Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar (17 January 1880 – 14 June 1958) was an Indian Christian theologian, missionary, independence activist, politician and trade unionist.[1] He was the former president of AITUC.
Vengal Chakkarai | |
|---|---|
| President of the All India Trade Union Congress | |
| In office 1949–1957 | |
| Preceded by | S.A. Dange |
| Succeeded by | S.S. Mirajkar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar 17 January 1880 |
| Died | 14 June 1958 (aged 78) |
| Occupation | theologian, activist |
Early life
editChakkarai was born to a Hindu Chettiar family.[1][2] He was educated at the Scottish Mission School, Madras Christian College, graduating in 1901 after majoring in philosophy.[1] He then studied at Madras Law College, and practiced for some time as a lawyer.[3]
Career
editIn 1913, Chakkarai joined the Danish Mission Room as a Christian preacher and worked as a missionary for twenty years. During these years, he also became a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and participated in the Indian independence movement. He served as mayor of Madras from 1941 to 1942. He was the president of the All India Trade Union Congress from 1954 to 1957.
Theology
editChakkarai was baptised as a Christian on February 22, 1903.[4]
He was a member of the Rethinking Christianity group[5] along with his brother-in-law, Pandipeddi Chenchiah. He believed in the Indianisation of Christianity, although the anti-colonial feeling of the time led many people to feel that an Indian could not be a Christian without abandoning their Indian culture.[6] Instead he suggested that Christians should refuse allegiance to earthly states and overcome their nationalistic behaviour.[7]
He tried to explain the Christian faith through the Hinduism point of view.[1] This can be seen when he tried to find the meaning of the Christian cross for the followers of Christianity in how it could bring moksha.[1][3]
Some of the Chakkarai's views about Christianity included:[1][8]
- Jesus is truly human (sat purusa).
- The Holy Spirit is Christ himself, who continues to exist and work until now.
- God cannot be seen as the creator of sin.
- Humans themselves are responsible for the sins that they commit.
- Knowledge of God is not something that is intellectual (jnana), but a personal experience of God (anubhava).
- Sin is seen as the handcuffs (pasa), which prevents the human soul (pasu) to reach God.
- The essence of sin is the desire to find "the mystery of the forbidden".
Publications
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f Yewangoe, Andreas Anangguru (1987). Theologia crucis in Asia: Asian Christian views on suffering in the face of overwhelming poverty and multifaceted religiosity in Asia. Amsterdam studies in theology. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-6203-610-3.
- ^ (in Indonesian) FD Wellem.1993.Riwayat Hidup Singkat Tokoh-Tokoh Dalam Sejarah Gereja. Jakarta: PT BPK Gunung Mulia. p. 75-77
- ^ a b Google Books, Theologia Crucis in Asia: Asian Christian Views on Suffering in the Face of Overwhelming Poverty and Multifaceted Religiosity in Asia, by Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe (1987), page 59
- ^ Brill Reference Works website, Religion Past and Present: C
- ^ Oxford Reference website, Chakkarai, Vengal
- ^ JStor website, Nation as Nostalgia: Ambiguous Spiritual Journeys of Vengal Chakkarai, article by M. S. S. Pandian, published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 51/52 (Dec. 27, 2003 - Jan. 2, 2004), pp. 5357-5365
- ^ Google Books, Theologia Crucis in Asia: Asian Christian Views on Suffering in the Face of Overwhelming Poverty and Multifaceted Religiosity in Asia, by Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe (1987), page 81
- ^ Google Books, Theologia Crucis in Asia: Asian Christian Views on Suffering in the Face of Overwhelming Poverty and Multifaceted Religiosity in Asia, by Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe (1987), pages 59-82
- ^ Indian Culture website, Rare Books website, Jesus the Avatar
- ^ Brill website, Jesus the Avatar
- ^ Bee Zone website, Jesus the Avatar
- ^ WorldCat website, The Cross and Indian Thought
- ^ Amazon website, Vengal Chakkarai
- Schouten, Jan Peter (2008). Jesus as Guru: The image of Christ among the Hindus and Christians in India. Rodopi. pp. 117–119.