During his conversation with Ms. Janina Gomes, Fr. Sebastian Michael, SVD shares how Phule’s visionary movement, focused on equality, fraternity, and justice, deeply resonated with him. Being a Christian, he holds dear the belief that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. This conviction fuels his unwavering commitment to truth-seeking and drives his wholehearted dedication to fostering unity in our divided society. Inspired by his own principles, Fr. Michael actively works to bridge gaps and connect different segments of our fractured community.
Tell us something about your early years and how you felt called to serve the Lord as a priest.
I was born in a very good Catholic family. My father was a very devoted person who took me to Church every morning for Holy Mass. The Catholic village background also played an important role in my priestly vocation.
What attracted you to the SVD congregation?
With the encouragement from my family, after my school education I applied to two seminaries; one was to become a diocesan priest and the other was to SVD seminary. The first interview call came from the SVD seminary. Thus, I can say, by Providence I became an SVD.
You have had a brilliant academic career. How did this influence you in your priestly duties?
After completing my Ph.D. in Anthropology/Sociology I was appointed to the Institute of Indian Culture: A Post-Graduate Research Centre in Society, Culture and Religion. This research centre is run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). I had a golden opportunity to be with an Internationally reputed anthropologist Rev. Fr. Dr. Stephen Fuchs SVD. He himself was a student of Prof. Fr. Wilhelm Schmidt SVD, the founder of Cultural Historical School of Anthropology, Vienna University. The holy and dedicated life of Dr. Stephen Fuchs SVD influenced me to be dedicated academically as well to be dedicated as a Catholic priest in the Society of the Divine Word. I never compromised either. I am trying my best to be true to both the vocations. I am enjoying my priesthood as well as my scholarly academic life. I work at both the secular as well as Church institutions. I was professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Mumbai and I am also the Secretary to the Bombay Archdiocesan Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue. I am a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture and Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Vatican as well.
You are presently Director of the Institute of Indian Culture , was a Director of Ishwani Kendra, a Missiological Research Institute, Professor of Cultural Anthropology in Mumbai University and now Emeritus Professor and Adjunct Faculty of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Mumbai. You have enriched the church with your many postings. Tell us more about your research and teaching experiences.
As an anthropologist and an academician, I do my research with full dedication without compromising my Christian faith. I present all the theoretical positions of different schools of thought and I also critique them with the view that the students/readers must make up their own mind to evaluate the theories to find a way for themselves. I am of the view that truth can never be put aside; and this truth will be common for all disciplines. Hence, from whichever way we may approach a reality, either from theology, psychology, sociology, anthropology or history, we will arrive at the truth, if not fully but leading to it. From my forty years of research, I am convinced the truth of Christianity founded on the historical events of Jesus’ life, his death and resurrection. Therefore, I try to reach the truth of Christianity from my anthropological/sociological disciplines. In the post-modern world, there is so much relativistic thinking, my search for truth leads me to understand that Jesus’ Resurrection is a historical event which is not a myth, nor a fiction, nor an imagination. So, when I am at the secular academic institutions, I want to be the best, second to none, in my anthropological research and teaching. When I am at the Christian institutions, I bring my research insights to animate and convince the truth of Christianity in my lectures, workshops and publications. I do not find any conflict in this.
You have written several books and one a best seller of Sage Publications on Dalits in Modern India, which has been translated into several languages. Tell us more about this book.
The origin of this book is closely related to the 1992 December riots in Mumbai. If we recall, on December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid was destroyed by Hindu nationalists. There was a violent communal riot in Mumbai and in many parts of India. Thousands of people died during this riot. One of the often-repeated slogans was “Bahale Kasayi bath me Isyahi” i.e. “First, the Muslims, after the Christians.” Being a student of sociology/anthropology, I felt this cannot happen in India. By all means we need to halt this tendency. From my academic expertise on “Social Movements” I understood that the majority of Indias are Sudras, Dalits and tribals. I was very much inspired by Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890), who was the Father of Indian Social Revolution and founder of the “Satya shodak Samaj” (Society of Truth Seekers) in 1873. His vision of India was to build modern India on the basis of equality, fraternity and social justice. For this, he gave a call to unite the Sudras, Dalits, Tribals and other marginalized communities. He pointed out that they are the majority of India. One of the calculations states that Brahmins of India are about 6%; other upper castes (Kshatriya & Vaisya) about 14% ; Sudras are about 52 %; Dalits are about 16% and tribals are about 8%. If the oppressed sections of India unite together we can build a just society in India. This vision of Jyotirao Phule inspired Ambedkar and he said I have come to fulfill the vision of Jyotirao Phule.
The book you are mentioning is based on this vision of Jyotirao Phule to build a just and humane society in India. This idea is very dear to my heart because as a Christian I believe that we are created in the image and likeness of God. We have the God given dignity which cannot be taken away by anybody or by anything else like sickness, height, colour or wealth. So, our mission is to destroy caste social order and build a just and humane society which our present Constitution assures. My book on “Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values” envisages this. The book became the best seller of Sage publication in 2000 and was translated in several languages.
Among the many books you have written you published the book ‘Dalits Encounter with Christianity ( 2010). What is the scope of this work and share with us some of your insights on the subject.
As I said earlier, the foundation of Christianity is that God created human beings in His own image and likeness. Therefore, every human being has dignity, worth and value. Due to human sin, this dignity is tarnished and Jesus’ Incarnation is to restore this lost dignity. In the Hindu social system, there is a religious sanction for the caste discrimination and the Dalits are the worst affected persons whose dignity, worth and value are undermined. In this context, the Christian vision of dignity of every person is very important for the transformation of the Dalits. That is why many Dalits joined Christianity. Unfortunately, Christians themselves are affected by the caste system in India. This is a scandal. But there is no Christian scriptural sanction for this discrimination. Therefore, Christianity has the potential to bring dignity and worth to the Dalits of India.
You are presently Secretary of the Bombay Archdiocesan Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue. What initiatives have you taken recently to promote dialogue and religious harmony?
There are several activities going on in the Archdiocese of Bombay to promote Inter-Religious dialogue and peace building. I may state a few of them here:
- There are many parishes in Mumbai that have a cell to promote inter-religious dialogue. They map the religious places like temple, mosque, gurudwara etc. in the territory of their parishes. They also have the contact persons of these places and their mobile numbers for any important contacts. These religious leaders are invited for common celebrations of the national and religious festivals.
- The Archdiocesan Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue contacts an annual training programme known as “BIRD” (Basics in Inter-Religious Dialogue) for the laity from the parishes and schools. They are given basic knowledge about different religions and prepare them for inter-religious dialogue in their respective parishes and schools.
- We also publish a Newsletter known as “Sammelan: Building Bridges” to animate our parishes and Schools to engage in dialogue.
- On every Mission Sunday we have an “Alumnae Day” for our past and present BIRD candidates to animate them in their inter-religious activities.
- We have an Annual All Religions Christmas Celebration” when the Cardinal His Eminence Oswald Gracious invites the most influential religious leaders of Mumbai. That is a time for him to interact with different religious leaders promoting peace and harmony.
You are also Consultor for the Pontifical Council for Culture and Inter-Religious Dialogue. What areas are you covering and how can we promote this dialogue?
I participate in the Plenary Meetings promoting peace and harmony.
Fr Sebastian Michael SVD
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