Camille Bulcke

Camille Bulcke (1 September 1909 – 17 August 1982) was a Belgian Jesuit missionary in India, who attained pre-eminence in the Hindi language and came to be known as "India's most famous Christian Hindi scholar".

Camille Bulcke was born in Ramschapelle, a village in Knokke-Heist municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders

Bulcke had already acquired a B.Sc. degree in civil engineering from Louvain University, when he became a Jesuit in 1930 After doing his philosophical training in Valkenburg, Netherlands, (1932–34) he left for India in 1934 and after a brief stay in Darjeeling, he taught Mathematics for five years at Gumla (present Jharkhand). It was here that he developed his lifelong passion for learning Hindi, as later recalled:

"When I arrived in India in 1935, I was surprised and pained when I realised that many educated people were unaware of their cultural traditions and considered it a matter of pride to speak in English. I resolved my duty would be to master the language of the people." – The Faith of A Christian—Devotion To Hindi And To Tulsi.

Theological training (1939–42) was undertaken in Kurseong, India, during which he was ordained priest (in 1941). His interest in the classical language of India led him to do a master's degree in Sanskrit at Calcutta University (1942–44) and finally a doctorate in Hindi literature at Allahabad University (1945–49) with a thesis titled, Ram Katha Ka Vikas (Development of the Tale of Rama).

In 1949 Bulcke was made Head of the department of Sanskrit and Hindi of St Xavier's College, Ranchi. But early hearing problems led him to go more for a scholar's than a professor's career. He felt much attracted by the 17th century's Hindi poet Tulsidas on whose writings he made his doctoral thesis. Bulcke was often invited to give conferences on the Hindi poet and his devotional Rama-songs, which he did with much enthusiasm. He brought people in touch with the profound values of their own spiritual traditions, and, according to him, Tulsidas was also an excellent introduction to the values of the Gospel. He obtained Indian citizenship in 1951, and - highly esteemed by the Government of India - was made a member of the National commission for the promotion of Hindi as the national language. He took on the name Bihari after acquiring Indian citizenship.

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