द ब्यूटीफुल ट्री: १८वीं सदी में भारत की स्वदेशी गुरुकुल शिक्षा (धर्मपाल)

are of various religions and castes indifferently. The children in
the native schools are generally sent to them at the age of 5
years, the term of their continuance there depends upon
circumstances, but it is stated that they generally acquire a
competent knowledge of the various branches of learning taught
to them before they attain their thirteenth year. The Collector
states that there are no schools endowed by the public,
excepting the charity schools. The payments to a teacher seldom
exceed 12 pagodas per annum for each scholar. The Sciences are
in some instances taught gratuitously to the children of the
poorer class of Bramins and sometimes an allowance is made to
the teachers. It will be observed that the estimate of the
population of Madras in this statement is greatly too high, and
there is reason to suppose that the proportion receiving
instruction and the number of schools are stated too low.
249

XXX
MINUTE OF SIR THOMAS MUNRO, MARCH 10, 1826
(Fort St. George, Revenue Consultations)
10 March 1826

1. The Board of Revenue were directed by government, on
   the 2nd July 1822, to ascertain the number of schools and the
   state of education among the natives in the provinces, and with
   their letter of the 21st February last, they transmitted the
   reports on this subject which they had received from the several
   Collectors. From these reports it appears that the number of
   schools, and of what are called colleges, in the territories under
   this presidency, amount to 12,498, and the population to
   12,850,941; so that there is one school to every 1,000 of the
   population; but as only a very few females are taught in schools,
   we may reckon one school to every 500 of the population.
2. It is remarked by the Board of Revenue, that of a
   population of 12½ millions, there are only 188,000, or 1 in 67
   receiving education. This is true of the whole population, but not
   as regards the male part of it, of which the proportion educated
   is much greater than is here estimated: for if we take the whole
   population as stated in the report at 12,850,000, and deduct one
   half for females, the remaining male population will be
   6,425,000; and if we reckon the male population between the
   ages of five and ten years, which is the period which boys in
   general remain at school, at one-ninth, it will give 713,000,
   which is the number of boys that would be at school if all the
   males above ten years of age were educated; but the number
   actually attending the schools is only 184,110, or little more
   than one-fourth of that number. I have taken the interval
   between five and ten years of age as the term of education,
   because, though many boys continue at school till twelve or
   fourteen, many leave it under ten. I am, however, inclined to
   estimate the portion of the male population who receive school
   education to be nearer to one-third than one-fourth of the whole,
   because we have no returns from the provinces of the numbers
   taught at home. In Madras that number taught at home is
   26,963, or about five times greater than that taught in the
   schools. There is probably some error in this number, and
   though the number privately taught in the provinces does
   certainly not approach this rate, it is no doubt considerable,
   because the practice of boys being taught at home by their
   relations or private teachers is not
   250

infrequent in any part of the country. The proportion educated is
very different in different classes; in some it is nearly the whole;
in others it is hardly one-tenth.
3. The state of education here exhibited, low as it is
compared with that of our own country, is higher than it was in
most European countries at no very distant period. It has, no
doubt been better in earlier times; but for the last century it does
not appear to have undergone any other change than what arose
from the number of schools diminishing in one place and
increasing in another, in consequence of the shifting of the
population, from war and other causes. The great number of
schools has been supposed to contribute to the keeping of
education in a low state, because it does not give a sufficient
number of scholars to secure the service of able teachers. The
monthly rate paid by each scholar is from four to six or eight
annas. Teachers in general do not earn more than six or seven
rupees monthly, which is not an allowance sufficient to induce
men properly qualified to follow the profession. It may also be
said that the general ignorance of the teachers themselves is one
cause why none of them draw together a large body of scholars;
but the main causes of the low state of education are the little
encouragement which it receives, from there being but little
demand for it, and the poverty of the people.
4. These difficulties may be gradually surmounted; the
hindrance which is given to education by the poverty of the
people may in a great degree be removed by the endowment of
schools throughout the country by government, and the want of
encouragement will be remedied by good education being
rendered more easy and general, and by the preference which
will naturally be given to well-educated men in all public offices.
No progress, however, can be made without a body of better
instructed teachers than we have at present; but such a body
cannot be had without an income sufficient to afford a
comfortable livelihood to each individual belonging to it; a
moderate allowance should therefore be secured to them by
government, sufficient to place them above want; the rest should
be derived from their own industry. If they are superior both in
knowledge and diligence to the common village school masters,
scholars will flock to them and augment their income.
5. What is first wanted, therefore, is a school for educating
teachers, as proposed by the committee of the Madras School-
Book Society, in the letter of the 25th October 1824, which
accompanied their second report. I think that they should be
authorised to draw 700 rupees monthly from the treasury for
251

the purposes which they have stated; namely, for the payment of
the interest of money employed in building, and the salaries of
teachers, 500; and for the expenses of the press, 200. I would
next propose that government should establish, in each
Collectorate, two principal schools, one for Hindoos and the
other for Mahomedans; and that hereafter, as teachers can be
found the Hindoo schools might be augmented so as to give one
to each tehsildary, or about 15 to each Collectorate. We ought to
extend to our Mahomedan the same advantages of education as
to our Hindoo subjects, and perhaps even in a greater degree,
because a greater proportion of them belong to the middle and
higher classes. But as their number is not more than one-
twentieth of that of the Hindoos, it will not be necessary to give
more than one Mahomedan school to each Collectorate, except
in Arcot, and a few other Collectorates, where the Mahomedan
population is considerably above the usual standard.
6. We have 20 Collectorates; the number of tehsildaries is
liable to change: but it will be sufficient for the present purpose
to estimate them at 15 on an average to each Collectorate, or
300 in all. This would, according to the plan proposed give about
40 collectorate and 300 tehsildary schools. The monthly salaries
of the teachers of the collectorate schools might, on an average,
be 15 rupees to each, and those of the tehsildary nine rupees
each. These allowances may appear small, but the tehsiladry
school master who receives nine rupees monthly from
government, will get at least as much more from his scholars,
and, considering all circumstances, his situation will probably
be better than that of a parish school master in Scotland.
7. The total expense of the schools will be as follows:
Madras School-Book Society per month Rs. 700
Collectorate Schools, Mahomedan,
20 at 15 rupees Rs. 300
Collectorate Schools, Hindoo, 20 at 15 rupees Rs. 300
Tehsildary Schools, 300 at 9 rupees Rs. 2,700
Per month Rs. 4,000
Per annum Rs.48,000
This expense will be incurred only be degrees, because it
will be long before a sufficient number of qualified teachers can
be obtained. The charges for the Madras School-Book Society
252

and the collectorate schools, are all that will probably be wanted
before the sanction of the Honorable Court can be received. The
sum for which we ought to request their sanction ought not to be
less than half a lakh of rupees. None of the endowments in the
Collectors’ reports are applicable to the present object; they do
not exceed 20,000 rupees in all, and only a small portion of
them are public grants, and this small portion belongs chiefly to
the teachers of Theology, Law and Astronomy. Whatever expense
government may incur in the education of the people, will be
amply repaid by the improvement of the country; for the general
diffusion of knowledge is inseparably followed by more orderly
habits, by increasing industry, by a taste for the comforts of life,
by exertion to acquire them, and by the growing prosperity of the
people.
8. It will be advisable to appoint a Committee of Public
Instruction, in order to superintend the establishing of the
public schools; to fix on the places most proper for them, and
the books to be used in them; to ascertain in what manner the
instruction of the natives may be best promoted, and to report to
government the result of their inquiries on this important
subject.
9. We must not be too sanguine in expecting any sudden
benefit from the labours of the School-Book Society. Their
disposition to promote the instruction of the people by educating
teachers, will not extend it to more individuals than now attend
the schools; it can be extended only by means of an increased
demand for it, and this must arise chiefly from its being found to
facilitate the acquisition of wealth or rank, and from the im-
provement in the condition of the people rendering a larger
portion of them more able to pay for it. But though they cannot
educate those who do not seek or cannot pay for education, they
can, by an improved system give a better education to those who
do receive it; and by creating and encouraging a taste for knowl-
edge, they will indirectly contribute to extend it. If we resolve to
educate the people, if we persevere in our design, and if we do
not limit the schools to tehsildaries, but increase their number
so as to allow them for smaller districts, I am confident that
success will ultimately attend our endeavours. But, at the same
time, I entirely concur in the opinion expressed in the 5th Report
of the Calcutta School-Book Society, when speaking of the
progress of the system, that ‘its operation must therefore of
necessity be slow; years must elapse before the rising generation
will exhibit any visible improvement.’
(Signed)
Thomas Munro.
253

Annexure B
FRA PAOLINO DA BARTOLOMEO
ON EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN INDIA
(Born at Hos, Austria, 1748, as John Phillip Wesdin; in
India 1776 to 1789. From Voyages to the East Indies
(Published, Rome, 1796, Berlin, 1798, England, 1880),
Book II: Birth and Education of Children (pp.253-268))
All the Grecian historians represent the Indians as people of
greater size, and much more robust than those of other nations.
Though this is not true in general, it is certain that the purity of
the air, wholesome nourishment, temperance and education
contribute, in an uncommon degree, to the bodily conformation,
and to the increase of these people. Their new-born children lie
always on the ground, as if they were thrown away or neglected;
and they are never wrapped up with bandages, or confined in
any other manner, as is done in Europe. Their limbs, therefore,
can expand themselves without the least restraint; their nerves
and bones become more solid; and when these children attain
the period of youth, they acquire not only a beautiful figure, but
a sound, well turned, and robust bodily conformation. The
frequent use of the cold bath, repeated rubbing the body with
coconut oil and the juice of the Ingia plant, as well as their
exercises, which have a great resemblance to the Juvenilia, and
which I have often seen in Malabar, all contribute to increase
their strength and agility. These advantages also are seldom lost,
unless some of these young people abandon themselves to
debauchery, or weaken their bodies by too great labour or
excessive perspiration. However healthful and lively the young
Indians may be in general those who marry before the twentieth
year of their age, for the most part, soon become feeble and
enervated. In a word, I seldom saw in India a person either lame,
crooked, or otherwise deformed. The people of Malabar, who live
towards the west, are much handsomer and more robust than
the natives of Coromandel, or the Tamulians on the eastern
coast of India.
The education of youth in India is much simpler, and not
near so expensive as in Europe. The children assemble half
naked under the shade of a coconut tree; place themselves in
rows
254

on the ground, and trace out on the sand, with the fore finger of
the right hand, the elements of their alphabet, and then smooth
it with the left when they wish to trace out other characters. The
writing master, called Agian, or Eluttacien, who stations himself
opposite to his pupils, examines what they have done; points out
their faults, and shows them how to correct them. At first, he
attends them standing; but when the young people have
acquired some readiness in writing, he places himself cross-
legged on a tiger's or deer's skin, or even on a mat made of the
leaves of the coconut-tree, or wild ananas, which is called
Kaida*, plaited together. This method of teaching writing was
introduced into India two hundred years before the birth of
Christ, according to the testimony of Magasthenes, and still
continues to be practised. No people, perhaps, on earth have
adhered so much to their ancient usages and customs as the
Indians.
A schoolmaster in Malabar receives every two months, from
each of his pupils, for the instruction given them, two Fanon or
Panam. Some do not pay in money, but give him a certain
quantity of rice, so that this expense becomes very easy to the
parents. There are some teachers who instruct children without
any fee, and are paid by the overseers of the temple, or by the
chief of the caste. When the pupils have made tolerable progress
in writing, they are admitted into certain schools, called
Eutupalli, where they begin to write on palm leaves (Pana),
which, when several of them are stitched together, and fastened
between two boards, form a Grantha, that is, an Indian book. If
such a book be written upon with an iron style, it is called
Granthavari, or Lakya, that is, writing, to distinguish it from
Alakya, which is something not written.
When the Guru, or teacher, enters the school, he is always
received with the utmost reverence and respect. His pupils must
throw themselves down at full length before him; place their
right hand on their mouth, and not venture to speak a single
word until he gives them express permission. Those who talk
and prate contrary to the prohibition of their master are expelled
from the school, as boys who cannot restrain their tongue, and
who are consequently unfit for the study of philosophy. By these
255

means the preceptor always receives that respect which is due to
him: the pupils are obedient, and seldom offend against rules
which are so carefully inculcated. The chief branches taught by
the Guru are: 1st, the principles of writing and accounts: 2nd,
the Samscred grammar, which contains the declensions and
conjugations; in Malabar it is called Sidharuba; but, in Bengal
Sarasvada, or the art of speaking with elegance: 3rd, the second
part of this grammar, which contains the syntax, or the book
Vyagarna: 4th, the Amarasinha, or Brahmanic dictionary. This
work, which is highly esteemed by the Brahmans, does not
consist, as Anquetil du Perron says, of three, but of four parts;
and contains everything that relates to the gods, the sciences,
colours and sounds, the earth, seas and rivers, men and
animals, as well as to the arts and all kinds of employment in
India. To render the construction of the Samscred language, and
its emphatic mode of expression, more familiar to their pupils,
the Guru employs various short sentences clothed in Samscred
verse, which are called Shloga. These verses serve not only as
examples of the manner in which the words must be combined
with each other, but contain, at the same time, most excellent
moral maxims, which are thus imprinted in the minds of the
young people as if in play; so that, while learning the language,
they are taught rules proper for forming their character, and
directing their future conduct in life. That the reader may be
better enabled to conceive some idea of the morality of the
Brahmans, I shall here subjoin a specimen of these sentences.
I. What is the use of study, if the object of it be not to learn
knowledge and fear, which is true wisdom?
II. Why have we ceased living in the forests, and associated
ourselves in cities and towns, if the object of our doing so be not
to enjoy friendship; to do good mutually to each other, and to
receive in our habitations the stranger and wanderer?
III. The wounds occasioned by a slanderous tongue
occasion far more pain, and are much more difficult to be
healed, than those which proceed from fire and the sword.
IV. Of what use is it to thee to shut the door of thy house?
It is necessary in order that thy wife may learn to be upon her
guard.
V. He who revenges an injury enjoys a pleasure which
endures only a day; but he who forgives receives a satisfaction
which will accompany him through life.
256

VI. Modesty becomes every one, but is a particular
ornament to the learned and rich.
VII. The state of a married pair, who never deviate from the
path of honour, virtue, and mutual duty, is as difficult as that of
those who impose on themselves the several penances.
In the gardens, or sacred enclosures, in which children are
taught, the Lingam, or Priapus, represented under the form of a
cylinder, is generally found. It is, however, not worshipped by all
the Indians, but only by the Shivanites. These are a particular
sect, who pay divine honour to Fire, under the form of the god
Shiva, as the principle or creative power by which everything
was produced. Besides the above idol, there are two other
statues, which, for the most part, are placed before the entrance
of the school. One of them represents Ganesha, the protector of
the sciences, and of learned men; and the other the goddess
Sarasvadi, the goddess of eloquence and history. Every student,
as he enters the school, always directs his eyes to these two
idols; raises his hands to his head, and shows his respect for
them by repeating certain forms of prayer. That with which he
salutes Ganesha is commonly in the following words: Sal Guruve
nama: Adoration to thee, thou true master. Or, Ganabadaye
name: Adoration to thee, O Ganabadi. This is real idolatry; but
these practices at any rate prove that the Indians accustom their
children early to honour the gods, and to consider them as their
protectors and benefactors. “Those who are desirous of knowing
the power of religion, and the influence of religious opinions,”
said the Marquis of Kergariou, who commanded the Calypso
frigate, “need only go to India”. This observation is indeed just;
for among 2000 Indians you will scarcely find one who is not
convinced of the necessity of supplicating the gods. Education,
and the nature of the climate, are the strongest incitements to
the natives to worship the deity, and to submit themselves to his
will.
The other sciences and branches of learning taught to the
Indian youth are: Poetry, Gavya; Fencing, Payatta; Botany and
medicine, Vaydyassastra, or Bheszagiashastra: Navigation,
Naushastra: The use of the spear on foot (Hastiludium), Cundera:
The art of playing at ball, Pandacali: Chess, Ciudarangam:
Tennis, Coladi: Logic, Tarkashastra: Astrology, Giodisha: Law,
Svadhyaya: Silence, Mauna.(Youth destined to be Brahmans,
must spend ten years within the precincts of the temple at
Trichur, and avoid all intercourse with the female sex. They are
obliged also to observe the strictest silence, which continues for
five years. This is the first degree of philosophy. A. It thence
appears, that Phythagoras must have borrowed his philosophy
in part from the Indian Philosophers, or others whose doctrine
was similar, for his scholars were subjected to silence for the
same number of years. See Diogenes Lacrtus, lib.viii.10, and Aul.
Gollius, Noct, Att, 1-ib. i.9F.) The reader will have already
257

remarked, that surgery, anatomy, and geography are excluded
from this catalogue. The Indians are of opinion, that their
country is the most beautiful and happiest in the whole world:
and for that reason they have very little desire to be acquainted
with foreign kingdoms. Their total abstinence from all flesh, and
the express prohibition of their religion which forbids them to
kill animals, prevent them from dissecting them and examining
their internal construction.
Of the Indian poetry I have already spoken in my Samscred
grammar; and I shall give some further account of it hereafter.
Their navigation is confined merely to their navigable rivers; for
in general, the Pagan Indians have the greatest aversion to the
sea. The management of the lance, fencing, playing at ball and
tennis, have been introduced into their education on good
grounds, to render their youth active and robust, and that they
may not want dexterity to distinguish themselves in battles and
engagements where cannons are not used. There are particular
masters for all these exercises, arts and sciences; and each of
them, as already mentioned, is treated with particular respect by
the pupils. Twice a year each master receives a piece of silk,
which he employs for clothing; and this present is called
Samanam.
All the Indian girls, those alone excepted who belong to the
castes of the Shudras and Nayris, are confined at home till their
twelfth year; and when they go out, they are always
accompanied by their mother or aunt. They inhabit a particular
division of the house, called Andarggraha, which none of the
male sex dare approach. The boys, in the ninth year of their age,
are initiated with great ceremony into the calling or occupation
of the caste to which their father belongs, and which they can
never abandon. This law, mention of which occurs in Diodorous
Siculus, Strabo, Arrian, and other Greek writers, is indeed
exceedingly hard; but, at the same time, it is of great benefit to
civil order, the arts and sciences, and even to religion. According
to a like regulation, no one is allowed to marry from one caste
into another. Hence it happens that the Indians do not follow
that general and superficial method of education by which
children are treated as if they were all intended for the same
condition
258

and for discharging the same duties; but those of each caste are
from their infancy formed for what they are to be during their
whole lives. A future Brahman, for example, is obliged, from his
earliest years, to employ himself in reading and writing, and to
be present at the presentation of offerings, to calculate eclipses
of the sun and moon; to study the laws and religious practices;
to cast nativities; in short to learn every thing, which, according
to the injunction of the Veda, or sacred books of the Indians, it
is necessary he should know. The Vayshya on the other hand,
instruct youth in agriculture; the Kshetria, in the science of
government and the military arts, the Shudra, in mechanics, the
Mucaver, in fishing; the Ciana, in gardening and the Banyen, in
commerce.
By this establishment the knowledge of a great many things
necessary for the public good is not only widely diffused, but
transmitted to posterity; who are thereby enabled still farther to
improve them, and bring them nearer to perfection. In the time
of Alexander the Great, the Indians had acquired such skill in
the mechanical arts, that Nearchus, the commander of his fleet,
was much amazed at the dexterity with which they imitated the
accoutrements of the Grecian soldiers. I once found myself in a
similar situation. Having entrusted to an Indian artist a lamp
made in Portugal, the workmanship of which was exceedingly
pretty, some days after he brought me another so like my own
that I could scarcely distinguish any difference. It, however,
cannot be denied, that the arts and sciences in India have
greatly declined since foreign conquerors expelled the native
kings; by which several provinces have been laid entirely waste,
and the castes confounded with each other. Before that period,
the different kingdoms were in a flourishing condition; the laws
were respected, and justice and civil order prevailed; but,
unfortunately, at present everything in many of the provinces
must give way to absolute authority and despotic sway.
259

Annexure C
MALABAR BIBLIOGRAPHY, THEIR PROGRESS IN
LITERATURE, EDUCATION—SYSTEM BORROWED FROM
IT. ACCOUNT OF IT FROM PETER DELLA VALLE.
CUSTOM IN MALABAR TO TRANSLATE WORKS FROM
SANSCRIT, MANNER OF WRITING OR ENGRAVING ON
LEAVES. QUOTATION FROM LUSIAD. LIST OF BOOKS.
(National Library of Scotland Edinburgh: Walker of Bowland
Papers 184 a 3, Chapter 31: pp.501-27)
I do not propose to give a history of the literature of Malabar; far
less to enquire into the origin and progress of the sciences of
India. I mean only to preface by a few observations a biblio-
graphical list which I obtained many years ago (in 1800) of some
of the books and authors whose works are studied in that
country (Malabar).
The literature of Malabar has the same foundation, and
consists of the same materials, as that of all the Hindoo nations.
The whole of their original works are composed in Sanscrite, a
language of great antiquity, but which is no longer spoken,
though its history is intimately connected with several of the
present languages of Europe, with those of Greece and Rome,
and with the whole of the numerous family of cognate Gothic
tongues. Sancrite holds the same place in India, that Latin and
Greek do in Europe; but as it would require an amazing period of
time, and many political changes in society before a language
could fall into disuse and be unemployed in speech, this
circumstance without any further proof, would carry us, back to
the first ages. It is natural to suppose that the sciences would
first prosper where men were not exposed to excessive labour in
order to procure the necessaries of life; plenty and tranquility
would leave them at liberty to cultivate knowledge, to apply their
minds to books, and learning. Unfortunately the Hindoos, like
the ancients, seem to have considered that almost exclusively as
science, which is more grounded on precepts and ideal pictures,
than on facts and demonstration. They taught the duties of life,
260

and explained the faculties of the mind; but, the favourite study
of the Indian sages, was a metaphysical and abstruse
philosophy, founded on superstition and error. They regarded
logic, rhetoric and grammar with particular approbation; and
those who aspired to a superior reputation, acquired those
sciences with unceasing labour, and intense application. They
spent their lives in their cultivation. The Hindoos made no use of
experiments, and it is extraordinary that without this aid, they
should have become acquainted with the most difficult and
hidden branches of Mathematics, Astronomy and Algebra. Have
the acquisitions been the fruits of their own study and reflection;
or have they been obtained from extraneous and a more ancient
source which is now forgotten and lost? It is not possible to
determine these questions; and as we cannot prove that they
derived their knowledge from another people, it is but fair to
consider them as the inventors of all which they possess, which
they have preserved through so many perils and which they
must have cultivated with so much ardour.
The learning of the Malabar is probably more limited than
that of the more central people of India; but they are not
inattentive to the cultivation of letters. They are particularly
anxious and attentive to instruct their children to read and to
write. Education with them is an early and an important
business in every family. Many of their women are taught to read
and write. The Bramans are generally the school masters, but
any of the respectable castes may, and often do, practice
teaching. The children are instructed without violence, and by a
process peculiarly simple. It is the same system which has
caused so much heat and controversy, as to the inventors of it,
in this country, and the merit of which was due to neither of the
claimants.¹ The system was borrowed from the Bramans and
brought from India to Europe. It has been made the foundation
of National schools in every enlightened country. Some gratitude
is due to a people from whom we have learnt to diffuse among
the lower ranks of society instruction by one of the most
unerring and economical methods which has ever been invented.
The pupils are the monitors of each other, and the characters
are traced with a rod, or the finger on the sand. Reading and
writing are acquired at the same time, and by the same process.
This mode of teaching however is only initial. If the pupil is
meant to study the higher branches of learning, he is removed
from these primary schools, where the arts of reading, writing
and accounts
261

are acquired, and placed under more scientific masters. It is to
these elementary schools that the labouring classes in India owe
their education. It gives them an access, from the introduction of
the system into this part of the world; advantage which the same
classes in Europe, only now partially conferred on them a
superior share of intelligence and placed them in a situation to
perform better all the duties of life.
About 200 years ago, Peter Della Valle published an
account of this mode of instruction in Malabar. He wrote from
Tkkeri 22nd November 1623.
‘In the meantime,’ he says, ‘while the burthens were getting
in order, I entertained myself in the porch of the temple,
beholding little boys learning arithmetic after a strange manner,
which I will here relate. They were four, and having all taken the
same lesson before the master, to get that same by heart, and
repeat likewise their former lessons, and not forget them, one of
them singing musically with a certain continued tone,² (which
hath the force of making a deep impression in the memory)
recited part of the lesson; as for example, “one by itself makes
one”; and whilst he was thus speaking, he writ down the same
number, not with any kind of pen, nor in paper, but (not to
spend paper in vain) with his finger on the ground, the pavement
being for that purpose strewed all over with fine sand;³ after the
first had wrote what he sung, all the rest sung and writ down the
same thing together. Then the first boy sung, and writ down
another part of the lesson; as, for example, two by itself makes
two, which all the rest repeated in the same manner; and so
forward in order. When the pavement was full of figures, they
put them out with the hand, and if need were, strewed it with
new sand from a little heap which they had before them
wherewith to write further. And thus they did as long as exercise
continued; in which manner likewise they told one, they learnt to
read and write without spoiling paper, pens or ink, which
certainly is a pretty way. I asked them, if they happen to forget
or be mistaken in any part of the lesson, who corrected and
taught them, they being all scholars without the assistance of
any master; they answered me, and said true, that it was not
possible for all four to forget or mistake in the same part, and
that they thus exercised together, to the end, that if one
happened to be out, the
262

other might correct him. Indeed a pretty, easy and secure way of
learning.'⁴
We are continually reproaching the natives of India with
the slow advances they have made in knowledge and their
neglect of opportunities to acquire it. There we have an instance
of the same neglect in Europeans, who have allowed two
centuries to pass after they were acquainted with this invention,
before they applied it to any practical use. It was at length
introduced into this country without any acknowledgement and
it was even claimed as an invention by two individuals who
disputed upon the priority of discovery.
The Missionaries⁵ have now honestly owned that the
system upon which these schools are taught was borrowed from
India. It has been probably improved by us, but this is the fate of
all original conceptions, which commonly make the most rapid
advances at second hand.
No people probably appreciate more justly the importance
of instruction than the Hindoos; hence instead of offering
obstacles or creating opposition to the establishment of schools,
they have formed institutions themselves to meet various cases
of ignorance and misery. They are not averse to a spirit of
enquiry and discussion.⁶ All they wanted was a government that
would not check and discourage this spirit.
In Malabar is still to be seen the earliest mode of writing.
The paper is the natural produce of the woods. They make no
use of ink; the characters are engraved on the leaves of trees.
The leaf of a particular palm is selected and dried until it can
bear the impression of the styles. These leaves strung or tied to-
gether are formed into books. They are enclosed in a wooden
cover, sometimes gilded and lackered, so as to make neat and
handsome appearance. On these leaves also they write their let-
ters, which they fold up, but the original practice of the country
did not require them to be sealed. ‘The original Acts of the
Council of Basil 900 years since, with the Bulla or leaden affix,
which has a silken cord passing through every parchment,’ is
mentioned in the above words by Evelyn as existing in his time
at Cambridge, and which would appear to be the same form as
that in which the Malabar MSS are preserved.⁷
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In Norway and Sweden they formerly wrote, or rather
engraved, on flakes and planks. They wrote on wooden tablets.
Poetry was inscribed on staves. A verse is therefore still called a
stave.⁸
The mode of writing or engraving on leaves was probably at
one period extended all over India. It is mentioned by
Abdulrizack who travelled in 1442, as the common practice at
Bisnaghur.⁹
There is no difficulty in multiplying schools at present in
India to any extent provided funds are furnished. The people are
anxious and earnest in calling upon the Missionaries for teach-
ers. With a little patience, we may introduce into these schools
any books that we please. In them the children know of no
precedence, but that which is derived from merit.¹⁰ This is an ex-
traordinary testimony in favour of the native character, and from
a source where we can expect no kindly prejudice. They
entertain no suspicion of the ultimate designs of their
instructors; but with candour and openness send their children
to school, where we are elsewhere informed, no difficulty was
found in introducing the scriptures, when done with discretion.¹¹
They sacrifice all the feelings of wealth, family pride and caste
that their children may have the advantages of a good education.
This desire is strongly impressed on the minds of all the
Hindoos. It is inculcated by their own system, which provided
schools in every village. The learned and the ignorant, one of the
Missionaries writes from Chinsuram, congratulate one another,
that their children now enjoy the great blessings of education.
Native free schools were once universal throughout India.
It has been long the practice in Malabar to translate the
Sanscrite writings into the common tongue, and to transcribe
them in the vernacular character. By this means knowledge has
been more generally diffused among the inhabitants; it is less
confined to any order or class, and the people are better
acquainted with the mysteries and dogmas of their religion. This
spirit of enquiry and of liberty has most probably been affected
by the sooders who compose the great body of population, and
who were in possession of the principal authority and property
in the country.
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The Malabars have a mode of writing peculiar to
themselves: it may be called with more propriety engraving. The
letters are imprinted on a palm leaf dried and prepared by a
particular process. Instead of a pen, they make use of an iron
instrument with a sharp point resembling the stylus of the
ancients. When they write on paper, they have recourse to the
pen; but this is only in imitation of our manners or of the
Mohammedans. Stones, skins, leaves, and the bark of trees,
were the earliest materials made use of in writing. These leaves
are not subject to decay, and resist vermin. They may be
preserved a long time, much longer perhaps than paper; they
write in general only on one side and from left to right. They cut
the leaves into different sizes, and manufacture them of different
qualities, which may be compared to different sorts of paper.
They are made to answer either for books, notes or letters. They
are formed into neat and convenient sized volumes not by
stitching or binding but by stringing them together. A blank
space is left at the end like our margin, through this a hole is
made which admits a string or cord, generally of silk, and this
drawn tight, or tied round them keeps the whole secure. The
leaves are opened and unfolded by the Natives with the same
facility as we do those of our books. The Malabar books are
bound or covered by two pieces of wood which serve as boards,
and which are varnished and painted according to taste.
In Malabar in short, the original practice was to use neither
pens, ink, nor paper. The leaf of the palm, smoked and dried
served the purpose of paper. They engraved on this with a
pointed iron resembling that with which the ancients inscribed
letters on wax, and with a quickness and facility equal to our
fastest writers. (Omitted here)
The following contains a list of books which are to be found
in Malabar: many were lost or destroyed during the disturbances
under the Mohammedan Government, but the whole are still
said to be existing in Travancore. This probably comprises the
greatest part of Malabar literature. About 30 or 40 of these
works have been transferred from the Sanscrit into the common
tongue. Many of the Sanscrit words are allowed to remain in the
translations and the affinity of the languages permits this
liberty.
In the notes to the Lusiad mention is made of a Malabar
work which is probably contained in No.181 of the bibliography;
265

it may have been written by some Secretary and is perhaps at
present suppressed or concealed.
There is extant in India the writings of a Malabar poet, who
wrote nine hundred epigrams, each consisting of eight verses,
in ridicule of the worship of the Bramans, whom he treats with
great asperity and contempt. Would any of our diligent enquirers
after oriental learning favour us with an authentic account of the
works of this poet of Malabar, he would undoubtedly confer a
singular favour on the republic of letters.’¹²
The author was probably a Deist: this is the secret
profession of many Bramans, who are often at no pains to
conceal their sentiments, and express openly their entire
disbelief in all the Hindoo deities. I have been acquainted
intimately with several Bramans who entertained these opinions,
and who avowed their belief in one God only, the supreme being,
the Creator of all. Reformers have appeared at different times in
India, and the Vedantic sect in particular put no faith in the
popular superstition.
The Malabars have a number of dramas or naticas and are
fond of theatrical exhibitions.
I have been present at these exhibitions. The theatre is
either in the open air, or under a slight temporary covering;¹³ but
sometimes large enough to contain several thousand spectators.
On these occasions, they have regular rows of forms and
benches, on which the audience seat themselves. The men and
women are intermixed as in our play houses. This is an amiable
and remarkable contrast with the manners and jealous reserve
of other parts of India. I have seen probably two thousand men
and women assembled and sitting close together to witness one
of these exhibitions. This, however, was on a great occasion of
the marriage of a Raja’s daughter. There was a very large pendall
erected, with rows of seats one above another, for the
accommodation of the audience. The dramatist personae were
gods, goddesses, kings, heroes and their attendants. The actors
were dressed, suitably as they imagined to the characters they
represented, but there was no machinery employed. The whole of
the scenery consisted of a sheet or a calampoe, which formed a
curtain.
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The subject of the piece seemed to be the embarrassment
of a Raja who was married to two wives. They tormented him
with their quarrels and jealousies. He prayed to the Gods for
relief. His prayers were heard, and he received a charm which
enabled him to put whichever of the ladies he chose asleep. He
was delighted with the remedy and looked forward for nothing in
future but happiness. On a trial however he was disappointed.
The waking wife was as suspicious as ever, and was continually
upbraiding him for his partiality to her rival. He throws them by
turns asleep, but has no relief. Each as she awoke was still
jealous of the other. I have forgotten how it ended, but the
account of this marriage was published in the newspapers of the
time in India, about 1793. I cannot at present lay my hands on
the account of this wedding which afterwards was transferred to
some of the periodical publications at home. The object I think
was to inculcate that one wife was preferable to two.
Notes

1. Bell and Lancaster System.
2. This is done in our infant schools.
3. They have small boards of the size and shape of our plates covered
   with sand or chalk.
4. Letters, Peter Della Valle, p.100.
5. The Missionary Register for January, 1879.
6. Ibid.
7. Evelyn VI, p.277.
8. Edinburg Review, No.67.
9. See p.518.
10. Missionary Register for January 1822.
11. Ibid..
12. Lusiad, Book 8, p.300
13. Pendall
    267

Annexure D
Extracts From William Adam’s State of Education in Bengal 1835-
38
I
W. ADAM ON INDIGENOUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
GENERAL: (pp.6-9)
By this description are meant those schools in which instruction
in the elements of knowledge is communicated, and which have
been originated and are supported by the natives themselves, in
contra-distinction from those that are supported by religious or
philanthropic societies. The number of such schools in Bengal is
supposed to be very great. A distinguished member of the
General Committee of Public Instruction in a minute on the
subject expressed the opinion, that if one rupee per mensem
were expended on each existing village school in the Lower
Provinces, the amount would probably fall little short of 12 lakhs
of rupees per annum. This supposes that there are 100,000
such schools in Bengal and Bihar, and assuming the population
of those two Provinces to be 40,000,000 there would be a village
school for every 400 persons. There are no data in this country
known to me by which to determine out of this number the
proportion of school-going children, or of children capable of
going to school, or of children of the age at which, according to
the custom of the country, it is usual to go to school. In Prussia
(See Cousin’s Report on the State of Public Instruction in Prussia,
p.140) it has been ascertained by actual census that in a
population of 12,256,725 there were 4,487,461 children under
fourteen years of age; which gives 366 children for every 1,000
inhabitants, or about eleven-thirtieths of the nation. Of this
entire population of children it is calculated that three-sevenths
are of an age to go to school, admitting education in the schools
to begin at the age of seven years complete, and there is thus in
the entire Prussian monarchy the number of 1,923,200 children
capable of receiving the benefits of education. These proportions
will not strictly apply to
268