Felix Raj

John Felix Raj, S.J. (born 1954) is the principal and former rector of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. He is professor of economics in this renowned institution. He received Ph.D. degree in Economics from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He is currently the vice-president of Bengal Economic Association.

Raj is a well-known writer and has presented papers in many national and international conferences. Raj has lectured in many universities in Europe, US and Canada. He is an educationist, associated with a number of NGOs and engaged in many philanthropic activities. Parivartan and Snegam, NGOs engaged in social and educational activities are his brainchildren. His initiative, "College to Village and Village to College" at St. Xavier's College is a novel effort in education.

He is the director, The Goethals Indian Library and Research Society and the West Bengal State Advisor to All Indian Catholic University Federation.

He is the Recipient of:

  • Mother Teresa Millennium Award in 2006 by Mother Teresa's International and Millennium Awards Committee

Fordham University, New York Webpage

  • First CAB Community Development Award in 2008 by by Catholic Association of Bengal

We Xaverians

  • Mahdeolal Saraogi Award in 2008 by by Rotary Club of Kolkata

Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Calcutta

  • Lifetime Achievement Award by Core Sector Communiqué in 2011.

Core Sector Communiqué Website

Early life

Fr. Felix Raj: A Sketch by Sourav Mukherjee
  • Born in 1954 in Poolangudi, Ramnad District, Tamil Nadu, to Mr. S. A. Susai and Mrs Kitheri Susai, both teachers, Raj had early exposure to education as virture and vocation. He had his schooling at St. Michael’s School, Sengudi and completed high school at St. Mary’s, Tuticorin (Thuthugudi), South India. Since childhood, he displayed phenomenal leadership qualities. He was School Pupils Leader (SPL) at St. Mary’s. After his PUC in St. Joseph’s College Trichy, he joined the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in 1973. He went through his early Jesuit formation of Novitiate and Juniorate at Xavier Teacher Training Institute, Patna.
  • He graduated with Economics from Loyola College, Chennai in 1980. During his studies at Chennai, he involved himself in the activities of All India Catholic University Federation. He represented AICUF in the Conference of Asian Catholic Students held in Penang in 1978. He has been in this University Student Movement for more than 35 years. In 1989 he took over as the West Bengal State Adviser to AICUF. Under his leadership, AICUF grew stronger and many students benefited from leadership camps and rural exposures.
  • He completed his Masters in Economics at St. Joseph’s College, Trichy in 1982. He completed his Philosophy studies from Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), Pune in 1984 and joined the Department of Economics, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata as faculty. After two years, he went for his theology studies in Delhi.
  • He completed his three year Theology course from Vidya Jothi College, Delhi in 1989 and was ordained priest in Trichy on April 23, 1989. He belongs to the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus and resides at the Jesuit Community, 30 Mother Teresa Sarani, Kolkata – 700 016.

Experience

  • 2009 to Present: Principal, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
  • 1997 to 2009: Vice Principal, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
  • 1984 to Present: Professor of Economics, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
  • 1996 to Present: Director, The Goethals Indian Library and Research Society
  • 1996 to 2002: Rector, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
  • 1989 to Present: State Director, All India Catholic University Federation, West Bengal Unit

AICUF Documents

  • 2005 to 2008: Council Member, International Economic Association
  • 2011 to Present: Vice President, Bengal Economic Association

Bangiya Arthaniti Parishad

Board of Governors, XLRI, Jamshedpur

  • Trustee, International Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
  • President, SNEGAM Social Welfare and Resource Society, Kolkata

SNEGAM Webpage

  • Vice President, Parivartan Social Welfare Society
  • He came back to St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata in 1989 as Professor of Economics. He was appointed Rector of St. Xavier’s in 1996 by Rev. Fr. General of the Jesuit Order. Father served in that position for six years. He took over as Vice- Principal of the nationaly renowned Commerce Department of the College in 1997 and held the mantle for twelve years furthering the reach and respect of the department. In 2009, the sesquicentenary year of the College, he was appointed Principal of the College. Under his able and dynamic leadership, the College has been expanding academically and geographically.
  • As the President of the St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association, he has achieved a global dimension for the association by starting chapters abroad in Thailand, Dubai, Singapore, Bangladesh, USA, Australia etc. Dynamic as he is, he is connecting with Xaverians all over and reviving the Spirit of Xavier’s – Nihil Ultra (Nothing Beyond) and for him the pursuit persists.
  • It is significant to note that during his tenure, the College has undergone NAAC accreditation with a commendable CGP 3.53 on a scale of 4. He has actively fostered research, not just for publication sake, but for the benefit of people. The research Centre has received fresh wind beneath its wings.

Contributions

  • ALL INDIA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FEDERATION (AICUF)

Dr. Raj joined the All India Catholic University Federation in 1977 while studying at Loyola College, Madras and has been associated with it since. He has been highly appreciative of the vision, ideology and methods of the Movement: “We are born in an unjust society, and we are determined not to leave it as we have found it”. AICUF has been working in Bengal from 1948 under the guidance of Fr. Babu Beckers, SJ. Fr. Raj took over as the State Adviser to Bengal AICUF unit in 1989 and stirred up the spirit and revitalized the movement. His appointment authored new horizons for the student community.

He constantly reminded the student on student-centrality and his words “ AICUF is your movement and its growth is your growth,” inspired and challenged the students and brought out the enshrined leadership qualities in the best way.

In 1991, he introduced the celebration of annual AICUF DAY, which is continuing till date. In 1994 the AICUF DAY was different. AICUFers of the Sate felicitated their friend and guru, Fr. Babu Beckers on the occasion of his Golden jubilee of his religious life as a Jesuit.

His vision helped the movement to form tribal units and celebrated 1993, the international year of the indigenous people, with debates, seminars, exhibitions and walks for indigenous people. Due to his efforts there are many tribal students studying at St. Xavier’s College. He encouraged the students to establish a Scholarship Fund to assist economically backward students.

Father Felix Raj had always encouraged the right to freedom of expression among students. To give this privilege a tangible shape, he initiated a magazine called AICUF Review in 1990, which after four years evolved into Yuva Pragati (Youth Progress).

  • THE GOETHALS INDIAN LIBRARY AND RESEARCH SOCIETY

A part of the St. Xavier's College building on Mother Teresa Sarani (Park Street), above the main Chapel, houses a treasure which was inherited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Xavier's in 1908 from the then Archbishop of Calcutta (1886 to 1901), Paul Goethals, S.J. Archbishop Goethals, a Belgian, donated to the Jesuit Fathers his precious collection of books with the expectation that they be preserved as a separate library. A noteworthy treasure is the six large volumes of oriental scenery each containing 24 views, colour engravings by Thomas and William Daniell, from March 1, 1795 to June 1, 1803. There are also a number of curios, marble Buddha statues and an exquisite dagger collection.

The library contains a collection of 18,663 volumes of books and periodicals. AbOUT 50 manuscripts of the Bengal Mission historian, Fr. H. Hosten, are stored, besides a few of Fr. W. Wallace and the pioneering educationist, Brahmabandhav Upadhyay.

When Father took over as the Director of the library in 1996, he completely renovated it and made this treasure more easily accessible to research scholars, who are most worthy of its inheritance. To help the users, he modernized the facilities: A scientific cataloguing of the books, periodicals and plates has been done. It has now been designated as a Research and Reference Centre. A Quarterly Newsletter is being published regularly.

His efforts are to take forward the rare and rich tradition of scholarly Jesuits like Frs. Johannes and Dandoy (Hinduism), Courtois (Islam), Lievens (Tribal rights), P. Fallon and Robert Antoine (Indology).

  • INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, KOLKATA

Dr. Raj is a trustee of The International Institute for Development Studies, popularly known as IIDS. It is an international centre for development studies involved, since 1989, in multi-country-disciplinary research with its Head Office in Calcutta, India. He organized an international conference on 27-28 November 2004, on TEN YEARS OF WTO AND TOWARDS AN ASIAN UNION, at Aquinas College, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The papers presented at the Conference have been collated and published in a book form, WTO and Asian Union, edited by Raj Kr Sen and J. Felix Raj.

  • BENGAL ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION (BEA)

Fr. Felix Raj joined the Bengal Economic Association at the request of two renowned economists of Bengal, late Prof. Alak Ghosh and Prof. Raj Kumar Sen in 2002. Dr. Raj was the secretary of the BEA from 2005 to 2011. He is its Vice President from 2011. He represented the BEA at the International Economic Association (IEA) and attended the 14th IEA meetings and world congresses in September 2005 and the 15th world congress in June 2008 in Istanbul.

"There are 535 Universities and around 26,000 Colleges in India. If every College adopts one village and nurture and motivate the children of that village, it will be an Educational Revolution and illiteracy can be radically eradicated." - Fr. Felix Raj, SJ

  • SNEGAM SOCIAL WELFARE AND RESOURCE SOCIETY

Snegam Social Welfare & Resource Society is an NGO established in 2005 by Felix Raj, SJ and a group of his former students. Fr. Raj is the inspiration behind this organization. His initiative in the field of social work has left remarkable and indelible impact on the less privileged and marginalized sections of the society.

The Mission of Snegam is to promote quality education and bring about an Educational Revolution in a country where 28% of the population lives below the poverty line, 35% still not literate and another 100 million children do not go to school. It is his mission to motivate this effort into a movement against illiteracy and poverty.

In the last six years Snegam, with its motto “Together Towards Tomorrow”, has grown slowly but steadily. The number of centres has increased to seven. Three are situated in the urban slums and four in the villages. Almost 1000 children have benefited from the efforts. Snegam has provided financial assistance to economically challenged students in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

  • PRAYAS – COLLEGE TO VILLAGE AND VILLAGE TO COLLEGE

Youtube Documentary on Prayas

Prayas is an effort aimed at bringing about the complete overall development of the students, both in the colleges and in the villages, initiated by Dr. Felix Raj in January 2006. He firmly believes that, "If colleges and villages meet, there will be a knowledge revolution.”

The pedagogy of Prayas works in “three Stages”. The College, with its Management, Faculty and students, is the ‘temple of wisdom’; the village, with its people and administration is the ‘temple of prosperity’. “Stage one” is the planning stage.

A collaboration of both leads to the “second stage”, which is the implementation stage. Here the College students go to the villages and work with the children. They conduct classes and extracurricular activities, surveys, camps etc. They also provide financial assistance to the very needy children to continue their education.

Twice a year the village children are brought to the college. They are taken for city tours, tour of the college campus, etc. College students conduct educational sessions, sports and other activities for the children.

As the college and village meet there is an overall development of both. College students discover the rural India, become more aware of the harsh realities and develop a sense of service. The village students get exposures to wider realities and feel motivated to continue their education.

This Project was awarded the Dr. P.S. Job Memorial Award for the most Innovative Educational effort for the year 2010-11 by AIACHE (All India Association for Christian Higher Education). The endeavour continues.

  • JERICHO CENTRE FOR THE BLIND AND HANDICAPPED

Rev. Fr. A. Anthony, a blind priest and maternal uncle of Fr. Felix Raj, started the Jericho Centre for the Blind in 1986 at Nagamangalam, Trichy, Tamil Nadu. After Fr. Anthony’s demise, his brother, Fr. A. Jesuraj Anbarasan is administering it. The Centre runs the St. Joseph’s higher secondary school with 1100 students.

Fr. Felix Raj, SJ is the president of the Centre and is a source of great inspiration and support to the blind and differently challenged inmates of the Centre and School. He is instrumental in establishing the three “Rev. Fr. Anthony Memorial Awards” in the School for academically outstanding students.

  • THE ST. XAVIER'S COLLEGE, KOLKATA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (SXCCAA)

There will always be a new mountain to climb and Xaverians will always try to scale every peak. It is Father Felix Raj, our president who has taught us, by his own example, that it doesn’t matter how fast we get to the top or what’s waiting on the other side, but that its only the climb that matters.

Under his leadership, the Alumni Association has grown and extended its chapters globally. He has steered the SXCCAA movement with such quiet efficiency that it has achieved pioneering status in terms of uniqueness and quality – becoming the yardstick against which alumni movements are judged. It was his idea that if Xaverians scattered all over the world, could not come to their alma mater in Kolkata, the association would reach out to them.

It is during his time that Beyond Boundaries, the international convention of Xaverians was started. Beyond Boundaries has now become an important event in the calendar of every Xaverian. It was held successfully in 2010 in Bangkok, in 2011 in Dubai and 2012 in Singapore.

Dr. J. Felix Raj has given the alumni an unparallel access and responsibility in every matter of the functioning of the college. Thanks to him, the alumni have an important say in the matters of the college just as they actively contribute and work hand in hand with the staff and the students. The Almuni/ae association now shares a wonderful relationship with the teaching and the non-teaching staff, students and the Jesuits, as envisioned and facilitated by Father Raj.

The sensitive and humane leader that he is, Father Raj has revived the Women’s Forum and its activities too. He has given each member of the Women’s Forum the confidence that has helped them to become the kind of women who in the face of adversity shall continue to embrace life.

We are not surprised by the fact that he shares his date of birth with Mother Teresa, which is on the 26th of august. Much as we would love to celebrate our President’s birthday, he only allows the members to celebrate it as the Philanthropy Day of the SXCCAA.

The greatest achievement of the President is perhaps the fact that he has helped to transcend SXCCAA from being an association to becoming a closely-knit Xaverian family. The members with the Jesuit values deeply instilled in their hearts believe that life will always be an uphill battle and sometimes one may even have to lose but as long as there is faith, love and togetherness, it is only the climb that will matter. - By Ms. Hasnu Mukherjee

Awards

  • Mother Teresa Millennium Award in 2006 the Mother Teresa's International and Millennium Awards Committee, Kolkata
  • First Catholic Association of Bengal Community Development Award in 2008 by the CAB, Kolkata
  • Mahdeolal Saraogi Memorial Award in 2008 by the Rotary Club of Kolkata
  • Lifetime Achievement Award by Core Sector Communique in 2011

Book Publications

Dr. Raj has authored and co-authored six books and has written numerous articles in journals, magazine and newspapers.

  1. Relevance of Christianity in India Today (ed.), (1986) Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune.
  2. Memories of a Movement – AICUF in West Bengal 1948-1996, (1996) AICUF Publications, Kolkata.
  3. Contemporary Development Economics from Adam Smith to Amartya Sen, (Felix Raj & others), (2006) New Central Book Agency Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, 2006.

New Central Book Agency (P) Ltd. Website

  1. Indian Economy – Economic Ideas, Development and Financial Reforms - Essays in honour of Prof. Raj Kumar Sen, (ed.), (2008), Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.

Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd

  1. WTO: Towards and Asian Union, (ed) (2009), Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.
  2. Disinvestment in India - Trends, Problems and Prospects, (2012), Regal Publishers, New Delhi.

Regal Publications Website

Article Publications

  1. (1984) “Teilhard de Chardin”, Bhavan’s Journal, Bombay, July 16.
  2. (1988) “Robert Antoine - The Indologist”, in Jesuit Contribution to India, Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, Anand.
  3. (2000) “Challenges to Change- Educational System”, Cover page article, Indian Currents, New Delhi, September 3
  4. (2000) “Studying India: Education in a Global Village”, The Statesman, September 10, Kolkata
  5. (2001) “Jesuit Education”, The Statesman, July 31, Kolkata.
  6. (2003) “Plight of Tribals – I & II”, The Statesman, July 9 & 10, 2003, Kolkata
  7. (2004) “Thiruvalluvar, His ideas on Economics and their Relevance Today,” Vidyajyothi, August 2004, Delhi
  8. (2004) "Globalization and its impact on Tribals in India", Xavier Research Journal, Ranchi, St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi
  9. (2004): “Disinvestments and Unemployment”, Artha Beekshan, Vol. 13, No. 3, December 2004
  10. (2004) “Liberazione e Partecipazione – Ripensare percorsi di crescita per il Terzo” mondo, Orientamenti No 3, pp 44-57, Milan
  11. (2005): “Economic Ideas in the Arthasastra and their Relevance today”, Vidyjothi Journal, Vo. 69, No. 7, July 2005, Delhi pp. 514 – 522
  12. (2005): “A Mantra for Development” (Cover Story article), Indian Currents, 2 October & 9 October 2005, New Delhi
  13. (2005): “Neo-Liberalism, Globalization and Developing Economies – the Issue of Trust and Honesty”, Artha Beekshan, September 2005, Kolkata Pp. 1 – 28
  14. (2006): “Kautilya and Thiruvalluvar: Economic Ideas”, Chapter 8 in Economics in Arthasastra (Ed.) Sen Raj Kumar and Basu Ratan Lal), Deep and Deep Publishers, New Delhi, Pp. 116 – 141
  15. (2006)“Bali-India Trade: Modern and Future perspectives”, Chapter 2 in Growth, Development and Poverty Alleviation in the Asia-Pacific (Readings in World Development) edited by Kartik C. Roy (The University of Queensland, Australia) and Srikanta Chatterjee (Massey University, New Zealand), 2006
  16. (2007): “Global Realities and Radical Spirituality”, Bulletin of the R.K. Mission Institute of Culture, January 2007, Pp. 18 – 23
  17. (2007): “Bali - India Trade: Modern and Future Perspectives”, Chapter 2 in Readings in World Development: Growth, Development and Poverty Allieviation in the Asia – Pacific (Ed. By Roy Kartick and Chatterjee Sri Kanta), Nova Publishers, 2007, Pp. 7 – 14
  18. (2008) “Asia is One” – The Statesman, Kolkata, March 18, 2008
  19. (2008): “SEZs: Broken Promises in West Bengal”, Social Action, Vol. 58, July-September 2008, ISI, New Delhi, Pp. 283 – 293
  20. (2008): “Economic Reforms and Disinvestments of Public Sector Enterprises in India”, Chapter 6 in Indian Economy – Economic Ideas, Development and Financial Reforms”, (ed.) Raj J Felix, Deep & Deep Publications, Delhi 2008, Pp. 68 – 100
  21. (2009): “WTO and Asia”, Chapter 59 in “WTO and Asian Union – Ten Years of WTO” by Sen Raj Kumar and Raj John Felix (Ed.), Deep and Deep Publishers, Delhi, 2009, Pp.654 - 668
  22. (2010), “West Bengal at the Crossroads”, Chapter 47 in Modern Indian Economy – Essays in Memory of Professor Alak Ghosh by Sen Raj Kumar (Ed.), Deep and Deep Publishers, Delhi, 2010, Pp. 667 – 674
  23. (2010) “The Economic Ideas of Thiruvalluvar” and “The Economic Ideas of Arthasastra” are recommended as study/reference materials in Northern University of Illinois
  24. (2012) “Indian Economy at the Crossroads”, Guest Editorial in Vidyajothi Journal of Theology, Vol. 76/2 February 2012, Delhi