CEYLON REGION (1946

CHAPTER 4

THE STORY OF INDIA, PAKISTAN AND CEYLON REGION (1946)

59

THE STORY OF INDIA, PAKISTAN AND CEYLON REGION

In 1930, the Y's Men's Movement reached Colombo, Ceylon. In 1931 - the first Y's Men's Club in India/Ceylon area was chartered at Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, is a large island southeast of the southern tip of India, and Colombo is its capital and major city.

In 1931, B. L. Rallis Ram, National General Secretary of the YMCA. in India, appeared before the Cleveland International Convention. Upon his return he wrote:

“Meanwhile, let me say that I was greatly impressed by the Y’s Men’s Club, and I consider it a privilege to have had an opportunity to speak at your International Conference at Cleveland. I am very much interested in the Y’s Men’s Club and would like to make an effort to organize some clubs in India. As you know, we have already got one club in Colombo"

In 1933 the Colombo Y’s Men were visited by Edwin A. Butt, of Brisbane, Australia, on his return trip from a tour throughout Canada and the United States.

In 1936, Ceylon club was almost dying but it was resuscitated and has entered upon a fairly vigorous lease on life since then. Dinner meetings were held once a month and have thus far secured excellent speakers. The club had realized that the attendance of the club members was dependent upon the speaker it secured.

In Madras (now Chennai), India, a coastal city on the Bay of Bengal, a club was started in 1934 with objectives similar to the Y’s Men’s Clubs, but under a different name.

In 1934, Douglass Smith, the Y’s Men representative at the Oxford meeting of the World Alliance, met Mr. Nasir, a member of the Y Staff at Lahore. Mr. Raja Rama became General Secretary at Lahore.

Following correspondence with Mr. Rallis Ram and Mr. Nasir from Henry Grimes and Fred Lincks, the Y’s Men's Club of Lahore was organized in 1935 and received its charter from International in 1936.

Lahore is an inland city on the northern interior of India (now Pakistan) and its members are proud of the fact that it was the first club in India to be affiliated with the International Association.

Source: www.origins.osu.edu

The 1936, Silver Bay Convention was attended by Anil C. Das, who was a student from India attending Springfield College. He then became familiar with the Y’s Men’s Movement and resolved upon his return to India to start a club in his association. Shortly after he became General Secretary at the Bangalore City YMCA., the Bangalore Y’s Men’s Club was formed.

In July, 1939 the membership at the Bay of Bengal Club resolved to change its name and affiliate with the International Association of Y’s Men’s Club. The Madras Esplanade Y's Men’s Club was chartered in September, 1940. The General Secretary, R. O. Buell, is one of the experienced Indian Christian secretaries who had served a year as Fellowship Secretary at the Montreal Y. He is also a firm supporter of Y’s Men’s Clubs. In the March, 1940, he wrote in the issue of the Y’s Men’s World concerning the activities of the Colombo Club.

In a letter dated February 28, 1942, and received by Henry Grimes on May 6, 1942, the Bangalore City Y’s Men submitted their formal application for an international charter, which was immediately granted. The first president of the Bangalore Club was Dr. J. C. Ghosh, a prominent all-India Scientist. He was the guest of honor at the Y’s Men’s Club meeting of January 16, 1943, because he had received a knighthood in the New Year Honor. He later visited a number of the Y's Men’s Clubs in California. Other distinguished Bangalore Y's Men to receive honors include Dr. T. C. M. Royan, who was appointed Minister to the Governor of Mysore in 1945 and George Matthan, who was appointed by the Government of Mysore as a member of the Public Service Commission.

Regional status was granted to the clubs of India and Ceylon by the International Board at the 1946 Bradford Convention and Bhaskar Yesupriya of Bangalore was elected as the first Regional Director. He laid the groundwork for the organization of several new clubs, and wrote articles in Association Forum, the professional publication of the YMCA Secretaries of India, Burma and Ceylon, regarding the Y’s Men Movement.

His successor as Regional Director was Dr. K. E Peter, a Bangalore physician, who sailed for the United States as a delegate to the 1946 Bradford Convention, but could not attend because of delay in boat connections. However, he toured extensively among the Y’s Men's Club of North America, and upon his return to India, took over the responsibility for the club sponsored by the Bangalore Y’s Men for homeless boys at the railroad station.

In 1947, the Y’s Men’s Club of Secunderabad, India received its charter at the annual YMCA meeting, where the charter was presented by the Prime Minister of Hyderabad State. John Anatharaz, then a member of the Madras Club, represented the India Region at the 1948 Long Beach Convention, where he reported on the activities of this club, and indicated that its membership included the Mayor of the City of Madras a city with 1½ million population. He presented the India National flag to the Convention.

“The Y’s Men’s Club has a potent factor in retaining a number of members who would otherwise have left the association on account of their inability to participate in the usual activities"

At the 1950 Mexico Convention, Victor A. Chandran of Bombay, was elected the Regional Director. He and his Lt. Director, Henry Devandas Allahbad resumed efforts to acquaint the YMCA Secretaries and responsible laymen in India, Pakistan and Ceylon with the significance of the Y’s Men’s Movement. Chandran attended the 1951 Cleveland Convention, where he played a prominent role in representing the Y’s Men of his area.

The Colombo YMCA celebrated its 70th anniversary in November 1952, and is one of the outstanding associations in the East.

In addition to the club formed at Secunderabad, new clubs had been chartered since the war at Allahabad, Palamcottah, Ernakulam and a second club in Bangalore City at the Bourdillon Branch.

The Y’s Leaders of this area have had the sympathetic understanding and encouragement of such outstanding national leaders as Dalton E McClelland, who was located for many years in India, and was later Executive Secretary to the International Board of the YMCAs of Canada and the United States; Wilson Hume, who attended the 1944 Sudbury Convention and returned to India as Associate General Secretary of the National Council there: and T. D. Santwan, National General Secretary of the YMCAs of India. Burma and Ceylon, who sent the following message with Dr. Peter to the 1946 Bradford Convention.

“The true and living fellowship, transcending barriers of race, religion and nationality, which has been experienced in our YMCAs in India, Burma & Ceylon in the past, is exemplified in the Y's Men's Clubs, and is real evidence of the world brotherhood which it is the purpose of the YMCA, to demonstrate at this time, when people everywhere are so divided.”

In 1960 - Colombo Y's Men's Club adopted as a goal the organization of new Y's Men's Clubs in Ceylon.

New clubs formed:

May, 1962 - Kandy February, 1964 - Moratuwa November, 1962 - Amparai; August, 1971 - Jaffna

In 1983, the three Regions in India formed an independent Area apart from Asia Area.

TABLE OF REGIONAL DIRECTORS OF INDIA

(Initially with Ceylon) until it separated from Asia Area in 1983

INDIA/CEYLON REGION (Ceylon changed name into Sri Lanka in 1972) NO YEAR REGIONAL DIRECTOR HOME

1 1946-47 Bhaskar Yesu Priya Bangalore, India 2 1947-50 Dr. K.E.Peter Allahabad, India 3 1950-53 Victor A. Chandran Bombay, India 4 1953-55 D. K. Wahal Allahabad, India 5 1955-59 A. Gunamony Trivandrum, India 6 1959-61 K. Natarajan Madras, India 7 1961-65 Dan P. Melville Bombay, India 8 1965-69 V. Henry Devadas New Delhi, India 9 1969-70 Frederick Ebenezer Madras, India 10 1970-71 Kenneth J. Somanader Colombo, Ceylon 11 1971-72 Justice P. Govindan Nair Cochin, India 12 1972-73 V. S. V. Mani Coimbatore, India 13 1973-74 Dundoo Balakrishna Murtti Secunderabad, India

INDIA REGION Independent from Sri Lanka after separation in 1974 NO YEAR REGIONAL DIRECTOR HOME

1 1974-75 Justice M.U. Isaac 2 1975-76 A. Rama Rau Cochin Madras

3 1976-77 P. Sobramoniam Poti 4 1977-78 B. Sunder Rao 5 1978-79 Dr. P. Sukumaran

Cochin Hyderabad Trivandrum 6 1979-80 N. Narayana Swamy Coimbatore

INDIA SPLIT INTO THREE REGIONS: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND WEST IN 1980

CENTRAL INDIA (formerly part of the India/Ceylon Region split in 1980) NO YEAR REGIONAL DIRECTOR HOME

1 1980-81 Dr. V. P. Reddy Secunderabad 2 1981 - 82 V. Narasimha Rao Hyderabad 3 1982 - 83 S. Yeshwant Rao Secunderabad 4 1983-84 Major K. Satyanayana Anakapali

SOUTH INDIA REGION (Formerly part of India/Ceylon Region split in 1980)

NO YEAR REGIONAL DIRECTOR HOME

1 1980-81 T. R. Raja Raman Virudhunagar 2 1981-82 B. R. Bhote Coimbatore 3 1982-83 A. Jawahar Madurai 4 1983-84 J. Victor Lawrence Madras After 1983, India separated from Asia Area and became an Area of its own

WEST INDIA REGION

was created when India region split into three Regions: Central, South and West in 1980

NO YEAR REGIONAL DIRECTOR HOME

1 1980-81 B. S. Krishnan Cochin 2 1981-82 S. Ramachandran Quilon 3 1982-83 C. K. Eapen Angamaly 4 1983-84 George V. Thomas Cochim After 1983, India separated as an independent Area apart from Asia Area