Education and British Rule Chapter Notes | History Class 8 ICSE PDF Download

Introduction

Education in India in the Pre-Colonial Times

• Education was provided at home, in pathshalas, or madrasas, mainly for boys, as girls rarely received formal education.
• Wealthy individuals or local communities established these institutions, often led by a guru or maulvi.
• In the 1830s, William Adam surveyed Bengal and Bihar, finding over 1 lakh pathshalas accommodating many students.
• Pathshalas were flexible, with no fixed fees, prescribed books, or specific buildings; classes were held under trees or in village corners.
• No blackboards, annual exams, or attendance systems existed; teaching was oral, in vernacular languages, and tailored to students' needs.
• Students were grouped by learning level, not age, and fees were based on parents' income, making education accessible to the poor.
• Pathshalas closed during harvest season to allow peasant children to assist their families.

Education in India under the British

• English education began in the 18th century through charity schools in Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay, indirectly supported by the East India Company.
• The Charter Act of 1813 allocated funds for education, but the medium of instruction was debated.
• Two groups emerged: Orientalists, who favored native languages and traditions, and Anglicists, who supported English-medium western education.

The Orientalists

• William Jones, a linguist, studied Sanskrit texts and, with Nathaniel Halhead and Henry Thomas Colebrooke, translated Indian works into English.
• They founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 and started the journal Asiatik Researches to promote Indian culture.
• Warren Hastings supported oriental learning by establishing a madrasa in Calcutta in 1781 for Arabic, Persian, and Islamic law studies.
• In 1791, Jonathan Duncan founded the Hindu College in Benaras to promote Sanskrit texts.
• Fort William College was set up in 1800 to train British officials in Indian laws, customs, and history.

The Anglicists

• By the early 19th century, officials like James Mill criticized oriental learning, favoring western scientific and technical education.
• Thomas Babington Macaulay called oriental learning inferior and urged the British to stop funding it.
• The Charter Act’s 1 lakh rupees sparked debates, resolved by the English Education Act of 1835 under William Bentinck, favoring English-medium higher education.
• In 1844, the British announced job preferences for English-educated individuals, boosting enrollment in English-medium institutions.

Wood's Despatch

• In 1854, Charles Wood’s educational despatch outlined a comprehensive policy for India, from primary to university levels.
• It aimed to promote western education to create a demand for British goods and produce reliable civil servants.
• Main features included:
  • Establishing educational departments in provinces.
  • Setting up universities in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.
  • Providing government grants to private schools and colleges.
  • Introducing the Indian Educational Service for recruiting qualified teachers.
  • Ensuring at least one government school per district.
  • Using English and local languages as mediums of instruction.

Role of Christian Missionaries in Promoting Western Education

• Missionaries believed western education could eradicate social evils and promote Christianity.
• Until 1813, missionaries were banned but operated from Danish stations in Madras and Calcutta.
• After 1813, they established schools across India, often attached to churches.
• Post-1857, the British limited direct support to missionaries to avoid upsetting local customs and beliefs.

Effects of Western Education

• The British focused on higher education, leaving local pathshalas and madrasas largely untouched until after 1854.
• Post-1854, the Company introduced rules, routines, and inspections to systematize vernacular education.
• Some pathshalas adopted these changes, receiving government grants but requiring regular attendance, affecting peasant children.
• Western education was limited to upper and middle classes, with little focus on women’s education or primary schools.
• It neglected scientific and technical knowledge and distanced students from their native language and culture.
• Positive impacts included introducing liberal ideas like democracy, rationalism, and nationalism, with English uniting educated Indians during national movements.

National Education

• Indian reformers in the early 19th century advocated for widespread education, some seeking British support for modern schools.
• The National Education Movement protested British policies, led by Satish Chandra Mukherjee, who founded the National Council of Education (NCE) in 1906.
• NCE aimed to teach in vernacular languages alongside English, influencing institutions like Jamia Millia Islamia and Kashi Vidyapeeth.

Mahatma Gandhi

• Gandhi opposed western education, believing it created inferiority and admiration for British rule.
• He advocated for Indian languages as the medium of instruction to preserve cultural pride.
• His Nai Talim (New Education Programme) emphasized holistic education for mind, body, and soul, focusing on practical skills over textbook learning.

Rabindranath Tagore

• Tagore founded Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan in 1901, emphasizing creative learning in a natural rural setting.
• Classes were held outdoors, encouraging creativity through fine arts, music, and dance, unlike the rigid British system.
• He opposed rote learning, advocating for imaginative teaching to foster curiosity.
• While critical of British education, Tagore supported blending western and Indian elements, including science and technology.

Sri Aurobindo Ghose

• Sri Aurobindo advocated for education in Indian languages to reach more people while incorporating western knowledge.
• He emphasized practical skills and maintaining cultural roots for modern life.

Case Study: Aligarh Muslim University

• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded the Scientific Society in 1864 to translate scientific works into Urdu.
• In 1875, he established the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, later Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), blending western education with Islamic values.
• In 1886, he started the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference to promote Muslim education, serving as a key platform until the Muslim League’s formation in 1906.

Education in Baroda

• Princely states like Baroda resisted British educational policies, developing their own systems.
• Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III made primary education free and compulsory, established schools, and funded a university.
• His efforts raised Baroda’s literacy rate above that of British India.
• The university, completed by his grandson Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad, was named Maharaja Sayajirao University.
• He supported figures like Bhimrao Ambedkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Dadabhai Naoroji.

Conclusion

• Education significantly influenced Indian society, fostering nationalism and ideas of democracy, freedom, and self-rule.
• Reformers sought to adapt or replace British systems to reconnect people with their culture.
• Over time, education in India evolved, balancing traditional and modern elements.

Points To Remember

• There existed an indigenous system of education in India before the British arrived. Boys were taught at home or in pathshalas and madrasas.
• Orientalists were English officials of the East India Company who were in favour of oriental learning rather than western education. The Anglicists wanted to impart western education to people through the medium of English.
• The Charter Act of 1813 had allocated funds of 1 lakh rupees for educational purposes.
• According to the English Education Act (1835) passed by Governor General William Bentinck, English was to be made the medium of instruction.
• In 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London sent an educational despatch known as Wood’s Despatch to the Governor General in India. It outlined an educational policy which was to be followed in India.
• The National Education Movement emerged as a protest against the repressive measures of the British. Satish Chandra Mukherjee founded the National Council of Education (NCE) in 1906.
• Gandhiji wanted an educational system which stressed more on the growth and development of mind, body and soul. Tagore established Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan in 1901 near Calcutta.
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan set up the Scientific Society at Aligarh in 1864 and in 1875, he founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh (presently known as Aligarh Muslim University). Efforts of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda resulted in enhancing the literacy rate of Baroda which became higher than that of British India.

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