CONTRIBUTIONS OF ST.

KURIAKOSE ELIAS CHAVARA TO EDUCATION

" Let there be no day in your life in which you did no good to others"
- Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara
History often fails to do justice to social reformers who have also been religious leaders. Saint
Kuriakose Elias Chavara, who triggered a renaissance in Kerala in the 19th century, was one
such reformer who was also a man of faith. The 150th death anniversary of this saint-reformer
— which was commemorated on January 3 — is an occasion to revisit his life and works.
In the early nineteenth century, Travancore's state government began to take an interest in
education, following the lead of protestant missionaries. So they encouraged the missionaries.
Both Hindus and Protestants profited much out of this. But the educational conditions of the
Catholics were abysmal. Fr. Chavara believed that all forms of discrimination were the result of
ignorance and thus resolved to eliminate them. Realising the fact that ignorance can be wiped
out only by educating the people; he set aside with the idea of imparting literacy to our people.
In a society, in which, people were segregated into different levels based on their castes, he
longed for social equality and social dignity. He firmly believed that education can bring about
social change, mobility, and social development. He saw God in each and every human being.
So his vision of education was of an egalitarian nature-education for all. He aimed to achieve
this social development through a variety of tasks, including the establishment of schools, the
printing of books, the role of a teacher and innovator, and charitable activities. His educational
idea was of an inclusive nature with a secular character. He began his work by uplifting his own
community, the Catholics. At that time, due to the schism that took place in the Kerala Church,
Catholics were denied education in Protestant institutions. As the English education of
Protestant missionaries was denied to Catholics, he realised that the community would remain
subjugated if they did not move with the times. His creative mind found Sanskrit as the
substitute, and in 1846, Fr. Chavara established a Sanskrit school in Mannanam that admitted
not only Catholics but was also open to all, irrespective of caste and creed .
St. Chavara was the first Indian to not only admit untouchables to schools, but also to provide
them with Sanskrit education, which was forbidden to lower castes, thereby challenging social
bans based on caste that existed in the early nineteenth century. He established some other
schools in the nearby areas, and all these were shining stars that spread light in the inner souls
of the marginalised sections of society. One of the root causes of Kerala's tremendous growth
in education can be traced back to a circular issued by Archbishop Bernadinos to Fr. Chavara.
His revolutionary proposal to have an educational institution attached to every church was
implemented, and this pallikoodam movement became the Magna Carta for a revolutionary
paradigm shift in the socio-cultural development of Kerala. Those schools became the
incubators of the general public in Kerala society, irrespective of caste and creed. The people of
different religions and castes realised when they joined together in the same class that they
have something in common: they are human beings with the same flesh and blood.
It was in the first decade of the 21st century that, on the orders of the Supreme Court, the
government introduced a midday meal programme in government schools. One and a half
centuries before this, Fr. Chavara provided food to students from poor families because he
believed that good food was a must for the intellectual and physical growth of children. Also, he
knew that since children themselves were the breadwinners of their households, they could not
afford a midday meal for them. He purchased it near Mannanam with the assistance of
generous people and also from the land, for which he met the expenses. Chavara was well
aware of the potential of women and visualised the fact that women must also be educated.
Families' sanctity and stability were primarily dependent on well-trained and educated women
who could make sound decisions. But at that time, the women were an extremely
underprivileged group and suffered a lot religiously, socially, and economically. They were
largely deprived of the basic rights of education and property inheritance and were not able to
move freely in society. He realised the role of education in women's empowerment and
advocated measures for its implementation. The empowerment measures began in the Catholic
community, where a religious congregation of women was set up (the CMC Congregation) with
a social mission, and through it, education for girls became more accessible. Chavara made
efforts to start a printing press, which was not an easy task at the time, foreseeing the need for
print media and literature to continue educational progress. So, he walked ahead of the times
for the dissemination of knowledge. He began his efforts to pass on intellectual acumen to
future generations when printing equipment was not manufactured in India. He made models
of what he had seen and got some local carpenters to fabricate a working model. It was not a
mere model; it was a wooden press that worked.
In 1846, it became the third printing press in Travancore and the first in the country to be
established under private ownership. Fr.Chavara has proven his interest in the printing press
and publication by situating the press with great pain and struggle to awaken the Kerala church,
especially in the field of literature and devotional prayer books. Many people, especially young
men and women, acquired knowledge in their mother tongue and from various new stories
about the Kerala Church and news from other prominent areas. From this printing press came
the oldest existing Malayalam newspaper in circulation, Nasrani Deepika. Fr.Chavara was
considered as the apostle of Christian literature in his time. A versatile linguist who is well
versed in several languages like Malayalam, Sanskrit, Latin, Tamil, and Syriac, Fr. Chavara
devoted his time and energy to composing several literary works, both in prose and verse. His
contributions fall into two categories: literary (poetic) writings and spiritual writings. It is
estimated that approximately one hundred and one works in various languages (including all
categories) have reached us.The writings include chronicles or historical works, spiritual
writings, letters, writings related to administration, etc. Chief among them were
Atmanuthamam (the lamentations of a repentant soul, a poem), Maranaveettil Paduvanulla
Pana (a poem to sing in the bereaved house), Anasthaciayude Rakthasakshyam (the martyrdom
of Anastacia), historical notes such as Nalagamangal (chronicles), and Dhyana Sallapangal
(colloquies in meditation).
Kerala today has a high Human Development Index and Gender Development Index due to its
long-standing high literacy rate and high sex ratio. This exemplary achievement was not a single
day-night activity. Several organizations, governments, and well wishers put their heads and
hands together to achieve this goal. Among them, the name of Chavara Kuriakose Elias plays a
crucial role. Beginning with his community, he firmly believed that a society could make
progress only through knowledge and wisdom. He considered education to be the most
important factor in any fundamental development. Fr.Chavara was a catalyst for social change
not only in his community, but also through his interventions for women and the oppressed. He
recognised that the status of women in a society can reveal the dignity and culture of that
society. Empowering women through collective action for development benefits not only
individual women and women's groups, but also families and the community as a whole.
Chavara played an important role in diminishing the caste consciousness among the people of
Kerala, through the admission of children even from lower classes and castes, in those days of
severe caste restrictions. He initiated the task of assimilating the so-called untouchables into
mainstream society. With the spread of education, untouchability, unapproachability, and other
accompanying evils of a caste-ridden society faded into insignificance. The establishment of
boarding houses, hostels, and orphanages in the centres of the CMI Congregation was a means
to uplift the marginalised and economically weaker sections of society. This helped them to
come out of their traditional barriers, and become capable enough to play their roles in the
revolutionary paradigm shift in the socio-cultural development of Kerala. His initiatives are still
being carried out through his congregations and educators, both then and now.

Fr.Chavara Initiatives (in short)

Listed below are the major reformative initiatives undertaken by St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara in
the 19th century.
1. St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara introduced the "Pallikoodam" movement, providing free
education for all at schools attached to every parish church in Kerala. The legacy lives on, with
over 1200 educational institutions around the world educating over 4 lakh students.In this
regard, CMI institutions stand tall in the field of education.
2. Encouraged children from low-income families to study alongside children from upper-
income families.
3. Launched an innovative educational process for theological education.
4. Began publishing prayer books and Christian literature with a plantain-inspired wooden
printing press.
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5. Encouraged the study of Sanskrit, Sacred Texts, and Religious Traditions in depth.
6. Improved employability of women through vocational and technical training.
7. Extended vocational training for persons with physical and mental disabilities.