The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century c4.s4.t2: Adam's Phraseology and Presentation
The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century c4.s4.t2
- Language
- English
Adam's Phraseology and Presentation
c4.s4.t2.1
In spite of the controversies which *Adam's Reports* have given rise to—the most notable one being his mention of there being perhaps 1,00,000 village schools still existing in Bengal and Bihar in some form till the 1830s—the total impression produced by them is one of extensive decay of these institutions. Largely due to Adam's evangelical, moralistic tone, reading them is a rather depressing business. Adam himself was no great admirer of the Indian teacher, or the nature and content of Indian education. However, as Adam started from the view that the British Government of the day should interest itself in the sphere of elementary and higher Indian education and also support it financially, he seemed to have thought it necessary to use all possible arguments and imagery to bring home this point. Under the circumstances, it was necessary for him to dramatise the decay as well as the relative state of ignorance of the teachers, as well as the lack of books, buildings, etc., in order to evoke the desired sympathetic response. Furthermore, it is important to note that W. Adam initially had come to Bengal in 1818 as a Baptist Missionary. Though he left missionary activity after some years, and took to journalism instead, he remained a product of his contemporary British times, a period dominated by two principal currents of opinion: one which saw the necessity of evangelising India, advocated by men like William Wilberforce; the other, its westernisation, symbolised by men like T.B. Macaulay and William Bentinck. As indicated earlier, both ideas were encompassed in the Charter Act of 1813. Additionally, the reports of Adam, although not formal official documents, were nonetheless sanctioned and financed by the orders of the Governor General himself. Naturally, therefore, while they may imply many things—as do some of the reports of the Madras Presidency collectors—they were nevertheless phrased in such a way as not to lay the blame directly on past government policy and action.
c4.s4.t2.2
*Varied and Valuable Sociological Data*
c4.s4.t2.3
The more important point which comes through Adam's voluminous writing, however, was his remarkable industry and the detail and variety of data which he was able to collect: *first*, from the post-1800 existing sources; and *second*, through his own investigations. While the controversy about his 1,00,000 village schools in Bengal and Bihar is finally forgotten, the material which he provided (regarding the caste composition of the pupils taught as well as the teachers, their average ages at various periods, and the books which were then in use in the districts he surveyed) will still have great relevance.
c4.s4.t2.4
*Selections Reproduced*
c4.s4.t2.5
Some selections from Adam's material are reproduced in the present work (Annexure D). These include: (i) descriptions of elementary education taken from the first and second reports; (ii) description of higher learning, from the first report, (iii) a section on Medical education taken from the second report, based on investigations in Nattore, Rajshahy; and (iv), some tabulations of the basic data for the five surveyed districts contained in the third report. This latter tabulation is given under the following heads:
c4.s4.t2.6
a. Elementary Schools and caste-wise division of students b. Elementary Schools and caste-wise division of teachers c. Books used in Elementary Schools d. Details of institutions of Sanskritic Learning e. Books used in Sanskritic Studies f. Details of institutions of Persian and Arabic Learning g. Books used in Persian and Arabic Studies h. Subject and districtwise duration of Study