>Lettler at 16:35, 19 November 2021

2021-11-19T16:35:48Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jacob Cherian
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1923|7|14}}
| birth_place = [[Kollam]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2007|10|4|1923|7|14}}
| death_place = Ambilikkai, [[Dindigul district]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Surgeon, social worker, educationist
| yearsactive =
| influences =
| influenced =
| known_for = Social and education service
| awards = {{ublist|1999 [[Padma Bhushan]] }}
}}
'''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.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in/ |title=Padma Awards |date=2018-05-17 |website=Padma Awards |publisher=Government of India |access-date=2018-05-17}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:Oddanchatram.jpg|thumb|235px|Oddanchatram hills]]
Jacob Cherian was born on 14 July 1923 at Kottara, a small hamlet in [[Kollam district]] of the south Indian state of [[Kerala]] to K. M. Jacob Kottara, better known as ''Kottara Achan'', a priest of [[Marthoma Church]],<ref name="A profile of the Founder">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cfchcambil.in/founders%20mission1.html |title=A profile of the Founder |date=2018-06-06 |website=CFCHCS |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> who once held the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] for the longest religious service.<ref name="Rev. K. M. Jacob Kottara - Nalloor Library">{{Cite web |url=https://nalloorlibrary.com/tag/rev-k-m-jacob-kottara/ |title=Rev. K. M. Jacob Kottara - Nalloor Library |date=2018-06-06 |website=nalloorlibrary.com |language=en |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Cherian dead">{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Cherian-dead/article14851601.ece |title=Cherian dead |date=2007-10-06 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2018-06-06 |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Light of Life, India">{{Cite web |url=http://lightoflife-india.com/2008/nov08/edit1nov08.html |title=Light of Life, India |date=2018-06-06 |website=lightoflife-india.com |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref><ref name="An adventure in faith: the story of Dr. A.K. Tharien">{{Cite book |title=An adventure in faith: the story of Dr. A.K. Tharien |last=Athyal |first=Jesudas |date=2004 |publisher=Christava Sahitya Samithi |oclc = 68706148|language=English }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Cherian dead" /> Later, he also started a rehabilitation center for leprosy patients in the village.<ref name="CCNAMB profile">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ccnamb.org/hospital.html |title=CCNAMB profile |date=2018-06-06 |website=www.ccnamb.org |language=en-US |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref>

Subsequently, Cherian entered the education sector and two [[higher secondary school]]s, one with [[English language|English]] as the [[medium of instruction]] and the other with [[Tamil language|Tamil]], were the ones he started first.<ref name="CPC - Founders">{{Cite web |url=http://www.christianpolytechnic.com/Founders.html |title=CPC - Founders |date=2018-06-06 |website=www.christianpolytechnic.com |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> This was followed by a number of institutions which included ''Christian College of Engineering and Technology'',<ref name="Founders CCET">{{Cite web |url=http://christianengineering.in/index.php/about-us/founders |title=Founders CCET |last=User |first=Super |date=2018-06-06 |website=christianengineering.in |language=en-gb |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> ''Christian Polytechnic College''<ref name="CPC - Founders" /> and ''Christian College of Nursing''.<ref name="CCNAMB profile" /> 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.<ref name="A profile of the Founder" /><ref name="ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN DINDIGUL DISTRICT ">{{Cite web |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/135433/8/08_chapter%202.pdf |title=ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN DINDIGUL DISTRICT |date=2018-06-06 |website=Shodhganga |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> During his medical career, he was reported to have carried out 25,000 surgical procedures.<ref name="Cherian dead" />

Cherian was married to Mary Cherian, a pediatrician by profession and the co-founder of the institutions he founded.<ref name="History">{{Cite web |url=http://christianengineering.in/index.php/oops/2-uncategorised |title=History |date=2018-06-06 |website=christianengineering.in |language=en-gb |access-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> He died on 4 October 2007 at Ambilikkai, at the age of 84, succumbing to age-related illnesses.<ref name="Cherian dead" />

== 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.<ref name="A profile of the Founder" /> He received the [[Padma Bhushan]], the third highest civilian award from the Government of India in 1999.<ref name="Padma Awards"/>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of people from Kerala]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal|India|Medicine|Education}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |title=An adventure in faith: the story of Dr. A.K. Tharien |last=Athyal |first=Jesudas |date=2004 |publisher=Christava Sahitya Samithi |oclc = 68706148|language=English }}

==External links==
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66JtGPp8SY |title=Dr. Jacob Cherian (Ayya) |last=Santhosh Chacko |date=2011-01-27 |website=YouTube |access-date=2018-06-06}}
* {{Cite journal |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/assr_0335-5985_1989_num_67_1_1370 |title=The Construction of Authority in the Christian Ashram Movement / La Construction de l'autorité dans le mouvement des ashrams chrétiens |last=Ralston |first=Helen |date=1989 |journal=Archives de sciences sociales des religions |volume=67 |pages=53–75 |language=fr-FR |doi=10.3406/assr.1989.1370 |access-date=2018-06-06}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1990–1999}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherian, Jacob}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kollam district]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Indian surgeons]]
[[Category:Social workers from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Social workers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian medical doctors]]
[[Category:Medical doctors from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century surgeons]]

Jacob Cherian - Revision history

>Lettler at 16:35, 19 November 2021