Jetti Alfred Oliver (J. A. Oliver) is the present chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences (SHUATS),

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

'', which is a Govt. Aided Private (Minority) University under section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.'' He is an

agriculturalist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

, with his past experience in the development sector, continues to be in the forefront of the leadership of like-minded initiatives and is an elected member of the 10-member international governing council of the

Society for International Development The Society for International Development (SID) was founded in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1957. SID has a network of individual and institutional members, local chapters and partner organisations, in more than 80 countries. It works with m ...

(SID).

Education

Oliver was born in Raigudem village of

Khammam district Khammam district is a district in the eastern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Khammam is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet district, Suryapet, Mahabubabad district, Mahabubabad, Bhadra ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He obtained his doctorate in

development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...

from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University in 1970.

Initiatives

Rural development

In 1974, Oliver headed the Rural Agricultural and Gramodyog Development Society in

Khammam Khammam is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam Tehsil, mandal also. It is located about east of the state capital ...

, which was involved in improving

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

among the rural folk. During the next decade, Oliver moved over to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

and was leading the Centre for Promoters of Rural Development (CPRD) and was also associated with the Andhra Pradesh Voluntary Health Association.

Historical studies

As an academic, Oliver has been a member of the fully

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, Church History Association of India (CHAI),

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, where he has been providing the required support for conduction of the regional meetings of the CHAI since the 1980s, espousing the cause of scholarly spirit among the

Church historian Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of th ...

s in the study of

History of Christianity The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of Go ...

and the emergence of the Church as an

academic discipline An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...

Telugu literature

Oliver has been espousing the cause of

Telugu literature Telugu literature includes poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and other works composed in Telugu. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first millennium. The earliest extant works are from the ...

, as chairperson of the Telugu Theological Literature Board (TTLB), which has been in the forefront of publishing the Telugu Bible Dictionary since many decades. Also, as state representative of the

National Council of Churches in India The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. It provides a platform for member churches and organizations to act on common issues relating to Christianity in India. History The ...

(NCCI), he is involved in overseeing the translation of a Daily Bible Reading book published by the International Bible Reading Association from English into Telugu by taking the assistance of

Theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

who include the

Systematic Theologian Systematic may refer to: Science * Short for systematic error * Systematic fault * Systematic bias, errors that are introduced by an inaccuracy inherent to the system Economy * Systematic trading, a way of defining trade goals, risk control ...

B. J. Christie Kumar, STBC, the Christian educator, Johanna Rose Ratnavathi, AELC among others, which helps in

Bible reading In Christian communities, Bible study is the study of the Bible by people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. In many Christian traditions, Bible study, coupled with Christian prayer, is known as doing devotions or devotional acts. ...

among the faithful by providing the devotional in

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

. As a promoter of the Telugu Bible, Oliver has also been in the leadership of the

Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary The Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary''Prema Sakshi'', Volume 6, Issue 4, August 2008. pp.11–41. ''Prema Sakshi'', a monthly registered (APTEL 07419/01/2002) magazine published by I. C. Ashok Kumar at Neena Publications, Door ...

from the time when the Auxiliary was led by

The Rev. The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chur ...

Lella Prakasam,

CBCNC The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affil ...

and after its bifurcation in 2016, he continues to be associated with the Bible Society of India Telangana Auxiliary headquartered in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

Inter-faith dialogue

Since the beginning of the 1980s, Oliver had been in the forefront of

Interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

and promotion of communal amity. In 1986, Oliver spoke on the ''Role of Church in peace making'' conducted by the Henry Martyn Institute for Islamic Studies,

during the tenure of its Director Sam V. Bhajjan, which was well attended by

Religious scholar Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and its definition is highly contested. It des ...

s of diverse faiths from the notable Universities in the country. When the

1990 Hyderabad riots Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

occurred during the tenure of then Chief Minister,

Marri Chenna Reddy Marri Chenna Reddy (13 January 1919 – 2 December 1996) was an Indian politician active in several states. He was the 6th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1978 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1990. He also served as the governor of Uttar Prades ...

, Oliver as a Citizen of Hyderabad interacted with the religious heads of different faith traditions and led a peace march around Clock Tower, Secunderabad together with a

Pujari Pūjari is a designation given to a Hindu temple priest who performs pūja. The word comes from the Sanskrit word "पूजा" meaning worship. They are responsible for performing temple rituals, including ''pūjā'' and ''aarti''. ''Pujari'' ...

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Jathedar A jathedar () is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a troop of Sikhs. In modern-times, the term is used to in-reference to leaders of Sikh spiritual organizations, such as any of the Panj Takhts. Hist ...

Bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...

Jain monk Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the '' Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects vary greatly, but the ...

, and a

Catholic Priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

, all of whom held hands and walked side by side as a show of togetherness in the presence of the Hyderabadi Historian Vasant K. Bawa.

Ecumenism and the unity of the Churches

In fostering

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

and unity among the Churches, Oliver has made his contribution through the regional Councils of Churches which are affiliated to the

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

and was also its vice-president in the 1990s and had made immense contribution to the revision of the Constitution of the NCCI. Oliver was honorary secretary of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Council of Churches and used to maintain brotherly relations with the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and the New and Indigenous Churches and liaised with Archbishops S. Arulappa followed by M. Joji. Keeping doctrinal differences aside, during the tenure of Oliver, many small and indigenous Churches were welcomed into the fold of the Council of Churches, including the

Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 40,000 members. Its headquarters is in Bhadrachalam, Telangana. It has been founded in 1972. It is led by T. Esther Rani. The other churches belonging to ...

, and Oliver also participated in a central committee meeting of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

in 1992.

Theological education

The Protestant Regional Theologiate in

is affiliated to India's first University, the

Senate of Serampore College (University) The Senate of Serampore College (University) is an ecumenical regulatory and affiliating body for Christian theological education, which works in partnership with Bible colleges, seminaries and theological research institutes in the Indian subco ...

'' ''with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

. Oliver represented the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Council of Churches in the board of governors of the near-

Protestant Regional Theologiate, the

Andhra Christian Theological College Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University) (a university under section 2(f) of the University Gr ...

comprising some of the

Church Societies – the Methodists,

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, and the

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

and the

Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny W ...

from the time when the Theologiate was led by

S. Joseph, STBC followed by

M. Victor Paul M. Victor Paul (7 April 1935 – 14 October 2013) was a biblical scholar who served as President of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1993 to 1997. Early years and education Victor Paul was born on 7 April 1935 into a pastoral famil ...

, AELC,

R. Yesurathnam,

CSI CSI may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media CSI franchise * ''CSI'' (franchise) ** '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', the original ''CSI'' television series, set in Las Vegas ** '' CSI: Miami'', the first spin-off series starring David ...

and the successive Principalships.

Writings

*1992 (with T. D. J. Nagabhushanam)- ''Sustainable Agriculture, its problems and prospects'', *2000 - ''Recolonisation, Globalisation and the Role of the Church''. - this writing was also referred to by the

Social ethics Macroethics (from the Greek prefix "makros-" meaning "large" and "ethos" meaning character) is a term coined in the late 20th century to distinguish large-scale ethics from individual ethics, or microethics. It is a type of applied ethics. Macroeth ...

Scholar, I. John Mohan Razu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Jetti A. Living people Telugu people Indian Christians Affiliated institutions of the National Council of Churches in India Church of South India 20th-century Indian economists Indian agriculturalists Scientists from Andhra Pradesh 21st-century Indian farmers 1931 births