Chapter 2 – Civilizing the “Native”, Educating the Nation

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Question 1:

Match the following:

William Jones	promotion of English education
Rabindranath Tagore	respect for ancient cultures
Thomas Macaulay	gurus
Mahatma Gandhi	learning in a natural environment
Pathshalas	critical of English education

Answer:

William Jones	respect for ancient cultures
Rabindranath Tagore	learning in a natural environment
Thomas Macaulay	promotion of English education
Mahatma Gandhi	critical of English education
Pathshalas	gurus

Page No 107:

Question 3:

Why did William Jones feel the need to study Indian history, philosophy and law?

Answer:

Orientalists like William Jones studied ancient Indian texts on law, philosophy, religion, politics, morality, arithmetic, medicine and the other sciences. This was for a reason. They felt that Indian civilisation had attained its glory in the ancient past, but had subsequently declined. In order to understand India, it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts that were produced in the ancient period. For only those texts could reveal the real ideas and laws of the Hindus and Muslims, and only a new study of these texts could form the basis of future development of India.

Question 4:

Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?

Answer:

James Mill and Thomas Macaulay were critical of the Orientalist vision of learning. They believed that the knowledge of the East was full of errors and unscientific thought; that Eastern literature was non-serious and light-hearted; that no branch of Eastern knowledge could be compared to what had been produced in Europe, and especially in England; that the British government was wasting both effort and public money in promoting Oriental learning as it was of no practical use. They saw India as an uncivilised country that needed to be civilised. For them the aim of education was to teach what was useful and practical. European education was thus essential in India; English language education was essential in India. Indians needed to be made familiar with the scientific, technical and philosophical advances that the West had made; they needed to be exposed to the great poets and writers of the West; their tastes, values and culture needed to be changed. This, according to them, was the right way forward.

Question 5:

Why did Mahatma Gandhi want to teach children handicrafts?

Answer:

Mahatma Gandhi believed that education ought to develop a person’s mind and soul. He felt that children needed to work with their hands, learn a useful handicraft and know how different things operated. This would develop their mind and their capacity to understand.

Question 6:

Why did Mahatma Gandhi think that English education had enslaved Indians?

Answer:

English or colonial education, according to Mahatma Gandhi, created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians. It made them see Western civilisation as superior, and destroyed their pride in their own culture. Thus charmed by the West and by everything coming from the West, the Indians educated under the colonial system would end up being the admirers of British rule in India; thus, willingly forgetting their enslavement, and enslaving themselves further.

Question 2:

State whether true or false:

(a) James Mill was a severe critic of the Orientalists.

(b) The 1854 Despatch on education was in favour of English being introduced as a medium of higher education in India.

(c) Mahatma Gandhi thought that promotion of literacy was the most important aim of education.

(d) Rabindranath Tagore felt that children ought to be subjected to strict discipline.

Answer:

(a) James Mill was a severe critic of the Orientalists.

True

(b) The 1854 Despatch on education was in favour of English being introduced as a medium of higher education in India.

True

(c) Mahatma Gandhi thought that promotion of literacy was the most important aim of education.

False

(d) Rabindranath Tagore felt that children ought to be subjected to strict discipline.

False

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