De- Colonising a Colonised Mind – The Myth of St. Thomas

Dear Sir,

Reference the ‘gushing apologia’ for Christian ‘MYTHS’ – ” Under the bleeding cross ” – (i-witness 2 – TNSE – 28 FEB).

The ‘MYTH’ of St. Thomas visiting India was first exploded in 1991 by a Canadian Christian, who wrote a well researched treatise under the pseudonym Ishwar Sharan – ” The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva temple” – Voice of India, New Delhi.

On the basis of this book, and from his own research, the well known scientist-historian Dr.N.S. Rajaram, wrote an Article in the ‘online journal – Folks’ in its edition of 11 Jul 2009 , entitled : ” St. Thomas In India: Myth or Truth? “.

Dr. Rajaram wrote: ” The creation of this myth and the history is told in detail by the Canadian scholar Ishwar Sharan (not his original name) in his famous book “The Myth of St. Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple”. The purpose of the myth was to create a local martyr. Christianity depends heavily on the appeal of martyrs who are projected as victims like Jesus Christ. Then as now, Church leaders liked to pose as victims to generate sympathy and propaganda. But no matter how much they tried, the Hindus of India refused to supply the Portuguese with martyrs. So they were forced to create their own. So they turned the merchant Thomas into the Apostle Thomas killed by the Hindus “.

Further. ” In his foreword to Ishwar Sharan’s book the Belgian scholar Koenraad Elst wrote: “ In Catholic universities in Europe, the myth of the apostle Thomas going to India is no longer taught as history, but in India it is still considered useful. Even many vocal ‘secularists’ who attack the Hindus for relying on myth in the Ayodhya affair, off-hand profess their belief in the Thomas myth. The important point is that Thomas can be upheld as a martyr and the Brahmins decried as fanatics.”

Again. Targeting Brahmins to undermine Hinduism was a favorite tactic among missionaries. Elst gives the true picture: “ In reality, the missionaries were very disgruntled that the damned Hindus refused to give them martyrs (whose blood is welcomed as ‘the seed of the faith’), so they had to invent one. Moreover, the church which they claim commemorates St. Thomas’ martyrdom at the hands of Hindu fanaticism, is in fact a monument of Hindu martyrdom at the hands of Christian fanaticism. It is a forcible replacement of two important Hindu temples (Jain and Shaiva) whose existence was insupportable to the Christian missionaries.”

Also. ” After examining all the evidence, the late Father Heras, former Director of the Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, said in 1953 that he was convinced that the tomb of St. Thomas was not in Mylapore. He had earlier said, quite emphatically in The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagar, that the Portuguese account of their discovery of some relics was “a most barefaced imposture [with] all elements of a forgery.” Heras was himself a Jesuit father but also an eminent historian “.

Ishwar Sharan in his book wrote: ” Milne Ray was a professor at the Madras Christian College and wrote a book : ” The Syrian Church in India “. In it he denies the apostolate of St.Thomas, and in another research paper asks: ‘ In what literature is the name of St.Thomas first associated with India? It will appear, I think the home of that literature, the original hotbed in which it was reared, was no other than the Church of Edessa’. “ (pp-35)

And again from Sharan’s book. ” Dr.R.Nagaswamy, former Director of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu, in an Article entitled : ” Testimony of Religious Ethos “, and [surprisingly !] published in ‘ The Hindu ‘ OF 30 APRIL 1990, writes: ” A careful study of the monuments and the lithic records in Madras reveal a great devastation caused by the Portuguese to the Hindu temples in the 16th century A.D. The most important Temple of Kapaleeswara lost all its ancient building during the Portuhuese devastation and was originally located near the San Thome Cathedral. A few Chola records found in the San Thome Cathedral and Bishop’s House refer to the Kapaleeswara Temple and Poompava. A Chola record in fragment found on the East wall of the San Thome Cathedral refer to the image of Lord Nataraja of the Kapaleeswara Temple. The Temple was moved to its present location in the 16th century and was probably built by one Mallappa (or Mayil Nattu Muthiyappa Mudaliar)”. Later he states: ” A fragmentary inscription, 12th century Chola record in the San Thome Church region, refers to a Jain temple dedicated to Neminathaswami “. (pp-87-88)

With all humility, may I request our dear ‘agnostic’, to refrain from ‘perpetuating myths’ please?

I am enclosing below the URLs for (a) Dr.Rajaram’s Article, and (b) Ishwar Sharan’s
blog, to widen the knowledge base of our ‘colonised Hindu” !! JAI HO!!

– Dr.N.S. Rajaram : http://folks.co.in/2009/11/st-thomas-in-india-myth-or-truth/

– Ishwar Sharan : http://hamsa.org/

VANDE MATARAM
 

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