‘Contribution of Christian
Missionaries in India’
Written by Camil Parkhe
Published by Gujarat Sahitya Prakash,
Post Box No 70, Anand, 388 001
Gujarat, India
Foreword byAnosh Malekar
Assistant Editor,
The Indian Express (Pune edition)
Email: booksgsp@gmail.com
First Published in 2007
ISBN 978 81 8937 36 2
PREFACE
by Author Camil parkhe
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
April 2007
