Ramban Philipose, manager of Jyothis Ashram of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Rajasthan, recalls how an intervention from former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saved them from a false allegation of “conversion.”
“On a fake complaint of proselytising, some officials came to the ashram in February 2019. They gave a notice to seal the ashram within a few hours. They sealed the monastery after moving out all the inmates. The hapless inmates tried to convince the authorities that the complaint was fake. But it was all in vain. They were adamant,” the Ramban recalls.
People who could have intervened hesitated to support, perhaps wondering how to deal with the charge of “conversion”. Those were days of great disappointment. Many social media platforms started spreading the false news of religious conversion, he adds.
Founded by H.G. Geevarghese Mar Yulios, who was then Metropolitan of the Ahmedabad Diocese, Jyothis Ashram was envisioned as a mission to serve the illiterate and underprivileged tribal areas near Kui village in Rajasthan.
“Wondering whom to approach in the difficult situation involving the allegations and how to resume the functioning of the ashram, we contacted advocate Biju Oommen who was serving as the association secretary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. He discussed the matter with former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and convinced him of the situation. Oommen Chandy contacted Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, and arranged for a meeting with him,” recalls the Ramban.
“A couple of weeks had passed before we got an appointment to meet the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Those who wished the ashram to never open again were making efforts in their own ways. I went to see the Rajasthan Chief Minister with apprehensions about convincing him about the truth. But Oommen Chandy had already explained the situation precisely to Mr. Gehlot, which made my job easy. The Chief Minister assured all necessary assistance. The ashram was reopened after 21 days,” says the Ramban.
“If Oommen Chandy had not made such an intervention, it would not have been so easy to reopen the ashram,” says the Ramban.
After a month, he received a phone call from Chandy Oommen, the son of Oommen Chandy. “Father, dad wants to talk to you.”
“Oommen Chandy asked: “what’s the update? Are all the problems resolved?” We could not believe that a man with such a busy schedule took the time to follow up about the functioning of the ashram,” says the Ramban.
