AN OPEN LETTER TO Dr. SAMUEL SUDANANDHA - (Principal and Secretary-1998-2006)

Dear Dr.Sudanandha,

I hope I can take the liberty to write this open letter to you. ,This is in response to the two messages ( Tamil and English) you have sent to the American College Community recently. Since your messages were open I thought my letter also should be open. I read them not once but several times, but, I must admit that there is nothing new that all those who are passionately fighting to save the College from the onslaught of  the present C.S.I. Bishop of the Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, Christopher Asir to make  it a Diocesan institution, do not know. You have unnecessarily laboured very hard to trace the history of  the College, its glorious traditions and how the Bishop,as Chairman of the Governing Council, does not have any power other than presiding over and conducting the Governing Council meetings. ( Probably,those who were responsible for incorporating the idea of the Bishop as G.C. Chairman in the Constitution itself did it in good faith, without realising its implications. They would not have thought that one day, an utterly unscrupulous  Bishop like the present one would occupy that hallowed position and try to subvert the Constitution.)
                                                                            
 Let me tell you frankly that your belated and feeble attempt to put your ideas across to  the 'American College Community' does not carry conviction at all. Preaching homilies at this point of time, after keeping quiet all these three years when atrocities were committed by the Bishop is meaningless. When all the other previous principals Prof, P.T.Chellappa, Prof. Gunaraj and  Dr. Peter Jeyapandian involved themselves wholeheartedly and contributed a great deal in the fight for justice and truth, you maintained stoic silence. Immediately after the onslaught  began, Dr.Riesz (President, The American College Endowment Fund), Dr.Charles A. Ryerson,( President Emeritus, The American College Endowment Fund) and Dr.Carl Jacobson President, Oberlin-Shansi Asociation wrote letters to the Bishop, categorically declaring the independence of the College from the Church and making a plea to him not to interfere in the College administration,which, of course, went unheeded . There was an outpouring of support and help from the alumni throughout the world and retired faculty and friends and supporters, here and elsewhere.But, as far as I could remember, there was not even a word of support or encouragement from you. Obviously,  you cannot plead ignorance of whatever that was happening because you could have easily got the information from 'Save American College' blog and from your own sources  The kind of stony silence that you maintained, was intriquing and has been intriquing all along.

As the immediate predecessor to the Principal Dr. Chinnaraj Joseph and as one who was and, I am sure,  is still close to the Bishop, you could have played ( and can even now play) a vital role in saving the College.. But, unfortunately, nothing was forthcoming from you.I don't know what prevented you from doing what you ought to have done during these three years, when all those concerned about the survival of the College as a glorious institution, with a distinctive character and meaningful traditions, were running about frantically seeking help  and encouragement. Special mention must be made of Prof.Solomon Pappiah, who through his constant efforts, unflagging enthusiasm and  complete dedication to the noble cause  has provided and continues to provide inspiring leadership to the valiant fighters.

Suddenly, you have woken up, when the evil forces lined up against the College, are hell bent upon achieving their aim of bringing it under their control, somehow or other. Now, you are making an appeal to the American College Community to reflect, reconcile and restore.It is good that you have done this, at least now. But, can you not be  frank and forthright?. While pointing to the factor of  division among the Faculty, non-teaching staff and students to be the main reason for all the problems in the College, have you ever bothered to find out why and how this division came about and who was and still is responsible for this? Let us have the courage to call a spade, a spade. At one point you say that this Bishop never interfered in your administration, when you were Principal. Does it  imply that it is not  the Bishop, but somebody else is  responsible for all the problems?
 You know that, through the initiative of the  Bishop Christopher Asir, a resolution, to the effect that The American College, Madurai, is a Diocesan institution, was passed in a Diocesan Council meeting held in April, 2008?
You know that the Bishop went about declaring that he was going to rescue the College from 'evil and selfish elements'?
You know that he started acting as Secretary of the College, much against the Constitution, in appointing his own yes-man (George Selvakuma) as Principal, even while the legally appointed Principal (Dr.Chinnaraj Joseph) was on the campus discharging his duties as Principal? (It may be pointed out that only during your period, you started the practice of routing your leave letters through the Bishop-Chairman, which paved the way for the Bishop to assume more powers.) You know that the Bishop and his son-in-law, Davamani Christopher, who was given more importance than he  deserves  ( by being sent to Oberlin and appointing as Warden immediately after coming back from there, overlooking seniority, experience and contribution to the College )  through their money-power and muscle power, planted  the seeds of division among the College Community, through various means, fair and unfair? Of course, the division continues even now.
In your message, you also make a 'bold statement' and that is,' If by any means, the Bishop attempts to usurp the right of representing the College in all matters, that attempt is not only against the convention of the College, but also an outrage against the Constitution of the College. It is only the Secretary of the Council who is empowered to represent the College'.I wonder whether  you made this statement, fully aware of what has been happening in the College, so far?
Dear friend, not once, but umpteen number of times, the Bishop, has claimed, declared and acted as Secretary. That is the kind of arrogant and unscrupulous villain he is. You know that and you cannot pretend to be ignorant of that. Yet, you are not prepared to tell the truth bluntly, point out the chief-culprit in this tragic drama and give advice to him.  You should have written a  message to him. If you are really concerned about the College and if you want the College to remain as the early missionaries willed it to be- as a Christian College with a secular outlook and which is church-related and not church-controlled, the least you could do now is to write to the Bishop that what he is doing is absolutely wrong  and ask him to keep his tainted hands off this sacred institution. You could send a copy to this blog also. As one who is close to him, even at this stage, you could play a vital role.
Even as I write this letter, on the hallowed campus, there is violence and innocent blood is shed. The campus, sanctified by the selfless and noble men has become a battleground. It is tragic.It is really tragic. I have no other words to express my feelings of outrage and despondency over what is happening. The one who is supposed to lead the flock under his care and who has been given the honour of being the Chairman of the Governing Council, to lead it in the right way- the Bishop, because of his lust for power and property, is spreading his deadly fingers of destruction over this Collegemercilessly.The selfish 'scholars' who are only after money and power do give a helping hand to him happily, without any sense of shame or regret. In the process, this temple of knowledge, the glorious institution, The American College, is being battered and bruised.

Can we afford to watch the sordid drama unfold before us helplessly? I do believe that God will not let His institution to fall into the clutches of the forces of evil. But, we have the sacred duty of doing what we have to do to protect and save the College.

I have written all these in the fond hope that you would read it with an open mind. If I have hurt your feelings in any way, I am sorry about it.

With wishes and regards,
D.Samuel Lawrence