This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Children and Childhood in the Madras Presidency, 1919-1943 Catriona Ellis Doctor of Philosophy History, Classics and Archaeology The University of Edinburgh 2016 1 Abstract This thesis interrogates the emergence of a universal modern idea of childhood in the Madras Presidency between 1920 and 1942. It considers the construction and uses of ‘childhood’ as a conceptual category and the ways in which this informed intervention in the lives of children, particularly in the spheres of education and juvenile justice. Against a background of calls for national self-determination, the thesis considers elite debates about childhood as specifically ‘Indian’, examining the ways in which ‘the child’ emerged in late colonial South India as an object to be reformed and as a ‘human becoming’ or future citizen of an independent nation. Social reform in late colonial India is often assumed to be an area of conflict, particularly informed by racial difference. Children are seen as key targets in the competition between the colonial state and Indian politicians and professionals. However, a detailed study of the 1920 Madras Children Act and 1920 Elementary Education Act reveals the development of consensual decisions in regard to child welfare and the expansion of a ‘social’ realm, which existed outside the political. Dyarchy profoundly changed the nature of government and in policy areas related to children the ‘state’ was Indian in character, action and personnel. This thesis contends that the discursive emergence of ‘the child’ was complicated when legislation was implemented. By tracing implementation it demonstrates the extent to which modern childhood was a symbolic claim, rather than political commitment to children. Tracing the interactions between adults in authority - whether as parents, teachers, politicians or civil society activists – the thesis explores the extent to which the avowedly universal category of childhood was subsumed beneath other identities based on class, caste and gender. Understanding childhood through a variety of administration reports, political debates and pedagogical journals reflects the views and actions of adults. By utilising the remembered experience of middle-class children in autobiographies and the layered archival evidence of aristocratic children under the jurisdiction of the Court of Wards, the thesis balances adult discourses with an awareness of children as historical agents. It considers the ways in which children learned, played and interacted with each other. Finally, therefore, it charts the limits of adult authority and the ways differing identities were experienced in the lives of children in southern India in the early twentieth century. 2 Lay Summary This thesis considers ideas about childhood in the Madras Presidency between 1920 and 1942. It considers the way people thought about childhood as a category, and the ways in which this informed intervention in the lives of children, particularly in the spheres of education and juvenile justice. Against a background of an increasingly strong nationalist movement, the thesis considers elite debates about childhood as being specifically ‘Indian’, examining the ways in which ‘the child’ became an object to be reformed by adults and was awarded special status as future citizen of an independent nation. Social reform in late colonial India is often assumed to be an area of racial conflict and children are usually seen as targets in the competition for power between the colonial state and Indian politicians and professionals. However, a detailed study of the 1920 Madras Children Act and 1920 Elementary Education Act reveals the development of consensual decisions in regard to child welfare. After the political reforms of 1919, Indians were given control over a number of policy areas, and so in relation to children the ‘state’ was Indian in character, action and personnel. This thesis contends that there was a difference between ideas about childhood, and then the way that legislation was implemented. This demonstrates the extent to which modern childhood was a symbolic claim, rather than a political commitment to children. Tracing the interactions between adults in authority - whether as parents, teachers, politicians or civil society activists – the thesis explores the extent to which the category of childhood was less important than other identities based on class, caste and gender. Understanding childhood through a variety of administration reports, political debates and pedagogical journals reflects the views and actions of adults. By using autobiographical experiences of children and the evidence of aristocratic children under the jurisdiction of the Court of Wards, the thesis balances adult ideas with an awareness of children as historical agents. It considers the ways in which children learned, played and interacted with each other. Finally, therefore, it charts the limits of adult authority and the ways differing identities were experienced in the lives of children in southern India in the early twentieth century. 3 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed entirely by me, that it is my own work, and that it has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Catriona Ellis 4 Contents Acknowledgements 6 Glossary and Abbreviations 8 Introduction 11 Chapter One: The child at school: compulsory education in the Madras Presidency 33 Chapter Two: Educating the Child: the Introduction of Compulsory Education in Madras City 59 Chapter Three: Imagining the child as learner: progressive pedagogy in the Madras Presidency 89 Chapter Four: Producing the healthy schoolchild 120 Chapter Five: Saving the Child: The Madras Children Act 1920 and the beginnings of a juvenile justice system 149 Chapter Six: Protecting the poor child: the practical expansion of Juvenile Justice 177 Chapter Seven: The Experience of Aristocratic Childhood 207 Chapter Eight: Memories of childhood 235 Conclusions 267 Appendix 1: Maps 284 Bibliography 287 5 Acknowledgements The obligations built up over the period of a part-time PhD are myriad. In their very different ways, my supervisors Professor Crispin Bates and Professor Louise Jackson have provided invaluable intellectual contributions and practical advice, throughout and for the completion of this thesis. Dr Christopher Harding has commented on a number of the chapters, and his critical input, and broader pastoral support, have been very much appreciated. The staff at the British Library and, more particularly, at the National Library of Scotland have been unfailingly helpful and tolerant both of my continual requests for material and of my irregular working patterns. The staff and fellow postgraduates in the Tamil Nadu State Archives and Library, Chennai, provided rich material, helpful local knowledge and inspiring company. The administrative staff at the Archives Department of the Chennai Corporation are deserving of special mention for accommodating me in their working space, promptly actioning all my requests and allowing unrivalled access to the collections. The managers of the Children’s Garden School, Chennai, provided access to their archives and a tour of the school, and were exceptionally helpful. I am grateful to staff at Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, for their help in facilitating my research visa. A previous version of Chapter Three appeared in Writing Postcolonial Histories of Intercultural Education (2011), and my thanks go to Dr Heike Niedrig and Dr Christian Ydesen for their inputs to my thinking at that early stage. One section of Chapter Eight was published in a special issue of Childhood (2011) and my thanks go to Dr Sarada Balagopalan for her editorial comments. The various and changing personnel of the Asia, Africa - now Global and Transnational - group at Edinburgh University have provided a supportive and intellectually engaging environment in which to pursue research. Particularly appreciated have been the conversations with Dr Ashok Malhorta, Dr Charlotte Hastings and Rosalind Parr. I owe a special debt to Dr Caroline Lewis, whose insightful comments and encouragement have been inspiring throughout. Others have been there for my family through challenging times, and I would like to note my gratitude to Dawn Cuckney, Verity Scougal, Susanna Grant, Claire Wallace and Joanne Friend. I have another Friend, one who sticks closer than family, and I owe Him everything. I remain indebted to the Brown and Ellis/Brien families whose bemused toleration of, and extensive practical contributions to, this endeavour has been much appreciated, especially my mother and two aunts for their help with childcare.