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Part 1 of 7
MICHAEL AMALADOSS SJ, director, Institute of Dialogue with Cultures and Religions (IDCR), speaks to NARAYANI GANESH at Loyola College, Chennai, on 200 years of Jesuits in India
Part 2 of 7
How are you celebrating the bicentenary of Jesuits in India?
We have had two celebrations including one in Trichy and third one on February 15 at Loyola. The Supreme Court Justice Chemeleshwar instituted an award for the alumnus who has contributed to society while upholding Jesuit values. On Feb 27 and 28, we have the history congress of historians — Jesuit contribution over the years.
How large is the Jesuit population?
Total Jesuit population in the world today is bout 18,000; perhaps we are the largest Christian community in terms of institutional members. Others are of the Franciscan Order, the Salatians (Don Bosco), the St Xavier Order and so on. In Tamil Nadu, there are about 500 Jesuits. Earlier, free cultural interaction was frowned upon but now it is encouraged. The Jesuits have become more adaptable.
Part 3 of 7
How has the Society of Jesus evolved over two centuries from starting out as missionaries?
It is true that at the very beginning, the missionaries came to proseletise, but even way back then, it was not only about conversions. From the very beginning, the Society is focused on education. In 1849, the first Jesuits landed here in India, and in a few weeks, people were happily embracing the missionaries. You can see that we have evolved to open up to all faiths — here at Loyola College, Chennai, an educational institution run by Jesuits, only 30 per cent of students are Christian. It is open to all. So, too, at St Joseph’s College in Trichy. Education is used as a tool to build up communities no matter what their faith, to be able to live the best way possible in an increasingly globalised world and with multi-ethnic, multi-cultural populations.
Would you say you have grown much larger in scope, in the way you engage with society?
Yes, you could say we are now more of social activists in a way. Fr Cedric Prakash, in Gujarat, won many awards for this. We are taking forward the slogan of faith and justice. And this is even stronger in Latin America. There, you could say it is almost a peoples’ revolution, somewhat like Arab Spring, but very peaceful and inclusive.
Part 4 of 7
Pope Francis, the current pope, is the first Jesuit pope — how different is he from earlier popes?
Well, Pope Francis is being seen as a peoples’ pope as he is more open and liberal and very nonjudgemental. Of course, he has had problems in Argentina, but that is bound to happen when you break from tradition, however gently. Already you can see the difference. About 88 per cent of Americans favour him even if they are not Christians, leave alone Catholics. He focuses on justice, he is pro-poor, he cares for them. Capitalists in America describe him as Marxist. But the pope says he is pro-poor. He doesn’t condemn people like homosexuals, for instance — he says, who are we to judge. So, he is sympathetic but also conventional in many ways; he is anti-abortion. But at least he is reaching out. He even blesses children born out of wedlock. He says children are innocent so why punish them for what their parents did or did not do.
Would you say there are no more conversions happening now?
n As I said, we have come a long way and are deeply involved in social transformation and we see ourselves more as social activists with strong focus on education and creation of employment opportunities. Perhaps a bit of conversion is still there in tribal areas where the people are receptive and wish to embrace Christianity as a reaction to their oppressors. At Loyola, we have an impressive list of alumni. Cho Ramasamy studied here. He says no one tried to convert him! Some others who studied here are P Chidambaram, R Venkataraman, N Ram, Dayanidhi Maran, Stalin, actors Vijay and Soorya.
Part 5 of 7
How would you describe Jesuit values?
Be a good human first, be committed to justice, and be honest. Work hard. Reach out to others. Ours is not narrow education but designed to broaden horizons and vision with focus on extracurricular activity that is multi-faceted and not just bookish instruction. And keep hope alive. Our policy is that if any young person has any talent, we must encourage it.
What stands out is the commitment of Jesuits to the poor and to Dalits to build up a strong community. No Dalit application has ever been sent away —the student always finds admission, even if not in the course of her choice, due to seat shortage. On principle, we do not take any kind of capitation fee. Those who cannot afford to pay regular fees are also given access to the college.
The IDCR is unusual, is it not?
The IDCR is a PhD research institute on comparative religion and culture affiliated to University of Madras, its aim being to promote peace and harmony. The institute exposes young undergraduate students — as part of their extracurricular activity — to intercultural awareness. After two months, they feel they have actually engaged with a person of another faith. In fact, among the best are Muslim participants who then go on to win certificates for good performance. Last year, the top four awardees were Muslim students.
We conduct seminars and organise lectures, both by staffers and guests. And this year, we initiated research on inter-religious families, to find out both the negative as well as positive aspects of those who come together despite their different religious backgrounds. The dedicated IDCR staff includes Father Vincent Sekhar, SJ who is the first doctorate holder from Madras University in Jainism. He has an MA in Sanskrit — and then there is me. We are the only Jesuit institution in India to focus on inter-cultural studies.
Part 6 of 7
What do you seek to achieve through the IDCR?
We are working on a textbook on inter-religious studies, and we hope to introduce it in our Jesuit colleges. We are training teachers on how to go about it. The IDCR does not conduct classes — it organises lectures and seminars and facilitates PhD and PG students. There is no common topic so there are no common classes. For instance, we recently had a visiting lecturer from Harvard University, Francis Clooney, comparing the theme of light and darkness in the Bible with that of Thiruvaimozhi, the ancient Tamil verse encompassing the vedas, composed by Nammazhvar.
What is the focus of your partnership with the Times Foundation?
There are five areas of focus: to develop employable skills, provide English training to teachers and students of government schools, facilitate teachers’ training in general; enhance the quality of higher education and start Times School of Journalism here. n
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Part 7 of 7
Christianity And Carnatic Music
Not only is he director of the path-breaking IDCR at Loyola College, Chennai, Fr Michael Amaladoss is an accomplished Carnatic classical musician, a Sangeet Vidwan, the first Christian to be trained as such at the Tamil Nadu Music College, with the able guidance of music stalwarts like Musiri Subramania Iyer.
He has composed classical songs that are sung at church services and is the first Christian to compose varnam in classical Carnatic music. He spent 12 years in Rome as assistant to the international head of Jesuits, the superior general from 1983 onwards.
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