Gustav Solomon Oppert

Who was Gustav Solomon Oppert?

Gustav Solomon Oppert, brother of Julius Oppert, German Indologist and Sanskritist, born 30 July 1836 in Hamburg, died in 1908 in Berlin. He was a professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology, Presidency College, Madras, a Telugu translator to government, and a curator in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library. He was a professor in Madras from 1872 to 1893. He was also editor of the Madras Journal of Literature and Science from 1878 to 1882. After traveling in north India from 1893 to 1894, he returned to Europe in 1894.

His significant writings are On the classification of languages, On the weapons, army, organization and Political Maxims of the ancient Hindoos, Lists of Sanskrit manuscripts in Southern India, Contributions to the history of Southern India, and On the original inhabitants of Bharatavarsha of India.

In "On the original inhabitants of the Bharatavarsha of India, Oppert uses extensive philological research to connect the now-scattered original inhabitants of India, the Dravidians. Among popular Dravidians, Oppert counts Thiru Valluvar, the famous author of the Thirukkural and Avvaiyar the Tamil poet saint. This book has been republished by Asian Educational Society and is a must-read for any serious student of the history of the peoples of India.