The Life and Literary Work of Robert Caldwell

Abstract

Robert Caldwell, one of the foremost Tamil-speaking Western scholar, was a multi-lingual scholar who learned both Western languages and Indian languages. In the 19th century, he researched the Palanthamil literature and published various facts and put forth the glory of the Tamil language to the world. He also wrote about the history of Tirunelveli people. He says that Telugu and Kannada have lost their ability to function independently due to adoption of Aryan words. Caldwell in his book Comparison of Dravidian languages said to the world that Tamil language can function without Aryan words and Dravidian languages belong to the same family.