Rev. Dr. John Vallamattom: The Principal Who Opened a Door for Me
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
There are some people whom we come to know through history. There are others whom we are fortunate enough to know personally. For me, Rev. Dr. John Vallamattom belongs to both these worlds. Today, when I look back at his life and at the many institutions and causes with which he was associated, I realise how much larger his contribution was than what I could have understood as a student. At that time, I knew him simply as my Principal at Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha. I knew him as the person who presided over the institution in which I studied. More importantly, I remember him as someone who showed me personal consideration and genuine compassion at an important moment in my life.
He gave me admission to the college on personal consideration and compassion. I mention this not to give undue importance to my own experience, but because sometimes the greatness of a person is understood most clearly through small personal encounters. A decision that may have seemed ordinary in the course of his responsibilities became significant in my life. It opened a door for me at a time when that door might otherwise have remained closed. I have never forgotten it. Only later did I begin to appreciate the remarkable breadth of the life of the person who had opened that door for me.
A visionary in education
Rev. Dr. John Vallamattom was not merely an administrator within an educational institution. He was one of the pioneering figures in the development of Catholic higher education in India. Among his important contributions was his association with the founding of the Xavier Board of Higher Education in India. The Board was established in 1951 with the vision of bringing Catholic colleges across the country together for cooperation and the advancement of higher education. Fr. John Vallamattom was among the educationists who played a pioneering role in bringing this vision into reality.
The photograph of the founding visionaries of the Xavier Board is particularly meaningful in this context. It places Fr. John Vallamattom alongside other distinguished pioneers of Catholic higher education in India. It is a reminder that his contribution to education was not confined to a single college or a single diocese. He was part of a larger national effort to strengthen higher education and to create a spirit of cooperation among institutions. He later served as President of the Xavier Board. His association with the Board therefore represents a significant chapter in the history of Catholic higher education in India.
Looking back from the present, it is easy to underestimate the vision required to build institutions and networks in an earlier generation. Educational institutions do not emerge simply from buildings and regulations. They require people who believe in the power of education and are willing to invest their time, energy and conviction in that belief. Fr. Vallamattom was one of those people.
Nirmala College and the Principal I remember
My own association with him was more immediate and personal. He was my Principal at Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha. As students, we rarely understand the full responsibilities carried by a Principal. We see the person in the office, at official functions, during college events and in moments of discipline or administration. We may not know the wider work that occupies his or her life. I certainly did not understand the full dimensions of Fr. Vallamattom’s work at that time.
What I did experience was his human side. When I sought admission to Nirmala College, he considered my circumstances personally and gave me an opportunity to join the college. I remember that decision with gratitude. I do not want to present this as something extraordinary merely because it happened to me. Many students must have had their own experiences of his kindness and understanding. Mine is simply one of those memories that has remained with me over the years. Yet I believe such memories matter. An educational institution is ultimately about people. Behind every admission, every classroom and every academic record there is a human story. A Principal has the authority to administer an institution, but there are moments when that authority can also be exercised with understanding and compassion. That is how I remember Fr. Vallamattom.
The gift of an opportunity
As I look back now, I understand more clearly what that admission meant. Education is often spoken of in terms of examinations, degrees and careers. But for many of us, education begins with something much simpler: someone giving us an opportunity. Sometimes that opportunity comes through a teacher. Sometimes through a parent. Sometimes through an institution. And sometimes through the understanding of a person who happens to be in a position to help. In my case, that person was Fr. John Vallamattom. I cannot claim to know what was in his mind when he made the decision. I can only speak about what I experienced. I experienced his decision as an act of personal consideration and compassion.
That memory has acquired greater meaning with the passage of time. The student who received that opportunity could not have known the full history of the Principal who granted it. I knew him within the limited world of my college life. Only later did I learn about his wider contribution to education, journalism, and public life. The discovery has made my personal gratitude deeper, not because it makes my experience more important, but because it has helped me understand the person behind that experience.
Education as a form of service
The educational work associated with Fr. Vallamattom reflects a larger understanding of education as service. His work with the Xavier Board, his responsibilities in higher education and his leadership in institutions were part of a period when Catholic educational institutions were expanding their contribution to the intellectual and social development of the country. Education has always been one of the most constructive ways of serving society. A school or college does not merely transfer information from one generation to another. It gives young people confidence, discipline, knowledge and the ability to think for themselves. It can change the direction of families and communities. Fr. Vallamattom’s contribution should be viewed in that wider context. His legacy is therefore not limited to the positions he held. It lives in institutions, in educational traditions and, perhaps most importantly, in the lives of students who were given opportunities.
A voice in public life
There was another dimension to Fr. Vallamattom’s life that deserves recognition. He was also involved in journalism and public communication. He was associated with the founding of Indian Currents, a Catholic weekly that sought to engage with issues of importance to the Church and society. This was consistent with his wider approach to public life. Education creates knowledge. Journalism creates a forum for ideas. Public engagement allows communities to participate in the larger life of the nation.
Fr. Vallamattom appears to have understood that the Church could not remain detached from the questions confronting society. Faith had to be expressed not only within religious institutions but also through responsible engagement with the world around it. This aspect of his life is especially relevant today, when communication has become such an important part of public life.
The Supreme Court case
Another important chapter in Fr. Vallamattom’s life was his role as the first petitioner in the case of John Vallamattom and Another v. Union of India. The case concerned Section 118 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The provision imposed particular restrictions on certain testamentary bequests by Christians for religious and charitable purposes. Fr. Vallamattom challenged the provision before the Supreme Court. The case ultimately came before a three-member Bench of the Supreme Court and was decided on 21 July 2003. The Court declared Section 118 unconstitutional.
The judgment is important in Indian constitutional law because it examined the question of equality and the unequal burden imposed upon Christians by the provision. The Court found that the provision could not withstand constitutional scrutiny under Article 14. For those who study the judgment from a legal perspective, the case represents an important affirmation of equality before the law.
For those who knew Fr. Vallamattom personally, however, the case can also offer another glimpse into his public character. He was prepared to bring a concern affecting his community before the highest court of the country. He did so through the constitutional process and allowed the matter to be examined through the principles of Indian law. The case therefore became part of the constitutional history of the country.
Faith, charity and equality
There is an especially meaningful aspect of the judgment. The dispute concerned, among other things, restrictions on charitable and religious bequests. The Supreme Court’s discussion recognised the wider significance of charity and compassion. Charity is not confined to one religion. Compassion is not the possession of one community. These are values that belong to humanity. Seen in that light, the Vallamattom case has a significance beyond the immediate legal issue. It reminds us that equality is meaningful only when it is applied to real people and real circumstances. It also reminds us that religious faith can coexist naturally with constitutional principles and democratic institutions. Fr. Vallamattom’s decision to pursue the matter through the Supreme Court was therefore another expression of his engagement with society.
Different dimensions of the same life
When I look at these different chapters of his life, I am struck by how difficult it is to place him in a single category. He was a priest. He was an educationist. He was associated with the Xavier Board of Higher Education in India and was one of its pioneering founders. He served as a Principal. He was involved in journalism. He participated in public life. He became the petitioner in a significant constitutional case.
But behind all these descriptions was a human being. That is the person I remember. I do not pretend to have known every aspect of his life. My experience of him was limited to my years as a student at Nirmala College. Yet sometimes a person’s influence does not require a long association. A single encounter can remain in memory. A single act of kindness can become part of one’s life. A single opportunity can change a person’s direction. For me, his decision to give me admission was one such moment.
The meaning of leadership
As I think about Fr. Vallamattom today, I find myself reflecting on the meaning of leadership. Leadership is often measured by positions, institutions established, offices held and achievements recorded in official histories. Those things matter. But there is another form of leadership that is harder to record. It is the ability to recognise the individual in front of us. It is the willingness to listen. It is the capacity to respond with compassion. It is the ability to use one’s position not merely to administer but also to help. I experienced something of that kind in him. Perhaps this is why his educational contribution has a particular resonance for me. The founder of educational institutions and networks was also, in my experience, a Principal who understood that education begins by giving people an opportunity.
A personal debt of gratitude
I have often thought that people who help us at important moments may never realise how deeply their actions remain with us. Fr. Vallamattom may have considered my admission one among many decisions made during his years of service. For me, it became a lasting memory. My Father and his friend who accompanied me to Rev. Fr. John Vallamattom also delightfully illuminate my memory space. I cannot repay any of them for their kindness in any material sense. The most I can do is remember them it with gratitude and speak of them honestly. That is the reason I wanted to write about them.
I do not want to present an idealised portrait of a person I knew only in one part of his life. Nor do I want to claim knowledge of his inner thoughts or motivations. I simply want to place my small personal memory alongside the larger historical record. The historical record tells us about his contribution to education, his role in the Xavier Board, his involvement in journalism, and his constitutional intervention before the Supreme Court. My memory tells me about a Principal who, at one important moment, showed me compassion. Both belong to the story.
Remembering Rev. Dr. John Vallamattom
Every generation remembers its teachers in its own way. Some are remembered for their lectures. Some for their discipline. Some for their scholarship. Some for the institutions they built. And some are remembered because, at a crucial moment, they gave someone a chance. I remember Fr. John Vallamattom in that last sense. I remember him as my Principal at Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha.
I remember that he gave me admission on personal consideration and genuine compassion. With the perspective that comes only with the passing of years, I have come to see that this personal memory was part of a much larger life devoted to education, the Church and society.
He was among the pioneers of the Xavier Board of Higher Education in India. He contributed to the development of educational institutions. He engaged with the world of journalism and public communication. He was prepared to take a constitutional question before the Supreme Court of India, and the judgment that bears his name has become part of the country’s legal history.
These are achievements that deserve to be recorded. But for me, his greatest significance is more personal. He opened a door. I was fortunate enough to walk through it. And I remain grateful.
