ME

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S.V.S. RATHINAM

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ME A BOATME

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BOAT

ME

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vDEDICATED TO MYPARENTS,MY DIVINE TEACHERReV.Fr.ELBARIEL,MY FORE FATHERS:SUNDARANAR,VELAIYAR,kUMARASAMY DESIKAR,MY GRAND FATHER SUSAI ALIAS SWAMINATHA DESIKAR, &TO THE DOWNTRODDENPEOPLE.

AUTHOR:

S.V.S.RATHINAM

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ORIGINAL TAMIL VERSION : NAAN UNGAL THONI

TAMIL AUTHOR : S.V.S.RATHINAM TRANSLATED BY : B.RAJ KUMAR(British English)COPY RIGHTS : NATHAN PUBLISHERS

FIRST EDITION (TAMIL) : 1968

SECOND EDITION (TAMIL) : 1988

THIRD EDITION ( TAMIL) : 2012

FIRST EDITION ENGLISH : 2013

FRONT PAGE DESIGN :

TOTAL PAGES : 192

PRICE : 100/- ( 5$ )

PRINTED BY :

PUBLISHED BY : NATHAN PUBLISHERS RATHNA THOTTAM THACHUR, KALLAKURICHI T.N. 606 202 S.INDIA.

ME A BOAT

vii

fore word

I am very happy to place my foreword for thisbook Me .. A Boat .

Its a very nice bio-graphy of Mr.S.V.S.Rathinam,a Social Reformer, Philontherapist...

He is a man of principles.

He served as a Teacher ; then became aBench Magistrate. As a Christian , honestlyspeaking, he is a legend, who was behind theconversion of downtrodden people from theKallakurichi area ( Ulagankathan,Thachur, Sirupakkam,Siruvathur, Karanur, Kottalam,Thenkeeranur,kallakurichi, Chinna salem,Fathima palayam..etc., ). He supported themissionary Priest Rev. Fr.Elbariel in the middleof 1935.

As a politician and Freedom fighter, he receivedGold medal from our Hon. President for his social work Against Untouchability .

I would like to say, he is also one among my role model.

Thank you, Isac Arokiasamy

Chicago 11.07.1964

viii

APPRECIATIONMy POLITICAL MASTER Respected S.V.S. RATHINAM was such a noble soul; he was not for any post or position. His love for the poor and downtrodden was incomparable. He has the habit of writing diary on a daily basis. When we approached him for his consent for bringing out concise and authentic book on his life; he would not budge . But We kept persisting and his Personnel Assistant not only succeeded in persuading his master but also helped us a lot in all our efforts to publish this book Me a Boat .

As my political Guru, he made all efforts to find a vital place for me in the TN Indian congress committee. He also succeeded in fielding the candidates like Mr.Anandan, Mr.Veda Manickam and Mr.Jeba maalai in his own legislative constituency and the neighboring ones. Using his personal influence and efforts , he got all the three candidates enter the Legislative Assembly victoriously. He never ever aspired for any posts in public life nor craved for any publicity for all his acts of kindness. He established many education institutions in and around his native town.He vehemently fought for the eradication of untouchability till his last breathe.

May his name and reputation be hailed for ever !

L.ILAYA PERUMAL. EX.M.P., EX.Congress president ( TN )

Place : Kattu mannar kovil 11/02.1965

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The Authors Note

Me a Boat Though I happened to be a ladder for many, nevertheless I grew amongst you.

Starting My career as a school teacher, I slowly involved in public life and was promoted as the Bench Magistrate.

My humble life , I hope will be of some use to you.

Thanks.

S.V.S. RATHINAM

Place : KallakurichiDate : 08.10.1964

x

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1. Prayer From my Heart 1

2.Lineage 2

3. Swaminathan becomes Susai 10 4.Education and Career 18

5.The Lady who attracted me 20

6.Our Engagement during the stage play 22

7.My son 31

8.I found my Divine master 33

9.Resigning my teacher Post 41

10.My views about Caste system 43

11.About Christianity 55

12.Redeeming the Bonded Laborers 62

13.Temple Entry by the Downtrodden 72

14.Building Heritages 76

THE CONTENTS

xii

15.The burning roof 77

16.Army Recruiting Officer 81

17.An Hour in the Caper Quarry ( open Jail) 82

18.The Bench Magistrate 91

19.The Assisi Town is formed 94

20.The praises and Accusations 96

21.The Priest Journey 98

22.The Letter from Rev.Father 100

23.Independent India 103

24.Me and the Great Leader Kamarjar 105

25.M.L.A. Election 111

26.My unique Experience with the Honourable 113 Minister.Kakkan

27.Me and Ilaya Perumal 116

28.Doctor Andappan, Famous Cardiologist 120

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29.Arjunan becomes Theresanathan 122

30.Formation of Karunai Puram 126

31.Doctor Isac Arokiasamy of Chicago 128

32.My younger brother in Malaysia 133

33.A young boy converted into a barber 135

34.The poor man join the Railways 138

35. An award from the first Indian Prime Minister of India 140

36.The condition Patta land 146

37.Ways to Eradicate Casteism 151

38.Mr.A.K.T. 155

39.Sons wedding 158

40.My wishes 173

41.Post Scription 175

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PRAYER FROM MY HEART

The Omnipotent in the Universe !

The hidden Soul in the Verses !

Thy Spirit is glowing and shining

Thy Name be hallowed for ever

I felt the flesh of my body growing

I saw that my breadth kept flowing

But I am not at all sure

If I ever bother to ensure

That I led the Holy Spirit through

But I did try to do my best

So, Please God forgive my trespassesAnd Lead me to the Heavenly Pastures!

22. LINEAGE

Whatever is said , No matter whoever says it; Its Prudent to know its inept meaning. (Chapter-43- Verse 423)

So, said the Tamil Sage and Poet Thriu valluvar. Accordingly , I am more of a Rationalist.

There could be only two castes;The Giver is of upper caste.The Heartless is of lower caste.

The above tenet was propagated by the famous Tamil Poetess Avvaiyar hundreds of year back.Following her foot steps, I am totally against Casteism.

Further, I believe in One God and am an ardent believer in Communist philosophies, i.e. Everyone should get every thing for a good living.

Bonded labors and slavery system according to me are two evils on humanity. I fought against these and succeeded in my battle to certain extent.

In order to abolish casteism and irrational blind beliefs; I did my level best for the society I lived with.Nevertheless, I am bound to tell a few words about my ancestry and legal heirs.

3MAILAM

Whatever my Grand father Susai and Dad Savarimuthu had told and some of the awards conferred on them were my special assets which guided me in all my efforts. Obviously , these are synonymous with my name S.V.S. RATHINAM

4The other explanation for S.V.S.Rathinam would be : S for my Grand father Swaminatha Desikar of Valavanur; V for the ancestry referring to our Second Great Grand father Velaiyar; the other S for my father Savari muthu.

Its worth mentioning that after my sons marriage our Hindu background slowly began to fade out.

For any family, who had an authentic lineage of over six generations, it was obviously bit difficult to adapt to change of place and faith.

My ancestors had a very long connection with the famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Muruga in Mailam, a village near Tindivanam and Puducherry. Bommayar Palayam and Valavanur were hamlets attached to Mailam.

Sri.Sivaprakasa Swamigal was the Chief disciple of the Mailam hermitage in the 17th century. He was succeeded in all the religious affairs and Saivaite philosophical rituals by Sri .Bala siddhar very successfully.

Our Ancestors basically hailed from Kanchipuram.In Kanchipuram,an ancient city of Thondai Mandalam Kingdom;

5FAMILY TREE

6Sri. Kumarasamy Desikar was deeply involved in the saivaite philosophical affairs with total dedication. He had three sons viz., Sivaprakasar, Velaiyar, Karunai Prakasar and a daughter Gnambikai Ammal.

Kumarasamy Desikars family had very deep faith in saivaite Hindu philosophy . No doubt they began to dedicate their love for the Temple of Lord Muruga ( A Tamil God for the Saivaites ) at Mailam. Their love prompted them to construct many Holy Sats and hermitages especially dedicated to Lord Muruga of Mailam.

At this juncture the eldest son Sri.Sivaprakasar of Sri.Kumarasamy Desikar abandoned earthly life and became ardent Hindu Priest. Eventually honored of the Head of the famous Mutt at Thurai Mangalam. He was the one Popularly known as Thuraimangalam Sivaprakasar; who wrote the famous book NAN NERI - a Moral Guide for the people to follow.

Sri.Sivaprakasar, before he took up Priest Hood got his younger brothers Velaiyar, Karunai prakasar and sister Gnambikai Ammal duly married and fulfilled the duty of the eldest in the family.

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Sri.Velaiyar was married to Meenakshi Ammal.

Karunai Prakasar was very poetic and his famous poetical work, Seekalathi Sarukkam became his popular literary work.

Sri.Velaiyar lead a successful married life and at the same time followed the foot steps of his ancestor in the saivaite philosophical duties. He was equally fluent in writing poems . Mailathu ula, Nalloor Puranam were his famous poetical works. After leading a pious life he breathe his last in Perumathur.

Sri.Sundaresanar , a legal heir to Sri.Velaiyar got married Karpagammal and both settled down in valavanur village in South Arcot District. A son was born to this couple and was named as Swaminatha Desikar after the family Sir name. This Swaminatha Desikar voluntarily converted himself as a Christian and became Susai nathan a named derived from Joseph.

Swaminathan married Gnana Soundari and they gave birth two sons , Viz., Savari muthu , Gnana muthu and a daughter Rakkini.

Sri.Savari muthu took Mary as his wife , who hailed from Penang, Malaysia.

8The Eldest son born of this couple was Rathinam who took the initials S.V.S.Rathinam to honour his heritage. This is how I happened to be S.V.S.Rathinam in the later years.

My younger brother Ponnuthambi married and settled down in Penang.

I, S.V.S. Rathinam married Savari Ammal.

Theraisanathan was my son who got married to Amala Mary. He has given birth to John Peter Elbareil. As per my desire , he was named after my Divine Master Rev.Fr.Peri Di Elbareil.

So. also, I have asked my daughter in law Amalamary to give my name Rathinam to her child if it happens to be a boy.

Writing poems, Painting, Indulging in Religious discourses and serving God were the traits of my family members all along.

My son Theraisanathan is an expert in drawing and painting and plays.

9I often wondered at the lot of the fact that even those who joined our family through matrimonial bondage were good creators and artistic.

This is an Account of my Lineage.

My Grand father Susai was in possession of the proof copy his Wedding Card and the first edition copies of the popular books like NAN NERI and YESU MATHA NIRAGARANAM ( Boycotting Jesus Christs Religion) along with various awards and credentials.

Having personally seen the tangible evidences and heard of my family history ,I recorded my name as S.V.S. Rathinam.

Hope, I am justified in taking up my ancestry in to my otherwise simple name Rathinam.

Swaminatha Desikar son of Sundaresanar, a descendant of Sri.Velaiyar who subsequently became Susai was well educated and became an expert in carving and painting temples. Writing poems and conducting religious discourses were his hobbies. He preferred to refer to all the Hindu religious text by his ancestor in his discourses and in the process never failed to quote from Yesu matha Niragaranam ( Boycotting Jesus christ religion ) , a book written by his uncle Sri.Sivaprakasa Swamigal, criticizing christianity. As a Saivaite, who had ardent faith in Saivaite Philosophy, he took special pride in denouncing Christian Religion. But fate had some thing else for him. Thats the great irony of human existence!

Once he was appointed to take up the renovation project in the Thirukovilur temple premisses, which involved ancient statutes, carvings and paintings. He along with his assistants took up the renovation work with due reverence and concentration. After the days work, he engaged himself in the religious discourses highlighting the Saivaite tenets. After the renovation , the finaland the most important divine process was the Eye opening ceremony of the temple deity. After successfully fulfilling all the rituals, there was a grand feast organized by the temple authorities in order to honor the artisans.

3.SWAMINATAHAN BECOMES SUSAI

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SUSAI ( My Grandpa )

St.ANTONY CHURCH, NARIYAPANOOR

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As anybody guess , the chief artisan , Swaminatha Desikar enjoyed the feast to reciprocate the honor conferred on them. But alas, something unexpected happened! He had a bout of severe stomach pain which prevented him from returning to his home town on time. He tried many medicines and concoctions but no relief whatsoever. He even sought the help of magicians and soothsayers but to no avail. The pain aggravated so much . so that he almost thought of committing suicide in order to get over the unbearable pain. A traveling Christian Priest who happened to see him suffer on and off with the excruciating pain; took pity and prayed to God to cure him of his disease. He gave the Holy Water and blessed oil to Swaminatha Desikar which he promptly drank and applied on his stomach. Before departing, the Priest assured him that his body will recoup soon but he had to redeem his Soul. So saying, he gave him a copy of the Christian Bible - the New Testament.

Swaminatha Desikar could feel a new wave of change taking place in his body and mind as well. The very next day he was totally relieved of his stomach disorder. He began to search for that Christian- Traveler Priest and learnt that the traveler had left the temple town the previous night itself. He frantically enquired about the travelers name and whereabouts.

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All that he got in reply was that the Priest was a foreigner * who kept spreading Christianity wherever he went. Swaminatha Desikar kept reading the New Testament received from the Christian Priest. He could realize that he was slowly drawn to the tenets of Christian philosophy. He began to drift away from Saivaite Principles and Rituals. As a token of gratitude, he dedicated his services in carving statues and painting the frescos of the Christian Churches as an offering to the God who relieved him of the unabated stomach pain.

The young lady was attracted by the briskness and dedication of young Swaminatha Desikar , the Chief Artisan. Obviously, he was equally attracted by her service oriented tender heart and God fearing piousness.

In the process , he once happened to serve in a particular Church, when a young lady was involved in offering water, tender coconut and butter milk to all the work force to quench their thirst.

She was none other than the daughter of a very rich land lord of that Parish!

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The rumors spread and their innocent affair was the subject of the villagers gossip. Her paternal uncle called up Swaminatha Desikar for an one to one discussion.

Swaminathan kept contemplating on his love affair throughout the night. At last he concluded that he would marry the girl he loved and follow the religion that he already admired , come what may !

He went to his town and confided his discussion to marry a Christian girl to his dear mother. But for this matter all the kith and kin strongly objected his decision which according to them was nothing short of blasphemy. Slowly some of his relatives supported his widowed mother who loved her son swaminathan more than anything.

Young man! You hail from a traditional Saivaite family. You are basically very wealthy boy besides being an ardent Hindu. We are Christians. If you marry our girl, it will be a disgrace to your family name and you would be boycotted from your Hindu society. So, better just forget and do not proceed any further. This was the final advice to Swaminatha Desikar from his lady loves uncle.

THIRUKOVILUR

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All the same, Swaminathan kept preparing to wed the girl who had trusted despite the oddities. He consulted the Church Father and got baptized after taking Christian name of Susai - a Tamizhised version of Joseph.

Susais wedding with the lady he loved was solemnized in a St.Xaviers church near Thirukovilur with all grandeur. As expected, only few people from the grooms side attended the Wedding ceremony and that too reluctantly. In fact they had individually treated Susai as an outcaste. Nevertheless, they gave him sufficient amount of gold and cash in lieu of his share out of his ancestral property, Strictly because of his integrity and attitude.

Thus Swamintha Desikar,a traditional Hindu became Susai Nathan, a full fledged Christian in the year 1884.Though Susai became a Christian , he remained a strict vegetarian(in accordance with the Saivaite System) throughout his life. But he was great enough to allow his wife to follow her dietary norms.

Susai was well known for writing poems and plays and that prompted him to write a very popular play called Gnana soundari Drama

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-the story of a Princess who as an ardent devotee of Virgin Mary against the wishes of her step mother; which was performed by village folks as a Koothu Kaviyam, a traditional stage form. Till day, that play is being staged and relished by the villagers in and around Thirukovilur area. Obviously ,

Yes! I happened to be the eldest son of Savari muthu , who is none other than the eldest son of Susai , my Grand Father. By order of my Lineage my Third Great Grand Father is Kumarasamy Desikar, Second Great Grand Father is Velaiyar, First Great Grand Father is Sundaresanar and my Grand Father is Susai alias Swaminatha Desikar. Beginning with my Grand Father, we became devout Christians leaving behind our traditional Saivaite Hindu Philosophy for good.

we are proud of the fact that the drama penned by my Grand Father is still a great hit among the non-Christians also.

SAVARIMUTHU(My Father)

md;id ,y;yk;

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4. EDUCATION AND CAREER

After completing my school Education, I successfullypassed my Teachers Training.

After my Teacher Training course, my maiden appoointment as a teacher was in a village called VettaValam. After getting the blessings from my parents, I left for Vettavalam.

It was a very humble school maintained by the Nuns ( sisters).

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I started teaching my students with due care and dedication. Days passed and the school Annual Day was nearing fast. So, I approached the sisters for organizing the Annual Day Celebrations. My idea was to include a Dance program as a special item for which I required someone who could train the boys and girls in dancing. The Mother Superior after giving a little thought, advised me to go and meet a young lady Savariammal, the nephew of the village traditional doctor.

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After taking permission from the Mother Superior , I left my residence to meet the Village doctors nephew Savariammal. By the time I traced out her house, the sun had set. I was shocked to see it was a small house. Knocking the door, I waited for the response.

Who is it ? a young girls voice responded to my knock. Hello ! little girl, Is the doctor at home? I asked. Hello, I am not a little girl. What is it you want ? Some medicines? My maternal uncle has gone out , Ok. the reply was very sharp and fast.

OK. Madam, I will come back later!. This was my response. Hello sir, I am not madam. My name is Savariammal. This time her reply was little sarcastic. Oh ! Then you are the one I came to meet . Will you please coach my school students in dancing for the School Annual Day ?. My reply was to the point , maybe a little bit abrupt. Well. If that be so, You should talk to my doctor uncle . Will you?. She said. I returned without saying anything after she shut the door.

I met the village doctor the next day and took his consent to engage his niece Savariammal as a dance coach.

5. THE LADY WHO ATTRACTED ME

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Ms.Savariammal was a dedicated coach and she trained my students to perform my Grand Fathers play and some of the songs written by me. Naturally, I gave my fullest co- operation and support to the dance coach in all the Rehearsals.

During the practice, I was keenly watching her zeal and energy level in tuning the students non-stop. In fact, I was drawn to her not only by her coaching skill but also her charming facial expressions!

The thought of getting married to a girl like Savaraiammal was over flowing my heart and soul.

Gradually, the thought kept haunting and finally I felt she was the one, I should marry, if at all , I do so. Finally, the school Annual day was getting closer. Me and Savariammal getting nervous about the Drama by the students.

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At last it was the D- Day. Yes! Our School Annual Day . But before that I had come to a conclusion to indirectly express my inner feelings to Savari Ammal. I had packed an expensive silk saree, vermillion (a turmeric based maroon colored powder used on the forehead of a woman) and other cosmetics etc., in a carved wooden box.

It was the tradition to present gifts to the performers and coach by the relatives at the close of the drama. I took this opportunity and presented the Gift Box to Ms.Savariammal. I was sure, as an intelligent girl like her would take the clue from my Gift.

In case , my gift caused any embarrassment and ends up in an unwanted climax, I always had the excuse of the gift giving tradition to save my self respect. The very next day, after I had given my Gift Box to my lady love , her younger sister came to me just to inform that Savariammal wanted to meet me forthwith. To be honest, my heart began to pound harder and harder with fear. Yes ! That was the first time I realized that love could make a coward out of a brave man!Her sister lead me up to the Rock - Field and suddenly disappeared . I was waiting to see what comes next and the waiting was painful and eternal.

6. Our Engagement during the stage play

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Suddenly, Ms.Savariammal came to that spot from nowhere and the suspense thickened further. After a few minutes of silence , she asked Hello, Sir! How did you know that I love Maroon color saree ? So, saying she bowed her head down out of modesty. My heart beat began to tick at a faster rate, because I could not believe what I heard from her. Even before , I could get normal , she further said ; Whatever be the matter , better talk to my Doctor uncle, Please . As I was deciphering whatever was happening, she was gone. Yes! she had fled like a Doe from the Rock - Field.

That night was a sleepless one because , I kept on thinking to sort out my love affair with the dancing girl. At last, I decided to meet my parents and get their approval to marry Ms.Savariammal. I told her that I would meet her soon with my parents knod.

Soon, I left for my village and slowly opened my only agenda to my mother. She was disturbed and exclaimed, My dear Son, After all you and also done what your Grand father Mr.Susai did, without ascertaining the girls lineage and status. As the rightful heir to the Artistic family , I showed the portrait of the girl which I had sketched and carried with me. In fact , I painted portrait the day, I had decided to marry Ms.Savari Ammal.

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The very next day, My father took me aside and told; You are my eldest son and a teacher too..Do whatever you deem fit.

My joy knew no bounds after I heard my fathers words, hinting indirectly that he would not stand in my way in getting married to the girl I loved so much. The very next day I left for Vettavalam to disclose my parents approval to my lover.

On reaching Vettavalam, I first met the Mother Superior and described my love story from A to Z, hoping that I could get the concurrence of Ms.Savari Ammals Doctor- uncle without any hitch.

Contrary to my hopes , the Mother Superior was not happy in the first place. She wished I had revealed my love story to her before leaving for my native village. My dream castle was slowly crumbling before my eyes until I heard what she had to tell next. She continued further saying that the whole village was annoyed by Savari Ammals refusal to marry the boy chosen by her uncle and that too at the time of band in the Parish Church. Further, she was convinced that the girls blunt refusal was justified after she had learnt of our past episodes. Besides, she assured me that she would diligently convince the girls close kith and kin.

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and see to it that our Wedding was duly solemnized in the Parish Church which would be presided by herself. But before that she expected me to silently leave Vettavalam.

My heart was blank and became heavy with the fear that after all my sincere efforts my love affair had ended up as a riddle. With a burdened heart and Soul, I returned to my native village to meet my mother. Being a y mother was intelligent enough to understand my predicament as she had read my mind through my facial expressions.

My mother was the first to talk. She asked me not to worry in the least and confirmed that she would talk to Mr.Susai, her Father- in- Law ( My Grandpa), who was on a visit to the Burma Refugee Camp to feed all the inmates at his cost. At this juncture she narrated as to how her Father-in -law pitied her on seeing her plight as a refugee girl from Burma. She further proceeded to tell, how he had induced his son ( my father Mr.Savari Muthu) to marry her in order to give her a decent life.

But to my dismay, the next day, both my Grand Father and Dad without uttering a word to me kept loading the bullock carts with bags of rice and ragi to be traded in the town market.

Burma Repatriate, m

27

They left for town leaving me wondering if my mother had kept her word to disclose my sad story to my seniors.

which I hesitating my spell out to my elders.

The eerie atmosphere nearly drove me crazy and I could feel the anger in me swelling to its extreme limits.

Only after six days did my Grand Father and Father return home. My Grand Father asked me to meet him in his bed room. With a perplex mind I entered his bed room and was surprised to see my father also sitting beside him. After a few moments of silence , it was my father who broke the ice, My Eldest one ! You are a Good fellow, You have the age and diligence to take decisions. After all its is our duty to do whatever is good for you. Both me and my father have settled all issues amicably. We have formally fulfilled your engagement with the Vettavalam girl (Ms.Savari Ammal) by exchanging Thambulam, (a symbolic gift comprising of Betel leaves and arica nuts, fruits , turmeric and vermillion)

I simply could not believe my eyes nor ears for a minute or so. The next moment I was alternatively falling at the feet of my Grand Father and father seeking their Hearty Blessings! Deep in my heart I had the reservation that the girls family was much poorer than ours

28

All my Grandfather said in reply was the wealth was not a criterion as the girl was much prettier and a

familiar and living

re - born Christian like himself. Yes ! Ms.Siva Pakkiyam born Hindu girl had duly converted to Christianity and became Ms.Savariammal what he further disclosed was proof enough for the magnanimous attitude and considerate nature of my elders and their ancestors. The Bullock Carts loaded with rice and ragi meant to be traded were unloaded in my fiancees house to be treated as seer Varisai ( A wedding gift ) from the grooms house ..!

My Grand father himself personally carried my wedding invitations along with the traditional gifts of offering to all his near and dear ones whom I had hardly met because of the successive inter- religious marriages which had slowly drifted the succeeding generations from the main stream.

My wedding with Savariammal was a great grand celebration in and around our locality. It was rather a shocking experience to see the relatives of my Grand father , as I was quite

with my Grannys relations only. Indeed they were extraordinary fairer may be due to the fact that were supposed to have been the descendants of the Holy Kailash ancestry.

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( Kailash - in the Himalayan ranges, the abode of Lord Shiva).

My wife was more thrilled and excited to watch such fair and tubby relatives from her Great Grand Father- in- laws tribe. She kept remembering and narrating her marriage episode especially the ancestry of my Grand Father thorough out her life. The impact was so great on her !

It was a happy and memorable event in my life also as I had met some of ancestors eye to eye on the day of our wedding. The wedding was finalized with traditional way of putting Three Knots to the Thaali ( a thick yellow thread garlanded by the groom around the brides neck with three firm knots symbolizing an everlasting wedded bondage).

After the wedding I took my wife, now Mrs. Savariammal Rathinam on a horse driven cart to begin a new life at our home. As the cart was crossing her village border, she became emotional and before, I could realize what happened she just jumped off the cart and refused to come to my village, crying and screaming all the while.

my

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I could very well realize the fact that she could not digest the idea of leaving her doctor-uncle , her only guardian and younger sister. Both the orphaned sisters were and taken care of by the Doctor - uncle all these years. Applying all tactics, at last I succeeded in consoling and cajoling my newly wedded wife and lived with her happily in my home town.

My wedding took place in the year 1929 and we got our first child in 1930 and he was named as Pathi Nathan. Alas ! he could survive only for fifteen days after which he bodily left us to join the abode of God. We sank in the sea of sorrow.No body could bear such a tragedy of losing a child who was grown in the mothers womb for ten solid months. The loss was too heavy and unbearable.

Now, we had the second child in 1931, a boy again , whom we christened as Divya Nathan. We lost this child also at the age of two. We began to worry and wonder if God has not granted the boon of a child in our life, an unlucky couple in short. But we kept praying to God for a healthy baby.

brought up

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7. MY SON (A non-crying baby)

In the year 1935, I was transferred to Kallakurichi locality. While serving there , We got a hale and healthy male child on the 3rd. October.

Generally , a just born baby would cry immediately after its delivery. But our baby would not do so, even after two days . Still worse , it would not shake it limbs too !. My wife got frightened and naturally she began to cry.

Around the time, there was a Grand celebration of St.Theresa. My wife, a much more devout person as she was, engaged herself deeply in keeping Nava Naal (A nine days special fasting and ) with the vow to name our boy after St Theresa when he began to speak and move about.Besides, she also took a vow to arrange for a special mass every year on the day of St.Theresas Feast. Her prayer was duly acknowledged.On the fourth day the baby began to cry. What a joy in all our hearts to hear our baby cry louder and louder kicking his arms and feet into the air.

Matter if fact, the child happened to be our eldest one;and as per my wifes vow, he was named Theres Nathan, with the prefix of St.Theresa.

prayer

The baptism and naming ceremony was celebrated in a very grand manner attended by all the Parish Members.

This boy Therais Nathan was the one who was very handy in all our endeavors raised our Family Names in the later years.

Praise be to God, who answered my wifes heartfelt prayers!

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It was with great fortune that I found my divine teacher as PERI DI ELBARAIL ( Thelbarail in Thamizh). He belonged to the famous Missionary of Eastern Priests (MEP) and came to serve in the Pondicherry Commune , in India on the 22nd day of May 1935. He was well versed in Thamizh, the local tongue. He hailed from the place called Montaboun in France. He got his Doctorate Degree in Philosophy from the Gregorian University of Rome.

8. MY DIVINE MASTER

MONTABOUN

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In fact he longed to serve in my localityviz., Kallakurihci in the Pondichery Dioceses. No wonder preferred to hand over the Kallakurichi Parish to Rev.Elbarail.

The Most .Rev.Bishop. Colas

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The first time when I went to pay my homages to Rev. Fr. Elbarail; the experience was thrilling and overwhelming . His presence filled my soul with a divinely feeling the kind of which I had never experienced before. The moment he saw me , he uttered Come, My son Rathinam! . I was wondering how he had come to know of my name and it was equally shocking to hear him speak in chast Thamizh. In fact in order to show off my Mastery in English , I presented him with a Greetings, in the form of an English Poem. Accepting my Greetings; he said,

Its rather you that I am willing to accept than anything else. I could immediately feel as to how Simon would off felt when Jesus Christ picked him up from among the fisher folk as one of his disciples!

Right from that day, I made it a point to assist and serve after my teaching hours in the school. My wife Savari Ammal, besides looking after our agricultural lands in and around the Rabbit hills in the village Ulagangathan,served The Rev. Father who was staying by cooking and house keeping whenever she found time to spare. Ever since my mother passed away, my father was staying with us. As his behavior at times was odd and inconvenient to me and my career, he was

My son Rathinam,

Father Elbareil

sent back to our native village Thirukovilur.

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My Divine Master Rev.Elabareil after learning that my stay in Ulagangathan had separated me from Him, he saw to it, I got transferred to Kallakurichi itself. On arriving at Kallakurichi, we built a house inside the church where we lived for quite some time.

It was middle of a night when suddenly I heard strange sound coming from the Fathers personnel room; as if someone was being whipped non- stop . Out of curiosity and fear I managed to peep through the window and what I saw shattered me to pieces. Oh! my Master was whipping himself with all his force and his body was sweating and bleeding. Before I could do anything, he stopped whipping and kneeled down to pray. I simply kept watching all these without winkling my eyes, totally stunned and shocked as I was !

After a long and intense prayer, he opened the door and called for me. Come my son, Rathinam. Are you frightened at what you saw? Dont be scared. This is nothing but a Penance;Prayer and self induced punishments are the only ways to reach God and get his blessings. So saying he further added As I am from a very affluent family , owning a ship and leading a very luxurious and modern life, I had lived a sinful life.

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All the whippings and the pains were the atonement to cleanse me of my sins. I looked around and scanned his personal room;what a simple and poor life he was living ! He had a very ordinary bed , comprising of wooden frame interwove with rope , this kind usually found in poor farmers home. There was no mattress nor a soft pillow to sleep on. My shock intensified further to see his simplicity considering his back drop. I could not comprehend the depth of his love to serve in India, far away from his home town and the loved ones.

We both remained silent for a while and the priest addressed me as his son and asked if I would help him to spread the Word of Christ in that region. Without a thought I simply uttered that I will be with him to share all his joys and sorrows, victory and defeats as a son would. He embraced me with all love and affection , his eyes swelling with tears of joy, despite my instantaneous acceptance, I confessed to the Reverend about my shot temperedness and provocative nature and pleaded that I might be pardoned if at all my in born nature came to surface.

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Never mind my son said the Priest and from that instant I accepted him as my Divine Master, because he had so much faith in my other positive qualities. I reciprocated his immense faith in me all along. There were occasions when people used to make false allegations against me but the Reverend rather dismissed such persons forthwith. Thus the Reverend Father Elbarail not only became my Divine Guru but also was the ultimate force behind my success in all my personal efforts to serve my Indian brethren, who were poor and socially weaker.

PERI di ELBAREIL

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FATHERS RELATIVES

MARTHAL

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9. END OF MY TEACHING PROFESSION

The very next day, Soon after the Mass, I joined the Reverend to sort out an agenda to be adhered in our attempt to put our schemes into action. As an highly learned person, he had already evolved some specific schemes. Thus, a Seven Point Program was formulated by us on that eventful day itself.

They were:

1. EDUCATION TO THE POOR

2. LOW CREDIT LOAN SCHEME

3. BUILDING ORPHANAGES

4. AWAKENING THE INNOCENTS

5. REMOVING BONDED LABOUR

5. EMPLOYMENT TO THE NEEDY

6.INVESTING MONEY IN THE LAND FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTIONS.

7.LAND TO THE LANDLESS and finally 8. BAPTISM TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED.

which was aptly termed as ELBAREIL named after himself. We jointly decided to carry out these schemes one after the other.

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It was around these time that some of those good Souls were jealous of and could not stand my progress had sent a petition against me to the Inspection section of the Education Department; seeking action against me indulging is extra curricular activities while on duty as a school teacher.

The fact was that I took leave whenever I had to assist the Reverend which was within the school norms. But the Inspector who is a religious fanatic joined hands with some of my envious colleagues and did whatever they could to see that, I got suspended . As I was an angry man by nature; provoked by such stealthy act, but at the same time trusting in God, I tore off my service register myself and asked them who were they to suspend or terminate me . This was how I put an end to my teaching career, which I never regretted at any point of time during my life span.

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10.MY VIEWS ABOUT the CASTE SYSTEM

Thamizh is our Mother Language and as such linguistically , We are Thamizhans. Racially , We are all Caucasoid. Regionally, we belong to the Dravidian sect.

Dravidians religion is divided into two branches: the Sivaism and Vaishnavism.

Thamizhanss main deity is Lord Murugan. Murugan is derived from the pure Thamizh word . Murugu means Beauty . ( Azhagu is the other word for beauty ). They worshiped all the beautiful things around them , in short Nature. The chanting they kept uttering was Om Na ma Siva ya which is the sound of Pranav. i.e. life or the soul in the Universe. similarly, the word Amen in Christianity and Ameen in Islam have the same condonation as OM which again means the Universal Soul.

They also worshiped few Demi Gods, the most prominent being Maariamma , Maari means the rain and Amma is obviously for Mother.

Incidentally, the Scottish Scholar Robert Caldwell was the one who named our country as India and the people who were worshiping Gods and Goddess as Hindus .

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After the invasion of the Aryans , Sanskrit language began to spread across the country. Along with this language the worship of Lord Indiran, the chief of all the heavenly beings crept in. Then it was the turn of Lord Krishna who was brought up by the foster parents Nanda Gopalan and Yashoda of Ayarpadi. Slowly the cultural changes were introduced which brought in the horses, and the famous liquors Soma and Sura banam, to which people easily became addicted and eventually began to loose their self identity .

The Sanskrit alphabet were harsh and tough. i.e. jha, gha, sha, cha etc. Not only their alphabets but their social systems were also equally harsher. For instances, the letter ja introduced the word Jaathi which is the caste system that polluting the cordial social atmosphere prevailed until now.

According to the Rig Veda, those born from the head of the Lord Brahmma were Brahmins, those born form his shoulders were kshatriyas, those born from the naval were vaysyas and lastly those born from his feet were shudras. Thus the people were divided into four castes, the highest being the Brahmins and the lowest shudra.

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On the basis of the Rig Veda, the Manu Sastra , the compilation of social laws propagated by the Sage Manu also upheld the caste system which insisted that people will be known by the caste in which they were born. In other words the most poisonous, Caste system divided man into upper and lower castes simply by the birth but never by ones attitudes nor behavior. Still worse, this evil system is being stressed in the name of the Hindu God Heads.The most heinous part of the caste system lies on the fact that a lower caste fellow remains as untouchable even after his death. The biggest tragedy is that the lower caste people are not considered as Hindus at all, though it is the very Hindu religion that had divided people in to four varnas ( Varna otherwise means colour ).Like we have two colours white and black in the west.

Its a matter of concern that there are no marked deviations like race, colour or social conduct between the caste Hindus and the untouchables.

As history would have it ,the difference if at all would be between the one racial communal group and that of the other racial group that had spilit up into two or more groups.

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It would be very apt to say that there is no justifiable basis for untouchability on account of race, job, food habits or code of conduct which again is the basic requisite for establishing virtue in any society.

Man was consuming beef all along. Those who were economically weaker they openly ate beef but those who were rich did so stealthily and they still do so. The main food item of the whites who ruled us happened to be beef. The great irony is almost all Indians are some what untouchable in the eyes of the Whites.

There is a belief that sudra also known as pariahs, because they beat the traditional drum Parai. But its also not logical for the fact that assuming 25% of a village happens to be of lower caste; of these hardly 1% of them would be good at beating parai, as many of them would not have the least sense of timings nor appreciation for the beats.

is not an iota of justification to maintain the pariah caste or the sudras or untouchables in a traditional cultured Indian society. Nor any reason to feel proud about such segregation which is more derogatory and painful.

So there

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Even by Profession or job wise speaking, there are two sects: the master who rules and the laborer or slave who obeys and works; the criteria for which is how much of land or cash one possesses.

Thus the ruling sect and the ruled sect came into existence. As such those who are ruled cannot be treated as untouchables by the rulers.

The so called untouchables serve others mostly the caste Hindus in all their cultivation works like planting seedling, watering, manuring, weeding and harvesting etc...They are also engaged in taking care of their cattle and poultries. All these hard physical labours are under taken for meager payments; at times just for food alone. In fact one who is supposed to be engaged in agriculture and related works is held in high esteem and is called a kudiyanavan , a Thamizh word for farmer, which exactly means a person who cultivates and leads a peaceful family life.That exactly what most of the untouchables are practically engaged in, unfortunately for his upper caste brethren. The word farmer has become a misnomer only referring to the land owners and Zameendars.

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The produce harvested by the farm hands are touchable and consumable but the men folk who sweat it out through out their life are untouchables!How is it justified in a society we live in?

Then, there are other reasons attributed to look down upon the low caste that they are uncultured, unclean and thieves and cheats. The so called upper caste people conveniently forget the fact that they do not permit their less fortunate brother to draw water even from a dirty pond and how could anyone expect them to have regular bath and wash? Naturally , they tend to smell with sweat and darkened with dirt. More over anyone who works hard sweats and there can be no human whose sweat will be sweet smelling. For that matter body odor of those who claim to be of higher caste and clean skin will not emit sandal smell ! On the other hand the untouchables are not Lepers or infected with contagious diseases.They are basically like any other men of the so called upper caste.

It has to be noted that irrespective of regionalist, race or tribe men tend to commit crimes murder , theft or rape. The funniest part is that a sect of people who were notified as thieves for generations ( their community name itself was evident to substantiate this fact ) are claiming and enjoying all the comforts of an upper caste.

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The society never shuns them as criminals nor treat them as untouchables. Such controversies in a cultured society is intolerable and unjustifiable.

Anti social elements exist in all communities in India and there is no logic to believe that only untouchables are criminals or violent. To be honest, the so called untouchables if at all, indulge in petty thefts and minor crimes for they dare not exceed ceratin limits being a suppressed and oppressed entity.

Any criminal records will establish the fact that most of the dare devil crimes are committed by the so called upper caste persons for they are the law makers and rulers and enjoy breaking laws and defying social norms. The most privileged ones by birth!

Generally , the proximity and physical contacts among the blood relations and close associates do exist within 60 kilometers. But most of us, interact with people with only the caste as the ultimate cause for establishing closeness or relationships irrespective of how they are related or if they really deserve it. Such illogical and inhuman relationships mostly lead to many complications and problems in one our lives.

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Another implausible reason given for maintaining the caste system is that the Wealth and the Dowry their grooms shamelessly and forcibly collect from the brides parents should not be passed on to the persons belonging to any other castes.

We cant help wondering at some of the people who are willing to admit, declare and degrade themselves as of lower caste only for the purpose of obtaining priority in education and or in Government - jobs and quotas . But otherwise they tend to pretend to be of upper caste people in the eyes of others. It's the irony of their social disposition and such people cannot be blamed fortheir such pretension.

In the eyes of the Aryans all the Dravidians are untouchables ( shudra as per Manu Smrithi and Rig Veda).

We also see that only few groups based on their castes have formed Associations or Unions to run general business or money lending activities.

The other castes in the lower runs they simply exist as pigs and use their caste identity only to protect themselves whenever they are found guilty of some or the other crimes. The power or reach of their caste is not worth any thing better or than that. one cant help pity their lot !

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But we, as Dravidians are rather happy that there are few castes lower than ours and we utterly forget the fact that we, on the whole are untouchables to those who mercilessly divided us. It is nothing short of foolhardiness and totallyidiotic.

The caste system is so complicated and meaningless when it comes to taking a bride or groom for marital relations. The rigidity of the caste system demands that one belonging to a lower caste should treat the other caste as untouchables even if they latter happen to be upper caste vice versa. Its any bodys guess now to understand the lot a family belonging to a lower caste. So, when one is not willing to enter into matrimonial bondage with another belonging to the other than his caste they are untouchables to one another. Is there any joy or fun in such a confusion among ourselves in the name of castes ?

There are no two opinion on the fact that anything born or produced by Cross - breeding is more beneficial / intelligent, because we see it happening in the reality for scientific proofs or aplenty. Scientists like Darwin, Gregory Mental had propagated this long time back. We are very particular that our cows, goats, hens get crossbreed with their foreign counterparts in order to get better yields and market value.

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But we conveniently forget the fact that marriages within the caste (blood relations) end up in producing sickly and less intelligent and disabled,descendants in the long run. But facts cannot be covered up in the name of caste of God for that matter !

The so called caste Hindus or higher caste men are those who still use the most inhumanly cunning weapon of caste system which the Aryans propagated and practiced to suppress the weaker, for back in 400 AD.

This is an heinous act and highly condemnable. It has to be totally destroyed lest will remain the greatest unpardonable sin for ever and ever.

One is free to change ones religion , residence but can never ever change the caste in which he is born. This is the greatest curse and stain of India and its Religion ,the Hinduism !

The most daring revolutionary Thanthai Periayar ( Thanthai meaning Father ) says , Forget God but think of Man. But unfortunately , some of his political heirs claiming to be rationalists put the blame entirely on the Aryans for the evils of caste system , which tantamount to trying to pacify a crying baby by diverting its attention by pointing at the moon or the stars that are millions of miles away.

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Its exactly what is called Passing the baby, without taking any concrete step to curb the social evil called castes.

It's a matter of concern such a hypocrites take advantage of the caste system for their own upliftment.

Ultimately the overall beneficiaries of the caste system are the caste Hindus ; next only the so called Aryans.

All said and done , the Brahmins wake up early in the morning , cleanse themselves, worship their Gods and start their routine work. They work hard to learn and improve their knowledge and eventually develop themselves.

Though the Brahmins who were the founders of caste system , its but the rest of us who are very rigid in upholding the practice of following it vehemently. There are many who would not hesitate to take off the lives of not only others but their own kith and kin if need be in the name of honour killing.

It is to be noted that no Government law insists us to stick to the caste system nor anyone is forcing anyone else to do so. It's the personal belief or view of every individual as to or not to do so.

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Nowadays , no one is practically practicing or asking us to practice casteism . But we are not willing to get rid of the evil which has penetrated deep into our souls , so to say.

Dr. Ambedkar, the one man behind the formulation of Indian Constitution and hails from the so called low caste boldly declared that Hinduism is totally and absolutely against Science and Rationalism.

Even before I came to know of Dr.Ambedkar views, I had realized that the only way to destroy casteism was to change ones religion. i.e. Hinduism , which is rigid about dividing humans for an inhuman cause.

Accordingly. I tried to bring many of my Hindu fellow men in to the fold of Christianity which I had taken up after thoroughly realizing and whole heartedly accepting the same!

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My grand father Susai (a) Swaminatha Desikar, had abandoned his deep rooted and traditional Hindu saivaitism and accepted Christianity, whole heartedly. He was also totally against Hindu religions caste System.

11. ON CHRISTIANITY

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Obviously , I started following the foot steps of my Grand father from my childhood.

I had deduced that among the religions known to me , Christianity was the only best religion in the world. It was my conviction and realization. So, naturally I converted as many people as I could to Christianity. My success in converting thousands of people as Christians with the guidance and blessings of my Divine Master Rev. Elbaraiel had been a very satisfying experience leading to eternal bliss.

Thus, countless number of persons from the following places; like Kallakurichi, Ulagangathan, Ulagiya nallur, Fathima palayam, Agara kottalam, Urangoor, Valli maduram, Melnariyappanur ..etc were convinced to follow Christianity , after leaving their Hindu identities.

Love others as thou loveth thyself

With faith as little a mustard seed, one can move a lofty mountain

Whenever and whatever you do unto the downtrodden people, you are doing the same unto me

The above three verses from the Holy Bible were

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very much admired and cherished by me . To me, they are the most relevant and important Philosophy to make life worth living on this earth.

It may not be out of place to mention that one can find set backs even among some of those who practice Christianity which is very much human in nature. Unfortunately, even amongst the Indian Christians, many are stained by the stinky and gutter-like slush called the caste system. My grand father had confessed the following on being insisted to declare his past Hindu Saivaite traditions.

That never , ever he had told or boasted of his Hindu Saivaite backdrop which had given us a false and fictitious identity as upper caste nor regretted in the least at any point of time having lost the same; after becoming a true Christian. In fact, he ordered all of us to be humble and down to earth. Having crossed over Hinduism, we were treated as cross breeds and naturally he saw to it that all our Records invariably identified us as INDIAN CHRISTIANS only.

He insisted that we should never obtain any special privilege neither from the Christian diocese nor from the Government of India at any cost.

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He further kept saying with pride that in his youth , he was drawn to Christianity on his own free will and wish. My grand father,Susai , who was an exponent in the Hindu Saivaite Philosophy , used to often tell us and many others the main reasons as to why he longed to follow Christianity and the exclusivity about that religion.

Christianity is the only religion being followed by majority of the people in the world.

Christian theology believed in the concept that the omnipotent God , at the same time exists as Trinity.

There are solid and concrete historical evidences to establish the fact that Jesus was born, lived and died for us to redeem us from darkness. .Even the Aryan Rig Veda accepts the existence of Jesus and He is mentioned as PRAJA PATHI.

As per true Christian philosophy, there is no communal rifts among the people in the name of caste on creed. Some of the so- called Christians who practice the in human caste system are not at all true Christians. They are but Hindus by heart.

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It is a matter of great concern and shame that such Christians are wriggling worms in the stinky gutters of caste system.

The caste system is the exclusive identity of the Hindu philosophy only. Hindus believe that they are created by Brammah !

Re-Birth is another strong belief of the Hindu tenets.The real fact is that you will be blessed with all that you long for ( of course good things) if and only if you believe in Jesus Christ alone.

A Christian is re-born as and when he is baptized in the name of Trinity. According to Christianity there is no discrimination nor division as Jews or Greeks in the eyes of God.

But it is very unfortunate to that some Indian Christians still add their community names like Paulraj nadar, Samikannu pillai, Anthonysamy padayachi...etc; not willing to leave their Hindu castes identities, when they were Hindus. They feel more proud in identifying themselves by theirHindu- castes rather than to the true religion they have adopted.

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It is very confusing whether they are sons of Holy Father or of Brahma ! I wonder if they have fully realized the basics of Christianity or the human values!

No one can serve two masters simultaneously

Those who follow the caste system are none other than Hindus. And such of those Christians who prefer caste system shall only be known as HINDO - CHRISTIANS.

It is a very wrong principle to retain their Hindu caste in order to get prime spots in the Christian localities, Holy communes, Christian festivals and parishes. It is equally shame full to maintain their caste identity moreover to extort dowry from the Christian brides.

Those who have instilled the Hindu based caste system among the Christian, whether they are parish people or the Priests , they are highly condemnable; They are not Christians at all. They are still in the darkness worshiping other deities.

Those who still insist on caste system amongst Christians segregating people as high and low can be treated rather as Anti - Christians.

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Christianity insists only on universal love and over all consideration for all humans.

The forgiving God hopefully will forgive such Anti- Christians too and lets not harp on the same any further.

Lets all hope for an uniform and casteless society on the Earth, where all men will be treated as only men!

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12. REDEMPTION OF BONDED LABOURS

We began to execute Rev.Father. Elbarails schemes one after the other. We chose the scheme, depending on the localities and circumstances.

To start with , it was the Redemption of Bonded Labors Scheme that we under took to execute.

There is hardly any difference between the Ruler and the Ruled ( Master and Slave ) and that of the Bonded Labor system.

The Master - Slave systems comes under the purview of the caste system. The lower caste men are slaves to those of the upper castes; the former is forced to address the latter as Swamy...! Swamy ( Oh God, Oh God ..).By doing so the so called upper caste men consider themselves as saviors (Gods) of the so called lower caste men. Such is the stinky gutter like and heartless caste system; the fangs that mercilessly marauds the less fortunate once.

On one occasion , Rev.Elbarail and me had to visit a village for a survey. we witnessed a scene that was shocking and so inhuman. Yes! A seventy year old haggard man was grazing the cattle in the fields. A boy of about seven years ran to him shouting , Hey you, Karuppa (Black man) !

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My mom has given some gruel. You better bring your mud pot, common hurry up.

The old man brought and kept is mud pot on the floor and stood away from the boy as the custom was. The boy poured the gruel without touching the mud pot. The old man drank the watery gruel and asked for some water to drink as he felt very thirsty. The boy brought water in a brass vessel and began to pour it into the outstretched palms of the old man which the held together forming ahemispherical bowel. At this, the boy shouted again, Hey ! You fool ! Hold the hands tighter, the water is leaking through your loosely held palms and splattering on my feet, spoiling the sanctity of our caste. Yes. Little Master ! Please some more said the old man adjusting his palms and greedily drinking the water without spilling any.

My Divine Master could not make out anything out of the above episode. Why is the little brat shouting at the weak old man ? Is the old man his grandpa, by any chance ? But then, why is he pouring water into his palms instead of handing over the vessel itself ? The Reverend father asked totally perplexed.

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I explained Father ! What you saw is the evil out come of the caste - system. The old man belongs to a lower caste whereas the boy is of upper caste. The old man is just a farm hand in the farm land belonging to boys father. So the little boy is the Master and the old man is his slave.

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I further said that only time will eliminate this Master - Slave system, born of casteism. I went on to explain the other slavery systems affecting the human values and the Double-glass- system practiced in hotels and tea shops whereby there were separate costly vessels for the upper caste and very cheaper ones ( like Coco nut shell ) for the lower castes. Moreover, the lower castes had to carry their foot wear in their hands properly hidden, once they reach the place occupied by the upper caste people. They had separate grave yards for upper and lower castes; the former in a reasonably good locality and the latter in a remote area filled with bushes or slushy pits.

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Though the Rev. Father had read about such evil practices , his heart became heavy on seeing such things happening right in front of his eyes.

The Reverend exclaimed our Heavenly father ! Please forgive them, for they are not aware of what they are doing It was more than a prayer seeking forgiveness for the wrong doers.

What's all about Bonded labor system:------------------------------------------------------The bonded labor system is a horrible social setup whereby the descendants of Great grand fathers were in fields , Quarries or homes of a money lender from whom they had borrowed some money, seed or grains, on compound interest that keep accumulating in geometric progression. It's the most wretched system of exploiting the gullible and the illiterates by getting their thumb impressions on bond papers , the contents of which will be irrelevant and least fair to the actual write ups, which will keepgenerations, after generations as bonded laborers to such Masters; maybe worse than Shylock of The Merchant of Venice.Such money lending Masters will keep counterfeit and falsified loan papers signing which one becomes a bonded labor to them till he settles the loan in full with interest !

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If at all any family is able to repay the principle along with the accrued interests, they would be freed from the bondage. Such laborers who had redeemed themselves will be very, very few and negligible.

Since we decided that we would be able to help such bonded labors, we gave top priority to that scheme, so as to redeem them from eternal bondage.

To begin with , we started the LOW CREDIT LOAN SCHEME.

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We started the scheme, in areas like Ulagan gathan, Kottalam, Siruvathur, Kaaranoor, Vallimathuram, Sirupakkam, Kallakurichi... etc. We gave interest free small loans to coolies and petty traders. We also took an account of those who were subjects of the Bonded- labor- system.

Many were the bonded laborers who were totally ignorant of the fact that they were eternal slaves to their greedy masters. They would not realize nor understand the wretched condition they were in . They underwent such ordeals thinking that all was due to their fates and the ill omen of their past life ! They hardly knew that it was all due to the ill effects of the caste- system.

Some of the redeemed laborers could not help working again under their cruel masters due to their poverty. In order to prevent such re-employments , we bought some land.

After redemption, we distributed two acres each to the ex-bonded laborers out of the land purchased by Rev.Elbarail. Since the reverend had some influence with the Government, the caste fanatics could not do anything to us. Nevertheless, the money lending masters and many of the land lords were looking out for a suitable moment

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to do away with me as they were antagonized; for they took all our sincere efforts as a great challenge to their caste oriented fanaticism.

Out of the redeemed bonded laborers , many had realized the truth and expressed their willingness to join the Christian-Folds which honored them as humans and gave fresh lease of life from eternal bondage.

It has to be noted that we never compelled nor preached Christianity to any one. It is very much natural for some of those who became Christians for materiel considerations , to drift away and join their past religious sect.

The Third day of December 1944, was amemorable day, not only because it was the Feast of St.Xavier, but also because some sixty families became Christians after getting duly baptized enmas.

Similarly , many families become Christians, one after the other. At this stage, some alleged that people were getting bribed to join Christianity after abandoning their old religion.

some of the priests also questioned the logic behind mass conversions to Christianity; but my

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Divine Master Rev. Elbareil simply had to say Jesus said that he came in search of the meek, so also I go after the ignorant and the underprivileged.

Even now, some people reticule the converted Christians as WHEAT- CHRISTIANS or MILK- POWDER- CHRISTIANS.

All such comments are meaningless and malicious, uttered by those who would not and could not hep their own fellow men and brethren who suffer for want of one square meal and proper shelter to live in. After all, they are sadists who derive pleasure out of others sufferings. Moreover , they are all venomous scandal mongers who wish to forcibly retain others as slaves and untouchables in the name of castes , with no heart or soul.

The Thamizh sage and poet Thiruvalluvar in one of his couplets has to tell this about people who prefer evil for good.

Where one has access to ripened sweet fruits Why steal the unripened bitter ones

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After all, one should do what one wishes the others do unto him. So naturally, its human to seek good things. The day is not far off for all the people to get the change of heart and seek the Right Path.

This is what my Divine Master Rev. Elbareil told me after watching the dark and eerie atmosphere around him.

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13.TEMPLE INVASION

The so called shudras were not only treated as untouchables but were also banned from entering into any Hindu temple for thousands of years. The great irony is as how to gauge the real Devotion or Reverence one has for God; all those privileged ones who enter the temple rightfully need not be pious or clean in heart or soul !

In the year 1937, the Congress Maha Jana sabha won the General election . As a result, Rajaji was appointed as the Chief Minister of the Chennai Maaganam Region, consisting of the present states of Thamizh nadu, Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala.

Soon after the Second Round Table Conference held in London, Dr.B.R.Ambedkar the Father of Indian Constitution and the national leader who fought for the downtrodden, entered into the Poona Agreement with Gandhi in order to persuade him to end his fast unto death, so that no untoward incidence happens, which might tarnish his personal image as a Traitor. After the Poona Agreement, Rajaji amended the laws of enabling the downtrodden enter the Hindu temples. The new law entitled the lowly and untouchable people to enter any Hindu Temples . As I was very serious in the eradication of castes, I prepared the untouchables to enter the Hindu Temple at Kallakurichi.

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I was making arrangements to enter the Anjaneya temple in a place called Veera Bayangaram; the so called caste Hindus came in many bullock carts with traditional weapons to hit me and my followers so as to prevent the temple entry.

They never had an iota of idea that we also would be equipped with sticks and poles. In fact I had asked the people to carry such items for self defense and erecting temporary shelters en route.

When the rioters learnt that we were equally armed they got frightened. Besides, we took out the copy of the Government law and read out loud with the stern they still resorted to violence, they all would be reprimanded by the police.

Luckily for me , there was Mr.Rathinam, an Anglo Indian , D.S.P., who was related to me. He was very supportive to me in our fight for social justice. Naturally, all the trouble mongers kept away from us making the temple entry a great success.

One wonders as what is to think of those caste Hindus who would not allow the downtrodden and consider themselves as real Hindus and worship multiple Gods?

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Likewise, what is to think of those gullible people and their ignorance and helplessness, who are mad about following Hindu religion which would not sanction permission to enter its temples?

(leaf vegetables)

Both the educated fools who are rigid about the caste system and those dump men who unaware of the gravity of the sins, blindly following the Hindu tenets are to be equally blamed and condemned.

All said done, in my opinion the Hinduism, sans the caste system could be the best religion in the world.

We have further complicated the caste system by dividing people as vegetarians and Non - vegetarians. Even among the Non-vegetarians we have two sects; One eating beef and the other eating all but beef. Strictly speaking all living beings , particularly grains and vegetables have life as proven by the popular Indian Biologist Dr.Jagadesh Chandra Bose. whether one eats animals or vegetables we are killers of living beings at that !

For instance, in order to procure and cook one bundle of greens , one has to kill ( destroy) about fifty individual green saplings. And that one bundle will hardly be sufficient for a family of five.

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If we kill one goat, fifty people can consume its meat; and one bullock or buffalo will cater meat for nearly hundred man.

The only visible and audible difference is that animals will scream and bleed; whereas plants will ooze out fluids. But the fact remains that we are killers, if we view issue analytically!

The other hypocrisy about eating flesh of pigs and bulls is the most ridiculous.

Yes! those eat the flesh of the country- bred (ugly and dirty) pigs which consume human feces, are considered to be of upper caste. Whereas those who eat the flesh of cattle like bulls, buffaloes ..etc are of low caste and shunned as untouchables!

As far as I know of, most of us consume beef in secrecy and especially those who suffer from Tuberculosis etc have no other choice but for eating beef for fast recovery. There are others who consume knowingly or unknowingly beef or beef products through tonics , medicines, cakes and ice creams and so on and so forth. So, there is absolutely no logic in treating beef eaters and butchers as untouchables as declared by Hindu Religious Concepts.

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14. BUILDING CONVENTS AND CHURCHES

Around March 9th of 1939, We began to build nunneries and abbeys in places like Ulagangathan, Kaaranoor, Siruvathur, Melnariyapanur and Agarakottalam...etc.

The sisters belonging to the Gonseka Convent willingly agreed to establish their convent in the above places. Some good people voluntarily sold their places at a cheaper price, considering our need for the construction of their nunneries. In some places, people were against our project. But we succeeded in convincing and negotiating with some people, avoiding those who were highly problematic.

In Ulagangathan apart from the school, we planned to build an orphanage for the parentless and deserted kids.In order to extend the schools, we purchased sufficient lands. To begin with, we built huts with roofs covered by native items like palmyra and coconut leaves.

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Rev. Elbaraiel had a horse called Robert which he had brought down from France. Robert had won many prizes for his intelligence , speed and courage while in France. It was more than a companion to the Reverend.

As per our scheme , we were going a final touch to the traditional roofing to our school in Ulagangathan in order to extent the same . so as to accommodate an abbey also . As work was in progress simultaneously at various places , we had decided to spend the night in Ulgangathan itself.

15. FIRE ON THE COTTAGE ROOF

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As mentioned earlier, there were many who would not tolerate our act of redeeming the bonded laborers, were on the look out for the right time to settle the issue with us.

After the hard days labor in fixing the roof, we were too exhausted and went to sleep earlier than usual. It was a very deep sleep that night.

Those who would not digest our schemes of helping the poor by freeing them from bonded labor and gifting them land to make their own living had made many cunning attempts to frighten and disturb us but all in vain.

We were oblivious of their plan to burn us along with the roof as we were fast asleep for which they had collected and stored dry shrubs and thorns. As out ill luck would have it was moonless night and they could shut all the doors and windows with bundles of thorns and shrubs and fire the whole structure without any difficulty.

Seeing all these stealthy acts, Robert had neighed which we could not hear as we were in dead sleep. Hearing the horses frantic noise our tormentors fled the scene half way.

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As the complete roof was under fire, Robert freed himself by snapping the rope he was tied with, rushed to our cabin and knocked down the door. We literally jumped out of our beds in fright. The Reverend lost no time in gauging the danger. He jumped on to the back of Robert and almost carried me along with him. Go was all that Rev. Elbarail shouted. Robert fled like a wind jumping over the burning roof and bundles of thorns with both of us holding on to each other safe on his back. No wonder, Robert was a prize winning horse!

The men who had by then gathered and began to put out the fire, were amazed at the sight of the flying horse carrying two passengers through the fire unharmed. Many of the villagers still recollect and wonder at whatever happened at the eventful night in Ulagangathan school.

After the roof burning incidence , our Rev. Father converted the shed like structure into a concrete building.

Those who attempted to disturb our plans by killing us were put to shame!

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In the 1940 s. we staged many plays written jointly by the Reverend and myself in many of our school.

It was in the year 1947, the Primary school built by us , became a Middle school catering to the students to study up to Eighth Grade.

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16. MILITARY RECRUITING OFFICER

The Second World war was between 1939 to 1945.

The British Government began to recruit soldiers for fighting in the war. They appointed me as a Military Recruiting officer on 14th April of 1943.

In my individual capacity I recruited more than 500 persons from among the downtrodden people. Thus, many were the families that were benefitted socially and economically. It was during this period Mr.Ilaya perumal .Ex.M.P. joined the British army.

Because of my sincere efforts in recruiting men in the army; I became very popular and many recalled my name with gratitude and respect.

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Those who were envious of my popularity and could not tolerate all our sincere efforts because of which all the poor were getting self sufficient and the downtrodden were able to walk with their heads high; came out with schemes to degrade us, only to become the victims of their own traps. As a matter of fact , we never opted for tit for tat against our trespassers. They ultimately had to face their destruction.

17. AN HOUR IN CAPPER QUARI

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After all, Sir. Isac Newtons Third law always holds good!

We used to undertake long journeys either by car or horse. To cover short distances , we used bicycles. Strange it might sound that I had hired a driver to carry me on the bicycle! His name was CHINNA PAIYAN, meaning Little Boy in Thamizh and he was an associate of my son , R.Theraisanathan.

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He had high regards for me and was treated as an adopted son by my wife Savariammal (a) Siva pakiam.

Due to my deep association with Rev. Elbarail, I used to maintain appointments to the minute. We jotted down our programs accurately and adhered to the same without any delay or break. Watching the direction of my journey , one can make out my assignment for that day. Thats exactly what the Reverend expected of us.

In those days, traveling doubles ( two persons)on the bicycle was an offence as per Police Law. But I had obtained special permission to travel as a pillion rider, with Chinna Paiyan as the driver. Unaware of this, some people had set a team of Police to arrest me and tarnish my image as a law breaker.

That day we set out to go to the convent in Karanoor. They had spied on me as I was traveling through Kallakurichi, past the Siva temple and arranged the Police team to humiliate me.

As we passed by that temple side , a police man stopped us.

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After saluting me, he approached Chinna Paiyan and asked him to get aside enabling him to check as an higher official was visiting that area. He further warned him not to go on doubles on the cycle. I intervened and explained that I had got the necessary permission to go doubles on the cycle. But to the police mans only intention was to harass me on some ground or the other. He began to enquire my boy about the condition of the dynamo and the brake etc.. In all innocence and fairness my boy replied that everything in the cycle was in order. The police man reacted sharply and asked who the hell he thought he was and how dare he confront the Police without due respect. So, saying , he slapped Chinna Paiyan heavily on his cheeks.

As anybodys guess, I got wild as I never could stand an innocent fellow getting punished unwarrantedly. I retorted back and asked the Police fellow How and why did you hit my boy? As the police man with preconceived notion grabbed and pulled the long white shawl ( Anga vastaram) wrapped around my neck, an accessory signifying maturity and dignity in the society. Short tempered as already I was, I drew out the pair of scissors and stabbed the Police man in a fit of anger, all in self defense.

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He shuddered with pain and fell flat on the ground. Leaving that spot I rushed to the nearest police station and confessed the whole incidence from start to finish.

As I was an influential person among the people, I was not arrested immediately. As the victim was a Government servant,an order was issued by the higher authorities for my arrest and necessary investigation. Accordingly , they arrested me and I on my part felt guilty of killing a police in fit of anger. My distant relative and D.S.P. Rathnam felt very sorry for me, when he learnt of my impulsive act and subsequent arrest.

My cycle driver Chinna Paiyan soon after my arrest ran to the Reverend and appraised him of the unfortunate incidence. The Reverend after thorough scrutiny and analysis contacted the then Viceroy Lord Mount Pattern over the phone (through Trunk call) and explained the whole affair in detail. By that time, I was remanded to the Cuddalore Capper Quarry, an open - air - jail.

The Reverend once again got in touch with the Viceroy and told that Rathinam was as good as his own son and a good person but with short temper.

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He further explained how Rathinam was goaded as to resort to violent reaction by stabbing the police who was very much alive after some first aids. He also cited the open confession of the Police man that he wantonly demeaned Rathinam by abusing him for nothing, an act of total vindictiveness.

The Viceroy after studying the facts, asked his secretary to order for my immediate release and arrange for the other formalities and investigations at Kallakurichi, i.e. my native residence itself.

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Thus, my remand at the Cuddalore Capper Quarry lasted hardly for an hour !

After the release, the Jail warden arranged for my food and with due regard sent me back to Kallakurichi in a police van. It stopped in front of my house and I silently stepped inside. It was around 3 a.m. when I reached my home. After resting for a while, I woke up and walked up to the Bhats Coffee Shop to have a cup of coffee. As usual, I ordered for the morning news paper and began to read the latest news. Sipping my coffee, I entered into a conversation with the coffee shop owner. Some of the local men who were not aware that I was released and back home, began to pass derogatory comments saying that Rathinam was doomed for ever, as had been taken to the Capper Quarry for the murder of a Police man. Without caring for their comments, I finished my coffee and left the coffee shop carrying the news paper duly folded. Some of the villagers who saw me leaving the shop in a very casual manner, began to shout Its Rathinams Ghost haunting the coffee shop at this early hour . They were frightened at my sight and ran helter-skelter in panic.

When the villages learnt that was realised

without any blemish, they were all scared of me.

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They were all shocked to their roots and surprised beyond belief. From that day onwards my, image and popularity began its rise to and around my village.

On my part, I began to regret my short tempered nature and decided not to be impulsive at any cost. More than that , I approached my Divine Teacher the Rev. Elbarail and made a heartfelt confession seeking for his forgiveness and blessings. Further, I sought his guidance to do away with my anger. After blessing me , the Reverend advised me to keep my mind calm and balanced. He further suggested that whenever I was haunted by the evil force of anger, I should repeat the Rosary as many times as I could, contemplating in the name of the Divine and Holy Mother Mary.

After things became normal, I went up to the police Quarters to meet the Police man injured by me. I explained how bad , I felt for all that happened and repented for the same. But he was more apologetic and explained how he got into the trap of some bad elements, which prompted him to act against his conscience, as he was not aware of me and my reputation, being new to that area.

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He went on adding that his brother- in- law had got a Government job through my reference. He once again felt sorry for having abused someone who was a benefactor and a good hearted individual. After calmly listening to the Police man, I replied that I was also equally to be blamed for my short temper and angry nature.

Generally, I follow the Biblical verse according to which one should be as calm as a pigeon and as sharp as a striking snake which it comes to self defense. Till day, I am not able to understand as to how and why I got so violent on that eventful day!

Maybe because my self respect was at state and injustice was meted out to me and my cycle driver, that I lost my self control and became wild, an expression of my self defensive nature coiled in me.

There after, I controlled my anger to a very great extent , as a result of which I never resorted to any impulsive act of violence in my life.

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18. AS A BENCH MAGISTRATE

In the Month of March of 1944, I was appointed as the Honourary Magistrate of Kallakurichi Court, whcih was in par with the Bench Magistrates post at that time.

I remained as the Honourary Magistrate of the Kallakurichi Court till 1946. After that on the 7th. of February 1946, I was appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee in the Kallakurichi Co-operatie Society.

As long as I was the Bench Magistrate, so many good decisions and actions were carried out in many of the cases in the Kallakurichi Court.

Once in a Land grab case, the land forcibly grabbed by the culprit was duly handed over to the actual owner. Without my knowledge, the said land owner had brought ten milch cows and tied them up in my cattle barn in the middle of the night as a reward for my fair judgement. The next day, I was baffled by the addition of cows in my farm. Even the men in the barn could not accountfor the additional cows. Any amount of enquiry would not give an idea as to whom the ten cows belonged. so, the ten cows were handed over to the Police and they in turn sent them to the safe custody of the pound for lost animals.

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After a few days , the man who had tied the cows in my place approached me and told, Sir, If I gift the cows, you would not accept. So, I tied them along with your other cattle in your barn, the other night. I mentioned the fact to your farm hands. May be they were scared to reveal the same to you. please forgive me If I have offended you.

My response was very curt and sharp, There was justice in your representation and you got your land back from the land grabber. Dont think I did it in order to expect any gift of money or kinds. Please take back all your ten cows without wasting any time.

Some people thought I was a good - for - nothing fellow, because I did and could not make good use of the conducive situations like many others. As a matter of fact, I was very strong in my opinion that one should not expect any bribe or gifts for doing ones duty.

* The letter dated 14 th May 1946, from the M.L.A.. of Trichinapalli Constituency Mr.Ponnusamy endorsed to the Collector of South Arcot is cited as a documentary evidence for the personal image of Mr.S.V.S.Rathinam.

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Once, my Divine Teacher Rev.Elbarail and myself were tr