D

ESPONDENCY seems to be stamped

on the face of most educated persons in India. There is gloom prevailing everywhere and in that gloom one has to read the doom of the nation. Physical deterioration is so rapidly progressing, even amongst the common people, that an optimist Anglo-Indian civilian, Sir Charles Elliott, a late Lieutenant-Governnor of Bengal, was constrained to write:

"The deterioration of the physique of the population is a matter of common observation among officials, and is telling on the productive capacity of the laborers, and also on the recruiting of the Indian army, compelling the Government to obtain her soldiers among the Gurkhas of Nepal and the Balochis and other better-fed people of the native states."

Another well-known Anglo-Indian writer calculated that one-fourth of the population of India cannot get more than one meal a day. Bad health, struggle and worry of life are the lot of those who have received a modern education.

With such stern facts staring us in the face, we should be remiss in our duty,those to whom much is given and of whom much is expected, would be guilty of serious neglect of duty if we sat idle and did nothing to remove the gloom in which we are involved. Education imposes heavy responsibilities upon us, and we should not turn our backs upon our present serious situation. We should try to face it and devise means to improve it.

The degradation of India is not due to

(Browning's Paracelsus).

one cause. There are many factors which have contributed to bring about the situation in which we are now placed. To trace all these causes and to find out proper remedies for them should be the serious attempt of every citizen and well-wisher of his country.

But there is some hope still, because there is an awakening almost everywhere in India. Things are moving with a rapidity which half a century ago would not have been thought possible for "the unchanging East." A new spirit is visible everywhere. India is in a state of transition.

brought

This awakening has been about by the system of education that has been established in this country under British rule and also by the extension of intercourse with other nations. Very truly has Mr. Havelock Ellis, the author of the New Spirit, observed:

"What impresses one is the vast resonance which now accompanies every human achievement, because of the communalization and extension of the methods of intercourse."

It was impossible for India not to awaken when every civilized nation on the face of the earth was wide awake and making rapid strides to reach the goal of its ambition. As soon as her awakening commenced, she turned to her past literature-the glorious legacy which she has inherited from the sages, seers, prophets and poets of yore. This has naturally inspired

her with hope. Once she gave the religion of love to one-third of humanity. As she looks around and sees the condition of the mammon-worshipping world of the present day, she feels assured that she is still in a position to give religion to threefourths of mankind. When the awakening in Europe commenced in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the people turned to the ancient literatures of Greece and Rome, which brought about the Renaissance. Similarly the Indian renaissance must be brought about by the ancient literature of India. If man is to attain to the goal of life in the harmonious development of all his powers, physical, mental, moral and spiritual, and after leading a happy life here to pass on to his everlasting bliss hereafter, then that is possible only by imbibing the spirit of the sages of ancient India. The importance of its ancient civilization and its ideals in the past was fully realised by the late Professor Max Muller, which made him say in one of his well known lectures :

"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life and has found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention of those who have studied Plato and Kant, I should point to India. And if I were to ask myself from what literature we, here in Europe, we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans and one Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the correc

body with a sound mind, he must be a thoroughly virtuous man imbued with the spirit of all that is best and noblest in his own religion and must at the same time be in touch with all that is best in Western civilisation before he can do properly the work before him.

II.

What are the evils which beset modern Indian society? These are (1) physical deterioration, (2) lack of capacity for organization and sustained effort, (3) absence of

tive which is most wanted to make onr inner life more

perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human, a life not for this life only, but a transfigured and eternal life--again I should point to India."

India has to play a great part in the uplift of humanity. It, therefore, behoves every Indian to equip himself properly for that task. To take part in that noble work would require proper development of all his faculties; he must have a sound

high ideals and deep spirit of religion and selfsacrifice.

It is very often said that in education lies the salvation of the nation. The question is, what is that education which will bring about the desired end? It is not necessary here to analyse the various definitions that have been given of the term education. Suffice it for our purpose to say that by education we mean that sort of education which aims at the harmonious development of all the faculties of man. It must be founded on the harmonious exercise of the body, the senses, the emotions and intellect. It should be regarded as the process by which an individual is helped not only to adapt himself to his surroundings but also to make the best use of the world-forces in the interest of his proper growth.

It must be remembered that India was never an illiterate country. Before the British occupation, we excited the highest admiration of foreigners. possessed a system of education which Even now with certain modifications it seems to be the only possible system.

Every village had its school for training boys. This indigenous system of education was well adapted to the condition of the country. It did not cripple the students but made them practical men and equipped them with adequate weapons

for fighting their way in the world. It was inexpensive, the fee being paid mostly in kind and not so much in cash as at present. It exercised a great influence on the morals of its recipients and provided them with qualifications for the duties of householders. It did not tell upon their health, nor sap their vitality, nor made them dyspeptics or diabetics. No doubt it had its limitations and drawbacks. Culture was one-sided, but it produced thorough scholars and specialists, in every branch of study, and practical workers in every walk of life. In the controversy between orientalists and occidentalists in the twenties and thirties of the last century, men like Wilson and Prinsep laid great stress on oriental education because they found that indigenous Education made its votaries gentlemen and thorough scholars.

The well-to-do, the wealthy, aye every one who was in a position to do so, contributed his mite towards the maintenance of teachers and scholars, connected with the system. It received encouragement at the hands of every one because they found that it did not create artificial wants, nor foster any spirit of individualism or selfishness and was well suited to the needs of Indian society.

Even now in all our towns like Delhi, Agra, Cawnpore, Benares, Amritsar, boys who are educated under the old system become expert accountants and men of business at the age of sixteen or seventeen. They are placed as apprentices in their own firms or in those of other men in the city, no bonds or fees being taken, and after a year or two's training they are made to enter the firm as subordinate clerks with small allowances of about fifty rupees a year. Thence they gradually rise till they are able to control enormous businesses involving transactions of lakhs of rupees and end by becoming big merchants or wholesale dealers. The contrast between the children. of a man of modern education employed in government service or in the learned professions and of those of an ordinary trader or business man is very marked. Whilst the former become mostly helpless after their father's death and find the struggle for life to be too much for them, the latter take up their father's position immediately and do not at all feel their loss. This is seen every day in all large trade centres and points out the direction in which the solution of the present problem lies.

The system of modern education in India is to be dated not from the foundation of the British rule in this country, but from what is known as Wood's Education Despatch of 1854. From that time commenced the system of education which we now find in vogue in India, and Educational Departments were established in all the provinces of British India for the purpose of controlling schools and colleges. Since then, that is in about sixty years' time, education has made rather slow progress. Nevertheless in certain quarters is to be heard the cry of "halt," that is, stop the system of education which is in vogue in this country.

But there is no need of the cry of "halt", because as yet education has merely touched the outer fringe of Indian society. The following figures taken from government publication, will show the progress which education is making in different provinces of this country. In 1911-12, the total number of scholars was in

The figures of the last census show that only 59 persons out of 1000 are literate in the whole population of India. Burma heads the list with its 222 persons per 1000, Bengal can only boast of 77, Madras 75, Punjab 63, United Provinces 34 and Central Provinces 33. Amongst males 106 and amongst females only 10 are able to read and write. The figures for those who can read and write English show that in the whole of India in 1911, there were 68 males and 7 females per 10,000 who could do so.

When we see the illiteracy which permeates every stratum of society in all parts of India, the cry of halt is not at all justified.

Some

Bengalis call their province the brain of India. No doubt there is some justification for their doing so. But what is the condition of education in that province in India? Lieutenant-Colonel U. N. Mukherjee, I.M.s. (Retd.) who has made a special study of this subject writes in a Bengali pamphlet :

“Amongst males of Bengalee Brahmans, Vaidyas and Kayasthas, on an average, only 60 per cent. are literate. But amongst Bengalee Hindus generally not more than 8 per cent. can read and write!"

From the above it will be seen that we scarcely have reason to congratulate ourselves when observers like Lt.-Col. U. N. Mukherji find on analysis the position and the result to be far from satisfactory.

Every province shows illiteracy to an extent which is unparalleled in any state in Europe or America. Bombay, which was the first province with which commenced the British connexion in the East, is a backward presidency in matters educational. Perhaps this may be in part due to her Doverty-stricken condition. Writes Mr. Alexander Mackenzie:

"It is worthy of remark that the most prosperous province, Bengal, appears to be the one most lightly ssessed. Madras, which pays a much heavier assessent, is notoriously a poor and backward presidency; hile in Bombay, which is the most heavily assessed f all, the state of the cultivators has become so deserate that a special act of legislature for their relief om the extortions of the village money-lenders is ow under trial." England's work in India. London.

The other provinces of India fare even vorse. In the United Provinces, only 38 ales out of 1000 and 2 females out of 0.000 and in the Punjab only 10 males out f 1000 can read and write English. In the ative States of Rajputana and central ndia it is still worse. And whilst the old digenous system has been undermined its foundations, no better modern system as taken its place in the country, with the ception of perhaps Baroda where one erson in every ten can read and write and in every 10000 can read and write nglish.

From this it will be seen that there is arcely any reason for the fear expressed certain quarters that Indians are recievg "too much" education or that the gh education imparted in colleges and e Universities should be crippled in favor

elementary education. We are still ery much behind hand in matters educaonal as contrasted with not only the

progressive countries of the West, but also the India of the past and the India of the time of Raja Bhoj, when even a teli (oilman) could boast of being able to compose a poem in Sanskrit offhand. It is said that a Brahmin who was illiterate was found in Raja Bhoj's territory. The king wanted him to leave his dominions, as none of his subjects was illiterate. It was however said that a teli was so and that the Brahmin should be given his place. The teli was sent for and was asked if he could read and write, and then and there he composed a Sanskrit poem.

From this it will be seen that education is not making such rapid strides in this country as it ought to do. To understand fully the causes to which this is due we should in the first place know the economical condition of the Indian people. According to the late Sir W. Wilson Hunter one-fourth of the population of this country in his day could not get more than one meal a day. The average income of an Indian was sometimes calculated to be about 27 Rs. a year. Things have not improved since. Poverty stands in the way of most Indian parents giving the benefit of education to their children. On the other hand of late years departmental activities have tended to make education as prohibitively expensive as possible. Little blame to poor Indians if, being unable to make both ends meet, they are prevented from taking advantage of the educational institutions of the country.

We have taken pains to calculate the cost of education of students reading in the different classes of schools and colleges in the United Provinces. A student studying in the Matriculation class has to spend about 25 Rs. a month for his education. He has to pay a school fee of 3 Rs. per month. His books on an average cost him more. In former times slates were in use in school classes but now paper exercise books are used, which cost about a rupee a month. For games he is required to contribute at least 8 as. Boots and dresses for games are also expensive items in his educational bill. Board and lodging, milk, clothing and pocket expenses bring the total to about 25 Rs. a month. This of course does not include the pay of a private tutor, whose services are very often necessary for students of average intelligence, since the course of studies have become so hard that

they can not do without him. A good tutor cannot be had under 20 Rs. a month. So that it is very difficult for a man with an income of 50 Rs. a month to educate one boy up to the Matriculation and very difficult for a man with 100 Rs. a month to do the same. As a matter of fact the number of persons whose incomes are 600 and 1200 Rs. a year whether in business or service is very small as compared with the rest of the population. It may therefore be easily seen how few of our middleclass men can profit by the system of education, not to speak of the poor.

But forty years ago, the cost of education for a student in the Matriculation class in these provinces was hardly ten rupees a month. The school fee was about 8 as. a month. The cost of living was not so dear as now. And then almost every student used to get scholarship ranging from 3 to 6 rupees a month. In Colleges it was even cheaper. A student reading in the F. A. or Intermediate classes used to get a scholarship ranging from 10 to 15 Rupees a month, and in the B.A. classes 20 to

a

32 Rs.

a month. So that at the end of his college course he was financially a gainer of not less than 700 or 800 rupees from his college; his degree being obtained into the bargain. The habits of students of those days were very simple and economical. A life in a hostel did not cost more than 3 or 4 Rs. a month; the college fee was 2 Rs. Clothes, books and games did not cost more than 2 Rs. So that the student could save 6 or 7 Rs. out of his scholarship in the F.A., and more in the B.A. classes. It was this system which produced many of our best and most brilliant graduates who made their mark in after life and brought honor and credit to their country. The names of some of the most eminent Indian reformers, patriots, politicians and scholars like Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Gooroodas Banerji, Ranade, Telang, Malabari, Gokhale, &c., are familiar to every one. They were not the sons of the rich or the upper ten amongst Indians, but of middle class men or even of poor men and ryots. And yet they achieved success in their in their University and public

careers.

Text books were then not so often changed as they are now. So when a student was promoted from a lower to a higher class he very often made a present

'tirato Che lower

of the books no longer requ some deserving poor stud class, or if he was himself poor, sold then and often realizing more than half their real value purchased others with them.

Teachers and professors also took great personal interest in their pupils. But now on account of the courses of studies being inordinately long, they have hardly much time left to cultivate friendship with their pupils.

Text-books are often unsuitable and o' no practical use. As many of the professors who teach them are not specialists but for the much-abused cram, boys would not pass. Changes introduced by the University Act have not proved beneficia to students. On the contrary, they have made education more expensive, courses longer, and that sine-qua-non of success the passing of examinations, more difficult

It is not only the economic condition of the people, poverty-stricken as they are which prevents them from taking advant age of the educational institutions of the country, but the medium which is used for instruction also stands in the way of the spread of education to the desirable extent In no other civilised country of the world has any attempt been made in moder times to instruct the people through th medium of a foreign tongue. This perhap has operated more than any other caus against education becoming generally di fused amongst the masses of India.

It is true that many of the best thought of Western literature, science and phil sophy must be studied in the languages the West in order to realise them in the fullest significance, but this must be th work of the scholar and the specialist. Fo the ordinary student, whilst a certai amount of knowledge of English is alway very necessary, he should not be forced t study it for things which can be as useful learnt through the medium of his ow vernaculars and these are the ordinar courses of History, Science and Math matics taught in our schools. In form times when History and Mathematics up high standards were taught in norm schools and other institutions, studen could assimilate them much better tha they do in the colleges of the present day Now it often is cram, formerly it was we digested knowledge.

# I leave out of consideration the American

periment in the Philippines..