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From Collection 483, T3




From Collection 483. Francis Sunderaraj describes the appointment of the first Indian Principal at the Union Biblical Seminary in Yeotmal, India.

SUNDERARAJ: That was the transition period [1971] in the seminary because they appointed an Indian to take over from Ken Bauman the following year.

ERICKSEN: Uh huh. And who was that?

SUNDERARAJ: So that.... That was in 19 [pauses] 71...1971. The first Indian principal.

ERICKSEN: His name was...?

SUNDERARAJ: Actually, he was appointed in 1972, but when I was there he was a kind of principal-designate.

ERICKSEN: Uh huh.

SUNDERARAJ: So that was a very big transition period.

ERICKSEN: What was his name?

SUNDERARAJ: His name is Saphir Athyal.

ERICKSEN: Oh, the fellow who worked on...

SUNDERARAJ: Yes.

ERICKSEN: ...with the Lausanne committee.

SUNDERARAJ: That's right. That's right. He was on...he was the vice chairman, I think. Yeah. He was on the Lausanne...he was very active...he is still very active there. So he took over the following year, 1972. Saphir is from Kerala, from south India. He studied In Princeton...I think he studied in Asbury Theological Seminary. And before that, the South India Biblical Seminary. And then he went to Princeton for his Ph.D. He did it in Old Testament. So he was there for a year. And , you know, when I went [to Union Seminary as a faculty member] he was also there and he was on the faculty. And then of course at the end of the year I left. I went back to Malaysia.

ERICKSEN: So what was the transition like from an expatriate principal to an Indian principal?

SUNDERARAJ: Yes, in one sense there was a lot of apprehension.

ERICKSEN: On the part of...?

SUNDERARAJ: On the part of the nationals. And even on the part of some of the missionaries.

ERICKSEN: Uh huh.

SUNDERARAJ: They felt, "How [is] the Indian going to handle the situation? And he's a south Indian and this is in central India. And also, what kind of Evangelical theology he's going to project." And from the nationals' part also, I think the feeling was the same. And you know in India in those days at least we had a great confidence in the overseas missionaries, because they are the ones that started everything and they ran it. So that kind of fear was there initially.

ERICKSEN: Uh huh. So who initiated the move?

SUNDERARAJ: Actually, I would say it came from the missionaries. It came from people like Robert Hess and even I think maybe Frank Kline. And those were the ones who initiated. And of course some of the Indian leaders also I think they felt at that point that transition is needed to give that image to people outside, that this is Indian, in that sense.