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Gujarat's First Educational Conference: a Study

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GUJARAT'S FIRST EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE: A STUDY Mr. Ramesh Malabhai Chauhan Abstract Education played an important role in creating political consciousness in India. The present research paper aims to discuss how, following the Swadeshi movement, there was an increased public awareness about education, which led to the Gujarat's first education conference, organized as a part of the movement to improve the prevailing condition of education in Gujarat. The researcher intends to delineation how this conference made an important contribution in creating public awareness about education in Gujarat by establishing Gujarat Kelavani Mandal (Gujarat Education Society).This research paper is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the movement for improvement in prevailing condition of education in Gujarat following the Swadeshi movement, the second part deals with the organization and working of the first education conference with the aim of offering suggestions to government and princely states regarding improvement in the prevailing education system and to inspire people to establish private education institutes; and the third discuses the outcome of this conference in terms of findings. Keywords: Educational awareness, Demand for improvement in prevailing education, Gujarat's education conference, programs and policies for the improvement of education. Behind every major event or incident, there are always many factors at work, contributing to it over the course of time. The event itself comes about as a result of these factors. Similarly, the roots of the first conference on education in the state of Gujarat, organized in 1916 with the aim of a comprehensive discussion regarding education in the state, can be traced to the reform movement in education initiated by the state’s literate populace following the swadeshi movement. Personalities such as Ranjitram Mehta and later Anandashankar Dhruv, Ambalal Desai etc. advocated a change in traditional pedagogy andpromoted the use of mother-tongue along with an emphasis on education that truly benefits people. These ideas were fructified as a result of the revival of 1915-16 and inspired Indulal Yagnik, Amrutlal Thakkar, Ishwarlal Dave, Ranjitram Mehta and Shardaben Mehta to organize the first education conference in Gujarat, seeking to redress the short comings in the contemporary education policy and to make education truly meaningful and helpful for the people. I June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 693 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Ramesh Chauhan/Page 693-701 After the Swadeshi movement of 1905, national education and swadeshi products were encouraged all over the country. As a result, swadeshi educational institutions sprung up in Bengal, whose repercussions were felt all over the country, inspiring a similar movement in Gujarat. In 1906, Jivabhai Patel, in an article entitled “prathmik shikshanma kolahal” (Uproar in Primary Education), criticized the imitation of Western education system in India and advocated for a method of education that suits India.1 Vidhyaben Nilkanth,in her article “strine shikshan kevi rite aapavu”( How to give education to women), presented at the Bharat Mahila Parishad held in Calcutta in 1906, provided an overview of the condition of women in Gujarat and attempted to provide a framework for providing education to women. 2 At the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in 1906, Ambalal Desai had opposed the government's policy of restricting the development of secondary and higher education through a resolution. Moreover, it was demanded that primary education be made free and gradually compulsory all over the country along with the removal of restrictions on private enterprise in education. 3 Ranjitram Mehta, who gave a new direction to literary activities in Gujarat through Gujarati Sahitya Sabha, wrote a letter to the Sabha in 1909, advising to consider the condition of education in Gujarat and emphasized on organizing a conference on education .He also provided certain suggestions regarding the format of the conference and various issues that could be taken up in it. Through this conference, Mehta intended to inspire people to take interest in education and education policies, to inspire and encourage them to set up educational institutions, to bring education scholars on one platform to solve education related issues and to communicate the specific needs regarding education to the government and the princely states. 4 Thus, Ranjitram Mehta was the first to suggest rethink over existing education system and argued for a separate body on education that could implement new policies, thereby planting the seeds for the first conference on education in Gujarat. Though Mehta's plan could not be implemented, its repercussions were felt at the third Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (1908) held in Rajkot. Speaking as the President of this conference, Shri Ambalal Desai emphasized on education through mother-tongue and emphasis on women's education. He argued that with increase in literary, literary activities too would receive stimulation. Therefore, he advocated the princely states to provide free public education.5 In this manner, attempts were made by the literates of the state to spread awareness about education and to remove the shortcomings in the prevailing education system. In 1909, youth belonging to Swadeshi Mandal, who were promoting swadeshi products in Ahmedabad, attempted to promote education among the populace through the scheme of samasta Gujarat paisa fund. And started night schools for the children of laborers and poor of the city.6 During this period, literate people in different parts of Gujarat established number of private institutes to impart beneficial public education at the grassroots level. Among these institutes were Dakshinamurti Vidyarthi bhavan established in Bhavnagar by Nrursinhprasad Kalidas, a vidhyarthi chhatralay (student hostel) in Petlad established by Motibhai Amin, followed by the establishment of Charotar Education Society in Anand; the establishment of Surat Public Society by Chunilal Shah, an bharuch kelavani mandal established by Ambashankar Malaji in Bharuch, etc. During this time, a Mahila Vidyalaya (school for girls) was established by Vanita Vishrama at Ahmedabad to provide June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 694 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Ramesh Chauhan/Page 693-701 secondary education to girls. Gopalkrishna Gokhale’s campaign for compulsory primary education in the imperial Legislative Assembly in the years 1911-12 further raised public awareness about education. As a result, education movements were intensified by the literates in Gujarat. Anandashankar Dhruv in a 1913 article titled “Apanu Pradhan Kartavya” 7 (Our Primary Responsibility) emphasized the need to promote rural education to eradicate ignorance and poverty and requested to set up an education society to improve the condition of rural education. Ambalal Desai worked to implement the ideas put forward by Anandashankar Dhruva. Desai established Gujarat Kelvani Mandal (Gujarat education society) in 1913 to bring awareness about education in Gujarat and to give impetus to practical, useful educations system.8 He also published an information booklet that explained in detail the purpose, scope, and constitution of the Mandal. Looking at the objectives of this Mandal, one realizes how wide and comprehensive its aim was, attempting to include all types of education. Considering the contemporary education scenario, Desai argued for free and mandatory Gujarati medium primary education, taking other schools under its own administration with appropriate conditions,to organize lectures that promote knowledge, policy, health, science, and arts in Gujarati language, and to start night schools for the children of laborers. 9 His aim was to eradicate ignorance in common people through education and give practical education. The Mandal initially started a night school for the poor and laborers in Ahmedabad and planned schools for primary education and vocational education, arrangements for women's education in Gujarat and compilation of useful books on epistemology. Ambalal Desai passed away before the project could be completed. The establishment of Banaras Hindu University through the efforts of Madan Mohan Malaviya and the establishment of a women's university in Mumbai with the efforts of Ghondo keshav Karve in 1916 provided further impetus to education. Representatives from Gujarat attended the Congress session of 1915, held in Mumbai,leading to the spread of Gujarati political consciousness. As a result, political, industrial, cultural and education related movements began in Gujarat. 10 The Gokhale Society, established in Ahmedabad in 1916 in the memory of Gopalkrishna Gokhale, worked to give a platform to the educational ideas that were being discussed for the past several years. Indulal Yagnik, 11 a member of Servant of India Society of Mumbai, met with Barrister Jivanlal Desai, Mahatma Gandhi, Hirlal Parekh, Hariprasad Mehta, Sharda Mehta, Thakkar bapa, etc. to receive suggestions about organizing this conference on education and to bring the prominent literate personalities of Gujarat on one platform for the first time.As a result of Indulal Yagnik's efforts, Gokhale Society assured that it would bear all responsibilities
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