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Dear Dharumi (All the other address you by your real name Sam, but I prefer to address you as Dharumi). We (you, me and several others) are ordinary people like Dharumi and we may use it as our identity.
I am happy to go through Dr. R. P. Riesz’s post in IPAC a while ago. Great. On going through it I think some one or a group of people in American College must sit together and start working on a detailed history of American College including the work, sacrifices and achievements of all the missionaries. I know there is sufficient material available in the Daniel Poor Memorial Library of the College. I wonder how many of the readers of this piece would know that the library was opened on a 26th Jan, a day which long after the library come into existance became the Republic Day of India. Is it a coincidence? No. American College has always stood for democracy and the early missionaries had foreseen that India will be a republic on that day.
The above mentioned work could result in many PhD theses. I know of one such work by a lady lecturer of Sri Meenakshi College, Madurai several years ago gave her the M.Phil degree. I am happy to say I had a small (probably very small) role in that.
I am sure getting funds for such an activity will not be a problem.
How nice it would be if after everything has happened thus far, as an atonement of all the sins committed against the College, the out going History Professor of the College (the only Ph.D in history to work in the College) comes forward to initiate the project.
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13 comments:
do you expect people like him, who yet so BOLDLY resides inside the campus even after all these things, can ever be true to history or even to his own self?
he is retired. all his BUSINESS is over with the college. yet he still holds on to campus residence.
A REAL GREAT GUY!
It is a good idea. Why not a web enabled photo journal of our college history. If we have audio/video recordings that would be great as well. This could be envisaged as a college funded project or through other means. I'm sure AC must have bright IT students to take up this job. Strike when the rod is hot. There is a new awakening on our history now!
SRINIVASAN writes ...
Dear Dharumi: Be a good Christian. There is no joke in what I had mentioned in the last paragraph of my post as a joke. Sorry. There is always scope for any culprit to get reformed. One should provide opportunities for the same. There are many anecdotes in the books of all religion including the bible to illustrate this. Let us remember the parable of the prodigal son.
//There is always scope for any culprit to get reformed.//
dear VS
The scope for this CULPRIT to reform is too unimaginable. as i said any person with any norms in life should have vacated his residence immediately after his official retirement or at least after his superannuation. but still sticking to the house and being inside the campus after the striking judgment speaks a lot of him.
//Be a good Christian.//
i always prefer to be a good man!
A.R.V. writes to V.S. ...
Dear VS,
Sounds an excellent idea - the work you suggest on an authentic history of American College. It will be very good to involve all interested faculty and some students in the project under appropriate leadership. A preliminary apportionment of work to the participants with periodical meetings to discuss and share the results will enable to monitor progress of work. An occasional sharing of important findings with the entire faculty in a faculty-meeting-like format can help to disseminate important history within the College with a significant section of the College's stake-holders. The history could also be shared with the students periodically in an all-college assembly. Such activities on an organized basis should help to inculcate love and respect for the institution, its glorious history and the untiring work of all those who built the College, in particular the missionaries.from the point of inception of the College to the present day.
In fact the whole project can be enlarged to include at first the missionary contribution to educational growth in Tamilnadu and later the southern region of India and later expanded to cover the whole of India. Such a project can go on for years and can act as an ever-present course correction tool.
I am of the view that the leader of the project should be one with the right chemistry for history.
Well, all the best.
Venki
I very much appreciate the response of A.R.V. and also very much accept //the leader of the project should be one with the right chemistry for history.//
does it not exclude the person you involved, V.S.
An interesting project to work on the history of the American Missionaries and their contribution to Education during the colonial period. I think there is a Phd dissertation about the American Missionaries and their history which was submitted to and awarded (Phd) by MKU. If I remember correctly, it might have been done in 1980s. Anyway one can check in MKU central TPM Library. regarding the Missionaries' contribution to education also there are many works but may not be particular to American Missionaries. Some one can take initiative regarding this either as UGC major research project. oh! for that we need to have History Department. Why dont we (The American College) start a department for Historical Studies? In universities like JNU, DU, JMI etc., history is one of the hottest discipline and I didnt understand what forced the decline this very same discipline in State universities. But in fact, I remember the commemoration days celebration for the Bingampton (is the spelling correct?) Hall: the theatrical performance by Samuel Sudhananda (?), Prabhakar, Sundar Kaali and the Tamil department students may be. Though i dont remember who are all part of the theatre team, each and every episode is in my memory. creating such kind of documentation would be a novel idea. Samji, why dont you take initiative as usual?
When I heard the news of the Historical judgement from Govindarajan, I was so happy. I told everyone of my friends here either they are former students of The American College or not. it was so surprising and encouraging.
Actually, whenever someone asks me to suggest some college or course around Madurai, only American College comes to my mind. Not because I like it or I studied there. But American College is one of the best colleges in Tamilnadu or even India I can say. I read Why I am not a Hindu by Ilaiah on the one hand; Everyone Likes a Good Drought on the other hand. GENES VII by Lewin (am I right?) on the one hand; Strickbergers' Biochemistry on the other. Pulia Marathin Kathai, Semmeen, Kopallapuratthu Makkal, Kopalla Kiramam, Puthumaipittan etc there. And I cant list out the books i read there. At the same time, the college also opened a visual territory and imagination through its film festivals: Chinese, French, Local documentaries; and Also theatre performances. Thanks to Samji, Prabhakar, Sundar and all others. I studied Zoology there. you wont believe: I am doing research in Theatre Studies. American college opened a new space to me or threw a stone at me. This space is very important for a student to shape up himself. I do believe strongly that I cant separate my relationship with The American College in any means. I studied Folklore in St. Xaviers' college, Palayamkottai, and moved JNU where I am now. For students coming with lots of dreams, potential skills, creative mind, American college provides a space of "Purificatus non-consumptous". Especially for those who are coming from rural background, it is a turning point in their life. there are lots of students like me and still counting on and will continue in the years to come. This is exactly what we will loose supposedly if the college was taken by those socially evil (Bishop)groups. where students like will go in the future? that was the thousand Watts (?) question. thats its a historical judgement. It might take years to regain our image and status. and there are so many shoulders to hold the college. Now its a time to think and work hard two-three times like earlier. Because many colleges who may lag behind us in terms of exposure got university/deemed university status and Potential for Excellence. I think The Principal will take care of these things. But its not only a responsibility of Principal; every student and the staff (teaching and non-teaching) have the responsibility. I think here the friends of American college like Sam, Reuben, Srinivasan etc., etc., the whole Alumni of the college who are all over the world can contribute to the well-fare college. again Sam why dont you............
THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO STAND/STOOD WITH THE COLLEGE IRRESPECTIVE OF THE DANGERS THEY FACED. VEERA VANAKKAM!
thanks a lot karmegan for all the good things you said about our college.
D. SAMUEL LAWRENCE writes ...
D.SAMUEL LAWRENCE writes ...
Dear Dharumi,
Joke or no joke, to ask the person who betrayed the College and continues to occupy the quarters on the campus,even after retirement and Court indictment, without an iota of guilt or shame,to write the history of the College is nothing but an act of folly and not love. The prodigal son in the parable in the Bible referred to, repents for his sins and thus wins forgiveness and gets united to his father.Reconciliation comes only after remorse.The suggested 'historian' could write his story and not the history of the College.
D,Samuel Lawrence 01-09-09 midnight
//The suggested 'historian' could write his story ..//
i wonder what sort of logic he would have in 'his story'! can there be any sensible thing in that??
JOHN JEBARAJ writes ....
The whole world knows now what sort Bishop he is. Let us give everybody time to think it over.At least we have driven him out of this Great American College Campus.He and his associates must repent for their misdeeds.
It is unfortunate that the superior Body in the CSI is also corrupt like the Bishop !!!
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