Father Francis D’Britto (1943-2024): Noted Marathi writer and environmental activist

Father Francis D’Britto who died on July 25 was many things to many people. The Catholic priest from Vasai, on the edges of Mumbai, was an environment activist, an ardent champion of people’s causes and a prominent Marathi writer.

To use a Christian analogy, D’Britto had to carry two crosses. In his role as a Catholic priest writing in Marathi, he sometimes faced hostility from conservative sections of society.

This became evident when he was nominated to be chairperson of the Akhil Bharitya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 2020. When the inaugural function was held in Pune, the organisers of the association founded in 1878 had to seek police protection as they feared the meeting would be disrupted.

D’Britto also carried another cross, fighting for people’s issues, holding rallies and morchas to highlight problems that many in the church would usually stay silent about. This put him in the line of fire from within his fold.

Growing up in Vasai

To understand D’Britto, you have to understand the milieu from which he came. Vasai taluka, 60 kms north of Mumbai, is a semi-rural area that was once ruled by the Portuguese. The area has more than a dozen churches and a large Christian population with a strong attachment to the Marathi language. Most church services are still held in Marathi and hymns are often sung to beats of tablas.

D’Britto, born in the agricultural village of Nandhakal in 1943, attended the local Marathi-medium before joining the Catholic seminary in Mumbai’s Goregaon in 1962 to begin his training to be a priest.

After he was ordained a priest in 1972, he was posted in Vasai. He soon established himself as a writer for journals and magazines. He was appointed editor of Suwartha, a church magazine published in Marathi. It was here that he made a name for himself by giving the publication a strong literary slant.

He invited leading Marathi writers to contribute to Suwartha and published literary articles and short stories.

During his time as editor, he began to take part in interreligious discussions. His sermons sometimes contained lessons drawn from the writings of Tukaram, the mediaeval sage from Maharashtra. He drew similarities between the teachings of Christ and the values contained in the verses composed by Tukaram.

Environmental struggles

By the 1980s, however, the landscape of Vasai was changing rapidly. When a government planning body decided to allow large areas of agricultural land to be used for urbanisation, residents grew alarmed by the nexus between politicians and builders that had plotted to allow this dereservation.

In 1989, D’Britto started the Harit Vasai Suraksha Samiti or Organisation to Protect Green Vasai and began to hold protest meetings and marches.

This took place in the wake of struggles for social justice in other parts of India headed by Catholic priests and nuns. In Kerala, Father Thomas Kocherry organised fishing communities to demand their rights. In Maharashtra’s Dahanu, two Jesuit priests, Pradip Prabhu and Niki Cordoso, had taken up the struggle for tribal rights.

Leading Marathi literary and political figures joined the Harit Vasai rallies – writer Phushpa Bhave, playwright Vijay Tendulkar, socialist leader Mrinal Gore and environment crusader Medha Patkar, among them.

“The politicians used the police to intimidate us and scores of young supporters were held and beaten up but the struggle continued,” recalled Socialist Party union leader, Marcus Dabre, who worked closely with D’Britto.

However, after a few years, a new bishop appointed in the region discouraged activism among the clergy. D’Britto was asked to step down from the leadership of Harit Vasai.

Translating the Bible

In his writing, D’Britto added to the rich tradition of Marathi literature by Christian authors such as Pandita Ramabai, Narayan Waman Tilak and Niranjan Uzgare.

D’Britto wrote on a range of issues including spiritually contemplative books, travel writing mixed with personal anecdotes. But his most important publication was his translation and interpretation of the Bible.

“His translation of the Bible gives it a modern touch,” said Dilip Majegaonkar, the head of Rajhans Prakashan, which published D’Britto’s work. “ Its language makes it easy for the Marathi speaking person to understand the Bible.’’

Marathi writer Sadananda More said though there have been several versions of the Marathi Bible compiled since the-mid 19th century, the early editions by missionaries used a formal style of writing in their translations. Indians such as Pandita Ramabai and Narayan Waman Tilak who followed had a formal style with a strong academic slant.

But D’Britto’s Bible, said More, is written in a free-flowing style and includes notes that make it remarkably contemporary. It is these notes that make the translation stand out.

The 1,200-page work published in 2010 earned praise from across Maharashtra and earned him the Sahitiya Academy Award.

D’Britto’s works include his autobiography, Eklaj Me Nave ( I Am Not Alone), in which he describes his early youth spent in his village among paddy fields and the slow pace of rural life.

Another popular book was Oasis Ya Shodat (In Search of an Oasis), a travelogue about Israel and Palestine.

Did his vocation as a priest limit his writing? Marathi writer Cecelia Carvalho feels so. “On church issues particularly on the role of women in the Catholic Church, he was conservative,’ she said.

Sadanand More had a slightly different take. “Yes, Fr D’Britto did have restrictions in his views because of his role as a Catholic priest, but which writer does not have his or her bias?” he asked. “There are biases on caste, religion, community and region.”

In the end, unlike some other radical clergymen who laid down their robes, D’Britto accepted the restrictions placed on him and continued to wage his battles for social justice from within the confines of the Catholic church.

Ashley D’Mello is a journalist who lives in Mumbai.