Missionaries and Education in Bengal Essay Example For Students

Missionaries and Education in Bengal Essay Nineteenth Century Missionaries and Education in Bengal: An Analysis of Historical LiteratureThis paper is about how missionaries implemented education and how their reforms reflected the cultural, political, religious, social, and economical situation of Bengal throughout the years of 1793-1837.Michael A. Laird is clear to state that missionaries did not actually arrive in Bengal until around 1800. However, it is important to analyze the educational climate of England from whence they came. It is true that the state of education in both Bengal and England was in bad need of reform. Even so, Laird argues that although both places had a network of institutions of elementary, secondary, and higher education, Bengal was in greater need of reform.Elementary teachers were reported as ill-qualified and harshly disciplinarian.Secondary teachers were described as â€Å"much superior in intelligence.† However, they failed to exert any more of a moral influence over their pupils than th e former.Some of the pandits, or teachers, of Indian higher education, were more moral and intellectual than the former. Education in this realm entailed many subjects, but learning was slow, nonetheless.Another important factor to add to the backdrop of the educational scene was the decline of the entire educational system. There was next to no funding, obstinacy to modern scholarship, and no longer any creative thought.As a result, people were learning without passion under the thumb of their apathetic teacher who would not hesitate to discipline the smallest mistake. Laird does state that the English system of education shared some of the same problems. He states that one of the greatest areas of concern in Bengal was the inaccessibility to new modern knowledge such as new medical findings, scientific innovations, and modern social thought.These would be the tools that would unshackle the Indian from his prejudice, religion, and social orientation which would effectively reform t he society as a whole. Laird describes the period between 1793 and 1813 as â€Å"a kind of prologue to the great outburst of educational activity which immediately followed.† In 1793, William Carey arrived in Calcutta. He was the first missionary to make a lasting and significant contribution to the education of the people of Bengal.Immediately he took analyzing the educational situations of the indigo-plantation of which he was superintendent. He wrote a plan of reform that apparently did not come to fruition until the foundation of Serampore College in 1818. It was not until 1813 that a Charter Act was passed legalizing missionary work in East India Company Territory. The Act not only forced the East India Company to allow missionary activity, it committed the Company to pay for the missionaries’ educational reform. Therefore it christened a new era â€Å"full of possibilities for missionary educationalists.† Laird divides the discussion of the development of mission schools between 1793 and 1823 into two chapters. The first focuses on the transformation of educational thought and procedures that took place during that time. Between these years, the interest switched from the study of the ancient languages, Persian and Sanskrit, to English. Also, the missionaries emphasized that a sound education must start with teaching the pupils effectively to read and write their mother tongue. Bengali was, then, implemented as the medium of learning, making education more accessible while mixing English thought into Bengali culture. It is important to note the change in educational practices, as well. Missionaries were interested in conversion. That is they wanted pupils to think and analyze, not just memorize. Through these means, the missionaries believed that the Hindus and Muslims would then logically see the faults of their religions and the Truth of Christianity. Laird suggests, that missionaries acted as â€Å"instigators of an intellectual awakening, or even revol ution† because they taught Hinduism, Islam, as well as Christianity, challenging pupils to analyze each. This was effective in appealing to the parents of the students who might have felt that Christianity would be forced. Although parents were not at all open to Christianity or conversion therein, they were open to the education that the Westerners had to offer. Missionary schools were mostly conducted with the educational principles of Lancaster and Bell who were secular educationalists from Europe. Christianity was supposedly only to be presented in the comparative arena during ethics class. However, missionaries were hopeful that the general attitude and conduct of the school would create an atmosphere of conversion for the Indian people. The second of Laird’s chapters on the development of missions schools between 1793 and 1823 focuses on missionary publications, teachers, caste and class, secular contributions, and relations between missionaries. One of the most significant contributions of the missionaries during this period was their compilation of textbooks, for both the introduction of the ‘new learning’ of the West in the Bengali education system, and the improvement of methods of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.The missionaries were also responsible for the publication and circulation of the first Ben gali newspaper ever to be published, the Samachar Darpan.They also published an educational magazine, the Dig Darshan, that presented history, astronomy, geography, and ethics to the Bengali people in English and Bengali.As there was little available to read during this time, these publications were extremely popular. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the missionary educationalists in Bengal was the lack of qualified teachers.Laird explains the difficulties that the missionary educationalists encountered in finding and training suitable teachers. They were generally of low social status and from the pre-existing system of education. The missionaries had to overcome competition from the traditional indigenous schools. In general, they found it difficult to implement their ideology of open discussion and free thought among traditional Indian educators. There were attempts to cultivate new teachers, mainly by Robert May. Unfortunately, his attempts ended in failure as the teacher-traine es were more interested in learning English than in teaching. A most interesting dynamic of the missionary schools, was that pupils were mixed in caste and were of the same class as those who attended the pathsalas.The pupils were then placed in categories based on their merit. As a result, sometimes the boy of inferior class would excel a brahmin. According to the missionaries, this was ideal because it taught in practicality the Christian creed that God created all men equal. Interesting furthermore is a missionaries report stating, â€Å"no wish has ever been expressed by the brahmins to be formed in a separate class; nor do we recollect a single instance of a brahmin youth’s having left the school in disgust because associated with soodras.†Laird concludes his book praising the missionary educationalists for drawing the first comprehensive schemes for education in modern times.He goes on to acknowledge the width of their curriculum as unfounded even in the contempo rary schools of England.Furthermore, Laird states that â€Å"the missionaries came to play the leading part in the early nineteenth century in introducing the people of Bengal to the elements of modern knowledge.†He commends the missionaries usage of Bengali as the chief medium of education, giving impetus to the ‘Bengal Renaissance.’He also mentions their success in printing the greatest number of textbooks before 1837.Overall, Laird attributed much success to the missionary educationalist movement in Bengal of 1793-1837.However, he did end his book with a conflicting statement which rebuked the missionaries for their â€Å"bigotry and prejudice† regarding Hinduism, Islam and all other creeds other than Christianity. Furthermore, he mocks the missionaries’ implementation of education for the broadening of heathen minds without keeping their own minds open.This striking statement confused the lector as it seemed to contradict the attitude of the res t of the book. Children of the City EssayAbhijit Dutta describes the obstacles and misunderstandings of missionaries in dealing with Hindu religious practices and superstitions. Four conversions of the Derozians at Hindu College by Dr. Duff. Ferdaus Ahmad Quarishi Describes Indian social and political changes induced by Christian activity in the North Eastern Hills of S. Asia. Benoy Bhusan Roy and Pranati Ray describe the role of Christian Missionaries for the Education of Women as Failure. Bibliography:BibliographyLaird, M.A. Missionaries and Education in Bengal: 1793-1837. London: Oxford Press, 1972. Oddie, Geoffrey A. Missionaries, Rebellion and Proto-Nationalism: James Long ofBengal 1814-87. Surrey: Curzon Press, 1999. Sen Gupta, K. P. The Christian Missionaries in Bengal: 1793-1833. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1971. ______________________________Dutta, Abhijit. Nineteenth Century Bengal Society and Christian Missionaries. Minerva: Minerva Associates, 1992. Quarishi, Ferdaus A. Christianity in the north eastern hill of South Asia: Social impactand political implication. Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press, 1987. Roy, Benoy Bhusan. Zenana Mission: The Role of Christian Missionaries for the Education fo Women in 19th Century Bengal. Delhi: ISPCK, 1998.