How old is too old and how senile is senility?

I'm getting a lot of queries as to why my nominations were rejected.

Answer: Fear of the Known.

My nominations- two of them for the post of Sabha Secretary- were rejected on the flimsy and frivolous ground that the signatures of the lady who nominated me in one and seconded me in the other are different from the signature she had put in the oath u/s 124 of the Sabha Constitution. I firmly believe that the Returning Officer has acted illegally and beyond his powers in this. Senior lawyer-friends with whom I talked the issue over concur with me. A medical expert writes: "The rule is that NO TWO signatures of the same person look alike. Its a basic rule in forensic science. Again if the person who has signed the document owns up his/her signature, then nobody can question it. There can be an issue only if the person says that it is not his/her signature. Pl think over it Sir..."

And a forensic expert adds," Because the human body is not a machine, every person has variation in his writing. No two signatures written by the same person are exactly the same. External factors such as age, illness, writing position, writing instrument, and care of execution could affect a person's writing."

The signature in question is that of a 65 year-old retired post-mistress and a past member of Ranni- Pazhavangadi Panchayat, who is the sister-in-law of a respected retired priest of the Mar Thoma Church. If the Returning officer wanted to verify her intent, he could have called her over the phone which would have taken only a few minutes. She was only a phone call away. So, evidently, the returning officer has acted outside his jurisdiction. And the reason? A few self-styled leaders of the Mar Thoma Church were scared at the sight of the vast majority of laity and priests rallying behind me under the slogan of "Change" and anticipated the defeat of their two official clergy-nominees. They smelt in the wind that I am going to win the election, nothing less; nothing more.

The question follows if I am going to get my grievance redressed through a court of law. In my mind, the pendulum swings in between two questions:

1. Is it necessary to put a stop to the church-hierarchy's obstinacy and self-righteous attitude?

2. Is it worthy on my part to spend any more time on a rotten machinery, viz., the Church?

Will keep u posted on further steps.

In the meantime, I'm posing a question for you to contemplate:

Why don't our bishops retire at the age of 65 if the priests under them have to retire at 65?

Thanking you,

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil