Vengal Chakkarai

Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar (17 January 1880 – 14 June 1958) was an Indian Christian theologian, missionary, independence activist, politician and trade unionist.[1] He was the former president of AITUC

Vengal Chakkarai
President of the All India Trade Union Congress
In office
1949–1957
Preceded byS.A. Dange
Succeeded byS.S. Mirajkar
Personal details
Born
Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar

(1880-01-17)17 January 1880
Died14 June 1958(1958-06-14) (aged 78)
Occupationtheologian, activist

Early life

Chakkarai was born to a Hindu Chettiar family.[1][2] He was educated at the Scottish Mission School, Madras Christian College, graduating in 1901 after majoring in philosophy.[1] He then studied at Madras Law College, and practiced for some time as a lawyer.

Career

In 1913, Chakkarai joined the Danish Mission Room as a Christian preacher and worked as a missionary for twenty years. During these years, he also became a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and participated in the Indian independence movement. He served as mayor of Madras from 1941 to 1942. He was the president of All India Trade Union Congress from 1954 to 1957.

Theology

Chakkarai tried to explain the Christian faith through the Hinduism point of view.[1] This can be seen when he tried to find the meaning of cross for the followers of Christianity with how to get moksha.[1]

Some of the Chakkarai's point of view about Christianity:[1]

  • Jesus is truly human (sat purusa).
  • Holy Spirit is Christ himself who continues to exist and work until now.
  • God can not be seen as the creator of sin.
  • Humans themselves are responsible for the sins that they commit.
  • Knowledge of God is not something that is intellectual (jnana), but a personal experience of God (anubhava).
  • Sin is seen as the handcuffs (pasa), which prevents the human soul (pasu) to reach God.
  • The essence of sin is the desire to find "the mystery of the forbidden".

References
  1. (in English) Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe.1987.Theologia crucis in Asia: Asian Christian views on suffering in the face of overwhelming poverty and multifaceted religiosity in Asia. Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi BV. pp. 59-80.
  2. (in Indonesian) FD Wellem.1993.Riwayat Hidup Singkat Tokoh-Tokoh Dalam Sejarah Gereja. Jakarta: PT BPK Gunung Mulia. p. 75-77
  • Schouten, Jan Peter (2008). Jesus as Guru: The image of Christ among the Hindus and Christians in India. Rodopi. pp. 117–119.
Preceded by
G. Janakiram Chetty		 Mayor of Madras
1941-1942		 Succeeded by
C. Tadulinga Mudaliar
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