Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas –Thondacchan and the Four Silver Coins

This is indeed a remarkable story!
If true, and if it can be proved that the
4 coins were really part of the 30 silver
coins that constituted the reward for the
betrayal of the Messiah, it would constitute
a very major archaeological find!
But how did Apostle Thomas get this?!
Would some responsible archaeological agency
be looking into confirming the genuineness
of these coins? These could create waves in
the archaeological world if they are proved
genuine….!

I dont agree with Joseph George’s comments on Nair folktale. This is the very attitude with which the Portuguese imposed “Papal” Christianity to Kerala. I can hear the Portuguese say – “ I’m sorry, it doesn’t say so in our book. So it never happened!” This is exactly what the fundamentalist Islamists are doing today around the world with the Koran under their arm.
If one was to carefully examine the state of the papacy during Vasco da Gama’s time in India ( 1498CE to 1524CE ) after the Portuguese rediscovered the route to India, it is clearly seen as a “Church in disorder”, wrought by upheavals and lack of control over their followers. This was because of misinterpretation, misrepresentation and incomplete history that the Portuguese of that time meted out to the world in the name of Christianity. It does not do the “ultimate truth” any justice. It is now evident to the whole world that the neo-Christians led by Vasco-da Gama were imposing their own rules on the Indian sub-continent, being intolerant to accept that Jesus’ teachings (through the Apostle St. Thomas) had arrived here hundreds of years before their own country.

I am sure I have heard the story of these four coins in my childhood. (Sadly I just cannot recall from whom). All I can say is, but for their martial spirit and their tenacity, I can understand what the terrible plight of the Nair tharavad would have been if the Portuguese had got their hands on those coins.

In my opinion, Dr. K C Jerome has taken a very logical view. Why (mis-)use the Bible as a “bench-mark” to evaluate all happenings around the world. The New Testament was written many years after Jesus’ own lifetime, and we believe the gospel to be the best effort of the writers Mark, Luke, Mathew and John to record the teachings of Jesus. But the source of their writings were confined to a region, limited by the availability of witness accounts, limited by the fact that Jesus never wrote down his teachings/doctrine, etc.. To denounce something that might have happened in India (without investigation} as “highly improbable” because the edited and later version of the Bible has no mention of it is rightly a case of “blinkers”.

Westerners on their quest for new colonies 500 years ago found it hard to swallow that the gospel in its original form was being practiced by a peaceful community created by an apostle of Christ on the coast of Kerala.

Roselene Kristu Rao

Thondachan

As mentioned by Joseph George some are so fervent to accept as true what ever they perceive as a faith, folklore or hearsay so as to justify the origin of Christianity in kerala. I have no idea about a particular lineage of Nairs who has any link to Thondachan myths. But how did Thondachan turn to Thomachan and vice versa. The author himself defended the existence of thondachan among nayar tharavads. Existence of Nairs during this age is still a matter of discrepancy.

There are many Myths among the ancient aborigines.
Malakkari is a god worshipped by ‘Kurichiyar’ and ‘Atiyar’. This deity is the daughter of Parameswara and parvathi while they were living in the woods.

In the myth regarding the origin of ‘Suvani’ of Atiyans, there is reference to the origin of the world. The deity originated after the creation of the sky and the earth. Subsequently two deities called Siddhappan and Mallappan were created. Then came man and vegetation.

There are myths behind theyyam performed by the tribals of Wayanad too. They were deities like Elavilli, Poovilli, Murikkanmar, Malayakkarinkali and so on.

Thondachan found among Thiyyas
———————‘VAYANATTU KULAVAN’.
———————KATHIVANNOOR VEERAN
This myth gives the origin of Thiyyas. Majority of the Theyyams worshipped at present were from the Thiyya/Billava community.

Thondachan’ found among Pulayars.
——————–“PULIMARANJA”
Among pulayars the thondachan is in the form of Animals. The animal can transform itself in any shape..

This is another defining moment about the evolution theory. From beef eating to cremation of religious heads the bonds and associations with many aboriginal communities are a great deal apparent within the community from centuries. Any way an initiative in this regard has to be taken like the DNA project to further excavate the possibilities of evolution.

I have been following this Thondachan debate for many years, even before Paula Gruber’s story was published, and I am quite disturbed and overwhelmed by the frog-in-a-well attitude most of us Christians display whenever interesting revelations or new archaeological discoveries delve into our faith. The effort often appears not to “research” but to “remove” anything that seems capable of shaking our comfort in traditional belief.

Whoever “BGfromNZ” is, he/she has done just this by his/her sweeping declaration – “I personally feel such folklores should be removed with immediate effect.”

Can you throw a copy of the Bible into a trash-can to bring about the end of Christianity?
A folklore that survived more than 2000 years cannot be erased by simply taking it off your pet website. There is an equally ancient folklore in north India that believes Jesus died in Kashmir. Another that believes St. Thomas never set foot in India. What is the difficulty with examining the evidence over time before rejecting it? Like the ostrich who buries its head in the sand in the face of truth, that “normally intelligent intellect” which you spoke of appears to be seriously retarded in this respect!

Another classic example of BGfromNZ’s reasoning is-
“By common consent among the historians, the earliest inhabitants of Kerala were the Pulayas, Kuravas and Vetas and a later drift to Thiyas .”

“Common consent” need not necessarily be right. “Common consent” need not necessarily be the truth. If there is such a thing as common consent it is in the fact that new evidence has continuously reversed established consent and belief. This is what history is all about. It is rewritten every time new evidence emerges. The city of Troy was believed to be a myth perpetrated by Homer’s Illiad, until excavations revealed that such a city actually existed! True justice is being done to the Shroud of Turin (believed for long to be a fake) until new technology and science now appears to be bringing it closer and closer to being the actual shroud that wrapped the body of Christ.

In fact eventually it is difficult to find two historians who even concur to consent!

Since knowing the opinion of so many historians, I wish you could name one single historian who has actually examined these “rakta-velli” coins or researched the folklore, partially or conclusively, before you came to your own conclusions about historians and their “common consent.” Yes, name me one historian before this folklore is weeded out of this website.

In short, my only plea is, why not let the debate continue? You are entitled to your opinion, but wait till the truth emerges before beginning to flay it and running it off the website. Many Christians such as myself would like to know how this story eventually unfolds.

G. Daniel
Jorhat

Dear NJ
The best example from history I can quote is the Act of Thomas and King Gondophares. Till King Gondophares coins were discovered no one was ready to believe that such a king ever existed
The Acts of Thomas, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

“And when he had thus prayed he said unto the soldiers: Come hither and accomplish the commandments of him that sent you. And the four came and pierced him with their spears, and he fell down and died. And all the brethren wept; and they brought beautiful robes and much and fair linen, and buried him in a royal sepulchre wherein the former (first) kings were laid.”

Indo-parthian areas comprising Arachosia, Seistan, Sindh, Gandhara, and the Kabul valley, but it does not have any territory east beyond the Punjab. Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom and ruled from 21 CE for at least 26 years. So the death of St.Thomas should be before AD 47 according to Acts of Thomas. Let us come to the mylapore version. St. Thomas spent the last years of his life in a cave on this hill. Tradition states that Thomas was assassinated by a shot of an arrow in AD 72, by persons hostile to him (some accuse a Brahmin). Dear NJ the contradictions are enormous and discovery of Gondophares coin do not prompt us to think that “wow that’s history”. Or do you mean he died twice, one some where in Indo-parthian territory before AD47 and another in Mylapore in AD 72? Besides the mylapore tomb did not reveal any royal sculptures of former kings as stated in Acts of Thomas. Please don’t state the last phase of the act was written by a RSS chap to deceive.

A folklore that survived more than 2000 years……………………………..

A much polished interpretation of the above statement gives an impression that some one was auditing the transmission of this folklore for the last 2000 years. If the story has a mention of St. Thomas does it stand for a first century creation?

The earliest inhabitants of Kerala were the Pulayas, Kuravas and Vetas. It is at a much later time that migratory Aryan populations from the north landed. This is kerala history and not endorsed by Pariwar but by educated historians who are unaware of the reality that a few in NSC don’t acknowledge their credibility. Honestly I speculate some members as mentioned by NJ are ***domestic schooled***.

Can you throw a copy of the Bible into a trash-can to bring about the end of Christianity?.

What a sarcastic and irrational comparison. Bible and the Thondachan folklore!

As numismatists, let us inform you that the case of the Shekels of Tyre does not end with what (an apparently well informed) “BJ from NZ” has written, or what historians have been able to deduced so far about their history.

We dread the day that the “Rakta Velli” is actually brought out by this alleged Nair family holding them, and allowed public viewing. For, like the Turin shroud and many other biblical relics, these coins will definitely see the “trial by fire’ in the hands of both serious researchers and sceptics for years to come.

For, there already exists remarkable confusion over the Shekels already unearthed in the middle-east. The problem is that there have been several “moulds” and “dyes” used over centuries (both before and after Jesus’ time) that apart from the image of Malquarth and the eagle, we still have difficulty distinguishing a true Shekel (used in the Biblical era) from a recent fake. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the Jerusalem priests themselves were forging their own (several versions) of the Shekels of Tyre. “Fakes” you might call them. But they could have constituted the Biblical 30 pieces of silver . In which case the four silver coins could be among some of the “Jerusalem fakes” of Biblical times!

Dear John,
This is a new amazing info to many of us that St. Thomas or any of the Apostle collected cursed coins of Judas from the “Field of blood”.
1. It imply/accuse that Thomas is co-betrayer with Judas/ or with the conspirators
2. and he was so greedy to pick-up or keep the bloody coins, the price of his beloved master.
3. I afraid it is yet another lie by those persecute Christians in India.
4. Wonder what will be the response of true Hindu brothes.
5. Where is it mentioned, any authentic proof ? Aren’t you spreading a malicious lie against Thomas Christians ?

How right you are, Malika! At a time when the Christian religion is being perceived in India as a threat! When our religion is being condemned as a “recently imported” faith by the less informed and the ignorant. When fundamental Hindu groups are spreading propaganda that Christianity is a legacy of British Imperialism!
What better proof of the antiquity of Christianity do we need than these four coins and a folklore from a Hindu household?
I too have heard my grand-parents mention the existence of these coins with reverence. It is not a recent story. I must have heard of these coins in the mid 1970s. Over 30 years ago. I personally don’t believe that people simply make up stories with such detail just to entertain their grand-children unless there is some truth to it. I believe they exist somewhere. Paula Gruber must have seen them.

The four coins are true relics. The Christian community ought to seriously ponder over the preservation of this important evidence of our 2000 year old roots in India.

The Namboothiri conversion Story may be cooked up by the Namboothiris itself . Because the Namboothiris have a tendency to claim paternity of genius persons of kerala in the ancient times .t For that they make stories ( Ithihyams) .example Parayi petta panthirukulam, ezhuthachan , perunthachan stories,etc . Nasranis dont have Sambanthams with Namboothiris so its difficult for them to claim paternity of Nasrani genius guys . For that they may cooked up Namboothiri conversion Story .

Hi DJ,
You tend to think of migration as something that can happen only once.Instead,it is a continuous process.You just cant pinpoint just one community as the progenitors of the Christian community in India.There are many(Copts,Armenians,Lebanese,Syrians,the natives(who might have been Budhist not Hindu as you say).
There is no need to be combative.

The following is an essay writen by Prof. C. I. Issac about Christianity in Kerala.

An enquiry into the colonial and missionary interest.
Prof. C. I. Issac
An historical narrative of Indian Christianity would not be complete without the study of Christianity in Kerala. Christianity is believed to have reached the shores of Kerala in the first century of Common Era [C.E.], though this is not supported by documentary or authentic evidence. The emergence and spread of Christianity in Kerala is shrouded in such myths and legends. Kerala’s Christian past is essentially pivoting on the stories popularized by the Church on the fragile foundations of theology and belief. Therefore, historians encountered many problems in deconstructing its past. First is the question of the arrival of Saint [St.] Thomas and subsequent conversion of Hindu aristocracy [particularly the Namboothiris] to Christianity. Second is the date of the origin of Christianity in Kerala. Third one is the European interest behind popularization of generating aristocratic [savarna] feeling among the native Christians. Finally, how far these missionary activities mutilated the national life?
The centre of the pre-colonial phase of history is the question of savarna origin of Kerala Christianity and the role of Thomas, a disciple of Jesus. This savarna origin theory of Indian Christianity was firstly constructed and popularized in Kerala by Fringies [Portuguese Catholic Missionaries] in the sixteenth century for the fulfillment of their colonial ends1. It is true that before the arrival of Europeans in India, a nominal Christian presence was seen only in the Travancore and Cochin regions of Kerala. The antagonism that was generated amongst the Christians and Muslims due to the Crusades of 11th, 12th and 13th centuries prevented Christian proselytism enterprises from planting their roots in the Malabar region where Muslims got roots quite earlier. It is only during the British period that the Christian society came into being in the Malabar region. It is true that the Christians in Travancore and Cochin regions were only a marginal community confined to a few port towns before the arrival of Europeans. For that reason during this period the churches in Kerala were very few in numbers and could be counted on fingers. Hence, since the arrival of Portuguese till the early decades of the nineteenth century here in Kerala there were only less than three hundred Christian churches of all the denominations2. According to Ward and Conner, even after two centuries of the birth of Christianity, the number of Christians on the Malabar Coast shrank to eight families. The Christian population altogether in Travancore and Cochin during the early decades of the 19th century CE was 35,000 with 55 churches3. Thus the native Church’s claim of the story of St. Thomas and the early origins of Indian Christianity is not a universally accepted fact. In the year 1952 CE, the native Catholic Church approached the Papacy in Rome for Pontifical approval to celebrate 1900th year of proselytism of Kerala since the arrival of St. Thomas on its shores. The Papacy declined the request of the Kerala Catholics on the ground that the claim has no historicity. In spite of this denial, the Savarna Catholics, the Syrian descendants of those said to have received baptism from disciple Thomas, celebrated the 19th centenary of the arrival of Thomas with much pomp.
Behind the building of such a story of apostolic and savarna origin of Indian Christianity there was a willful plan of destabilizing the foundations of Hinduism through the conversion of higher castes of India. It means the total conversion of Hindus. Robert de’ Nobili, [hailing from Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy]4 was the brain behind the savarna origin theory of the early Indian [Kerala] Church. It was the part of his ambitious programme of converting the Brahmins to Christianity. Because of his zeal to convert the Hindu aristocracy to Christianity; he adopted their mode of life, mastered in Sanskrit and so had to cut himself off completely from intercourse with his fellow missionaries. He worked in Madurai, Mysore, and the Carnatic till old age and almost complete blindness compelled him to retire to Mylapore5. Through him the cultivation of savarna feeling amongst then wealthy sections of the Christian faith started. A section of the Church en-cashed this new feeling for their missionary ends. His labour in this direction may further encouraged building the story of Thomas’ christening of the Namboothiris of Kerala. Another derogatory step that follows from the missionary interest in India is the recasting of the traditional Hindu symbols to suit the Church’s purpose of conversion. The pioneer in this line was Robert De Nobili, an early seventeenth century Catholic Missionary of India, who lived in the attire of a Hindu hermit and established a monastery in Madurai to convert Brahmins. He attempted to place Christianity within the Vedic tradition which would appeal to the upper jatis. The old Nobilian legacy is still continuing. 6.
. The only historical record pertaining to the arrival of Saint Thomas is the book ‘The Acts of Thomas’. But this book does not mention the Malabar Coast. “Acts of Saint Thomas is a historical romance written in Syriac towards the end of second or by the beginning of third centuries.”7 In the history of social formations of ancient Kerala, it is interesting to see that up to the fourth century CE this land was occupied by the pre-Vedic settlements only8. So Nambootiri as a Hindu jati was seen only after the fourth century of CE. The Terisapalli [St. Theresa Church] Copper Plate Grant [Terisapalli Cheppedu] executed in 849 CE by Ayyan Atikal Tiruvatikal of Venadu during the reign of Emperor Sthanu Ravi (844-855) is the available oldest historical documentation linking Christianity to Kerala. But this grant was obtained by the foreign Christian merchants9. The first Christians of the Kerala may be the merchant community hailing from the new faith who settled here temporarily or permanently for business purposes. The Persian Christian migration was the prime reason of the growth of Christianity in Kerala. In addition to it the threat posed by the religion of Islam in the Persian region since 7th century CE onwards through its Christian persecution caused the influx of Christian refugees to this land, supplemented to the Christian population of Kerala. Even after the Persian Christian migration the Christian population remained here as a marginal group/jati in this tiny region until the European occupation of this land. Several travelers’ accounts and British documents are referring to the emaciated conditions of the native Christianity. Only after the indiscriminate conversion of native jatis from sixteenth century CE onwards by the European Christian missionary bands resulted in the enhancement of the Christian population of Kerala to the present level10. Further more G. T. Mackenzie observes, Christians prior to the arrival of Portuguese, did not form the part of Travancore aristocracy. Pope Nicolas IV sent Monte Corvino, a missionary to convert India and China and he wrote to pope in 1306 that “There are very few Christians and Jews [in India] and they are of little weight”.11. Thus the earliest migrant Christian population was numerically a negligible section. The natives regarded Christianity as another path, as well as an upasana system12. Therefore it functioned here as an offshoot of Hinduism till the arrival of Portuguese. Even the names of the Christians were Hindu.13
After the arrival of the Portuguese, a large-scale aggressive proselytizing movement started in Kerala under the stewardship of a padre called Francis Xavier. His eight-year stay in South India changed the entire course of its history. In a short period, he was able to enhance the numerical strength of Kerala’s Christian population. He was no different from Mohammed Ghazini or Aurangazeb in the space of proselytizing enterprise. Francis Xavier was the man solely responsible for the establishment of the Inquisition Court in Goa in 1560, under which Hindu women were raped and burnt alive and Hindu temples were demolished14. The wrath of the Catholic Church that was started with Francis Xavier in Goa did not spare even innocent children of Hindu origin. This notorious religious court functioned in Goa till 1812. Francis Xavier once remarked, “I told the new Christians to demolish the shrines of the idols and saw to it that they crushed the images into dust. I could not express to you the consolation it gave me to watch the idols being destroyed by the very hands of those who so recently used to worship them”15. No doubt Francis Xavier was a mentally debased bigot. Thus the history of temple annihilation in Kerala starts with Francis Xavier in Travancore-Cochin. The first prey was the temple at Thevalakkara in Quilon district and Palluruthi near Cochin16. Another church demolished by the Christian fanaticism during the said period was the Church at Palayoor near Guruvayoor. Until the day of the collapse of the disputed structure at Ayodhya, the Palayoor Church authorities kept a board in front of the church which reads: “The church was constructed by St. Thomas after demolishing a temple”. [Now the board has been removed]. The last one of such demolitions took place in 1950, by setting fire to the famous Sastha Temple at Sabrimalai. In the Malabar region it continued unabatedly until the resistance movement organized in 1969 under the organizational umbrella of Kshetra Smrakshna Samiti by the renowned freedom fighter K. Kelappan [Kelappajee]. De Souza, the Portuguese governor, made a futile attempt to plunder the shrine at Thiruppathi is also to be remembered in this context. The Portuguese did not spare the Muslims of Malabar. The Sixteenth Century Muslim Arabic scholar of Kerala [Ponnani], Shaik Zainuddin, in his work Tuhafat-ul-Mujahiddin, mentions their plunder and destruction of mosques. They did not spare the Kerala’s Jews either: to escape the Portuguese persecution, in 1565 the Jews of Crangannoor escaped to places of Hindu dominancy such as Paravoor, Mala, Chennamangalam, Ernakulam, etc.
It is important to consider the information available from the work of C. M. Augur, an English Missionary cum the Resident of Travancore, to pencil in a correct picture of the Christian intolerance from the days of Padre Francis Xavier. According to Augur in 1816 C.E there were, in the Travancore State [now the part of Kerala], 19,524 temples and 301 churches for all denominations. But in 1891, that is after 76 years, the number of temples had come down to 9,364 and the number of churches had burgeoned to 1,116. [17]. It really a testimony to understand the depth and extent of extermination of Hindu culture during the colonial phase. While the Portuguese used force to the spread of the ‘faith’ British moved with education and legislation. The British insisted several native kings to nationalize rich temples in order to enhance their revenue. This resulted in the withering away [mercy killing] of several temples having less income which was once supported by the nationalized temples.
In the place of every demolished temples churches were sprang up. One such famous church was established in 1938 was at Malayattoor, near Adi Sankara’s birthplace. It was earlier a Siva temple. The revenue records of the old princely state of Travancore admit this fact. The temple was known to the locality as “Kurinchimudi Temple” [hill peak temple]. After the Christian occupation the name of the place was slightly changed to “Kurissumudi” [Mount of cross]. During the Sangam period the entire South India was topographically divided into five regions. The regions contained hills and mountains were called “Kurinchi“. Really the temple name was associated with its topography was conveniently changed with the ’sign of faith’ by the Christians after their occupation of the temple site. Considering the geographical area, the number of the temples set ablaze or knocked down in Travancore was proportionately much higher than that of temples demolished by the Muslim rulers of Northern India.
The Portuguese’s over enthusiasm to generate a Christian population in India was not born out of their ecclesiastical interest but of their political ends. It is very clear from their Latin American experiences. To generate a section that supports their political interest in India was the need. Hence the early Christians of Kerala fell in their trap. Earlier they supported them and later clashed with them. Their objectives well reflected in the subsequent disguised reform measures.
1. It is to create the way smooth for the establishment of Portuguese domination over Hindustan.
2. To establish Roman ecclesiastical authority over Kerala’s Christianity;
3. To destroy all its Hindu practices, rituals and traditions that were retained by the native Christians;
4. To extend the Latin Christendom to the soil of the Hindus.
All this intended to de-Hinduize the Malabar [Kerala] Christianity resulted in the Synod of Damper [Udayamperoor], 1559, and it was the graveyard of Syrian Christian Hindu morphology18. Thus the native Christian community reacted against their villainous designs and it resulted in the “Oath of Coonan Cross”19. It was a delayed response so it didn’t produced any desired results.
During the British period missionaries followed the policy of education and modernization of the natives. Missionaries and indologists together popularized the notion of ‘modernity’ and presented colonialism as the synonym of modernity. It was in the light of the history of this land. They realized the fact that to proselytize a Hindu is a quiet difficult task. To the Hindu, “every religion is a path that leads to God-realization. There is only one God which is called by various names and which is attainable to genuine seeker by sincerely following his own path. All the Hindu scriptures have upheld this view”.20. That is why to a Hindu the question of conversion is immaterial. The obsessive eyes of the English missionaries were always in search of the weaker aspects of the targeted society and people. This is an observable fact that operates from the first century to the present day with some morphological difference only.
On the other hand it is easy to make a Hindu a non-committed Hindu through his schooling. Missionary enterprises through ages moved in this direction. Educational vision of the missionaries in pagan lands not only confined to modernization of its social fabric but to “get acquainted with the person of Jesus Christ and His Gospel” by the youths outside the Christian faith21. This is nothing different from the ‘Pauline’ strategy of the first century that successfully experimented in Athens. It can be made clearer by quoting St. Paul, “For I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God’. That, which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you”22.
The colonial and subsequent missionary activities are not finishing with mere change of faith but its far reaching consequences are still confronting by the Hindu populations particularly of Kerala and North Western regions. No doubt, the history teaches that any small change in the demographic pattern will be a threat to the national integrity. The number of Muslim population in India in 1901 was 2,91,02,000, but thereafter in 1941 this population got a growth of 68.24 percent and reached it at 4,26,45,000. So they demanded an exclusive state for the Muslims. In 1940s Muslims has only 13.38 percent share in the Indian population but it established that it was sufficient to demand a separate state for them. Regions like the Northeast secured an upper hand to the Christian population in the 1960s [1961 Christian population: 52.97 % & in 2001: 85%], hence demands their severance. Like wise any slight regional imbalance due to the changes in the religious equilibrium will endanger the nation.
Before the political and economic strength of the organized religions of Kerala the divided Hindu is subjected to the extinction syndrome. Even though Hindus are numerically predominant, the vote bank politics kick them out of the political processes of Kerala. Religious minorities vote is very decisive to all political parties of the state and are very particular to sacrifice the Hindu interest before the religious minorities vested interest. From much applauded land reforms to the educational reforms the Hindu interest were sabotaged. Now the 55 percent of the Hindus population of Kerala controls 11.11 % of the total bank deposits. On the other hand 19 % Christian community commands 33.33% and 25% Muslim population retain 55.55 percent.
Non Resident Keralite [NRK] remittances as well as the income from commercial crops cultivation are the main source of the income of the state. The number of the NRKs during the period 2005-06 was 3, 65,293. Of which, the 82.5% are in the Gulf countries. Of the total Gulf country workforce during the reported period, 49.5% were Muslims and 31.5% were Christians. The Hindu share in this sector is only 19% only23. 60.5% of the total NRK remittance is the contribution of the minority communities24. Again the total NRK remittance is 184.65 billion rupees and it is equivalent to seven times of the state government receipts as centre budgetary support or fifteen times of the earning from the cashew export or nineteen times of the states marine export. The annual average remittance per house hold is also shown wide imbalances. A Marthomma Christian share is Rs.26, 098/-, a Muslim is Rs.24, 000/-, a Hindu is Rs.6, 134/- and a Hindu SC is Rs725/ [25]. On the other hand the average land holding of a Christian family of Kerala is 126.4 cents and of Hindus and Muslims are 69.1 and 77.1 cents respectively26.
In the industrial sector 30% and 35% are under the control of the Muslims and Christians respectively. In the agriculture sector Muslims holds 23% and the Christians hold is 40%. The trade and commerce sector Muslims and Christians correspondingly holds 40% and 36%. Conversely the whole jatis of Hindu’s hold in the segments such as industrial is 28%, in agriculture is 24%, and trade-commerce is 22%. Don’t forget the fact that certain weakest Hindu jatis shares in the above sectors may be zero27. The Hindu population of Kerala as per the 2001 census is 56.2%. Of them 5.5% are farmers and 18.3% are farm labours. The Muslim population as per the latest census is 24.7% and among them 6.1% is farmers, 11.8% is farm labourers and one among the three families has an overseas employed person. The 19.1% Christians are the most blessed and 12.8% of them are farmers and 11.2% agricultural labourers. The numbers of BPLs are too high in Hindu jatis. It is 39.3 lakhs amongst the Hindus. On the other hand it is 24.7 lakhs and 8.2 lakhs respectively amongst the Muslims and Christians28.
Before the growing strength of Semitic religions the Hindu identity itself is in danger at certain parts of the country. This situation further advances to several new states by taking advantage of the changed political situation of India. Under the shield of certain constitutional rights the minority religions labouring to enhance its numerical strength by ignoring the fact that all other sections has the right to protect their religions, faith and cultural identity. If this trend continues unabatedly for another half a century the Hindu nation may shrink to be a concept of the past.
End notes
1. V. Balakrishnan, History of Syrian Christians of Kerala, Trissur, 1999, pp 75, 76
2. C. M. Augur, The Church History of Travancore, 1902, Kottayam, pp 7, 8, 9.
3 Ward [Lieut.] and Connor, The Survey of Travancore and Cochin States, Trivandrum, 1863, pp 146, 147
4. Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, http://www.newadvent.org
5. Ibid
6 Titus George, Why must it be Vedic identity? The New Indian Express, Kochi, 25 September 2000.
7. The date of the journey of Saint Thomas is not mentioned in this book. The book tells us that Thomas started from Jerusalem spent a few time in Syria and reached Afghanistan. Its ruler was Gondophernes. Thomas converted the ruler and his brother. Thereafter his journey was to Mazda where there he became martyr. See The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Vol. 2, Trissur, 1973, p 3. Three fragments of the Gospel of Thomas in Greek, dated about 200 CE, were found in Oxyrhyncnus, Egypt, at about the turn of the last century and a full text in Coptic, dated 350 CE, was found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. See New Theories in Bible Research, John Dart, Indian Express, dated 9th April 1978.
8 P. K. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala Samskarika Caritram, 1991, Trivandrum, pp 206 –211
9. This Copper Plate contains a land grant to Christian community of Quilon for the construction of Teresa Church. A. Sreedharamenon, Survey of Kerala History, Kottayam, 1970, p100.
10. C. M. Agur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7-9
11. G.T. Mackenzine, Christianity in Travancore, Trivandrum, 1901, p 8
12.P.K.Balakrishnan, Jati Vyavstituoum Kerala Charitravoum, Kottayam, 1983,
p 345 ff
13. See Thazhakadu Church Inscription of Chera King Rajasimha, [1028-1043 C.E]
14.Kanayalal. M.Talreja, Holy Vedas and Holy Bible, New Delhi, 2000, p 170.
15. Francis Xavier in a letter to the Church authorities in Portugal explains his joy and consolation while Hindu idols were destroyed. See V. Balakrishnan, op cit, p 105 & Kanayalal M. Talrej, op cit, p 18.
16.T. K. Velupillai, The Travancore State Manual, Vol. II, [1940] Trivandrum, rpt. 1996, pp 174,175 & A. Sreedharamenon, op cit, pp 228, 229.
17. C. M. Augur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7, 8, 9.
18. P. Cheriyan, op cit, p 68 & Missionary Register from 1818 to 1817, pp 101-115
19. It is because of the pull caused through the coir rope the Cross curved down. In Malayalam Coonan mean curved or bent. The meaning is “Oath of Bent Cross”.
20. Rg Vedic messages of “eakam sat vipra bahutavatanthi” the centre of Hindu religious approach. See, P. Parameswaran, Hindutva Ideology – Unique and Universal, Chennai, 2000, p 7.
21. “Education is an integral part of our mission to proclaim the Good News to every creature”. See C.M.I Vision of Education, [A policy statement published by Carmelite of Mary Immaculate] Cochin, 1991, pp 1, 6.
22. Paul, the Apostle of Christ, The Acts of the Apostles, New Testament, Chapter XVII, Aphorism: 22.
23. See Economic Times, 19 May 2003
24. See K.C. Zachariah & others, Study, report published in ‘The new Indian Express’, Kochi, 22 July 2003.
25. K. C. Zachria & S. Irudayarajan, CDS Study, New Indian Express, Kochi, 16th July 2004
26. Kerala Padanam, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, Kozhikode, 2006, p 54. [Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a Marxist party organization.].
27. K. C. Zachariah, CDS Study, report: The New Indian Express, Cochin, 16th July 2004.
28. Kerala Padanam, op cit, p 54

Actually Benney,
these are worthless arguments.Theres no need to denigrate other beliefs.Because theres not a single
belief or religion that doesnt include falsified data.Every religion is impure.

Refer this legend also:From Chaldean catholic archdiocese of Urmia-Salmas site.

From the book of Martyrs of the East.

it has written that while the Holy Spirit descended on the Jesus disciples, the majority of the disciples traveled to the different parts of the world to preach the Bible, but Thomas stayed in the Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the King of the India decided to build a palace for his kingdom; therefore he was looking for the architecture. Hence he sent his ambassadors to the Jerusalem to find some one for his project. The ambassadors met a man(Jesus?) who told them; I do have a servant which is a skilled architecture. Afterward Thomas has been introduced to them. .

Thomas understood that he is his Lord and Master. First he refused to accept the offer and travel to the India, because the India’s name meaning the end of the world. Nevertheless his lord ordered him to go and said to him:”at this moment you have to preach the bible in that region[India?]. Consequently he was sold by 20 coins to the Indian client .And also the man told him: your Master was sold by 30 coins. Are you more valuable than him? Thomas honored the order and started his journey to the India.

Post 38267. Martyrs of the east. etc.

The idea that Thomas came to Kearlam with a bible and a cross to preach Christianity requires to be considered in the light of available historic truths. The Christian Bible was not even thought of during that era. What could have been available to Thomas as a religious book a.Tanakh a written version of the Jewish bible Torah b. Septuagint again a Greek translation of the Torah c.Hebrew gospel of Mathew that was reportedly found by Pantaenus an Alexandrian theologian who visited Keralam around CE190( He seems to have taken it to Alexandria.)and d. A roll of Gospel of Thomas.
Regarding the cross it is said that it became a religious symbol much after the Thomas mission to Keralam. Reasonably correct historical evidence is available in various parts of Wikipedia.
Regarding his Visit to a king named Gondophorus for building a castle etc there is a view that the said king ruled NW India of ancient time later than Thomas. I am not able to give a reliable reference right now. I read it in somewhere but did not keep the reference. If I come across it again I will present it.
The Gondophorus reference as it stands here is from Acta Thoma a book describing Thomas journey to India. I learn that a copy of this book may be available in an Israeli library. But it is not available for reference to people like me who cannot travel to Israel.
No harm in looking at history with an open mind.

B.George

“”Regarding his Visit to a king named Gondophorus for building a castle etc there is a view that the said king ruled NW India of ancient time later than Thomas. “”

The Gnostic Apostle Thomas: “Twin” of Jesus? by Herbert Christian Merillat

Chapter 1. Go Ye Into All the World

Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Acts of Judas Thomas (AJT), as “twin” of Jesus in Syriac culture. Thomas goes to India with an agent of King Gundophorus.

Chapter 2. Passages to India

Where was “India”? Trade between the Roman world and India.

Chapter 3. The True Wedding

Introduction to Christian Gnostic movement through episodes of AJT: Role of female Wisdom (Sophia/Hakhmuth) in creation. Valentinian rite of the Bridal Chamber: symbolic spiritual union.

Chapter 4. Beyond the Law

Antinomianism: tendency to go beyond the Law, in asceticism or license; parallels with Paul; example of Augustine as a Manichean. Some libertine Gnostic sects: Simon Magus, Naasenes, Carpocratians.

Chapter 5. Land of Five Rivers (Punjab)

AJT account of Thomas at court of Gundaphorus; Gundaphorus in history at Taxila (Punjab), a major center of Buddhism; Conversion of Gundaphorus; More on Gnostic beliefs and rites; Motif of twin in AJT and elsewhere.

Chapter 6. A Saintly Rival

Apollonius of Tyana: pagan rival to Jesus/Thomas; his travels in India.

Chapter 7. Twinship

Acts 3-6 of AJT; Gnostic touches; three secret words spoken by Jesus to Thomas. Twin motif in Indian and Iranian myths and art.

The Twelve, says the Acts of Judas Thomas, gathered in Jerusalem to decide how to carry out their master’s injunction to “teach all nations.” They divided the world (so far as they knew it) by lot, to determine which part each should evangelize. Thomas drew India. He resisted the mission. Indians, he said, were too hard-hearted to receive the message, and besides, he did not speak their language. Jesus appeared in a vision to reassure him: “Fear not, Thomas, because my grace is with you” Thomas still balked: “Send me, Lord, wheresoever you will, but to India I will not go.”

At that time a merchant named Habban — an emissary from Gundaphorus, a great king in India –arrived on the scene. He was looking for someone to build a palace for his ruler. Jesus pointed out Thomas to him, as a skilled carpenter and a slave whom he was willing to sell. The deal was closed, the price paid in silver, and Thomas summoned. Pointing to Jesus, Habban asked the apostle, “Is this your master,” and Thomas, of course, acknowledged that Jesus was indeed his master. Thereupon the Indian informed him that he now had a new owner. The two set sail for India.

Dear Steven Ring,
Thanks for the reference on Yahuda Thomas.Although I had heard the stories I had no chance to read the original. Thanks Once again.
Sincerely
B.George.