5. The Early History of The Vellicode Multi-purpose Co-operative Society

5

The Early History

Of

The Vellicode Multi-purpose Co-operative Society.

     The present Kanyakumari District of the Tamil Nadu state had been a part of Travancore Kingdom before the Independence of India. It became a part of the Kerala state after Independence. The Reorganization Act of 1956, brought it under the then Madras state.

       Madras state is now called Tamil Nadu state.

      There were some Agricultural Banks, Urban Societies and Multi-purpose Co-operative Societies in the Kanyakumari District before 1956. Thus, there was an Agricultural Bank each in Manakkavilai, Arumana, Lekshmipuram and Thalakkulam. There was an Urban Bank at Kuzhuthurai. The Multipurpose Co-operative Societies that existed around Vellicode were located at Kattathurai, Kannannoor, Muttakad, Palliyadi, West Neyyoor and Nattalam.

        In 1961, the then Government of Tamil Nadu state under Chief Minister Mr. K. Kamaraj exhorted the people to start co-operative societies. The purpose was partly to alleviate the sufferings of the people and partly to help the prominent members of the Congress party. Accordingly, some members of the Congress party started Multipurpose Co-operative Societies. Thus, Paraikode, Changai, Unnamalakkadai, Maekkamandapam, Kuzhicode and Vellakkadai – all around Vellicode- got one each.

        A Mr. Retnayyan B.A. B.T;  had been working in the Kattathurai English High School –an aided school - as a teacher. He too wanted to start a Multi-purpose Co-operative Society as part of his social service activity.

        As Kattathurai had a society, the name of his new  society could not be after Kattathurai. Vellicode is a neighbouring village of Kattathurai and Mr. Retnayyan  had been staying on the periphery of Vellicode. He did not distinguish between Kattathurai, and Vellicode because he had been a native of Neyyattinkara in the Kerala state. Therefore, he named his society as 'The Vellicode Multipurpose Co-operative Society'.

        Mr. Retnayyan enrolled about 50 members.

       A Mr. Arathan Pillai was the first member. He had a cycle shop and Mr. Retnayyan used to sit there with his friends. Therefore, he was enrolled as the first founder member.

          Mr. Thanupillai, Mr. Soloman, Mr. Aaveal and Mr. Parnese were teachers working in the Kattathurai English High School. Along with Mr.Retnayyan, they also became members

        A Mr. Pakkiyanathan alias Chinnathankam  from Kattathurai junction; Mr. M. Varuvel from the Kizhakkuvilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Sebastian, Mr. Arokkiyam and Mr. Iruthayam from the Vadakkaru vilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Thankamony contractor, Mr. Ponnayyan contractor and Mr. Thankappan contractor from the Iynimoottu vilai area of Vellicode; Mr.S. Mariakkon from the Mela vilai area of Vellicode; Mr. Arulappan contractor from the Kattuvilai area of Vellicode; Joseph, Chellappan and Selvamoni from the Sankaran vilai area of Kattathurai were the prominent members.

        Mr. Retnayyan  was the founder President of the society. He, for all practical purposes, controlled everything pertaining to the society. He functioned on an honorary basis. Besides, there was an honorary secretary. The first honorary secretary was a Mr. Krishnan Nair from the Kannannoor area. Then, there was a part-time clerk. Part-time clerk was later designated as Manager. Manager was then substituted by a full-time clerk with a small monthly pay. 

        In the initial stages, the Government supplied 200 kg of fertilizers, 300 kg of rice and 500 kg of sugar per month. All people were free to buy these items.

       When the members began to realize the benefits of the society the founder President resigned from his post. As a result, Mr. Pakkianathan became the President. Mr. M. Varuvel, Mr. Parnese and Mr. Veedhamonikkam became the members of the Board. Mr. Retnayyan ignored the mode of functioning of the society and started another society for the benefit of the palm-tree climbers.

        As the clerk got employment in the Government, he resigned.

        Now, Mr. M. Varuvel approached Mr. Sabariyaradimai –a young boy of 17 years - from the Kattuvilai area of Vellicode for the post of clerk and the latter grabbed the offer.

        Mr. Sabariyaradimai discerned that the society would be shifted to an interior place in Kattathurai, specifically to Maruthoorkuruchi. He– to strengthen his position- enrolled many new members from Vellicode. In many cases he paid the membership fee of Re.1/- and  Anna 1- from his own pocket. As a result, the members from Vellicode became the dominant group.

        Now, Mr. Pakkiyanathan became a defaulter and forfeited his right to continue as  President.

        In the election, Mr. T. Vyakappan –my father- from the Swamitharavilai area of Vellicode was made the President and Mr.M.. Yesudhasan from the Puthu vilai area of Vellicode became the Secretary. Mr. Varuvel and a Mr. Antony Muthu from the Kallukundu area of Vellicode became the members of the Board.

        One day, in 1967, Secretary Mr. Yesudhasan secretly passed a resolution to shift the society office from Kattathurai junction to a building at Vellicode junction. The building belonged to a Mr. Rayappan of Mulaethravilai area of Vellicode.

        After writing the minute, he came to the house of Mr. T. Vyakappan at night for his signature. The latter was reluctant to shift the society. Mr. Dharmanadhan, the eldest son of Vyakappan, opposed the resolution. He did not allow his father to sign the minute and snatched away the minute book. Due to the pressure exerted by the Secretary, Mr. M. Varuvel and a few others, Mr. Dharmanathan relented and Mr. T. Vyakappan had to sign the minute. 
      Next day morning, about 50 people from Vellicode went to  the Society Office in about ten batches of two to seven. Every batch stayed in different strategic places like in front of the tea shops. The Secretary had instructed them not to confront anyone in Kattathurai but pacify everyone. He had told them that the objective was shifting the society, and not any confrontation or any criminal case. 
     When the movable properties were being shifted to a bullock cart, a Mr. Bhagavan of a petty shop shouted loudly. He cried that "Vellicodians" were thieving the society. But his shrieks fell in the ear of the people from Vellicode only. To calm him down, a Mr. Anthony (Kani) of Mulaethra vilai from Vellicode cooly said, "Why Bhagavan, shouting? They are shifting it to honour the orders from the top." Therefore, his face simply blanched with despair. 
    Some people from Kattathurai reached the place panting and desperate. The Secretary told them that the District Registrar had issued orders to shift the society to the Thuckalay Punchayat Union area. To convince them, he showed a fake letter received from the Registrar. A Mr. Sabariyaradimai, working as typist, played an active role for the preparation of the fake letter. Others from Vellicode tried to fawn on them. All movable properties were shifted within a span of 90 minutes and the face of the people of Kattathurai assumed the appearance of the setting son. They did not get the time badly needed to obtain a stay from the court or to gather enough people to prevent the shifting. Some people disclosed that the Secretary had been taking necessary preparations for this for about one year. 

By

V.Sabarimuthu

26-3 Thattankonam

Vellicode

Mulagumoodu P.O.

PIN:629167

              

4. History of Gent's Federation

4

HISTORY OF GENT'S FEDERATION

                Mr. Antony Muthu was born at a house in the Kihzhakku vilai area of Vellicode in 1908 as the third son of a Mr.Michael. He had been a bachelor and Malayalam Pandit. He had been a Home Library fan. He died in 1944. Before his death, he had requested his elder brother – Mr.M. Dharmanathan- to allot a rent-free reading room for the benefit of the people. In deference to his wish, the latter allotted a rent-free room in the first floor when he constructed a new building abutting the high-way.

Gent's Federation Building

        Mr. R. Maria Michael from the Thattamkonam area of Vellicode  – my maternal uncle-, Mr. Cruz Michael from Kizhakku-vilai  area and Mr. Mariakkan from the Puthu-vilai area and a few others formed themselves   into an Association. They started a reading room -St. Xaviers’s Reading Room -in the new room in 1946. A Malayalam newspaper called Deepika was the first newspaper they bought. 

        Mr. Mariakkan was employed in Ernakulam and  he rarely visited Vellicode. Mr. Cruz Michael also left Vellicode. Mr. R. Maria Michael withdrew himself  from the scene when some young boys began to show interest in running the reading room. 

        Now, Mr. M. Michael of Kizhakku Vilai area approached the owner of the room to start an Association and the latter obliged. He then organized an Association called “Students Association” in the same room. The only condition to join it was that one must be a student.

Mr. S. Mariakkon, a foundermember,going to market on 8 May 2012

         Mr. R. Muthiah B.Com. H.D.C. was the first President,  Mr. M. Michael was the Secretary and Mr.S. Mariakkan from the Erattan-vilai area was the Treasurer. Mr. A. Arulappan from the Swamithara-vilai area and Mr. B. Soosai Michael from the Thattankonam area were the Vice President and the Joint Secretary respectively.
          Mr.T.Maria Susai B.A. (Hons)B.L. of Swamithara vilai area - younger brother of my father- inaugurated the Association in 1954. He gave Re.10/- as donation and said that Re.10/-given by him would grow into Re.thousands of crore.
              A characteristic feature of the Association was that the students of other castes and religions in and around Vellicode were admitted as members. A Mr. Sundaram -  a Hindu- of Aynimoottu vilai area and a Mr. Sukumaran -another Hindu- of a neighbouring village –Kallu-vilai- were active members. In fact, Mr. Sukumaran had been functioning as Secretary for some time.

           The Association was started with the object of promoting the physical and mental development of the youth of the Vellicode area.

        Accordingly - for physical development - volley- ball  was introduced in Vellicode in the school ground. Many volley-ball tournaments were conducted. Onam ball tournaments were also organized during the Onam festival. Mr. Subramonium from the Kannannoor was a good Onam ball player. 
            Moreover, training in " Aasanam" - a kind of yoga - was given to a few interested boys. Mr. Muthayyan from the Chevidivilai area of Vellcode was the Yoga Master. In Aasanam,  the boys have to maintain static sitting or stretching positions to build stamina and concentration. I had seen Mr. Mariakkon standing on his head inside the reading room.

              For mental development,  a Tamil newspaper- Thina Thanthi- a Malayalam newspaper-Malayala Manorama- and an English newspaper-The Indian Express- were regularly purchased. President Mr. R. Muthiah had been giving subscription for a newspaper for many years. Besides, subscription was given to Kumutham and Aanandavikidan- two Tamil weeklies- and Then Oli- a Tamil monthly.

          As the members grew old, its name was changed into Gent’s Federation. All office bearers retained their respective positions. The condition that one must be a student to join it was relaxed.   

.        

       One day,  the ‘Founder Secretary’ resigned and Mr. V.S. Ambrose B.Sc. B.T. of Mundavizhagam village was elected as the new Secretary.

     Now, books were collected from all over Vellicode. Two wooden bookshelves were made. To buy glass for the shelves, they had gone to many places before zeroing in on Thiruvithancode. Mr. A. Arulappan of Swamitharavilai area was in-charge of the books.

       A “Debate Club” was started and many social and political issues were periodically debated.

Mr. C.Francis, a founder member of Gent's Federation is sitting in his house.

        Further, a handwritten “Termly Magazine” was published corresponding to the three terms in schools and colleges.  Mr. C. Antony Joseph M.Sc. from the Thirvatti area of Vellicode, Mr. Joseph B.Com. from the Kizhakku vilai area and Mr. B. Soosai Michael were the editors for English, Malayalam and Tamil respectively. Mr. C. Francis used to contribute some highly critical articles, and they were either rejected or published after much debate. 

        Further, a “Drama Unit” had been started mainly for social satire. It had secured the first prize in a drama competition conducted by the Thuckalay Punchayat Union. The Director for the "Drama Unit" was Mr. M.Innasimuthu of Erattan-vilai area and it was called M.I.Muthu Team 

      The people of this village had been studying Malayalam until the R.C. Primary School, Vellicode switched over to Tamil in 1956. Thina Thanthi became a boon for the people to learn Tamil.

        One of the beneficiaries of Thina Thanthi was Mr. M.Innasi Muthu. He had studied up to the second standard only. He was a palm- tree climber. He started reading Thina Thanthi newspaper with the help of others and began to read well.  He gradually became an expert in politics.  In fact, he was the Socrates of Vellicode. As early as in 1966, he said that India was being ruled by Tata and Birla and not by the representatives of the people.  I heard his words and they still reverberate. In fact, it happened to be the dominant theme of my work present in www.howeverythinghappenedinindia.blogspot.com.
           

        Some youngsters got employment/ educational opportunities by virtue of the advertisements in these newspapers.

        Some students used this Library-cum- reading room to enrich their knowledge. I had been a regular visitor during my school days, and it inculcated me with a reading habit. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. M. Antony Muthu, and all others behind this Library.
          The Gent's Federation did some other social works also. Thus, during that time, the R.C. Primary School had a "Labour Week". With the help of the students, the Association laid a 6-feet path to connect Vellicode school ground with the Thiruvatti area. Valvachagostam Punchayat President Mr.J.Nesa-mony opened it.  Later, it became a narrow path is a different matter. 

        After Mr. V.S. Ambrose B.Sc. B.T. had resigned, Mr. I. Sabarimuthu B.E. - from the Puthu vilai- area became the Secretary. Mr. Sabariyaradimai of Kattuvilai area was in charge of the books. The key to the room was transferred from   Mr. A Arulappan to Mr. D. Jesudhason from the Kizhakkuvilai area.  Now, some students returning from the Kattathurai High School and some other people began to give trouble to the owner of the house. Therefore, he asked the office- bearers to vacate the room.

       Thus, in 1973, the Library was shifted to a shed offered by Mr. Muthaian of Thattankonam area. The present writer purchased The Indian Express for two years. However, the owner wanted his shed for his own use. The new Secretary shifted the movable assets of the library to his car shed.

        The office bearers and many members left Vellicode.  There was no one to offer a room. Therefore, the movable assets – two book- shelves along with the books, two benches and a desk- were donated to the R.C. Primary School, Vellicode in 1978.

        Though it is a digression, it is pertinent to note that in 2004, Mr. R. George – younger brother of Mr.R. Muthiah B.Com.H.D.C –donated two cent of land to the Government to establish a library. Accordingly, a library building was constructed using the M.L.A. fund of Mr. Velaudhan M.L.A. The library is being run by a part-time Librarian.

        

        By
V.Sabarimuthu
26-3 Thattankonam
Vellicode
Mulagmoodu P.O. PIN:629167

3. Highlights of the 2011 Festival

3

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2011 FESTIVAL

      There were some memorable speeches in the 2011 annual festival. 
      Rev.Fr. Y. Xavier, on 15 September 2011, pointed out that Jesus Christ was born to Virgin Mary at a time when women  had been stoned to death for their sexual offences.  It may be noted that the story behind Kumara Swamy Temple is that Valli had been born in a family of Kuravar Caste as given in Chapter 2 of www.temples-and-churches.blogspot.com

          On 16 September 2011, Rev. Fr. Leo Alex mentioned that the father of Jesus Christ was a carpenter, and the latter used to  assit the former. Further, he emphasized that all Disciples of Christ were workers like fishermen, farmers. He said certain things with the meaning that a farmer must get, say, Re. 100/- for every cucumber produced by him. He deplored that due to the marketing conditions he did not get even Re. 1/-. He added that the farmers and workers must be duly compensated by the society so that they too would enjoy all amenities just like any other people.

          He, further, said that the red-flag stood for the amelioration of the living standards of the workers. Actually, this flag – in India - exploits them.

          On 18 September 2011, Rev. Fr. Dhen Singh said that man - as a rule - gets maximum pain from his loved ones- father  from his son and vice versa. Despite this, he said, that man is to love and to be loved.

       Some photos, taken on the last two days of the festival, are given below.

2 Our Lady of Seven Dolours Church

2

OUR LADY OF SEVEN DOLOURS CHURCH

             The Our Lady of Seven Dolours Church, Vellicode, was a  stone church constructed using chisel or hammer dressed rubble. It was a fusion of Indian and European architecture. It stood on a big public rock at Vellicode in the Tamil Nadu state in India.
              As in many other churches, there were three doors in front. They represented Father, Son and Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible. There were four side doors. They represented the four apostles who wrote the Bible. Ten pillars represented the ten commandments.

             The central portion of the church stood on 14 arches. There were two windows above every arch for lighting and ventilation. Because of big doors and windows, there was ample air circulation inside. It had tiled roof. 
       There were ten stone pillars in the middle. Besides, four pillars remained attached to the walls. 

The base stone

     Each stone pillar stood on a big piece of stone. The circumference of this base stone was 8 feet, and it was 2.5 feet thick. There were eight major faces and equal number of minor faces to each stone. 
     Further, each door frame was made of single piece of stone. Each step also was made of single piece of stone. No wonder -among the churches - it was the Taj Mahal of this region. 

Statue of Mother Mary in the Our Lady of Seven Dolours church,  Vellicode.

          The deity was a 2-feet tall beautiful wooden statue, which- it is believed- had been installed by a priest from England. It was east facing.

        There was a belief that the deity in the above church granted knowledge and education to the seekers of knowledge. In fact, the preponderance of the educated people in this village is greater than that in other Catholic villages of the Kanyakumari District. There are many post-graduates, doctors, engineers and government employees.  Late Rt. Rev. R.Anony Muthu, Bishop of Vellore, was a native of Vellicode. Late Mr. T. Maria Susai B.A. B.L. retired as Joint Secretary to the Government of Kerala. It generated four priests and several nuns. 
            A few members are blessed with money.
        

         Besides, many believers got relief from various ailments or fulfillment for their demands.  As a token of gratitude, they offered jewels or money to this deity.

          The 10- day annual festival used to start on the second Friday of September. 
     The church cars – called chapparams- were taken in procession on the last day morning and on the night of the penultimate day.

        Vellicode is situated about 50 km south of Trivandrum, or 22 km north of Nagercoil in the National Highway - 47 (NH-47).

    

The present writer's father- Mr. T. Vyakappan- was the contractor for constructing the church. He received subscription from the people for the construction, and he was only the contractor for erecting the church. Mr. Maria Arulappan teacher (my class-teacher in the standard III) was the Mudutham (equivalent to president) and Dharmanathan contractor from the Kizhakku vilai area was the kanakkapillai (equivalent to cashier). They collected the money and gave it to Mr. Vyakappan. Major contribution came from his brother, Mr. T. Maria Susai, B.A. B.L. who was working at the Secretariat, Trivandrum. As a contractor, Mr. T. Vyakappan, advanced the rest of the money in the initial stages. He started the work in 1946 and completed 95 percent of the work in 1960. 

    By 1960, Mr. T. Vyakappan became very poor. He could not continue the work any further. Everyone thought that he could not do anything. The general view was this: "If we collect money and give it to him, he will not use it for finishing the work. He will use it for his private purposes". Therefore, the villagers took up the work and completed it.

     After the consecration of the church in 1962, the Bishop of Kottar, Rt. Rev. Anchu Swamy, said that everyone behind erecting this church would receive the blessings generation after generation. I listened to his speech.

    There was a commotion in front of the church immediately after the Bishop finished his speech. Many villagers led by Puthu vilai Mr. Yesudhason and Erattan Vilai Mr. Innasimuthu wanted to felicitate Mr. T. Vyakappan through a public meeting in front of the church. A section opposed it stiffly. Ultimately, Mr. Varuvel of Kizhakkuvilai gave his place for conducting a meeting. They persuaded Mr. T. Vyakappan, who was sitting in his house, to attend the meeting and the latter obliged. They garlanded him and gave a memento. Mr. T. Vyakappan spoke a few words. He specifically mentioned Kizhakkuvilai Mr. Ambrose who gave Re. 5/- for erecting the church despite his diligent condition.    

    Then, Mr. T. Vyakappan filed a civil suit at the Padmanavhapuram court in Thuckalay for the recovery of money advanced by him for construction. The Bishop of Kottar was the respondent. The advocate was a Mr. Francis who fought the case voluntarily without any remuneration. Mr. T. Vyakappan lost the case. The court asked Mr. T. Vyakappan to get the money from the laity. The Bishop of Kottar had not asked him to construct a church.

    It was a very wrong step taken by Mr. T.Vyakappan. True or false, the villagers used to say that he had turned down Re.2000/- offered by the Bishop of Kottar for the construction of the church under the wrong principle that Vellicode would build a church using the money of the people of Vellicode only. Many felt that it was an autocratic decision of Mr. T. Vyakappan. In fact, many villagers resented it.

    Though Mr. T. Vyakappan lost the case, the villagers agreed to pay Re.7000/- to him and executed an agreement. Mr. Sabarimuthu of Puthu vilai and Mr. Mickael of Kizhakku vilai tried their level best to repay the money during their stint. However, they could pay only about Re.3500/- in several instalments of Re.50/- or 100 until his death. Mr. Vyakappan died of penury and prostate cancer on 6 February 1970. Even if they had given the money, it might not have made much difference to his life because money value had fallen drastically.

      However, everyone in the village used to say that Mr. Vyakappan constructed it. How much it is true or not Mr. T. Vyakappan alone knew.

        Two or three priests, who knew Mr. T. Vyakappan, wanted to demolish the church. Their thinking apparently was this. “We are the people who matter to the Catholic faith. The Catholic faith should not have the contribution of this kind from a man like Mr. T. Vyakappan. Therefore, we must use our might covertly or overtly to pull it down and construct a new one in its place and show it to people like Mr. Sabarimuthu.”

At first, they worked for this end latently.  Then they floated the idea of constructing a new church among the laity. They said that Vellicode needed a modern concreate church as in other parishes. Then, they prepared a blueprint for a new church and circulated it among the priests and nuns. A nun hailing from Vellicode told me that she had seen the blueprint.

Then the matter percolated to the people. Seldom the laity knew that they were carrying out the agenda of two or three priests. Many among the laity started discussing the pros and cons of constructing a new church and majority of the people came to the conclusion that a new church could be constructed. About 50% wanted a new church, about 30% wanted to preserve it and about 20% remained neutral. Some, in 30%, opposed the idea but chose to remain silent just to avoid controversy. At this time, a man donated Re. one lakh to the Parish Priest for the construction of a new church, requesting him not to disclose his name to anyone.

By 2009, the vociferous people among the laity wanted to pass a resolution in favour of constructing a new church. Accordingly, the Parish Priest convened the meeting (called "Oor koottam" in the common parlance).

 It was not customary for me to participate in the meetings in the preceding 30 years. However, I decided to express my opinion, lest someone might say that I did not do my duty of expressing my opinion to the people at the appropriate place at the appropriate time. Therefore, I attended the meeting and said, “I stand here not to oppose the idea of constructing a new church. However, it need not be by demolishing the present one. A new church could be constructed in a place near to the present one, if necessary, by buying some property. The present church could be used for some other purposes like marriage functions. We must conserve the present church for its heritage value.

This is the only stone church in our area. A church of this kind is not going to be constructed in future in any place. Many countries like the USA, Israel conserve the old structures. We go to different pilgrimage places not to see the present structures but to see the old structures. We must preserve it for the benefit of the posterity.

I say this, not because my father was the contractor for constructing the church but because I realize its heritage value. I apply this principle everywhere. Recently, the Government of Tamil Nadu demolished the roof and the upper parts of Padmanabhapuram Hospital building, at Thuckalay, which had been constructed by a former king. I immediately wrote a letter to the President of India requesting him to prevent the destruction of such heritage buildings. Though I could not prevent the total destruction of the hospital, no other old structures are being demolished now.

Majority opinion in these matters is meaningless. We talk about “majority opinion and washing the hands”. That kind of mistake we should not commit.  I request you to conserve the church for the benefit of posterity.”

Everyone listened with rapt attention. None interrupted. In total desperation the meeting passed a resolution authorizing me to construct a new church after demolishing the present one. A Mr. Christuraj said, “Your father constructed the present church. You construct a new one in that place. We are not against you or your father.” They did it knowing well that I would not do it.

After the meeting, no one came near to me. I stood alone. The general opinion was that I did my duty. They had expected this from me.

Next year, there was a rumor that the then Bishop of Kottar, Rt. Rev. Peter Ramigious, would pay a visit to Vellicode. I called on him at Bishops’ house. At this time, I happened to meet a Rev. Fr. Thobias (late), who was an eye- witness to the construction of the church and explained my predicament to him. He agreed to convey the hardships faced by Mr. T. Vyakappan for the construction of the church and its heritage value to the Bishop.

When the Bishop came to Vellicode, there was another meeting of the laity. A large number of people attended the meeting. Everyone wanted a new church. They said that there was not enough space in the church to accommodate the people. The Bishop said, “The population is steadily falling down and there is no necessity for a new church. Those with four or more children, please raise your hand.”

Only two men- myself and another man- raised their hands. Then, he asked those with three children to raise their hand. Two more responded. Then the Bishop said, “See, there are not enough children. The existing church is enough.”

Then the members said, “The tiles are leaking. We need a concreate church.”

The Bishop retorted, “You can have a thatched roof rather than a concreate one.” He then wrote something in the minute book and left.

Later, a Mr. Gnanamuthu remarked, “It is a miracle. Holy Mary saved the church.”

Another man said, “I have been praying to save the church.’

Then the Kottar diocese was bifurcated into Kottar diocese and Kuzhithurai diocese, and Vellicode fell into the latter. A Rt. Rev. Jeromedhas Varuvel became the Bishop of Kuzhuthurai.

One day, I called on him and handed over a letter requesting him to protect all stone churches in the new diocese in view of their heritage value. He read the letter while walking and observed, “It is a good idea. People must come for general purposes like this one.” He nodded his head and put the letter in his shirt-pocket.

          However, the demand for demolishing the church gathered momentum. I dissociated myself from all deliberations but wrote letters to the Bishop of Kuzhuthurai, Bishop of Kottar, Archbishop of Madurai, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India requesting them to prevent the demolition of the church.

          Simultaneously, as the church was standing in a public place, I sent letters to the Madras High Court- extending a copy to the Supreme Court- requesting it to prevent its destruction. In response, the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) came to my house for some clarification.

          However, I was in America and Malaysia while speedy steps were taken for the demolition. I had to stay in America for six months. I could not do anything. However, I managed to send a letter to Holy Father Pope.

          They, apparently, obtained the permission of the Prime Minister of India through suitable persons and pulled the church down to the ground on August 26, 2019. They, then eradicated it with vengeance without leaving any vestige. They did not spare even the stone cross that had been in existence from time immemorial. This happened only after my return from America.

          My political work, apparently, prompted the High Court to remain passive to demolition.

The letter addressed to the Pope had not been delivered, and it returned after the destruction of the church. I thought that it was destiny.

The church might not have been pulled down, had there been rule of law in India. I attribute it also to destiny. We can do our duty and leave the matter there. Thus, the posterity lost a wonderful stone church. Some said that their prayers to protect the church ended in vain.  

       The laity (people of Vellicode) did not own enough land for the construction of a church. There was a small church called Kurusadi atop a big rock at the centre of Vellicode. The rock was a public property.  The R.C. Primary School at Vellicode possessed about 35 cent of land and there was equal area of land for a common cemetery. The families in the south wanted to erect the church in the school playground. The families in the north wanted to construct the church on the rock. Finally, they decided to construct the church on the rock after demolishing the Kurusadi. At what stage Mr. T. Vyakappan entered the scene is not known. What is known is that he blasted the rock up to a certain level and used the rubble for the construction of the church.

Before the advent of the Kurusady, there was a stone cross atop the rock. Some men living in Vellicode had planted it.

    

             A new concrete church - a symbol of vengeance- is being constructed in such a way that about 50 percent of it stands on church property and the rest stands on public property.

         Unable to pay the tax (called vari) for the new church one or two silent people embraced other religion. One or two people have not paid it even though they are capable of paying it.       

                  V. Sabarimuthu

                    25-12-2020.