Eternal India Encyclopedia

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EDUCATION

Glimpses of Early Christian Missionary Influence in Education A Case Study

Bangalore Cantonment with its cosmopolitan social composition has had the historical experience of absorbing the influence of Christi- anity, rather intensely. Percolating deep into the urban segment, this class of Indian Christians had their forefathers as the first generation converts. They were referred to as "Native Christians" by the British administration in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The convert was a native who adopted the religion of the European missionary and, in some ways, the culture of the missionary that came with his religion. Nearly three quarters of the Province's Christians were natives in 1881 and lived in Bangalore, largely due to reasons of occupation and the presence of the garrison churches. Of significance among the Native Christians were the Tamils, so conspicuous in the Cantonment. The Tamils constituted 44% of the resident area. They came as camp followers, domestic servants and traders in European goods. As far as Christianity went in its operations, for the period 1858- 1920 almost all the Catholic and Protestant missions reported phenome- nal success...This was facilitated by two major famines in 1876-77 and 1878-79, and the outbreak of plague in 1887 and 1898 which drove many to Christianity out of expediency, when entire families were converted. In the Civil and Military Station (as the Cantonment was also referred to) the converts numbered nearly 12,500 in 1911 and nearly 17,000 in 1921. The native converts among the Roman Catholics were larger than the Protestants because of the former being longer in the field. Like in all principal stations of the Madras Presidency, the Roman Catholic Chruch in Bangalore had a real vitality and included in its congregation Europeans, Eurasians and Natives. The Diocese of Ban- galore formerly part of the Diocese of Mysore was erected into a Vicariate in the year 1850, after a separation from Pondicherry in 1845. Protestantism too ran a good race in Bangalore. The first Protestant Mission was the London Mission which began work in the city in 1820 and by 1911 they were joined by the Wesleyans, the American Meth- odist Episcopal, the Leipzig, Lutheran Missions, and the Church of England Zenana Mission. The Wesleyan Mision commenced its operation in 1822 among the Tamil people of Bangalore and subse- quently occupied 7 or 8 other stations among the Kannada speaking population of the interior. They were the first to establish a school for natives in the Cantonment in 1836 which was subsequently transferred to the city. In 1842 the Mission established the Native Educational Institution in Bangalore City from which sprang a number of branches in the Cantonment. To them should also go the credit for having trained many of the highest native employees in the province, and establishing a printing press and printing the largest number of Kannada books, both secular and religious. The 'Harvest Field' was an English monthly published by the mission devoted to misionary topics, and the 'Vritanta Partike', a weekly newspaper in Kannada. For the London Mission, Benjamin Rice rendered yeoman service for Bangalore for 50 years between 1837-1887. It was work among the native converts which provided the neces- sary impetus for the English church to exist and grow among the believers. Education became a productive instrument in the fulfillment of Church intentions. In fact three main agencies were responsible for the literacy that spread among the native Christian community. They were foreign Christian missionaries, the British Government, and the progressive Indians of Bangalore. Private agencies played a vital role as there were no Government schools in parts of Bangalore for the

period under consideration. During the early years of the Wesleyan Mission's work in Bangalore, they had 6 boys schools and 5 girls schools in the Cantonment itself. Initially the schools were managed by Rev. J.Garrett who was also responsible for drawing up a scheme for vernacular and English education during 1852-1853, which was ac- cepted by the British Commissioner at that time, Mark Cubbon. In the frontline of Christian institutions for girls in Bangalore* Cantonment was the Goodwill Girls High School established in 1855 under the management of the Wesleyan T amil Mission, the only one in the area for Tamil-speaking girls. English was emphasised in the higher classes and the school produced a steady stream of entrants to the medical and teaching professions. The elementary schools of the Cantonment depended upon it for their supply of teachers. Two other schools of the Wesleyan Mission catered to the native Christians in Cantonment north. In Shoolay there was a school attended by Sudra girls, taught by a European teacher. Among the Catholic schools for native Christian girls in the area, was the Rajamah Thumboo Chetty Girls School opened in 1899 in a building on Narain Pillay Street. Due to the unhealthiness of the locality, where plague broke out very often, it was made over to the Sisters of St. Josephs of Tarbes. It must be noted here that the native Christian community has excelled the ohter classes in the matter of female education. This was due to the patronage given by social figures. Mention may also be made here of the Zenana teaching introduced into Bangalore by the Church of England. 'The Christian schools set up traditions, which in course of time, grew to be recognisably great influences in the areas in which they functioned. Of course, there was talk of proselytising, forceful conver- sion and the evil effects of compulsory religious training of a Christian kind. But the good out-weighed the evil. The Native Christians avidly took to education because for them as individuals of their communities, education appeared to be the certain and only means of improving their economic condition and acquiring social prestige. This resulted in the formation of a small but singificant core of a newly educated elite. What was significant among the class of educated and westernised Native Christians was the rapidly increasing knowledge of English. While English education did have its positive qualities, the negative aspects too manifested themselves amongst this class. This was obvious in their manners, accent and behaviour. Hindu and European contemporaries lamented that the young men of this class mistook rudeness and discourtesy for an independent spirit. But towards the Europeans the native Christians observed a position of subservience. The native Christians offered loyalty and service in return for employ- ment, education, medicine and other welfare services that the church offered. Their motive was to move with the Europeans and gain affluence in the process. (R.P.)