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Robert Caldwell consecrated Bishop of Tirunelveli

· Idaiyangudi

Robert Caldwell consecrated Bishop of Tirunelveli
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Missionary and Dravidian scholar Robert Caldwell, based at Idaiyangudi, was consecrated as a bishop for the Tirunelveli mission.

Robert Caldwell arrived in Madras in 1838 and spent most of his career as a missionary at Idaiyangudi in Tirunelveli district. His Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian languages of 1856 established the Dravidian family as distinct from Sanskrit. In 1877 he was consecrated Bishop of Tirunelveli, serving alongside Edward Sargent as assistant bishop. As bishop he carried out historical and archaeological research in the district.

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