Alcoholics Anonymous History
History of AA in India
Here
is an account of how AA came to India and it’s growth in the subsequent
years. Though there are no accurate records from the early days, what
is definitely clear is that Harold M., a school teacher by profession,
was the first person in India, to stop drinking and gain lasting
sobriety through the spiritual principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. He
stopped drinking on 5th March 1957, and hence that date is nationally
acknowledged as the “Founders Day” in India.
How did Harry M. get the message?
A
Canadian member of AA named Charley M. was posted to the Canadian
Embassy at New Delhi and arrived on 12th January 1957. He then began to
give ads in local newspapers offering help to those with a drinking
problem. It was one of these ads to which Harry M. responded that
enabled him to call on Charley M personally in New Delhi. Harry M. spent
some days with Charley in Delhi learning about the disease of
alcoholism, the programme and the spiritual principles of Alcoholics
Anonymous. He returned to Mumbai armed with the literature given to him
and stopped drinking from 5th May 1957. He remained sober till his death
on 5th June, 1967.
Pioneering Days
The
efforts of Harry M. in spreading the message were indeed stupendous,
and by November 1957, after about six months, a small group was already
functioning in Mumbai. In less than a year, the AA group in Mumbai had
become active in the AA Grapevine of October 1958. The AA directory card
of December 1958 records that AA in India consisted of 48 members, of
whom 30 were in Mumbai, 7 in Delhi, 5 in Calcutta and the rest in other
cities.
Another
pioneer of the AA movement outside Mumbai was Trevor K., an Army
Officer who also responded to one of the ads from New Delhi. He sobered
up on 24th October 1957 and stayed sober till his death on 31st December
1986. The story of Trevor K. appears in the Big Book entitled –
“Life-saving words”. Trevor’s service postings took him to new places in
India and he became a roving ambassador of the AA movement in India
sowing the seeds of the fellowship at Bangalore, Kanpur, Lucknow,
Allahabad, Calcutta and other cities.
Growth in Mumbai
The
early AA members of Mumbai initially met at the residence of Sam C. in
Bandra and later at Victoria High School, Mahim. Thus Mahim group became
the first regular AA group in Mumbai. The venue was later shifted to
St. Michael’s High school, Mahim, which is today rightly known as “The
Foundation Group”.
The
history of AA worldwide is full of experiences of dedicated
non-alcoholic friends who played a pioneering role in helping the
Alcoholics in particular and the AA movement in general. We gratefully
remember Dr. M. D. D. Gilder, Mrs. Bertha Castelinho and Miss Ivy
Captain who were sympathetic to alcoholics. Dr. Gilder was kind enough
to allot separate beds for treatment of Alcoholics in the Seamen’s ward
at St. George Hospital, Mumbai. Another was Dr. A.V. Baliga who attended
a Dinner at Ambassador Hotel, which was arranged to make the AA
movement known to the medical profession and the public at large. He was
generous enough to offer financial support which was however, politely
declined by the fellowship. There were other non-alcoholic friends of
AA, Mr. Eddie Saldanha and Mr. Stan Gonsales, who helped Harry to spread
the AA message in the city of Mumbai. Lastly, it was Valerian Cardinal
Gracious, Archbishop of Mumbai, who threw open in 1962 the classrooms of
the Catholic Schools in Mumbai to Alcoholics Anonymous to hold their
regular meetings. This was indeed one of the biggest breaks AA got in
the early years.
On
5th August 1997, Shri Ratnakar Gaikawad, I.A.S., Additional Municipal
Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, who had been a tower
of strength to Alcoholics Anonymous in Mumbai, allowed the use of the
municipal school premises for AA meetings. This is one more shot in the
arm of AA, which was in appreciation and recognition of AA’s service for
alcoholism afflicted municipal employees.
Formation of the Inter-Group of Mumbai
In
the absence of trusted servants and an organized service structure,
uncertainty of the movement prevailed. The importance of an Inter-Group
was once again felt by many groups and members. During a special meeting
on 15th August 1967, the secretaries present decided to restart the
inter-group, to hold inter-group meetings on the 1st Sunday of every
month and to contribute group wise for the support of inter-group. The
resolutions adopted in this historic meeting of 15th August 1967,
comprising a single sheet, became the guidelines of the Inter-group of
Mumbai. These guidelines were later enlarged by Augustus D. to their
present form and unanimously adopted with effect from 14th July 1975.
A
few years before 2012, the AA Mumbai Inter group Association ceased to
be functional. As of May 2012, AA Inter group members are once again in
the process of reviving the Mumbai Area Committee, essentially the AA
Mumbai Inter group Association. In all there are 10 Inter group in AA
Mumbai. One of the IG, the AA West Mumbai Inter group also known as
AAWMIG cater to the service and support needs of the Western Mumbai
suburban areas from Bandra to Borivali and has in all 33 AA groups.
AAWMIG hold its IG meeting on the third Sunday of every month to discuss
and address various service related issues within its area.
Country wide growth and formation of the General Service Office of India
The
Mumbai Inter-Group (IG) rendered yeoman service to the fellowship by
taking on the mantle of the “apex service body” for the whole of India.
AA groups slowly started sprouting in Mangalore, Madras, Delhi,
Bangalore, Secunderabad, Pune, Calcutta, Goa, Nagpur, Cochin, S. Kota,
Vijaywada, Chalisgaon and the neighbouring areas of Maharashtra.
The
demands on Mumbai IG were heavy. Therefore, a need was felt in 1986 to
form the General Service Office and the General Service Board in India.
The Mumbai IG office bearers journeyed to different states in the
country and explained to the groups, the need for having a GSO for our
country. The suggestion was well received by all other groups and G.S.O.
(India) was born.
General Service Board
The
General Service Board held its First General Service Conference at St.
Pauls, Parel, Mumbai during May, 9-10, 1987. This Conference was well
attended by AA members from all over the country and “A’ & ‘B’ Class
Trustees were elected to represent all key regions of the country.
Thereafter, the General Service Board has held regular conferences at
different venues across the country to enable Alcoholics all over India,
familiarize them with the working of the General Service Office and
also to meet the different delegates and exchange views. At the IX
General Service Conference held in Mangalore, on 22nd Nov. 1991 the
delegates completed the onerous task of approving the “Charter” and
“Bye-laws” of the General Service Board. Vital tasks like publishing
approved AA literature in various regional languages, reprinting English
AA literature at affordable prices, maintaining a link with all the
groups in India, publishing a national Directory and a national
Magazine, maintaining the archives and having a national AA network for
effectively carrying the message far and wide were some of the major
tasks before the General Service board.
On
5th May 1992, when the original Charter and Bye-laws were published,
the Conference and GSO (India) completed 5 years of service and
thereafter by Dec 2010 held 30 more Conferences. The period also saw
tremendous growth of awareness among all the groups about GSO (India)
and the working of the General Service Conference. The GSO (India) has
printed the Big Book in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi,
Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Nepalese and Malayalam. Pamphlets in
several Indian languages were also made available to Groups and other
Alcoholic oriented facilities all over India. In the true spirit of AA,
the primary purpose of ‘carrying the message to suffering alcoholics’
will continue to be the heartbeat of every group.
On
5th May 2012, AA completed 55 years of its service in India. Looking
back, the results are heart-warming. The wide support and awareness
generated by the groups in India and its members inspires immense hope
for the future
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