The Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School of Lahore: a Study of Educational Reform in Colonial Punjab, Ca
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The Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School of Lahore: A Study of Educational Reform in Colonial Punjab, ca. 1885-1925. Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Heidelberg vorgelegt von: Ankur Kakkar Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Gita Dharampal-Frick Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Rahul Mukherji Heidelberg, April 2021 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES ................................................................................................. 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 1: EDUCATION POLICY IN COLONIAL INDIA. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, CA. 1800-1880 ........................................................................................................................ 33 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 33 ‘INDIGENOUS’ INDIAN EDUCATION : A COLONIAL SURVEY, CA. 1820-1830 ......................................... 34 Madras ........................................................................................................................... 38 Bombay .......................................................................................................................... 42 Bengal ............................................................................................................................ 43 TRADITIONAL PATSHALAS IN COLONIAL PUNJAB, CA. 1848 -1882 ...................................................... 47 THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ..................................................................................................... 56 INSTITUTING COLONIAL EDUCATION, CA. 1835-1885 ..................................................................... 59 THE POLICY OF RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY ........................................................................................ 75 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 86 CHAPTER 2: RESPONDING TO COLONIAL EDUCATION. PUNJABI REFORMERS AND THE ARYA SAMAJ, CA. 1880-1920 ...................................................................................................... 89 CRITICISM OF GOVERNMENT EDUCATION IN PUNJAB ........................................................................ 89 The Lack of Religious Instruction .................................................................................... 90 The Problem of Moral Education .................................................................................... 95 The Rural-Urban Divide ................................................................................................ 100 COLONIAL LAHORE AND REFORMIST ENTERPRISES .......................................................................... 107 REFORMIST ORGANISATIONS OF PUNJABI HINDUS .......................................................................... 120 DAYANAND SARASWATI AND THE ARYA SAMAJ .............................................................................. 126 GROWTH OF THE ARYA SAMAJ IN PUNJAB .................................................................................... 137 Numbers ....................................................................................................................... 137 Social Composition ....................................................................................................... 145 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 146 CHAPTER 3: THE DAYANAND ANGLO-VEDIC SCHOOL, CA. 1885-1905 .............................. 147 INTRODUCTION: BETWEEN ‘TRADITION’ AND ‘MODERNITY’ ............................................................. 147 2 THE DAYANAND ANGLO-VEDIC SCHOOL OF LAHORE: GENESIS AND GROWTH ....................................... 150 Setting Up ..................................................................................................................... 150 Growing: From One to Many ........................................................................................ 155 THE FINANCIAL MODEL ............................................................................................................ 158 Raising Funds: A ‘Traditional’ Approach? ..................................................................... 158 Providing Low Cost Education ...................................................................................... 162 THE DAYANAND ANGLO-VEDIC CURRICULUM ................................................................................ 168 The Scheme of Studies .................................................................................................. 168 The Calendar ................................................................................................................ 176 ‘MAHATMAS AND MODERATES’. THE DEBATE ON SANSKRIT ............................................................. 179 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 190 CHAPTER 4: TEACHING LANGUAGE, ETHICS AND RELIGION. AN ASSESSMENT OF TRADITIONAL EDUCATION IN DAYANAND ANGLO-VEDIC SCHOOLS, CA. 1890-1925. ....... 191 INTRODUCTION: THE VARIOUS FACETS OF ‘TRADITIONAL’ EDUCATION ............................................... 191 VEDIC ‘THEOLOGY’ ................................................................................................................. 194 VEDA PATH ........................................................................................................................... 198 DHARMA SHIKSHA: ‘RELIGIOUS’ TEXT BOOKS OR ‘SOCIO-CULTURAL’ MANUALS? .................................. 205 Composing Dharma Shikshaks ..................................................................................... 211 Contents of Dharma Shikshaks ..................................................................................... 217 ‘Language’ Books or ‘Moral’ Readers? ......................................................................... 224 BRAHMA YAJNA: ‘RELIGIOUS’ RITUAL OR SELF-STUDY? ................................................................... 229 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 239 CHAPTER 5: GROWTH OF THE D.A.V. MOVEMENT AND ITS EFFECT ON LITERACY IN PUNJAB, CA. 1905- 1925 ................................................................................................................ 242 INTRODUCTION: THE PREDICAMENT OF PASSING A VERDICT ............................................................. 242 A ‘NATIONALIST’ EDUCATION? .................................................................................................. 245 STUDENT ENROLLMENTS .......................................................................................................... 250 NETWORK OF D.A.V. SCHOOLS IN PUNJAB ........................................................................... 255 IMPACT ON LITERACY .............................................................................................................. 264 INCULCATING ‘MODERN’ AND ‘TRADITIONAL’ LESSONS ................................................................... 273 The University Examination Results ............................................................................. 273 Creation of Cultural Consciousness .............................................................................. 278 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 285 3 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 286 APPENDIX – I: CONSOLIDATED SCHEME OF STUDIES FOR D.A.V. SCHOOLS ...................... 298 APPENDIX – II : COMPARISION OF D.A.V. AND GOVERNMENT SCHOOL CURRICULA ........ 307 APPENDIX – III: BIOGRAPHIES OF INFLUENTIAL ARYA SAMAJ LEADERS ........................... 310 APPENDIX – IV: ARCHITECTS OF THE D.A.V. MOVEMENT. A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE .......... 314 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 319 GLOSSARY ...................................................................................................................... 336 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been privileged to receive the support of various individuals and organisations during the long course of my doctoral study. It is a pleasure to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed towards my completing this doctoral dissertation. First of all, I would like to thank my primary supervisor Prof. Dr. Gita Dharampal-Frick without whose unstinted support I could never have written this dissertation. Prof. Dharampal-Frick has been a real Doktormutter to me, patiently putting up with my delays and prodding me to finish my work on time. At the same time, her critical and insightful comments on my work greatly helped me in framing the arguments I have made in this dissertation. So, I will always remain indebted to Prof. Dharampal-Frick for agreeing to supervise my doctoral study. I would also profusely thank Prof. Dr. Rahul Mukherji who very kindly agreed