A slice of Pune’s history
Saint Crispin's Church, Karve Road
CAMIL PARKHE
Sakal Times
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 AT 11:56 AM (IST)
Tags: PMC, PMC election, church, Saint Crispin's Church, karve road, Christian, Pune, Camil Parkhe, sakal times
 A few metres away from the busy Nal Stop corner on Karve Road stands Saint Crispin's Church, which has been a mute witness to various events that have unfolded in this area over the past 100 years. It is the only church in western parts of the city having over 100 years history.
A majority of the century-old churches in the city are based in Pune Camp, Wanowrie and Khadki where the British regime had military establishments. Many new churches have sprung up in eastern parts of the city including Yerwada, Nagar Road, Vadgaonsheri during the past few decades, following shifting of the Christian population from Pune Camp and also migration of Christians from the neighbouring districts to these sub-urban areas. In contrast, there are a few churches in Kothrud and other western parts of the city as the number of Christian families is comparatively less in these areas.
 However this church, named after the 13th century patron saint of cobblers, was built in 1901-02 by the public works department at the behest of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, a religious congregation. It was designed by Comper, a British architect who specialised in the restoration and renovation of old churches. The Society of saint John the Evangelist had raised a subscription of $3,000 for construction of the church.
The structure initially served as the place of worship for nuns belonging to the Convent of Saint Mary the Virgin, having headquarters at Wantage, and priests of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, with headquarters at Oxon in the United Kingdom.
Soon after the church was constructed, a plague struck Pune. The Society of Saint John the Evangelist then opened an orphanage for boys, who had lost their parents and relatives in the epidemic. The orphanage was closed later due to shortage of manpower. However, it was reopened in 1940 as a Rescue and Preventive Home for Girls and Women under the Diocesan Council of Bombay.
The property of over six acres and 20 guntha of land was handed over to the Convent of Saint Mary the Virgin in 1951. The facade of the church, its external and as well internal structures are very special. The church has indeed stood the test of the time. The structure measures about 3,000 square feet and is built in the Gothic architectural styles.
 The uniqueness of the century-old structure is manifested as soon as one enters the church. At the centre is the sanctuary and six chapels in small appendages along the larger sides. There is also a small gallery from where one can view the sanctuary. The church's design provides for adequate ventilation and light and the stone construction also makes it cool even during hot summer season.
Tichnor Charles, secretary of St Crispin's Home, said that some years ago, a new complex for St. Crispin's Home was constructed near the church. It comprises a residential child care facility, a primary and secondary school and a vocational training centre.
UNEXPECTED VISITOR
St Crispin’s Church complex was in the news some years back when a leopard strayed into this complex located in one of the busiest areas of the city. The leopard was spotted relaxing on a tree over a room. The wild animal was captured by the forest personnel late in the evening after it was tranquilised and captured.
SPEAK TO US
Sakal Times has launched a campaign, focussing on various parts of the city to highlight both positive and negative aspects that affect the lives of citizens in these areas. If you would like Sakal Times to pay attention to any particular issue or aspect in your area, please e-mail to reporters@sakaaltimes.com, giving your name and contact number (which will be kept confidential). We will get in touch with you. Alternatively, you can also write to The Editor, Sakal Times, 27 Narveer Tanaji Wadi, Shivajinagar, Pune 411 005.
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Comments
On 18/11/2011 12:28 PM vishwas patole said:
Dear Kamil, God bless you & your family, we people are staying in Pune city, but yet we do not know details about it, thanks for good information thanks vishwas patole
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Showing posts with label Christanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christanity. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fr. Herman Bacher: Pioneer of rural development
Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India
Author : Camil Parkhe
Chapter 11.
Fr Herman Bacher: Pioneer of rural development
A young man from a small town located at the foot of the Alps in Switzerland decided to follow Jesus Christ and selected Maharashtra in western India as the place for his mission. He devoted his life to social and economic transformation of the drought-prone rural district of Ahmednagar. The name of this veteran social worker and reformer is Fr. Herman Bacher. His work was appreciated by the Maharashtra government, which conferred upon him the title of ‘Krushi Bhushan’ (Pride of agricultural sector). He is also the recipient of an ‘Order of Merit’ bestowed upon him by the government of Germany.
Fr. Bacher was born in Switzerland on October 12, 1924. On completion of his preliminary education, he joined the Society of Jesus to become a priest. He completed his philosophy and theology training at the Pune-based De Nobili College. After his ordination as a priest, he worked as a teacher for sometime at various locations in Ahmednagar district- the Dnyanamata Vidyalaya in Sangamner town, Haregaon and Kendal villages.
At that time, India had just acquired Independence from the British. Fr Bacher, who had come from a developed country like Switzerland, first familiarised himself with the social and economic life of the people in Ahmednagar district. There were no proper roads in villages and use of vehicles was out of question. The bullock cart was the chief mode of transport and the bicycle was a rare sight.
Ahmednagar being a drought-prone district, the financial condition of people there was extremely poor. A majority of the Christians in Ahmednagar district belonged to the erstwhile untouchable communities. Many people from the untouchable Mahar caste had embraced Christianity towards the end of the 19th century in the district. Even after conversion, their social and financial status had not changed. Except for the new religion, their condition in all respects was similar to that of other Dalits.
Although Fr. Bacher was working as a Christian priest, his mission was not restricted to his community alone. He had taken a vow to serve all needy people and hence did not differentiate between Christians and non-Christians. As a part of his work, the young priest daily moved about in neighbouring villages. Many a time, he used to set out on a bicycle to return only after a week or so. It was during the course of these wanderings that he came in close contact with ordinary farmers from rural areas and the backward communities among the Hindus and the Christians. He strongly felt for these neglected people and wanted to do something to improve their conditions.
In 1966, Fr. Bacher visited his motherland for a while. While returning from Switzerland, he had worked in his mind various schemes for the development of the economically backward people of Ahmednagar district. Immediately after his return to India, the Society of Jesus appointed Fr. Bacher as its Ahmednagar District Superior.
The members of the Society of Jesus, called the Jesuits, were running a number of schools and other educational institutions, besides social centres in various villages and towns of Ahmednagar district. As the district head of this congregation, Fr. Bacher was now called upon to give a new direction to the mission of the Society.
Soon after assuming his post in Shrirampur, Fr. Bacher started giving shape to various schemes that he had thought of earlier. He established a Social Centre in Shrirampur to achieve the economic progress of the backward communities in the district. One of the main goals of this Centre was to offer financial help to dig or repair wells to small farmers. It was the beginning of Fr. Bacher’s social work, which was to gain the attention of entire Maharashtra.
Fr. Bacher was of the view that poor farmers with marginal landholdings should be offered financial assistance for agricultural purposes through financial institutions like banks. He was against giving financial grants to the farmers directly. He prepared a scheme wherein his Social Centre stood surety to loans for those farmers whom a bank would deny loans on grounds of inadequate security. The Social Centre signed an agreement with the Ahmednagar District Land Development Bank and invested in the Bank’s shares for this purpose. This enabled Fr. Bacher to help marginal farmers in digging new wells, repairing existing wells, buying electric motor pumps and oil engines. Nearly 2,000 farmers benefited from the scheme. Without the help of the Social Centre, these farmers would not have progressed in their agriculture.
The Social Centre offered incentives in the form of subsidies to the farmers who repaid their loans on time. The Social Centre repaid the principle amount of the loan in case of many defaulters who were in distress due to loss of crop due to natural causes. Later, Fr. Bacher made loan facility available to marginal farmers through the Ahmednagar District Cooperative Bank.
Fr. Bacher had secured funds from the Swiss Development Corporation for this scheme. S. B. Kulkarni , a senior journalist from Ahmednagar district, has commented, “The successful move of making foreign funds available to poor farmers through the means of cooperative bank was an honour to the cooperative movement of the district. Providing funds through the channel of a cooperative bank was definitely a novel experiment.”
There was a severe famine in Maharashtra during 1972-74. People in Ahmednagar district were worst hit by the famine. Farmers could not reap even a single harvest for three successive years. Many farm labourers were rendered jobless. To make employment available in rural areas, the government of Maharashtra started a scheme of famine relief work under its Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Projects like making kaccha roads in villages and digging community wells were undertaken through the scheme. The vast rural population got subsistence due to this scheme. But the scheme was suspended when it rained and the construction of many wells remained incomplete.
Fr. Bacher tried hard to complete the construction of incomplete wells belonging to small farmers. In response to his efforts, Ahmednagar District Cooperative Bank agreed to extend loans to the farmers for completing their wells. The Social Centre offered grants on a large scale for repaying the interest on loans. The construction of 150 incomplete wells was thus achieved. Fr. Bacher himself surveyed construction of many wells in the district.
Fr. Bacher tried community schemes like digging a common well between five- six farmers instead of each one of them availing a personal loan for separate wells. The Jesuit priest made farmers realise that common wells lessened the burden of loan and also helped inculcate the spirit of cooperation.
During monsoon, excess water runs down the slopes and in case of a dam it flows into canals. And farmers have to face scarcity of water post-monsoon. To make use of excess water, Fr. Bacher built four percolation lakes in arid agricultural areas around the Pravara River. This ensured availability of water for several months in a year and the farmers turned to horticulture on land that was arid not so long ago.
In rural areas, there were not many employment opportunities other than those in agriculture sector. Although means of education were available everywhere, the rural youth did not seem to benefit from the education they had in absence of sufficient job opportunities. Fr Bacher therefore started an ‘Electro-Technical Centre’ in Shrirampur town to provide vocational training to the youth who had studied up to the middle or secondary school level. During those days, there were no technical institutes like Industrial Technical Institutes (ITIs) or polytechnics in Maharashtra. Fr. Bacher initially started offering training in electrical and other skilled jobs. Many youth got jobs while some became self-employed after getting training at this centre.
The technical institute benefited the most the youth from the local Dalit Christian community. These Christians, despite being Dalits, are denied to this date various benefits like educational scholarships and reservations in government jobs only because they had converted to Christianity. The Dalits who got converted to Sikhism or Buddhism have however continued to get these benefits despite their conversion. Before the technical training centre started in Shrirampur, the Dalit Christian youths had to seek admissions at the St Joseph Technical School in Pune. This institute too is run by the Jesuits. Even today, the Shrirampur-based technical centre, now named as Xavier Technical Training Centre, is much sought after in the area.
Digging of wells cannot be a permanent solution to water scarcity as the water table keeps going down. Depleting underground water reserves lead to failure of wells however deep they are dug. To overcome this problem, Fr. Bacher stressed on developing watershed areas. The Maharashtra government announced its ‘ watershed development programme in 1981. Under this scheme, the government would bear 80 per cent of the cost of preserving water and people were to share the balance 20 per cent. Fr. Bacher tried to motivate people to implement this scheme. He propagated the scheme by printing Marathi booklets that provided information about the government scheme.
In 1983, Fr. Bacher was appointed representative of a German institute, named ‘Indo- German Social Service Society’, in Delhi. The priest had implemented the rural development programme in Ahmednagar district. Now he was called upon to work at the national level. With the financial aid of the German institute, Misserior, Fr. Bacher toured the length and breadth of the country, visiting drought-hit areas and devising schemes that could be best implemented in each area.
To eradicate poverty, various donor agencies work in their own way but the financial status of the weaker sections does not change much. Therefore, in Fr. Bacher’s opinion, instead of so many programmes it was advisable to administer well the natural resources like land, water and manpower under the Watershed Development Programme. He stressed this point in various institutional meetings and. Due to Fr. Bacher’s effort many institutions changed their style of functioning.
Fr. Bacher worked in Delhi till 1991 as the representative of the Indo- German Social Service Society. Financial assistance on a large scale was given to weaker sections of India by an organisation, Catholic Aid. He made people and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) aware that watershed area development was the best solution to overcome scarcity of water and also to conserve environment. There was not much awareness amongst social institutes or social workers in Maharashtra about it. Nearly 30 years ago, Fr. Bacher’s Social Centre started working on this and pioneered the scientific approach for developing watershed areas in Maharashtra. Fr. Bacher must be given credit for his contribution in this regard.
Fr. Bacher tried to transform the rural areas of the drought-prone Ahmednagar district. The economic transformations in places like Kasare in Parner taluka, Mendhvan in Sangamner taluka and Pimpalgaon Wagha in Ahmednagar taluka are proof of Fr. Bacher’s tireless efforts. During those days, no non-governmental organisations or social workers had dedicated to the cause of rural development. Fr. Bacher who implemented various rural development projects in different areas of Ahmednagar district can rightly be called as a pioneer rural development leader. His work inspired many other social workers and social agencies to take up similar work in other areas.
Although a Jesuit priest, Fr. Bacher has never restricted his mission to the spiritual or religious activities. As a true missionary, he has devoted himself to financial and social upliftment of the community in Ahmednagar district. Most important point is that he never restricted his work to the Christian community alone. All the schemes run by him in the district have always been open to all weaker sections irrespective of their religion, caste and creed. For this, he sometimes even had to face the resentment of a section of the Christian community.
Maharashtra Government recognised Fr. Bacher's contribution by conferring on him the title of Krushi Bhushan (Pride of agriculture sector). He was honoured at the hands of Dr. P. C. Alexander, the then Maharashtra State Governor, on October 2, 1994. It is indeed praiseworthy that a person born in Europe spent his lifetime in the service of a drought-hit district in Maharashtra. Fr Bacher is presently based at Sangamner town in Ahmednagar district.
Reference:
Fr. Bacher : ‘Nagar Zillyache Bhushan’, by S B Kulkarni (Fr Bacher: Pride of Ahmednagar district), Marathi monthly ‘Niropya’, May 1994.
Author : Camil Parkhe
Chapter 11.
Fr Herman Bacher: Pioneer of rural development
A young man from a small town located at the foot of the Alps in Switzerland decided to follow Jesus Christ and selected Maharashtra in western India as the place for his mission. He devoted his life to social and economic transformation of the drought-prone rural district of Ahmednagar. The name of this veteran social worker and reformer is Fr. Herman Bacher. His work was appreciated by the Maharashtra government, which conferred upon him the title of ‘Krushi Bhushan’ (Pride of agricultural sector). He is also the recipient of an ‘Order of Merit’ bestowed upon him by the government of Germany.
Fr. Bacher was born in Switzerland on October 12, 1924. On completion of his preliminary education, he joined the Society of Jesus to become a priest. He completed his philosophy and theology training at the Pune-based De Nobili College. After his ordination as a priest, he worked as a teacher for sometime at various locations in Ahmednagar district- the Dnyanamata Vidyalaya in Sangamner town, Haregaon and Kendal villages.
At that time, India had just acquired Independence from the British. Fr Bacher, who had come from a developed country like Switzerland, first familiarised himself with the social and economic life of the people in Ahmednagar district. There were no proper roads in villages and use of vehicles was out of question. The bullock cart was the chief mode of transport and the bicycle was a rare sight.
Ahmednagar being a drought-prone district, the financial condition of people there was extremely poor. A majority of the Christians in Ahmednagar district belonged to the erstwhile untouchable communities. Many people from the untouchable Mahar caste had embraced Christianity towards the end of the 19th century in the district. Even after conversion, their social and financial status had not changed. Except for the new religion, their condition in all respects was similar to that of other Dalits.
Although Fr. Bacher was working as a Christian priest, his mission was not restricted to his community alone. He had taken a vow to serve all needy people and hence did not differentiate between Christians and non-Christians. As a part of his work, the young priest daily moved about in neighbouring villages. Many a time, he used to set out on a bicycle to return only after a week or so. It was during the course of these wanderings that he came in close contact with ordinary farmers from rural areas and the backward communities among the Hindus and the Christians. He strongly felt for these neglected people and wanted to do something to improve their conditions.
In 1966, Fr. Bacher visited his motherland for a while. While returning from Switzerland, he had worked in his mind various schemes for the development of the economically backward people of Ahmednagar district. Immediately after his return to India, the Society of Jesus appointed Fr. Bacher as its Ahmednagar District Superior.
The members of the Society of Jesus, called the Jesuits, were running a number of schools and other educational institutions, besides social centres in various villages and towns of Ahmednagar district. As the district head of this congregation, Fr. Bacher was now called upon to give a new direction to the mission of the Society.
Soon after assuming his post in Shrirampur, Fr. Bacher started giving shape to various schemes that he had thought of earlier. He established a Social Centre in Shrirampur to achieve the economic progress of the backward communities in the district. One of the main goals of this Centre was to offer financial help to dig or repair wells to small farmers. It was the beginning of Fr. Bacher’s social work, which was to gain the attention of entire Maharashtra.
Fr. Bacher was of the view that poor farmers with marginal landholdings should be offered financial assistance for agricultural purposes through financial institutions like banks. He was against giving financial grants to the farmers directly. He prepared a scheme wherein his Social Centre stood surety to loans for those farmers whom a bank would deny loans on grounds of inadequate security. The Social Centre signed an agreement with the Ahmednagar District Land Development Bank and invested in the Bank’s shares for this purpose. This enabled Fr. Bacher to help marginal farmers in digging new wells, repairing existing wells, buying electric motor pumps and oil engines. Nearly 2,000 farmers benefited from the scheme. Without the help of the Social Centre, these farmers would not have progressed in their agriculture.
The Social Centre offered incentives in the form of subsidies to the farmers who repaid their loans on time. The Social Centre repaid the principle amount of the loan in case of many defaulters who were in distress due to loss of crop due to natural causes. Later, Fr. Bacher made loan facility available to marginal farmers through the Ahmednagar District Cooperative Bank.
Fr. Bacher had secured funds from the Swiss Development Corporation for this scheme. S. B. Kulkarni , a senior journalist from Ahmednagar district, has commented, “The successful move of making foreign funds available to poor farmers through the means of cooperative bank was an honour to the cooperative movement of the district. Providing funds through the channel of a cooperative bank was definitely a novel experiment.”
There was a severe famine in Maharashtra during 1972-74. People in Ahmednagar district were worst hit by the famine. Farmers could not reap even a single harvest for three successive years. Many farm labourers were rendered jobless. To make employment available in rural areas, the government of Maharashtra started a scheme of famine relief work under its Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Projects like making kaccha roads in villages and digging community wells were undertaken through the scheme. The vast rural population got subsistence due to this scheme. But the scheme was suspended when it rained and the construction of many wells remained incomplete.
Fr. Bacher tried hard to complete the construction of incomplete wells belonging to small farmers. In response to his efforts, Ahmednagar District Cooperative Bank agreed to extend loans to the farmers for completing their wells. The Social Centre offered grants on a large scale for repaying the interest on loans. The construction of 150 incomplete wells was thus achieved. Fr. Bacher himself surveyed construction of many wells in the district.
Fr. Bacher tried community schemes like digging a common well between five- six farmers instead of each one of them availing a personal loan for separate wells. The Jesuit priest made farmers realise that common wells lessened the burden of loan and also helped inculcate the spirit of cooperation.
During monsoon, excess water runs down the slopes and in case of a dam it flows into canals. And farmers have to face scarcity of water post-monsoon. To make use of excess water, Fr. Bacher built four percolation lakes in arid agricultural areas around the Pravara River. This ensured availability of water for several months in a year and the farmers turned to horticulture on land that was arid not so long ago.
In rural areas, there were not many employment opportunities other than those in agriculture sector. Although means of education were available everywhere, the rural youth did not seem to benefit from the education they had in absence of sufficient job opportunities. Fr Bacher therefore started an ‘Electro-Technical Centre’ in Shrirampur town to provide vocational training to the youth who had studied up to the middle or secondary school level. During those days, there were no technical institutes like Industrial Technical Institutes (ITIs) or polytechnics in Maharashtra. Fr. Bacher initially started offering training in electrical and other skilled jobs. Many youth got jobs while some became self-employed after getting training at this centre.
The technical institute benefited the most the youth from the local Dalit Christian community. These Christians, despite being Dalits, are denied to this date various benefits like educational scholarships and reservations in government jobs only because they had converted to Christianity. The Dalits who got converted to Sikhism or Buddhism have however continued to get these benefits despite their conversion. Before the technical training centre started in Shrirampur, the Dalit Christian youths had to seek admissions at the St Joseph Technical School in Pune. This institute too is run by the Jesuits. Even today, the Shrirampur-based technical centre, now named as Xavier Technical Training Centre, is much sought after in the area.
Digging of wells cannot be a permanent solution to water scarcity as the water table keeps going down. Depleting underground water reserves lead to failure of wells however deep they are dug. To overcome this problem, Fr. Bacher stressed on developing watershed areas. The Maharashtra government announced its ‘ watershed development programme in 1981. Under this scheme, the government would bear 80 per cent of the cost of preserving water and people were to share the balance 20 per cent. Fr. Bacher tried to motivate people to implement this scheme. He propagated the scheme by printing Marathi booklets that provided information about the government scheme.
In 1983, Fr. Bacher was appointed representative of a German institute, named ‘Indo- German Social Service Society’, in Delhi. The priest had implemented the rural development programme in Ahmednagar district. Now he was called upon to work at the national level. With the financial aid of the German institute, Misserior, Fr. Bacher toured the length and breadth of the country, visiting drought-hit areas and devising schemes that could be best implemented in each area.
To eradicate poverty, various donor agencies work in their own way but the financial status of the weaker sections does not change much. Therefore, in Fr. Bacher’s opinion, instead of so many programmes it was advisable to administer well the natural resources like land, water and manpower under the Watershed Development Programme. He stressed this point in various institutional meetings and. Due to Fr. Bacher’s effort many institutions changed their style of functioning.
Fr. Bacher worked in Delhi till 1991 as the representative of the Indo- German Social Service Society. Financial assistance on a large scale was given to weaker sections of India by an organisation, Catholic Aid. He made people and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) aware that watershed area development was the best solution to overcome scarcity of water and also to conserve environment. There was not much awareness amongst social institutes or social workers in Maharashtra about it. Nearly 30 years ago, Fr. Bacher’s Social Centre started working on this and pioneered the scientific approach for developing watershed areas in Maharashtra. Fr. Bacher must be given credit for his contribution in this regard.
Fr. Bacher tried to transform the rural areas of the drought-prone Ahmednagar district. The economic transformations in places like Kasare in Parner taluka, Mendhvan in Sangamner taluka and Pimpalgaon Wagha in Ahmednagar taluka are proof of Fr. Bacher’s tireless efforts. During those days, no non-governmental organisations or social workers had dedicated to the cause of rural development. Fr. Bacher who implemented various rural development projects in different areas of Ahmednagar district can rightly be called as a pioneer rural development leader. His work inspired many other social workers and social agencies to take up similar work in other areas.
Although a Jesuit priest, Fr. Bacher has never restricted his mission to the spiritual or religious activities. As a true missionary, he has devoted himself to financial and social upliftment of the community in Ahmednagar district. Most important point is that he never restricted his work to the Christian community alone. All the schemes run by him in the district have always been open to all weaker sections irrespective of their religion, caste and creed. For this, he sometimes even had to face the resentment of a section of the Christian community.
Maharashtra Government recognised Fr. Bacher's contribution by conferring on him the title of Krushi Bhushan (Pride of agriculture sector). He was honoured at the hands of Dr. P. C. Alexander, the then Maharashtra State Governor, on October 2, 1994. It is indeed praiseworthy that a person born in Europe spent his lifetime in the service of a drought-hit district in Maharashtra. Fr Bacher is presently based at Sangamner town in Ahmednagar district.
Reference:
Fr. Bacher : ‘Nagar Zillyache Bhushan’, by S B Kulkarni (Fr Bacher: Pride of Ahmednagar district), Marathi monthly ‘Niropya’, May 1994.
Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India
Author : Camil Parkhe
Book on Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India
‘Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India’
Written by Camil Parkhe
Published by Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,
Post Box No 70, Anand, 388 001
Gujarat, India
Email: booksgsp@gmail.com
First Published in 2007
ISBN 978 81 8937 36 2
Price Rs 95.00 US$ 10.00
Index
Foreword – Anosh Malekar
Preface – The author
1. RAMABAI SARASWATI – Pioneer of women’s liberation
2. Marathi, Konkani litterateur Fr. Thomas Stephens
3 Robert De Nobili – Father of incultaration in India
4. Fr. Nehemiah Nilakanthashastri Gore – First Marathi missionary
5. Journalist, kirtankar Satyavan Namdeo Suryavanshi
6. Padma Bhushan Fr. Camil Bulcke
7. Poet, missionary Rev. Narayan Vaman Tilak
8. Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa
9. Tamil poet Joseph Beschi alias Virmamunivar
10 Rev. Graham Staines: Burnt alive while in service of lepers
11. Fr. Herman Bacher: Pioneer of rural development
12. Historian Fr. Henry Heras
13. William Carey, social reformer and linguist
14. Padma Vibhushan Cardinal Valerian Gracias
15. Rev. Baba Padmanjee, first Marathi novelist, missionary
16. Social worker Manorama Medhavi
17. Editor-missionary Archbishop Henry Doering
18. Research scholar Rev Justin Abbot
19. Fr. Matthew Lederle, Proponent of inter- religious dialogue
----
PREFACE
I was introduced to the missionary way of life for the first time when I was a primary school student. I was then studying in third standard in St. Teresa Boys School at Haregaon in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. In the 1960s, European priests were working in most of the mission centres in Ahmednagar district, as was the case in other parts of India. Most of these European priests were in their middle ages. Fr. Hubert Sixt, a strict disciplinarian, was the head of this rural primary school and Fr. Richard Wasserer was the local parish priest. Their personalities and nature differed. Children from the school and the hostel were friendly with Fr. Wasserer who was slightly elder among the two.
St. Teresa Boys School in those days was housed in rows of rooms with tiled roofs and small verandah. The local parish also owned a farm where a water tank was just constructed. Every morning, all of us staying at the school hostel would attend the holy mass in the church. The school would open at around 7.30 a m. Fr. Wasserer would take us hostelites to the water tank for a swim before the break of the dawn. Water was of course used to be warm at that time. Most of us hostelites took their first lessons in swimming there. Fr. Wasserer would help us to overcome the fear of water. Once when such swimming session was in progress, one of the walls of the tank got washed away and water gushed out, along with the children and the priest. Fortunately nobody was hurt.
The personality of Fr. Sixt was altogether different. The school students and hostelites were scared of this priest who had a German shepherd as his pet. However when any of the hostelites fell ill or got injured while playing, they would experience the care and affection of this priest. Fr. Sixt, a German who was drafted into the Nazi Medical Corps during the Second World War would personally examine the boys and give them medicines. If required, he also used to administer injections. The children dreaded the burning sensation experienced while applying iodine on fresh bleeding wounds or the injection needle. I think this fear had contributed to a great extent in creating fear about Fr. Sixt in our minds.
My two elder brothers were also in the same school and hostel. Children from nearby Ekwadi, Donwadi, Teenwadi (Wadi means hamlet in Marathi) and Undirgaon studied in the school. The lodging and boarding fee per hostelite was Rs. five per month. Nonetheless, many of the parents found it difficult to pay even this small fee in time. However, Fr. Sixt never admonished or expelled any hostelite for not paying the fees.
Today, Christian priests and nuns are running schools in several towns and villages of Ahmednagar district and also in the neighbouring Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Beed districts. But during those days, a large number of local Christian students from Shrirampur, Rahuri and neighbouring talukas in the district completed primary education in St. Teresa schools for Boys and Girls at Haregaon and shifted to Dnyanmata School and St. Mary's School at Sangamner in the same district for the secondary education.
At both places, they were accommodated in the hostels. Poverty was the major reason why people kept their children in these hostels. Besides, most of these students would have not continued their education had they remained with their families in the villages. The atmosphere in their families or villages was not education-friendly. The entire Catholic mission centres in Ahmednagar district then were founded and run by the Jesuits, the priests belonging the Society of Jesus.
Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts are among the areas in Maharashtra where there is a sizeable number of Christians - Catholics and Protestants. The grandparents or great grandparents of these people had embraced Christianity in the 19th century.
After appearing for the matriculation examination from Dnyanmata or even before that, many students used to join St. Joseph Technical Institute in Pune, which was also run by the Jesuits. Fr. Ivo Meyer who founded the St. Luke's Hospital (also called as German Hospital) in Shrirampur was later director at this institute. The students who hailed from outside Pune stayed in the institute's hostel and acquired diplomas in various courses like turner, fitter, and wireman. The institute during those days provided trained skilled workmen to Pune’s reputed industrial units including the Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Greaves. Most of these students were interviewed at the St Joseph institute's campus itself and recruited by these companies for various posts.
These young Christians whose parents or grandparents were erstwhile Dalits (belonging to the erstwhile untouchable communities) and had no social or financial capabilities to take up graduation or post graduation courses. The Haregaon-Sangamner-Pune route proved very beneficial to these youngsters and their community as it led to their social and economical upward mobility. The number of Christian youths from Ahmednagar district who took this route is enormous. This path was followed by at least two generations. The financial status of the Christian families from Ahmednagar district, which migrated to Pune in search of greener pastures in this manner, is far better than those who lived behind.
This progress was possible only due to financial and psychological support offered by the missionaries to this otherwise neglected community. Although before their conversion, these Christians belonged to the erstwhile untouchable Mahar and other castes, they have been deprived of their right to reservations for education and jobs due to their conversion to Christianity. Ironically, reservations and other benefits are extended to their Dalit family members and other relatives who embrace either Buddhism or Sikhism and others who have continued to be Hindus.
With their limited resources, missionaries have enabled this community to be self-reliant and succeeded in granting them social status. Jesus Christ has said that ‘Man does not live by bread alone’ but these missionaries made efforts to ensure that this poor community secured their bread as well. A majority of Christians in India belong to the erstwhile Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. I have referred to the example of the missionary work in Ahmednagar district only to illustrate the contribution of Christian missionaries to the progress of the underprivileged sections of society. The missionaries have given a similar helping hand to economically and socially backward Christians and also others in different parts of India.
There are thousands of schools, colleges, hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages and other institutions run by Christian missionaries in India. A large number of persons belonging to the so-called cream of the society and working in various fields are the alumni of these Christian institutions. A majority of the beneficiaries of all these institutions are, of course, non-Christians. The reason being, these institutions are open to persons of all religions and castes. The Christians studying in a majority of these institutions may be hardly one or two per cent. The alumni of these institutions include the present President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam and several veterans from different walks of life.
The contribution made by Christian missionaries especially in the educational and social fields is noteworthy. It is often alleged that Christian missionaries make use of these institutions to lure or compel the students and others to convert to Christianity. The millions of non-Christians who have been educated in the missionary educational institutions and others who have availed of services in other Christian institutions only can vouch whether the allegation holds good. If the allegation were true, the number of Christians in the country would have increased manifold during the past century.
Missionaries offered free education and medical services in remote parts of the country both before and after Independence. They have never taken into consideration the caste or religion of the beneficiaries. The term ‘missionary spirit’ now has become synonymous to selfless and dedicated service even in Indian languages.
While carrying out their routine work, the Christian missionaries in the past five centuries have contributed a great deal simultaneously in the fields of literature, social awakening, education and medical services in various States. This book however refers to the life and work of only a few missionaries. There are also many missionaries who have now gone into oblivion despite rendering great service to society. A majority of these European who toiled in the drought-prone Ahmednagar district for several years have found the final resting place at the cemetery in Sangamner town. A souvenir released by the Nashik diocese to commemorate the 150 years of evangelisation by German Jesuits in western India contained the list of Catholic priests and nuns who worked at these mission centres. Fr. Joe Ubelmesser from Germany who said that he was adding the list to the German Jesuits archives in his message had rightly said that 'sometimes the cemeteries are containing more history than many books.'
While doing research on this project, I have learnt about the commendable service given by several Catholic and Protestant missionaries. My only regret is that it was not possible to write about all of them in this small book.
Camil Parkhe
May, 2007
Author : Camil Parkhe
Book on Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India
‘Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India’
Written by Camil Parkhe
Published by Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,
Post Box No 70, Anand, 388 001
Gujarat, India
Email: booksgsp@gmail.com
First Published in 2007
ISBN 978 81 8937 36 2
Price Rs 95.00 US$ 10.00
Index
Foreword – Anosh Malekar
Preface – The author
1. RAMABAI SARASWATI – Pioneer of women’s liberation
2. Marathi, Konkani litterateur Fr. Thomas Stephens
3 Robert De Nobili – Father of incultaration in India
4. Fr. Nehemiah Nilakanthashastri Gore – First Marathi missionary
5. Journalist, kirtankar Satyavan Namdeo Suryavanshi
6. Padma Bhushan Fr. Camil Bulcke
7. Poet, missionary Rev. Narayan Vaman Tilak
8. Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa
9. Tamil poet Joseph Beschi alias Virmamunivar
10 Rev. Graham Staines: Burnt alive while in service of lepers
11. Fr. Herman Bacher: Pioneer of rural development
12. Historian Fr. Henry Heras
13. William Carey, social reformer and linguist
14. Padma Vibhushan Cardinal Valerian Gracias
15. Rev. Baba Padmanjee, first Marathi novelist, missionary
16. Social worker Manorama Medhavi
17. Editor-missionary Archbishop Henry Doering
18. Research scholar Rev Justin Abbot
19. Fr. Matthew Lederle, Proponent of inter- religious dialogue
----
PREFACE
I was introduced to the missionary way of life for the first time when I was a primary school student. I was then studying in third standard in St. Teresa Boys School at Haregaon in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. In the 1960s, European priests were working in most of the mission centres in Ahmednagar district, as was the case in other parts of India. Most of these European priests were in their middle ages. Fr. Hubert Sixt, a strict disciplinarian, was the head of this rural primary school and Fr. Richard Wasserer was the local parish priest. Their personalities and nature differed. Children from the school and the hostel were friendly with Fr. Wasserer who was slightly elder among the two.
St. Teresa Boys School in those days was housed in rows of rooms with tiled roofs and small verandah. The local parish also owned a farm where a water tank was just constructed. Every morning, all of us staying at the school hostel would attend the holy mass in the church. The school would open at around 7.30 a m. Fr. Wasserer would take us hostelites to the water tank for a swim before the break of the dawn. Water was of course used to be warm at that time. Most of us hostelites took their first lessons in swimming there. Fr. Wasserer would help us to overcome the fear of water. Once when such swimming session was in progress, one of the walls of the tank got washed away and water gushed out, along with the children and the priest. Fortunately nobody was hurt.
The personality of Fr. Sixt was altogether different. The school students and hostelites were scared of this priest who had a German shepherd as his pet. However when any of the hostelites fell ill or got injured while playing, they would experience the care and affection of this priest. Fr. Sixt, a German who was drafted into the Nazi Medical Corps during the Second World War would personally examine the boys and give them medicines. If required, he also used to administer injections. The children dreaded the burning sensation experienced while applying iodine on fresh bleeding wounds or the injection needle. I think this fear had contributed to a great extent in creating fear about Fr. Sixt in our minds.
My two elder brothers were also in the same school and hostel. Children from nearby Ekwadi, Donwadi, Teenwadi (Wadi means hamlet in Marathi) and Undirgaon studied in the school. The lodging and boarding fee per hostelite was Rs. five per month. Nonetheless, many of the parents found it difficult to pay even this small fee in time. However, Fr. Sixt never admonished or expelled any hostelite for not paying the fees.
Today, Christian priests and nuns are running schools in several towns and villages of Ahmednagar district and also in the neighbouring Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Beed districts. But during those days, a large number of local Christian students from Shrirampur, Rahuri and neighbouring talukas in the district completed primary education in St. Teresa schools for Boys and Girls at Haregaon and shifted to Dnyanmata School and St. Mary's School at Sangamner in the same district for the secondary education.
At both places, they were accommodated in the hostels. Poverty was the major reason why people kept their children in these hostels. Besides, most of these students would have not continued their education had they remained with their families in the villages. The atmosphere in their families or villages was not education-friendly. The entire Catholic mission centres in Ahmednagar district then were founded and run by the Jesuits, the priests belonging the Society of Jesus.
Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts are among the areas in Maharashtra where there is a sizeable number of Christians - Catholics and Protestants. The grandparents or great grandparents of these people had embraced Christianity in the 19th century.
After appearing for the matriculation examination from Dnyanmata or even before that, many students used to join St. Joseph Technical Institute in Pune, which was also run by the Jesuits. Fr. Ivo Meyer who founded the St. Luke's Hospital (also called as German Hospital) in Shrirampur was later director at this institute. The students who hailed from outside Pune stayed in the institute's hostel and acquired diplomas in various courses like turner, fitter, and wireman. The institute during those days provided trained skilled workmen to Pune’s reputed industrial units including the Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Greaves. Most of these students were interviewed at the St Joseph institute's campus itself and recruited by these companies for various posts.
These young Christians whose parents or grandparents were erstwhile Dalits (belonging to the erstwhile untouchable communities) and had no social or financial capabilities to take up graduation or post graduation courses. The Haregaon-Sangamner-Pune route proved very beneficial to these youngsters and their community as it led to their social and economical upward mobility. The number of Christian youths from Ahmednagar district who took this route is enormous. This path was followed by at least two generations. The financial status of the Christian families from Ahmednagar district, which migrated to Pune in search of greener pastures in this manner, is far better than those who lived behind.
This progress was possible only due to financial and psychological support offered by the missionaries to this otherwise neglected community. Although before their conversion, these Christians belonged to the erstwhile untouchable Mahar and other castes, they have been deprived of their right to reservations for education and jobs due to their conversion to Christianity. Ironically, reservations and other benefits are extended to their Dalit family members and other relatives who embrace either Buddhism or Sikhism and others who have continued to be Hindus.
With their limited resources, missionaries have enabled this community to be self-reliant and succeeded in granting them social status. Jesus Christ has said that ‘Man does not live by bread alone’ but these missionaries made efforts to ensure that this poor community secured their bread as well. A majority of Christians in India belong to the erstwhile Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. I have referred to the example of the missionary work in Ahmednagar district only to illustrate the contribution of Christian missionaries to the progress of the underprivileged sections of society. The missionaries have given a similar helping hand to economically and socially backward Christians and also others in different parts of India.
There are thousands of schools, colleges, hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages and other institutions run by Christian missionaries in India. A large number of persons belonging to the so-called cream of the society and working in various fields are the alumni of these Christian institutions. A majority of the beneficiaries of all these institutions are, of course, non-Christians. The reason being, these institutions are open to persons of all religions and castes. The Christians studying in a majority of these institutions may be hardly one or two per cent. The alumni of these institutions include the present President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam and several veterans from different walks of life.
The contribution made by Christian missionaries especially in the educational and social fields is noteworthy. It is often alleged that Christian missionaries make use of these institutions to lure or compel the students and others to convert to Christianity. The millions of non-Christians who have been educated in the missionary educational institutions and others who have availed of services in other Christian institutions only can vouch whether the allegation holds good. If the allegation were true, the number of Christians in the country would have increased manifold during the past century.
Missionaries offered free education and medical services in remote parts of the country both before and after Independence. They have never taken into consideration the caste or religion of the beneficiaries. The term ‘missionary spirit’ now has become synonymous to selfless and dedicated service even in Indian languages.
While carrying out their routine work, the Christian missionaries in the past five centuries have contributed a great deal simultaneously in the fields of literature, social awakening, education and medical services in various States. This book however refers to the life and work of only a few missionaries. There are also many missionaries who have now gone into oblivion despite rendering great service to society. A majority of these European who toiled in the drought-prone Ahmednagar district for several years have found the final resting place at the cemetery in Sangamner town. A souvenir released by the Nashik diocese to commemorate the 150 years of evangelisation by German Jesuits in western India contained the list of Catholic priests and nuns who worked at these mission centres. Fr. Joe Ubelmesser from Germany who said that he was adding the list to the German Jesuits archives in his message had rightly said that 'sometimes the cemeteries are containing more history than many books.'
While doing research on this project, I have learnt about the commendable service given by several Catholic and Protestant missionaries. My only regret is that it was not possible to write about all of them in this small book.
Camil Parkhe
May, 2007
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Matmauli pilgrimage in Haregaon starts today
Saturday, September 18, 1999
Indian Express
Matmauli pilgrimage starts today
Matmauli pilgrimage starts today
Camil Parkhe
PUNE, Sept 17: Preparations are in full swing for theannual yatra of Matmauli which will be held at Harigaon inShrirampur taluka of Ahmednagar district on September 18and 19. Over a lakh Christians from different parts ofMaharashtra are expected to assemble at the pilgrim centre,described as the Pandharpur of the Marathi-speakingChristians in the state.The feast celebrations are organised every year tocommemorate the birthday of Mother Mary which falls onSeptember 8. For the convenience of outstation pilgrims,the yatra is held on the Saturday and Sunday succeedingSeptember 8. This year, the yatra was postponed by a weekon account of polling on September 11.
The annual feast of Mount Mary, held at Bandra in Mumbaion September 8, is the largest congregation of the Christiancommunity living in the urban areas of the State. TheHarigaon yatra, on the other hand, is the largest assembly ofthe Marathi-speaking Christians in the State. Christianity inwestern Maharashtra is over 140 years old. The goldenjubilee anniversary celebrations of the Matmauli yatra wereheld last year.The yatra of Matmauli or Blessed Virgin Mary was startedon September 8, 1948 by Fr. Gerhard Baader, a German Jesuit who was the then parish priest at Harigaon village. He hadstarted the yatra for the convenience of poor Christians iwho could not afford to attend the Mount Mary feast celebrations at Bandra. This yatra has become one of themost important events for Christians. Fr. Baader died 18months ago at the ripe age of 94. The main event will be themass concelebrated by Bishop of Nashik Thomas Bhaleraoand over 100 priests on the evening of September 18
The annual feast of Mount Mary, held at Bandra in Mumbaion September 8, is the largest congregation of the Christiancommunity living in the urban areas of the State. TheHarigaon yatra, on the other hand, is the largest assembly ofthe Marathi-speaking Christians in the State. Christianity inwestern Maharashtra is over 140 years old. The goldenjubilee anniversary celebrations of the Matmauli yatra wereheld last year.The yatra of Matmauli or Blessed Virgin Mary was startedon September 8, 1948 by Fr. Gerhard Baader, a German Jesuit who was the then parish priest at Harigaon village. He hadstarted the yatra for the convenience of poor Christians iwho could not afford to attend the Mount Mary feast celebrations at Bandra. This yatra has become one of themost important events for Christians. Fr. Baader died 18months ago at the ripe age of 94. The main event will be themass concelebrated by Bishop of Nashik Thomas Bhaleraoand over 100 priests on the evening of September 18
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