Palai: Hundreds of people from all walks of life Wednesday bid farewell to a Catholic priest who fought campus politics and charted new paths in biotechnology to help farmers.
Father Mathew Maleparambil, former principal of St Thomas College, Palai, died Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 64.
Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Palai led the funeral services at St John the Baptist Church, Ezhacherry, his native village near Palai. Auxiliary Bishop Jacob Murickan and scores of priests assisted him.
Father Maleparambil was in the forefront of a movement to clear student politics from Kerala campuses, said Cyriac Sebastian, a prominent lay leader. The priest braved opposition from Marxists and other political parties to oppose sponsored strikes in campuses. He managed to get a verdict against campus politics from the Kerala High Court, Sebastian told Matters India.
The priest, who came from an agriculture background, secured a doctorate in botany from Calicut University when tissue culture was giving new vigor to agriculture sector, according to the website of the Syro-Malabar Church. He kept on top of agriculture research that was entering new horizons with the help of biotechnology toward the end of the 20th century.
He not only mastered the technique of producing thousands of saplings from a tiny portion of a plant but taught it to his numerous students. His research helped produce healthy and high yielding banana saplings.
He was born on February 4, 1951 at Ezhacherry, where he had his primary education. He went to nearby Ramapuram for high school studies. He was ordained a priest in 1975. He was appointed principal of St Thomas College in 2001. Five years later, took over as the principal of BVM Holy Cross College Cherpunkal, a post he held until February 7.