Sudhakar Chaturvedi
| Sudhakar Chaturvedi | |
|---|---|
Chaturvedi in 2008
|
|
| Born | 20 April 1897 (claimed) (119 years, 343 days) Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Known for | Contributions to Indology and alleged supercentenarian status |
Sudhakar Chaturvedi (Kannada: ಸುಧಾಕರ್ ಚತುರ್ವೇದಿ) (claims to have been born April 20, 1897) is an Indian Vedic scholar, Indologist, and alleged supercentenarian. At the claimed age of 119 years, 343 days, some Indian newspapers report him as the oldest living Indian.
Chaturvedi claims to have been born on April 20, 1897 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India (or in Kyatsandra in Tumkur district, Karnataka state according to one report). One report also claims an age of 121 in 2011, which would put his birth in 1890.
Chaturvedi was given his title "Chaturvedi", which literally means "master of the four Vedas," for his knowledge of the Vedas. He is a disciple of Swami Shraddhanand at Gurukul Kangri in Haridwar, where he got his Veda Vachaspati degree (equivalent to a postgraduate degree).
Chaturvedi was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he first met when studying the Vedas in a gurukula in northern India. Subsequently, he became an ardent follower of Gandhian methods. He was a witness to many events in the Indian independence movement, including being an eyewitness to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was known as Gandhiji's Postman, as he took down and delivered letters dictated by Gandhi addressed to the Viceroys or Governors-General. Gandhi called him 'Karnataki'. He lost the use of his right arm in 1938 while travelling with Gandhi, when the railwayman detached the last three compartments of the train as it was struggling to climb uphill. He took part in the freedom struggle and was arrested at least 31 times during the freedom struggle, landing in prisons all over the country from Peshawar to Vellore.
...
Wikipedia