Former students of Malabar region’s first Catholic college are celebrating the birth centenary of its first principal. Father Theodosius Karippaparambil “was a great educationist and the architect of a top arts and science college in Kerala,” said M. Radhakrishnan Nair, secretary of the organizing committee. The Carmelite of Mary Immaculate congregation set up St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri, Calicut, in 1956 and appointed Father Karippaparambil as its first principal. The college mainly catered to Catholics who had migrated to the Malabar region in the northern part of Kerala. Father Karippaparambil worked as its principal until his death in 1963. The college admitted students from all religions and played a crucial role in Malabar’s social and educational development, said Sukumaran Azhikode, a former colleague of Father Karippaparambil. Another Hindu colleague M. G. S. Narayanan, a historian, described the Catholic priest as “a landmark in the history of Calicut.” M.K. Raghavan, a state minister who opened the celebrations and the alumni meeting on February 20, highlighted the role of Christians in the cultural and social development of the Malabar region. IB13393.1642