wooThe Travancore royal family wrote to Pope Francis expressing their “anguishness” over the “relentless campaign against our ancestors”—the Travancore royal family canonized after the 18th-century anti-caste crusade. Saint Devasahayam was allegedly shot dead for converting to Christianity on the orders of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, who ruled from Kochi in Travancore-Kerala to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu from 1729 to 1758. I belong to Kanyakumari district, which was a part of Travancore state. a toddler.
Gauri Lakshmi Bai of the royal family said that she has no problem with Devasahyam’s sanctification, but she is against the characterization of Marthanda Varma. “We have clarified some false narratives against our ancestors in the letter… Devasahayam was punished for various reasons and not for conversion… The successor ruler of Travancore was “kind to all religions” including Christianity Were…. He made substantial contributions to churches, including giving tax-free land to missionaries to build churches at Kanyakumari and Travancore,” she wrote.
Hardcore Hindutva elements have Oppose Devasahayam has been conferred the title of a saint since it was announced in December 2021, his ‘martyrdom’ being called a hoax. They wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who had invited the Pope to India – and his government to ask the church to stop the process.
“It is hard to believe the ‘existence’ of Devasahaya Pillai and his “martyrdom”. This appears to be more of a myth, fiction and anachronistic, which was spread by the Roman Catholic Church solely to enhance his conversion campaign Sanitization of Devasahayam Pillai may pave the way for communal disharmony and denigration of indigenous culture and civilization. It will be in the interest of wider communal harmony if the sanctification of Devasahayam Pillai is stopped forever,” the opponents said. Told,
While the suffering of the ‘royal family’ is understandable, the real reason why Devasahayam was tortured and murdered was not because he had converted to Christianity, but because he had rebelled against the oppressive caste atrocities prevalent in the Travancore kingdom during his time. .
Casteism in Travancore
One must understand the cauldron of caste and communal hatred in the state of Travancore during the time of Nilakanthan Pillai, who was the son of Vasudevan Namboodiri (Brahmin) and Devaki Ammal (Nair), both upper caste Hindus. Ironically, it was the Hindus who practiced the caste system with poison. It was so terrible that Vivekananda was forced to call this area a ‘mad refuge’.
By all accounts, the obnoxious caste system described in the Manusmriti, also known as Manav-Dharmashastra or Manu’s law, was prevalent in the state of Travancore during the time of Nilakanthan Pillai. The upper caste people to which the Pillai belonged, were very poignant in matters of caste and caste-based religion, especially as these customs were seen as state laws, mannerisms and traditions. Any violation was considered a betrayal of one’s clan and carried penalties such as heavy fines, excommunication and permanent marginalization.
The Brahmins and Nairs were the upper caste people who had extraordinary influence over the rulers of Travancore and carried out government functions. He was also a landlord. The Brahmins, the highest caste in the social hierarchy, were divided into two groups, namely the Namboodiri and the Poti. The Namboodiris were more numerous and more powerful. The kings of Travancore actually ruled with brahmins as gods,
Next in the social ladder came the ‘Nair’ caste, which consisted of almost all the prominent people, including the king himself and the royal family. The Nairs formed the Militia of Malayala, directed by the Namboodiris and ruled by the kings. His main occupation was in weapons. In times of peace, he devoted himself to agriculture. As a dominant caste, they assumed the status of the land-owning class. Generally educated, 60 percent of them held important positions in the government of Travancore. Only Brahmins and Nairs were considered “great”. The others—Nadars, Ezhavas, Mukkuvas, Parvas, Kammalans, Pulayas, Alliances, Vaniyanas, Vannars, Kanis and Parias—were ‘lower caste’ people.
With this major caste division into upper and lower castes, there was a great deal of discrimination in terms of untouchability and ‘invisibility’, meaning that it was not only the physical touch of the lower caste that was ‘polluting’ to the upper castes but Even mere sight would be considered ‘polluting’. And this automatically led to political and social boycotts of the worst order.
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Devasahyam’s Rebellion
With such a fierce caste system, can the communal divide be far behind? In the 1750s, Maharaja Marthanda Varma’s devotion to Sri Padmanabhaswamy made Travancore the property of Sri Padmanabha. With the Travancore royal family becoming a ‘centralised’ temple management team, any hostility against the king was considered swamidroham (Treason against God). With Hinduism being declared the state religion, followers of other religions became second-class citizens.
As envisaged in the Manusmriti, the upper caste people controlled all the important temples and the deities were also discriminated against. While the ‘higher’ castes worshiped the “superior gods”, the lower castes were removed to the “lower gods”.
In the time of Marthanda Varma, there were already Christians in the Travancore state and conversions were taking place. But these were confined to the lower castes of the Nadars, Ezhavas, Mukkuvas and Parvas, who were considered untouchables and invisible. It was only natural that conversions of castes like Nairs and Brahmins were considered abhorrent and blasphemous.
Rev. Joseph Elphinstone, the Deputy Postulator who worked towards the blessings of Devasahyam Pillai, wrote: “Devasahayam embarked on an apostolic mission of preaching the gospel to people including the upper castes. His first convert wife was Bhargaviamma. His relentless and courageous preaching of the faith, spreading the good news, converting many people and inspiring them to Christ, Demonstrating his high position in the king’s palace angered the Brahmins. The newborn also mingled and mingled with people of every status and caste, disregarding all caste distinctions. He threw away his “upper” caste symbols. Diya, ate and stayed with people of “low” birth and returned to his office in the palace as a polluted man according to his customs and belief. He exhorted the Brahmins for their superstitions and the heinous and inhuman oppression of the oppressed castes. He dared to challenge the relationship – the vast majority of whom were Christians from coastal Travancore. His new life in the court and became a matter of grave concern to the upper caste Hindus, who became his greatest enemies. They betrayed him, apostasy. , contempt of religious practices and Hind Accused of insulting the gods, brahmins and the royal throne.
Elphinstone said that the king acknowledged the enmity of the caste Hindus against Devasahyam and dismissed him from office. On 23 February 1749, Devasahyam was arrested and imprisoned. The next day, he was sentenced to death.
This is the real story and the ‘conversion’ narrative is mainly a spin to justify the recent harsh anti-conversion laws targeted at Christians to uphold the Manusmriti doctrine of caste supremacy and discrimination, the core agenda of Hindutva.
MG Devasahyam is a retired IAS officer and the chairman of People-First. He also served in the Indian Army. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)