New Books in Indian Religions · Marshall Poe

Clara A. B. Joseph, "India's Non-violent Freedom Struggle: The Thomas Christians (1599-1799)" (Routledge, 2023)

·38 min·3 clips

Gandhi wasn't the beginning of India's nonviolence story—the Thomas Christians practiced it centuries earlier.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Clara A. B. Joseph about her book on the nonviolent resistance of India's ancient Thomas Christian community. Host R. Raj Singh guides a conversation that reframes Indian history by spotlighting this often-overlooked South Indian community. Dr. Joseph, a scholar from the University of Calgary, draws from both academic research and her personal heritage as a Thomas Christian. The book argues India's freedom struggle began centuries earlier than the Gandhian era, focusing on the Thomas Christians' confrontation with Portuguese colonizers starting in 1599. Key evidence includes the 1599 Synod of Diamper, which Joseph analyzes not as a benign church council but as a "constitutional rewrite" masquerading as religious reform. The community governed itself through local assemblies called *yogams*, which managed both spiritual matters and temporal affairs like land revenue and trade. Portuguese colonization arrived via the *padroado* system, merging church and state authority to control the lucrative pepper trade and military alliances. Joseph details specific resistance tactics, including the "Kunan Cross Satyagraha," where crowds pulled ropes attached to a stone cross in a symbolic political act. She cites the travelogue *Vartamanapustakam* by Thoma Paremakal, which chronicles diplomatic petitions to Lisbon and Rome. The community employed economic non-cooperation by rerouting pepper shipments and maintained cultural resistance by preserving Syriac liturgy secretly. A pivotal moment was the independent consecration of a local archdeacon as bishop, an act so defiant it prompted colonial plans for his assassination. A surprising claim is that the Thomas Christian concept of a collective Indian identity emerged as early as the 18th century from these diplomatic struggles. Joseph explains the community's history is obscured because Western narratives—both religious and secular—wrongly assume Christianity in India began with British colonization. She defends the community's ancient origins, referencing second-century accounts like Pantanus of Alexandria's visit, arguing their sustained tradition holds more weight than a modern "boarding pass." The tone is deeply conversational and educational, blending scholarly analysis with vivid narrative descriptions of Malabar coast life. Joseph's methodology is described as "equal parts archives and incense," combining close readings of colonial decrees with lived devotional records and post-colonial critique. Listeners interested in global Christian history, Indian colonialism beyond the British era, and the roots of nonviolent strategy will find this episode captivating. Those seeking only a broad overview of Indian religions or a debate-focused format may find the niche historical focus too specialized.

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