Whither academic substance? Horse ride, camel ride mark 75 years of a college in Kerala

By Rosamma Thomas*

St Thomas College Pala in Kottayam district of Kerala is celebrating the 75th year of its foundation in January 2025. When it was first set up in 1950, it was among just a few colleges in the area, even before the state of Kerala was formed in 1956.

Students arrived in Pala from nearby areas to study at St Thomas College, and the vast campus housed several young men. As it celebrates its 75th year, however, it appears as if the academic substance of this celebrated place of learning has been attenuated – the college advertises ‘horse ride’ and ‘camel ride’ as part of the celebratory programmes for its jubilee year.

A gala musical event is also planned, as are stalls promoting pottery and bamboo handicraft.

While one can understand the need for celebrations, it appears to this reporter that the celebrations at St Thomas College Pala are somewhat over the top. The 75th jubilee could have been commemorated with year-round events hosting speakers on important subjects of current interest that could have been opened up to the local community of residents near the college.

The college campus remains splendidly isolated from its neighbourhood. Some months ago, this reporter attempted to get a student to stand in for her to supply food each morning to a patient undergoing dialysis near the college. This reporter, who lives across the college, was set to travel, and wanted a student to please undertake the daily responsibility of carrying breakfast to a tailor nearby who was struggling alone with ill health.

A student at the college hostel agreed to take the food, but requested that the hostel warden please be informed. When this reporter spoke with the hostel warden on the phone, he responded with immense anger. The warden implied that carrying food for local people was not what students at the college were here for – he said the student who had agreed to carry food was from a family where parents were abroad, and they would be infuriated if their son was put to such tasks.

Wealth appears to have blinded even the Catholic priests who run this college to the sacredness of life, and the nobility of simple actions done in service.

Some college alumni like journalist Sunny Sebastian, who served for a long time as The Hindu’s correspondent in Rajasthan, remembers that the college served students milk in large cups called “copa” – the college ran its own dairy, and the milk was served fresh from the udders of nearby cows.

Much has changed since the college was first founded. The dairy farm has wound up, and the vast premises have been constructed upon. Many old buildings remain, but have been spruced up, and you will be hard-pressed to find a structure that retains the old Mangalore tile roof.

What has changed most, however, is that the college now also admits women students. In October 2021, the college was in the news as a young woman student was murdered by a fellow student.

The college is also now autonomous, and has a range of courses. With newer colleges in other towns, the regular inflow of students from other parts of the state has dwindled; in the meanwhile, Pala town itself has emerged as the Kota of Kerala, and vast numbers of students arrive here after Class 12, taking years off from their academic career to prepare for the entrance examinations to medical and engineering colleges.

The coaching industry has become the bigger draw for young students, and many of the hostels that these young students occupy are in homes of residents of the town. There are also structures several storeys tall that some residents have erected to house these coaching centre students.

The Meenachil, the river that flows just behind St Thomas College, has witnessed a spike in pollution with the influx of the students in the coaching centres.

One minor change in the recruitment policy of engineering and medical students would burst the bubble of the coaching industry, and make redundant vast numbers of structures in Pala town erected to house the students.

---

*Senior journalist

Comments

Anonymous said…

I joined this college as a lecturer in Economics on 3 December 1979 when I completed 22 years and 18 days. I took voluntary retirement on 31 August 2007 when I was around 50 years old. At the time of my retirement I was the senior-most in the Department and the only teacher having Ph.D at that time. But the management under the Diocese of Palai, appointed my junior as the Head of Department in 2002 which I came to know only when he took charge of it.

January 21, 2025

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu* There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...

Search This Blog