MM Thomas - Life, Legacy and Theology

THEOLOGY OF MADATHILPARAMPIL MAMMEN THOMAS
2.1 M.M. Thomas’s theology: A karma maarga?
In his pioneer speech in Bangalore, Arvind P. Nirmal called for the emergence of
a ‘counter theology’ to Brahminical Indian Christian theology in order to represent to the
voice and experience of Dalit Christians. 10 A dichotomy within the theological realm of
India was thus established, setting Dalit theology against Indian Christian theology.
Within this dichotomy, Nirmal effectively categorised M.M. Thomas as an Indian
Christian thinker influenced by the Brahminic tradition. In his oft quoted passage calling
for a counter theology to emerge, Nirmal writes:
To speak in terms of the traditional Indian categories, Indian
Christian Theology, following the Brahminical tradition, has
trodden the jnana maarga, the bhakti maarga and the karma
maarga…In M.M. Thomas we have a theologian who has
contributed to theological anthropology at the international level
and who laid the foundations for a more active theological
involvement in India – the karma maarga. 11
Thomas was thus classified as an Indian Christian theologian who worked on behalf of
the elite, 12 considered more of a foe than an ally to Dalit theology. In other words, the
categorization of M.M. Thomas as an exponent of karma m arga within a dichotomous
methodology effectively dismissed Thomas’s theology as irrelevant for Dalit theology.
This may in part explain why there is only scant mention of M.M. Thomas in the writing
of first generation Dalit theologians. Yet if it can be shown that Nirmal’s assessment of
Thomas is inadequate, this offers legitimate and important grounds for this thesis, which
argues that M.M. Thomas contributed significant theological signposts for the
emergence of Dalit theology. In this section I question the validity of Nirmal’s
classification of Thomas as an exponent of karma marga.
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