphill task, competing with other communities for their share of

wealth and power.

The Latin community comprises fishermen, agricultural labourers,

construction workers and so on. Physical labour is the sole source of their

income; at the same time, they are not able to find work all the year round.

Their earnings are too meagre for them to be able to save up much for times

when they have little remunerative work to do. And so, they are very much

dependent on the largesse of the well-todo and the demand for such unskilled

labour as they are able to provide. Political parties hardly ever take any interest

in them. So they look to religious institutions for support and leadership. They

have learnt a valuable lesson from the agitation of 19%: they have learnt not to

place too much faith in political parties. Neither the LDF nor the UDF will take

up their cause. Their best bet now is to strike a bargain with political parties at

election time and give their votes to those who are willing to support their

cause 13* Because their range of occupational skills is so limited, the btins have

little hope of varying their occupations to suit fluctuating demands; nor are they

able to send their chiiren to school, because they, too, haw to work to

supplement the income. Thii has led to overcrowding in traditional work

areas. 133

Among the Latins themselves, caste consciousness operates to block

upward social mobility to be achieved through economic improvement and

better employment. Most of the early Latin Christians were low caste

~ u k k u v a s . ' ~ ~ Fourteen different castes and sub-castes are found among

them.135 The caste composition has remained virtually unchanged in aU these

years. To accept the rationale of caste means that one is not entitled to try a

change of occupation which has been determined by one's position in the caste

system. A somewhat modified version of thii d&ie still rules the minds of the

mostly illiterate Mukkuvas.

Contact with liberative thinking is gradually bringing about a change in

this attitude. The Latins of today are beginning to realise that the Nairs, M a w

and Syrian Christians have acquired the bargaining power they haw today

largely through organ-kational activib. Their religious leadership is well

acquainted with the ideas and ideals of liberation theology. In particular, they

are greatly inspired by the interpretation put on the Exodus event by some

liberation theologians which they take as a paradigm for God's interaction with

hiis people in situations of oppression and downright exploitation. The God who

manifests himself in that episode is not an indifferent God but one that sides with

the poor and the oppressed. Latins need not opt for the poor. They themselves

are the poor. They realise that backwardness is neither imposed by God nor a

punishment for their sins.'36 The Latin leadership is careful to dissociate

themselves from the violence and communism that is sometimes seen as

liberation theology's praxis. Like Paulose Mar Paulose, of the Chaldean Church,

they only see in Marxist ideology a powerful tool of social a n a ~ ~ s l s ; ' ~ ~ beyond

that they haw little in common with an atheistic philosophy. Even Fr. Thomas

Kocheny, the vociferous leader of liberation theology activists, prefers not to be

known as a Marxist.138 Perhaps the most important result of liberation theology

activity among the Latins has been to give them a critical awareness of their

situation vis-a-vis the upper castes and of the tactics they must adopt in dealing

with opportunistic political parties and leaders.

Liberation Theology In Kerala

Althouth liberation theology had been formulated in the late sixties and

had athacted world-wide attention in the seventies, it was not unitl the early

eighties that the new theology came to the notice of the general public in Kerala.

It was left-wing intellectuals like P. Govinda Pillai, who put into circulation the

ideas of the revolutionary theology through their articles on the Latin American

experiment in the fight against capitalist exploitation. Gradually these ideas

percolated to the lower ranks of radical activists both within and outside the

church. Among these activists were naxallte groups working in liaison with the

so-called progressive-minded churchmen and lay leaders. Even before the

communists began popukrisiig the ideas of the movement in Kerala, s'kters of

the Medical Mission Congregation and priests of the Society of Jesus had been

fully exposed to the theory and practice of !hie radical version of Christian

theology while they were working at mission centres in Latin America. They

conducted study classes for the church on this subject and through them

literature and ideas must have reached radical groups within the church. And

then, a number of periodicals managed by these groups gave a wider currency to

the ideas and ideals of the Latin American activists drawing appropriate parallels

between the problems faced by the poor in both regions.

According to Fr. Sebastian Kappen, one of the 'ideologues' of liberation

theology in Kerahm, there are certain social conditions that precipitate a

revolution; in Kerala society, these are the existing social structures and the value

system generated by them. For a just and equitable reordering of the system,

these two bases have to be transformed. They envisage a "new systemn based

on new values. However, they offer no clear definiion of the "new system" and

the "new values." Do they mean the demolition of the democratic system and

democratic values prevailing in our country? Liberation theology has exerted

tremendous influence on its forefront activists like Fr. Thomas Kocheny, Fr.

Samuel Rayan, Fr. James Kuks, Fr. Jose Kaleekal, Fr. Kottukappally, Sr. Alice,

Sr. F'hilomon May, Sr. Patrishia and others. Inspired by the new theology, they

declared themselves for the poor and the oppressed. In recent times, however,

none of these activists would want to be too closely identified with the

revolutionary theology. Fr. Kocheny c h i that he is neither a liberation

theologian nor a liberation theology act i~is t . '~ He is, he says, only byiig to be

faiiful to the Bible, especially to the teachings of Jesus in the Bible. Jesus was a

threat to society because he was with the poor. In Kocheny's opinion, he is only

trying to imitate Christ who stood by the poor and he sees priesthood as a

commitment to the poor.'41 He maintains that thii has nothing to do with

liberation theology. To hi, the new theology is a 'foreign' product. Why

should one depend on a foreign concept, he asks and suggests that we shoukl

not waste time arguing about labels. Sr. Alice is not happy with the churches'

attitude to the social classes. In her opinion, the church today is pro-rich; she

hopes for a true church, a church of the poor.'42 Liberation theology, surely, will

help to attain that end. In her opinion, it has introduced and made popubr a

new way of thinking, a new awareness of the plight of the poor. But she

deplores the fad that, somehow, may be due to the conspiracy of the vested

interests, the new thinking has been on the wane in recent times. James Kuhs

demands that the church affirm its solidarity with the down-trodden.

A conference held at Vadavathoor St. Thomas Apatolic Seminay in

1980, under the auspices of "Jeevadharan magazine, was an occasion for

radicaUy minded priests, nuns and lay people to meet and exchange views. The

conference demanded that the church should opt for the poor.'" It noted that

the reformation of the church and society must come from the grass-roots level,

from the hearts of the people. The priests organised many radical groups like

"Christians for Radical Action," "Vimochana Vedi," "Programme for Social

Adion", "Priests Forum" etc. Almost all the above organisations have either

ceased to operate or keep a low profile. Now, they no longer speak of liberation

theology in the same enthusiastic tones as before. Today, they would ckim to

espouse the cause of the poor because the Bible teaching on the poor clearly

asks one to do so. Another radical group "Kerak Council for the Defence of

Asin Theology" (KCDAT) organised to resist the threat of diiiplinay action

against Fr. Kappen for his unorthodox views in "Jesus and Freedom" did cause

some sensation in eccles ical circles. The General Superior of the Society of

Jesus, of which Kappen was a member, asked Kappen to revise certain ideas

contained in that book. The KCDAT warned the General of dire consequences if

he took stringent action against k ~ ~ p e n . ' ~ ~

Among the radical groups, "Christians for Radical Action" seems to be the

"firstn among equals. At its Trichur convention, it criticised the church's attitudes

towards the rich and the poor and called upon the church to align itself with the

poor.14' "Priests Forumn was notable for its commitment to the poor. It

spearheaded the radical movement among the priests. In the 1982 elections to

the State Assembly, it put out an appeal to the people asking them to vote for

the LDF. Evidently the Forum saw the leftist parties as the saviours of the poor

and as the good Samaritan who kept the communal forces at bay and dealt with

communal riots impartially and furnly. But the Priests' Forum, too, has ceased to

be very active. Even Paulose Mar Paulose, one of the signatories of the above

appeal, no longer sees the LDF as the saviours of the poor people. In his view,

the LDF is backtracking on its promises to the poor. Though hi sympathies are

still with the LDF, he has stopped working for the LDF during elections after the

1987 elections.'46 Sr. Alice, the firebrand among the liberation theology activists,

stands for a socialist government. She makes a distinction between a socialist

government and a marxist government. A marxist government would be guided

by an atheistic ideology. A socialist government, in her opinion, would be

guided by the principles of justice, equality, and the overriding importance of

moral values. She would, if she could, work with others to realise this goal, but

at the moment, she is not active politically. She believes that the poor has to

defend themselves; she would only accept rnarxism as a tool for social

Proponents of libemtive thinking have used the print media to

conscientize the people about the plight of the poor, the need for option for the

poor, the leftist political stance etc. "Organ for Radical Action" (ORA),

"Vaxthmanamn , "Vaidikamithram" , "Jeevadhara", "Dialogue", "Theera

Sabdamn etc. are some of the periodicats that canted the radical views. But

now, no periodical except ORA professes allegiance to liberation theology. ORA

claims to be the organ of liberation theology. It has only less than a thousand

subscribers. No liberation theology activist would accept its claim to be the organ

of the new theology. According to Sr. Alice, it is a left-oriented magazine and

has nothing to do with liberation theology. In the view of Paulose Mar Paulose,

ORA has nothing much to do with liberation theology. It is only a local magazine

based in Punnapra area. During the 1980s. "Jeevadham" was promoting the

views of liberation theology. According to the editor, the policy of "Jeevadharan

is to promote relevant current issues. Now, liberation theology is no longer seen

as a current live issue.148

Liberation Theology and the Fishermen's Agitation

Kemk has a coastal area of five hundred and ninety kilornetres.

According to the 1979 Census of the F~heries Depattment of Kernla, there are

90458 fishermen families in the state. Working f~hermen number 121959.

Inland waterways and lakes support 39308 f~herrnen of 28343

According to official statistics, the yearly produce from f~hiing is going down in

Kemk while it is going up in the country as a whole.15'

Conventional Fishing

Coastal fishing with country-made craft and net is now under threat of

encroachment by mechanised boats and intensive exploration of fish wealth.

The poorer fisherfolk are being edged out of coastal areas by trawler operators

and are having to face the bleak prospect of abject poverty. Around fifty per

cent of the ordinary fishermen earn only a thousand rupees each per annum;

only four per cent of the men earn three thousand rupees on average.''' Most

of the ordinary f~herfolk are caught in a debt trap.

Trading

Trawling is done to catch shrimps. According to the Kalavar Commission

Report, there are three thousand trawling boats and their number is on the

increase. At the same time, shrimp catch is steadily declining. Ind imina te

trawling can prove highly destructive in terms of the cost to both human and fish

life.lS2 Apart from the fad that, the coastal fishermen, not W i g equipped to

compete with trawlers, may be put out of work altogether, there is the danger of

fish being destroyed in their breeding season. And so all f~hermen's unions

have demanded a ban on trawling in the three month period from June to

August. The Kalavar Commission recommended that the number of trawlers be

brought down to 1145. Purse-seine fishing also destroys fishes. Then, there is

the risk to fish life from water pollution, pesticides, oil spillage from ships and

boats e t ~ . ' ~ ~

Fisherfolk's Agitations

With the advent of mechanised fishing, the fsherfolk felt compelled to

take stock of their situation, of the ever-present threat of poverty and

unemployment compounded by exploitation by middlemen and money lenders.

During the 1960s some of the fisherfolk had gone into teaching for a career.

They were genuinely shocked by the miserable conditions under which their

fellows were condemned to live; their education and professional training had

equipped them to forcefully articulate the grievances of their community.

Backed by liberation theology activists, they began to organise theii people and

enlighten them on their plight. In the organizational formations that evolved

from t h . ~ campaign, three d i i n d phases may be n 0 t i ~ e d . l ~ ~ The first is the

communist-marxist oriented fisherfolk organisation; the second, congress

oriented and sponsored by its trade unions; the third, inspired and organised by

priests, nuns and lay leaders. The party-oriented unions were more interested in

gaining political mileage out of their activities than in advancing the cause of the

fishermen. Moreover, they could not easily accept the low-caste fishermen on

the same footing as the high caste leaden. Thii kind of discrimination alienated

the fisherfoIk from the political parties.lS5 The church-related unions operated

like charity institutions. At times, they were able to put pressure on the

government to some welfare activities for their people. Perhaps, the

principal benefit of these union activities was to bring the largely illiterate and

unorganised fishermen a little closer to the power centres, till then unfamiliar to

them, and expose them to the complicated logic of power politics.

In the 1970s, except for the brief period of emergency (197577), the

coastal d i i~c t s , Alleppey, in particular, witnessed a series of agitations. Priests

came forward to provide leadership, and submitted memoranda to the collectors

setting out the demands of the agitators. At each of these agitations the

fishermen were able to wrest some concession or other h m the

The experience proved a great morale-bocster, and showed that the fishermen

had, at kst, gone beyond the stage of political innocence and were learning the

tactics of collective bargaining. On May 25,1977, the Latin Catholic F~hermen's

Federation (LCFF) was hunched at a meeting held at St. Joseph's Parish Hall,

Punnapra. The LCFF did a commendable job in championing the cause of the

fishermen. In a series of memoranda presented to the Chief Minister, they tried

to expose the conditions of life and work of the coastal fishing communities and

articulate their grievances and demands.lS7 The 'Babu incident' served as a

focal point around which the Federation rallied its forces and proved its political

clout. Babu, a young fishermen, had been killed by operators of a mechanised

boat in 1979. The Federation President, Fr. Thomas Kocheny, led a protest

march to Thimvananthapuram from Nayarampalam with the debris of the

"Achani Boatn and accompanied by Babu's father. People gave the protesters

musing receptions all along the way. The fisherman had, for the first time, come

together on the basii of a common occupation, forgetting all differences of

religion, to express solidarity with the murdered youth. Within twelve hours, the

government accepted all their demand^.'^' By thii agitation the fihermen

showed that they were a force to reckon with and cannot be ignored by any

party fighting the elections.

On March 29, 1980, the various leaders of the LCFF met at Kadavoor

Church's rectoly. At that meeting they voiced the need to establish a union

without affiliation to any particular religion or political party. Thus, they founded

the Swathantra Mathsya Thozhilali Federation (KsMTF)."~ From then on, the

hiitoly of the union has been closely intertwined with the histoy of the coastal

fisherfolk of Kerala. Though the leaden of the Federation were not experts in

fishing activities they conducted seminars, discussions etc. at various places to

conscientize the people. They also canied out scientific studies in the conditions

of life and work in the coastal belt, the fishermen's near total dependence on

their traditional occupation for a On December 17, 1980, the

federation organised a massive rally at Thimvananthapuram to highlight their

issues and demonstrate their strength before the government.'6'

On May 4, 1981, the Fisheries Director prohibited hawling during June,

July and A U ~ U S ~ . ' ~ ~ However, under pressure from the trawlers, the Fisheries

Minister Mr. P. S. Srinivasan, withdrew the prohibition at ~ e e n d a k a r a ' ~ ~ on

June 6. Thii incident provoked the fishermen. They came out in force to

protest, held demonstrations and rallies; these having f a i d to make the point,

the Thiivananthapuram unit of the federation decided to go on a hunger strike.

They also intensified other forms of strike action. At Kollam,

Thimvananthapumm, Kadakavur and Chiiyannkizhu, the fisherfolk disrupted

the train service and wen picketed the Thiivananthapuram airport. On July

30, 1981, the Federation took up the leadership of the strike. As a result of

reconciliation talks between the Federation and the boat owners, the

Government agreed to set up a commission to study the grievances of the

fisherfolk The fishermen called off the strike; and the Babu Paul Commission

was set up. A striking new feature of this campaign was that a good number of

the agitators were women. The inland fisherfolk atso came forward to support

their fellows in the coast fisheries. Among other things, the agitation made it

clear that even the left parties, when in power, may not always defend the

interests of the poor. The much awaited report, when submitted after one year,

didn't recommend prohibition of trawling during June, July, August - the first

and foremost demand of the agitating fishermen.

In 1984, the fishermen went on strike at fisheries along the coast

demanding implementation of the Babu Paul Commission Report. "Business

~ n d i a " ' ~ ~ carried graphic accounts of the course of the agitation. Two Catholic

nuns, Sr. Alice and Sr. Philomon Mary, were at the forefront of the agitation.

The mass media gave unprecedented coverage and support to the agitation.

Various other organisations declared support to the strikers. Sr. Alice saw the

agitation as the "inaugurationn of liberation theology in eral la.'^^ According to

the Federation, the then Chief Minister, K Karunakaran took an antifffihemn's

stand and aligned himself with the affluent class -the trawlers. The UIF, which

was in the opposition, whole-heartedly supported the agitation. Sr. Philomon

Mary declared that she was going on a fast unto death until the Government

agreed to their demand. On July 18, 1984, the fishermen conducted the 'Long

March' from Kollam to Thiivananthapuram. In a surprise move, the Bishops

withdrew their support to the campaign and asked the priests and nuns to stop

the agitation. "Enadu", a local daily, wrote in its leading article that it was an

agitation between the poor and the rich within the On July 22,1984,

the Federation was forced to withdraw the agitation.

In the end, the only good thing that the f~hermen gained from their

widespread campaigns was to have made known to the general public the

precarious conditions of their life and work. Meanwhile, intellectuals and the

mass media launched a lively debate on the rationale of liberation theology, on

the ethics of agitation by the clergy and nuns, of the fast unto death and of co-

operation with left parties. Liberation theology, the focal point of the debate,

received wide publicity in the state. The ruling powers tried to project the

agitation as a movement by certain mawerick priests and nuns. For the fisherfolk

themselves, the agitation was an eye-opener: it laid bare the vested interests

they were fighting against and the logic, expediency and self-interest that governs

them. Neither the political parties nor the religious establishment were willing to

risk their fortunes in defence of their cause. And so the fishermen had to fend

for themsebes.

The government appointed the Kalavar Commission to study the various

problems of the f~hermen. The Commission's Report was published on 21st

July 1985. Though the Commission didn't recommend prohibition of bawling

during monsoon, it proposed a number of measures for protection of fish wealth

and welfare measures for the fishermen. It proposed a reduction of trawlers to

1145. Demanding implementation of the Kalavar Commission

recommendations, the Federation conducted the Neendakara March on 23rd

July, 198.5."'

In the early 90s, there seems to have come about a dramatic change in

the thiiking of the liberation theology activists. Accordiig to Paulose Mar

Paulose, an 'ideologue' of revolutionay theology, what precipitated the change

was the fall of the Soviet Union. The liberationists had looked to the Soviet

Union for a model; now that the model was gone, the new theology and its

proponents found themselves groping in the dark for a really workable model of

the just society they had in mind. Meanwhile, the fishermen do come out, from

time to time, to press their claims, for the implementation of the Coastal

Regulation Zone A C ~ , ' ~ for example. But few today would claim that the

agitation has the backing of the new theology. At the same time, they may chim

to draw inspitation from the teaching on the poor in the Bible.

The analysii of Kerala society points to caste as the main driving force in

the social power structure. It guides and dominates the socio-political activities

of Keralites. No religion or political party can claim exemption from its insidious

influence. It is more in evidence in Hindu society than in other communities.

Here the lower caste people are struggling hard to keep abreast of the upper

caste people. As a religion, Hinduism, which unequivocally supported the caste

system to order the social life, later used it to enslave the people. Now the

down-trodden consider the caste system as the main cause for their degradation.

Muslims, too, because they live in a caste-infected society, are not completely

free from caste considerations. But their developing sense of political rights and

increasing organisational skill, together with the close alliance between political

and religious leaden, are slowly liberating them from the shackles of

backwardness. Christians are divided into various denominations. Catholics

themselves are further di iguished as belonging to three different rites, each

with its own traditions, social framework and administrative set-up. Among them,

the Latins constitute the most backward group. To compound matters, the

Latins themselves are divided and subdivided into various castes and subcastes.

They have yet to get over the debilitating effects of caste consciousness and

backwardness. For the last five centuries they have borne the stigma of caste

and poverty. Today, they find themselves expased to the liberative thinking of a

new theology. It gives them a new philosophy, moreover, a new understanding

of God's work in history. They recognise God as the God of the poor and

identify themselves with the "anavim" of the Bible. The conscientization process

advocated by the proponents of liberation theology has enabled them to think

critically over their social rektions and historical destiny. Most of the leaden of

the Latin Christians, both hymen and priests, are advocates of liberation

theology, though they are reluctant to flaunt the label of liberation theology.

Under the inspiration of the revolutionary theology, they have taken to the path

of conflict and confrontation and, in the process, have learnt valuable lessons as

to what they can and cannot achieve through organ'wtional strength and

resolute selfdirection. They have sought to refine away the more purely

revolutionary elements from the new theology and adapt it to the deep-rooted

religious traditions of Kerala. They have done so by tempering it with the

strategies of Gandhian agitation and the massive sobriety of the Bible's teachings

on the poor.

Liberation theology has had only a slight impact on non-Catholics of

whom there are at present more than eighty sects. There haw been a few

isolated attempts by individuals inspired by liberation theology to mobilise the

communities, but they faiid to inspire a strong enough response. Liberation

theology did generate some discussion among the Hindus and Muslims The

practice of tfi'i theology by Christian leaden encouraged them to look for

analogous teachings in their own scriptures; but their interest was short-lived. In

Kerala, therefore, the only community that responded vigorously to the message

of the new theology was the Latin fishermen and their leaders. Today, even the

Latin leadership appears to have d i i r d e d the label of the revolutionay

theology even though they have made its idea and idiom their own and continue

to draw inspiration from it.

Notes

' Josh Me Dowell and Don Stewart, Handbwk of Today? Reli@ns

(California: Today's Life Publishers, 1983) 283.

John B. Noss, Man's Religion (New York: MacmiUan Company,

1969) 88.

Jaseph Gaer, What the Great Religions Believe (New York Dodd and

Mead, 1%3) 35.

~ o h n R, Hinnels and Eric J. Sharpe (ed.), Hinduism (New Caste: Oriel

Press, 1973) 1.

5/bid 2.

John Bowker, The hoblern of suffering in Religions of the World

(London: Cambridge University Press, 1970) 193.

' /bid 3.

R. C. Zacharer (ed.), The Concise Encyclopaedia of Living Faiths

(London, 1959) 225. 9 Sarasvati Chennakesavan, A Critical SSfudy of Hinduism (Delhi: Motibl

Banarsidass Publishers, 1980) 7.

lo Fr. Zacharias 0. C. D., Studies on Mnduism (Alwaye: J. M. Press.

1953) 7.

" hid 8.

l2 rbid 9

l3 /bid 4045.

l4 /bid 46.

l5 ~ o s h Me Dowell and Jon Stewart, Today 's Religions 290.

16 In the ancient epic Ramayana, the four castes are presented as the

offspring of a women named Manu, the wife of ffisyapa, a son of Brahma.

See, for details lckxlern Hinduism (New Delhi: Cosmo Publications

1985) 143.

l 7 Manus Dharma Sastra describes the creation of man from the "mouthn,

"arm", "thigh", and "footn of the being.

See, for details W. J. W~lkins, Modem Hinduism 127-138.

18 Cited by Josh Me Dowell and Don Stewart, Today's Religions 2%.

19 See, for details W. J. Wilkins, M e m Hinduism (New Delhi: Cosmo

Publications, 1985).

m/bid 125.

21 L. A. Krishna Iyer, Kerala and her People (Palghat: The Educational

Supplies Depot, 1%1) 39.

22 Prof. Elamkulam P. N. KunjanpiUai. Studies in Kerala History

(Kottayam: NBS, 1970) 15.

23 See, for further details, [bid 15-22.

24 T. K. Vellu Kllai, Travancore Sfate Manual. Vol. 1 (Trivandrum.

1940),825.

25 Prof. Elamkulam P. N. KunjanpiUai, Studies in Kerah History 103.

26 C. N. Somamjan, Aspects of krah Society and Poltics (Quilon: Raj

Publications, 1988) 45.

27 A. Sreedham Menon, A Survey of Kerala History (Kottayam: NBS.

1980) 85.

28 K. N. Ganesh, Kerabthinte innalekal (Trivandrum: Department of

Cuktural Publications, Govt. of Kerala, 1990) 42.

29 A. Sreedham Menon, A Survey of Kerab History 87.

30bf. Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, Studies in Kerala Histoy 102.

31 K N. Ganesh, Keralathinte Innalekal 43.

32 N. R. Krishnan, Ezhawar Annum lnnum (Trichur, 1%7) 41.

33 K M. Panikar, Hindu Society at cross-roads (Bombay, 1955) 8.

34 See, for further details, P. C. Alexander. Buddhism in Kerala

(Annamabi Nagar, 1949).

35 See, for details, Nagan Aiya, Tmwancore State Manual (Trimndrum,

1906).

3 6 ~ . Sreedhara rnenon, A Survey of KemIa Histoy 92.

37 C. N. Somarajan, Aspect 0fKera.h Society and Politia 51

Prof. Elamkularn Kunjan PiUai, Studies in Kerala Histoy 314.

39 See, C. N. Somarajan, Aspects of Kerala Socieg 52.

*Prof. Elamkulam P. N. Kunjanpillai, Studies in I(erala History 312.

41 "If a Sudra listened to the reading of the Scriptures, his ears were to be

filled with motten lead; if he recited it his tongue was to be split; if he committed

it to memory, he was cut into two," cited by C. N. Somarajan 54.

42 P. K Gopalakrishnan, Kernlathinfa Samskarika Charithram

(Trimndrum) 302303.

43 C. N. Somarajan, Aspects of Kerala Society 55.

/bid 60.

45.See, for details, Michael Victor and Paul Jackwn, The Pilbrs o f Islam in

the MusI:ms of India, ed. Paul Jackson (Bangalore: Theological

Publications) 1-31.

46See, for details, /bid 11-19.

47 /bid 20-2 1.

48 bid 22-25.

49 hid 26-33

50George Koovackal and Paul Jackon 108-135.

51 lbid 117-120.

52 Ibid 125.

R. E. Muller, Mippih Mukims of krala, A Stud) in Islamic Trends

(Bangalore: Orient Longman 1976).

54 M. T. Titus, Indian Isrbm: A Religous History o f Isrbrn in India (New

Delhi: Orient, 1979) 150-151.

5 5 ~ . P, Ibrahim Kunju, MippiIa Muslims in kmrb (Trivandmm: Sandhya

Publishers, 1989) 1516.

" See, for further details, M. G. S. Narayanan, Pervmak o f &mla

(Trivandmm: Sandhya Publications, 1989) 65.

57 Dr. Abdul Azeez, Rise of Muslims in krala Politics (Trivandmm: CBH

Publications, 1992) 4.

58 hid 5.

59 Ibjd 9.

hO William Logan. Malabar Manual Vol. I Reprint (Madras: Govt. Press,

1951) 565-70.

61 See, for details, lbid 584.

Dilip M. Menon, Caste, hbtionalism and Communism in South India

(New Delhi: Foundation Books, 1994) 79.

63 K Madhavan Nayar, Mahbar ffilapam.

64 Dilip M. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South

India 79.

65 See, for details, Gail Minault, The mdafat Mvernent: Religious

symbolism andpoliticaimobilisation in India (New York, 1982) 193-201.

66 7he h%thrubhumi (May 22, 1935).

It was formally launched on May 21, 1936 at a meeting held at

Cannanore, on the initiative of Kattakatt Ahmad Kunhi. Haji and so twenty

others. The AU India Muslim League had been formed on December 30, 1906 at

Dacca in East Bengal (Bangladesh) with Agha Khan as President.

67 The Chandrika [March 23,1946).

68krak? It?umudi(Odober 16..10..1105 (Edavam) 1930).

69 Thii movement was also known as the "Abstention Movementn as the

communities decided to abstain from the election process which they felt was not

conducted properly.

See, for details, P. K K Menon, Histoty o f Freedom Movement in Kerala,

Vol. I1 (Trivandrum: Govt. of Kerala, 1972) 344-45.

70 Dr. Abdul Azeez, R;se of Muslims in Kerala Politics 44.

71 Cardinar Eugene Tisserant, &stern Christianity in India (Bombay:

Orient Longmans, 1957) 1.

72 Ibid 2. 73 Dr. C. V. Cherian, A History of Christianity in Kerala (Kottayam: CMS

Press, 1973) 1. 74 See, for a brief account of St. Thomas' activities in various places,

Dr. C. V. Cherian, A H i i r y of Chrktianity in &rab 3641.

Also see, Bernard Thomas, Mar Thomas Krstiyanikal Vol. I1 (Pala:

Mannanam Press, 1921).

Benedid Vadakkekara, Origin of India's Thomas Christians (Dehi: Media

House, 1995).

75 "Acts of Judas Thomas" is an apocryphal work supposed to have been

written by Baradesanes, a native of Edessa in Mesopotamia, most probably in

Syriac language in the last quarter of the second centuly A.D. or the first years of

the third century A.D.

76 Cardinal Eugene T i r a n t , Easern Chn'stianity in India 14.

77 Placid J. Podipara, The Thomas Christians 64.

78 Medlycott A. E., India and the Apostle Thorns (London, 1905).

79 There is a strong tradition in Malabar that in 345 Thomas Cara. a

merchant with a Bishop Mar Joseph, clergy and faithful colonised Cmngannore

and the origin of the southisis can be traced back to this migration.

K J. John, "Origin and Growth of Christianity in Kerala" Christian

Heritage offhala, Ed. K J . John (Cochin: Kerala Times, 1981) 7.

a l l b i d 7.

/bid 9.

a Dr. C. V. Cheriyan. A Histoty of Christianib in Kerala 135.

84 Rev. Dr. Placid J. Podipara, The Malabar Christians (Alleppey:

Prakasam Publications, 1972) 2.

85 For details on cultural adaptation and distinctive organization of the St.

Thomas Christians, see Placid Podipara, The Thomas Chrisfians (London, 1970)

79-98.

86 "Gate" in the oriental connotation means sublime power.

87 Placid J. Podipara, The St. Thomas Christians (Bombay: St. Paul

Publications, 1970) 71.

88 Patronage or padroado is a distinction given to Portugal by Holy see as

a recognition of her missionary work. Accordingly, the patron, i.e., the king of

Portugal has the right to present a candidate for a bffihoprie or other

eccksiastical benefice in the newly discovered territories and the king had the

corresponding duty to protect the Chriians in the regions wherever Portugal

would establish herself. Under this dispensation Portugal and Spain had the sole

right to sail the seas to conquer new lands and take possession of their riches

under the condition that they would christianise the area and take full financial

responsibility for it. Pope Leo X, in 1514, by hi full, "Deum Fidein Constantiam

placed India under the patronage of the king of Portugal. See, for details,

George Koilparampil, India Under the Patronage of the King o f Portugal 77-78. 89 Placid J. Podipara, The Mahbar Christians 6.

90 The cause of the revolt was the arrival of an oriental prelate and it was

believed that he was sent by Rome but the Portuguese deported him to Goa.

91 They adopted the West Syrian ligurgy and are divided and subdivided

into several denominations.

See, for details, Placid Podipara, The Malabar Christians, foot-note

no. 29, 9.

92 A. Sreedhara Menon, fistory of knla 291.

=Dr. C. V. Cherian, A Hisfory of Chn'stianityin Kerah 149.

94 /bid 150.

951bid 151.

%placid. J . Podipara, Thomas Christians 85.

4 Cyril Bruce Firth. An Jn6-oduction to lndian Church History (Madras:

The Christian Literature Society, 1968) 69.

98 As already pointed out, the cause of the revolt was the arrival of an

oriental prelate Ahatallah, who was believed to have been sent by Rome but the

Portuguese deported him to Goa. A mrnour was spread that Ahatallah was

drowned by the Portuguese off the coast of Cochin. Incensed by thii 'treachery',

the Christians moved to Mattancheny near Cochin, tied a long rope to a cross

called "Coonan Crossn and holding the rope that went all along the line, they

swore that they would never accept the jurisdiction of the Jesuits.

99~rnong the Vicar Apostolia, only Alexander Pararnpil(1663-1687) was

a Makbarian but he got no Malabarian successor.

lW~lac id J. Podipara, The l la bar Christians, foot-note no. 25, 9.

lo' hid 27.

'" Thomas J. Arukalil V. C., The Catholic Church of Kerab (Kottayarn:

Vincentian Publishing Society, 1996) 14. 103 G. Chediath, Kerabthile Christham Sabhakal, Third rpt., Oriental

Institute of Religious Studies (Kottayam: OIRS, 1993) 69. 104 Dr. C. A. Abraham, Fit& years in the bond of Catholic unify

(Trivandrum:, St. Joseph's Press, 1980) 10. 105 G. Chediith, krabthik Chnistham Sabhakal 71.

'06 hid 76. 107 Thomas Thayil, "The Origin of the Latin Christians of Kerala," The

St Thomas Christian Encycbpaedia (Trichur, 1973) 61.

108 Mathew Vattakuzhy, "The Three Rites in Malabar," The St nomas

Chrisb'an Encycbpaedia 52. 109 See, for details, K J. John, "Emergence of Latin Christians in Kerala: A

Brief Introduction," Christian Heritage of Kerab, Ed. K. J . John, 347-354.

"O George Mark Moraes, A History of Christianity in India, VO~. 1

(Bombay: 15)64) 132.

"' K J. John, "Emergence of Latin Christina5 in Kerala: A Brief

Introduction," Christian Heritap of krala, Ed. K. J. John 347.

'I2 George Mark Moraes, A Histow o f Christianity in India, Vol. I 134.

"3 Placid J. Podipara, The Latin Rite Christians M&bar (kttayam:

Denha Services, 1986) 1.

"4 A. M. Mundadan. lndian Christians' search for indentiiy o f sbuqqle for

autonomy (Bangalore: Dharmararn Publications, 1984) 133. 115 George Koilpammpil, Caste in the Catholic Community in Kernla,

(Cochin: St. Francis De Sales Press, 1982) 79.

116 Cyril Bmce Firth, An Introduction to lndian Church Histoy (Madras:

The Chrisian Literature Society, 1965) 49.

'I7 /bid 52.

118 Bailey, F. G., Caste and the Economic Frontier (Manchester University

Press, 1957) 271.

119 lrnitiaz Ahrned (ed.), Caste and SocialShatification among the Muslims

(Delhi, 1973) 50. 120 Clement Lopus, Latin Janata Samuhika Nawthanathikk (Trivandmrn:

Latin Sarnudaya Avakasa Samrakshana Sarniti, 1995) 18.

121 George Ibilpararnpil, G s t e in the Catholic Communi@ in Kkrah 6.

lP Cited by /bid 9.

123 .Sonia Dougal, The Nun-Runners (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers,

1972) 12.

124 Ninan Koshy, Caste in the &ml! Churches (Bangalore, 1%8). It

analyses the practices of caste distinction in Christian churches in Kerala.

12s Cited by George Koilparampil, Caste in the Catholic Communiw in

Kerab 5.

lZ6.See, for a brief h i i t r y , /bid 49-64.

Also, G. Chediath, I@rabthik Christhava Sabhakal Chediath gives a

detailed account of the different non-Catholic churches in Kerala 75457.

12' Sanskritisation is a useful tool in studying cuttural change in the Indian

society. Accordig to Srinivas, it is "the process by which a 'low' Hindu caste or

tribal or other group, changes its customs, rituals, ideology and way of life in the

direction of a high and frequently twice born caste."

See, M. N. Srinivas, The Social Change in Modem India (Los Angeles,

1966) 6.

George Koilparampil has made use of this method to show that the Latins

are eager to improve their status by rnanying into higher caste Syrian families.

128 Cited by George Koilparampil, Caste in the Catholic Community in

krala 181. 129 See. for details, lbid 181-185.

130/bid 213.

131 clement Lopus, Latin Janata Sarnukiha Nawthanathileku

(Trivandrum: Latin Samudap Avakasa Samrakshana Samiti, 1995) 1.

13' Information collected through interviews with coastal people and their

leaders.

Clement Lopus, Latin Janata Sarnukhika Nawthanathileku 2.

134 lbid 3.

1 3 5 ~ h e following are the main castes that constitute the Latins

Ezhunootikar - 33%

Anjootikar - 13%

Moonnultikar - 21%

Dalits - 13%

Nadar - 8%

Anglo-Indians - 4%

Ezhava, Mangloorian, Sambava, Chakrava, Billava etc. 8%

See, for details hid 14-15.

13' /bid 19.

137 Information collected through personal interview.

Information collected through personal interview.

139 S. Kappen, fismthilninnu KplavathikWru (Kottayam: NBS,

1972) 12-19.

'40 Matter collected through personal interview.

141 krab humudi Weekend M 2 w n e (September 1 1 , 1983).

14' OtZq 7, 9, (February 1990) 1-10.

Report of the "All Kerala Theological Festival", (Kottayam,

December, 1980).

Vaidika Mibarn (December, 1981)

Mthavum Chinthayum 65,2 (March-April, 1985).

Information obtained from Paulose Mar Paul-, one of the signatories

of the convention.

Information collected through pemnal interview with Paulose Mar

F'aulose.

14' Information collected through personal interview.

148 Information collected through personal in te~ew.

149 Jose J. Kaleekal, Thomas Kocheny, Jose Pollayil, ON Samam ffidha

(Trivandwm: Kemla Swathantra Makya Thozhilali Federation 1988) 1.

150 /bid 2.

lbid 3.

/bid 5.

Ibid 8.

lS4 /bid 14.

/bid 16, 17.

'" /bid 23, 37.

lbid 27-38.

lbid 44.

Deepih (March 30, 1980).

160 Jose J. Kaleekal, Thomas Kocherry, Jose Pollayil, ON Samara

ffidha 55-56. 161 Malayala Manomma (December 18, 1980)

162 Malayah Manomma (May 4,1981).

lW ~ a l a ~ a l a Mnorama (June 8, 1981).

la Business India (July 16-24, 1984).

Examiner (July 21, 1984).

166Enadu (July 6, 1984).

16' Lkepika (July 24, 1985).

16'see, for details, Mozhi(Alappuzha: A Janajagruthy Publication, 1997).