CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi on Monday said Robert Caldwell and GU Pope were school dropouts recruited by the Society for Propagation of Gospel, which was engaged in evangelisation of people in India.
He further said that ‘A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages’ written by Caldwell was a “fake book” and questioned how a person who didn’t even pass high school claimed to be a linguist.
Ravi was talking at the 192nd Ayya Vaikundar Avathara Dina Vizha and release of the book ‘Sri Mahavishnu’s Avatharam Sri Vaikundaswamy Aruliya Sanathana Varalaru (Tamil Version).’ Ravi claimed that Ayya Vaikundar was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who appeared in early 19th century to prevent the destruction of Sanatana Dharma and evangelization of the public by the British government.
He claimed that Ayya’s Akilathirattu Ammanai is the essence of Sanatana Dharma and added that it was important to understand the socio-cultural and historical circumstances of his appearance.
“The essence of Sanatana Dharma is that we are all equal and we are all children of the same divine,” Ravi said, adding that the British wanted to evangelise India and destroy Sanatana Dharma. Stating that the British shut down native schools and made it mandatory for children to get baptised to enrol in schools opened by them, Ravi said it was during this time personalities like Ayya Vaikundar and Vallalar appeared to save Sanatana Dharma.
He also took a dig at ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy and his followers, stating, “These people were not happy with independence that they had observed August 15, 1947 as black day. I am not surprised their followers talk against Sanatana Dharma.”
Y Vincent Kumaradoss, who taught history in Madras Christian College and authored the biography Robert Caldwell: A Scholar-Missionary in Colonial South India, said the missionary was not a school dropout in the sense Ravi meant it.
Pointing out that it was common for people of that age to pursue education outside the formal system, Kumaradoss said Caldwell stopped formal education to briefly pursue his interest in painting. Stating that Caldwell was a person of varied interests driven by intellectual pursuits, he said the missionary took particular interest in spirituality and linguistics and developed scholarly knowledge.
Acknowledging that he was a missionary who came to India mainly for proselytising, Kumaradoss, however, said that cannot be a reason to ridicule his intellectual capacity.