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Jacob Cherian (14 July 1923 – 4 October 2007), popularly known as Ayya, was an Indian surgeon, educationist and a social worker. He was the founder of Christian Fellowship Community Health Centre Society, a non-governmental organization under which banner he established 24 primary health centres, besides 18 other institutions in the fields of health and education. Credited with the performance of over 25,000 surgeries, Cherian was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow, International College of Surgeons as well as of the American College of Surgeons, and a founder fellow of the Association of Surgeons of India. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1999.

Biography

Jacob Cherian was born on 14 July 1923 at Kottara, a small hamlet in Kollam district of then Travancore to K. M. Jacob Kottara, better known as Kottara Achan, a priest of the Marthoma Church, who once held the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest religious service. His early college studies were at the University of Kerala and after earning a graduate degree, he studied medicine at the Government Medical College, Miraj but, later, moved to R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata from where he obtained a degree in medicine in 1956. He started his medical service at Oddanchatram, a rural area in the state of Tamil Nadu where he had co-founded a small health center in 1955, along with A. K. Tharian. After becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow in 1961, he moved to Ambilikkai, another village in Dindigul District, and started a small hospital with 25 beds to treat leprosy and tuberculosis, two fatal diseases prevalent in the area during that time; the hospital would later develop into a 175-bedded multi-disciplinary facility, the first such recognized facility for leprosy started by an Indian. Later, he also started a rehabilitation center for leprosy patients in the village.

Subsequently, Cherian entered the education sector and two higher secondary schools, one with English as the medium of instruction and the other with Tamil, were the ones he started first. This was followed by a number of institutions which included Christian College of Engineering and Technology, Christian Polytechnic College and Christian College of Nursing. Overall, he founded 24 primary health centers and 18 institutions, all working under the aegis of Christian Fellowship Community Health Centre Society, a non-governmental organization he founded to organize the activities. During his medical career, he was reported to have carried out 25,000 surgical procedures.

Cherian was married to Mary Cherian, a pediatrician by profession and the co-founder of the institutions he founded. He died on 4 October 2007 at Ambilikkai, at the age of 84, succumbing to age-related illnesses.

Awards and honors

Cherian was an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, International College of Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, and the Association of Surgeons of India. He received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award from the Government of India in 1999.

See also

• List of people from Kerala

References

1. ^ "Padma Awards". Padma Awards. Government of India. 17 May 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
2. ^ "A profile of the Founder". CFCHCS. 6 June 2018. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
3. "Rev. K. M. Jacob Kottara - Nalloor Library". nalloorlibrary.com. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
4. ^ "Cherian dead". The Hindu. 6 October 2007. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
5. "Light of Life, India". lightoflife-india.com. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
6. Athyal, Jesudas (2004). An adventure in faith: the story of Dr. A.K. Tharien. Christava Sahitya Samithi. OCLC 68706148.
7. ^ "CCNAMB profile". www.ccnamb.org. 6 June 2018. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
8. ^ "CPC - Founders". www.christianpolytechnic.com. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
9. "Founders CCET". christianengineering.in. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
10. "ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN DINDIGUL DISTRICT" (PDF). Shodhganga. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
11. "History". christianengineering.in. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.

Further reading

• Athyal, Jesudas (2004). An adventure in faith: the story of Dr. A.K. Tharien. Christava Sahitya Samithi. OCLC 68706148.

External links

• Santhosh Chacko (27 January 2011). "Dr. Jacob Cherian (Ayya)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
• Ralston, Helen (1989). "The Construction of Authority in the Christian Ashram Movement / La Construction de l'autorité dans le mouvement des ashrams chrétiens". Archives de sciences sociales des religions (in French). 67: 53–75. doi:10.3406/assr.1989.1370. Retrieved 6 June 2018.

• Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work
• 1923 births
• 2007 deaths
• People from Kollam district
• Malayali people
• Indian surgeons
• Social workers from Kerala
• 20th-century Indian educational theorists
• Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
• Medical doctors from Kerala
• 20th-century Indian surgeons