Lecture Handout

HSM-3034

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s Critique of Traditional Religious and Social Ideas

Introduction

Syed believed that secular and temporal development of man is mostly based upon
religious truth .According to Hali ‘Syed wanted the political and social regeneration of
the Muslims but Muslim traditionalism was the stumbling block that obstructed his
movement and to overcome this difficulty Syed first studied Islam himself and reached
the following conclusions
1. that Islam is the religion of God and its teachings and its tenets are in accordance
with reason and nature
2. that Islam is not an obstacle to worldly progress ,on the contrary it prompts one to
achieve it
3. that Islam does not hinder the acceptance of modern literature ,civilization and
culture
4. that Islam supports the idea of friendship with other nations provided that they do
not wage a war against Islam
He was not prepared to be a Muslim on the basis of customary Islam
(Murawwijah Islam)the interpretation of Islam current in his days .He
wanted to understand Islam rationally The fear that educated Muslims
might at any time embrace Christianity urged him to find a solution
Writing to Nawab Muhsin ul Mulk from London ,Syed had said ‘ I plainly
say that if people do not give up conservatism and look things in the light
of the Quran and Hadis and do not compare religion with modern
literature ,Islam will wither away from India `
Having decided to fight the traditionalism of the Mullas he turned to find
out the basic Quranic principle regarding the cosmic order of the physical
universe as well as the moral order to which man alone is subjected .This
he found in the Quranic principle of Firat ul Lah -law of nature
Religion
 Syed believed that all Tafseer of the earlier Ullema were written after getting
inspiration from Greek philosophers whose ideas became part of their work and they
were so mixed up with Islamic faith that refusal to accept them was equivalent to
having no faith in Islam
 Early jurists had deducted laws not only from Quran but from Hadis The latter
according to Sir Syed were not written during the time of prophet or his associate
because they were not needed by people during the life time of prophet and secondly
the art of writing was not very well developed in Arabia in those times memory was
the safest repository for such matters and the Hadis were not committed to writing
before the second century of hijra .This led to confusion, fictitious and real Hadis got
mixed and it was difficult for the writers to distinguish between the two A set of rules
were framed and then to distinguish .Hadis were written in different periods by
different writers .But when these books were written on the basis of oral traditions the
 narrator did not repeat the actual words of the prophet but supplied the gist of his own
words and this resulted in different versions of the same Hadis by different writers
.This created doubt about its authenticity .Sir Syed was not prepared to accept such
hadis but then he did not reject Hadis altogether he quoted them and his attitude was
one of critical analysis
 Hazrat Umar is known to have said that the book of God was enough guidance for the
Muslims The same was the view of Syed he relied mainly on Quran the sole and
undisputed repository of Islamic faith and he accepted the explanation of the text of
Quran itself and no other person The Ullemas whose business it was to recite the
Quran were far too backward and could not understand Sir Syed’s philosophy and
therefore issued fatwas against him and declared him a kafir
 He had studied the important Muslim religious books and also something of Islamic
history ,jurisprudence and literature .The study had left a lasting influence on him
Throughout his life he steadfastly remained loyal to the Islam
 He had full faith in God and was deeply religious he had the conviction that God
created man with a noble purpose and if man does not try to seek this end he is
contrary to the plan of his creator . Syed attempted to study the problem which had
arisen for Muslims in post mutiny India he did not assert that his suggestions were
true for all times
 In his commentary on the Quran or his Essays on life of Mohammad it can be seen
that he had no intention of casting any doubt on the divine nature of the book or the
Prophet He quotes the Quran which says ‘this day have I perfected your religion for
you and have completed My mercy on you ,and I have chosen for you Islam as your
religion `similarly as regards Islamic law and jurisprudence his starting point is the
idea that these principles are eternal and immutable .
 It was under the influence of Muslim religious ideas that Syed came to consider
nature, man, society and government as ultimately divine in their origin.
 He was keen to introduce changes in Islamic society on similar lines as the Hindu
counterparts were accepting western education .To this end he reached through
sometimes introducing elements the origin of which were not Islamic but purely
western at other times his inspiration was purely Islamic
 He had to fight hard to convince the Muslims that if they continued to neglecting
their worldly affairs their religious ideology would become the target of attack from
all sides To him the social cultural, and economic regeneration of the Muslims was
imperative in order to show that Islam was not inconsistent with modernism His new
approach though criticized from various quarters ,was the reasonable and logical way
open in the circumstances He was a pioneer among Muslims who reoriented Islamic
ideology on modern lines and treated it as dire necessity
 His argument was he had the same authority to interpret Islam as the ancient Ullema
had .His argument was that apart from the fundamental beliefs and tenets of Islam
_____ the nasoos or asul _i_din __the rest of the matters were open to reinterpretation
in the light of the enlargement of man’s mental horizon attained by a perfection –
oriented mankind .Imam Bokhari had interpreted religion in the 9 th century and
Ghazali in the 11th century .The frontiers of human intelligence and knowledge had
moved way ahead of the times of Bokhari and Ghazali . So it was incumbent for the
interpreters of religious principles to move ahead too
 There was a dam –burst of protest , for instance , mounted against two of his
unorthodox interpretation of popularly held belief . One was his argument that the
holy prophet (P.B.U.H)ascension to heavens ,or Mairaj as universally known ,
couldn’t be bodily or corporeal , but had to be spiritual one . The other was his
refutation of the notion of Jesus Christ’s bodily return to earth , nearer the day of
doom
 One had every good reason to enter into a polemic with Sir Syed on these
interpretations . indeed the entrenched religious orthodoxy of India , on its part had
some good reason to be alarmed by the said notion It was in that perspective that Sir
Syed’s messianic streak to impart a logical gloss to religious interpretation was
denounced by the traditionalists as being akin to kufr ( apostasy).
Contribution of Tahzib-ul Akhlaq
 Sir Syed after coming from England started Tahzib ul Akhlaq on 24 December 1870.
It appeared regularly for six years in its first round of existence, it published 226
articles of which 112 were by Sir Syed himself the journal proved of much help in
preparing the public mind for new ideas
 Syed through this periodical , wished to fulfill the primary objective of as its name
suggests the refinement of manners , Tahzib ul Akhlaq was an attempt to mould the
prejudiced notions of his community from the intellectual and material morass into
which the community had fallen
 He thought audaciously and wrote likewise, with his advent started a Muslim
renaissance and an intellectual movement among them who were opposed to western
education He regenerated a frustrated community in a gloomy period
 His attempt was to give a modern interpretation of Islam .He was opposed by
sections of Muslims who had been brought up in traditional conservative atmosphere
and taqlid To Syed the mere revival of Islamic learning was of no avail ,as it could
not match the new lines of education of the West
 The Ulemas could only see in such an attitude danger to their religion and culture
.They only cried for jehad against the rulers , and opposed everything that was
western Contact between the two different cultures-western and Islamic -was an
impossibility to them cultural synthesis were unimaginable for the Ullemas Wahabis
were also opposed to such synthesis .
 The prevalent prejudice among the Muslims that Western culture was heretical and
would weaken the true faith Sir Syed said it was a matter of regret that Muslims
considered their religion which was so great and enlightened to be weak enough to
be endangered by the study of western Literature and Science
Educational Committees
 In fact the development of secular knowledge ,he was convinced would only prove
the truth of Islam he formed a committee on 26th December 1870 popularly known as
the committee ‘Khwastgar Taraqi -e Musalman e Hindustan ‘i.e. ‘The Committee For
The Better Diffusion And Advancement Of Learning Amongst The Mohammedans of
India’ at Banaras The committee was to investigate the causes which prevented the
Muslim community from taking advantage of the educational system established by
the government and to suggest means by which this can be achieved
 The committee resolved to establish an educational institution for the future
generation With these aims they formed another committee known as Muhammadan
 Anglo Oriental College Fund Committee it had to collect funds for the establishment
of a Mohammedan college
 All these developments were keenly watched by the orthodox Muslims who found in
these efforts nothing but heresy and irreligousness and when in 1873 college fund
committee issued istaftas ,letter of inquiry to the ullema ,enquiring whether it was
righteous to make financial contribution to the proposed college a severe opposition
arose among the ullema in particular and Muslims in general
 Maulvi Imdad Ali ,deputy collector of Kanpur vehemently condemned the above
sceme and stated the founder was not a Muslim, other opponents started Noor ul Afaq
,Noor ul Anwar from Kanpur Loh i Mahfooz from Moradabad ,Tehrivee Sadi from
Agra and Imdada Ul Afaq ,Shahab e Saqib and Taed ul Islam from North western
provinces in opposition to Tahzeeb ul Akhlaq warning the Muslims to disassociate
from the attempts of Sir Syed .
 Fatwas were circulated declaring Sir Syed a kafir, naturi, and an agnostic an atheist,
and a dajjal ,abusive letters were issued condemning him
 Sir Syed was the most prominent among those who proposed in the latter half of
nineteenth century dynamic changes in Islam and attempt to adapt in the western
influence imbibing progressive elements
 Sir Syed had hard and prolonged struggle in convincing the orthodox element that the
teachings of Quran were not against modern education .
 He gave a new and vigorous interpretation of Islam and declared that a true religion
can never conflict with natural laws for nature too was Gods creation Religion as the
word of God cannot contradict nature which is the work of God with this object in
view he started writing a commentary on the Quran
 Sir Syed was fortunate in gathering around him a band of thinkers and scholars who
shared his views and strengthened his hands in this difficult task Syed Mehdi
Ali,Mohsin ul Mulk ,Mustafa khan , the author of ‘An Apology for The New Light
,1891’Zakaullah,Nazir Ahmad ,Hali ,Shibli, and Chiragh Ali were among the
prominent supporters of the ideas in varying degrees of agreement Chiragh Ali wrote
that the Quran or the teachings of Mohammad are neither barrier to spiritual
development or to the freedom of thought on the part of the Mohammedans nor
obstacle to innovation in any sphere of life ,political social, intellectual or moral
Jehad

 The idea of Jehad further turned the Britishers against the Muslmans, because they
interpreted Jehad as a compulsory duty of the latter to fight against Christians in India
and wrongly attributed it to the tenets of Islam.
 Syed clarified the actual meanings of Jehad and said that the object of Jehad, among
Muhammadans had never been to practice treachery and cruelty, and no sane man
could apply that term to an insurrection characterized by violence, crime and
bloodshed, in defiance and utter disregard of divine commands.
 Jehad according to the principles of Islamic Faith, he continued, could not take place
under the British regime, since the Muhammadans lived under the protection of their
European rulers and enjoyed peace and so they could not make a crusade against their
protectors.
 The British, Syed explained ,had obtained the Indian Empire by conquest and cession,
 and Muslims naturally became their subjects and enjoyed peace and protection under
their regime, and in view of the mutual relation between the governor and the
governed Jehad was impossibility.
 There are two indispensable requisites for declaring a Jehad : (i) that there be no
protection, and (ii) that there be no treaty or agreement between the parties. In the
case of the Muslims in India both these conditions were non-existent and the Muslims
could never preach or practice Jehad.
 In order to strengthen his point Syed cited some learned authorities to illustrate the
relation of the protected and the protector from the religious points of view and said
that it had been stated in the Hedaya and Alamgheer that when a Muhammadan
enjoyed protection and security under the rule of a nation, not of his own faith, it was
in the highest degree infamous if he committed Jehad or any outrage upon those by
whom he was governed.
 He also cited a religious book ‘Tatar Khanee’ in which it had been unambiguously
laid down that it was not essential that as the king of the country in which
Muhammadans resided and where they were protected should be a Musalman.
 In 1870 and 1871 certain Anglo-Indian journals had misinterpreted the fatwa which
said that ‘Jehad was allowable where there was every possibility of victory to
Muhammadans and of glory of Islam’. This had made the Anglo-Indian journals write
that Muhammadans were justified according to their faith in rising in rebellion against
the Britsih Government. Syed wrote to the editor of The Pioneer saying that it was a
completely erroneous interpretation of the fatwa.
 He explained the fatwa to mean that when two independent kingdoms, the one being
a Muhammadan and the other of a different faith, were not bound by a mutual treaty,
and when in the non-Muhammadan country Muhammdans were ill-treated and
prevented from preaching their religion, then the followers of Muhammad should
consider their strength and chances of success, and if they believed that there was a
possibility of success, they were then to draw the sword for the glory and welfare of
Islam. So far as the Muhammadans of India and their submission to the British were
concerned, they could never entertain the idea of subverting the English government
since they had perfect liberty of religion and speech, and even if their religion was
interfered with, their proper course according to Islam was to leave the country and
not to rebel against the government.
 As regards the Wahabis in India, Syed continued, they also considered Jehad
unlawful against the government, and it was clear from the following instance. In
1857 when Bakht Khan, the rebel leader, was in Delhi, he asked the Moulvis to issue
a fatwa declaring Jehad against the British government lawful; but the Wahabis
opposed him and this, according to Syed, was a definite proof that ‘true Wahabism
was not inimical to the British government.
 Syed said that the British government in India had followed the policy of religious
neutrality, but even assuming, for the sake of argument, that this neutrality was not
observed, the Muhammadans would not even then be justified in rebelling against the
government. All that they could not under such circumstances was to migrate to some
other country where they might get protection, liberty of consciences and privilege of
worshipping God in conformity with their education and belief.
Society
 Sir Syed’s paradigm of social reform was Islamisation plus modernization his
paradigm owed much to Mill, Addison, Steele .On the tattler was based his monthly
journal Tahzib Ul Akhlaq
Slavery
 Syed said that slavery was the method the Quran to give reprieve to those who were
captives in a war. The ordinance for making captives of the unbelievers was intended
for purpose of saving their life from those who won the battle
 In spite of there being no statement in Quran condemning and abolishing the
institution of slavery Syed was against it
 His position on the issue of slavery becomes more clear in his article entitled Ghulami
in the Tahzeeb ul Akhlaq and his essay Abtal -e-Ghulami where he not only regards
slavery as an institution unsuited to modern times but also looks upon it as contrary to
the will of God and law of nature
 In these essays Syed held that liberty and slavery are contradictory words so both
cannot be will of God He said man by nature is independent and free ‘all these things
clearly show that it is the will of God that man should be his own master Slavery
destroys liberty, which is the natural right of man and to destroy natural right is to
practice cruelty and injustice
Institution of Marriage
 Syed thought polygamy was in accordance to nature ,society and religion but by
polygamy is not meant that a man can have as many wife as he wants the Prophet had
permitted four wives at a time and Syed considered it a reasonable number
 Syed does not discuss such problems connected with the institution of marriage such
as right age for marriage, the prohibited degrees of marriage
 Sir Syed treats the question of divorce he takes his stand on the words of Prophet and
considers divorce right when there is no other alternative to avoid incompatibility of
disposition ,violence of temper or frailty embittering the path of both partners
 He accepted that divorce is injurious to society but then the evils of non adoption of
divorce would cause miseries more unbearable and increase animosity and mutual
recrimination (Sir Syed : essays on the question whether Islam …)
Education
 Sir Syed had a stiffer task in convincing the Muslims that no progress was possible
without acquiring Western education. There was a general misunderstanding and
suspicion about the role and value of Western sciences. It was thought that science
would shake the tradition beliefs of the people.
 This fear was not wholly imaginary or unfounded. Lord Ronaldshay has quoted a
Bengal student as saying: ‘Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic, held in such supreme
reverence but a few years ago as the only source of wisdom were in consequence of
western teachings, looked upon with supreme contempt … Westernism became the
fashion of the day and westernism demanded of its votaries that they should cry down
the civilization of their own country.”
 Sir Syed sought to reconcile western education to oriental sense of morality by
associating it with Islamic teachings.
 Addressing the youth at the Lahore Session of the Muhammadan Educational
Conference, in December 1888, he said : “ If you get high education and shine like
stars in heaven but leave the fold of Islam, then the relationship between you and me
 will be snapped as under … the tether that binds you to me and the rest of the Muslim
community it that of God and his Prophet …… it is my earnest desire that you gain
perfection in science and in western literature but I shall enjoin on you all not to
forget the Kalma (Muslim formula of faith) that God is one and Muhammad is His
Prophet.”
 He was one of the men of vision who, as Lord Ronaldshay said , saw the need of
rational synthesis of the best that Europe and Asia had to give and “who strove,
consequently to weave into the tapestry of Indian life such threads from the spindles
of the west as would enrich without bringing about a complete alteration of outline in
the pattern upon the loom.”
D Social contact with Englishmen
Conservative Muslims and the divines considered all contact with Englishmen as
sacrilegious. Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan once referred to an incident that occurred in
his village when he was young boy. A Muslim who had learnt a little of the English
vocabulary died in 1850. The Muslims of the village refused to participate in his funeral
prayer as the deceased was considered an infidel. The speaker himself was prohibited by
his father to join the funeral procession.
 Dining with Englishmen or studying western literature was considered as an act of
Kufr- infidelity. The intensity of Muslim feelings on the subject may be gauged from
the fact that they refused to say their Asr (before sun-set) prayers with Sir Syed in
1856 at Nagina when they saw him having tea with Mr. Palmer, the Collector.
 A Rais of the Aligarh district declined an invitation for dinner in 1876 for he could
not dine on the same table with Sir Syed, a Kafir. Hali was refused the use of water
jug by his Muslim coach driver in 1879 because he had seen Hali having food with
the Syed, a kafir and a naycheri.
 In 1869 Sir Syed wrote an article, Ahkam-i-Ta’am -i-Ahl-i-Kitab(injuctions for
partaking food with men of Holy Books) in the which through Quranic quotations and
the Fatwas (religious decrees) of Shah Abdul Aziz he argued that to dine with the
Christians or to eat food cooked by them could not be condemned as an act of
impiety.. The charges were:
 That modern English people are not the followers of ‘the Book’ since they do not
follow the precepts of ‘their Book’ and have altered the Old Testament and the New
Testament.
 Is meat necessarily included in the word ‘food’?
 Is the slaughter of animals by the English lawful? (It is to be remembered that the
word slaughter is used in special sense.)
 The English people engage even cobblers in their kitchens, how can the food cooked
by them be regarded as eatable?
 Can one rely on the utensils used for cooking and eating by the English people being
clean?
 Is it lawful to eat with spoon, knife and fork, on a table?
 In the introduction of his book ‘Ahkam Tuaam Ahl-e-Kitab’ he mentioned that there
was no religious restriction on interdining with Christians or receiving their food at
our houses, provided the thing supplied was prepared in accordance with the law of
Islam.
 So far as inter-dining with Christians was concerned, Syed said that the Prophet
 himself had dined with Kafirs as is clear from Matalib-ul-Momineen which says that
when the Prophet was taking food, a kafir came and begged his permission to dine
with him and he was permitted, and if Musalmans or the people of the book and any
kafir eat in the same plate, it is also not unlawful provided his fingers are not smeared
with any such thing as is prohibited by the Islamic law; and when Shah Abdul Aziz
was interrogated about the validity of dining with Christians, he gave a favourable
edict (Fatwa) stating that dining with Europeans on their tables ands in their plates
was permitted, if they did not use any impure things prohibited by the Prophet.
Orthodox response
 He continued his efforts inspite of opposition, threats of assassination and the decrees
of excommunication. He received an anonymous letter in which it was said that Sher
Ali who assassinated Lord Mayo was an idiot, as he could have ensured paradise for
himself had he only killed Sir Syed.
 In 1888, when he was about to proceed to Lahore to attend the session of the
Muhammadan Educational Conference, He received a letter threatening him with
physical violence if he dared to go there. Later, it came to light that it was written by
the Editor of Rafiq-i-Hind who was indebted to Sir Syed for much help in the past.
 Only a few months before his death, he received a letter that if he ever went out in
his buggy, the writer would shoot him down. His friends advised him to make proper
security arrangements at his bungalow and not let strangers meet him without proper
safeguards. Sir Syed would only laugh at their fears.
 The Nur-ul-Afaq and Nur-ul-Anwar of Kanpur (associated with Deputy Imdad Ali),
Lawh-i-Mahfuz of Moradabad, Tehrwin sadi of Agra, Imdad-ul-Afaq, Taid-ul-Islam
etc. from U.P. and Ishaat-us-Sunan from the Punjab were some of the journals which
regularly hurled diatribes at him. The Punch often published cartoons and satires
against him. Such attacks were so frequent that Sir Syed would be surprised if he
missed them
 Sir Syed remained undaunted in the face of this opposition and drew inspiration from
the lives of men like Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, Imam Ghazzali, Shaikh Ahmad
Sirhindi Mujaddid-i-Alfi-Sani and othersi who had been similarly treated with fatwas
of kufr in their own times.
 Addressing the Anjuman-i-Islamia of Lahore, he said: “Taking for granted that I am
an unbeliever, would you not permit a kafir to render service to your community? In
the building of your luxurious residence where you live and where your children are
brought up, and in the construction of mosques where you pray to God, sweepers,
chamars, coolies kafirs and idol-worshippers, all labour. But for this reason you do
not set yourself against either your house or the mosque. In same way you may
consider me a kafir and an unbeliever but let me build a great institution of education
for your children.” (December 29, 1873).
 Sir Syed responded to this prejudicial frenzy by harder work and greater persistence.
Speaking at Jullundhar in 1822, he said ; “I assure you, as abuses and blames are
heaped on me and as the fatwas of kufr are brought against me from Mecca, my love
for my opponents increases. “
 The value of Sir Syed’ services was ultimately recognized by posterity. The Fatwas
of condemnation were turned into those of appreciation. Maulana Shah Sulaiman
Chisti of Ajmer issued a Fatwas declaring that any contiubution towards the funds of
 the Muhammadan university was an appropriate offering for Khwaja Muinuddin
Chisti Hafiz Zafar Ali, Secretary, Anjuman-i-Khuddam i-Sufia Lahore, exherted his
followers to contyribute generously for the establishment of the Muhammadan
University. The Head of the Ahmadi sect, Hakim Nuruddin also, made similar
recommendations from Qadian.
 Sir syed, in his own life time, saw the fulfillment of his mission in the growing
association of Muslims with the British people and in the change of outlook of the
Muslim youth who adopted European culture and at the same time abided by the
basic tenets of Islam.
 The Christians on the other hand looked down upon the Muslims and their education.
The Christian missionaries devoted their energies “to reclaim’ the poor and the
ignorant Muslims to their fold. It created a sensation in the country and the mutual
distrust and hostility increased. The Christians were antagonistic to the Quran while
the Muslims considered religious books of the Christians as ‘useless, false and
6collection of concocted tales,” Sir William Muir’s life of Muhammad (four
volumes), which adversely criticized the Prophet, arrived in India in 1866.
 Sir Syed realized that unless the two communities shed their estrangement and
fraternized with each other, Muslim would never be drawn towards the Western
education and there would be little chance to win the favour of the British
Government.
 With a view to bring the two communities closer, he began the study of the Bible in
all earnestness. He purchased a large number of books for and against the Bible and
engaged an Englishman and an Arabic expert to help him in translating these books.
Ultimately, he translated Urdu the first 11 chapters of the “Book of Genesis” of the
old Testament and the first five chapters of Mathews from the New Testament and got
his commentaries prepared in English. They were published simultaneously in
English and Urdu as each chapter was completed.
 He made a comparative study of the teaching of the Quran and the Bible and
concluded that the morality, as preached by the two religions, was essentially and
basically the same. His commentaries paved the way to friendship between the
Muslims and the Christians.
 In the letter written to John M.Arnold, Sir Syed say; “Muslims now know that many
of the Biblical teachings find support in the Holy Quran.” Sir Syed’s success in
bringing about harmony between Christians and Muslims was hailed both in England
and in India. Garcin de Tassy said that the commentary contained valuable material
even for the Christians. In his opinion Sir Syed had rendered great service to the
cause of education and furnished indisputable proof of his large hearted tolerance and
reverence for Christianity.

Reading list
1. Altaf Hussain Hali:Hayat i Jawed ,pp604-612

2. Hafeez Malik: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muslim Modernization in India and
Pakistan, pp181, 261-279
3. Bhatnagar: History of M.A. O. College, pp3-10

4. Shan Mohammad: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, pp59-85, 195-200.

 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Hindi --Harishchandra
Introduction
 The epoch of modern Hindi literature started at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, but its progress was very small until the middle of that century.
 There was the beginning of a prose literature but its language - the Khari-Boli - was
roughly the standard speech of Delhi, identical in grammar (though not in script,
higher vocabulary and sometimes syntax) with Urdu, the Muslim form of Hindi.
 For the understanding of the importance and the developmental pattern of modern
Hindi literature, the study of the evolution of khari boli prose is of great significance
and necessity.
 The extent of this prose was very meager, but side by side there was a vast literature
in verse, almost entirely in other dialects and even languages (grammatically looked
at) - in Brajbhaka, in Awadhi, in Rajasthani and in all mixed forms of speech. But
there was hardly any poetry in the Khari-Boli language which was employed in prose.
This disparity gradually disappeared in the second half of the nineteenth century and
one common form of Hindi came to be used in both prose and verse, though a few
authors still wrote in Brabhakha and Awadhi.
Debate on evolution
 As for the evolution of Khari Boli prose, there have come up two contending
viewpoints. On the one hand there are the European historians like Garcon De Tassi,
George Grearson, R.W. Fraser and their adherents like Nalini Mohan Sanyal, who
associate the evolution of modern khari boli prose with the endeavours of the East
India Company. George Greason has expressed regarding the evolution of khari boli
prose the following viewpoint: “It was the period of the birth of Hindi language,
invented by the English, and first used as a vehicle of literary prose composition in
1803, under Gilchrist’s tuition, by Lalluji Lal, the author of Prem Sagar”.
 On the other hand we find a number of subsequent historiographers of Hindi. For
whom the development of khari boli prose has been a process of independent
evolution. The issue is, therefore, in itself debatable.
 It is acknowledged that Lallu Lal and Sadal Mishra rendered extremely important
contributions to the evolution of the khari boli prose. Laluji Lal of Agra (1763 -
1835), a teacher in the Fort William College, who wrote his Prem-Sagar in 1803 on
the story of Krishna’s life as described in the Bhagavata Purana. This work was
immensely popular and became the great model and exemplar for Hindi prose from
the very beginning. It is one of the earliest Hindi (Khari Boli) prose classics, although
its language occasionally smacks of the Brajbhakha.. Pandit Sadal Misra, a Bhojpuri
speaking scholar from Bihar, also a teacher of the Fort William College, wrote
another model work in Khari Boli Hindi prose, the Nasike-topakhyan, based on the
well-known story of Nachiketas in the Katha-upanishad. This work is also regarded
as a landmark in the early modern Hindi prose. But the assertion that khari boli prose
had no existence before them, or that no attempts were made to strengthen it outside
the Fort William College, is contended
 Of late, many scholars working on the history of the khari boli prose have attempted
 to establish with substantial documentation that
 The khari boli has a much earlier existence. Brajaratna Das has in his book khari boli
Hindi ka Itihas (Benares, Samvat 1898) proved that Amir Khusro, the saint-poet, and
the poets writing in Dakkgini Hindi have all along used khari boli.
 (2)There are several facts to prove that in the Hindi region this boli was extensively
used for day to day conversation, a point which was later recognized by the English.
 Besides, the language used by the Fort William college appointees, Lallu Lal and
Sadal Mishra, has certain texts written in it, which are of the period much earlier than
the founding of the college.
 (4)There are definite evidences to establish that even before the founding of the Fort
William College, and along with it, there were parallel attempts which helped to
shape the modern form of khari boli. In this respect, specific mention has to be made
of Ram Prasad Niranjani’s Bhasha Yogauvashishtha, written in 1741. Acharya Ram
Chandra Shukla, the first systematic historiographer of Hindi literature, has referred
to this book as a “sophisticate” and “mature prose work” in a “well-formed khari
boli”, and stated that “khari boli prose was in use in composition of very
sophisticated texts as many as sixty two years before Lallu Lal”
Controversy on language form
 Another dispute in respect of khari boli raised by the foreign historiographers was
about its form. They advanced the idea that it is a new language invented by the
English which is spoken nowhere in Hindustan. Grearson had in this respect the
following to say:” It was, moreover, the period of the birth of that wonderful hybrid
language known to Europeans as Hindi and invented by them. In 1803 under
Gilchrist’s tuition Lallujilal wrote Prem Sagar in the mixed Urdu language of
Akbar’s camp-followers and of the market where men of all varieties congregated”
 A language which is the medium of daily contact and is being used by a large section
of the population cannot be an artificially created language.
Contribution of Fort Williams College
 Irrespective of the above controversy the fact remains that the plan worked out by the
college for writing and publication of the prose-works was undoubtedly important.
Making proper use of press, extending financial assistance to the authors and
encouraging them with prizes the college rendered significant services. It was the
only government institution of the time, in which the teachers and students were
engaged in the propagation of western knowledge along with the studies of ancient
and modern languages. Though there were political and administrative motives
behind the founding of the college, it indirectly encouraged the propagation of Indian
languages. The college took up the task of publishing many a text in prose as well as
in poetry.
 Between 1800 and 1854 the college got published a large number of works in Hindi,
Bengali, Persian, Arabic and other Indian languages. Gilchrist, who had played an
important role in founding the College and worked as a professor there, has left for us
a heritage.
 A glance at the list of his books reveals that these were written for the benefit of the
English, but his contribution is that he got completed many a work in Hindustani by
the Munshis and Pandit of the Hindustani Department. A study of Gilchrist’s ideas
regarding language and the citations by him indicate what he meant by “Hindustani”.
 He meant thereby a language, of which the grammatical principles were based on
Hindvi or Brajbhasha, but in which was to be found a frequent use of the nouns of
Arabic and Persian.
Involvement of other institutions
 To the evolution of khari boli prose and education through this language, the
contribution of the Calcutta Book Society established in 1817, and Agra School Book
Society established by the Christian Missionaries and of several normal and training
schools is noteworthy
 Calcutta being the administrative centre at that time, these attempts naturally had their
beginning there. Among them the main contributions come from David Hare, Raja
Ram Mohun Roy and the Derozeans.
 By the time David here came to India, many foreigners were running schools to teach
English to Indians. Fort William College was in existence and the Christian
Missionaries were operating in Serampore. But Hare wanted to familiarize Indians
with the scientific investigations going on in the West. His friendship with Ram
Mohan Roy greatly contributed to these attempts. Consequently were founded
Calcutta Hindu College and Calcutta society etc. which published many a text
relating to various spheres of knowledge.
 Around the same time were founded institutions like Agra College and Delhi College.
Agra College had the proper facilities for higher education in Arabic and Sanskrit
along with Persian and Hindi for Hindus and Muslims both.
 Consequently Agra College drew a massive popular attention. There were 35 students
of Sanskrit and Hindi in the college in1825.
 With these institutions imparting education in various spheres of knowledge, many
related texts were written in Hindi.
 Impact of official policy
 But Macaulay’s policy on education played havoc with the plan of education through
Hindi.
 The same objective was rendered possible again under the new educational plan
introduced by Charles Wood, which advanced the goal of village primary schools.
This had the specific objective of making languages the medium of education. The
Hindi prose received thereby great encouragement. Shiv Prasad singh’s work for
Hindi had its beginnings at this point only.
 Many texts were published under various plans between 1838and 1850 Among them
were mostly translations from various languages, which bear the clear imprints of the
original. The significant names of the Indian authors are those of Jawaharlal of Agra
College, Shrilal and Vanshidhar of Normal School Agra and Mohanlal and Kunj
Bihari lal. Among the European authors, M.t. Adam, W.T. Adam, S.R. Ballentein, J.J.
Moore and Sherig are to be particularly mentioned.
The Harishchandra phase
 The time was ripe for the arrival of writers, who were to lend credence to the new
style of Hindi by using it for a wide range of purposes ,and by so doing establish
it as a genuine vehicle of communication rather than a plaything like Brajbhasha
had become .This renaissance was led by Harishchandra
 Harishchandra of Banaras (1846 - 1884) who had the sobriquet of Bharatendu
(Moon of India) in recognition of his distinguished career brought vigor to the
 language. Universally acknowledged as one of the makers of modern Hindi. He
wrote dramas (original, as well as translation from Sanskrit and Bengali), poems
and essays, some devotional, erotic and epideictic poetry which was conventional
in form and design. He devoted enormous time in fostering new literary
developments ,including journalism travelogue ,satires But most of his work, like
that of his contemporaries, was imbued with a social-patriotic concern
 Harishchandra was a devout Vaishnava and a rich aesthete His devotional poetry
at times carried a political message. He entreated and admonished God on the
state of the country. He set an example for his followers to utilize the
conventional form of devotional song for non-metaphysical and patriotic ends.
 As a broadminded elite of catholic taste he also wrote in Urdu and translated into
khari boli many classics of Bengali and English
Harishchandra phase of Hindi literature is significant from the point of view of
 giving substance to the language
 introducing novelties
 representing the literati response to political subjection
 reflection of social and intellectual transformation taking place in the period
 Social concern

 He was not content with appealing only to the educated sections of society; he
stressed the need for, and demonstrated the possibility of, employing popular
literary forms like Hori and Lavani in order to reach out to the common people.
 Further evidence of the social commitment of Harishchandra and his
contemporaries is provided by the fact that nearly all of them were practicing
journalists. Some of them courted risk and losses by carrying on their own
journals at a time when serious journalism-serious vernacular journalism at any
rate-was a mission rather than a profitable business.
 The distinction between journalism and literature had not yet crystallized and a
convergence of the two was particularly well suited to a situation in which the
free expression of social concern was inhibited by the constraints imposed upon a
subject people.
 Harishchandra’s Kavivachansudha, Harishchandra’s Magazine, and its sequel,
Harishchandra Chandrika, set new standards for Hindi journalism. In the process
he not only lost a great deal of money which added to his mounting debts, he also
earned a degree of official displeasure which testifies to his success as a
journalist in a region that had barely begun to feel the tremors of nationalist
politics.
 At the level of agitational politics, too Harishchandra involved himself with
whatever public movements managed to reach the North West provinces. He was
actively associated with the public meeting which was organized when
Surendranath Bannerji reached Banaras in the course of his tour from Calcutta to
Lahore: this he had undertaken, under the auspices of the Indian Association, as
part of the famous civil service agitation. Harishchandra also addressed public
meetings outside Banaras and spoke about the problems of the country.
 All social concern eventually got interlinked with the question of subjection and
freedom. Not surprisingly, therefore, Harishchandra turned again and again in his
 writings and speeches to the current discussion on the problems of taxation,
tariffs, famine, ‘drain’, Swadeshi, representation, employment in the upper
echelons of the administration, racialism, and the like.
 All these stemmed from an awareness of subjection and, inexorably, deepened a
realization of the need for a national organization that could advance the country’s
cause. He died early in 1885, towards the end of which the Indian National
congress was formed.
Political Consciousness
 How did this politically conscious pioneer of modern Hindi literature respond to
British rule and to the question of subjection and freedom?
 Harishchandra was less than twelve years old when he wrote one of his earliest
poems. Despite its literary shortcomings, the combination of its mode and
occasion makes the poem historically significant. Cast in a conventional mould, it
was composed on the death of Prince Albert (14 December 1861), the husband of
Queen Victoria. At nineteen Harishchandra wrote another loyal poem, again in
the conventional hyperbolic style. This was prompted by the Duke of Edinburgh’
visit to India. Harishchnadra even convinced a meeting of then notables and poets
of Banaras on the eve of the Duke’s visit to the holy city.
 In 1871, when the Prince of Wales was taken seriously ill, Harishchandra wrote a
poem to pray for his speedy recovery.
 Three years later he wrote a poem of twenty couplets on the occasion of the
marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh with Princess Mary of Russia. This poem
marks a very slight departure from the earlier loyalist panegyrics. It suggests
feebly that Indians might be rewarded by the queen if they manage to salute her
unitedly. Coming at the end of a stylized felicitation, in the last but one couplet of
the poem, the suggestion is at best an indirect exhortation to the people to be
united. There is no hint of any criticism of British rule. But howsoever slight, this
variation presaged a new pattern.
 Harishchandra was twenty-four when his poetry celebrated the royals wedding. In
the remaining eleven years of his life, too, loyal poems flowed from his pen. But
these no longer unadulterated panegyrics. They were rather, used an occasions to
voice Indian grievances. The first in this series was a poem written to welcome
the Prince of Wales to India (1875).
 Conventional in form, like the earlier loyal poems, it was more directly indicative
of India’s plight. The country was described as a wreck, and its progeny as
emaciated and destitute. After profusely welcoming the prince, the poet tells him:
‘although the people Bharat no longer possess the qualities old … and its cities lie
ravaged and cheerless; although the country is in ruins and miserable …. Yet,
seeing you, people have suddenly become happy and the land of Bharat once
again looks lively.
 In yet another, and much longer, poem written on the same occasion,
Harishchandra provides a more forthright, thought guarded, description of India.
Interspersed with loyal panegyrics, this poem was inspired by and modeled after
one by Hemchandra Banerji (1838-1904), a leading poet of Bengal.
Harishchandra here asks the princes and people of the country to welcome the
Prince of Wales, and invokes ‘Bharat-Janani’- ‘mother India- to arise and rejoice
 as the sun has at long last shone on her land, and hold the prince in her lap, bless
him, and recount to him her tale of woe. Poor Bharat-Janani is baffled. She can
not comprehend why the prince has come to India, a land plunged in darkness.
Alluding in detail to her former glories, she points dejectedly to the revival of her
old friends, Greece and Rome. She contrasts their revival with her own condition
and laments that she continues to be the mother of slaves, forever nursing the
agony of subjugation. The British, she suggests, should forget their mighty
position and feel affection for the people of India. She asks the prince to assure
his mother, the queen of the stead-fast loyalty of Indians whose sufferings she
should remove. With this plea, and with tears in her eyes, Bharat-Janani blesses
the prince and disappears.
 Though two year later, in the preface to a long loyal poem, Harishchandra
observed that Indians were intrinsically loyal, the critical tone of his loyal poems
continued to sharpen.
 On the outbreak of the Anglo-Afghan War (1878), he exhorted Indians to side
loyally and bravely with their rulers. He defied those ‘fools’ who had called the
Hindus ‘disloyal’ - the English word is used in the Hindi poem and the Hindus
here denote the Indian people -to now bear witness to their loyally. But the
exhortation soon became a dirge on the decline of a people who had once been
famous for their valour.
 By the time Afghan war ended (1880) and Harishchandra wrote to welcome its
termination, the dirge had become a direct indictment of British rule. Beginning
with an expression of astonishment that there should be such jubilation
throughout the country, this poem asks a series of damning questions: What is this
rejoicing through the length and breadth of Bharat? Why are people’s hearts
overflowing with joy? Have the taxes been repealed and the land revenue
abolished? Has the entry of Indians been facilitated into the civil service? Have
the curbs on newspapers and dramatic performances been lifted? Telling as they
are, questions culminate in a forthright assertion: the war has brought glory to the
English and given a new fillip to their trade; for Indian it has been productive of
nothing but sorrow.
 The increasingly critical tone of Harishchandra’s later loyal poems was for once
blunted in the poem he wrote to hail the British conquest of Egypt (1882). Recited
at a largely attended public meeting where local notables and the district collector
were present, it drew a vivid contrast between the past and conditions of India.
 The apparent ‘break that this poem presents in the pattern of sentiments express in
Harishchandra later loyal poems can be attributed to its peculiar structure,
whereby Muslims became the arch villains and the centre of attention is shifted to
them. Harishchandra’s loyalty was not limited to poems prompted by specific
events.
 His works in general, like his later loyal poems, combined expressions of loyalty
with an increasing discontent and his awareness of subjection. For example, two
of his patriotically political plays, Bharat-Janani (1877) and Bharat Durdasha
(1880), dwell on both the destructive consequences and the regenerative
possibilities of British rule in India.
 Despite their elegiac tone and pessimistic thrust, they reiterate and lend credence
 to the contemporary belief that, but for British mediation, the ruination of India
would have gone on uninterrupted. For example, in the play names after her,
Bharat-Janani--Mother India--says: ‘But for English rule I would have been dead
by now’. She asks here children, the people of India, to awake from their long
slumber and, with Victoria there to protect them, shed their fear. At the same
time, however, in a verbal see-saw as it were, Bharart-Janani bemoans that her
poor miserable children can not even cry or complain. And still, as the see-saw
continues, Victoria is said to be even more solicitous about people’s welfare than
was the fabled Lord Ram. Bharat Durdasha, too, is characterized by a similar
ambivalence.
 But it is a small six-line song that encapsulates the underlying tension of
Harishchandra’s attitude towards British rule. Coming at the end of Vishasya
Vishamaushadham (1876), a play relating to the deposition of Malhar Rao
Gaekwad, the ruler of Baroda, the song is in the form of a conventional prayer. It
begins with the wish that kings- implying Indian ruling chiefs- may not cover
others’ wealth and wives. It goes on, in the fourth line, to ask God ‘to render
eternal the Englishmen’s rule in this land.
 This plea for eternal British presence is followed, in the last line, with the prayer:
‘May Bharat be ever victorious. The tension epitomized by the song runs through
the whole play. Loyalty operated strongly also in his Hindi adaptation (1878) of
Vishakha Dutt’s Mudra-rakshas-the Sanskrit play on Chandragupta’s accession to
power during the fourth century BC- where Harishchandra had little hesitation in
inserting between two acts a song wishing Queen Victoria eternal life.
Anachronism notwithstanding, any occasion, it seems, was good enough for
expressing loyalty.
 It is a coincidence full of historical significance that, like one of his early poetic
efforts, two of his last literary ventures were pre-eminently loyal compositions.
When the British national anthem - Harishchandra typically looked upon it as the
national anthem - was sought by the rulers to be rendered into Indian languages in
a way that would make it meaningful to native audiences, he volunteered a Hindi
adaptation of it in 1884.
 In this year he wrote another loyal poem, ‘Riponashtaka’, which, as its title
indicates, was addressed to Ripon and contained eight purely eulogistic stanzas.
This was the last working year of Harishchandra’s life. He died on 6 January
1885.
 Alongside this consistently expressed loyalty was a critique British rule. Initially,
as is clear from the kavaachansudha, which Harishchandra started in 1868, and
Harishchandra’s magazine (1873-4), British rule was criticized with respect to
isolated grievances.
 But a public lecture that the delivered in verse on the promotion of Hindi in 1877
shows how a growing apprehension in relation to the alien presence was
transforming isolated criticisms into a critique with a central thrust. In a poignant
question he asked the people: ‘How come, as human beings we became slaves and
they kings?’; and exhorted them with a rhetorical question: ‘How long will you
suffer these sorrows as slaves?’ he warned against India’s debilitating tendency to
rely on foreigners for salvation, and spurred the people on to cast aside fear and
 dissensions, as well as to uphold the dignity of their language, religion and
culture. (Here are intimations of Gandhji’s observation that fear formed the basis
of British power in India.) And, in two sharp couples, Harishchandra singled out
‘drain’ as the raison d’ etre and the chief evil of foreign rule: ‘People here have
been beguiled by the power and trickeries of the machine. They are daily losing
their wealth and gaining in distress, Unable to do without foreign cloth, they have
become the slaves of foreign weavers.’ Foreign weavers’ denotes here the
powerful industrial magnates of Manchester and their connection with Indian
enslavement.
 Clearly, Harishchandra is able to relate the larger verities of imperialism with the
life of common men and women. He can translate into everyday language and,
through it, slowly into everyday consciousness, the twin symbols - Manchester
and ‘drain’ - of an exploitative relationship which were becoming embedded
within the incipient nationalist discourse. Harishchandra’s presentation could
command the simplicity and force of traditional narrative.
 The idea that Britain was draining away Indian resources appeared almost
obsessively in Harishchandra’s work. Three years after the lecture in verse, in an
extraordinarily pithy line in the Bharat Durdasha, he described ‘the flow of
wealth to a foreign land’ as the worst sorrow caused by the ‘Angrej Raj’. Rising
prices, recurring famine and disease, and ever growing taxation, too, harassed the
people. But these were mere corollaries of the ceaseless outflow of wealth. Even
in a play like Nil Devi (1881). Located in medieval times and concerned primarily
with the Hindu- Muslim question, he felt impelled to speak about the foreign
extraction of wealth. Employing the stratagem of prophecy in order to comment
on contemporary India, he listed increasing irreligion, ignorance, lethargy,
superstitiousness, cowardice and proneness to slavery as the evils that would
plague the country. But he chose for special stress the harm caused by the craze
for foreign goods and by the emulation of foreign ways.
 He saw a link between the British presence in India and the mental habits of rules.
The ‘drain’ was, indeed an essential requirement of this presence. But what
sustained this unceasing loss, and with it British rule was the eagerness of Indians
to buy imported goods. It seemed logical, therefore, to hope that a curbing of
habits which made it profitable for the British to stay in India would sap the
imperial connection. This in turn, gave a stimulus to the urge for swadeshi.
Harishchandra wrote fervently to promote this cause. He even formed a society,
called Twadiya Samaj, the members of which were bound by a vow to use and
propagate the use of things indigenously manufactured..
 Personal factors and limitations apart, Harishchandra’s critique of British rule
continued to develop around its exploitative economic aspect. In 1881 he wrote
Andher Nagri Chaupatta Raja, a political farce based on a popular tale. A thinly
veiled indictment of British rule in India, it exposed the reality of corruption,
exploitation capricious lawlessness that lay behind the façade of Pax Britannica.
Written in the language of the street and making generous use of humour, it
preached even as it amused.

 It also employed conventional song forms, along with popular musical tunes,
 which were likely to linger or be hummed long after the reading or the
performance was over. A written text that could be read at will, it also possessed
in its songs something of the quality of the ‘remembered’ texts of popular theatre.
It was one such song in Andher Nagri that described, among other things, how the
English ‘saheb’ could ‘digest the whole of Hind’ in order to fill the coffers
Britain.
 In a small poem written in 1884 - the year in which he translated the ‘national
anthem’ and wrote in praise of Ripon - Harishchandra contrasted the seductive
façade of British rule with its exploitative reality.
 This seems to herald a final loss of faith in the British; even the persistent
expression of loyalty seems, in the light of this, to have been tactically motivated.
However the continuing fascination of British rule remained and the
disillusionment was never complete, being so frequently accompanied by an
appreciation of its beneficent aspects
Communal harmony
 Harishchandra consistently argued that the progress of both Hindus and Muslims
was necessary for national regeneration .besides making appeal for unity between
the communities; he also contributed towards a better understanding of the
Muslims by Hindus. He translated parts of Quran in Hindi (1875)and wrote
biographical sketches of the Prophet, Hazrat Fatima, Hazrat Ali, Imam Hasan and
Hussain (1884)with a view to inspire respect for Islam
 In a long hagiographic poem on Vaishnava saints (1876-7)Harishchandra
remembered with great reverence Muslim Vaishnava saints like Kabir, Rasakhan,
Tansen, and Pirzadi Bibi .`crores of Hindus ` he wrote may be sacrificed for these
Muslim saints

Reading List
1. Comprehensive history of India, vol 11, pp101-102
2. Cultural heritage of India, vol II
3. Sisir Kumar Panda: History of Indian Literature
4. Shackle and Snell: Hindi and Urdu since 1800, pp10, 101.
5. Sudhir Chandra: The oppressive present ,literature and social
conciousness,pp27-33,82-86
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Urdu- Ghalib and the development of Urdu prose

Introduction
 Urdu-e mualla (exalted camp)meaning camp and Arabic adjective mualla by
abbreviation gave the language the name by which it has come to be known
 Urdu language form represents an amalgam of the medieval languages of
Northern India- and others-and languages of the Middle East, mainly Persian.
 Thus, it is written in the Persianized form of the Arabic script
 It is syntactically based on a combination of Persian and Prakrit grammatical
structures, and draws its highly flexible and assimilative vocabulary from a
variety of Indo-European languages.
 The Persian element, however, has been dominant, to the extent that the entire
body of traditional Urdu poetics-prosody, poetic forms, concepts relating to poetic
diction and subject-have been almost wholly Persian.
 Impact of Persian
 Impact of Persian was natural in the historical situation in which Urdu prose
found itself in the early stages of its development .Persian was the language of the
court and was learnt from Isphahan to Agra and Ahmadnagar. Urdu prose had to
come to terms with Persian, firstly because of its own inadequacy and secondly
because of the prestige of Persian it is therefore not surprising that our earliest
prose writers waver doubtfully between Urdu and Persian the letters of Wajid Ali
Shah 1847-56 written in exile to his wives in Lucknow ,are compact of all
conventional forms of prose
 Development of prose
 The earliest specimens of Urdu literature are in verse and not in prose. The
development of prose is slower and more uncertain than that of poetry. The poets
celebrate the famous deeds of heroes and lament their misfortune, dignify various
activities in verse which was a special kind of prestige not associated with prose.
 In Urdu the great prestige of poetry has tended the discouragement of prose. Its
history is replete with multitudes of versified dictionary and rhyming text books
on history, biography and morality.
 It is no wonder that most of the earlier prose writers were poets who lost their
way. Their style is full of poetic reminiscences and is studded with verses, a
product of weaving process. Prose writers like Mirza Raja Ali Beg Surur (1787-
1868) of Lucknow draw extensively on the vast resource of craftsmanship that
had been handed down to them in literary transition from the Persian prose stylist
like Zahuri (d 1721).
 From Fort William college to the Aligarh movement was a big leap of Urdu prose
The interim is filled by Wahabi pamphlets and the writings of Delhi college
teachers
 Fort William College
 Fort William College was established for the benefit of the British officials in
 1800 by Lord Wellesley as a permanent memorial to their triumph in
Seringapatam and to produce zealous upholders of British power in the east .It
was a bulwark against the pernicious ideas of French revolution
 It was the intention of Wellesley to establish a university of the East with
emphasis oriental studies ,including six Indian vernaculars but the directors were
not ready to finance it 27 January 1802 he was asked by the directors to close
down the college immediately Wellesley was adamant at last the directors gave
way and 2 September 1808 they agreed to continue the college
 During the time of Bentinck the Anglicist got the upper hand He himself; sided
them and dissolved the college council on 1 march 1831 .The college was
formally abolished by Dalhousie on 24 January 1854
 The importance of Fort William College in the development of Urdu literature
was considerable Attempts were made to attain style and elegance As their
writings were needed for the British officials munshis of the college wrote in a
bare unaffected manner as they devise Mir Amman ,a towering personality among
them is treated as the morning star of Urdu prose His book Bagho Bahar has gone
into many reprints But this was not considered civilized prose by the Lucknow
School of Urdu literature, and the Fort William College venture remained an
isolated attempt.
 The motive for Fort William College taking up these measures is interpreted by
Edward Said in his Orientalism as ‘imperialism is inherent in Orientalism’
‘knowledge is power` ‘Orientalism as a body of knowledge about served
instrumental function for capitalist, military and administrative expansion by East
India Company
 Role of other institutions
 The first effective impact of British culture showed itself in the revival of Urdu at
Delhi in the second quarter of the 19th century. The old Delhi College, which was
founded in 1825, brought about a scientific renaissance there. In 1844 a
vernacular Translation Society was established by Delhi College, which published
books on scientific subjects. Professor Ram Chandra published two Urdu journals
devoted mainly to the propagation of western ideas and scientific values.
 In 1864 the Delhi society was formed to discuss literary matters. Ghalib was
associated with it. He ushered in new era in Urdu prose by writing letters in
simple, natural and fascinating style. His influence on later writers was
commanding and far reaching. His pupil, Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali, the chief
exponent of plain prose, worked with Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the father of the
Aligarh Movement and himself the “Adam of Modern Prose”.
 Impact of renaissance
 The Bengal renaissance is primarily significant for its literary products; the Delhi
renaissance, while it was eventually to lead to revolution in the critical standards
of Urdu literature, was primarily scientific, pragmatic and practical in the
direction its impulses. Both movements had in common the fact that attention of
the participants was directed towards the anomalies and illogicalities of the
societies in which they lived.
 Professor Ram Chandra (1821 - 1880) was one of the leading figures of the Delhi
movement. More than any other, he was responsible for the propagation of a
 western concept of nationalism and scientific ideas among the literary public of
Delhi and surrounding provinces. He edited two journals and was the author of 17
books, mainly on science, history and geography. In his articles in the journals he
criticized the literary diction and poetic standards of the Urdu language from a
new point of view which exalted rationalist simplicity, anticipating in that manner
Altaf Hussain Hali (1837 - 1914) by nearly fifty years. He also stressed the need
of a wider social and national awareness. He was the first, perhaps, in Urdu to talk
in terms of an Indian nation, as he was also the first to emphasize the need for
writing in a simple and precise style of prose. In many ways his writings
anticipate those of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, as well as those of the literary critic,
Hali.
 Revolt of 1857 phase

 While tracing the history of Urdu literature there were events which left its mark
on literary standards The upheaval of 1857 was an event of significance, which
not only changed the map of India but also the literary standards .The Mughal
Empire was finished and the British had established themselves firmly in India
.They brought with them wealth of western learning which sparked a new
consciousness That in turn deeply influenced many aspects of social and cultural
pattern and mental attitudes.
 The works written during the revolt the important ones are: Khutoot-i-Ghalib
(the letters of Ghalib), Dastambo (the Persian Dairy of Ghalib written during the
revolt), Dastane-i-Ghadar (the Story of the Mutiny) by Zaheer Dehlvi, Tarikh-i-
Sarkashi-i-Bijnor (the History of the Rebellion at Bijnor)by Sir Syed Ahmad,
Risala-i-Asbah-i-Baghvat-i-Hind ( A treatise on the Causes of the Indian Revolt)
by sir Syed Ahmad, Tarikh-i-Hind, Vol. IX (History of India), by Zakaullah,
Roznamcha-i-Ghadar (the Diary of the Mutiny)written by an Englishman and
translated by Dr. Nazir Ahmad, Agha Hajju “Sharafs” a long poem on the sack of
Lucknow, many poems of Wajid Ali Munir Shikohabadi, Bahadur Shah “Zafar”
and Barq Lacknawi and Fughan-i-Delhi (The Lament of Delhi), a collection of
some fifty poems first published in 1861 and various poems and articles written
mostly in Delhi newspapers during and following the upheaval.
 To understand the impact of the revolt on the tradition of Urdu literature, the post-
revolt developments and the way they influenced men’s minds need analysis Just
after the transfer of power from the East India Company to the Crown, the
proclamation about religious freedom proved to be an indirect invitation to think
in terms of religion. It was also a suggestion for the middle and the upper classes
to think only of the welfare of their own communities. It was, in other words, a
signal for a sort of religious revivalism and the glorification of the past. One finds
that the idea of a unified nation suffered a setback after the struggle of 1857. Even
our best writers, in almost all the Indian languages, began to look upon the
achievements of their forefathers with nostalgia. In certain sense this indeed was a
sign of awakening but the narrow religious outlook prevented their writings from
becoming part of national literature. The national spirit shrouded in the religious
mode of thinking can be discerned when one analyses the literature of the post-
1857 period.
 Ghalib
 Ghalib is already a legendary figure. His appeal is universal because his poetry is
so human and so rich in suggestion. Ghalib intellectualized the vision of human
life; he had recourse to distract his mind from the tragic gloom of his environment
and to deaden his pain. His poems are occasionally lit up by his awareness of the
approaching dawn and by a sort of philosophic indifference to the ugly
circumstances beyond his control.
 Ghalib’s claim to greatness lies in his humane approach, cosmopolitan outlook
and love for life and mankind. He is strikingly fresh in thought and expression. A
whole generation of poets has grown up in his all enveloping shade. As a
“thinking’ poet and a consummate artist he has left an indelible mark on later
poetry. He widened the frontiers of language and invested it with a rich culture.
 India in the 19th century was at the cross-roads of a new era and the torments of
transition had shaken many out of their roots. The intense pathos of his life and
the heart rending anguish of suffering experienced by him during the Revolt of
1857, are clearly reflected in his writings.
 He embodied all the revolt and defiance of convention and awakened the mind
from the lethargy of custom. He lightened orthodox religion of its burden of
dogmatic necessity.
 Ghalib’s verse in Persian as well as in Urdu continued a long established classical
tradition, but adds to it an essentially modern element, stamped with his own
individuality.
 Ghalib is one of the founders of modern Urdu prose. His style is at once beautiful
and suggestive, a blend of thought and feeling, a rare synthesis in the realm of
literature.
 Ghalib had many attitudes toward the British, most of them complicated and often
quite contradictory. His diary of 1857, the Dastambo is a pro-British document,
criticizing the British here and there for excessively harsh rule but expressing, on
the whole, horror at the tactics of the resistance forces. His letters, however, are
some of the most graphic and vivid accounts of British violence that we possess.
We know also that Dastambo was always meant to be a document that Ghalib
would make public, not only to the Indian Press but specifically to the British
authorities. And he even wanted to send a copy of it to Queen Victoria.
 The metaphysics of Urdu poetry and of Ghalib in particular, can be approached in
terms of three questions: What is the nature of the universe and man’s place in it?
What is God? What is love?
 Importance of Wahabi pamphlets
 Intellectually the Wahabi movement broke many shackles of tradition ,the non
conformism of Ghalib in literary matters can be traced to Wahabi movement .The
movement also produced fearlessness and independence of spirit which is absent
in the earlier Urdu literature .Although Ghalib and Shah Ismael Shahid followed
conflicting paths and ideologies Ghalib criticized old masters and traversers of the
beaten track with the same virulence as Shah Ismael Shahid criticized abominable
heresies and slavish imitations of the past
 Under the impact of Wahabi movement Urdu prose became direct and pointed.
There is no extravagant vocabulary .It is not the cabined and confined language of
 the court instead has open air smell

 Aligarh movement phase

 The writings of Sir Syed, Azad, Hali, Nazir Ahmad Shibli and Sharer in the light
of these observations we shall see that they had awakened to the needs of the
people and wanted to infuse them with Hope.
 Hali’s motto throughout was: “We must change with the time”. The holy Quran
was being read for twelve hundred years but no one had quoted it for prompting
Muslims to accept and accelerate the pace of change. Hali quoted from the
Quran, “God does not change the conditions of a people who don not care to
change their own conditions”. All these writers had accepted the need for change
and wrote about it.
 They wanted their followers to shake off despair and begin a new life. It is not
just a coincidence that Sir Syed, Hali, Azad, Shibli and Sharar all wrote on
“Hope” in prose or verse.
 They brought literature down to earth to serve the people, to spread knowledge, to
prepare people to accept the change of the times and to shape their own destiny.
 Hali’s contribution was equally great as a prose writer, critic as he was as a poet.
He wrote patriotic poems, poems on language and nature, poems of social reform,
and didactic and elegiac poems. His poem Shikwa-i-Hind( the complaint of India )
is both a tribute to India’s glorious past and an outcry against the humiliations of
the present. He attained undying tame composing his master-piece, Musaddas-i-
Hali, which is a moving elegy describing the rise and fall of Islam.
 The foundations of the new school were laid by Muhammad Husain Azad
(d.1910) and Altaf Husain Hali (1837 - 1914), who founded a literary society in
Lahore to promote Urdu literature. Azad composed poems in the new style and on
new themes such as Sham ki Amad (Advent of Evening), Mathnavi Hubbi Watan
(love of the Motherland), Khawab-i-Amn (Dream of peace), Dad-i-Insaf (praise of
Justice), Zamistan (Winter), etc.

Reading list

1. K.K Dutta: Comprehensive history of India, pp 788-796

2. Shackle and Snell: Hindi-Urdu since 1800, pp6, 8, 12
3. Tarachand History of Freedom Movement in India, pp601-604
4. Aijaz Ahmad eds Letters of Ghalib, pp xv-xvii
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Rise of Modern Bengali literature to Bankim Chandra Chatterji

Fort William college
 The establishment of the Fort William College took important steps for the
development of Bengali literature The College undertook the compilation of work
in different subjects .The charge for compilation of Bengali works was with
William Carey Among which the attempts of Mrityunjaya Vidyalankar ,Ramram
Basu,Chandicharan Munshis ,Rajiva Lochana Mukhopadhyay are well known
 Among these early writers there were two different schools __the former affected
a style which was full of high sounding Sanskrit words The latter loaded their
writings with large borrowings from Persian As the British mentors were inclined
in favour of Sanskrit the Sanskrit influence is evident in earlier stage later
however a compromise was effected between common speech and learned
language The artificiality of florid stilted diction was replaced by plastic easy
flowing prose
 The Christian missionary contribution
 The Christian missionaries were another agency in the evolution of Bengali prose
The missionaries of Serampore ,among them Carey, Marshman and Ward were
the pathfinders Their main contribution was the preparation of grammar,
dictionaries and translations from English
 Felix Carey prepared the first volume of an encyclopedia dealing with physiology
and anatomy Kali Mohan an early Christian convert who had taken holy orders
edited an encyclopedia in thirteen volumes (Vidya Kalpa Druma )
 Biographies ,histories, scientific and philosophical treatises were brought out then
The contribution of journals like Samachar Darpan of the Serampore Mission
Sambad Kaumidi of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Vividhartha Sangraha of Rajendra
Mitra,Tatvabodhini Patrika of Debendra Nath Tagore and Sambad Prabhakar of
Ishwar Chandra Gupta greatly helped in developing the language
 Other agencies of development
 The educational and cultural societies for propagating western knowledge, also
participated in literary work One of them was Calcutta School Book Society
which was established in 1817 with the object of supplying cheap books to
schools and arranged the translation and publication of books in Bengali on
different subjects like history ,geography ,morals etc Another was the vernacular
literature society (1851),which encouraged the publication of Bengali books by
offering rewards and prizes Among its publications were the translation of Defoes
Robinson Crusoe ,Paul and Virginia of St Pierre ,lambs tales from Shakespeare
and Elizabeth’s the exiles pf Siberia
 The social and religious movements also gave impetus to the production of
literature .Religious songs, philosophical treatises and polemical essays were and
 published James long prepared a descriptive catalogue of Bengali works produced
in first half of nineteenth century lists 1400 Bengali books and pamphlets ,which
shows the development of literature

 Ram Mohan Roy’s title of father of Bengali literature rests not merely on priority
in time as a writer ,but on his style of writing also His predecessors were
compilers and translators ,but they had no claim for originality of matter and style
He wrote a prose which was simple and lucid and at the same time persuasive,
orderly ,suave ,unruffled by emotions
 In the second half of the century Bengali developed into robust instrument of
thought through the exertions of men like Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820-86) Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar and Bankim Chandra Chatterji Dutta as the editor of
Debendra Nath Tagore Tatva Bodhini Patrika expressed in his articles sentiments
of moral elevation,religious fervor and spirit of reform Vidyasagar used it for
uplift of women
 Vidyasagar
 But it was Bankim Chandra Chatterji who may be regarded as the most creative
and powerful master of prose during the century He was one of the two graduates
of the Calcutta university He was appointed a deputy collector and received
government honors His literary career began in 1864 when he published his first
historical novel Durgesh Nandini in Bengali the work was epoch making It was
followed at short interval by other work of fiction ,among which was Anandamath
(1882)is highly celebrated as it contains the poem Bandemataram ,which became
the national anthem of India during the freedom struggle and has been adopted by
independent India as the national hymn During his stay in Bahrampur (1869-
74)he brought together a number of men of letters -Bhudev Mukherji, Dinbandhu
Mitra ,Guruds Banerji and others -who formed a society to discuss national
problem, social reform ,culture and literature .In 1872 he took the initiative to
bring out the journal Bangadarshan which powerfully aided in the development of
Bengali language and literature .Its object in the words of Bankim was to dis
anglicize ourselves ,and to speak to the masses in the language which they
understand
 In later life religion occupied his mind and in Krishna Charitra and Dharmnatattva
, he view on Hinduism and out lined what he considered to be the essential
principles of the Hindu faith. The neo-Hinduism which he advocated was an
endeavour to revive the past greatness of the Hindu society, for he believed that it
was not in the isolated acts of social reform that the salvation of the community
lay, but in reviving the spiritual ideals of the ancients.
 In his novels his debt to Shakespeare, Scott, Wilkie Collins, Bulwer Lytton and
other English writers is indubitable.
 One of the effects of these movements of revivalism in Bengal and other parts of
India, however, was to draw the exclusiveness of the Hindu community further in
wards and to make it so subjective as to become almost oblivious of the existence
of the non-Hindus.
 Bankim- Chandra’s novels showed an astonishing vigour of the Bengali language,
 combined with beauty and simplicity. They also revealed a new world of romance
and idealism undreamt of before. From his pen flowed, year novels of outstanding
merit, of all types and descriptions, - religious, historical, romantic and social.

 He showed for the first time that the ordinary life of a middle-class Bengali can be
a subject-matter of a high-class novel, and religious and social views can be
preached through novels without detriment to their artistic merit.
 He also proved that a book written in Bengali can rank with a first-rate English
novel. Some of his novels were translated into English, and one in the German,
and this raised the prestige of Bengali literature in the eyes of the educated
classes.
 Before him Bengali literature did not occupy a high place in the estimation of the
educated Bengali. The Sanskrit Pundits as well as the Anglicised section regarded
it as vulgar and beneath notice. Proficiency in English was then the only title to
fame, and no Bengali writer could hope for any credit in their eyes.
 It is interesting to note that even Madhu Sudan Dutta and BankimChandra, the
two great pioneers and luminaries in the two main branches of Bengali literature,
fell into the lure and both began their literary career in English.
 The first poetic work of the former was captive Lady (1849), and the first novel of
the latter was Rajmohan’s Wife (1864). It is a great good fortune of Bengali
literature that both realized their mistake very early, and devoted their attention to
Bengali literature.
 Bankim Chandra was versatile writer. Besides novels, he wrote religious treatises
and a number of essays on a variety of subjects. He preached his religious views
and patriotic sentiments through his writings, and made the Bengali language a fit
vehicle for expressing the highest ideas on all conceivable subjects in the most
beautiful form.
 For half a century he remained the uncrowned king in the domain of Bengali
literature.
 One of his novels, Anandamath (abbey of Bliss), which contains the famous song
Vande Mataram, has attained an all-India fame on account of his patriotic fervor
skillfully depicted in the form of a quasi-historical romance. While there is no
doubt that Bankim was profoundly influenced by European thoughts and
literature, his great originality as a writer and thinker is beyond all questions.
 Bankim-Chandra opened the floodgate of novels, and since his days occupy the
most prominent place in Bengali literature. Among his successors special mention
may be made of his brother Sanjib Chandra (1834-89), Tarak Nath Gangopadhyay
(1845-91) who portrayed a realistic picture of the domestic life of Bengal,
Ramesh Chandra Datta (1848-1909) who wrote several historical and social
novels, Svarna Kumari (1855-1932), a sister of Rabindranath, and Sris Chandra.
Majumdar (died 1908) who dealt with rural life.
Reading list
Comprehensive history of India, vol 11
British paramountcy and Indian renaissance
Freedom movement in India
Bankim Chandra Chatterji
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

The Press in English and Indian languages

Introduction
o In Modern times, the Press has become a powerful social institution. This is
proved by the fact that the Press has been glorified as the Fourth Estate. The Press
moulds as well as mirrors all complex processes of modern life.
o The press was a formidable weapon in the hands of the European peoples in the
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, in integrating themselves, in
organizing struggles against feudal disunity maintained by the feudal nobility, in
establishing the modern national state, society, and culture.
o In France, the intelligentsia, the harbingers and proclaimers of the new social
order and its advanced social conceptions, found in the Press an effective weapon
to expose the moral decadence, cultural poverty, and reactionary social
significance, of the ruling feudal class.
o Ideas become a material force when they reach out to the people.
o The introduction of the printing press in India was an event of revolutionary
significance in the life of the Indian people. The awakening and growth of
national consciousness among them gave rise to the nationalist press.
History
o At the time British rule was established in India ,the press did not occupy any
important place in the development of political ideas even in England Nor did
journalism, associated with politics attain a high standard Even at the beginning
of the nineteenth century journalism was not regarded as a very respectable
profession in Britain
o It is therefore easy to understand both the nature of early periodical press in India
and the governments reaction to it In 1780 James Augustus Hicky ,with the
approval of government started a weekly paper called Bengal General Advertiser,
which described itself as a weekly political and commercial paper open to all
parties ,but influenced by none Its distinctive features were the comments on
private affairs of individuals whish caused displeasure to many and commotion
occurred in small Anglo Indian community For he spared none missionaries
,officials chief justice governor general and his wife all were attacked Hicky was
convicted and sent to prison and his paper was discontinued
o Six more papers were started in Calcutta between 1780-1793 and the editor of one
of these was deported by John Shore. Among them India Gazette (1780), Calcutta
Gazette (1784), and Hurkaru (or Hircarrah), particularly the last -named one,
attained some distinction.
Periodicals in vernacular
o Periodicals in vernacular did not appear before A.D. 1818. The first Bengali
monthly, Digdarsana (Indicator of Ways), started under the editorship of Joshua.
Marshman in April, 1818, had a brief existence. But the weekly, Samachar
Darpana (Mirror of News), under the same editorship, the first issue of which
was published on May 23, 1818, had a very long and useful career.
 o Bengali newspaper most probably edited by Hari Chandra Ray, a member of the
Atmiya Sabha was first issued on 15 May,1818.If so, it was the first vernacular
newspaper in Bengal No file of this paper is, however, available. And it did not
continue for more than a year.
o Raja Ram Mohan Roy is accepted as the founder of the nationalist Press in India.
Though the above papers had been started by others before him, his Sambad-
Kaumudi in Bengali published in 1821, and Mirat-Ul-Akbar in Persian published
in 1822, were the first publications in India with a distinct nationalist and
democratic progressive orientation.
o Ram Mohan’s religious and social reforms particularly his strong advocacy of the
abolition of Sati, made many critics, and a rival paper, Samachara Chandrika was
started on 5 March 1822
o Fardonji Murzban was the pioneer of the vernacular (Gujrati) Press in Bombay. It
was as early as 1822 that he started the Bombay Samachar.
o In Bombay, the Jam-e-Jamshed (in Gujrat) which, as a daily, is still being
published was started in 1831 by P.M. Motiwala, another enterprising Parsee.
Two more papers in Gujrati, Rast Goftar and Akhbar-e-Saudagar, were founded
in Bombay in 1851.
o Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, started the Shome Prakash in Bengali in 1858. It
maintained a high standard of political journalism. When disturbances broke out
in 1860 in the indigo growing area in Bengal, it stoutly defended the interests of
the farmers
o It was during this period the Bangbasi (weekly) and Basumati (daily/weekly),
both in Bengali, were started. The former was founded by Babu Jogendranath
Bose.
o Indian nationalism found an organizational expression on an all-India basis in the
rise of the Indian National Congress in 1885.
o Tilak started The Kesari, a Marathi journal in which he expounded the ideology
and methodology of struggle for national freedom conceived by the new school.
Tilak was a journalist of consummate ability and, in his hands, The Kesari and
The Maratha (an English weekly) became effective weapons to instill militant
nationalist sentiments and ideas among the people.
o The Jugantar and The Bandemataram were the two influential organs of the
Bengal group of militant nationalists led by the Ghose brothers to spread their
views of national freedom and reconstruction. They were organs of agitation
against the Partition of Bengal and of propaganda of Swedeshi and Boycott.
o Matribhumi, in Malayalam, Swadeshamitram in Tamil;
o Ittihad, Ajmal, Hamdam, Khilafat, Tej and Riyasat, were some of the prominent
organs published in Urdu.
o Vir Arjun, Aj, Sainik, and Vishwamitra, were some of the prominent Hindi
publications
English newspaper
o The Times of India was founded in Bombay in 1861, The Pioneer in Allahabad in
1865, the Madras Mail in 1868, The Statesman in Calcutta in 1875, and The Civil
and Military Gazette in Lahore in 1876.
 o The nationalist Press also grew during this period. In Bengal, The Amrit Bazar
Patrika was founded as an Anglo-Bengali weekly as the result of the combined
effort of the Ghose brothers, Hemendrakumar, Shishirkumar, and Motilal, in
1868. to circumvent the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, it was converted wholly
into an English weekly. It was turned into an English daily in 1891. The Amrit
Bazar patrika propagated strong nationalist views and had been one of the most
popular of the nationalist newspapers.
o Surendranath Benerajee, one of the most prominent leaders of the rising Indian
nationalism, edited and owned The Bengali (in English) in 1879. for an article
published in The Bengali, he was convicted for the offence of contempt of court
and sentenced to two months imprisonment. The Bengali propagated the views of
the moderate wing of the liberal school of Indian political thought.
o Under the advice of Sir Surendranath Banerjee, Sir Dayal Singh Majeetia started
The Tribune of Lahore, an English daily, in 1877. it was an influential paper in the
Punjab with a liberal nationalist hue.
o Sachhidananda Sinha founded The Hindustan Review, an English monthly in
1899. The magazine had a liberal political and ideological tone.
Classification of the shades of opinion
o The Statesman, the Times of India,, The Civil and Military Gazette, The Pioneer,
and The Madras Mail, were prominent organs which generally defended the
views and actions of the British government and administration in India.
o Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Bombay Chronicle, The Bomnbay Sentinel, The
Hindustan Standard. The Free Press Journal, Harijan, National Herald, and
national Call, were prominent nationalist dailies and weeklies in English. The
Hindu, The leader, The Indian Social Reformer, The modern Review were some
the outstanding journals reflecting the liberal school of nationalism. Broadly, the
nationalist papers supported the Indian National Congress, its programmes and
policies, while liberal papers supported programmes of Indian National Congress
critically. Dawn represented the views of the Muslim League.
o Student organizations in the country published their own organs such as Student
and Sathi.
Phases of development
o Two phases may be distinguished in the development of the Indian Press. The
first phase extends from the Great Revolt to the Viceroyalty of Lytton viz., from
1857 to 1880, and the second covers the years from Ripon to Curzon -1880 to
1905.
o During the first phase, the Indian Press was as much concerned with social and
religious affairs as with politics, if not more. In politics, its attitude towards the
British Government was one of deference and loyalty, not unmixed with criticism
which could become harsh on occasions. But on the whole, the British connection
was regarded as beneficial, in fact providential. There was great deal of trust in
the good intentions of Britain and a genuine admiration for the liberal and
democratic principles, which inspired British culture and the British parliamentary
system.
o During the second system phase, politics assumed greater importance and social
reform lost its pre-eminence. Relations between educated Indians, especially the
 Hindus, and the British officials and non-officials deteriorated. The policies of
Government were judge with greater severity, and suspicions regarding British
intentions towards India’s political progress hardened.
Press legislations
o Adam passed the Press Ordinance in 1823.
o Ram Mohan Roy advocated as early as 1823, anticipated some of the arguments
of John Stuart Mill in advocating a free Press. He referred to its intrinsic merit as
a means of diffusion of knowledge and enlightenment of mind, and great practical
value to the Indians as the only means of bringing to the notice of the Government
the ills they suffered from and anything which might require its interference
o The Government of India, like all despotic governments, was very apprehensive
and suspicious of growing influence of the Indian Press, and the British
bureaucracy and non-official Anglo-Indians were quick to take umbrage at any
strong criticism and to counsel drastic measures for curbing the Press, even
though the papers loudly protested their loyalty.
o Before 1835 the printing of books and newspaper in India was subject to the issue
of a license by the governor general in council ,licences were issued or relaxed at
government discretion
o Act XI of 1835 required registration of the printer and stipulated a few minor
requirements
o In 1867 The Press And Registration Of Book Act was passed for the same
purpose
o But before that came Press Act Of 1857 of Lord Canning known better as the Gag
Act .Out of thirty three only six publications survived the revolt
o In 1873, Sir George Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, suggested to the
government of India the property of passing a law to punish summarily and
severely, without the formality of along prosecution, those who wrote and
published mischievous and seditious libels on the Government.
o In 1875, Malhar Rao Gaikwad, Maharaja of Baroda, was tried and deposed. The
Indian Press was much excited and the Indu Prakash of Bombay went so far as to
question the suzerainty of the British government over the Indian states. This
irritated the ruling circles and the cry to suppress seditious writings of the Indian-
language papers was raised.
o Lytton then took up the latter, and came to the conclusion,” that provision should
be made for taking security from the proprietors of the Native Press.” The Indian
papers naturally condemned the proposal, and even the London Times did not
approve of it.
o Bengali Lieutenant-Governor pressed for legislation on the ground that there was
“a growing tendency to criticize the works of Government and the intentions and
motives of public officers in a spirit which was distinctly disloyal and sometimes
even seditious.” Upon this, the Government of India decided to act and on March
14, 1878, Lytton hustled the Council into passing the vernacular Press Act, which
empowered magistrates to require the editors of Indian newspapers either to give
a bond not to publish objectionable matter or to submit the proof sheets before
publication for scrutiny.
 o Lord Ripon, after scrutiny, found that there was little justification for the law.
On his advice, the Act was repealed on January 19, 1882, and a new chapter
began in the history of the Press
o From 1882 to 1907 there was no direct press legislation per se ,sedition being
dealt with the adoption ,in 1898 of section 124A of penal code ,additionally
section 153A was introduced in the penal code and section 108 into the civil
procedure code
o On the whole one finds stringent rules for press continued till Marques of
Hastings ,who abolished censorship and made rules milder After him Amherst
and Bentinck were liberal and mild to press Metcalf briefly succeeded as Gov
Gen and the famous Press law of Charles Metcalfe was passed on 3 august, 1835
which is treated as Emancipation Act ,it received a wide, almost frenzied,
applause of all Indians and a section of liberal Englishmen, but was and has since
then been, condemned even by distinguished and liberal-minded Englishmen,
both in India and England.
o Charles Metcalfe himself defended his action in a memorable speech in reply to a
congratulatory address presented to him by the citizens of Calcutta. He held that
“it is salutary for the government to have the check of après on their conduct”. He
also justified his action on general principles. “Freedom of public discussion”,
said he, “which is nothing more than the freedom of speaking aloud, is a right
belonging to the people which no government has a right to withhold”. ‘Those
who oppose it have to show that it must necessarily cause imminent peril to the
public safety which would not otherwise have occurred and cannot be averted by
salutary laws.’ “It I also rests with them to show that the communication of
knowledge is accurse and not a benefit”, which it is” one of the most imperative
duties of the government to confer on the people.
o The essential arguments, advanced on the other side by contemporary critics, have
been summed up by Thornton in an extensive review of Metcalfe’s speech. He
points out that the diffusion of knowledge is very different from either political
discussion or expression of opinion on political matter, and the restriction of the
press laws applies to the latter and not to the former. He expresses grave doubts
about” the expediency of exposing the minds of the people to the influence of
political agitators.” This idea was more fully developed even by liberal-minded
statesmen like Munro and Elphinstone
Reading list
A R Desai:: Social Background of Indian Nationalism
Purshottam Mehra: Dictionary of Modern India
Majumdar: British Paramountcy and Indian Renaissance
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Origin and Growth of Modern Education,

Resolution of 1835, Filtration theory, Wood’s Despatch

The chief agencies

o Three main agencies were responsible for the spread of modern education in
India- the Christian missionaries, the British government and the progressive
Indians.
o The Christian missionaries, did extensive work in the sphere of the spread of
modern education in India, and were inspired mainly by a proselytizing spirit, to
spread Christianity among the Indian people. They sincerely believed that their
campaign to convert the Indians was a civilizing mission.
o These missionaries were among the pioneers of modern education in India. The
missionaries who came to our country were Portuguese , French, Danish and the
English . their main aim was to disseminate Christian religion among Indians . To
achieve this purpose they first educated the Indians so that they could understand
and appreciate the principles of Christianity .They established educational
institutions . Thus they got the opportunity to preach Christianity .The institutions
they started were on the western model of education.
o The Portuguese missionaries started colleges of higher learning at Goa, Bassein,
Bombay, etc where they taught Latin, Logic, Theology, music and rudiments of
Portuguese grammar .They started four types of schools—1)parochial schools for
imparting elementary education, 2)orphanages, 3)agricultural and 4)industrial
training schools . They also set up Jesuit colleges for higher education and
theological seminars for training missionaries.
o The Danish missionaries started their institutions in Tanjore ,Madras, Trinnevelly,
Trichnopoly .They taught English language and did not preach Christianity
openly. They translated bible into Tamil and Telegu.
o The English missionaries opened Calcutta Charitable School (1729),Free School
(1789),Benevolent Institution at Serampore .By 1817 115 such schools were
opened at Calcutta , Serampore and other places .Bible was translated in 32 Indian
languages
o The missionaries came into conflict with the company when they published a
pamphlet ‘Addresses to Hindus And Mohammedans’ wherein they attacked both
the religion as a result Lord Minto the then Governor General ordered their
removal Their role was therefore interrupted till the Charter Act of 1813 by which
they got once again the freedom to conduct proselytizing and educational
activities.
o The British government was the principal agent in disseminating modern in
India. It established a network of schools and colleges in India which produced
educated Indians versed in modern knowledge. In spite of the limitations and
distortions of the education imparted which were the objects of criticism of Indian
nationalism, the fact remains that Britain by spreading modern education in India,
liberal and technical, even due to its own needs, objectively played a progressive
 role.
o Their introduction of modern education in India was primarily motivated by the
political-administrative and economic needs of Britain in India. It was not a mere
accident that by the middle of the nineteenth century, especially under Lord
Dalhousie, important beginnings of the inauguration of modern education in India
were made. It was by that time that Britain brought under its rule a substantial
portion of the Indian Territory.
o The British government organized an extensive, well-ramified state machinery to
administer the conquered territory. A large number of educated individuals were
required to staff this immense machinery of political rule. It was not Britain
herself. It therefore, became necessary to establish schools and colleges in India to
turn out educated people who would staff the administrative apparatus of the
British rule. The British government entrusted the key posts in this state
machinery to the British and filled the subordinate posts with educated Indians.
o For the expanding trade with India, also for the Industries which she increasingly
established in India, Britain needed clerks, managers, and agents who English.
o There were other motives also which encouraged some of the British statesmen
and leaders of English thought to endorse the introduction of modern education in
India. These enlightened British were convinced that the British culture was the
best and the most liberal in the world and that if India, South Africa, and later on,
the entire world, were ‘anglicized’ culturally, it would pave the way for the social
and political unification of the world.
o The British were inspired by an almost missionary zeal for spreading British
education and culture. Macaulay belonged to this group of British statesmen
headed by Cecil Rhodes. In his will, Cecil Rhodes ‘sketched his idea of the
British Empire, and beyond its bounds of the great commonwealth of peoples
linked together by the bond of English language and culture, serving the cause of
peace among men.
o A group of prominent Englishmen, Mountstuart Elphinstone among them, also
held that English education ‘would make the Indian people gladly accept the
British rule.’ It was hoped that “The enlightenment due to education would
reconcile the people to British rule and even engender a sense of attachment to it.
Education in English, according to Mountsturat Elphinstone, was a political
necessity.
o Thus the political and economic necessity of British capitalism in India, together
with an almost fanatical belief in the role of Britain as the Messiah to civilize and
unify the world by a world-scale dissemination of British culture, prompted the
introduction of modern education in India.
o The third powerful agency in spreading modern education in India was the
Indians themselves. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the pioneer of progressive modern
education in India. He hailed the English education as the key to the treasures of
scientific and democratic thought of the modern west. He declared that
perpetuation of the old system of education in India would only perpetuate
superstition and authority. ‘if it had been intended to keep the British nation in
ignorance of real knowledge, the Baconian philosophy would not have been
allowed to displace the system of the schoolmen, which was the best calculated to
 perpetuate their ignorance. In the same manner, the Sanskrit system of education
would be the best calculated to keep this country in darkness it that had been the
policy of the British Legislature.’
The official contribution to the development of education
o Before 1813, there were sporadic efforts to introduce modern education by
missionary groups and the East India Company. The extent of the combined
educational work of these two agencies was extremely limited and had
significance only as pioneering work.
o The Charter Act of 1813 marked a point of departure in the East India Company
towards the education of its Indian subjects. Under it, the Company, for the first
time, assumed state responsibility for education. It provided that ‘a sum of not
less than a lac of rupees in each year shall be set apart’, for educational purposes.
o The Charter Act of 1813 (Ci.155 Sect 430) was “the first legislative admission of
the right of education in India to participate in the public revenues, and in that
sense it was quite significant. The act also envisaged the foundation of schools,
public lectures, and other institutions at the three presidencies of Fort William,
Fort St. George and Fort St.David, and the Governor-General -in Council was
empowered to frame regulations for these institutions.

o The Minto Minute had contained the first officially-supported plan for the
“improvement” of Indian culture. Now three educational plans considered
seriously by the Fort William College Council on behalf of the Governor-General
showed a clear official sympathy for the Orientalist study.

o Of these plans the first one was drawn up on the 9 June, 1814 by Carey of the
Serampore Baptist Mission. His plan for instructing the native inhabitants of India
in European science is an interesting document, because it was the first
programme for mass education as well as higher education for learned classes
through vernacular medium.

o The more well known scheme of education was composed on 9 June, 1814 by
J.H. Harington, a judge of the Sudder Dewani Adalat. His educational plan
provided a compromise between the points of view of the classical and
Vernacular Orientalists. He advocated a dual educational system in which
European knowledge would be taught in English as well as in the Indian
languages in accordance with their demand. He thus anticipated the flexible
Orientalism of H.H. Wilson and the General Committee of Public Instruction. He
wanted gradual assimilation of English literature and Science by engrafting the
English system upon the traditional instruction.

The Orientalist and Anglicist controversy

o There were two schools of thought among the British regarding the type of
education to be imparted to the Indians. The first school of thought known as the
Anglicists of which Macaulay was the most outstanding protagonist, advocated
‘the substitution of Western culture for the Indian’ and set, as the aim of the
education, the creation of a class of Indians who would be ‘Indian in blood and
 colour but English in tastes, in opinion, in morals and in intellect’. This school
further stood for English as the medium of education. It was supported in this
view by the missionaries, the younger officials of the Company and progressive
Indians like Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
o The second school known as the Orientalist, while agreeing to the programme of
the dissemination of western sciences and knowledge among the Indian, however,
staunchly advocated the encouragement of Sanskrit and Arabic literature. The
adherents of the second school were however split into two groups over the
question of the question of the medium of instruction. One group argued in favour
of classical languages such as Sanskrit and Arabic being adopted as the medium
of education. This group was especially strong in Bengal and was influenced by
the views of Warren Hastings and Minto. The other group was led by the Munro
and Elphinstone and was strong in Bombay. It held that western education could
reach the mass of the people only it was imparted in vernaculars.
o Raja Mohan Roy and his group were enthusiastic supporters of Macaulay and his
compeers. The Raja submitted a memorial to the Governor-General in 1823
wherein he urged the government to ‘promote a more liberal and enlightened
system of instruction, embracing mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry,
anatomy, with other useful sciences. Raja’s attitude in this matter was the
forerunner of the attitude of the Liberal school in Indian politics which
subsequently evolved and which idealized western education and was criticized
by other nationalist groups (pal, Ghose, Gandhi and others) for depreciating
Indian culture.
o To understand the Orientalist’s basic ideas was to appreciate the conviction that
Indian culture had a deep wisdom and validity for the Indian people; however it
might be from Western civilization. It was the Orientalist’s understanding and
sympathy for Indian civilization which marked them off from the Evangelical and
Utilitarian champion of Western cultural supremacy. The Orientalist’s belief was
that Western education should serve not as an end in itself but as the stimulus for
changing the Indian culture from within.
o Warren Hastings may be considered as the founder of the Orientalist stance in
respect of education in India. He had a genuine administration for Oriental
learning, and he established the Madrsa in Calcutta in 1781. He loved the people
of India and respected them to a degree no other British ruler has ever equaled.
According to Dr. Spear, “his name became a legend, passing into popular
folklore, his exploits celebrated in popular verse.”
o Until the advent of Hastings’s administration there was no official encouragement
for Indian culture and civilization. Only J.Z. Holwell and Alexander Dow
acquired an intellectual appreciation of Indian culture prior to the Hastings era.
His basic convictions became the credo of the Orientalist movement: to rule
effectively, one must love India; to love India, one must communicate with her
people; and to communicate with her people, one must learn languages.
o But Orientalism as cultural and educational movement gained real momentum
with foundation of Asiatic Society (1786) and Fort William College (1800). The
Asiatic Society owed its origin to the great Orientalist scholar Sir William Jones
and several other European scholars like Justice Hyde, General John Carne,
 Henry Vansittart, Sir John Shore, Charles Wilkins, Francis Gladwin, Jonathan
Duncan etc., who met to form the society whose object was defined as enquiry
into the History, civil and natural, the Antiquities, Art, Science and literature of
Asia.
o The activities of the society gave a great impact to the study of India’s classical
literature, language and culture. Sir Charles Wilins (1750 - 1833) was really the
first European Sanskrit scholar on whom even Sir William Jones had at first to
depend “for unlocking the mine of Sanskrit treasures.” He translated the
Bhagavad-Gita into English in 1785 under the auspices of Hastings himself. Jones
translated the Shakuntala (1789), the Gita-Govinda (1789) and the Manusamhita
(1794)His fame as Sanskrit Scholar had eclipsed the rest of his many
achievements. The work of Wilkins and Jones was continued by Henry Thomas
Colebrooke and Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson.
o The official policy of encouraging the revival of Oriental learning to the exclusion
of Western literature and science reached its high water-mark during the
Governor-Generalship of Lord Minto (1807 - 13). On 6 March 1811, governor-
General Minto wrote a Minute on Education in India. “It is a common remark that
science and literature are in a progressive state of decay among the natives of
India …. The abstract sciences are abandoned, police literature neglected, and no
branch of learning cultivated but what is connected with the peculiar religious
doctrines of the people. Which view to remedy this evil, he proposed to revive the
Indian tradition of governmental patronage of learning and suggested to establish
Oriental study centers at Thoot and Nuddea for Hindoos and at Bhagapur and
Jounpore for Muslims. The minute of Minto has been aptly described as “the
culminating point of the hitherto ascendant star of pure unmixed Orientalism. It
was quite typical of the sprit of the time when almost every English official in
India wanted to take interest in Sanskrit learning. The Home Government
naturally could not altogether ignore the new spirit which was gradually coming
into existence.
Macaulay’s Minute
Introduction
o Lord Macaulay came to India on 10 June, 1834, and was immediately appointed
the President of General Committee of public Instruction. The pleas of both the
parties, Orientalists and Occidentalists, were submitted to him for his opinion.
He, however, declined to take any active part in the proceedings of the committee
till the question at issue was finally decided by the government.
o Macaulay was not asked to define a complete educational policy for the whole
country, but was merely asked, in his capacity as the law Member, to give his
legal opinion on how limited sum of ten lakhs of rupees could best be utilized for
educational purposes, and whether the educational clause of the Charter of 1813
prohibited the use of the grant for any purpose other than the encouragement of
oriental learning.
o On 2 February, 1835, he expressed his opinion on the subject through a famous
minute, written in his usual characteristic prose style, marked by rhetoric and
antithesis.
Macaulay’s Arguments:
 o Macaulay argued that the word “Literature” used in Clause 43 of the Charter Act
of 1813 did not stand for Arabic and Sanskrit literature alone, but could included
English literature as well; similarly the phrase “a learned native of India” was
applicable to Sanskrit pundits and Muslim maulvis, as well as to Indian scholars
familiar with the poetry of Milton or metaphysics of Locke.
o He further remarked that the government “are not fettered by any pledge
expressed or implied”, that they were free to employ the funds as they chose. He
then discussed the problem of the medium of instruction and examined the rival
claims of the mother tongue, the classical languages and English.
o He brushed aside the claims of the mother tongue on the ground of the general
agreement in the Committee that the Indian language were too poor and crude to
be made vehicles of thought and expression, and as such it was not possible to
pursue higher studies through them. Finally, he pointed out that because of that
big handicap the Committee deemed it necessary to enrich the Indian languages
from some quarters, possibly English or the Indian languages like Arabic and
Sanskrit, about which opinion was sharply divided.
o Macaulay rejected the claims of Arabic and Sanskrit as against English, because
he considered that English was better than either of them. His arguments in
favour of English were:

1. It is the key to modern knowledge and is, therefore, more useful than Arabic
Sanskrit.
2. It stands pre-eminent even among the languages of the west. In India English is
the language spoken by the ruling classes. It is likely to become the language of
commerce throughout the seas of the East.
3. It would bring about a renaissance in India, just as Greek or Latin did in England,
or just as the language of Western Europe civilized Russia.
4. The natives are desirous of being taught English and are not desirous to be taught
Sanskrit or Arabic, and the demand of the latter was maintained artificially
through “bounty money”.
5. It is possible to make the natives of this country thoroughly good English
scholars, and “to that end our efforts ought to be directed”.
6. it was impossible to educate the body of people, but it was possible, through
English education, to bring about “a class of persons Indian in blood and colour,
but English in tests, in opinions, in morals and in intellect”, and so education was
to filter down from them to the masses.
Prinsep’s Notes:
o Macaulay’s minute was forwarded to H.T. Prinsep, the leader of the Orientalists,
for recording his opinion, and he expressed his views through a note, dated 15
February, 1835. He argued that the clause 43 of Charter Act of 1813 had a
particular reference to classical languages of India and to eminent learned native
0riental scholars alone. He further regarded it injudicious to with draw those
endowments, which had already been sanctioned for the promotion of Arabic and
 Sanskrit learning.
o He considered it necessary to respect the popular feeling and pointed out that it
was wrong to regard oriental learning as entirely useless. He further pointed out
that only a small section of the Hindus was desirous of learning English and that
the Mohammedans would resent any measure against their privileges.
Bentinck’s Resolution or the Resolution of 1835
o Prinsep’s arguments were not considered by Bentinck, and he approved of
Macaulay’s minute recording on it, “I give my entire concurrence to the
sentiments expressed in this minute “. In a resolution of 7 March, 1835, he passed
the following order
o First: “His Lordship in Council is of opinion that the great object of British
Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and sciences
among natives of India; and that all the funds appropriated for the purpose of
education would be best employed on English education alone.
o Second: “But it is not the intention of His Lordship in Council to abolish any
college or school of native learning, while the native population shall appear to
be inclined to avail themselves of the advantages which it affords that all the
existing professors and students at all the institutions under the superintendence
of the committee shall continue to receive their stipends…..
o Third: “That a large sum has been expended by the committee on the printing of
oriental works; his Lordship in council directs that no portion of the funds shall
hereafter be so employed”.
o Fourth: “His Lordship in Council directs that all the funds which these reforms
will leave at the disposal of the committee be henceforth employed in imparting
to the native population knowledge of English literature and sciences through the
medium of the English language”.
o The proclamation marks turning-point in the history of English education in India.
It was the first declaration of the educational policy which the British government
wanted to adopt in this country. The aim and type of education were defined; the
promotion of western arts and sciences was acknowledged as the avowed object;
the printing of oriental works and grants or stipends to students of oriental
institutions were to be stopped in future, but school of oriental learning were to be
maintained.
o Macaulay had thus made Bentinck work easier, but it should be noted that the
actual decision was Bentinck’s own and not his. From all that had gone before, it
can be easily seen that Bentinck was in favour of English education even before
Macaulay’s arrival in this country. In fact, there would have been no difficult for
Bentinck to give his decision even without Macaulay’s help. The famous minute
only helped him to announce his policy officially. It was his last public act, as he
left this country on 20 March, 1835, just after the announcement of the resolution.
o The question that, how far was Bentinck’s Resolution successful in promoting
the spread of English education in the Lower province of Bengal? An examination
of this issue involves a thorough analysis of the effects of the Resolution on the
cultivation of Oriental learning under official auspices. To achieve this, some
reorganization of the General Committee of public Instruction was undertaken.
Two prominent members of the Generals committee, who subscribed to
 Orientalist view point, withdraw from that body. Previous to 1835 the member of
the committee was ten and it was increased to seventeen 1835. For the first time
two distinguished Hindoos Radhakant Dev and Russomoy Dutt were admitted to
the membership in view of their acquiescence in the new ideas which were to be
carried out by the committee.
o The second effect of the Bentinck Resolution was to cause a change in the aims
and principles of the education policy of the General Committee. Its immediate
aim was to diffuse European knowledge through the medium of English language;
but its ultimate aim was to create a Vernacular literature and to develop
Vernacular tongues. The exclusive terms in which the Resolution of 7 March
indicated preference for English education had led some to question whether,
together with the learned Oriental language, the vernacular had also been intended
to be superseded by English. But the General committee repudiated so narrow an
interpretation. It affirmed its faith in the ultimate importance and destiny of the
Vernacular tongues. It expressed itself in no uncertain terms in favour of
encouraging their cultivation. “We conceive the formation of a Vernacular
literature,” declared the General Committee,” to be the ultimate object to which
all our efforts must be directed.

Auckland’s Minute
o Bentinck left this country in March, 1835, and after the temporary Governor-
Generalship of Sir Charles Metcalfe, Lord Auckland became Governor- General
in 1836. The Orientalists raised their voice one again, but they were ready for a
compromise as they realized that it was futile to check the rising tide in favour of
English Education. Petitions were received from students of Calcutta Madrsa and
Sanskrit College. The main grievances were the transfer of appropriations from
these institutions to the support of English classes started under the same roof, and
the abolition of students’ stipends. At the same time, there arose a school of
vernacularists, headed by educationists like Adam, Hodgson, Wilkinson and
others. They were vehemently against the use of English as the exclusive medium
of instruction and they considered it more desirable to approach the masses
through the mother-tongue. These were the interesting swings in the educational
pendulum in Bengal.

Downward Filtration theory

o Throughout the 19th century, the Government had followed the policy that
education and knowledge should descend from the higher strata of society of the
lower, which was known as the doctrine of “Downward Filtration”.
o A few references may help us to clarify further the ideas associated with the
“Downward Filtration” theory which included the contemporary official circles in
England no less than in India. There is ample evidence to show that Court of
Directors Fully concurred in General Committee’s policy in refusing aid to
Vernacular schools.
o In the Public Dispatch of 5 September 1827; the Court of Directors clearly
indicated that higher education among the “superior and middle classes” was to be
 promoted in view of their useful role in the administration of country. In a public
Dispatch (No.39) dated 29 September 1830, addressed to the Madras
Government, the Court of Directors wrote, “the improvements in education,
however, which most effectually contribute to elevate the moral and intellectual
condition of a people, are those which concern the education of the higher classes;
you would eventually produce much better and more beneficial change in the
ideas and feelings of the community than you can hope to produce by acting
directly on the more numerous class”. The Dispatch referred to above firmly
expressed their lack of sympathy for the wider cause of Vernacular education of
the people.
o The Report of the General Committee of public Instruction, 27 October 1831,
significantly revealed it attitude to Vernacular education what was to the effect in
view of the limited means at the committee’s disposal and the inadequacy of any
means to the education of a whole people rendering selection necessary, the
Committee had always sought to teach the responsible in preference to the
indigent classes.
o Echoing similar sentiments Macaulay made the most famous declaration of the
Filtration theory in government official circles in his Minute, dated 2 February
1835, “I feel with them that it is impossible for us, with our limited means, to
attempt to educate the body of the people, we must at present do our best to form
a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern-a
class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in
morals and in intellect. Another notable contributor to this line of thinking was Sir
Charles Trevelyan. In his famous tract “on the Education of the people of India” ,
o He argued that, “the poor man is not less the object of the Committee’s solicitude
than the rich; but, while the means at their disposal were extremely limited, there
were millions of all classes to be educated. It was absolutely necessary to make a
selection, and they therefore selected the upper and middle classes as the first
object of their attention, because, by educating them first, they would soonest be
able to extend the same advantages to the rest of the people”.
o Auckland, observed : “the first step must be to diffuse wider information and
better sentiments amongst the upper and middle classes, for it seems, as may be
gathered from the best authorities on the subject, that a scheme of general
instruction can only be perfect, as it comprehends a regularly progressive
provision for higher tuition”
o The unsympathetic attitude of the General Committee (then presided over by an
ultra-Anglicist like Macaulay) towards indigenous Vernacular education is amply
borne out by the reception which the Committee gave to the comprehensive plan
of Adam for the improvement and extension of Vernacular education in Bengal.
o The first implication of the new policy was the priority which was assigned to
Western literature and science as the proper content of higher education and to
this object all educational funds would be devoted.
o The traditional learning of India, described in the Resolution as “a branch of
learning which in the natural course of things would be superseded by more
useful studies”, was replaces in favour of the learning of the West, and therefore if
Indians still desired to cultivate the old learning, they must do so at their own
 expense.
o Secondly, Western literature and science were to be taught through the medium of
English language because the classical languages were too remote from the mass
of the people and the vernaculars were too crude to be a suitable medium of
instruction for the new learning.
o Thirdly, for administrative convenience, English was to become the official
language in place of Persian and the language of record in the courts of law.
o Fourthly, the doctrine of Down-ward Filtration of knowledge from the higher
classes to the masses was adopted and it was therefore resolved to use the
available funds to encourage higher English education rather than elementary
education. By these means, it was hoped that knowledge of the English language
and of “useful knowledge” in the Western sense, would percolate from the upper
to the lower classes, and that the classical Hindu and Mohammedan Systems
would be steadily undermined.
o The significance of the new education policy was that Indian culture and
education was of no value, and was ripe, nor for enrichment by Western
knowledge, but for replacement by Western civilization. Traditional Indian
educational institutions and ideas were labeled as vested interests only and not as
things of intrinsic value. This is the great significance of the Resolution of 7
March, 1835 which was a radical departure from the existing education policy.
o The new policy was sharply different from the Orientalist approach to education
which held (in 1835) that Indian culture though not comparable to that of Europe,
had a value of its own. A second significance of the new policy was that the only
possible medium for the new learning was the English language.
o This meant that not only the classical languages were set aside, but the claims of
vernaculars, ably championed by Brain Hodgson, were also neglected. It is true
that they were not altogether ignored. Macaulay, at the end of his Minute,
suggested the use of Vernaculars as a medium of education after their enrichment
by English as they were not sufficiently developed to be suitable vehicles of
education immediately.
o Hodgson’s argument that the development of Vernaculars comes from their
patronage by Government was disregarded. It was further assumed that the study
of Persian was entirely dependent on its official use in revenue and judicial
matters.
o A prominent member of the General Committee of Public Instruction, Holt
Mackenzie, had pointed out that Persian “was essentially a foreign language” and
doubted that the intrinsic claims of Persian as the fund of useful knowledge would
seem to be even less than those of Sanskrit and Arabic. The Orientalist did not
oppose the introduction of Western knowledge.
Critics of Downward Filtration Theory
o H.T. Prinsep explained their policy thus, “the true principle in his opinion is that
of leaving the natives to choose their own courses of education and to encourage
all equally on the part of Govt. making our business to give to them the direction
to true science and good taste which the superior lights of Europe ought to enable
us to bestow. What the Orientalists wanted was for the two systems to exist side
by side and for the old gradually to assimilate the new by means of translations
 and mutual intercourse. In this they were following Burke’s teaching of the
supreme importance of tradition as against the new Benthamite doctrine of
improving legislation.
Adam’s report (1835-1838)
o Adams put forward a proposal for investigating into the actual state of education
in the country , and suggesting measures for its extension and improvement . The
proposal was accepted and Adams was appointed to make a survey of indigenous
education confining himself to a few districts only. In the preface to his Report,
o Adam discussed the preliminary considerations which should be kept in view in
drawing up a system of national education for this country. In his opinion, the
fundamental principle of reconstruction should be the restructuring of indigenous
elementary education. Despite many weaknesses, the indigenous elementary
system had certain merits. It had the value of being the creation of people; and for
this reason it had a certain weight. Adam said that the “foundations” of the
national system should be “broad and deep” so that “all classes of institutions and
every grade of instruction may be combined with harmonious and salutary effect”.
o Adam condemned the view that education should begin at the top and then filter
downwards. The primary objection to this plan is that it overlooks entire systems
of native educational institution, Hindu and Muhammadan, which existed long
before our rule, and which continue to exist under our rule, independent of us and
of our projects, forming and moulding the native character in successive
generations”.
o In this connection, Adam referred to the views expressed earlier by Lord Moira
in his Minute of 2 October 1815, wherein he advocated a reform of the traditional
system of village schools.
o The definite proposal that Adam made in this context, was “to lay the foundations
of national education by improving and extending the system of Vernacular
instruction, and to improve and extend that system, no by forming new and
independent schools but by employing the agency of the long established
institutions of the country”.
o The “leading idea” of his plan, as emphasized by Adam himself, was to transform
the existing indigenous schools into “fit vehicles of national education” by means
of appropriate improvements, and to utilize this improved village schools as the
means for bringing about “intellectual and moral improvement” of the Natives.
o Though Adams work could not convince the government and turned down in
Bengal , it had far reaching consequences in Northwest Frontier Provinces
Thompson plan
o In 1843 James Thompson was appointed as lieutenant governor of the
provinces. He carried out his plan to multiply and improve the village schools
by supervision advice, encouragement and distribution of elementary books
suited to their interest . Therefore he is regarded as the father of elementary
education in India .
o Lord Dalhousie made attempts to improve primary education and introduced
in 1853 Adam’s plan of popular schools with certain modifications in the light
of Thompson plan
o The above criticism ,proposals and plans of Downward Filtration Theory
 paved the way for Woods Dispatch assuming the responsibility of educating
the entire population

The Wood’s Despatch

Origin:
In 1853 the Charter of the East India Company was to be renewed. The parliamentary
enquiry into Indian affairs, which preceded the enactment, appears to have borne good
results so far as education in India was concerned. In 1854 the education of the whole
population of India was definitively accepted as a state duty and the dispatch from the
court of Directors of the East India Company, No. 49 of 19 July, 1854, laid down in clear,
though general, terms the policy which should govern the educational programme of the
government of India. This document is popularly known as the Wood’s dispatch as it
emanated from Sir Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control.

Objectives:
The dispatch had the following objectives in view:-
1. “To confer upon the natives of India those vast and material blessings which flow
from the general diffusion of western knowledge;
2. “Not only to produce a high degree of intellectual fitness but to raise the moral
character of those who partake of the above advantages;
3. “To supply the East India company with reliable and capable public servants; and
4. “to secure for England a large and more certain supply of many articles, necessary
for her manufactures and extensively consumed by her population, as well as an
almost inexhaustible demand for the produce British labour.”

Recommendations of Wood’s Dispatch

1.Content of education
Unlike Macaulay’s minute the dispatch stated that oriental learning was good for
“historical and antiquarian purposes , for the study of Hindu and Mohammadan law , and
for the critical cultivation and improvement of vernacular languages “ but the directors
thought that the eastern science and philosophy was full of grave errors and therefore
“could not be considered as a very adequate foundation for any general scheme of
education “
The education which they desired to see widely extended to all classes of in India was
“that , which had for its object the diffusion of the improved arts ,science, philosophy and
literature of Europe “

2. Importance Of Modern Indian Languages

In the opinion of the directors there was want of translation and adaptation of European
works in vernacular. They deplored that the acceptance of English as medium gave death
blow to development of vernaculars . They therefore made it clear that they had no
intention , to substitute the English language for the vernacular dialects of the country,
The importance of modern Indian languages was fully recognized as fit to covey
European knowledge to the great mass of people .
That was why ,they stated vernaculars rather than English had replaced Persian “ in the
administration of justice and the intercourse between the officers of the government and
the people “. It was therefore enjoined that the study of Indian languages must be
assiduously attended to . English language was taught wherever there was demand for it

3. English as medium of instruction

The dispatch clearly stated that English medium was to be used in the case of those
persons , “who had acquired a sufficient knowledge of it to receive general instruction
through it” those who were ignorant of it , or imperfectly acquainted with English , were
to be taught through Indian languages.
In other words they looked upon “English language and Indian language together as the
media for the diffusion of European knowledge .”

4.Organization of education
After accepting the responsibility of education , the dispatch provided the educational
ladder from the primary to stage to the university .
At the top was to be the university and colleges affiliated to it .In these higher education
in the various arts and sciences was to be given Below these were the high schools and
middle schools imparting instruction either in English or modern Indian languages .
At the bottom were to be the primary schools including indigenous schools catering for
elementary education .

5.Establishment of universities
The rapid spread of liberal education , the high attainment s of Indians for government
scholarships and the success of the medical colleges convinced the court of directors that
regular and liberal course of education should be encouraged by conferring academic
degrees in Literature , Arts , and Sciences .
For the purpose establishment of universities was recommended at Calcutta , Madras,
Bombay and in any other part of India where there existed a sufficient number of
educational institutions .These universities were to be set up on the model of London
university , which was an examining body at that time .
The function of such universities were proposed as 1)affiliating educational institutions
2)instituting professorship for advanced study in modern Indian languages , classical
Indian languages of India , law , engineering and in subjects , which were not provided
by other institutions 3)inspecting affiliated institutions in order to preserve theie
efficiency All these universities were to be mainly examining bodies , undertaking
teaching work wherever it was demanded and desired .

6. Education of the masses

The sponsors of the dispatch did not approve of India government policy of imparting
European knowledge to the small number as advised by Macaulay .Till 1857 the efforts
of the government has been directed to providing higher degree of education to small
number of the Indians ,drawn from higher classes. This was condemned.
Their attention therefore was drawn to hereto neglected masses and it was enjoined that
“useful and practical knowledge ,suited to every station of life” should be given to the
masses who were “utterly incapable of obtaining any education worthy of the name by
their own efforts”. the Indian government was asked to adopt active measures to teach
those ignorant people and for this the directors showed their readiness,” to sanction a
considerable increase in their expenditure”.
In order to achieve the objective ,the Despatch recommended that many high and middle
schools should be opened. Such schools were not to train “highly a few youths, but to
provide more opportunities for the acquisition of such an education as will make those
who posses it more useful members of the society in every condition of life”.

As a corollary to the above it was suggested that indigenous schools should be fully
utilized and improved to impart correct elementary knowledge to the masses. Such
schools were to encouraged by the grant-in-aid system.

7. Grants in Aid System

It was felt that it was impossible for the government alone to have means sufficient for
providing education of 270 million of people . Although the directors of the company
promised to sanction A considerable increase in expenditure .”they knew that any
amount of money would be inadequate to educate such a vast population . It was
therefore resolved that private enterprise should be fully exploited by introducing a
system of grants in aid . in order to reap full advantage of the system it was laid down
that government should abstain entirely from interference with religious instruction
imparted in aided denominational institutions .
The government was directed to establish no government schools and colleges in any
district , where there were sufficient number of institutions capable , with government
aid, of supplying the local demand for education . This principle of grants in aid was to
be applied for encouraging all types of education . By “thus drawing support from local
resources , in addition to the contribution from the state .”It was also expected that grants
in aid system would foster” a spirit of reliance upon local exertions and a combination for
local purposes , which is of itself of no mean importance to the well being of a nation .”

8.Teacher training
For the first time need was felt for the establishment of training schools to produce
properly trained teachers . In service teachers , the dispatch said , should be encouraged ,
by the award of stipends to attend training schools out of school hours . If found fit these
teachers were to be sent to normal schools for intensive training . It was laid down that
after they completed the training , they should be employed on a decent salary

9.Establishment of Department of Education

Every province Bengal, Bombay , madras, north west provinces and the Punjab was to
have a department of education , with the director of public instruction as the executive
head and responsible to the provincial government . The first director of public
instruction were to be members of Indian civil service . Such a step , in the opinion of
dispatch was to show the importance attached to education by the British . Under the
director were to be sufficient number of inspectors to supervise and report periodically on
the schools and colleges maintained and aided by government .
.
The Positive Aspect
The Wood’s Dispatch set these conflicts at rest for the time being.
o It declared that the education of the classes can not be ignored. It suggested
several measures not only for spreading mass education, but also for preserving
and encouraging indigenous education.
o It also declared the advancement of western knowledge as its avowed object
although it considered it desirable to grant some encouragement to oriental
learning at the collegiate stage.
o Further, it laid down that both English, as well as the local language, should be
used as the media of instruction at the secondary stage.
o No doubt, it declared that the education of the whole population was a definite
responsibility of the state, yet it pointed out that the educational system could not
be built single-handed. It needed the co-operation of private agencies -whether
missionary or Indian.
o It also decided to set up state machinery for administering education, for an
unofficial agency was not found able to shoulder such a great responsibility.
Negative Aspect
o The dispatch did not recognize the obligation to teach every child below a certain
age , it does not declare that poverty shall be no bar to the education of deserving
students
o The dispatch centralized the administration of education and for a long period of
time to come the provincial governments could not even spend a pound or
appoint a peon without the sanction of the central government
o Although the wider aim of education was not lost sight of yet the narrow aim of
securing “ public servants of probity.” reigned supreme with the directors
o The authors of the dispatch did not aim at education for leadership, education for
industrial regeneration of India , education for the defense of motherland , in
short education required by the people of self governing nation .
Conclusion
To sum up, the following principles were definitely reached by the end of this period:
1. the state was compelled to recognize the duty of educating her subjects;
2. the state should see that education had been provided properly; and
3. The state should, from time to time, declare its educational policy openly.
o The attitude of the government officials towards the missionaries changed during
the period. Till 1813, the missionaries were treated quite contemptuously, and the
relations between them and the government were strained. Then for the next
twenty years the officials showed a lukewarm attitude, but during this particular
period the relations were quite cordial. Two things were mainly responsible for
this: (1) the political power of the company was firmly established, and (2) the
period was one of political and social reforms in England and the influence was
felt in India, too.
o It should also be noted that certain lessons were learnt from different provinces.
Madras showed how education could be spread through voluntary efforts, aided
by the state. Bombay emphasized the need for the government initiative and a co-
operation between public and private efforts. Bombay had also assigned a proper
place to Indian languages as the media of instruction. Bengal wanted to push a
comprehensive scheme of education, but it adopted the “Filtration theory” as the
 first step, because the funds were limited. The N.W. provinces showed how a
popular system of mass education could be developed through the medium of the
mother tongue.
o Bengal, being the centre of administration, no doubt controlled the educational
policy of Bombay Madras and North-West provinces to some extent. Still they
were left free to work out their own schemes. In the early stage, these provinces
were very lucky to have great personalities like Mountstuart Elphinstone, Sir
Thomas Munro and James Thompson at the helm of their affairs. But there were
interruptions at times from the centre.
o Queen Victoria’s proclamation, on 1 November, 1858, no doubt, removed the
feeling that the British rule in India was a temporary phenomenon, and it helped
in the firm establishment of Pax Britannica. But it also introduced extreme
centralization in Indian education, which continued till 1919.

Reading list
1. Nurullah and Naik: Students History of Education,
2. Sri Kumar Acharya: The Changing Pattern of Education in Early Nineteenth Century
Bengal,
3. A.R .Desai: Social Background of Indian Nationalism, pp139-147
4. Majumdar: British Paramountcy and Indian Renaissance, pp34-58
5. Tarachand: History of Freedom Movement in India, pp197-206
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Growth and Development of University Education

Introduction

o With the advance of English education after 1835, it was felt that there
should be an examining body for youths pursuing secondary and higher
education.
o The Bengal Council of Education therefore, proposed in 1845 the
establishment of a University at Calcutta with a view to confer upon the
educated students a mark of distinction. The Government of India supported
the proposal but the Court of Directors considered it to be premature.
o Seven years later a member of the British Parliament also urged parliament to
found universities in three presidencies, but nothing came out of the proposal.
o The Despatch of 1854, however, proposed a university not only at Calcutta
but also at Madras and Bombay. Three Acts, very much similar to each other,
incorporating the three Universities, were passed. These three Universities
were to be modeled on the pattern of the London University, which was at the
time an examining body.
o The Universities were founded in 1857. The Despatch also envisaged a
provision of direct teaching in the University. It was also suggested that
chairs in classical and Modern Indian Languages should be provided and
professorships in subjects like Law, Medicine and Civil Engineering, the
study of which had not been provided in the affiliated colleges, should be
established. It may be noted that these two instructions of the despatch were
implemented in the next century.
o During the period between 1857 and 1882 there was an increase in the
number of colleges and students in the three Universities. At the first
Entrance Examinations of the three Universities, 219 students came out
successful, -162 (out of 244 candidates) in Calcutta, 21 in Bombay, and 36 in
Madras. In 1882, out of 7,429 candidates, who appeared at the entrance
Examination, 2,778 were successful. India had 27 Colleges in 1857 and the
number rose to 72 in 1882. “During the first 14 years 2,666 candidates passed
the First Arts (Intermediate) Examination, 850, the B.A. Examination, and
151, the M.A. During the next 11 years the corresponding numbers were
5,969, 2,434 and 385”.
o The growth in the numerical strength of students and the consideration of the
extensive areas of jurisdiction of the existing Universities led to the
establishment of two other Universities during the nineteenth century. These
were the University of Lahore and the University of Allahabad.
o As early as 1868 a movement was set a foot in the Punjab to establish a
University in Province..
o In Lahore the movement for a University was started by some influential
persons, backed by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Donald Macleod. They
demanded an Oriental University, which, besides promoting the study of
 Eastern classics and vernacular languages of the country was also to
encourage the study of English language and Western science.
o In August, 1867, the British Indian Association of the North-Western
Provinces (modern United Provinces) submitted a petition to the governor-
General indicating the defects of the prevailing educational system and
recommending the establishment in the Province of a University in which
“the Eastern classics and the vernacular would be duly encouraged side by
with English education”.
o The government of India did not agree to these demands, but sanctioned in
December.1869, the establishment of Lahore University College. The specific
objects of this college were “to through the medium of vernacular languages
of the Punjab, and the improvement and extension of vernacular literature
generally”, and to “afford encouragement to the enlightened study of Eastern
classical languages and literature”.
o It was at the same time declared that “every encouragement would be
afforded to the study of the English language and literature; and in all
subjects which cannot be completely taught in the vernacular, the English
language would be regarded as the medium of instruction and examination”.
o A large number of institutions were affiliated to the Lahore University
College and its activities expanded for a decade before another demand for a
University in the Punjab was put forth.
o The Government of Lord Ripon acceded to this demand and a notification of
the Punjab Government, dated the 14th October, 1882, formally constituted
the Punjab University with the Lieutenant-governor of the Punjab as its
Chancellor and with a constitution more or less similar to those of the other
Indian Universities.
o After a continuous struggle of fourteen years a University was established in
the Punjab in 1882. The constitution of the Punjab University was similar to
the older Universities, but its functions differed a little from them. While the
older Universities were merely examining bodies, the Punjab University was
directly maintaining an Oriental college and a Law college. In the Faculty of
Oriental Learning it conferred the Degrees of Bachelor, Master and Doctor of
Oriental learning. It also conferred Oriental literary titles on successful
candidates in examinations of Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. Proficiency and
High Proficiency Examinations in Modern Indian Languages were also
conducted by the University
o The total number of Arts Colleges in India (excluding Burma and Ajmer) in
1881-82 was 59 with 5399 students.
o Along with the University movement in the Punjab, was started a movement
in the United Provinces for a University at Allahabad.
o The arguments given by the protagonists of Allahabad University were
analogous to those of the Punjab, namely that Calcutta University did not
cater for the particular needs and requirements of the Northern Provinces.
o With the establishment of the University in the Punjab, the agitation for
Allahabad University got momentum and in 1887 was incorporated a
University at Allahabad. The Allahabad University was incorporated by an
 Act, dated the 23rd September, 1887, with a constitution closely resembling
that of the University of Calcutta.
o In its pattern and functions the new University followed the older
Universities. Then came a lull for about thirty years and until 1916 no other
University was established in India
Organisation of the Universities
o The organization of the Universities was that a Senate, consisting of a
Chancellor; a Vice-Chancellor and a certain number of Fellows were
entrusted with the entire work of administration. The Universities were
empowered to ascertain “by means of examination, the persons who have
acquired proficiency in different branches of literature, Science and Art and
by rewarding them with academicals degrees as evidence of their respective
attainment and marks of honour proportioned thereunto”.
o Only that person was admitted to examination or degree who had completed
the course of instruction in one of the colleges affiliated to the University.
The Senate could make and alter any bye-laws or regulations for holding
examinations, for appointing or removing examiners and other employees of
the University. The executive work of the University was carried on by a
Syndicate, constituted under regulations made by Senate.
o Three years after the Acts of Incorporation the Universities were empowered
to confer any degrees and diplomas or licences that were approved by the
Bye-laws or regulations of the Universities.
o In 1884 they were empowered to confer the honorary Degree of LL.D.
Subsequently all Universities had been empowered to confer any honorary
degree they wished to.
Higher Education
o Although the Universities were founded in 1857, colleges for higher learning
originated in the days of Warren Hastings and went on multiplying, until in 1857
there were twenty seven colleges, out of which 20 were affiliated to the
University of Calcutta, three to Bombay and Four to Madras.
o By 1882 the number of colleges in India rose to 72, as many as thirty-four of
them being managed by private enterprise. The increase in number of colleges
was due to the great demand for higher English education. There were the
material advantages attached to a University degree during those days of boom
employment under the Company.
Indian Education Commission, 1882
o On the 3rd February, 1882, the Government of India appointed a Commission with
Sir W.W. Hunter as its President, “to enquire particularly into the manner in
which effect had been given to the principles of the Dispatch of 1854, and to
suggest such measures as might seem desirable in order to further carrying out of
the policy therein laid down”.
o Though the chief object of inquiry of this Commission was to be the “present state
of elementary education and the means by which this can everywhere be extended
and improved”, it collected plenty of useful information about collegiate
education, especially regarding attendance, fees, discipline and later career of the
students.
 o For the aided colleges it was recommended that the rate of aid, instead of being
determined by passes in the examination, should be determined by a) the strength
of the staff, b) the expenditure in its maintenance, c) the efficiency of the
institutions, and d) the wants of the locality. To them special grants were to be
given for the supply and renewal of buildings, furniture, libraries and other
apparatus of instruction.
o It was recommended that more graduates of European Universities should be
employed in colleges and that distinguished graduates from Indian Universities
should be given scholarships to enable them to go aboard to study some branch of
mechanical industry.
o To encourage diversity of culture, both on the literary and on the physical side,
the commission said that provision be made for more than one alternative courses
in the larger colleges. It was urged that for the moral uplift of students a uniform
type of moral text books be compiled and a series of lectures on the duties of a
man and citizen should be arranged in every session.
o Except the first recommendation on grants-in-aid, not much notice was taken of
the other recommendations. Since as a result of the commission’s
recommendations there was expansion of secondary education, naturally students
in colleges increased as secondary education offered no varied courses and the
only alternative left to matriculates was to join colleges or accept clerical jobs.
o The number of colleges in 1902 was 191, out of them 145 being Arts colleges.
Response to the Commissions Recommendations
o The Government of India approved of nearly all the recommendations of the
Hunter commission,.
o In a Resolution, dated the 23rd October, 1884, recorded in the Home Department,
the governor-General in council reviewed the Report of the Hunter Commission,
and laid down for the future guidance of Local Governments and Administrators
the main lines of the educational policy which the Government of India intended
to pursue.
o In expressing this approval of this Resolution, the Secretary of State for India
communicated the instructions to the Government of India
o According to these instructions the work of preparing the General Report was first
entrusted to Sir Alfred Croft, Director of Public Instruction in Bengal, whose
‘Review of Education in India in 1886’ is a valuable record containing detailed
information on the subject.
Problems of the Higher Education at the Opening of the Twentieth Century
In course of time, higher education came to develop many problems.
o Lop-sidedness of Education: Out of 191 colleges by the close of the century there
were only 46 professional colleges and remaining were Arts Colleges. This meant
college education was mainly of literary type. Among the professional colleges
only those which offered courses in Law or Medicine or Engineering were
popular and attracted 90% of the students receiving professional education, while
teaching and agriculture had only 190 and 70 students respectively in the whole of
India. Industrial and technical education, which was the greatest need of the
country, was altogether non-existent.
o Neglect of Modern Indian languages: Although the Despatch of 1854 had
 emphasized the importance of the Modern Indian Languages and had also
prescribed that professorship in those languages be established in the Universities,
yet the Universities did nothing in this direction, because the Acts of
Incorporation did not empower the Universities to institute such professorships.
Except the Punjab and the Madras Universities, no other University even
instituted examination in those languages so that the affiliated colleges might
teach them..
o Low quality of Education: Expansion of higher education had been achieved at
the cost of efficiency. Most of the colleges “were necessarily weak, under-staffed,
and incapable of affording individual attention to the needs of the students, or of
providing the varied courses of study, practical as well as literary.
o Constitution and the Functions of the Universities: there was much to be desired
in the constitution and the functions of the universities. Since there was no upper
limit to the number of Fellows and Government could nominate any number of
them and because they were appointed for life and not for any specified period,
the Senates had grown unwieldy.The functions of the Universities were very
much limited. They were merely examining bodies and affiliating type of
universities. This contravened the spirit of the Despatch of 1854, which had also
suggested the provision of teaching those subjects which were not being taught in
the affiliated colleges.
o “A university ought to be a place of learning, where a corporation of scholars
labour in comradeship for the training of men and the advancement and diffusion
of knowledge.” Indian Universities at the opening of the twentieth century failed
to be so. “They were not corporations of scholars, but corporations of
administrators; they had nothing to do directly with the training of men, but only
with the examining of candidates.” The Colleges, affiliated to them, were the only
places of learning.
o Since the Universities did not guide in the real work of teaching, the colleges
were merely coaching institutions. A uniform type of curriculum was followed in
the colleges who kept before them, the main objective of preparing students for
university examinations.
o The teacher had no freedom to teach what he thought best. He had to teach what
was expected in the examination. The Universities did nothing to “strengthen the
intellectual resources of the colleges” and never took measures to “stimulate free
criticism and independent thought among teachers or students.”
o The whole position of higher education at the opening of the century is very aptly
summed up by Lord Curzon who said, “In higher education the position was still
worse; for here it was not a question so much of a blank sheet in the education of
the community as of a page scribbled over with all sorts of writing, some of it
well-formed and good but much of it distorted and wrong”..
o The Senates of the Universities had Fellows who were selected on “almost
every principle but that of educational fitness”. The Syndicates were devoid
of statutory powers.
o By condemning the state of higher education, Lord Curzon did not want “to
close the doors of the colleges or reduce the number of their pupils”. All that
he wanted was quality and not quantity. His ideal of the University was “a
 place where all knowledge is taught by the best teachers to all who seek to
acquire it, where the knowledge so taught is turned to good purpose”.
o He wanted the Universities to be ‘amply and even nobly housed, well-
equipped and hand-somely endowed”. It was such a University which could,
“create an atmosphere of intellectual refinement and culture”.
o In India he wanted to see Universities which gathered around them
“collegiate institutions proud of affiliation”, whose students felt “the inner
meaning of a corporate life”, where “the governing body of the University
shall be guided by expert advice, and the teachers shall have a real influence
upon teaching; where the courses of study shall be framed for the
development of the thoughtful mind; where the Professors will draw near to
the pupils and mould their characters; and where the pupils will begin to
value knowledge for its own sake and not as a means to an end”. To achieve
these objectives, Lord Curzon therefore appointed in 1902 an Indian
Universities Commission.
The Curzon contribution
o Curzon sought to reorganize the educational system and to effectively control the
educational institutions of the country. After a preliminary survey, the Viceroy
summoned in September, 1901, a conference of chief education officers at Simla
“to consider the system of education in India”.
Indian Universities Commission of 1902
o The commission was asked to “enquire into the condition and prospects of the
Universities and to recommend measures to elevate the standard of University
teaching and to promote the advancement of learning”.
o The Commission was presided over by Mr. (afterwards, Sir) Thomas Raleigh,
Legal Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council. The members included Mr.
Syed Husain Bilgrami, Director of Public Instruction in the Nizam’s Dominions,
and when the Hindu community complained that it was unrepresented, Mr. Justice
Gurudas Banerjee, a Judge of the CalcuttaHigh court, was added to the
Commission.
o The Commission visited all the universities and a number of affiliated colleges
during its three months tour and submitted its Report in June, 1902.
o Just as the London University was the model in 1857, similarly the reorganized
London University influenced the discussions of the Indian Universities
commission in 1902.
o In the last quarter of the nineteenth century two Royal commissions had
recommended a reconstruction of the London system, pointing out that it was the
duty of the University to undertake the teaching functions; to supplement the
resources of the colleges while coordinating their activities. Consequently the
British Parliament passed an Act in 1898 providing for the re-organization of
London University into a teaching University, while maintaining its system of
examination for outside students.
o The changes had been made along four lines; arrangements for teaching
undertaken directly by the University; improvement of the standard of teaching in
the colleges; closer association of teachers with the administration of the
University and transformation of the Senate by restricting the number of
 members. The suggestions, made by the Indian Universities commission for the
re-organization of Indian Universities were identical to those of the London
University. The Commission, however, made one omission. It did not say whether
the affiliating type of universities were ultimately to be replaced by a unitary type
of universities or not. On the contrary they assumed “the permanent validity of the
existing system”. The scope of their recommendations was limited to 1) Re-
organization of University Government; 2)strict and systematic supervision of
affiliated colleges; 3) stricter conditions for affiliation; 4) closer attention to
conditions under which students live and work; 5) assumption of teaching
function by the University; 6) substantial changes in the curricula. In 1904 was
passed the Indian Universities Act which embodied these recommendations.
o The Government expressed general approval of Commission’s recommendations
except the last three, on which further inquiries were to be made before coming to
a final decision.
o The Report of the Commission and the Government comments were published in
October, 1902, and they were at once subjected to severe opposition by the
Indians of all classes. The main point of attack was that if the recommendations
were given effect to, Senates and Syndicates would be officialised and the
Universities would be practically converted into Government Departments.
o A big public meeting was held in the Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the
recommendations

Reading List
1.Majumdar: British Paramountcy And Indian Renaissance
2.Nurullah and Naik : The Students History of Education
3.Tarachand : History of Freedom Movement
 Lecture Handout
HSM-3034

Aurobindo Ghosh Religious Nationalism

Early life

o Aurobindo Ghosh, a Bengal revolutionary who later turned yogi, belonged to an

educated middle-class family, his father, Dr. Krishan Ghosh, had sent Aurobindo,
then barely 7 years old, along with his two elder brothers to England to study
there so as to remain unaffected, and literally untouched, by influences at home
o His early youth and education (1879-92) was carried in England: later he worked
under the Gaekwad in Baroda (1892-1906), followed by his meteoric, barely four-
year (1906-10) political career in Calcutta which gathered intensity during the
great agitation caused by the Partition of Bengal
o Finally, the remaining forty years (1910-50) were spent in philosophical and
religious work in Pondicherry where he developed into a seer whose thought
continues to inspire men and women throughout the world.
o Aurobindo returned home in 1893, a member of the Baroda civil service He
served in varied capacities in different departments of the state’s administration
o He found more suitable employment as a lecturer in English in Baroda College,
and rose to be Professor and later Vice-Principal.
o He also handled the Gaekwad’s foreign correspondence. With his immense
aptitude for and interest in the learning of language, he soon picked up a good
working knowledge of Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. A great
deal of his time was taken up in writing poetry, plays and essays in English.
o His Baroda years may thus be viewed as period of ‘Indianization’. He now read
extensively in Sanskrit literature and philosophy and, in due course, adopted
ancient Indian thought and values-as he interpreted them –for his own
Participation in National Movement
o Aurobindo was in the political field for less than ten years, 1901-10, in the first
half a silent, behind the scenes spectators; in the latter, an activist. Initially, the
Indian National congress program appealed to him, but closer contact and a
sterner look at its aims and objectives convinced him that it was neither
representative of nor yet designed to serve the interests of the masses.
o He referred the congress as an elitist body; to call it the ‘National Congress”, he
argued, was entirely inappropriate and misleading. Inter alia, he criticized the
party policy of “prayer, petition and protest’, and assailed its timid repetition of
loyalty to the Raj.
o He put forward his views forcefully in a series of articles, ‘New Lamps for old’,
published (1893-94) anonymously in Indu Prakash, a paper edited by K.G.
Deshpande, an acquaintance from his Cambridge days.

o As it evolved over the years, two strategies were broadly sketched out in his
political thinking: 1. the line of mass movement and 2. the path of secretly plotted
 violent revolution.
o As if preordained to lead the anti -partition agitation, he accepted the post of
principal of the newly-established Bengal National College (later Jadavpur
University) and, by 1906, moved to Calcutta.
o He began to be closely associated with the Bengali daily Jugantar and assisted by
B.C. Pal revived the Bande Mataram, a daily published in English.
o Aurobindo ‘s plan of action included a boycott of British trade, the substitution of
national schools for government institutions the establishment of arbitration
courts in place of the existing courts of law and the creation of volunteer force
that was to serve as nucleus for an army of open revolt. He now coined the catch
phrase ‘No control, no co-operation and defined the latter as ‘refusal of co-
operation in the industrial exploitation of our country, in education, in
government, in judicial administration, in the details of official intercourse’, he
expressed the view that political freedom was ‘the life and breath of a nation and
that without it nor people could ‘fully realize it destiny’.
o He listed three kinds of resistance; armed revolt; aggressive resistance short of
armed revolt; defensive resistance, whether passive or active.
o In justifying violence, he cited the Bhagvada Gita, comparative historical
experience of many peoples as well as the general conscience’ of humanity. It was
during this period that he expounded his political philosophy and popularized
theories of nationalism and passive resistance. The two newspapers with which he
was associated lasted less than two years but had a powerful impact; the
government dubbed them ‘seditious’ and labeled Aurobindo a ‘dangerous
character’.
Religious nationalism
o Through the use of religious symbols he explained nationalism and appealed to
the emotions of the masses so as to bring them into the vortex of the freedom
movement. The terms and concepts used in the pamphlet are taken from the
Markendya Purana, while Bankim Chandra’s Anandmath appears to have
exercised considerable influence too. The religious and political categories are
however fused.
o Aurobindo emphasized that nationalism does not necessarily imply complete
national unity from within –it should, on the other hand, be a spiritual
nationalism, involving a feeling of dedication to the motherland, as of the son to
mother.
o He put forth the concept of land as mother and pleaded for its emancipation from
the shackles of foreign rule.
o In a pamphlet entitled Bhawani Mandir published secretly and circulated while he
was at Baroda, he advocated the establishment of a workshop of Bhawani and the
institution. Of an order of Karamyogis devoted to the service of the goddess. The
‘fulfilment of the latter’s destiny would help the achievement of universal
spiritual unity.
o Aurobindo dubbed colonial self-government as a ‘political monstrosity’. The ideal
for India, he argued, must be ‘unqualified swaraj’ without which it was
impossible to progress. It was foolish to accept reforms from the British
Government; indeed the worse the government, the better it would be for Indian
 nationalism: disaffection could only hasten the day of liberation.
o Amales Tripathi prefers to call this streak in Aurobindo as messianism He traces
the messianism of Aurobindo, from Bankim Chandra Chatterji to Dayananda
Saraswati. The aggressive insistence on a man-making religion, the Judaic
emphasis on the Aryan creed, the sweeping condemnation of Christianity and
Islam, the vigorous counter-crusade to preserve ancestral faith, the skilful use of
religion to advance political –nationalist aims of this “granite vein in India’s Rock
of Ages” appealed irresistibly to Aurobindo. “Pure energy, high clearness, the
penetrating eye, the masterful hand and dominant sincerity”, qualities seen by him
in Dayananda, were to be the qualities of an ideal revolutionary.
o Total sacrifice was to bring back satyayuga. “Swaraj was to be the fulfillment”,
Aurobindo said in 1908, “of the ancient life of India under modern conditions,
the return of Satyayuga of national greatness, the resumption by her of her great
role of teacher and guide, self-liberation of the people for the final fulfillment of
the Vedantic ideal in politics, this is the true Swaraj for India”.
o The Hindu began to obscure the European in him at Baroda. He was fascinated by
Nivedita’s Kali the Mother. He learnt yoga to find spiritual strength for the
coming struggle for liberation. Deeply immersed in building up of secret societies
in western and central India under the influence of Thakur Saheb or trying to
combine his efforts with those of P. Mitra’s Anushilan Samiti in Bengal, these
years-1902-1904 –found him more and more irresistibly drifting towards
messianism.
o India could not fulfill her destiny and work out her mission, “overshadowed by a
foreign power and a foreign civilization”. The world needed India and needed her
free. He put a premium on political emancipation: “Political freedom is the life
breath of a nation; to attempt social reform, educational reform, industrial
expansion, the moral improvement of the race without aiming first and foremost
at political freedom is the very height of ignorance and futility”.
o He differed here from Vivekananda, who, in his view, had been putting the cart
of spiritualism before the horse of freedom. “Spirit may be superior to body,”
retorted Aurobindo, “but they are so intimately connected that the supremacy of
one cannot be maintained by surrendering the other. The recognition of one to the
exclusion of the other is delusion and partial knowledge according to Shankar’s
interpretation of the Vedanta.” Freedom without, achieved in Europe, would help
the achievement of freedom within, which was the Vedantin’s goal.
o “According to Hindu philosophy, self-knowledge and self-realization are the end
of\ all religion. It is difficult to see how the greatest aim of human existence can
be fulfilled, if influences from outside disorganize us and stifle our growth …
India must have swaraj in order to live for the world, not as a slave for the
material and political benefit of a single purse-proud selfish nation, but as a free
people for the spiritual and intellectual benefit of the human race

o If spiritual freedom had to come as a sequel to political freedom, similar would be

the case of social reforms, made so much of by the Moderates. Aurobindo, like
Tilak, considered those to be more divisive than unitive.
 o He defended caste-system as the framework of “a communal self-determined
freedom” and “a training ground for the education of the human mind and soul
and its development through the natural to the spiritual existence.”
o Originally it was based on the distribution of functions in society. It depended on
a man’s dharma-his spiritual, moral and practical duties-and his dharma
depended on his svabhaba-his temperament and inborn nature.
o It was more humane than the European class system based on cash nexus. It had a
spiritual and moral basis while class was material in principle and object.
o The gradation of social respect was “accidental, external, vyavaharik.”
“Essentially there was between the devout Brahmin and the devout Sudra, no
inequality in the single Virat Purush of which each was a necessary part. In the
dualistic atmosphere of Latin Christianity rationalism could never transcend the
individualistic inspirations of the French Revolution and personality could never
rise above subjection to social obligations. Hindu polity alone constituted a “supra
social” state where personality realized itself through larger and larger social
associations till it got attuned to the Universal.
Revolutionary activities
o Contrary to popular belief. Aurobindo was not an anarchist; he sought to replace
British rule not by anarchy but by national rule. As for his links with terrorism,
‘there is now little doubt that he was close in touch with secret revolutionary
groups throughout the country, in Bengal he was for a considerable time their
secret leader .
o In 1902, under his direction a revolutionary organization was started in Calcutta.
Margaret Elizabeth Noble, better known as sister Nivedita (1867-1911) was
associated with it from its inception and contributed revolutionary literature for its
library
o The government had involved Aurobindo in the Maniktala Bomb Conspiracy
Case (1908-9). Imprisoned for a year, he was brilliantly defended by C.R. Das
and, eventually, acquitted. Das prophesied that Aurobindo would emerge as ‘the
poet of patriotism, as the prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity’, that
long after he was dead his words ‘would be echoed and re-echoed, not only in
India but across distant seas and lands’.
o . Much of his time in jail was devoted to yoga, meditation and study. Soon after
his release, he brought out two publications, Karamyogi and dharma to take up
his program, attended the Bengal provincial conference at Hoogly and privately
met Surendranath Banerjee to work out a rapprochement with the Moderates.
Unity however proved elusive.
o In the meanwhile, there was a marked change in Aurobindo‘s political ideals. He
began to advocate ‘spiritual and moral regeneration’ as a prelude to political
advancement and warned that the government was intensifying its efforts to round
up revolutionaries. He later claimed to have received divine instruction to leave
Chandernagore in February (1910) and a month later left for Pondicherry. With
his departure ends that brief yet tumultuous phase of his deep and powerful
influence on contemporary Indian politics.
Last years
o At Pondicherry, his wife and a number of friends joined him He concentrated on
Sadhana, study and writing. Most of what he wrote was published in Arya, a
monthly that a French couple, Paul and Mira Richard, started and Aurobindo
edited for seven years (1914-21).
o He then started speaking of a world society and of the unity of mankind.
o Though he continued to speak and write on problems of day, he failed to make
any impact and firmly refused all attempts to stage a comeback to political life.
o Mira Richard, later known as the mother, helped establish and run the
proliferating Ashrams, while Aurobindo devoted himself to yoga, writing and the
training of his disciples.
o He felt that he had tremendous power, could shape the working of the world by
soul force and carried out what has been called the ‘ritual interiorization’ of the
cosmic process.
o In 1926 Aurobindo entered into seclusion which was maintained till his death in
1950.
Reading List

1.Karan Singh: The Prophet of Nationalism,pp73-79

2.M.P. Pandit: Sri Aurobindo, pp 154-175
3.Amales Tripathi: Sri Aurobindo-The Messianic Nationalism, Calcutta Historical
Journal, Vol IV, No 1, July –Dec 1979-80,67-74
4.Purshottam Mehra : The Dictionary of Modern India, pp47-51
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Economic Nationalism
o Debate and discussion between Indians and Indians, on the one hand, and between
Indians and their rulers, on the other, over nearly every economic issue that arose
in contemporary administration and politics had some bearing on this basic
political under standing. In the end, the multifarious controversies over economic
policies, and, in particular, over the causes of India’s poverty and the consequent
remedies, led large sections of the nationalist leadership to believe-sometimes
hesitantly and even confusedly, as in the case of G.K. Gokhale, G.V. Joshi,
Surendranath Benerajea, D.E. Wacha, and R.C.Dutt, but often in a clear cut
manner as in the case of Dadabhai narooji, B.G. Tilak, G. Subramania lyer, use
the Amrita Bazar Ptrika, the Maratha and numerous other nationalist papers-that,
on the whole British rule was economically injurious to India and that perhaps it
was designedly so.
o To many of the Indian leaders, particularly to those who later came to be known
as Moderates, British rule held for long a great promise. They were dazzled by the
initial impact on India of Britain. The most advanced nation of the contemporary
world. To them, law and order and a modern centralized administration, coming
as they did after the near political anarchy of the 18 th and early 10th centuries the
spread of the modern education and through its medium of Western democratic
thought and enlightenment, the introduction of the freedom of speech and the
Press and of social liberty, but perhaps most of all the process of the welding of
the people of India into one common nationality, the consequent growth all over
the country of the feeling of belonging to one common entity, and the birth of a
new political life-all seemed follow in the wake of and were therefore the
accomplishments of British Raj and heralded the coming dawn. In the realm of
economics, it was the prospect of rapid industrial development that attracted
them. Western science and technique and economic organization and the example
vigorous European enterprise they hoped, would reclaim the country from the
slough of economic backwardness and stagnation. The railways, roads, and
canals, the link with flourishing markets of the world, the early textile industry,
and the foreign commercial, industrial, and plantation enterprises appeared to be a
preparation for, and a prelude to, the coming industrial revolution whose first
signs were already visible.
o It was not as if the early nationalist were not aware of the prevalence of poverty
and other economic disabilities. But they believed that credit side of British rule
outweighed the debit side, and they hoped that with the passage of time
disabilities would become less and less and the benefits realized more and more.
In other words, in the material field, they were attracted more by the potential
than the real, more by the hope than the fulfillment.
o And all these economic evils they came to feel, were the direct or indirect
consequences of British economic policy in India: if ‘the Indian economic world
was out-of-joint’, the responsibility was largely that of Britain. Thus, in eyes of
 the nationalist leaders, all the other advantages of British rule in the past and the
present paled before its economic disadvantages. And, in course of time, this
‘decadence of faith’ led to the questioning not only of the results of British rule
but also of its very whys and wherefores: why had India not progressed materially
and why had not the early promise in this respect been realized? Who was
responsible for this failure? Was the injury done to India inadvertent or
deliberate? In other words, what was the real purpose of British rule and, as a
corollary, could their own faith in its ‘Providential’ character be reconciled with
their current belief that the rule had been materially injurious to India?
o As is well known, a large number of Indian leaders believed for many years that
the material injury to India was the result of lack of proper understanding of the
Indian situation on the part of the British people, parliament, and government-or,
at the most, of the exigencies of party politics in Britain- and of the consequent
mistakes of policy and of faulty implementation of even correct polices by the
bureaucracy in India or the party leaders at home. In other words, ignorance and
errors of judgment on the part of the rulers or at most the frailties of democratic
politics and not any deliberate policy or intention were responsible of India’s
economic backwardness. Hence, for these nationalist leaders, the chief
consolation lay in an abiding faith in the sense of justice and fairness and
generosity of the people of Britain, i.e. in the conscience of England’. They,
therefore, felt that if the Government of India and England and the British public
and the British public and parliament only came to know and grasp the real acts of
the situation, the needful would be done. Consequently, they made all possible
attempts to impart the needed instruction. But their educational campaigning, their
economic analysis, and their political agitation to awaken the British conscience
failed in getting their economic grievances redressed in the way they desired. And
slowly their faith was being shattered, their confidence in the sense of justice of
their rulers shaken, and the sent of distrust sown deep.
o Gradually, and in course of time, agitation on concrete economic issues, in
particular those relating to tariff policy and the drain, tended to convince wider
and wider strata of Indian people and leaders that the good will of individual
Englishmen and administration and statesmen notwithstanding, the economic
policies of British Raj sprang from its very nature and character, that poverty and
economic backwardness were perhaps not so much the product of the rulers’ well-
intentioned mistakes as the concomitants of their rule, that this rule was
fundamentally rooted in a desire to exploit India economically and was therefore
harmful to India’s economic growth, that Britain’s sense of justice and generosity
were overcome by the desire to utilize the economic resources of India for its own
advantage.
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Aligarh Movement
o The first college class was introduced, as stated before, in 1878. Within five years
the college became a first grade college, and by 1888 it had been began to teach
up to Calcutta University M.A. level and the Allahabad class of L.L.B. In 1883
when the government Education commission visited the college W.W. Hunter, the
President of the Commission noted that “the teaching staff was both numerous
and efficient.
o Towards the end of 1883 the college got a Principal, Theodore Beck, whose
capability, infectious ardour and generous disposition further improved the
management and efficiency of the college.
o It was from the year 1886 that the tide of public opinion amongst Muslims began
to flow in favour of sir Syed and of the Aligath College; and except for a short
time towards 1889 when the opposition of Maulvi Samiullah Khan considerably
reduced the number of students, the college went on growing.
o From the establishment of the English Universities in India, in 1858, up to 1875
when the M.A. O. College subordinate school was started in Aligarh there had
been but 20 Muslim graduates in the North-Western provinces, 17 B.As. And 3
M.As. But in the same year the number of Hindu graduates had been 846 out of
whom 715 were B.As. The M.As. The M.A.O. College department was formed in
1878 and only in 1880 did its students appear for University examination. But by
1898 the number of Muslim graduates had increased to 126 and there were also
some 174 Muslim under-graduates. In the law department students appeared for
the law examinations only from 1891, and within nine years 14, and, if the
students who passed in the year of Sir Syed’s death are included, 19, passed the
L.L.B. examination and 6 that of wakils and pleaders.
o Sir Syed tried, on the one hand to persuade the government to reform the
University system and to raise its standard and on the other hand to develop the
M.A.O. college into a central University for the Muslims, a university which
might rank some day with oxford, Cambridge and Paris, as a home of great and
noble ideas, a university where Muslim youths might receive the highest
instruction in the sciences of the West and where the teaching of the history and
literature of the East might not be scamped; where a mere parrot-like knowledge
of Western thought was not thought enough and where the youths might also
enjoy, in addition to such advantage, a Muslim atmosphere. Sir syed also hoped
that as the English universities had revived and preserved the culture of Greece
and Rome, his University would revive and retain Islamic culture.
o It is perhaps proper to justify the use of the world ‘movement’ in the title. That
there was a movements can be seen from the presence of a definite goal- a
transformation of the Muslim upper class- throughout the period, from the
systematic effort to propagate the movement aims by lecture and by publication
and to organize the efforts of others in the same direction, from the consciousness
in Sir Syed that this was what he was doing. A steady aim, regularly and
organization in publicizing it and a constant reprisal of both aim and methods
 indicate the presence of something that can properly be called a movement.
o From the date of the establishment of his school at Moradabad in 1858 it is clear
that Sir Syed was aware of the need for reform in Muslim society and over the ten
years to 1859 to 1869 he can be seen moving towards the belief that only though
the introduction of Western ideas and culture can that reform take effort. His visit
to England confirmed that belief, and supplied him with the positive principles
and methods for the movement.
 Mansab System
1 The word mansab means a place or position and therefore it means a rank in the
mansab system under the Mughals.
2 During Babur’s period the term mansabdar was not used; instead, another term
wajhdar was employed. The latter differed in some ways from the mansab system
that evolved under the Mughals after Babur.
3 Akbar gave manasabs to both military and civil officers on the basis of their merit
or service to the state. To fix the grades of officers and classify his soldiers, he
was broadly inspired by the principles adopted by Chingiz Khan. The latter’s
army had been organized on decimal system. The lowest unit was of ten
horsemen, then came one hundred. One thousand so on. Abul Fazal states that
Akbar had established 66 grades of Manasabdars ranging from commanders of 10
horsemen to 10,000 horsemen, although only 33 grades have been mentioned by
him.
4 Mansab denoted three things:
1. It determined the status of its holder (the mansabdar) in the official hierarchy.
2. It fixed the pay of the holder.
3. It also laid upon the holder the obligation of maintaining a specified number of
contingent with horses and equipment.
The Dual Ranks: Zat and Sawar
Initially a single number represented the rank, personal pay and the size of contingent of
mansabdar. In such a situation if a person held a mansab of 500, he was to maintain a
contingent of 500 and receive allowances to maintain it. In addition, he was to receive a
personal pay according to a schedule and undertake other obligations specified for that
rank. After some time, the rank of mansabdar instead of one number, came to be denoted
by two umbers - zat and sawar. This innovation most probably occurred in 1595 -96.
The first number is (zat) deternined the mansabdar’s personal pay (talab-khassa) and his
rank in the organization. The second number (sawar) fixed the number of horses and
horsemen to be maintained by mansabdar and, accordingly, the amount he would receive
for his contingent (tabinan).
Controversy about the dual rank.
There has been controversy about the dual rank. William Irvine thought that the double
rank meant that the mansabdars had to maintain from his personal pay two contingents of
troops. Abdul Aziz, close to modern point of view, held that the zat pay was purely
personal with no involvement of troops. He rejected the theory of Irvine by stating that it
meant the maintenance of one contingent and not two. Athar Ali clarified the position. He
says that the first number (zat) placed the mansabdar in the appropriate position among
the officials of the state and, accordingly, the salary of the mansabdar was determined.
The second rank (sawar) determined the number of horses and horsemen the mansabdar
had to furnish

The Three Classes of Mansabdars

In 1595 -96, the mansabdars were classified into three groups:
1. Those with sawar equal to zat rank
2. Those with half or more than halfof the number of zat
3. Those with sawar rank less than half of zat
 The sawar rank wa either equal or less than the zat. Even if the former was higher,
the mansabdar’s position in the official heirachy would not be affected. For example, a
manasbabdar with 4000 zat and 2000 sawar (4000/2000 in short) was higher in rank than
a manasabdar of 3000/3000, although the latter had a higher number of horsemen under
him.