THE BRITISH RULE AFFECTED RAJAS AND NAWABS, PEASANTS AND
TRIBALS.
THE BRITISH IN INDIA WANTED NOT ONLY TERRITORIAL
CONQUEST AND CONTROL OVER REVENUES.
THEY ALSO FELT THAT THEY HAD A CULTURAL MISSION.
THEY HAD TO CIVILISE THE NATIVES, CHANGE THEIR CUSTOMS
AND VALUES.
INDIANS WERE TO BE EDUCATED, CIVILISED AND WERE TO BE
MADE INTO WHAT THE BRITISH BELIEVED WERE GOOD SUBJECTS.
IN 1783, WILLIAM JONES, AN EXPERT IN LAW, WAS APPOINTED AS A
JUNIOR JUDGE AT THE SUPREME COURT.
HE WAS A LINGUIST.
HE STUDIED ANCIENT INDIAN TEXTS ON LAW, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION,
POLITICS, MORALITY, ARITHMETIC, MEDICINE AND THE OTHER
SCIENCES.
ENGLISHMEN LIKE HENRY THOMAS COLEBROOKE AND NATHANIEL
HALHED WERE ALSO BUSY DISCOVERING THE ANCIENT INDIAN
HERITAGE.
THEY ALSO MASTERED INDIAN LANGUAGES AND
TRANSLATED SANSKRIT AND PERSIAN WORKS INTO ENGLISH.
ALL THE THREE TOGETHER SET UP ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL AND
STARTED A JOURNAL CALLED ASIATICK RESEARCHES.
THESE ORIENTALISTS CAME TO REPRESENT A PARTICULAR ATTITUDE
TOWARDS INDIA.
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND INDIA IT WAS NECESSARY TO DISCOVER THE
SACRED AND LEGAL TEXTS THAT WERE PRODUCED IN THE ANCIENT PERIOD.
THIS COULD REVEAL THE IDEAS AND LAWS OF THE HINDUS AND MUSLIMS,
AND COULD FORM THE BASIS OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA.
THEY WENT ON DISCOVERING ANCIENT TEXTS, UNDERSTANDING THEIR
MEANING, TRANSLATING THEM, AND MAKING THEIR FINDINGS KNOWN TO
OTHERS.
THEY BELIEVED, IT WOULD HELP THE BRITISH LEARN FROM INDIAN CULTURE,
BUT IT WOULD ALSO HELP INDIANS REDISCOVER THEIR OWN HERITAGE, AND
UNDERSTAND THE LOST GLORIES OF THE PAST.
THIS WILL MAKE THE BRITISH GUARDIANS OF INDIAN CULTURE AS WELL AS
ITS MASTERS.
THEY FELT THAT INSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE SET UP TO
ENCOURAGE THE STUDY OF ANCIENT INDIAN TEXTS AND TEACH
SANSKRIT AND PERSIAN LITERATURE AND POETRY.
A MADRASA WAS SET UP IN CALCUTTA IN 1781 TO PROMOTE STUDY
OF ARABIC, PERSIAN AND ISLAMIC LAW..
THE HINDU COLLEGE WAS ESTABLISHED IN BENARAS IN 1791 TO
ENCOURAGE SANSKRIT TEXTS THAT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNTRY.
MANY BRITISH OFFICIALS BEGAN TO CRITICISE THE ORIENTALIST
VISION LEARNINGS AND ACCORDING TO THEM THE KNOWLEDGE
OF THE EAST WAS FULL OF ERRORS AND UNSCIENTIFIC THOUGHT.
EASTERN LITERATURE WAS NON SERIOUS AND LIGHT HEARTED.
JAMES MILL ATTACKED THE ORIENTALISTS AND DECLARED THAT
THE AIM OF EDUCATION HAS TO BE TO TEACH WHAT WAS USEFUL
AND PRACTICAL.
INDIANS SHOULD BE MADE FAMILIAR WITH THE SCIENTIFIC AND
TECHNICAL ADVANCES THAT THE WEST HAD MADE, RATHER
THAN WITH THE POETRY AND SACRED LITERATURE OF THE
ORIENT.
THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY SAW INDIA AS AN UNCIVILIZED
COUNTRY THAT NEEDED TO BE CIVILISED.
HE DECLARED THAT “A SINGLE SHELF OF A GOOD EUROPEAN LIBRARY
WAS WORTH THE WHOLE NATIVE LITERATURE OF INDIA AND ARABIA.
HE EMPHASISED THE NEED TO TEACH THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, WHICH
WOULD ALLOW INDIANS TO READ SOME OF THE FINEST LITERATURE
THE WORLD HAD PRODUCED AND MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE
DEVELOPMENTS IN WESTERN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY.
FOLOWING MACAULAY’S MINUTE, THE ENGLISH EDUCATION ACT OF
1835 WAS INTRODUCED.
TO MAKE ENGLISH A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
TO NO LONGER PROMOTE ORIENTAL INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS
THE CALCUTTA MADRASA AND BENARAS SANSKRIT COLLEGE.
TO INTRODUCE ENGLISH TEXT BOOKS IN SCHOOL.
IN 1854, THE COURT OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
IN LONDON SENT AN EDUCATIONAL DESPATCH TO THE
GOVERNOR GENERAL IN INDIA.
HEADED BY CHARLES WOOD, THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF
CONTROL OF THE COMPANY, CAME TO BE KNOWN AS WOOD’S
DESPATCH.
IT EMPHASISED ON THE PRACTICAL BENEFITS OF A SYSTEM OF
EUROPEAN LEARNING, AS OPPOSED TO ORIENTAL KNOWLEDGE.
IT WAS CALLED AS THE MAGNA CARTA OF THE ENGLISH
EDUCATION IN INDIA.
EUROPEAN LEARNING WOULD ENABLE INDIANS TO RECOGNISE THE
ADVANTAGES THAT FLOW FROM THE EXPANSION OF TRADE AND
COMMERCE.
THIS WAS THE ECONOMIC BENIFIT THROUGH THE PRACTICAL USES.
INDIANS WOULD BEGIN TO APPRECIATE AND BUY THINGS THAT WERE
Click to add text
PRODUCED IN INDIA.
IT ALSO ARGUED THAT EUROPEAN LEARNING WOULD IMPROVE THE
MORAL CHARACTER OF INDIANS AND MAKE THEM TRUTHFUL AND
HONEST.
THUS THE COMPANY WOULD BE SUPPLIED WITH THE CIVIL SERVANTS
AND OTHER EMPLOYES , WHO COULD BE TRUSTED AND DEPENDED
UPON.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT WERE SET UP.
TO ESTABLISH UNIVERSITIES IN BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS O
THE MODEL OF THE LONDON UNIVERSITY.
VERNACULAR LANGUAGES WERE TO BE PROMOTED AT THE PRIMARY
LEVEL.
AT LEAST ONE GOVERNMENT SCHOOL TO BE OPENED IN EVERY
SCHOOL.
PROMOTED WOMEN’S EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS.
ENGLISH WAS MADE THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION FOR HIGHR
STUDIES.
TO ENCOURAGE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE TROUGH GRANTS AND AIDS.
EMPHASIS ON TEACHERS’ TRAINING.
IN THE 1830s, WILLIAM ADAM, A SCOTTISH MISSIONARY TOURED
THE DISTRICTS OF BENGAL AND BIHAR TO SUBMIT THE REPORT
ON THE PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN VERNACULAR LANGUAGE.
HE FOUND THAT THERE WERE OVER 1 LAKH PATHSAHLAS IN
BIHAR AND BENGAL, WITH 20 STUDENTS EACH.
THESE INSTITUTIONS (PATHSHALAS) WERE SET UP BY WEALTHY
PEOPLE, OR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY OR WERE STARTED BY A
TEACHER (GURU).
THERE WERE NO FIXED FEE, NO PRINTED MATERIALS, NO SEPARATE
SCHOOL BUILDING, NO SYSTEM OF SEPARATE CLASSES, NO ROLL CALL
REGISTER, NO ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, NO REGULAR TIME TABLE.
CLASSES WERE HELD UNDER A BANYAN TREE OR IN THE CORNER OF A
VILLAGE SHOP OR TEMPLE OR AT THE GURU’S HOME.
FEE DEPENDED ON THE INCOME OF THE PARENTS.
TEACHING WAS ORAL, AND WAS DECIDED BY THE GURU WHAT TO BE
TAUGHT.
STUDENTS SAT TOGETHER AN GURU INTERACTED SEPARATELY WITH
GROUPS OF CHILDREN WIT H DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LEARNING.
FLEXIBLE SYSTEM SUITED TO LOCAL NEEDS.
CLASSES WERE NOT HELD DURING HARVEST TIME, WHICH MEANT
THAT EVEN CHILDREN OF PEASANT FAMILIES COULD STUDY.
THE COMPANY DIDNOT INTERFERE WITH THE LOCAL PATHSHALAS TILL
1850s AND CONCENTRATED MAINLY TOWARDS THE HIGHER
EDUCATION.
AFTER 1854THE COMPANY WANTED TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM OF
VARNACULAR EDUCATION IN INDIA.
IT APPOINTED GOVERNMENT PANDIT WHO WAS TO LOOK AFTER 4 TO 5
SCHOOLS.
EACH GURU WAS ASKED TO SUBMIT THE REPRORTS AND TO TAKE THE
CLASSES ACCORDING TO TIMETABLE.
TEACHING WAS NOW BASED ON TEXTBOOK. STUDENTS WERE ASKED
REGULAR FEE, SIT ON A FIXED SEATS.
PATHSHALAS WHICH SUPPORTED THE NEW RULES WERE GRNTED AIDS.
FROM THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY MANY THINKERS FROM
DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA TALK OF THE SPREAD OF EDUCATION .
SOME WERE IMPRESSED WITH THE EUROPEAN EDUCATION
SYSTEM AND FELT THAT WESTERN EDUCATION WOULD HELP
MODERNISE INDIA.
AND SO URGED THE BRITISHTO OPEN MORE EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTES AND SPEND MORE MONEY ON EDUCATION.
THERE WERE OTHER INDIANS, LIKE MAHATMA GANDHI AND
RABINDRANATH TAGORE WHO REACTED AGAINST WESTERN
EDUCATION.
GANDHIJI ARGUED THAT COLONIAL EDUCATION CREATED A SENSE OF
INFERIORITY IN THE MINDS OF INDIANS.
ACCORDING TO HIM, THERE WAS POISO IN THIS EDUCATION AND HAS
ENSLAVED INDIANS.
H WANTED AN EDUCATION THAT COULD HELP INDIANS RECOVER
THEIR SENSE OF DIGNITY AND SELF RESPECT AND URGED INDIAN
STUDENTS DURINGNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO LEAVE EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS.
HE STRONGLY FELT THAT INDIAN LANGUAGES OUGHT TO BE THE
MEDIUM OF TEACHING AS EDUCATION IN ENGLISH CRIPPLED INDIANS,
DISTANCED THEM FROM THEIR OWN SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS AND
MADE THEM STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LANDS.
GANDHIJI CRITICISED WESTERN EDUCATION AND SUPPORTED
ORAL KNOWLEDGE FOR LIVED EXPEREINCE AND PRACTICAL
KNOWLEDGE.
HE ARGUED THAT EDUCAYION OUGHT BTO DEVELOP A PERSON’S
MIND AND SOUL AS PEOPLE HAD TO WOK WITH THEIR HANDS,
LEARN A CRAFT, AND KNOW HOW DIFFERENT THINGS OPERATED.
THIS WOULD DEVELOP THEIR MIND AND THEIR CAPACITY TO
UNDERSTAND.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE STARTED THIS INSTITUTION IN 1901.
HE HATED GOING TO SCHOOL AS HE FOUND IT SUFFOCATING
AND OPPRESSIVE.
ON GROWING UP, HE WANTED TO SET UP A SCHOOL WHERE THE
CHILD WAS HAPPY, WHERE ONE COULD BE FREE AND CREATIVE
AND WAS ABLE TO EXPLORE HER OWN THOUGHTS AND DESIRES.
HE FELT THAT CHILDHOOD OUGHT TO BE A TIME ODF SELF
LEARNING, OTSIDE THE RIGID AND RESTRICTING DISCIPLINE OF
THE SCHOOLING SYSTEM SET UP BY THE BRITISH.
TEACHERS HAD TO BE IMAGINATIVE, UNDERSTAND THE CHILD,
AND HELP THE CHILD DEVELOP HER CURIOSITY.
TAGORE WAS OF THE VIEW THAT CREATIVE LEARNING COULD BE
ENCOURAGED ONLY WITHIN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
SO HE SET UP HIS SCHOOL AWAY FROM AWAY FROM CALCUTTA IN
A RURAL SETTING, WHERE BY LIVING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE,
CHILDREN COULD CULTIVATE THEIR NATURAL CREATIVITY.
ENGLISH EDUCATION ACT, 1835
WOODS’ DESPATCH, 1854
HUNTER COMMISSION, 1882-83
RALEIGH COMMISSION, 1902
SADLER COMMISSION, 1917
HARTOG COMMISSION, 1928
WARDHA SCHEME OF BASIC EDUCATION, 1937.
SARGENT PLAN, 1944
GANDHIJI WAS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF WESTERN CIVILISATION AND
ITS WORSHIP OF MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGY.
RABINDRANATH WANTED TO COMBINE ELEMENTS OF MODERN
WESTERN CIVILISATION WITH INDIAN TRADITION AND
EMPHASISED ON TEACHING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ALONG
WITH ART, MUSIC AND DANCE.
