---
layout: default
title: "Indian Religious Heritage and Social Transformation: Change of Perspective within the CISRS"
permalink: /amaa/indian-religious-heritage-social-transformation/
categories: [A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel, Publications]
description: "A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel's essay examining changing approaches within the CISRS towards Indian religious traditions, social transformation, caste, and Dalit perspectives."
created: 2026-05-12
---

***Indian Religious Heritage and Social Transformation: Change of Perspective within the CISRS*** is an essay by [A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel](/amaa/), first published in 1993 in *Religion and Society*, Volume XL, Nos. 1 & 2, March–June 1993 (Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society Publication Trust). The essay reflects on changing intellectual and theological approaches within the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) towards Hindu traditions, Indian society, and social transformation. Tracing the perspectives associated with figures such as P.D. Devanandan and M.M. Thomas, Ayrookuzhiel examines how earlier frameworks centred on dialogue with Brahmanical Hindu traditions gradually encountered questions of caste, power, poverty, and Dalit assertion. The essay argues that the study of Indian religion cannot be separated from structures of economic, political, and cultural domination, and calls for renewed attention to the religious traditions and historical experiences of Dalits and other marginalised communities.

## Contents

1. [Overview](#overview)
2. [Devanandan and the early CISRS perspective](#devanandan)
3. [M. M. Thomas and humanisation](#thomas)
4. [Religion, power, and social conflict](#religion-power)
5. [Dalit perspectives and critique of Brahmanical traditions](#dalit-perspective)
6. [Religious symbols, culture, and domination](#symbols)
7. [Towards a new methodological approach](#methodology)
8. [Concluding reflections](#conclusion)
9. [Full text](#full-text)
10. [Publication](#publication)

## Overview {#overview}

Ayrookuzhiel presents the essay as a personal reflection on changing perspectives within the CISRS rather than a comprehensive institutional history. He situates these developments within wider socio-cultural transformations in post-independence India, especially debates around Hindu reform, secularism, nationalism, caste, and social justice. The essay traces how theological engagement with Indian religious traditions gradually confronted questions of structural inequality and Dalit oppression.

## Devanandan and the early CISRS perspective {#devanandan}

The essay begins with the perspective associated with Dr. P.D. Devanandan, who wrote in the years following Indian independence. Ayrookuzhiel situates this approach within the broader atmosphere of Hindu religious and cultural renaissance shaped by movements such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, and other reform initiatives.

According to Ayrookuzhiel, Devanandan viewed Hinduism as undergoing a process of reinterpretation and transformation under the impact of science, rationalism, secular humanism, and modern political ideas. Christian participation in India’s future was therefore understood as involvement in a shared process of dialogue, nation-building, and social transformation.

The essay notes that this perspective strongly influenced early CISRS theological work, especially efforts to develop Indian Christian theology through engagement with Brahmanical philosophical and devotional traditions.

## M. M. Thomas and humanisation {#thomas}

Ayrookuzhiel next discusses the work of Dr. M.M. Thomas, whose writings focused more sharply on questions of secular ideologies, social justice, and humanisation. Thomas argued that emerging forms of humanism within Indian religious and secular movements possessed affinities with Christian ethical concerns.

The essay highlights Thomas’s attempts to interpret Indian religious renaissance movements and secular political ideologies within a common framework of human liberation. Ayrookuzhiel notes that this perspective broadened theological engagement beyond purely doctrinal questions and moved towards issues of social transformation and public ethics.

At the same time, Thomas increasingly recognised the importance of caste, status, and property as interconnected sources of power in Indian society, drawing in part on Ambedkarite critiques of Brahmanical social order.

## Religion, power, and social conflict {#religion-power}

A major shift identified in the essay is the growing recognition within CISRS circles that religion in India could not be studied merely as a system of beliefs or philosophical ideas. Ayrookuzhiel argues that religious traditions are deeply connected to structures of political, economic, and cultural power.

The essay points to reflections emerging within CISRS during the late 1960s and 1970s concerning poverty, class conflict, and people's struggles. Concepts such as "action-reflection", "option for the poor", and "spirituality of combat" became increasingly important in discussions of religion and social transformation.

Ayrookuzhiel emphasises that caste hierarchy was not simply a theological problem but part of a broader system in which religious authority often corresponded with economic and political dominance.

## Dalit perspectives and critique of Brahmanical traditions {#dalit-perspective}

The essay devotes considerable attention to Dalit critiques of Brahmanical religion and social order. Ayrookuzhiel argues that anti-caste movements led by Dalits and other oppressed communities exposed limitations in earlier theological frameworks that treated Brahmanical traditions as representative of Indian civilisation as a whole.

Drawing on historical examples, ethnographic observations, and Dalit movements, the essay examines how caste hierarchy was reinforced through religious concepts, rituals, myths, and social practices. Ayrookuzhiel also discusses how resistance emerged through protest movements, alternative religious traditions, and struggles for dignity and equality.

The essay suggests that Dalit perspectives require a rethinking of what constitutes "Indian religious heritage", shifting attention away from elite textual traditions towards lived religious practices and experiences of marginalised communities.

## Religious symbols, culture, and domination {#symbols}

Ayrookuzhiel explores how religious symbols and ritual practices can reinforce social hierarchy while also preserving alternative cultural memories and traditions among marginalised communities. He analyses the ways caste distinctions became embedded in everyday religious life through concepts of purity, pollution, hierarchy, and exclusion.

The essay also discusses how folk traditions, local deities, oral narratives, and ritual practices among Dalit and tribal communities preserve alternative memories and histories often ignored in dominant religious discourse.

Ayrookuzhiel argues that the study of religion in India must therefore include attention to popular religion, oral traditions, and subaltern cultural forms rather than focusing exclusively on Sanskritic or Brahmanical intellectual traditions.

## Towards a new methodological approach {#methodology}

One of the central arguments of the essay is methodological. Ayrookuzhiel suggests that earlier approaches within CISRS often treated Indian religion primarily as a philosophical or theological system. In contrast, he calls for approaches that analyse religion within concrete structures of social power and historical conflict.

This involves studying the interaction between religion, caste, economics, political authority, and cultural domination. It also requires attention to Dalit and tribal religious resources, protest traditions, and alternative understandings of community and justice.

The essay therefore marks a movement from elite theological dialogue towards a broader socio-historical study of religion grounded in questions of inequality and liberation.

Much of the later part of the essay is organised as a series of theses examining Dalit religious history, Brahmanical incorporation of tribal traditions, protest movements, and the relationship between religion and structures of political and economic power.

## Concluding reflections {#conclusion}

Ayrookuzhiel concludes by suggesting that the emergence of Dalit consciousness and anti-caste critique presents a major challenge to established religious traditions as well as to theological institutions and scholars. The study of religion in India can no longer remain confined to classical texts, philosophical systems, or upper-caste reform movements alone.

Instead, he argues for approaches that recognise the experiences, struggles, and religious worlds of oppressed communities as central to understanding Indian society and religious transformation itself.

## Full text

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## Publication

This essay first appeared in *Religion and Society*, Volume XL, Nos. 1 & 2, March–June 1993, published by the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society Publication Trust.

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