Women Education in Colonial Assam As Reflected in Contemporary Archival and Literary Records Chiranjib Dahal

SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Volume 8 Issue 3, 80-86, May-June, 2021 ISSN: 2394 – 2703 /doi:10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V8I3P112 © 2021 Seventh Sense Research Group® Women Education in Colonial Assam as Reflected In Contemporary Archival And Literary Records Chiranjib Dahal Assistant Professor, Department of History, J.D.S.G. College, Bokakhat Dist.: Golaghat, State: Assam, Country: India 785612 Received Date: 15 May 2021 Revised Date: 21 June 2021 Accepted Date: 03 July 2021 Abstract - The present paper makes an attempt to trace the which can be inferred from literacy rate from 0.2 % in genesis and development of women’s education in colonial 1882 to 6% only in 1947(Kochhar,2009:225). It reveals Assam and its contribution to their changing status and that for centuries higher education for women has been aspirations. The contribution of the native elites in the neglected and the report University Education Commission process of the development of women education; and 1948 exposed that they were against women education. In social perception towards women education as reflected in their recommendation they wrote “women’s present the contemporary periodicals are some other areas of this education is entirely irrelevant to the life they have to lead. study. Educational development in Assam during the It is not only a waste but often a definite disability” colonial rule has generally been viewed by educational (University Education Commission Report, Government of historians to be the work of British rulers who introduced India, 1948-49). Educational development in Assam a system of education with the hidden agenda of initiating during the colonial rule has generally been viewed by a process of socialization. The state agenda regarding educational historians to be the work of British rulers who education in Assam motivated mainly for the creation of a introduced a system of education with the hidden agenda class of intelligent labour possessing some useful skills of initiating a process of socialization (Acharya,1995:670- and practical knowledge rather than creating an 673). The colonial period brought about essential changes enlightened community capable of questioning them by in the mindset of Assamese society and the emerging higher learning. This period also brought about essential intelligentsia began to be discussed and debated upon wide changes in the mindset of Assamese society and the variety of issues including women education. emerging intelligentsia began to be discussed and debated upon wide variety of issues including women education. II. Objectives of the study This study is empirical in nature and descriptive in This paper aims to trace the genesis and analysis and the survey of archival sources as well as development of women’s education in colonial Assam and various contemporary literary works have also been given its contribution to their changing status and aspirations. due attention. Further it also discusses the contribution of the native elites in the process of the development of women Keywords - Colonial Education policy, Christian education and the role played by them in influencing missionaries, Assamese middle class, women Education colonial policy on education. The present work also tries to review the social perception towards women education as I. Introduction reflected in the contemporary periodicals. The Nineteenth century particularly can be called an age of women, for all over the world their rights and III. Methodology wrongs, their nature capacities and potential were subjects This study is empirical in nature and descriptive of heated discussions. In Europe feminist consciousness in analysis and data have been collected from both primary began spreading during and after French Revolution, and and secondary sources. The former includes survey of by the end of the century feminist ideas were being archival sources and internal records of the concerned expressed by radicals in England, France and Germany. departments of the government of Assam as well as The ‘woman question’ had become a central issue for various contemporary literary works such as Russian reformers and anarchists and in India also the autobiographies and articles published in periodicals, wrongs of women began to be deplored by social newspapers etc. Secondary source data consist of relevant reformers mainly in Bengal and Maharashtra. India had a literature on the topic. rich tradition of women’s education. For promoting women education among different sections of society in IV. Women’s Education as discourse of progress and modern period, conscious efforts were made by the modernity in Assam: Christian missionaries, native male intelligentsia and the The history of Assam in the nineteenth century British Government (Srivastava, 2000:15). But the witnessed great socio-political and economic condition of women education was far from satisfactory transformations and experienced a new awakening in the This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Chiranjib Dahal et al./ IJHSS, 8(3), 80-86, 2021 Brahmaputra valley because three major simultaneous majority of girls, early marriage was the most formidable changes occurred during this period. The spread of British obstacle to getting formal education in schools. One of the administration and its associated infrastructure was also solutions that they came up with was the concept of assisted by the activities of the American Baptist zenana education where women teachers went from home missionaries and the impact of the Bengal Renaissance to home to teach women. These private efforts were (Bora, 2005:8). The women’s question became a part of socially more acceptable than formal education. They were the greater discourse of progress and modernity in the 19th progressive yet at the same time traditional, providing century India and a movement for women education women with basic education while restricting them to the started as part of the ‘colonized males’ search for the ‘new parameters of their homes (Sengupta, 2012:53-60). woman.’ At the outset, the missionaries took up the cause of educating women, as a way of enlightening the poor, In 1836 Rev. Brown and T. Cutter of the heathen women (Chakraborty,2009:87-102). Later on, the American Baptist Mission came to Assam. Though their educated Indian male reformers took up the cause of purpose was the spread of Christianity they had to look women’s education and worked towards its proliferation. after the education of the people as well. In June, 1839, Thus, indigenous forces also represented for the upliftment Brown’s wife established a school at Sadiya for boys and of women which was responded very soon by the British Cutter’s wife too began a school for girls (Lahkar,1987:2- government by setting up a host of new schools and 3) which was considered the first attempt at formally institutions of higher learning for women. But it was educating girls in Assam. Gradually more attempts were primarily corresponded to the gendered construction of made to establish schools for girls in Assam and in 1840 womanhood and the dicta of traditional prescriptions, i.e., Mrs. Brown Miles Bronson, a pioneering American Baptist the ‘good mother’, ‘good wife’ models(ibid). missionary to Assam established another girls’ school in Sivasagar. The American Baptist Mission maintained the V. Was Women Education a Civilizing Mission Chatribari Girls’ M.E. School at Guwahati, the Girls’ M. Agenda? E. School with women’s High school at Jorhat and the The Lieutenant Governor of Bengal commented Mission Girls’ High School at Golaghat. The Roman in 1870 that the need of the hour in Assam was the Catholic Mission maintained the St. Mary’s convent, a M. promotion of primary education, not because this would E. School for Indian girls with kindergarten classes at ensure education for the masses, but because this would Guwahati. Though the number of girls’ schools rose from create a class of intelligent labour (Sengupta, 2012:53-60) 679 to 789 in Assam Valley(ibid) but the expansion of The educational agenda of the state in Assam consisted in girl’s education faced obstacles due to the problem of the creation of a class of intelligent labour possessing some dearth of qualified teachers for which more teacher useful skills and practical knowledge. There was no room training centers were urgently required. in this schema for higher learning which had the potential to create an enlightened community capable of questioning Mary Carpenter, a great English Social reformer, the given paradigm(ibid). The ‘woman’s question’ loomed visited India during the years 1865-1870. She found that large in the nineteenth century India as well as in Assam. the main obstacle to the progress of female education was This was not so much a question of what women wanted, the absence of female teachers. So, she suggested the but rather how they could be modernized. It became the establishment of female normal schools and decided to central question in nineteenth century British India, devote special attention to women’s education which because the foreign rulers had focused their attention on resulted that many girls’ schools were started in different this particular aspect of society. The influential British parts of Assam. But the main problem with these schools writers condemned Indian religion, culture and society for was that almost all of them were very ill-equipped. There their rules and customs regarding women (Forbes, were only 8 girls’ schools in Assam in 1870 of which 5 in 1998:12) enamored with their civilizing mission. Kamrup and one each in Darrang, Nowgong and Lakhimpur districts(ibid). VI. Understanding the role of Christian Missionaries in Women Education Schools for native boys and girls had usually been The Christian Missionaries rendered invaluable sustained by the Baptists Mission and for several years a service in spreading modern education in Assam.

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