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8. Civilising the Native Educating the Nation

Chapter Rerview

Chapter - Rerview:

• In 1783, the Company founded the Supreme Court, and William Jones was appointed as a junior judge. Jones also had a second identity as a linguist. He mastered a wide range of languages, including Greek, Latin, French, English, Arabic, and Persian. He had also studied Sanskrit with the Pandits of Calcutta.

• He then went on to study ancient Indian writings on philosophy, law, politics, religion, morality, medicine, arithmetic, and a variety of other subjects. Jones found that several other British residents in Calcutta shared his enthusiasm.

• Jones had founded the Asiatic Society with the help of a few individuals and started a publication called "Asiatic Researches."

• Jones and his collaborators' major goal was to promote a specific attitude toward India. They both had a great deal of respect for one other's cultures.

• Jones and his colleagues attempted to decipher ancient Indian manuscripts.

• Many British officials were inspired by Jones' effort and began to represent Indian culture instead of Western culture. They agreed that studying Indian texts such as Sanskrit and Persian literature must be valued.

• In Benaras, a Hindu College was founded in 1791 to promote the study of ancient Sanskrit writings.

• The primary motivation for developing these disciplines was to improve India's governance.

• Since the early eighteenth century, British officials have been criticizing the East's expertise for a variety of bizarre reasons.

• Ancient Indian scriptures were discouraged from being studied.

• The British educationalists targeted the principal advocates of Indian ancient literature, introducing the Western educational culture throughout the country.

• The study of the English language was disseminated all over the country, and the major architect behind this was Macaulay.

• The English Education Act was adopted in the year 1835 based on Macaulay's minutes.

• The main goal of the English Education Act of 1835 was to make English the primary medium of instruction for higher education. Another goal was to downplay the significance of the Calcutta Madrasa and the Benaras Sanskrit College.

• It established India's core educational system by focusing on European learning.

• Wood's dispatch emphasized practical learning, such as the expansion of trade and commerce and the most efficient use of a country's resources.

• The main objective of Wood's despatch was to produce a trusted and "yes sir" type of civil servant based on the belief that European training will improve the moral character of Indian people.

• The Indian education system has been taken over by the government education sector.

• The universities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were founded during the Sepoy Mutiny.

• In the pathshalas, there was a flexible schooling system in place. The pathshalas lacked a fixed price structure, printed literature, a separate school building, benches and chairs, blackboards, separate classes, roll call registers, and annual examinations.

• The country's flexible education system was based on the country's socio economic system.

• The objective was to impose routines, establish new standards, and conduct frequent inspections within the existing educational system.

• The East India Company appointed pandits to the government. Under each pandit, there were four to five pathshalas. The government pandits were in charge of enforcing the Company's laws and regulations.

• One of the system's drawbacks was that during harvest, children from low-income households were required to attend school. Any disobedience to the rules was considered indiscipline.

8. Civilising the Native Educating the Nation

Exercise NCERT

8. Civilising the Native Educating the Nation

Que: Match the following:

Ans: 

Que: State whether true or false:

(a) James Mill was a severe critic of the Orientalists.

(b) The 1854 Despatch on education was in favour of English being introduced as a medium of higher education in India.

(c) Mahatma Gandhi thought that promotion of literacy was the most important aim of education.

(d) Rabindranath Tagore felt that children ought to be subjected to strict discipline.

Ans:- 

(a) True 

(b) True 

(c) False  

(d) False 

Que: Why did William Jones feel the need to study Indian history, philosophy and law?

Ans: He felt to need to saw the indian history, philosophy and law becuase only these texts could reveal the ideas and laws of the Hindus and Muslims, and only a new study of texts could from the basis of future development in india.

Que: Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?

Ans: Both james mill and thomas macaulay saw india as an uncivilized country that needed to be civilized and for this purpose, European education was essential. they felt that knowledge of english would allow Indians to read some of thefinest literature of the world, it would make them aware of the development in western science philosophy. Teaching of english could thus be a way of civilizing people, changing their tastes, values and culture.

Que: Why did Mahatma Gandhi want to teach children handicrafts?

Ans: Mahatma gandhi wanted to teach children handicrafdt becuase only they would be able to know how different things were operated. This would develop their mind and their capacity to understand.

Que: Why did Mahatma Gandhi think that English education had enslaved Indians?
Ans: Mahatma gandhi was against english education he argued that this type of education had created a sense of inferiority in the minds of indians. It had made them see wastern civilisation as superior and had destroyed the pride they had in their own culture. It had cast a evil spell on Indians. Education inenglish had crippled them distanced them own surroundings and made them strangers in their own lands. What is more, it had enslaved them.

8. Civilising the Native Educating the Nation

Additional - Question

Additional - Question:

Que: What is tradition of Orientalism?

Ans: In 1783, William Jones arrived in Calcutta, appointed as a junior judge at the Supreme Court. Jones was a linguist who had studied Greek and Latin at Oxford and knew French, English, Arabic and Persian. At Calcutta, he learnt the subtleties of Sanskrit language, grammar and poetry from pandits. He also studied ancient Indian texts on law, philosophy, religion, politics, morality, arithmetic, medicine and the other sciences.

Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed were also interested in the ancient Indian heritage, to master the Indian languages and to translate Sanskrit and Persian works into English. Jones along with them set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal and started a journal called Asiatick Researches.

Jones and Colebrooke felt that the Indian civilisation had attained its glory in the ancient past, but had subsequently declined. To understand India better, it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts that were produced in the ancient period. Jones and Colebrooke went on discovering ancient texts, understanding their meaning, translating them, and making their findings known to others. This project will help Indians rediscover their own heritage, and understand the lost glories of their past.

The Company officials felt that institutions should encourage the study of ancient Indian texts and Sanskrit and Persian literature and poetry. Hindus and Muslims should learn what they were already familiar with, and what they valued and treasured.

In 1781, a madrasa was set up in Calcutta to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law; and the Hindu College was established in Benaras in 1791 to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts that would be useful for the administration of the country.

Que: What is meaning Education for commerce person?

Ans: In 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London sent an educational dispatch to the Governor-General in India. It was issued by Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control of the Company, known as Wood’s Despatch. It draws an outline of the educational policy that was to be followed in India, and emphasised on the practical benefits of a system of European learning, as opposed to Oriental knowledge.

European learning would enable Indians to recognise the advantages of the expansion of trade and commerce and the importance of developing the resources of the country. By adopting European ways of life, their tastes and desires would change. European learning would improve the moral character of Indians.

The British introduced several measures, following the 1854 Despatch. Education departments of the government were set up to extend control over all matters regarding education. Steps were taken to establish a system of university education. In 1857, universities were being established in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. Attempts were also made to bring about changes within the system of school education.

Que: What is The Agenda for a National Education?

Ans: Before the British officials, many thinkers from different parts of India began to talk of the need for a wider spread of education. Some Indians felt that Western education would help modernise India and urged the British to open more schools, colleges and universities, and spend more money on education. There were other Indians who reacted against Western education. Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore were two such individuals.