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He a Dreamer of a new society 31. In seeking the beatification of Martyr Devasahayam we wish to uphold to the modern, still race conscious and caste ridden society the ideal of human equality for which he had to die. He was not therefore any martyr - but the dreamer of a new society to be born in Christ Jesus, a Saint most needed for our times. A Christian in the royal Court 32. To be a lone Christian in a predominantly Hindu council of minsters was not a bed of roses. It is indeed a matter of great surprise that Devasahayam as a committed Christian continued to work for four more years in the royal court at Padmanabhapuram. The Carmelite scholar, Paolino a Barthalomeo, a near contemporary of the martyr, testifies that "the king of Thiruvithancoor threatens with imprisonment and even death every nobleman who shall quit his court to become a Christian". 33. One explanation for four years of employment of Devasahayam the Christian, could be the king's preoccupation with the war campaigns in the north. Another explanation could be the exemplary behaviour of Devasahayam who always put the interests of the state above everything else. Yet another explanation could be that the king was eager to maintain friendly relationship with western powers around him the Portguese in Goa, the Dutch in Kochi, the British at Anjuthenku and the French in Mahe. Confrontation of Brahmins with Devasahayam 34. As possible provocations for Devasahayam's arrest on February 23, 1749 (a date specifically mentioned by Fr. Buttari, S.J.) we may indicate two rather major incidents. One a heated exchange of challenges between Devasahayam and the Brahmins of the royal court. The other Devasahayam's self-declaration as the leader of the hated Christian community of the area. 35. The presence of a committed Christian in the royal court could not be tolerated any more by the Brahmins and other orthodox Hindus. Often vehement arguments broke out between them and Devasahayam openly condemned their superstitious and exploitative beliefs and practices and showed clarity and conviction in his Christian faith. This conviction of his and his expressed hatred of Hindu superstitious practices earned him hatred in royal court and precipitated the arrest of Devashayam on February 23,1749. 36. A minister of the king threatened to exile all Christians from the kingdom. In the face of this serious warning Decasahayam seems to have challenged the concerned minister saying, "If you wish to persecute the Christians, then start with me. I am their leader!" 37. This open acknowledgement of responsibility for the impoverished and hated community of Christians must have shocked the members of the royal council. It must have further confirmed them in their determination to do away with Devasahayam. Incidentally this incident, noted by almost all concerned historians was in the context of Devasahayam's request for timber for a nearby church. Devasahayam seems to have assumed some kind of leadership for the fledgeling Christian community of his area. He was thus becoming a threat to the Brahmins and others who hated the Christians. The secret plot of the Brahmins 38. As the king would not consent to their scheme of executing Devasahayam, his opponents in the long absence of the king from the kingdom on account of the war campaigns in the north made a few attempts to carry out their scheme. One such incident, not recorded in the documents of the time but indelibly impressed on the public memory of the people of the region , is that Devasahayam was one day taken to Kulumaikadu between Puliurkurichi and Appattuvilai to be secretly killed without the king's express orders. The scheme was abandoned for fear of the king. Mock parade on buffalo, his perpetual smile. 39. Finally, his enemies "for the greater terror of the Christians" decided on a mock parade. Devasahayam was seated on a buffalo, the animal on which, according to Hindu belief, Eman the god of death rode. According to Tamil cultural pratices, the procession on the buffalo was most humiliating. Both his hands tied to the back, a single short linen around his loin and the generally detested Eruku flower garland (carotropis gigatea) around his neck, he was led through the most frequented streets of the area where pockets of Christians lived, in order to instill into them a sense of fear, so as to stop others from converting to Christianity. The procession covered all the eight taluks (county): Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumangadu, Chirayinkizh, Neyyatinkara, Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Agatheeswaram, Thovalai, The Martyr, however, wore a perpetual smile on his lips and great cheerfulness in his looks, saluting everyone and praying with the ejaculation 'Lord, help me'. A preacher of Christian religion 40. The mock tour ended in failure as far as his enemies were concerned. By his behaviour and words from a prisoner he made himself into an effective preacher of the Christian religion.
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