A 2

Col. Munroe became the Resident of Travancore-Kochi in 1810. He also got the additional charge of Kochi in the successive years. He thought of improving the educational standards in the states under his charge. Munroe was also keen in abolishing social ills like slavery. He decided to establish a seminary college. In 1813 Col. Munroe wrote to the CMS in England seeking permission to start a college in Travancore. East India Company was not keen on sending missionaries to India. However they finally granted permission in 1814 and the CMS established a corresponding committee in Madras. Rev. Norton reached the Travancore shores to execute Col. Munroe’s educational vision.

Joy Kodikkal in his relief work imaginatively recreates the meeting of Col. Munroe with the East India Company authorities. In fact it was a correspondence, not a personal visit. Munroe’s interest in education and enlightenment is suggested in the images of the flying books. Emblematic representations of England on the onside and that of Travancore on the other are visible. East India Company’s coat of arms is centrally placed and the jury that decides on the affairs seems to be in meeting, where Col. Munroe has come to present his case.