ABSTRACT
The Syrian Christian community of Kerala, India trace their conversion to the year 52 CE when St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus, reportedly arrived on the Kerala coast and converted Brahmins to Christianity. Also known as “St. Thomas Christians,” and “Nazranis,” the Syrian Christians are differentiated from Dalit Bahujan Christians converted by Western missionaries centuries later. In this chapter, I provide an overview of the history of the community, their dominant-caste status and practices that more closely match the Namboodiri Brahmins and Sudra Nayars of Kerala, and their current socio-economic privilege that links the community to dominant-caste Hindus over and against Dalit Bahujan and Adivasi Christians.
