By Jose Kavi
New Delhi, May 23, 2022: Father Subhash Anand, a renowned philosophy professor who challenged Catholics in India to become Christ’s authentic disciples, died of a massive heart attack May 23 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He was 78.
Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Udaipur has informed that the funeral begins at 10 am on May 24.
Father Anand, a priest of the diocese of Udaipur, was born Benedict Alvarez on November 15, 1943. He was ordained a priest on October 28, 1967.
He was a resident of St Paul’s School in Udaipur’s Bhupalpura area.
Father Anand was part of Pune’s Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV) seminary as a student and professor of Indian Philosophy and Religion for more than 30 years.
Father Subhash Anand “deeply loved the Church and his path took unusual twists and turns. He wouldn’t tolerate hypocrisy, be it among scholars or the Church’s officials,” says Jesuit Father Stanislaus Alla, a theology professor in Delhi’s Vidyajyoti College of Theology.
According to him, Father Anand “loved to go to the root of the Gospel that invites and challenges the faithful to be authentic disciples rather than get struck in the infantilizing traditionalism.”
Observing that such a stand often led Father Anand to court controversy, Father Stanislaus hails as admirable the renowned philosophy professor’s “rigor and passion” during theological discussions and debates.
“He brought Indic ethical values and virtues such as Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa to the fore and integrated them with the teachings of the Gospel, inviting all to be truly Indians and authentically Christians. Also, in the spirit of Incarnation, he allowed himself to be permeated by local cultures and languages and it is evident in the Wald-Bulke Bible Bhashya (Hindi Bible Commentary) he painstakingly produced,” Father Stanislaus told Matters India.
Jesuit Father George Karuvelil, a former philosophy professor of JDV, says Father Anand’s original contribution to the academic world was his Christian interpretation of Hindu festivals. “He was my teacher and later a colleague,” Father Karuvelil told Matters India and described Father Anand as “a man of principles and who offended many in the process. I fondly remember him.”
Presentation Sister Shalini Mulackal, another Vidyajyoti professor, says she received the news about Father Anand’s sudden death with deep sorrow and pain.
“He was a clear thinker, a bold theologian who dared to question some of the fundamental beliefs of our Christian faith. I would consider him as a seeker who never stopped seeking after Truth. He was a scholar in every sense of the word,” says the former president of the Indian Theological Association.
Father Anand’s latest book, “Seven Baskets Full” is on Eucharist. No one can deny his scholarly work when you turn the pages of this book. He has contributed greatly in the theological thinking in India,” Sister Mulackal adds.
She says she came to know Father Anand more closely when she was invited to participate in an inter-faith seminar at Udasin Karshni Ashram in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, where the priest was among the main organizers.
“He used to bring his Mass kit so that we could celebrate Eucharist every day in that Hindu Ashram. Most participants in these workshops used to be retired professors from various universities both Hindus and Muslims. He had a nice way of relating with all those came for the seminar,” the Catholic nun recalls.
“What I admire most about Fr. Subhash Anand is that he was deeply human and compassionate” and he did not send away empty handed those who came to him for help. “He was a detached person, happy and contented with minimum comforts and conveniences.”
Jesuit Father Kuruvilla Joseph Pandikattu, a JDV professor, too hails Father Anand’s concern for the poor. “He cherished poverty as a way of life and supported the marginalized. He had a special commitment to the secular institutes in and around Pune and served them with devotion,” Father Pandikattu recalls.
Father Anand, he says, was “a man of deep conviction and commitment” and “a person of vision and values,” who was he was “critically and creatively committed to the Indian Church.”
Father Anand radiated “a sense of fairness and calm in his undertakings. Forthright and articulate, he could put forward his views forcefully and articulate himself clearly,” Father Pandikattu adds.
Father Anand, who cherished both the ancient Indian wisdom and its contemporary relevance, tried to make the Indian insights applicable to the modern times in his classes, says Father Pandikattu.
Father Anand’s doctorate studies at Banaras Hindu University “helped him assimilate the Indian insights to the Christian experience. It was this experience of his Indian identity and profundity that made him change his name from Benedict Alvarez to Subhash Anand,” Father Pandikattu explains.
I have known this humble, profoundly human and deeply spiritual person endowed with a brilliant mind and great courage to live by his convictions. He is indeed a prophet for the Church in India. May he continue to inspire us to follow Christ more closely, more credibly and with greater passion.
Respectful farewell to Father Subhash Anand Ji. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed soul.
As a Bible lover I have many versions/ translations. The best for the average reader is The New Community Bible brought out by St Paul’s. Subhash was a major contributor.
Just got news that Subhash donated his body to the local medical college for research. Even in death he lives on
He dared to think differently. And expressed it daringly. RIP.
A Biblical Concordance should be user friendly. Most of the contributors are Catholic priests. How many of them preach or write in Hindi? In a digitalised world a hard copy Concordance becomes cumbersome, more so if the language of the original texts is not in common usage. I often refer to Scripture in my writings. I do not pretend to remember everything so I rely heavily on a Concordance. I have a hard copy of the King James version. On my phone I also have a soft copy of the Revised Standard Version. Even then some words or statements are difficult to locate. Even if I have to write in Hindi I prefer to use the English Concordance and then revert to the Hindi text. I share this without prejudice to the hard work put in by many scholars to produce the Hindi Concordance, Subhash included.
Subhash very kindly had sent me copies of his two latest books, the Hindi concordance of the Bible and Seven Baskets Full on the Eucharist. I have my reservations on both publications. The concordance is for the Hindi translation done by Wald and Bulcke several decades ago. Both being foreigners their language though technically correct, doesn’t always convey the true meaning of the texts. For example “the lamb without blemish” is translated as without “dosh” that actually means guilt, not blemish. I also noticed that most of the contributors to the concordance were non-Hindi speaking scholars, further complicating their efforts.
I did not finish reading Seven Baskets Full but it gives the impression that the author has a pre-determined conclusion to which he seeks to fit in his presentation. Hence the Eucharist is described more as a shared meal rather than a sacrifice. I don’t think that they are mutually exclusive.
I have also noticed that some priest scholars question the institution of the Eucharist as a sacrament and the church as divinely founded. Then why do they cling on to the sacramental priesthood, with all its power and pelf? I have raised these issues with Subhash in the past.
The Indian Catholic Forum expresses its deep sorrow at the sudden passing on of its ecclesiastical advisor Rev Dr Subhash Anand. Along with being an erudite scholar he was also an unpretentious and simple man. He spent the last years of his life working among slum children in Udaipur. When his parent diocese of Ajmer was bifurcated, he along with another stalwart, Rev R. H. Lesser, opted for the less glamorous Udaipur diocese that did not have many prestigious institutions and a large tribal population. This is a double whammy for Udaipur coming so soon after the demise of its former bishop.
Deeply shocked at his passing away. Have lost a friend. God bless his soul.
Father Subhash Anand a great scholar n thinker indeed who carried out his prophetic mission in dialogue , a product of Second Vatican council. He implemented in his own ‘high thinking n simple living’ style the gospel in word n deed. He was deeply religious n open to the insights he gained studying n knowing different religions by his own philosophical n theological reflections. He became a prominent post Vatican stalwart in India. I m really saddened by d news. We were associated through our national n regional meetings in Dialogue. He was a staunch man of dialogue through his interventions n provocative writings His writings will go a long way to understand deeply his mind for inculturation n what it means to b rooted in Indian soil, rich in diversity , culture n religious traditions. I mourn his death , a great soul whose passion was to take Dialogue into our grassroots evangelising mission. May his soul rest in peace!
Fr. Subhash Anand taught and lived a radical life. His article Christ is universally umique and uniquely universal still lingers in my mind .
God grant him eternal life.- Moksha.