CHRISTIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF INDIA

Kali Charan Banerjee, 

Krishna Mohan Banerjee

Amrit Kaur, 

Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, 

Pandita Ramabai, 

S. K. Rudra, 

"Utkal Gourav" Madhusudan Das,

J.C Kumarappa,

Brahmabandhab Upadhyay,

George Joseph,

Joachim & Violet Alva, 

A.J John,

Joseph Baptista,

Lambert Mascarenhas

Tharevtundiyilh Titus. 

Paul Ramasamy

Accamma Cherian

M.V.Kamath, an RSS ideologue and a regular columnist in the RSS weekly the Organiser is a person with little sympathy for Christians. Yet in his autobiography he acknowledges that several Christians took part in the freedom movement and mentions the names of Cyprian Alvares, Joachim Alva, Marcel A. M. D’Souza as Christian freedom fighters. He says: “It is necessary to state that many Roman Catholics I personally know of were very much in the freedom movement and national mainstream”.

Madhusudan Das (1848-1934, popularly referred as "Utkal Gaurav" meaning Pride Of Odisha ), a well-known leader from the Christian community in Odisha. The greatest personality from Odisha to whom even Mahtama Gandhi paid rich tributes. Madhusudan Das was a Freedom Fighter, Poet, Social Reformer, Widely Regarded As The "Founder of Modern Odisha". He was the first Odia to become a member of both the legislative council and the Central Legislative Assembly of India. By his long political fight he united Orissa and modern Odisha took birth on 1 April 1936. This day is celebrated as "Utkala Dibasa". He was also the first Odia to sail overseas.

"Swaraj is my Birthright and I shall have it". 

Most People Believes That This Popular Freedom Slogan Was Given By Bal Gangadhar Tilak But In Reality This Slogan Was Originally Coined By A Roman Catholic, Joseph Baptista.Joseph Baptista Was Closely associated with the Lokmanya Tilak and the Home Rule Movement. He is credited with the coining of the popular phrase "Swaraj is my Birthright and I shall have it". His ideas deeply influenced Tilak and the two became close associates. He assisted Tilak by launching the Sarvajanik Ganpati (public Ganpati celebrations) to raise nationalistic feelings. In addition, Baptista coined the phrase "Swaraj is my Birthright", that was later made popular by Tilak.Baptista was also a practising barrister at the Bombay High Court. One of his most high-profile clients was Hindutva leader, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, where he demanded an open trial to assure the dignity of fundamental rights. He was also the legal advisor to Lokmanya Tilak.

Kali Charan Banerjee (1847-1907), a Bengali Christian and a fine orator, regularly addressed the annual sessions of the Congress in moulding the policy of National Movement. Banerjee, a lawyer from Bengal, who followed Christianity. He was a prominent member of the Congress. He laid the foundation for a Vedanta-based Christian theology, Vedantic Thomism and was even charged with sedition by Colonial government of Calcutta for taking part in the freedom struggle.

Harendra Coomar Mookerjee was the Vice-President of the Constituent Assembly of India for drafting the Constitution of India before Partition of India, and the first Governor of West Bengal. He was also the chairman of the Minority rights committee and Provincial constitution committee of the Constituent Assembly. He was also the member of Indian National Congress and participated in national movements representing Bengali Christian community. 

J.C.Kumarappa (original name John Jesudason Cornelius, 1892-1960) was a veteran Congress leader. . On 9 May 1929 he met Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati ashram and that resulted in their becoming close associates. He was a strong supporter of Satyagraha, and encouraged Christian participation in the national movement. Before Mahatma Gandhi started off the Dandy March in 1931, he encouraged Kumarappa to write regularly for his weekly Young India and informed him that he would be its editor after his imprisonment. Thus Kumarappa became editor of Young India and his fiery writings gave him one and a half years of rigorous imprisonment in 1931. Since he was also a prominent figure in Congress affairs, he was given a chance to be a member of the All India Congress Working Committee in place of Jay Prakash Narayan in 1947. But he rejected the offer in spite of Gandhi’s persuasion.

Paul Ramasamy (b.1906) was another important Christian who took part in the freedom struggle. In 1930 he joined the freedom movement during the Salt satyagraha days. He picketed the Bishop Herber College, Thiruchirappalli. He was arrested and sentenced to six months of imprisonment and was kept at Thiruchirapalli and Alipuram jails.

Venkal Chakkarai (b.1880) participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi. In 1930 K.T.Paul went to England to participate in the Round Table Conference. He decried the tendency among some Christians to keep aloof from the National Movement.

Susil Kumar Rudra was an Indian educationalist and associate of Mahatma Gandhi and C F Andrews & served as the first Indian principal of St Stephen's College, Delhi. Rudra was a close friend and associate of Gandhi and of C F Andrews. On Gandhi's maiden visit to Delhi after his return from South Africa, he stayed with S.K. Rudra at his official residence. In 1911, Rudra helped Lala Hardayal, a Stephanian who headed the Ghadar Movement leave the country. Inspired by Rudra, Andrews and Rev William Pearson left for South Africa in 1914 to persuade Gandhi to return to India and lead the country's freedom struggle. Andrews was also responsible for bringing together Rudra, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu in memorable friendships. It is believed that Tagore finalised the English draft of the Gitanjali while staying at Rudra's residence when he visited St Stephen's College. In an obituary Gandhi wrote in Young India, he called Rudra and Andrews his revisionists and described Rudra as a silent but deeply interested spectator in the happenings of the national struggle. 

Barhmabandhab Upadhyaya (1861-1907) a ‘Hindu Catholic’ sadhu and theologian, played a leading role in the Swadeshi Movement. He was also one of the early leaders who enunciated the philosophy of Non-Co-operation Movement. He edited Sandhya, a national journal founded in 1904, and it had a decisive influence on the masses because it was the only vernacular paper in Bengali, which boldly advocated complete Indian Nationalism.

Joachim Alva (1907-1979) was another outstanding personality in the history of the freedom struggle. He was profoundly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. As a student leader, he was the pioneer of youth movement in India. He gave whole-hearted devotion to the national movement and gave up his lucrative job in order to dedicate himself for the freedom struggle. He was also a journalist of high calibre who vigorously advocated the concept of swadesh and human brotherhood, especially through his Forum.

George Joseph (1887-1938) was another outstanding Christian who engaged in the freedom struggle. He was one of the three members of the Home Rule deputation sent to England in 1918 to present the Indian case before British public. It has been said that the landslide in the opinion of the Indian Christian Community in favour of nationalism was very much ascribable to his dynamic leadership. . He was one of the first batch of barristers who sacrificed their comforts to engage themselves in national work and joined the Non-Co-operation Movement and boycott of foreign cloth shops. George Joseph was also invited to assume the leadership of the Satyagraha movement. He led the Vaikam Satyagraha for which he was beaten and arrested and sentenced to imprisonment. Mahatma Gandhi wrote to George Joseph on 6 April 1924 that the latter should let the Hindus do the job and not offer Satyagraha himself so far as the Nagpur resolution of the Congress had called on the Hindus to wipe out untouchability. However, before the letter reached, George Joseph had already joined the Satyagraha. In 1937 George Joseph was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. 

In 1930, among the 78 persons who accompanied Mahatma Gandhi during his Salt March from Sabarmati ashram to Dandi, there was a Christian named Thevarthundiyil Titus Titus, a young disciple of Gandhi and a member of a Christian family of Travancore.Thevarthundiyil Titus or Titusji who hailed from Maramon lage in Kerala was the only Christian in the historic Dandi March of 1930. He served as the governing secretary for Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram milk project near Ahmedabad. "Titusji" was the honorific given to him by Mahatma Gandhi. In fact - you must have seen Titusji’s photo, even if you didn’t know who he is because he’s pictured on the old 500 rupee note! In the freedom and pro-democracy movement in Travancore in the 1930s and 1940s, prominent Christian leaders like T.M. Varghese, A.J. John, Anne Mascarenes and Akkamma Cherian were pioneering forces. Philoppose Elanjikkal John (1903-1955) was another prominent member of the Travencore State Congress

Appreciation to Fr. Anthoniraj Thumma for providing this information.