Abraham Mathew fondly called Avarachen was born on the 27th of January 1933 in Dar Es Salem (Tanzania, East Africa) to his parents Mr. M1 Mathew and Elizabeth Mathew of the Chemmalakuzhy Family Their ancestral origins are in Neezhoor, a village in the District of Kottayam in Kerala
His parents had migrated to East Africa and were, one of the early migrants looking for jobs other than agriculture in those days. Mathai was a clerk in East Africa. However the family returned to Kerala for the education of their children. Abraham had three siblings Cyriac, Chinnammma and Tomy. He grew up along with his siblings in the village of Neezhoor while his father continued to work in East Africa as the bread winner. He went to St. Michaels school Kaduthuruthy where he completed his Higher Secondary and then went to St. Ephrame School Mannanam and later to St. Marys High school in Kuravilangadu. In 1950 he joined the St. Xaviers College Palayamkottai in Tamil Nadu. His full marks in Mathematics fetched him an admission to BA Mathematics (Hons) in St. Joseph College in Trichnapally. By then his parents returned to re- turned to Africa, after their children education in India. However Abraham remained in India for higher education He decided to remain in India, as he knew that, his parents would return eventually to their country. That was also the year when his father, who had applied for an engineering course for him, came to see him in Trichnappalli after 9 long years of separation. Along with him he had the telegram offer of an admission to the prestigious engineering course in Pilani, Rajasthan Mistaking Pilani for Palani in Chennai They reached Chennai only to find out that it was a place, far away, in Rajasthan. Today this institute is the prestigious BITS Pilani. The young 17 year old boy was left at the railway station to fend for himself and find his way to Pilani via Delhi not knowing the language or the way His courageous step worked to his advantage later in life He graduated with a B.Tech degree from BITS Pilani at the age of 21 He married Lalitha the youngest daughter of Jacob and Mary Pachikkara from Thodupuzha. Both belong to the Knanaya Christian community.
He joined the Indian Air Force in 1953 as commissioned officer in the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) Branch with the rank of a Pilot officer. In addition to being a technical officer he underwent a full 1AF pilots training and qualified as a fighter pilot and a signals leader (aircrew) on transport aircrafts. He became a Flying Officer on 14th Dec 1954 with full wing and rose to the rank of Air Marshal on 1st August 1988.
As a junior officer he was directly involved in the installation repair and maintenance of various electronic equipments of IAF The range of systems included Telecommunications, Avionics, Radar and Radio navigational aids. He was the fellow member of the Institute of Engineers (India), Aeronautical society of India, British Institute of Management and The fellow of the Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers
In the IAF he held the following important posts 1975-77 Commanding officer of Air defence Ground Environment Training Institute at Bangalore, Commanding officer of Central Servicing Development Organisations (CSDO) Kanpur (1977-1980), Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station, Kanpur (1983-1985) Director Signals (Air) at Air Head Quarters Delhi (1986- 1987)and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Systems) at Air Head Quarters, New Delhi (1987-1988). He held the post pf Director General Radar and Communications Project Officer, Ministry of Defence (1988-1991) before he retired from the IAF in 1991 at the age of 58.
During his illustrious career in the IAF he also fought the Indo Pak wars both in 1965 and in the year 1971.. In the year 1965 he was stationed in the borders of Punjab in Adampur which was a flying station. Unlike many of his colleagues whose families were sent back to their home towns, his family remained with him as they braved the war in the borders next to Pakistan. This was a victory but the heavy casualty suffered by India where he witnessed the the loss of extremely talented Indian fighter pilots, made him an even more stronger as an Indian soldier. His life was a dedication to the nation and national interest. Many incidents in his life in the IAF have not only reflected his sense of loyalty and National spirit but also his meticulous and honest nature and character During the emergency he was in charge of the Air Force Station in Kanpur which was right next to a small town called Lal Bangla in Chakeri. When Indira Gandhi was shot by Sikh
extremists, the public anger was directed towards the Sikhs in Lal Bangla. His clear thinking and quick timely response to a riot like situation pre- vented Kanpur burning with communal violence. Abraham believed in humanity and his love for humanity was across all levels rich, poor, and above caste. He was awarded the Sword of honour by the State of Rajasthan and the Athi Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for his heroism and dedication on behalf of the Government of India by President Zail Singh and President A.R. Vennkataramn
Abraham Mathew had a keen interest in sports and Cultural activities. During his tenure he took active part in tournaments of Golf, Ten- nis and Bridge. As a youth he was the BITS Pilani Table Tennis Champion. He was also a member of the Roman Catholic Christian Kananaya Com-munity During his tenure in Delhi, he facilitated the purchase of land for the community to es- tablish a centre base in Delhi which, today, does. many social services for the community. He was the President of the Knanaya Catholic associa- tion in Delhi. He was offered an housing in Noida which he sold and focused on Kerala. Even during his vacations he along with is family used to travel to Kerala by road from places like Adampur, Pathankot, Kanpur etc., to spend his vacations with his ageing parents. His last road trip was in a jeep which he owned after retirement. In a courageous seven day trip, he came back to his village in Neezhoor where he and his wife Lalitha spent the rest of his retired life taking care of his parents. He offered his candidature to the Congress party but that was not to be. He simultaneously started an electrical wire cable factory in Kaduthuruthy called the Canaan Cables. A venture for self employment. This was inaugurated by the Bishop Of the Knanaya Sabha Bishop Mar Kuriakose Kunnassery and Shri M.M. Jacob of the Indian National Congress. He ran the factory successfully until the age 75 and then retired permanently from active life. However he continued to contribute to the community as a member of the Neezhoor Church Parish council and the Secre tary of Vincent De Paul for many years. He was a faithful Christian and believed in living a disciplined life where, dharmic responsibilities was considered above personal interests. He believed in remaining happy and cheerful under every circumstance. He fought all odds with cheer and hope. He never conceded defeat and fought every battle of life with courage and positivity. Even after a massive heart attack at the age of 82 he lived life to the fullest brazing all health concerns.
Lalitha and Abraham had four daughters. The eldest is Dr. C.A. Sabina who is now retired professor in Botany in BCM College, Kiran Abraham Zachariah who is Agricultural Scientist who worked in DST in Delhi. The third daughter is Deepa Jacob who worked as Quality Assurance manager in Unilever and the fourth daughter Seema Kailash who passed out of IIM Kolkata and now works in TATA and Sons. They have eight grandchild Lalitha and Abraham together built a community center in Neezhoor, in the memory of his parents Elizabeth and Mathai and named it Smritinilayam. This was made with the intent of people enjoying life playing games and meeting each other for sports activities in Neezhoor. Today it holds a library too for the community. He battled cancer towards the last year of his life utmost courage. Abraham Mathew was towering personality whom, many remember him in his village, with fondness. He spread his positivity to others who thank him till today for his timely interventions and encouragement and help. He passed on to eternal life on the 18th of August 2023.
Details of his life in IAF can be sourced in the website of www.Bharat Raksha Under the name A. Mathew
