Robert Caldwell: A Scholar-Missionary in Colonial South India

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Robert Caldwell's "contribution to both Christianity in South India and the cultural awakening of the region is unmatched during the last two hundred years" These are the words of Dr MSS Pandian, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, who has helped edit the book in conjunction with the Revd Dr Daniel O'Connor, a Vice- President of the USPG and a former teacher and chaplain at St Stephen's College, Delhi.

Dr Vincent Kumaradoss, the author [inset], was born at Nagercoil in 1949. He was trained under two legendary historians of India - Dr Irfan Habib at the Aligarh Muslim University (where he received his MA in 1972), and Dr Sarvepalli Gopal at the Nehru Memorial Fund, Teen Murti House in New Delhi. He received his PhD from the University of Madras in 1986. He has published extensively on the history of 19" and 20" century Christianity in South India. He is currently Professor of History at Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Chennai.

This new historical study of Robert Caldwell's life and work was commissioned by his missionary society in London, the USPG.

Within the body of literature that had appeared on Bishop Robert Caldwell between his death in 1891 and the turn of the twentieth century, the most notable were three distinct adulatory pieces - a miniscule biography, a memoir, and a brief portrait. They legitimately sanctify Caldwell as a champion of Christianity and as a missionary-scholar extraordinaire. The first, short life-sketch of him was published in 1896 and bore a significant title, Mission Heroes: Bishop Caldwell of Tinnevelly. Endorsing Caldwell's 'arduous work in the mission field' and 'his life long endurance in mission- work' as an 'example of a very high type of heroism', the author Revd. Hermitage Day, adjudged that the memory of Caldwell would survive among the Christians of Tirunelveli for generations to come for he worked and gave them not a part but the whole of his working life. Bishop Caldwell: A Memoir is a far more personal reminiscence on the 'faithful warrior' and 'humble, self-denying, devoted missionary' who was 'ready either to live or die as God sees best, under a tropical sun' to serve the poor people. Its author, J.A. Sharrock, was a junior missionary colleague of Caldwell who had the privilege of participating in a number of his ventures, and survived him to witness the treatment meted out to his memory. He also gave a graphic account of Caldwell's personal traits. For him, Caldwell was the 'greatest Indian missionary that the SPG has ever had'. According to him, the memoir was not a 'sketch anything approaching perfection' and he expected that 'some day a complete biography of the Bishop will be written, that shall be worthy of one of India's greatest men'.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Caldwell's name figured as one of the select entries in the book entitled Twelve Pioneer Missionaries. In this passionate depiction, Caldwell was acclaimed as the most successful Christian evangelist and the 'first and greatest Dravidian scholar' Applauding Caldwell's 'humility' and 'splendid efficiency' in transforming the 'devil worshippers and Palmyra climbers of Tinnevelly' into 'prosperous communities', George Smith declared that such an eventful exercise was 'unsurpassed in the history of the Church of Christ in any age 5 He claimed that he was able to 'understand the greatness of the pioneer of South India' because he had watched Caldwell for twenty-two years and 'sometimes chronicled or criticized his self denying toil in the hot sands and under the shadeless Palmyra palms of Tinnevelly Rhetoric apart, he confessed in all earnestness that the Bishop still lacked a biographer.

After a long period of silence, two attempts were made to write full-length biographies of Caldwell. The earliest known work devoted solely to Caldwell is in Tamil and was published in 1936 by the well-known Tamil scholar, R.P. Sethupillai. It became popular enough to go into its third edition in 1964.7 His work is a compendium of Caldwell's life story written in a simple format and was used as a college textbook at Madras University for some years. Next, and perhaps the last significant biography of Caldwell, was Caldwell Athiatcher (Bishop Caldwell), again written in Tamil, in 1980, by D.A. Christudoss. Author of a number of books on the history of Protestant missions and missionaries in Tirunelveli, he elaborates on Caldwell's life, his missionary methods and his projects to usher in modernity to Tirunelveli.

I am happy that a new book has been written to tell again the precious story of the great missionary Bishop Robert Caldwell of Idaiyangudi. He was a person par excellence with rare and beautiful gifts in many areas. He was a historian, linguist, sociologist, ardent evangelist, architect and, above all, he and his wife Eliza Caldwell loved the people of India.

Bishop Caldwell is not someone who could be written about, bound and then relegated to the dusty shelves of a library. He is a living legend in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, and among the lovers of Dravidian literature everywhere. Dravidian languages are spoken in the four states of South India - Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and TamilNadu. His monumental work the "Comparative Grammar of Dravidian Languages" made a great awakening in the minds of the people of South India. It revived the Dravidian languages, and he proved beyond doubt that the Tamil and Dravidian group of languages are of independent origin and are as ancient as Sanskrit, Hebrew and other classical languages.

Great persons who have contributed to the life and wellbeing of the people of our land have been honoured with commemorative statues in the Marina beach at Chennai (Madras). Bishop Caldwell has a place of honour among this galaxy of illustrious people. Meanwhile the 'Bishop Caldwell Research and Study Centre' has been functioning here for the last two decades. Papers are presented regularly by international scholars about the present day growth of Dravidian languages and culture.