ABOUT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF TRIVANDRUM
General Civil Outline
The total population of this area would be approximately eighteen and a half lakhs. Though there are several ethnical groups, the common Dravidian Culture unifies them to a great extent. Malayalam and Tamil are the main languages spoken in this area. English is familiar to the educated and to the socially advanced. The people in this area are mostly fishermen, agriculturists, farmers, construction-workers, unskilled labourers and workers in small cottage industries. There are also a good number of government employees and a few business men. A few thousands are employed abroad, especially in the Gulf countries.
Trivandrum, the capital city of the state of Kerala has always attracted people from other parts of the state. Besides being the head-quarters of the state's civil administration, it houses many educational institutions, both professional and non-professional, and has a number of well equipped hospitals and health-care centres. All these factors have contributed towards a steady, yet mild migration to Trivandrum from other parts of the State.
As any other state in India, Kerala too has a democratically elected government, run by a council of ministers, headed by a Chief Minister. Thanks to the many reforms and innovative steps, there are amble opportunities for the people to involve themselves in and be part of the administration itself. The three-tier participatory structure system (Panchayat - Zilla (District)-State) introduced in the state to involve common people in various welfare programmes and projects, though ideal in itself, has not yielded the desired results. The widespread corruption in Government machinery, the lethargic attitude of the common man, the lack of dedicated leadership and clear vision and the generally grim economic scenario of the state have all contributed towards the present not-so-bright state of affairs in Kerala. Nevertheless, there are signs of progress, symptoms of growth and predictions of development which send out rays of hope for a brighter future.
Religious Data
The total number of Catholics in Trivandrum Archdiocese is 2,33,347, out of which 1,15,613 are male members and 1,17,734 are female members. We have now 75 well established parishes and 44 mission stations. Most of the people are God-fearing, deeply religious and law-abiding. Nevertheless there are instances where Catholics have gone away to join some non-Catholic denominations, especially the Pentacost. In most cases, it is not so much out of conviction that they join the Pentacost, but rather by the benefits that they are tantalised to join such groups. In rare cases, staunch Catholics are seen taking shelter under these denominations for ridiculous reasons, like disagreement with one or other parish priests or denial of some privileges they might have expected from the Church, etc. However it is observed that the stream of flow that was seen in later part of 90's is not visible in early 2000.
The main trunk of the Catholic population of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum is on the long coastal belt from Mampally to Kollencode of the State of Kerala, and from Neerody to Eraimenthura of the State of Tamilnadu. Along this coastal strip, there is hardly any presence of non-catholic denominations. But in other areas of the Archdiocese, there are Christians belonging to C.S.I. (Church of South India), Jacobites, Marthomites, Lutherans, Salvation Army, Pentacost, Seventh Day Adventists, Witnesses of Yahove and the like. Of these, C.S.I is prominent and the rest have only fugel numbers.
As far as the non-Christians are considered, there are only two predominant religious groups, the Hindus and the Muslims. As Hindus do not belong to a homogenious religious sect, there is diversity in their doctrine, discipline and religious practices. Population wise, if the whole territory of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum is taken, Hindus form 53% of the total population; Muslims - 27%; Catholics - 13% and the rest of non-Catholics - 7%.
We do not have modern neo-pagans in our Archdiocese as the word neo-pagans is understood generally. However, if that term is understood to indicate those baptised Catholics who no longer profess any religion, then we have some, who under the influence of Communists ideology and Marxian concept of religion have given up their religious practices. Their number is less than 1000, out of a total Catholic population of 2,33,347.
To Recapitulate the Data
Total Area : 686 Sq.km
Total Population :
Total No. of Families :
Catholic Population : 2,33,347 [Male: 1,15,613 ; Female: 1,17,734]
Total No. of Catholic Families: 57,318
Total No. of Basic Christian Community Units (BCC, BEC) : 1,832
