Missionaries and expansion of mass western education in India 1700–1813
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— Sonika Tandon
Education is considered as the most important foundation for any nation’s strong future. It is also considered to be an extremely essential investment in human capital. However, the condition of primary education in India continues to remain substandard with the current literacy rate of seventy four percent. Here, various states are struggling to even maintain this average. An important thing to note is that, the education system in India has never been a marker of good example or given honor. Therefore, it is important to know its origin and trace all the significant changes that were introduced in the system.
The colonial period in India witnessed various different kinds of revolutions and experiments taking place in the field of Education. One such significant contribution was made by the Missionaries. The missionaries were heavily invested in setting up their institutions in India. However, their main aim was not mass education but rather conversion. Their goal was to convert people to Christianity. In order to achieve this, they undertook the process of education. They believed that education would help people understand the Christian scriptures better, and also facilitate appreciation of the facts. One of the first protestant missionary in India was the Danish Missionary. This work was setup in Madras, the Southern province of India. The missionary schools undertook Indian languages as the medium of instruction in contract to the schools set up by the Company. The Missionary schools were not only for the European or Ango Indian children, but also for the Indian children who had converted. Infact, Missionaries were the first to introduce printing of books in Indian languages.
Throughout the process, the Missionaries received support from the East India company, and also a considerable amount of benevolent protection. The Company started distancing itself from the education work of the country. It tried to shift its duties to the missionaries, who were actively working in the field. However, not all Missionaries were successful. The ones settled in Bengal had a very difficult time functioning.
Towards the second half of the eighteenth century, the growth of missionary slowed down. Post 1765, when the East India Company gained political power in India, it was reminded that it needs to maintain religious neutrality and oppose proselytization. Thus, gradually it withdrew all its connections from Missionary institutions. This then led to rise in the Oriental education policy in India, which was being advocated by the East India Company. This transformation received strong opposition from the Missionary, but it has no effect on the change introduced by the company. This set back in missionary system resulted in the missionary criticising every move of the East India Company, thus completely straining their relationship by 1793. From 1793–1813, the Company did not issue any permits to Missionary to work in its territory, and also expelled many missionaries who hinted towards conversion.
While the missionaries were having a hard time in India, there was one person who strongly talks about their work, and supported their cause. Charles Grant, who is also known as the father of modern Indian education, writes in his thesis why the condition was so miserable in the Indian subcontinent. According to him, it was ignorance and a need for proper religion that made the condition so miserable. Thus, his recommendation to improve the condition included proper education and then subsequent conversion to Christianity. Here again the debate over the medium of education arose. To teach the western Christian values, it was first important to elect a language which would be used for communication. Grant believed that the medium of instruction should be English, as english was not a completely new language for them due to the presence of British officials in Indian societies.
Here the vision of Grant stand different to that of the missionary. The missionaries, as mentioned earlier, advocated instruction in vernacular languages as their only aim was conversion. However, Grant’s aim also included spread of English, which would be helpful in employment.
This is a debate that still continues to hold the center stage in Indian Education Policies. The New Education Policy which was launched in India, was also hit by similar types of arguments. The issue of medium of instruction has not been solved even now, and this history is a proof of its deep roots that exist in our system.
Furthermore, he also emphasised a lot on natural sciences to be taught in school, as he was concerned about the superstitious environment that existed in the Indian communities. However, overall Grant’s book is not a good example, as it heavily delineates the Indian society. After Grant, it was Lord Minto who took up an important role in education during the period 1806–1813. He was a great admirer of Oriental learning, and believed that Englishmen too should engage in studying the same. He embarked on ways that would help preserve the Indian culture, unlike the thoughts of Charles Grant.
It was towards the end of his time in 1813, when the Indian Education System reached a major turning point — The Charter Act of 1813. The act focused on two most pressing and urgent issues of that time -
a) Should the missionary be allowed to continue their work in India?
b) Should the East India Company take responsibility of education in India?
Moving forward, the discussions only grew to be more complex, and gradually led to Indians becoming part of the discussions which should have happened earlier since all these matters concern their lives directly.
(Sonika is a 3rd year BA student with Major in Public Policy at FLAME University)
[1]Image: https://factsanddetails.com/india/Religion_Caste_Folk_Beliefs_Death/sub7_2f/entry-4161.html
[2] Naik, J., & Nurullah, S. (1974). Indigenous Education in India at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century. In A Student’s History Of Education In India (1800–1973) (6th ed., pp. 1–32). Madras: Macmillan India Limited.
