Civilising the Native, Educating the Nation

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Introduction

The British in India wanted not only territorial conquest and control over revenues but also felt that they had a cultural mission and had to "civilise the natives", change their customs and values.

How the British saw Education

The tradition of Orientalism

In 1783, William Jones arrived in Calcutta who was a linguist.
→ He had studied Greek and Latin at Oxford, knew French and English, Arabic and Persian.
→ At Calcutta, he started learning Sanskrit language, grammar and poetry.
→ Soon he was studying ancient Indian texts on law, philosophy, religion, politics, morality, arithmetic, medicine and other sciences.
Englishmen like Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed were also busy discovering the ancient Indian heritage, mastering Indian languages and translating Sanskrit and Persian works into English.
They set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal and started a journal called Asiatick Researches.
→ They believed this project would help the British learn from Indian culture and also help Indians rediscover their heritage.
→ In this process, the British would become the guardians of Indian culture as well as its masters.
Many Company officials argued that the British ought to promote Indian learning.
They felt that institutions should be set up to teach Sanskrit and Persian literature and poetry.
In 1781, a madrasa was set up in Calcutta to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law.
In 1791, the Hindu College was established in Benaras to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts.
Not all officials shared these views and many criticised the Orientalists.

“Grave errors of the East”

From the early nineteenth century, many British officials began to criticise the Orientalist vision of learning.
James Mill was one of those who declared that education should teach what is useful and practical.
→ Indians should be made familiar with scientific and technical advances of the West.
By the 1830s, Thomas Babington Macaulay saw India as an uncivilised country.
→ According to him, no Eastern knowledge could match what England had produced.
Macaulay stressed the importance of teaching the English language.
→ Knowledge of English would expose Indians to world literature and Western science.
The English Education Act of 1835 was introduced.
→ English was made the medium of instruction and Oriental institutions were defunded.

Education for commerce

In 1854, the Wood’s Despatch was sent by the Court of Directors of the East India Company.
→ It emphasised practical benefits of European learning over Oriental knowledge.
→ It would help Indians understand the importance of trade, commerce, and resource development.
→ It would also improve the moral character of Indians.
Education departments were set up after the Despatch.

What Happened to the Local Schools?

The report of William Adam

In the 1830s, William Adam toured Bengal and Bihar to report on vernacular education.
→ He found over 1 lakh pathshalas with more than 20 lakh students.
→ These were set up by local communities or wealthy individuals.
→ The system was flexible without fixed fees, books, buildings, or timetables.
→ Classes adjusted to harvest times and other local needs.

New routines, new rules

Till mid-nineteenth century, the Company focused mainly on higher education.
After 1854, it worked to reform vernacular education.
→ Gurus had to follow timetables and submit reports.
→ Textbooks, exams, and regular fees were introduced.
→ Students had to follow discipline and fixed seating.
→ Government grants supported pathshalas that complied.
→ Poor rural children were most affected, as they couldn't attend regularly.
→ Irregular attendance was seen as lack of interest.

The Agenda for a National Education

From early 19th century, Indian thinkers emphasised the need for education for all.
→ Some supported Western education for modernising India.
→ Others criticised it, including Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

“English education has enslaved us” (Mahatma Gandhi's view on Indian Education)

According to Gandhi, colonial education made Indians feel inferior.
→ It made them see Western culture as superior.
→ Gandhi wanted education to restore dignity and self-respect.
→ He criticised the focus on reading/writing over oral and practical knowledge.
→ He believed education should develop the mind and soul.
→ Just being literate was not enough.

Tagore’s “abode of peace” (Rabindranath Tagore's view on Indian Education)

Rabindranath Tagore founded Santiniketan in 1901.
→ He felt children should learn through self-learning in a natural setting.
→ Teachers should be imaginative and understanding.
→ Existing schools killed creativity and curiosity.
→ At Santiniketan, children learned in harmony with nature.

Difference in Gandhi and Tagore view about Indian Education

Gandhiji criticised Western civilisation, while Tagore wanted to combine Western and Indian traditions.
→ Gandhi valued handicrafts and practical work as core to education.
→ Tagore included science, art, music and dance in education.

MCQs

1. Some comments about the Orientalist Vision of Learning by the British are given below. Select the one that is not applicable to this particular style of learning.

(a) British argued that the aim of education ought to be to teach what was useful and practical.

(b) British argued that it is not advisable to encourage the study of Arabic and Sanskrit language and literature

(d) British observed that Western literature was non-serious and light hearted.

► (d) British observed that Western literature was non-serious and light hearted.

2. Which year was the English education Act introduced in India?

(a) 1800

(b) 1900

(d) 1880

► (c) 1835

3. In countries like India, British used this term to mark the difference between the local languages and everyday use and English.

(a) Colloquial

(b) Jargon

(d) Slang

► (c) Vernacular

4. Three Englishmen were busy discovering the ancient Indian heritage and mastering Indian languages. One was Willam Jones and another Henry Thomas Colebrooke. Name the third person

(a) Max Muller

(b) Nathaniel Halhed

(d) Henry Thomas Colebrooke

► (b) Nathaniel Halhed

5. Name the person who was a part of the Scottish missionary who helped to establish the Serampore Mission

(a) Hudson Taylor

(b) Andrew Fuller

(d) William Ward

► (c) William Carry

6. A person who can read, write and teach Persian is called a _________

(a) Munshi

(b) Biographer

(d) Orientalist

► (a) Munshi

7. Where in India a Madrasa was set up in 1781 to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic Law ?

(a) Madras

(b) Bombay

(d) Calcutta

► (d) Calcutta

8. Warren Hastings took the initiative to set up a Madras at one of the important cities of India. Which city is being referred to here ?

(a) Pondicherry

(b) Madras

(d) Bombay

► (c) Calcutta

9. How did the European learning improve the moral character of Indians?

(a) It would expand the trade and commerce

(b) It would make them truthful and honest

(d) It would make them change their tastes and desires and create a demand for British goods

► (d) It would make them change their tastes and desires and create a demand for British goods

10. Lord Macaulay emphasized the need to teach this language. Which language did he insist to teach?

(a) Arabic

(b) Sanskrit

(d) Hindi

► (c) English

11. The temples of darkness that were falling of themselves into decay. Who said these words about the Calcutta Madrasa and Benares Sanskrit College?

(a) Lord William Bentick

(b) Lord Dalhousie

(d) Lord Macaulay

► (d) Lord Macaulay

12. What does the Arabic word Madrasa refer to?

(a) A place of learning, a school or college

(b) A place of worship

(d) A factory

► (a) A place of learning, a school or college

13. Who started the journal Asiatick Researches?

(a) Henry Thomas Colebrooke

(b) Warren Hastings

(d) Max Muller

► (c) William Jones

14. Name the important scholar who studied Sanskrit and found it to be the most scientific language of the world. He also translated the important works Shakuntala and Manusmriti into English

(a) Charles Wood

(b) William Jones

(d) Max Muller

► (b) William Jones

15. The introduction of _____________ brought with it ideas of democracy, liberty, fraternity among the minds of Indians

(a) Western education

(b) Subsidiary alliance

(d) Expansion policies

► (a) Western education

16. Which year did the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London sent an educational dispatch to the Governor General in India?

(a) 1800

(b) 1854

(d) 1890

► (b) 1854

17. What would you call a person who knows several languages ?

(a) Biographer

(b) Linguist

(d) Translator

► (b) Linguist

18. Name the President of the Board of Control in England who sent a dispatch.

(a) Lord Dalhousie

(b) Lord Macaulay

(d) James Mill

► (c) Charles Wood