A CENTURY OF BRITISH EDUCATION IN INDIA 1857-1957

Author(s): M. S. SUNDARAM
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 107, No. 5035 (JUNE 1959), pp. 491-507
Published by: Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
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A CENTURY OF BRITISH EDUCATION

IN INDIA 1857-1957

The Sir GeorgeBirdwoodMemorialLectureby

PROFESSOR M. S. SUND ARAM, M.A. , B.Litt.,
EducationCounsellor , Officeof theHigh Commissioner
forIndia, delivered to theCommonwealth Sectionof the
Societyon Tuesday , 17th March, 1959,withSir John
Sargent Educational
, C.I.E. , M.A., H on.D. Litt.,formerly
ofIndia,in theChair
AdvisertotheGovernment

the chairman:I havetworeasonsforfeelingthatthis,frommypointof view,,

is rathera specialoccasion.One is a sad reason: I am takingtheplaceof a veryold
and dear friendof a greatmanyof us, Sir FrankBrown,who unfortunately died
onlya fewweeksago. The secondreasonis a pleasantone: I havetheprivilege ta
presideat a lecturegivenby a veryold colleagueand friendof mine,Professor
Sundaram.
SomeyearsagowhenI wasin India(I thinkitwasin 1942)andwe werebeginning
to thinkaboutthequestionofeducationafterthewar,thegovernment decidedthat
at thecentrethereshouldbe a separateMinistry of Education.Previously, as many
of you will be aware,education,healthand land all formedone largeand rather
cumbrous department. Whenit was decidedthatthereshouldbe a separatedepart-
mentofeducation itbecameoneofmymaindutiesto see to,ortakepartin seeingto,
the recruitment of the staff.ProfessorSundaramwas one of the firstpeople we
persuadedto comeand join us, and he has remainedfaithful to theadministrative
side of educationeversince.When 1947came,we wereall ratherwondering what
particular formof servicein theworldof educationwouldfallto his lot. I do not
thinkI amfarfromthetruthifI saythathadhe decidedto remainat homehe would
have been by now almost certainlythe Senior Administrative Officerin the
Department. But he felt,I think rightly,thatthere was greatwork to be done as
a LiaisonOfficer withcountries overseas.The needtowardstheend ofthewar,and
theproblemalso,was to findyoungIndianswhocouldbe trainedto servetheirnew
and independent country and,in so faras facilitiesfortraining werenotavailablein
India,to secure them suitable opportunitiesoverseas.As you willappreciate,at that
timethe pressureon our own universities and on thosein the UnitedStateswas
tremendous, and thejob offinding openingsforouryoungIndianswas byno means
an easy one. It would be hardforme to exaggerate the servicewhichProfessor
Sundaramhas renderedto his country and to individualIndiansby his successin
securingplacesforthem.
He has, I know,afterhis twotoursof dutyin America(thisis his secondtour
in thiscountry as EducationCounsellor) established a mostcordialrelationship with
all universitiesand similarinstitutions. He is himself a goodOxfordman,a product
of Balliol.(He won'tmindif I remindhimthatwhenhe spokeHindi,whichis not
hismothertongue,an irreverent memberof ourstaff said thathe spokeHindiwith
an Oxford accent !) But as his successhas grown so has his problem.In spiteof the
vastdevelopment in resources fortraining technologists, and otherpeople
scientists
on
ofadvancedlearning India, the number of Indian students now being sentoverseas-
fortraining is aboutthreetimeswhatit used to be; so you can appreciate thatthe
491
JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNEI959
person herewho is to
trying findforthoseyoungmenandwomen appropriate places
in thiscountry againsttheabnormal fromourownpeople,and in America
pressure
fromyoungAmericans, has by no meansan easytask.His successin it not only
meanshardwork,but whatis evenmoreimportant, an attractive
and persuasive
personality.I thinkyou will findwhenhe talksto you thatProfessor Sundaram
certainlyhas the second,and I can affirm thatwhenhe was working withme he
certainlyshowedthefirst.
Thefollowing lecturewas thendelivered
.
THE LECTURE
Great Britainand India have a historicassociationof threecenturiesand
a half.The firstBritishexplorersarrivedin the Moghulcourtsat the beginning
of the seventeenthcentury,and Britainofficially withdrewfromIndia in the
mid-twentiethcentury.Indo-Britishcontactshave played a prominentrôle
in the shapingof the new India. When Great Britainquit India in August,
1947, as a rulingpower,she leftbehinda richlegacyin manyfields.A sound
administrative system,a well-trainedarmy,an incorruptible judiciary,and
faithin the Parliamentary formof Government wereamongthese; but all these
legaciesof Indian public lifehave an intimateconnectionwiththe educational
policiesthatweredevelopedlargelyunderBritishauspices.
The year 1857 is an importantlandmarkin the historyof Britisheducation
in India. The firstmodernuniversities of India wereinauguratedin thatyear.
Calcutta, Madras and Bombay celebratedtheircentenaryin 1957.The expansion
of universityeducationwas indeed slow. The fourthuniversity was established
forthePunjab in 1882; a fifth one was foundedin Allahabadin 1887. India had
only thesefiveuniversities duringthe whole of the nineteenth century.It was
only at the beginning of the twentiethcenturythatthe rulersof India showed
seriousconcernabout university education.In 1902 Lord Curzonappointedthe
firstUniversityCommissionwhich reportedon the state of highereducation
in the country.The Indian UniversitiesAct of 1904 gave greaterinitiativeto
thefiveexistinguniversities to improvetheirteachingfunctions, and to include
inspection over affiliatedcolleges. The beginningsof organizedresearchin
universitieswere made about this time. It was only in 1913 that the British
Governmentfullyrealized that the demand for greateruniversityeducation
could no longerbe resisted.The principlethateach of the Provincesis entitled
to a separateuniversity of its own was conceded.From thatyearnot a decade
passed without the foundingof one or moreuniversities. To list themchrono-
logically:Benares,1916; Mysore,1916; Patna, 1917; Aligarh,1920; Lucknow,
1921; Delhi, 1922; Osmania,1922; Nagpur,1923; Andhra,1926; Agra, 1927;
Annamalai,1929; Kerala (formerly Travancore),1937; Utkal, 1943; Saugar,
1946; Rajasthan,1947. In the decade following1947, no fewerthan sixteen
universitieshave been launched.
The purposeof thispaperis notto givea historical or a chronological account
of therôleof Britisheducationin India. These could be obtainedfromanywell-
documentedchronicleor historyof Indian education.I am concernedprimarily
with the basic values in Britisheducationalthoughtand educationalpolicies

492
JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
whichinfluencednot onlythe past historyof India but also have continuedto
presentcertainproblemsvitalto the futureof the new India.
Indian educationalpolicies were shaped by innumerableBritishleaders,
administrators, educators,peoplein highauthority as wellas humblemissionaries,
religiousreformers, publicists,propagandists and politiciansthroughoutthe
threecenturiesof Indo-Britishrelations.The earlypolicystatements came in
of
theform Despatches and Charter Acts of the Court of Directors of the British
East India Company.Many eminentpersonswho were deeply exercised about
education in India have left their mark on the subject. Sir Thomas Munro,
Mount-StuartElphinstone,William Adam, Lord William Bentinck,Charles
Grant, Lord Moira, Lord Macaulay, Mr. Prendergast,Wilberforce, Warren
Hastings, Lord Auckland, Sir Charles Wood, David Hare were among the
pioneers of the firsthalf of the nineteenth century. The greatmanymissionary
societiescontributedtheir own special points of view to Indian education.
Duff,Wilson, Miller, Hislop, Bishop French,Robert Noble, and many dis-
tinguishedRoman Catholic priestsand proselytizers, shaped Indian education
in the same periodindependently of the Government of the day.
At no time in her longhistory has India had a of
system compulsory universal
public education for all of
children school-goingage. The concept universal
of
compulsoryschool education is comparatively new in terms of the historyof
any country - eastern or western. The principle of State responsibility forthe
education of its young citizens is not even a full century old. Britain's com-
pulsory Education Act came into force in 1870 and 1876. It took nearlytwenty
yearsto educatepublic opinionin favourof acceptingcompulsion.Duringthis
period,India was directlyunder the BritishCrown,and the Indian Empire
was fullyintegratedunder Britishrule. If only Britainhad introduceda
EducationAct forIndia similarto thatof herown,therewouldbe no problemof
Indianilliteracy to-day.It was notas thoughtheIndiansofthetimewerenotaware
of the benefitsof education.The damage to Indian educationhad occurred
nearlya centurybefore,whentheIndian indigenoussystemsof educationwere
allowedto die a naturaldeathowingto lack of State supportand the general
apathyof therulersof India.
India has had the longesttraditionin Asia (along withChina) of respectfor
learningand pursuitof knowledge.ProfessorF. W. Thomas observed:'There is
no countryin theworldwherethelove oflearninghas so earlyan originand has
exercisedso lastingand powerfulan influence.'And it is an ironyof history
thata peopleproudofcenturiesoftraditional educationand pursuitofknowledge
and learning, with a of
history many celebrated universities of the pre-Christian
era, should have been found in a demoralized state of affairs in the seventeenth
century. Yet India at no time had lapsed into primitivity barbarism.The
or
abodesof learningwerekeptfunctioning at all levels,evenin themostturbulous
timesof internalcivilstrife.Our principalsourcesof information on theexisting
system of education in India in the earlynineteenth century come fromthesur-
veys of Sir Thomas Munro in Madras, Mount-Stuart Elphinstone Bombay,and
in
WilliamAdam in Bengal.The mostthatcould be said of theseis thattheyare
493
JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNE1959
in the formof samplesurveys.They coveredonlya smallarea,but it has to be
presumedfroma readingofthesereportsthattheindigenoussystemofeducation
was fairlywidespread.Sir Thomas Munrowrotein 1822:
It appearsthatthe numberof schoolsand whatare calledcollegesin the
territoriesunder this Presidencyamountto 12,498and the populationto
12,850,941 ; so thatthereis one schoolto every1,000ofthepopulation;butas
onlya veryfewfemales aretaughtin school,we mayreckononeschoolto every
500 of the population.... I am, however,inclinedto estimatethe portion
of the malepopulationwho receivesschooleducationto be nearerone third
thanone fourth of thewhole,becausewe haveno returns fromtheprovinces
of the numbertaughtat home. In Madras,the numbertaughtat homeis
26,903or aboutfivetimesgreater thanthattaughtin schools.The practiceof
boysbeingtaughtathomebytheirrelations orprivateteachersis notinfrequent
in any part of the country.The proportion of educatedis verv different
in differentclasses.In someitis nearlythewhole,inothersitis barelyonetenth.
Sir Thomas Munro concludedhis reportwitha significant observation:'The
state of educationhere exhibited,low as it is comparedwiththatof our own
country,is higherthan it was in most European countriesat no verydistant
period.' Mr. G. L. Prendergast,a memberof the ExecutiveCouncil of the
GovernorofBombay,made a glowingreporton the stateof literacyin his area:
I need hardlymentionwhateverymemberof the Boardknowsas well as
I do, thatthereis hardlya village,greator small,throughout ourterritories,in
whichthereis not at leastone school,and in largervillages,more;manyin
everytown,and in largecities,in everydivision,whereyoungnativesare
taughtreading,writingand arithmetic upon a systemso economical, froma
handfulor two of grainto perhapsa rupeeper monthto the schoolmaster,
according to theabilityofparents, andat thesametimeso simpleandeffectual,
thatthereis hardlya cultivator orpettydealerwhois notcompetent to keephis
own accountwitha degreeof accuracy, in myopinion,beyondwhatwe meet
withamongstthelowerordersin our owncountry; whilstthemoresplendid
dealersand bankerskeep theirbookswitha degreeof ease, conciseness and
clearness,I ratherthink, fullyequal to anyBritishmerchant.
Many indigenousschoolsworkedon the monitorial system,the moreadvanced
pupilstutoring thelowergradesin eachschool.Dr. Bell,thePresidencyChaplain
in Madras, commendedthis systemforadoptionin England.He called it 'the
Madrassystembywhicha schoolor familymayteachitselfunderthesupervision
of a masteror parent'.The systemwas used successfully in severalparts of
England.
A greatdeal has been debatedas to thereliability ofthesereportsand statistics
oftheday,and anydiscussionofthestateofindigenouseducationat thebeginning
of thenineteenth centuryis at thisdate purelyacademic.Indians,proudof their
heritage,indulgein nostalgicstatements thateducationwas widespread,while
otherstakea dim view of the reliability of the surveys.The factis established
that India was by no means an uneducatedcountryat the beginningof the
nineteenth century.There was a networkof autonomous,self-supporting decen-
tralizedschool systemsall over the land. The village priestand the village
craftsmenplayed the rôle of teachers in addition to their religious and
occupationalpursuits.
494
JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA,
Britisheducationaleffort in India startedoffwithone of the greatestcontro-
versiesof all times.This controversy eventually turnedout to be a setbackto the
whole processof Indian education.Under the firstEducationalCharterAct of
1813,the Board of Directorsof the East India Companyresolvedthata sum of
not less than 100,000rupeesin each year' shall be set apartand appliedto the:
revivaland importanceof literatureand the encouragement of the learned
nativesof India and forthe introduction and promotionof a knowledgeof the
sciencesamongthe inhabitants of the Britishterritories in India'. Two schools
of thoughtknownas the 'Orientalists'and the 'Anglicists'debated endlessly
as to what type of schools should receivesupportfromthe companyfunds..
There is stillcurrenta mistakennotionthateducationin the Englishlanguage
and throughthe medium of English was forceddown on unwillingIndian
subjects. Nothingis fartherfromthe facts. There were many 'Orientalists'
among the British,and many 'Anglicists'among the Indians. The Board of
Directorsat one timeobservedthatthe Hindus have as good a systemof faith
and moralsas most people, and 'that it would be madnessto attempttheir
conversionas to give them any more learningor any descriptionof learning
than that which they already possessed'. Warren Hastings was himselfan
'Orientalist'who encouragedSanskritPanditsand Muslim Maulvis to pursue
theirtraditionallearning.The missionarypioneerswho came out to India in
ever-increasing numbersbelieved that westernlearningthroughthe medium
of a westernlanguagewould win India forChrist.CharlesGrant,who was the
Chairmanof the East India Company,ablyarguedthe desirability of imparting
educationthroughthe mediumof English:
The truecure of darknessis the introduction of light.The Hindus err,
becausetheyare ignorant;and theirerrorshaveneverfairlybeenlaid before
them.The communication of ourlightand knowledge to them,wouldprove
thebestremedyfortheirdisorders;and thisremedyis proposed,froma full
conviction thatifjudiciouslyand patiently applied,it wouldhave greatand
happyeffects upon them,effects honourable and advantageous forus. There
aretwowaysofmakingthiscommunication: theone is by themediumofthe
languages ofthosecountries ; theotheris bythemediumofourown.In general,
whenforeign teachershaveproposedto instruct theinhabitants ofanycountry,
theyhaveusedthevernacular tongueofthatpeople,fora naturalandnecessary
reason,thattheycouldnothopeto makeanyothermeansof communication
to them.This is notourcasein respectofoureasterndependencies.
intelligible
They are our own,we have possessedthemlong,manyEnglishmen reside
amongthenatives,our languageis notunknownthere,and it is practicable
it morewidely.The choice,therefore,
to diffuse ofeithermodeliesopento us;
andwe areat liberty to considerwhichis entitled to a preference. The acquisi-
tionof a foreign languageis, to menof cultivated minds,a matterofno great
Englishteachers
difficulty. could,therefore, be soonerqualified to offerinstruc-
tionin the nativelanguages,thanthe Indianwouldbe preparedto receive
it in ours.This methodwouldhencecomeintooperation morespeedilythan
theother;and it wouldalso be attendedwiththeadvantage of a morecareful
selectionof thematterof instruction. But it wouldbe farmoreconfined and
less effectual;it may be termeda speciesof deciphering. The decipherer
is requiredto unfold,in intelligible words,whatwas beforehidden.Upon
everynew occasionhe has a similarlabourto perform and the information
495:
 JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNE1959
obtainedfromhim is limitedto the singlecommunication thenmade. All
otherwritings in thesamecharacter, stillremainto thosewhoareignorant of
it, unknown;but if theyare taughtthe characteritself,theycan at once
read everywritingin whichit is used. Thus superior,in pointof ultimate
advantage, does the employment of the Englishlanguageappear;and upon
thisground,we givea preference to thatmode,proposing herethatthecom-
munication ofourknowledge shallbe madebythemediumofourownlanguage.
It would be extremely easyforthe Government to establish,at a moderate
expense,in variouspartsof Provinces,places of gratuitous instructionin
readingand writing English:multitudes, of theyoung,wouldflock
especially
to them;and theeasybooksused in teaching, mightat thesametimeconvey
obvioustruthson different subjects.. . . The Hinduswould , in time, become
teachersof Englishthemselves; and theemployment of ourlanguagein public
business
, forwhichevery politicalreasonremains infullforce,wouldf in thecourse
of anothergeneration , makeit verygeneralthroughout thecountry . There is
nothingwantingto the success of this plan, but the heartypatronage
of Government. If theywish it to succeed,it can and mustsucceed.The
introduction of Englishin theadministration of therevenue,in judicialpro-
ceedings,and in otherbusinessof Government, whereinPersianis nowused,
and the establishment of free-schools forinstruction in thislanguage,would
insureitsdiffusion overthecountry, forthereasonalreadysuggested, thatthe
interestofthenativeswouldinducethemto acquireit.

I have quotedat lengthfromCharlesGrantin preference to citingMacaulay's

famousminuteof 1835,because Macaulay'sgibes at the traditional learningof
India containedno reasonedargument.Macaulayheld up Orientallearningto
ridiculein spiteofthefactthathisowncountrymen werediscovering themystery
and majestyof the Easternscriptures.FiftyyearsbeforeMacaulay wrotehis
minute,CharlesWilkinshad translatedThe Bhagavad Gita. Sir WilliamJones
had translatedKalidasa'sShakuntala , whichwentintofiveEnglisheditionswithin
twentyyears.The Government of the FrenchRepublicfoundedthefirstschool
of orientallanguagesin 1795,and AlexanderHamilton,a prisoneron parolein
France,was appointedas itsfirstProfessor ofSanskrit.In 1832Oxfordestablished
thefirstchairforSanskrit, knownas theBodenProfessorship, withH. H. Wilson
as its firstincumbent.Judgedby these events,Macaulay's denunciationof
orientallearningdid littledamageto thestudyof easternclassics.
It may be pointedout thatboth the 'Orientalists'and the 'Anglicists'com-
mittedgraveinjusticeto Indian educationby takingextremepointsof view.
In the heat of the controversy both sides ignoredthateducationof the masses
of the people could be conductedadequatelythroughthe ordinaryspoken
languageof each State or the mother-tongue of the pupil, withEnglishbeing
taughtas an optionalsecond language.But the Governor- Generalin Council
adopteda Resolutionthatpublicfundswouldbe expendedonlyforthepromotion
of Englishliterature and science,thatno stipendswouldbe availableforstudents
pursuing additionallearning,no moneywouldbe spenton publicationofbooks,
in orientallanguages.The Resolutiontookcareto add thatitwas nottheintention
of his Lordshipin Council to abolishany collegeor school of nativelearning.
In fairnessto the framersof the Resolution,it may be said thatvast numbers
of Indians were alreadyconvertsto the benefitsof Englisheducation,and the

496
JUNE1959 A CENTURY IN INDIA
OF BRITISHEDUCATION
missionary institutions werealreadyworkingat fullcapacityimparting European
4
learning.This stateof affairshad led Macaulayto observethat We are forced
to payourArabicand SanskritstudentswhilethosewholearnEnglisharewilling
to pay us' Books in Arabic and Sanskritprintedwitha large public subsidy
remainedin thelumberrooms,whileEnglishtext-books weresellingin thousands
at a profitto the publishers.
The Great Charterof Indian Educationwas to come in 1854 in the famous
Wood's EducationalDespatch. Missionaryactivityin educationduringthe two
decades precedingWood's Despatch grew at a veryrapid pace. Althoughin
1813 the MissionsfromGreatBritainhad thefirstpreference, in 1833 Missions
fromotherwesternnationswere accepted withoutany restrictions. German
and AmericanMission Societiesenteredthe countryin quick successionin the
ferventhope thatEnglisheducationwould lead to the spread of Christianity.
The well-meaning and hard-working missionariescame to realizeveryslowly
but surelythattheirexpectations to win the massesof India forChristwerenot
to be realized in any spectacularway. The conservatisminherentin the
ancientreligionsof Hinduism,Buddhismand Islam provedvictoriousagainst
all the efforts of missionaries.A generationof English-educated Indians who
studiedLocke's Letterson Toleration beganto disputewithmissionaries in their
own languageon the importanceof acceptingall faithsas equallyvalid. In the
midstof all the voluntary thereweresome prophets
activityof the missionaries,
of gloomwho believedsincerelythateducationof the inhabitants would prove
to be the politicalruin of Britishpower in India. Lord Ellenborough,the
Governor-General, was one of them.Mid-nineteenth centuryliberalismhad a
tremendous impacton the Indian mind.
Britisheducationalpolicyin India was outlinedelaboratelyin the Education
Despatch of the Court of Directors,dated 19thJuly,1854, knownpopularly
as Wood's. It was the longestGovernmentaldocumentknown,consistingof
a hundredparagraphs.It enunciatedthe aim of educationas 'the diffusion
of the improvedarts, science, philosophyand literatureof Europe; in short
of European knowledge'.At the same time it laid down that the studyof
thespokenlanguageof India was to be encouragedand that both the English
languageand the spokenlanguagesof India were to be regardedas the media
forthediffusion of Europeanknowledge.It wenton to say:
It is neither ouraimnorourdesireto substitute theEnglishlanguageforthe
vernacular dialectsof thecountry. We havealwaysbeenmostsensibleof the
importance and the use of the languageswhichaloneare understood by the
greatmass of the population.These languages,and notEnglish,have been
put by us in place of Persianin the administration of justice,and in the
intercourse betweenthe officers of the government and the people. It is
indispensable,therefore, that in any general systemof education the
studyof themshouldbe assiduously attendedto. And anyacquaintance with
improvedEuropean knowledge which is to be communicated to the great
massof thepeoplewhosecircumstances preventthemfromacquiringa high
orderof education, and whomaynotbe expectedto overcomethedifficulties
of a foreign language,can onlybe conveyedto themthrough one or otherof
thesevernacular languages.
497
JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNEI959
The 'percolationtheory'thatwesternart and scienceswould reachthe masses
of peoplethroughEnglish-educated Indianswas an illusoryhope of theframers
of the Despatch. While it is truethatthe literatures in Indian languageswere
neverallowedto decayowingto disuse,almostthreegenerations of concentrated
effortwent into the acquisitionof English as a mediumof communication.
The Indian languagesgraduallyceased to be used in the higherspheresof
administration, the judiciary,legislationand publiclife,with the consequence
thattheyfailedto developthe expressionsand idiomspertainingto all these
aspects of day-to-daylife. Indian languagesto-daysufferfroma centuryof
stagnation whenphrasesand wordswerenotcoinedquicklyto meetthedemands
of modernlife and thought.Whereverthe learnedpunditshad coined them,
they were seldom used by the ordinarypeople because the English-trained
classesheldthemselves aloofand apartfromtherestofthecommunity.
In thesame decadeas theWood's Despatch,Japancameintocontactwiththe
WesternWorldthroughCommodorePerry'sincursionintoJapanesewaters.But
Japanconsciouslyset out to becomea modernnationwithouthavingrecourseto
adoptingan alienlanguage.Gandhimadean effective comparison betweenIndia's
backwardness and Japan'sprogresswhenhe wrotein theHarijanas follows:
The thousands ofboysand girlsin theJapanese schoolsand collegesreceive
theireducationnot throughthe mediumof English,but throughJapanese.
Theirscriptis difficult butit is no bar to theirlearning it, and theyhavenot
givenit up in preference to the Roman.Not thattheyboycottEnglishand
otherEuropeanlanguages.But theyeconomisetheirenergy.Those whoneed
to learnthesedo so forenriching theJapanesethought withknowledge which
theWestalonecan give.Theytakecareto turnintoJapaneseall thatis worth
taking fromtheWest.The knowledge gainedhasthusbecomenational property.
The rapidprogress of theJapanesewas due to therestriction of thelearning
of thewesternmodeto a selectedfewand usingthatfortransmission of the
new knowledgeamong the Japanesethroughthe mother-tongue. Surely
it is easyenoughto understand thattheJapanesecould neverhave adapted
themselves to thenewmodeiftheyhadto do so through a foreign medium.
What Wood's Despatch failedto accomplishin one century,the makersof
modernIndia have takenupon themselvesto investigateand rectify.Having
redrawnthepoliticalmap of India on a linguistic and culturalbasis,theprinciple
of educátingthe masses throughthe mediumof the mothertonguehas been
acceptedby all the States. Both Indian and foreigneducationalists used to be
frightened at the complexity of the linguisticpicture of India because of thevast
numberoflanguagesin India. The LinguisticSurveyofIndia in the 1951 census
recordedthe existenceof 179 languagesand 544 dialectsin the country.In
actual fact,the major languagesof the countrywith adequate literatureand
historiccontinuity numberonlytwelvein all.*
* Theyarenamedbelow; thefigures in brackets
represent theapproximate number
speakingeach of the languages : 1. Assamese(5 million).2. Bengali(25 million).
3. Gujarati(16 million).4. Hindi and Urdu(145 million).5. Kannada(14 million).
6. Kashmiri (3 million).7. Malayalam (13million).8. Marathi (27 million).9. Oriya
10.
(13 million). Punjabi(4 million).11. Tamil(27 million).12. Telegu(33 million).
Allotherlanguages notmentioned inthelistaccount foranother 60million people,mostly
minorlanguage groupsand in tribalareas. Hindiand Urduhavea common structure
and grammar, theirmaindifference being thatUrdudrawsitsvocabulary fromPersian
sourcesand HindifromSanskrit.Theirscriptis alsodifferent.
498
JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
A centuryof Britisheducationin India has now resultedin the old con-
troversy beingresumedin its new guise. We have to-daythe new 'Anglicists',
thistimecomposedof Indianswho are puttingup a bravefightfortheretention
of Englishas the officiallanguageof the Indian Union. The framersof the
Constitutionof India adopted under Article343 of the Indian Constitution
'that the officiallanguageof the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagariscript'.
They tookparticularcare notto use the words'nationallanguage'in describing
the place of Hindi. It was also statedin the Constitution that'notwithstanding
anything in Clause 1, fora periodof 15 yearsfromthe commencement of this
Constitution the Englishlanguageshall continueto be used forall the official
purposesof the Union forwhichit was being used immediately beforesuch
commencement'. By the year 1965 India has to takea decisionwhetherto con-
tinuethe Englishlanguageas the officiallanguageof the Union or whetherto
replaceit by Hindi. The IndianParliamenthas nottakenan irrevocabledecision
on thisvitalquestion.They have been rathercautiousand have decidedto give
ample opportunity fora public debateas to the futureof the Englishlanguage
and its relativepositionvis-à-visall major Indian languages.The Presidentof
India was also authorizedby the Constitutionto appoint 'at the expiration
of 5 yearsfromthe commencement of this Constitution and thereafterat the
expirationof 10 yearsfromsuch commencement constitutea Commissionto
makerecommendations on thelanguageto be used as thelanguageoftheUnion'.
The firstof these quinquennialreportson the officiallanguage policy was
publishedin July,1956,by a Commissionconstituted by the Presidentin 1955.
The Britisheducationistsof India may well be pleased to read in this
Commission'sreportthe following observations:'Our knowledgeof the English
languageis in factthe one legacyof Britishruleforwhichwe have reasonto be
gratefulmore than any other; and since the Britishhave departedand the
Englishlanguagecould itselfdo no harm,it would be totallyunwiseto throw
away thisinheritance.'In anotherpartof the reportthe Commissionobserve:
'We in India happento have alreadya considerablemeasureof linguisticcom-
petencein theEnglishlanguagedevelopedovera periodof a coupleof centuries
of Britishrule and it would be wantonlyfoolishto throwawaythisadvantage.'
Thus the legacyof Britainto India has been verywarmlyacknowledged;but
will this legacyendureforever?
We in India have had two centuriesand a halfof Britisheducation.Of this,
one centurywas intensively devotedto advancedstudiesnotonlyin theEnglish
languageand literature but to intensivestudyof the Britisharts,sciencesand
technology.Innumerableinstitutionswere developed on the Britishmodel.
Most universities,old and new,fromtheyear1857,adoptedEnglishas a medium
of instruction and examination, and forpurposesof research.All primaryand
secondaryschoolsthroughout the countrylaid special stresson the masteryof
the Englishlanguage.In spite of this colossal effort, in the finalanalysisthe
numberof those in the whole country who have acquired a reasonablecom-
petencein theuse oftheEnglishlanguage is estimated to be 3,800,000.Compared
to the estimated60 million literatesfor the whole of India, the factemerges
499
JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNE1959
thatonly i*5 per centof the literatescan be countedas literatein English,At
the same timetheold percolation theorycontainedin Wood's Despatchhas not
provedquite valid because the knowledgeacquiredthroughEnglish,particularly
in a vastnumberoffields,has notbeen assimilated in thevocabulariesof Indian
languages. We are faced with one of the dilemmas
gravest of Indian education
to-day. The report of the OfficialLanguage Commission remarks facetiously,
'if by a sudden miraclewe were all to forgetour knowledgeof English,the
different linguisticgroupsin the countrywould become mutuallyunable to
communicate withone another'.
In theearlierpartofthispaperreference was madeto thefailureoftheBritish
rulersto accept fullresponsibility foruniversalcompulsoryprimaryeducation
forthe childrenof India. At the beginningof the presentcenturyone great
Indian statesmanvoiced his opinionthat educationshould be the birthright
of everychild in the land, and thatthe State should accept fullresponsibility
forthisfunction.Mr. B. G. Gokhalemadeone memorableattemptto introduce
compulsoryprimaryeducation.In his capacityas a memberof the Imperial
LegislativeCouncil he moved'That this Council recommendthata beginning
should be made in the directionof makingeducationfree and compulsory
throughout thecountry, and thata mixedcommittee ofofficials
and non-officials
be appointedat an early date to framedefiniteproposals'. His programme
consistedof threeparts:
1. To create a Departmentof Education for the whole of India, with
a Secretaryat its head.
2. The cost of educationto be sharedbetweenthe Provincialand Central
Governments.
3. An annualstatement describing theprogressof educationto be included
in the budgetof the Government everyyear.
The Government ofthedayacceptedthefirstand thirdproposals,butshelved
the second.Mr. Gokhalereturnedto the chargetheverynextyear,introducing
anotherBill to makebetterprovisionforthe extensionof elementary education.
The non-Indian elementin the ImperialCouncilvotedagainstthe measureof
compulsionon the pretextthata foreignGovernment cannotaffordthe riskof
unpopularity that compulsionmay entail.
Not long after,in 1920, the Britishrulersof India shiftedthe responsibility
foreducationsquarelyon to Indianshoulders.UndertheMontague- Chelmsford
ReformAct,provincialMinistrieswereaskedto undertakeresponsibility forall
educationalexpansion.While educationbecame a State subject,financesfor
increasededucationalfacilitiescould not be appropriatedby the legislatures.
Withoutfinancialsupport,responsibility remainedineffectual.
During the entire period of Britisheducationaleffortin India, it had never
occurredto any Secretaryof State for India, or Viceroy,or Governorof an
Indian State,to have a generalsurveymade of India's needs on a nationalor
even a provinciallevel. It is the last BritishEducational Adviser to the
Government of India, Sir JohnSargent,to whombelongsthehonourof having
presentedthe firstdraftof a reporton the educationalneeds of India on an
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JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
all-India basis. In his forewordto this Report,entitled'Post-warEducational
Developmentin India*,dated September,1943, Sir Johnwrote:
I havehad a searchmadein theeducational records,and althoughI have
comeacrossmanyvaluabletreatises on variousaspectsofeducational
develop-
ment,I havediscovered no previousattempt to show,evenin broadoutline,
whata nationalsystemin thepropersenseof thetermwouldmean.I cannot
helpfeelingthatit is a goodthingthatsucha pictureshouldbe paintedand
exhibited whatever on the beholdersmaybe. No apology,at any
its effects
rate,is neededforpresenting it at thisjuncture.
SirJohnSargentin presenting hisReportthrewouta challengebothto thepeople
of India and to the Government whenhe wrote:
In a countrywhereapathyandinertiahavereignedso longin theeducational
fieldandwherepoverty has beentheacceptedexcuseforleavingundonewhat
oughtto be done,a prodigiouseffort will be neededon the partof those
responsiblebothto setthingsgoingandto facethefinancial which
implications
suchactionwillinvolve.Othercountries, however, are alreadyon themarch
towardsthe goal of social security, and if India continuesto evade her
in thisrespect,she must be contentto relegateherselfto a
responsibilities
positionofpermanent in thesocietyofcivilizednations.
inferiority
What Mr. Gokhale failedto put throughin 1910 and 1913, and Sir John
Sargentproducedas a comprehensive paper plan, the framersof the Indian
Constitution of 1950 have acceptedboth as a challengeand an adventurein
educationalexperiment and expansion.If theprogressive countries oftheworld-
the United Kingdom,the United States,WesternEurope, Russia, Japanand
the new China, could accomplishthe task of universalcompulsoryeducation,
nothingshould stop India fromsettingher goal in that direction.Amongthe
directiveprinciplesof the Indian Constitution, the foundingfathersof Modern
India set out that'The State shall endeavourto providewithina periodof ten
yearsfromthecommencement oftheConstitution freeand compulsory education
forall childrenuntiltheycompletetheage of fourteen years'.
In thefinalanalysis,India has been botha beneficiary and a victimof British
direction ofitseducationalpolicies.The BritishEmpirein India was consolidated
in the same period whenCharlesDickens was exposingthe iniquitiesof the
social orderin GreatBritain.Thereweremillionsof poor,illiterate and disease-
riddenpeople in the westernworldduringthatperiodof Indo-Britishrelations
whenBritainwas becomingstrongas a politicalpowerover distantlands. The
British-educated Indian of even averageattainments assimilatedmanyof the
westernvaluesand westernethicswithease, but he could not comprehend why
his countrywas still backward.Most educated Indians who learned about
Christianityrealizedthatit was notChristianity thatgave superiority to western
powers. Not many of the rulingclass practised what Christianitypreached.
Then theyturnedto westernnationalismas perhapsthe secretof European
superiority.The Indians did not even have an equivalentin theirvocabulary
to thewesternword'nationalism'.This sentiment was aliento Indians.But they
quicklyrealizedthat the only way challengeEuropean nationalismwas to
to
build up an Indian nationalism.The British- educated Indian automatically
501
JOURNAL OF THE ROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNE1959
became a strongnationalist.There were many shades of nationalismat the
beginning - some willing to co-operate with the rulers, others eager to
compromise,and still othersrejectingall conciliationand demandingtotal
freedomof action. Furtherinquiryrevealed that it was not mere western
nationalismthat gave superiority to westernnations,but westernman's dis-
covery of the use of the machine.It was becausethe IndustrialRevolutionhad
helped western man to producemuchfasterthathe was able to dominatethe
Asianworld.This IndustrialRevolutionhas beenthemajorfactorin thewestern
worldbetweentheerasoftheFrenchand theRussianRevolutions.So a century
of Britisheducationin India set manyIndiansin ardentquest of the industrial
age. 'Produce or Perish' is the slogan which is full of importto the Indian
nationalist to-day.
The earlyIndian studentswho came in selectnumbersto Britishuniversities
returnedto India witha profoundappreciation of theBritishwaysoflife.Many
rose to high positionsof responsibility in Governmentand public life. Still
more became ardent nationalistsand were devoted to the cause of India's
social and economicadvancement.With the dawn of freedom,Indians have
undertakenplans of reconstruction on a magnitudeneverattemptedso farin
Indian history.
Since 1945 India has been sendingthousandsabroad in search of higher
educationand training.In anyone academicyear,we have about 10,000Indian
studentnationalsin overseascountries.The bulk of them,about 4,000, are to
be foundin the UnitedKingdom.The secondlargestgroup,numberingabout
3,000,is in the UnitedStates.The remaining 3,000are scatteredin manyother
parts of the world, both in and outside the Commonwealthcountries.The
largestoverseasgroupin the principalBritishor Americanuniversities happens
to be Indian.At theheightof the Britishruleof India therewerenotmorethan
1,500 Indian student nationalsin United Kingdom institutionsof higher
education.And to-day,when Britainis no longerin chargeof the destiniesof
India, India has nearlytrebledthatnumber.
At a timewhenall the resourcesof the countryand its manpowerare being
mobilizedforeconomicreconstruction at home,India cannotaffordto maintain
such largenumbersof heryoungpeoplein foreigncountries.Their educational
needs have got to be met by the institutions at home. In courseof time,only
those at the veryadvancedlevels of learning,in the post-graduate and post-
doctoralfields,should findit necessaryto go overseas.This does not mean,
however,thattravelin itselfhas no educationalvalue.Whilewe shouldcontinue
to encourageyoung university graduatesto undertakestudytours abroad, it
would,in courseof time,be economicalforthecountryto stopthevastfloodof
undergraduates fromgoingto technicaland technological institutionsin search
of basic knowledge.India is well on herwayto developingtechnology at home.
Three new All-India technologicalinstitutesare being developed with the
co-operation ofthethreeadvancedcountriesin Europe- Russia,West Germany
and the United Kingdom. Under the Indo-Americantechnicalco-operation
schemes,substantialnumbersof technicians are beingexchangedbetweenIndia
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JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
and the United States. The Indo^Germantechnicalassistanceprogrammeis
also in operationon similarlines.India is thusdetermined to catchup withthe
technologicalage. In theirimpatienceformaterialadvancementand a higher
standardof living,some of our youngpeople may be perhapsmistakingthe
economicsuperiority of the Atlanticnationsfortechnologicalsuperiority and
intellectualadvancement.The 16 per cent of the world'spopulationenjoying
60 per centof the world'swealthmayperhapsact as a will-o'-the-wisp forthe
millionsof underprivileged peoples.India's educationalgoals cannotbe reached
by mereadherenceto Britishmethods,to whichwe have been accustomedfor
a long period.We have to experiment boldlyin new waysand techniques,not
forgettingof coursetherichlegacyof Indo-British collaborationof thelàstthree
centuries.
Historyhas no parallelto theintroduction and impositionforso longa period
of the educationalsystemof one country,with a totallydifferent civilization,
upon anothercountryof a mucholdercivilization.The wholepatternof Indian
life and thoughthas undergonea changeas a resultof,this experiment.It is
entirelya matterof speculationat thisdate to say how Indian educationwould
have developedhad it not been influencedby Britishadministration or British
waysof life.We have two majordevelopments as a consequenceof our having
been under the influenceof the British - -theproblemsof illiteracy,which
had been left unchecked,and the problemof an enforcedforeignlanguage
whichwe can neitherabandon altogethernor continueto retainand develop
indefinitely.

A
APPENDIX
UNIVERSITIES
OF COMMONWEALTH
GROWTH 1939 AND1958
BETWEEN
figures)
(COMPARATIVE
and
Universities Teachingand | Number offull-
staffnames
collegesresearch
University timestudents

1939 1958 1939 !958 1939 !958

Australia 6 10 ! 800 2,300 9,00° i9>ooo

Canada 20 30 j- 2,800 7>9°о 38,000 78,000
Ceylon i i ! 30 290 600 2,500
Ghana - 1 - 120 - 320
j
India ' ... 18о f 35 , Tftň f5>7°° no 000
130,000 /73^7
2'10°
Pakistan) '6 j! ' 750 ' 57,000
New Zealand ... 6 6 30Э 750 1,700 5,600
: Malaya - 1 - T9° I'57°
Singapore
UnionofSouth
Africa 5 10 800 1,800 8,000 21,000
UnitedKingdom... 21 25 3>8oo 10,500 50,000 97,000

503
 OF THEROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS
JOURNAL JUNE1959
В
APPENDIX
IN INDIA
OF EDUCATION
PROGRESS
1947-57
1947 !957
No. ofprimary schools ...
and elementary 140,794 278,056
Enrolment 11,068,273 22,919,734
No. ofsecondary
schools ... 12,899 32,567
Enrolment 3,020,598 8,526,336
No. ofuniversities 21 34
Enrolment 228,881 736,087
SchoolLevel SchoolLevel
No. of technicaland technological
institutions i,39i 54,i7o
Enrolment... ... ... ... ... 92,807 1,773,009
Level
Collegiate Level
Collegiate
No. ofinstitutions 132 548
Enrolment 45,643 160,816
No. ofcollegesaffiliated
to universities... 578 844
No. ofteachers
ofall categories 561,000 1,218,000
No. ofgirls'schools 16,951 24,872
Enrolment 3>55<>,503 9,i77,n5
ofliteracy
Percentage 14% 23% ( ?)
Expenditure on Education: (MajorStates) Г Total nationalexpenditure
States ... ... ... 205 million < fromall sourceswasRs. 551
Central... ... ... 20 million million.*
* In 1956-7theCentral andStateGovernments
national budgetwasRs. 1,798million.
Total
expenditurefrom all sources
wasRs. 1,874million.

DISCUSSION
MR.p. к. shahani: I was gladto observethatthelecturer thought that1857-1957
was 'a centuryof stagnation*forIndianeducation.Dr. Sundaramfurther observed
thathe feltthatthetwoschoolsofthought 'Anglicists'and 'Orientalists'
tookextreme
Buthisviewson Macaulayseemedto me ratheroutmoded,
positions. becauseI feel
thatMacaulayhimselfwas an orientalist, forhe couldnot otherwise havewritten
six volumesof Sikhhistory !
I shouldliketo askthelecturer whethertherewas anypersonwhotooka middle
waybetweentheAnglicists and theOrientalists?I am referringhereto Dr. Annie
Besant,and to her workin the establishing of collegesin India (some have not
survived),includingthe BañarasUniversity, and also to the manybooksthatshe
wrote,withwhichboththeBritishand theIndiansdisagreed.
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JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
the lecturer: There weremanyintermediary shadesof opinion.I did not say
thatthesewerethe onlytwo.The pointthatI was tryingto stresswas thatthe
controversy whichragedin theearlypartofthenineteenth century,andwhichcame
to a definitestatement in the Wood's Dispatch,was not literallyfollowedby
the government. Wood's Dispatchwas a splendidone, because it emphasized
the importance of advancingeducationthroughthe mothertongue,or the spoken
languageof the people. But theydid not reallyfollowit up by subsidizingthe
vernacular schools(as theyused to be called)as liberally as theymighthavedone,
so thatthe emphasiswas shiftedfromthe Indianlanguageschoolsto the English
languageschools,and the Indian languageschoolsgradually vanished.Now that
does notmeanthattherewerenot a largenumberof peopleholdingindependent
viewswho carriedon to thebestof theirabilityeducationin theIndianlanguages;
and as faras the resultis concernedI wouldnot say thatall the languagesdied
abruptly. The impetusforcontinued development did notexist,butquitea number
ofwriters in Indianlanguages continuedtowriteandexpound.It wasnot'a century
of stagnation'- I did notsaythatat all in mylecture - thestagnation tookplacein
two respects,in the way of increasing illiteracy in diminution
and of interestin
Indianlanguages.
MR.SHAHANi : Does the lecturerfeelthatDr. Besant'sviewshad anyvalidity ?
Does he feel,forinstance,thatthe Keele idea- the University Collegeof North
Staffordshire- couldbe easilycopiedin India?
the lecturer: I have a greatrespectforDr. Besantand forthe institutions
whichshefounded. As an educationalidealistshewas a verysoundperson.I do not
thinkthatwe could wholeheartedly supportDr. Besant'sideasof educationbecause
she was concerned witha newphilosophy whichshe developedundertheauspices
of theTheosophicalSociety,whichis notuniversally subscribed tothroughout India,
but thatdoes notdetractfromhercontribution to education.I certainlyagreethat
in ouruniversity commissions at hometheideaofa ruraluniversity hasbeenstressed,
and collegeslike the University Collegeof NorthStaffordshire could play a very
important rôleifwe couldonlydevelopsuchinstitutions forourruralareas.
sir SELWYNSELWYN-CLARKE, K.B.E.,C.M.G.,M.C., (Chairman,Commonwealth
SectionCommittee) : Professor Sundaramhas indeedgivenus an intellectual feast.
He madethepointthatifcompulsory education hadbeenintroduced intoIndiaat the
sametimeas theAct of 1870in Englandand Wales,therewouldbe no problem
of illiteracyto-day.I shouldlike to remindProfessorSundaramthatour Act of
1870 made it compulsory forlocal authorities to provideschoolsforchildrenof
notlessthan5 and not morethan13 yearsof age, and thatit tookthirty yearsto
add just one yearto theupperage limit,forit was notuntiltheAct of 1900that
childrenhad to be keptat schooluntilthe age of 14. It tookanotherforty-seven
yearsto raisethatage limit.For, althoughtherewas provisionin the Education
Actof 1944forcompulsory educationup to 15 yearsofage,in factit was notintro-
duced untilApril,1947. That is a totalof seventy-seven yearsfromthe original
Act of 1870.Bearingthatin mind,and realizingthe long-established organization
of local authoritiesin thiscountry, and theamountof fundsand personnel and so
on availablehere,I thinkthatif you wereto ask our educationalexpertsat this
momentwhetherthereis stilla problemof illiteracy in thiscountry, theywould
say,'Of coursethereis. Did younotreadin The Timestheotherdaythattenper
centof the recruitsintothe BritishArmyin the SecondWorldWar werepartly
illiterate?'So, you see, afternearly100 yearsof organizedcompulsory education
we havenotbeenable to liquidateilliteracy in thiscountry.
I wouldsuggest, Mr. Chairman, thatin additionto thelackofsomeoftheordinary
advantages deriving from the IndustrialRevolution in GreatBritainin theeighteenth
andnineteenth centuriesthatperhapsdo notexistin India,youtherehavesomething
505
JOURNAL OF THEROYALSOCIETYOF ARTS JUNEI959
like 179 languagesand over544 dialectsto contendwith.I recallfromProfessor
Sundaram'slecture,thatalthough youcouldreducetheselanguagesto abouttwelve
principallanguages, in Urdu and Hinditherearetwolanguageswhosevocabularies
are derivedfromPersianand Sanskrit and whichhavequitedifferent
respectively,
scripts.Withall thosedifficulties, shouldwe notbe a littlegeneroustowardspast
administrators and educationalists in India in theirhesitation as to whetherthey
shouldintroducecompulsory educationin India at the timeit was introduced in
thiscountry?
I shouldliketo say how greatlyI admirethe Government of India forhaving
increasedtheamountof literacy by nearlyfifty per centin the ten yearsbetween
1947 and 1957. I thinkProfessor Sundaramsaid thatin 1947,whenthe British
handedovertheGovernment ofIndia,thereweresomething like14 percentliterates,
and nowthereare23 percent.That is a remarkable achievement.
the lecturer: I willmakea veryquickobservation. My majorcase is thatthere
is no mass illiteracy. There are illiterates
in everypartof theworld,evenin the
mostadvancedparts,but theproblemof massilliteracy is theresultof a neglected
opportunity, oflackof legislation at theappropriatetime.
Now withregardto thelanguageproblem, thereis no needat all to be frightened
becausethelinguistic surveyofIndialistseachone oftheminorlanguages, sincethe
country, especiallyafterits politicalmap has been redrawn, is pretty well defined,
withtwelveleadinglanguages;and one or otherof theselanguageswillabsorbthe
minorvariations and dialects.Indiais a largeenoughcountry to havetwelvemajor
languages.If thewholeof WesternEuropecan havetwenty-nine majorlanguages
I do not see why India, which is of the same size, could not have twelve
majorlanguages ! That is nottheproblem.The resources ofthecountry havegotto
be used veryboldlyby newlegislation, whichis imperative to-dayin orderto push
on witheducational projects.The halfcentury thatwe havelostbecauseof lackof
similarlegislation has resultedin the presentpositionin India. I am not blaming
any one forit, nor am I sayingthatwhat has been neglectedcan be achieved
miraculously overnight. We need probablyanotherfiftyor sixtyyearsto come
anywhere nearwhatBritainhasachievedforherowneducational system.
MR.h. H. hood: Am I rightin assumingthatthe proceedings in the Central
Parliament arestillconducted in English?If so, supposing itwas decidedin thenear
futurethatthe proceedings shouldbe conductedin Hindi or some otherIndian
language,how longwouldit takeforthe proceedings conductedin thatlanguage
to be understoodby representatives fromall partsof thatgreatsub-continent,
Hindustan ?
the lecturer: Fortunately all international
conferences to-dayhave the benefit
of simultaneoustranslation
fromanylanguageto anylanguage, and I do notsee any
if even twelvelanguagesare used in the IndianParliament.
difficulty In fact,a
memberof Parliament in India has the rightto speakin his own mothertongue
to-day,thoughothersmaynot understand. By and largethe majority of present
MembersofParliament, whonumber498 in theLowerHouse and 250 in theUpper
House, stilluse Englishfortheirdebatesand so forth,but a reasonableminority
insiston speakingin theirown mothertongue.My own MinisterforEducation,
who passed awaysome timeago, alwaysspokein Urdu in the Parliament; there
wereinterpretersenough,and beinga CabinetMemberhe had to be listenedto by
othermembers.In a multilingual countrylike India we shouldnot be unduly
frightenedby thecomplexity of theproblem,norcan we use thesteam-roller, and
say thatfromsuch and such a date everybody shall speakonlyin one particular
language.There oughtto be someelasticity, and thatis thewayin whichwe are
handlingthewholebusiness.
506
JUNE1959 A CENTURY OF BRITISHEDUCATION IN INDIA
the chairman: I feelthatwemuststopnow,ifonlythatI mayhavetheopportunity
ofvoicingourverycordialthanksto Professor Sundaramforhis addressand forhis
answers to thequestionswhichhavebeenputto him.I feelthatI havealmostcome
backto the Indianeducationalscenemyselfthiseveningand am verytemptedto
makesome further observations. I will onlysay that I do agreewithProfessor
Sundaramas to whatmighthavehappenediftheauthorities in Indiahad beenmore
progressive, or perhapsone mightsay moreventuresome, in theirapproachto the
problem,notso muchof educationforthepeoplewhowanted,it butofeducation
on a nationalscale. I thinkthateducationwas regardedas rathera luxuryrightup
to theend of ourtime.I saw it referred to by an importantpersonin India,on an
important government ; I thinkthatillustrates
file,twoyearsbefore1947,as a 'frill'
the attitudeof a considerable numberof peoplein authority towardsthe problem
of bringing the 59 or 60 millionIndianchildrenundersomeformof compulsory
educationduringtheirearlyyears.But even if governments failedto produce
education,I am glad thatProfessorSundaramtookthe opportunity of payinga
tributeto the manyindividuals, both Indianand British,who duringthe period
underreviewlabouredin thatsometimes unremunerativebut oftenmostrewarding
field.I am also glad thathe referred to theveryimportant contribution whichwas
made by MahatmaGandhi in the Wardha Scheme,by Rabindranath Tagore at
Santiniketan, andmanyotherpeoplewholaidthefoundations uponwhich,I believe,
thenewgovernment arenowengagedin building.I am surewe all wishthemsuccess
in theireffortsto tacklewhatI supposeis one of thegreatest problemsfacingany
newcountry.
May I on yourbehalfoffer to Professor Sundaramverycordialthanksforcoming
hereandgivingus whatI am surewillbe nottheleastmemorable oftheSir George
BirdwoodMemorialLectures.
Thevoteofthanks to theLecturer and,another
withacclamation
was carried having
beenaccordedto theChairman Clarke,the
upontheproposalof Sir SelwynS elwyn-
meetingthenended.

GENERAL NOTES

ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION

The increasingly contemporary look of the AcademySummerexhibitions - the
mixingof 'leftish'with 'rightish' works nowadays in the main gallery, and the
elsewhereof thosemoreadventurous
assertiveness painterswho neverdreamedof
sendingin before - mayworrytheAcademy's moreconservative public,thoughthe
change,I think,is ceasingto surpriseit. That change,of course,was inevitable,
and itsrapidityin thepastfewyearscannothavebeendue simplyto thereiterated
chargesof art critics.Quite ordinary people are nowadaysaccustomedto serious
Panel discussions,to theoccasionalexperiments on radioand television, and,more
theyhave come acrossexcellentreproductions
significantly, of Post-Impressionist
and latermodernmasters.Such people were becominguneasilyawarethatthe
AcademySummerexhibitions needed - as theywouldnowadmit - a good'shake-up',
and the effortsof the more progressive members of the Academic bodyare very
apparentat Burlington House.
Thus the maingallerynow presentsa mixtureunthinkable evenfiveyearsago,
whentheso-called'moderns'weremainlyrelegated to thenorth-eastrooms.Among
themostambitious, as theyare also perhapsthefinestthingsin theexhibition, are
ProfessorCarelWeight'stworeligious whichflankthisyear'scentrepiece,
paintings,
A. R. Thomson'sCommemorative Dinnerof theRoyal Air Force, BentleyPriory,
laboriousset-piece,containingsixty-four
an infinitely in a stylelong
portraits,
507