Missionary Education, Knowledge and North Indian Society, c. 1880-1915

239 Pages·2012·3.54 MB·English

Missionary Education, Knowledge and North Indian Society,
c. 1880-1915
H.J.A. Bellenoit
St. Antony's College
Oxford University
D.Phil Dissertation
Faculty of Modern History
Broad Street
Oxford
£2.QO$"2 CUTS to.v-.osj
Contents
List of Maps page iii
List of Tables iv
Acknowledgements v
Glossary vi
List of Abbreviations ix
1. Prologue: knowledge, religion and education in South Asia 1
2. Predicaments of religion and finance for the state 14
3. Spirituality, conversion and representations of India 47
4. Religious interaction, the curriculum and Indian challenges 80
5. Maintaining missionary influence: constructive nationalism in 120
schools and hostels
6. Failures of education: infrastructural limits and internal reproductions 157
7. Epilogue: knowledge, religion and nationalism in modern 195
South Asia
Bibliography 207
n
Maps
1. Indian subcontinent, c.l 900 page 1
2. The Gangetic Plain 15
in
Tables
1. Costs of Educating a Single Pupil under Public Instruction page 25
in UP, Bengal, and Madras Presidency 1910
2. Per-capita expenditure on education, Various Provinces of 25
British India, 1904
3. Inspecting Staff Ratios in Selected Provinces in British India, 1897 26
4. Composition of GIA schools and pupils in the UP, Bengal, 26
Bombay and Madras Presidencies, 1910
5. Composition of GIA expenditure in the UP, Bengal, Bombay 26
and Madras Presidencies, 1910
6. Incomes Derived from Fees in Various Provinces of British India 27
7. Costs of Gov. & GIA Colleges in British India, 1884-8 27
8. Composition of Educational Expenditures, FY 1881-2 28
9. Provincial Educational expenditure on Primary education, 1905-6 28
10. GIA Schools and Missionary Dominance, 1879 35
11. Recognised Schools in British India, 1910-11 35
12. Mission hostels in the United Provinces, 1903-8 122
13. Sources of non-fee Revenue, Rs., in select Mission schools 159
14. Teacher Demographics in select CMS Mission Schools 169
15. Teacher Demographics in select LMS Mission Schools 170
16. Teacher Demographics in select SPG Mission Schools 170
17. Student Demographics in select CMS Mission Schools 170
18. Student Demographics in select LMS Mission Schools 170
19. Student Demographics in select SPG Mission Schools 171
IV
Acknowledgements
This project stemmed from a curious realisation that most of my Indian friends and
colleagues had graduated from mission schools and were able to quote Bible passages
better than most self-professed Christians. Combined with an interest in the very current
topic of'colonial knowledge', Indian religions and educational sociology, this encouraged
me to ponder on how they could absorb such influence into their identity, whilst having
attended a (theoretically) proselytising institution. This got me thinking about education,
religion and their relations to forms of colonial knowledge. This could link what is an
established and sophisticated social history of India with what is an already lively
historiographical debate and new-found role for religion in modern historiography.
This study is mainly concerned with northern India and the United Provinces in
particular. But it also incorporates other Hindi and Urdu-speaking areas, such as Delhi,
and the Central Provinces. It will also consider select parts of the Punjab, Kashmir and
Bengal. It examines religious debate and scholarly discourse at both a northern and
eastern level; it will also incorporate examples in other parts of India.
A number of librarians and archivists have provided invaluable assistance during the
course of this project. I would like to thank the Overseas Research Student Award
Scheme (ORS), the Beit Commonwealth Fund at Oxford, the benefactors of Wheaton
College (Massachusetts), the governments of India and Uttar Pradesh, the staff of the
Indian Institute, the Rhodes House Library, the Uttar Pradesh State Archives and
Secretariat Library, the National Archives of India, the SOAS and British Libraries, and
the Birmingham University Library. In India I would like to especially thank those in
Delhi and Lucknow for facilitating access to archives and their unwavering hospitality:
Ram Advani, Asif Ali, Abdullah Gagru, Saleem Kidwai, Amitabh Pandey, Vibhuti Rai,
Dr. Sandianagar, Rakesh Shukla, Alok Sinha, Nikita Sud, and Gautam and Reshmi
Thaukar. The comments and suggestions from papers given in both Oxford and
Cambridge proved invaluable in hammering out final arguments and clarifications. An
enormous intellectual debt is owed to my supervisor, David Washbrook, whose
scholarship and ebullience have been an inspiration in my study of India's history. My
fellow graduate students in Oxford and Cambridge have provided an intellectually
stimulating environment the past four years: Nandini Chatterjee, Sanchari Dutta, Chris
Harding, Angma Jhala, Shruti Kapila, Yasmin Khan, Satoshi Mizutani, Alexander
Morrison and Vanita Sharma. I would especially like to thank Chris Bayly for his
constructive comments and unwavering support. Many thanks are also due to Shahid
Amin, Judith Brown, Raj Chandarvarkar, Vipan Chandra, Francis Clooney, Michael
Dodson, Bob Frykenberg, Nandini Gooptu, Mark Harrison, John McLeod, Shayman
Mukherjee, Francesca Orsini, Tapan Raychaudhuri, Sanjay Seth, lan Talbot, and Tom
Trautmann for their valuable comments and inspirations, in addition to numerous other
individuals with whom I have discussed this project. And of course, this is for my parents,
who have done everything possible to enable me to complete this.
H.J.A. Bellenoit
Oxford, March, 2005
Glossary
Advaita school of Hindu philosophy which believes in unity of all
things, monism, rather than division between spiritual and worldly.
Agarwal a north Indian merchant caste.
Arya Samaj organisation founded as a Hindu revivalist/reformist body.
Ashrama stage of a Hindu in his life.
Ashuddh unclean or polluted.
Avatara incarnation; an incarnate is an avatar.
Babu a (often derogatory) term used to describe educated Bengalis
in Government employment.
Bania Hindu merchant caste of north India.
Begum an ex-King's wife.
Bhadralok 'respectable people', usually referring to English-educated
Bengalis.
Bhajan a song of religious content in Hinduism.
Bhakti devotion to God (Hinduism).
Bhangi sweeper, untouchable.
Brahmacharya celibacy.
Brahman member of Hindu priestly caste; highest and purest
in the varna scheme.
Brahmo Samaj Hindu reformist organisation founded in nineteenth century.
Chamar sweeper caste of north India's 'untouchable' population.
Chaukidar a watchman.
Chela a pupil.
Chitpavan caste title of Maharashtra Brahmans with tradition of
elite service under Maratha dynasts.
Dacoitee gang robbery.
Darshan the sigh or view of a holy person, object or place, which bestows a
blessing on a viewer; one gives or receives darshan.
Dharma righteousness (Hinduism); loosely 'religion'.
Dhoti loin cloth worn by men.
Dom considered 'untouchable'.
Dvija lit., 'twice-born'.
Dvaita dualism; the notion that the worldly is distinct from the spiritual.
Gotra clan or sub-caste.
Gujar a pastoralist and agriculturalist caste of north India.
Guru an Indian teacher or mentor.
Hakeem a doctor.
Halkabandi an administrative circle.
Ishwara in Hinduism, a personal God, also known as Bhagvan.
Izzat honour.
Jat a middle agricultural caste of north India.
Jati sub-caste, or birth.
Jyotish Hindu astrology.
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Kafir infidel, or non-believer in Islam.
Kallar a pastoralist and military caste of north India.
Karma the ethical law of causation.
Kayastha north Indian writer caste.
Kazi a Muslim judge: under the British a registrar in a city.
Khattri north Indian mercantile and administrative caste.
Kotwal city magistrate: a police chief.
Kshatriya one of four varnas, a warrior caste.
Lokika describes Brahmins who follow secular,
i.e. non-priestly callings.
Madrasah Islamic Seminary.
Mahar an 'unclean' labouring caste in Maharashtra.
Maktab Islamic Primary School for boys.
Mails gardeners.
Mandir temple, usually Hindu.
Masjid mosque.
Math monastery.
Maulvi a Muslim cleric.
Maya illusion.
Mela a religious gathering in Hinduism.
Mithar a north Indian sweeper caste, esp. in the Banaras area.
Mleccha a barbarian, or outsider.
Mohadharma a false religion.
Mufti an exponent of law in a Muslim city.
Muhtasib superintendent of markets and morals.
Munshi an Indian language instructor, usually employed by the British.
Mushairah a poetic competition.
Nava vidha lit., 'new knowledge', or the New Dispensation
of the Brahmo Samaj.
Nawab deputy to the Mughal Emperor.
Nyaya system of Hindu logic and philosophy.
Panchayat a system of local village government.
Pandit a Hindu teacher, usually Brahmin.
Parsi Zoroastrian in India, mostly concentrated about Bombay.
Pathshala Hindu indigenous School.
Pir Muslim mystical adepts of Sufism.
Prayaschitta atonement, usually associated with returning from sea travel.
Purana cosmologies and divine lessons of medieval Hinduism.
Purdah custom of veiling and sheltering women from public, practised
primarily among Muslims, but also by particular Hindu castes.
Ram divine Hindu warrior-king.
Raj lit., 'rule', usually referring to British colonial rule.
Rajput north Indian military and royal and warrior caste.
Sabha a meeting.
Sadhu Hindu ascetic, wandering holy man.
Samaj society, association.
Samsara cycle of rebirths.
Sanatani orthodox Hindu.
Santan dharm lit., 'the eternal religion', i.e., Hinduism.
Sardar a village chief.
Vll
Sarkar government.
Sati widow-burning.
Sewa service.
Shastrartha traditional public scholarly debate.
Shaivite a devotee of the deity Lord Shiva.
Shiva major Hindu god.
Shudra the lowest caste in Hinduism.
Shuddi act of reconverting back to Hinduism.
Sufi mystical and esoteric knowledge within Islam.
Swadeshi lit. 'own country', also Indian.
Tahsil a sub-district.
Talqudar wealthy landowners of the UP area, primarily in Oudh.
Thakurani a village headwoman.
Vaishnava Hindus giving particular veneration to Vishnu, and who believe in
distinction between soul and Divine.
Vaishya caste third in rank of the varna system, usually commercial.
Vakil a servant.
Varna lit. 'colour', or the idealised fourfold rank of society .
Vedas India's oldest classical religious scriptures, c. 1500-1000 BC.
Yamalok dwelling of the dead, hell.
Zila government-run village school.
Zamindar a landowner.
Vlll
Abbreviations
BUL Birmingham University Library, Birmingham
CLR Copies of Letters Received
CMD Cambridge Mission to Delhi
CMS Church Mission Society
CP Central Provinces
CSSH Comparative Studies in Society and History
CIS Contributions to Indian Sociology
Ed. Files Educational Files
Ed. Procds. Educational Proceedings
GIA Grant-in-Aid
GOI Government of India
HD Home Department
H.S. High School
JAS Journal ofA sian Studies
LMS London Missionary Society
LR Letters Received
MAS Modern Asian Studies
NAI National Archives of India, New Delhi
NWP&O North West Provinces of Agra and Oudh (before 1902)
OIOC Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library
RHL Rhodes House Library, Oxford
SOASL School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London
SPG Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
SVN Selections from Vernacular Newspapers (United Provinces)
UP United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (after 1902)
UPSRR Uttar Pradesh Secretariat Research Room, Lucknow
UPSA Uttar Pradesh State Archives, Lucknow
Note on Transliteration and word choices
English translations of south Asian words have been in constant flux since the eighteenth
century. I have tried to be consistent, and will employ the transliteration of South Asian
words as they were used during the period under review save those which are 'corrupt'
survivals. The phrase 'non-Christian' is used only in quotations from records of the period
under review, and only in longer passages. It has usually been replaced with 'Hindu and
Muslim', understanding that its usage inherently possesses a negative and condescending
connotation. 'Truth' is also put in quotations with the full understanding that missionary
definitions of truth were inherently condescending. 'Missionary' and 'educationist' are
used interchangeably, and in conjunction, to avoid repetition. The terms 'east' and 'west'
will be used in lower-case (except when quoted), understanding that although there are
values and cultures which are predominately eastern and western, they are by no means
monolithic. GIA and 'grant' are also used interchangeably. 'Government', 'Education
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Department', and 'Department' are all used, understanding that educational matters were
part of the Government apparatus.
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