प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

246 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
and Nándurbar of the 14th century as 'upright, religious
and trustworthy.¹ The same was the view of
Abul Fazl, the minister of Akbar.
Conclusion : Travellers, pilgrims and merchants
are usually disposed to make caustic remarks about the
culture and character of the foreigners among whom
they have moved ; when so many of them belonging
to different times and climes and professing different
faiths agree in paying a high tribute to Indian
character, we may well conclude that there is no
exaggeration and that the educational system of the
country had succeeded remarkably in its ideal of
raising the national character to a high level. It is
only after the 17th and 18th centuries A.D. that we
come across some foreign travellers, traders,
missionaries and ex-governors passing strictures upon
the Hindu character. Some of them were probably
misled by their prejudices, as we find their testimony
contradicted by others.² It is also possible that the
Hindu character may have suffered deterioration
during the long spell of foreign rule in medieval times ;
for successful falsehood is usually the best defence of
a slave. It is however worth observing that not a
single foreign observer is found passing hostile remarks
about Hindu character and honesty during the ancient
period of Indian history.
Success in developing Personality : The deve-
lopment of personality was the third aim of the
educational system and let us see how far it was able to

1. Ibna Batuta, p. 228.
2. Col Sleeman, for instance, says : 'Lying between members of
   the same village is almost unknown.' I have had hundreds of cases
   before me in which a man's property, liberty and life depended upon
   his telling a lie, and he has refused to tell it.'
   Quoted by M. Muller in India, What It can teach Us, p. 50.