Father Camille Bulcke Biography: Camille Bulcke (1 September 1909 – 17 August 1982) was a Belgian Jesuit missionary in India who became known as “India’s most renowned Christian Hindi scholar”.
Father Camille Bulcke Biography
Early years
Camille Bulcke was born in the village of Ramskapelle in the municipality of Knokke-Heist in the Belgian province of West Flanders.
Bulcke had already earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Louvain University by 1930, when he joined the Jesuits. After completing his philosophical education in Valkenburg, Netherlands, between 1932 and 1934, he departed for India in 1934. After a brief sojourn in Darjeeling, he taught mathematics for five years in Gumla (present-day Jharkhand). As he later recalled, it was here that he developed his lifelong passion for studying Hindi.
When I arrived in India in 1935, I was shocked and distressed to discover that many educated people were ignorant of their cultural traditions and regarded speaking English as a source of pride. I determined that it was my responsibility to acquire the language of the people.” – The Christian Faith: Devotion to Hindi and Tulsi.
During his theological studies in Kurseong, India, from 1939 to 1942, he has ordained a priest in 1941. His interest in the classical language of India led him to earn a master’s degree in Sanskrit from Calcutta University (1942–44) and a doctorate in Hindi literature from Allahabad University (1945–49) with a dissertation titled Ram Katha Ka Vikas (Development of the Rama Story).
Father Camille Bulcke Profession
In 1949, Bulcke was appointed head of the Sanskrit and Hindi faculty at St Xavier’s College, Ranchi. However, early hearing difficulties led him to pursue a career as a scholar rather than a professor. His doctoral dissertation was based on the writings of the 17th-century Hindi poet Tulsidas, whose work he found very appealing. He rewrote the well-known play Blue Bird in Hindi under the pen name Neel Panchhi. Bulcke was frequently invited to speak about Tulsidas and his devotional Rama songs, which he did with great zeal. According to him, he introduced people to the profound values of their own spiritual traditions, and Tulsidas was also an excellent introduction to the values of the Gospel. In 1951, he received Indian citizenship, and the Government of India appointed him to the National Commission for the propagation of Hindi as the national language. He travelled to Bihar and visited the Darbhanga church, praising “the great land of divines and Mata Sita – Mithila,” and thus, after acquiring Indian citizenship, he adopted the name, Bihari.
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Religious Output
His prolonged dedication to Hindi research and translation led him to compile a 40,000-word English-Hindi dictionary that is still the most popular in North India. Until the end of his life, he continued to update it. He composed Muktidata (The Redeemer), a biography of Christ based on the four gospels, and also translated the Bible and liturgical and devotional works into Hindi. His love for the Hindi language, his imposing appearance, and his constant willingness to help students and scholars as well as to listen to the simple and the distressed gave him the reputation of being a ‘guru’; consequently, he was sought out for advice on matters unrelated to literature.
Father Camille Bulcke Death
On August 17, 1982, he passed away in Delhi due to gangrene.
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