Civilizing the Native, Educating the Nation Flashcards
What does this chapter cover, primarily?
The British Rule’s effect on the students of India
What did the British want in India?
- Territorial Conquest
- Revenue Control
- Educate the Nation with British customs and values, make them ‘good’ subjects and control their minds, customs and values.
Why did the British see themselves superior to the Indians and when did this begin?
- Late 18th century
- Due to the Renaissance, Reforms, Industrial revolution and various Scientific Discoveries
Why did the British want to educate the nation?
To have faithful civil servants to assist in running the empire
Define Orientalism
Orientalism is the study of the language, literature, religion, philosiphies, history, art, and laws of Asian Societies
Break down the word: Orientalism
Orient - meaning the east
What was the perspective and skillset of the Orientalists?
- They had a scholarly knowledge of the cultures and languages of India
- They shared a deep respect of the cultures of India and the West
Who was William Jones?
- Linguist(knew and studied many languages)
- Arrived in Calcutta in 1783 as a junior judge for an EEIC SC
What languages did Jones know?
- Greek and Latin at Oxford
- French and English
- Arabic from a friend
- Persian
- Sanskrit at Calcutta
What types of texts did Jones study after learning Sanskrit
He studied ancient texts on:
- laws
- philosiphies
- religion
- politics
- morality
- arithmetic
- medicine
- other sciences
Name 2 Orientalists besides William Jones and what they were doing in Calcutta
- Henry Thomas Colebrook and Nathaniel Halhed
- Discovering Indian heritage, mastering Indian languages, and translating Arabic and Persian texts to English
What perspective did Jones and Colebrook respresented?
India had attained glory in the past, but it had declined subsequently, hence it was integral for the future development of India to discover its ancient texts. These ancient texts would only reveal the truth about the ideas and laws of Muslims and Hindus.
What did British officers want after the actions of the Orientalists
- Promote Indian learnings, teach them what they were familiar with rather than what was alien to them
- Win a place in their hearts
What were the objectives of the orientalists?
- Win a place in the natives’s hearts
- Teach them what they were intreseted in
- Be respected by their subjects
- Be the guardians and masters of Indian culture
Name the 3 oriental institutions established in the late 18th Century and their purpose
- Madrasa(arabic word for a place of learning), 1781, to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law
- Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1784, To promote oriental research
- Hindu College, 1791, to promote the study of anceint Sanskrit texts that would be useful for administration
Break down the word Anglicists, and define them
- Anglo means english
- An anglicist is an expert or student in English literature or language
What was the perspective of Anglicists about education?
- Supported the teachings of morden Western education
- Wanted to teach Indians English
- It is wrong to put effort in encouraging the study of Arabic and Sanskrit language and literature
What did the Anglicist think of Eastern literature?
For them, it was:
1. Full of grave errors
2. Non-serious
3. Unscientific
4. Light-hearted
What were the objectives of the Anglicists?
- To liberate Indians from their religious beliefs and superstitions
- Teach them what’s useful and practical
- Stop the tyranny of the priests
- Teach Indians about Western scientific and technological advancements
What was the nature of Anglicistic education?
It was utilitarianistic - taught only what’s useful and practical
What did James Mill believe about orientalist education?
He declared, “The British effort shouldn’t be to teach
what the natives want or respect, in order to please them and win a place in their hearts. The aim of education should be useful and practical.”
Who was Thomas Babbington Macaulay?
- influential and outspoken Anglicist
- Any branch of English literature was superior to eastern literature
- India as an uncivilized country that needed to be civilized
What was Macaulay’s quote on Eastern education?
“Who could deny, a single shelf a good European library is worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”
When was Macaulay’s minute held? What points did it outline?
- 2nd Feburary 1835
- Points for teaching Indians in English:
- English literature was one of the finest literatures in the world
- Introduce Indians to western science and philospihy developments
- Method of changing their tastes, values, and cultures
What followed Macaulay’s Minute, and what did it include?
- English Education Act of 1835
- It included that:
- English would be the medium of instruction for higher education
- English TBs would be used - 1 lakh rupees would spent on Western Education
- Govt. to stop promoting oriental institutions, and these institutions would be seen as “temples of darkness, falling themselves into decay.”
Who was Charles Wood and what did he do?
- President of the Board of Control of the EIC in London
- In 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London sent an educational despatch to the Governor-General in India. Issued by Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control of the
Company, it outlined the educational policies to be followed in India
What were the economic benefits of European learning and Wood’s implications?
Economic Benefits:
1. To recognize the advantages of trade and commerce
2. To make Indians see the importance of resource development in a country
3. To help them appreciate the European way of life and buy European goods
Implications:
1. They didn’t see the importance of resource development in a country
2. They were too unsophisticated to see the value of European goods
What were the moral benefits of European learning and Wood’s implications?
Moral benefits:
1. To improve the character of Indians by making them more honest
2. To develop skills to supply the company with trustworthy civil servants
Implications:
1. Indians were dishonest people
2. They couldn’t be trusted with handling administrative matters
What were the effects of Wood’s Despatch?
- Educational Departments set up in the government to extend control over matters related to education
- Universities set up in Parliamentry towns such as Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras
- Education of the masses was encouraged and primary education was suggested
- A system of primary, secondary and higher education was established
When did the Wood’s Depsatch occur?
1854
What were the names of the old schooling system and the new system introduced by the British?
Old Schooling System - Pathshalas
New System - New Schools(established post 1854)
Name some characteristics of Pathshalas
a) Medium of instruction was vernacular language
b) Informal nature of education:
1. Lack of structure - generally one teacher schools, classes held under banyan tree, in guru’s home or near a temple or shop
2. No food-fee - Such schools ran under the patronage of local chiefs, making it more affordable, but also giving it an unstable financial base. Fee was based on economic status - the rich had to pay more than the poor.
3. No space for seperate classes - School buildings were a luxury and remained to be so for a long time
4. No system of seperate classes - Student advancement wasn’t based class-to-class but rather book-to-book and lesson-to-lesson
5. No regular timetable
6. No standardized TB or examinations
Evaluate the success of Pathshalas
Advantages:
1. Accessible
2. Students with various needs could be accomadated(poor peasents students needed to help parents with harvest, hence no classes were held during harvest season)
Disadvantages:
1. Limited level of education
2. Less accountability
Who was the person who provided information about Pathshalas?
William Adams:
- Scottish Missionary
- Gave info. about Pathshalas in Bengal and Bihar in 1830s
- Reported more than 1 lakh with around 20 students each, total number of students being taught is more than 20 lakh
- Set up by guru/teacher or wealthy people
Name some characteristics of New Schools
- Government Pandits appointed and assigned 4-5 Pathshalas, to improve the quality of education
- Gurus asked to send periodic reports
- Standardized TBs
- Annual Examinations
- Regular timetable
- Students asked to:
- Attend regularly
- Obey rules of discipline
- Pay regular fee
- Sit on fixed seats
Evaluate the success of New Schools
Advantages:
1. Mores structure = more uniformity = more people being held accountable
2. Level of education improved through TBs and examinations
Disadvantages:
1. New rules and routines were difficult to adjust to(e.g. no break given during harvest season)
2. Education becomoing inaccessible
What was Gandhi’s view on Western Education?
- Colonial education had created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians
- Made them aliens in their own lands, it had distanced them from their culture
- Made them see Western Education as superior
- Colonial education was posinous and enslaved people
- Destructed cultural pride
What type of education did Gandhi want?
He wanted education to recover a sense of dignity and self-respect by:
1. Making Indian languages as medium of instruction for education
2. Oral and practical knowledge should be treated with same importance as textbooks
3. Literacy was not the same as education
4. Leaving educational institutes as a mark of protest during the Indian National Movement
What did Rabindranath Tagore create and what was its aim
Tagore founded Santiniketan - an abode of peace - 100 km away from Calcutta. As a child, schools had been suffocating and oppressive for him, hence the aim of this institution was to let the child be free, and to let them explore their thoughts, desires, and to let a child develop a sense of curiosity and imagination. It emphasized the need to teach science and technology along with art, music, and dance.
What were some of the similarities and differences between the views of Gandhi and Tagore?
Similarities:
1. Both felt that the influence of Western Education is unhealthy for Indians
2. Both supported the teachings of Indian education
Difference: While Gandhi was critical of Western Education, Tagore wanted to combine Eastern and Western knowledge
