Michael Traber remembers CRW David
C.R.W. David, who died on 20 August at the age of 69, was the architect who incorporated communication studies in theological education in India, a process that took more than 15 years. This is his most important contribution to both communications and theology, and it is now his lasting legacy. His efforts are reaping their first fruit: Every student of theology in some 80 colleges affiliated to Serampore University takes regular courses in communications; three colleges offer advanced studies on the Master's level, and two have enrolled their first doctoral students in the area of communication and theology. This in itself is a pioneering venture, unique in Asia and most other parts of the world.
His active involvement in communications began when he was recruited to serve Tamilnadu Theological Seminary (TTS) in Madurai. TTS was his home and his passion from 1970 until his retirement in 1997.
Dr Gnana Robinson, for many years Dean and then Principal of the College, encouraged him to develop a communications department. In preparation for this, C.R.W. David got a chance to do an M.A. in Communication at the University of Minnesota in 1979 and pursued a number of specialised courses in the U.K. and in the Philippines. In 1983 he convened the first of five interdisciplinary workshops, which laid the foundation for the introduction of communication studies in theological education.
None of us knew what the abbreviation C.R.W. stood for, but it effectively became his first name. Friends simply called him CRW.
David's field of special interest was film. His book on 'Cinema as a Medium of Communication in Tamil Nadu' (1983) was one of the first to analyse the political potential of Tamil films.
He received several honours for his contributions to Tamil culture, including an honorary doctorate in 1998. Throughout his life, C.R.W. David was a devoted pastor, who especially cared for and worked with the 'little people'. It therefore came as no surprise that after his retirement he devoted all his time to the Unemployed Young People's Association in Madurai. He is survived by his wife Padma and their two daughters.
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