MUSLIM EDUCATION IN BENGAL 1837-1937
MUSLIM EDUCATION IN BENGAL 1837-1937
MUSLIM EDUCATION IN BENGAL 1837-1937
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Islamic Studies (Islamabad) 10:3 (1971)<br />
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> <strong>IN</strong> <strong>BENGAL</strong> <strong>1837</strong>-<strong>1937</strong><br />
SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
Education of Muslims before British advent<br />
1. Islam enjoins pursuit of knowledge as a religious duty upon every<br />
Muslim. Muslim saints and preachers who had come to Bengal in the<br />
wake of Muslim conquest established mosques which served as Maktabs<br />
and Madrassahs. The rituals of Islam and recitation of the Qur'zn neces-<br />
sary for prayer and other religious observances were taught in them. The<br />
Im-rn of the mosque also gave free instruction to boys and girls. Some<br />
Arabic scholars volunteered to impart instruction in the higher branches<br />
of Islamic studies either in a mosque or at home without remuneration.<br />
Wealthy persons often engaged such scholars to teach their sons and<br />
along with them the students of his locality. Sometimes madrassahs were<br />
also started under state patronage in the shape of grant of land or Madad-<br />
i-Ma'lsh or Jagir.<br />
2. In the beginning no regular syllabii were followed in these Madrassahs.<br />
In the 18th century MaulBnI' 'Abdul 'Ali Bahrul 'Dlam, son of<br />
Maul~nB' NizHmuddin (d 1748) of Firingee Mahal, Lucknow, who had<br />
been invited by a Zaminder of Buhar in Burdwan district to start a Madrassah<br />
introduced the NizHmiya system, called after his father's name.<br />
Books and commentaries written by Mullah Niz~muddin and his son Mullah<br />
Qutbuddin were taught under this system. This curriculum has been<br />
criticised for containing too many books on grammar and logic and for<br />
devoting too much attention to formal subjects and too little to useful<br />
secular subjects like history and natural sciences or even religious subjects<br />
like Tafsir and Hadig. MaulBnZ 'Ubaidullah (1830-85) the first Superintendent<br />
of the Dacca Madrassah thus commented on this system "We have<br />
seen in many works of modem logicians of Lucknow that they have been<br />
actually led into a most ridiculous system of indulging in vain subtleties<br />
and captious contests. The excessive pursuit of it in our schools has been<br />
productive of fruitless quibbling and cavilling. It is indeed deplorable<br />
that thisvain, pedantic knowledge has so much engaged the attention of the<br />
learned Moslems of India in later days that it has almost prevented them
182 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
from pursuing other useful branches of leaming."(l) The Arabic school<br />
of Delhi founded by Shah Waliullah had a modified course in which<br />
Ijadit& and Tafsir, the fountain head of Islamic learning, found its due<br />
place. The NizHmiah Syllabus however continued to be popular in<br />
Bengal.<br />
Calcutta Madrassah founded.<br />
3. A scholar named Majduddin arrived in Calcutta in September,<br />
1780. A considerable number of Muslims approached Warren Hastings,<br />
the Governor General, requesting him to use his influence in persuading<br />
the Maulana to remain at Calcutta for instruction of Muslim students.<br />
At their request Warren Hastings founded Calcutta Madrassah in October<br />
1780 at his own expense. It was taken over in 1782 as a Government<br />
institution. Majdadddin was appointed preceptor of the Madrassah on<br />
a salary of Rs. 3001- per month. Warren Hastings considered it expedient<br />
that the administration of the criminal courts and many of the important<br />
branches of the police should continue in the hands of Muslim Oficers.<br />
He therefore recommended the Calcutta Madrassah to the Directors<br />
E.I. Co., as recruiting ground for native public servants. The Ntib<br />
NZzim or the principal Officer of the native courts of law was also instructed<br />
that whenever vacancies should arise in the fauzdari courts, they should<br />
be sled up by the students of the M~drassah upon production of certificates<br />
from the Principal that the persons nominated were qualified for the<br />
appointments.<br />
4. In 1835, the Council of Education at Calcutta inaugurated the<br />
policy of English Education. Lord Bentinck after considering the minutes<br />
of Lord Macaulay passed the celebrated Education Resolution of Govern-<br />
ment of India of 7th March ,1835 in favour of English Education. This<br />
policy proved disastrous to the Muslims and dealt a death-blow to their<br />
political and economic supremacy in Bengal. It was followed by the<br />
abolition of Persian as Court language in <strong>1837</strong>. In 1844 Lord Hardinge,<br />
Governor General, declared that in all Government appointments prefe-<br />
rence would be given to persons with a knowledge of English and that this<br />
policy would extend down to the lower posts. The Muslims bitterly<br />
resented this policy and could not reconcile themselves to the changed<br />
circumstances as the new system was divorced from religious instruction,<br />
a thing unknown to Islam and they felt that it forced them to learn not<br />
only the language of their foreign rulers but the language of their subject<br />
race as Sanskritised Bengali was thought to be. A petition signed by
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 183<br />
8312 Muslims including all the responsible Moulvis and leading gentlemen<br />
of Calcutta was submitted protesting against the Government policy. In<br />
1839, 481 leading residents of Dacca District (Including 179 Hindus) fXed<br />
a petition to Government through the District Judge of Dacca in favour<br />
of continuance of Persian for conducting public business2 Lt. Col.<br />
Morrison, a member of the Surpreme Council, thought it advisable to<br />
allow use of English in Courts of Justice along with Persian for many<br />
years to come.3 This was a sound and reasonable proposal. If this<br />
advice had been followed Muslims would have got time to learn English<br />
and retain hold on the legal and civil branches of Government service. But<br />
Persian was abolished only two years after Government decision in hot<br />
haste without any previous notice. This decision was most unfortunate<br />
as till then no adequate provision for English education of Muslims had<br />
been made by Government. On the other hand Hindus of Bengal who<br />
had for many years to learn a foreign language like Persian to get Govern-<br />
ment jobs hailed the decision and zealously began the study of English.<br />
The distaste with which the Hindus had regarded the Muslim domination<br />
made them welcome Engiish Rule with relief, while the Muslims in their<br />
anger at having lost position and power held aloof for a long time from the<br />
benefits of western education and ideas. The different attitude of the two<br />
communities towards learning English led to the vast disparity in their<br />
educational progress, a disparity which has seriously affected the position<br />
of the Muslims in Bengal and has been most baneful to the interests of the<br />
country as a whole.<br />
5. The statistics regarding students in Government institutions in<br />
Bengal in 19th century reveals a sad position. The number of Muslim<br />
students in Government Colleges and Schools in 1841 was 751 against<br />
3188 Hindus. The figures came down to 606 as against 3846 Hindu stu-<br />
dents in 1846.<br />
Hindu Muslim<br />
6. With the inauguration of the new policy in 1835 Calcutta Madrassah<br />
lost its importance as recruiting ground for public services. Henceforth<br />
the state policy was to promote education through English which was to
184 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
supersede the Madrassah education as passport to public service and other<br />
profitable spheres of life. The Madrassah system became a blind alley<br />
leading nowhere. A new phase had begun in the history of education with<br />
the foundation of the Calcutta University in 1857. Though Sir Charles<br />
Wood's despatch of 1854 had included "Mohammedan Madrassahs"<br />
in the list of educational institutions worthy of being affiliated to the<br />
University" neither Calcutta Madrassah nor any other Madrassah was<br />
included within the Calcutta University Scheme and granted affiliation<br />
to the University.<br />
7. This was a grievous mistake. The Calcutta Madrassah ought to<br />
have been incorporated within the University system with such modi-<br />
fications in courses of study as might have been needed. The Calcutta<br />
University Commission (Sadlern Commission) held that if the madrassahs<br />
had been included within the University system as recommended in Wood's<br />
despatch "the whole subsequent history of the problem of the education of<br />
the Mussalmans of Bengal, might have been different." Moslem Educa-<br />
tion Advisory Committee 1934 set up by Government of Bengal (Momin<br />
Committee) also held the same view.4<br />
8. The exclusion of Calcutta Madrassah from the University system<br />
was perhaps made under the idea that shut out from worldly prospects<br />
the Madrassah system would be deserted by the Muslims and they would<br />
betake themselves to the English system of secular education like the<br />
Hindus. The Muslims however held aloof from a system which made<br />
no provision for religious education so much valued by them. They re-<br />
mained loyal to the system which Calcutta Madrassah represented, with<br />
the consequence that they were cut off from the general line of progress<br />
and the main current of life and lost ground in every sphere.<br />
Defects of Calcutta Madrassah<br />
9. Attempts to introduce teaching of English in Madrassah did not<br />
succeed. The Mussalmans themselves were not free from blame. They<br />
silently acquiesced in all administrative changes that were detrimental to<br />
their interests without any protest. The Hindu College was not open to<br />
Muslims. Holt Mackenzie proposed in 1825 the establishment of a sepa-<br />
rate English College for the advanced students of Hindu College, Calcutta<br />
Madrassah and Sanskrit College.5 The General Committee for Public<br />
Instruction drew up an ambitious plan of creating a Central English College.<br />
b
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 185<br />
The Court of Directors turned down the scheme and sanctioned only open-<br />
ing of the English classes at the existing institutions.<br />
10. This action of the Government was bitterly criticised by Mr.<br />
Charles Grant who said "A grave error of principle was committed by<br />
Government when it undertook to carry out chiefly at its own cost, an<br />
expensive College for one sect. The best method to get out of the error<br />
is to give at the Mohammedan College (Calcutta Madrassah) as good an<br />
education as we give to the Hindu College. Against anything short of this<br />
justice to the Mohammedans I protest." None heeded his protest which<br />
was a cry in the wilderness. Had the Central College been opened Muslims<br />
would have got facilities for higher education much earlier.<br />
11. In 1822 Col. Lumsden, Secretary of Calcutta Madrassah reported<br />
"the prejudices of the preceptors opposed (Sic) considerable obstacle in<br />
the way of reform". In 1823 he suggested introduction of a course for<br />
English literature and Science as the only effective means of opening the<br />
eyes of the Muslims to the defects of their own system.6 The Madrassah<br />
Committee which was very conservative disagreed with Lumsden and<br />
turned down the proposal on the ground that it was foreign to the views<br />
with which the Madrassah had been originally established.<br />
12. The discipline in the Madrassah was very lax. In 1850 it was<br />
found that one Professor of Arabic and the Librarian had been practising<br />
as Wnani Hakims for years. The teachers used to send fictitious rolls<br />
of students. As a result during the period from 1829 to 1855 not more<br />
than two students could secure junior scholarship. Between 1845 and<br />
1856 no student of calcutta Madrassah could secure a senior scholarship.<br />
The door of the institution was not open to all classes of Muslims. Only<br />
children from respectable families were admitted. In 1844 it was found<br />
that there were only five students in the College department of the Mad-<br />
rassah.<br />
After English became the language of courts the Calcutta Madrassah<br />
ceased to attract students. During the period for 1829 to 1851 the average<br />
number of students in the Madrassah was 72 only.<br />
13. While the Hindus were taking to English education with great<br />
enthusiasm, Muslims were unwilling to tlke advantage of the facilities for<br />
English Education provided in the Calcutta Madrassah. The Moulanas<br />
of the Madrassah in self interest strongly opposed introduction of English<br />
courses.
186 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
14. British policy in education affected the Muslims in a markedly<br />
different way from the Hindus. The Muslims viewed themselves as<br />
recently deposed rulers. Hindus had been in subjugation for many cen-<br />
turies. Muslim reaction to Missionary education was also substantially<br />
different. They found it difficult to discard the idea that their attendance<br />
at missionary schools would violate basic precepts of Islam, especially<br />
as early missionary movement included evangelism and conversion in<br />
educational activity. There was also the basic belief of the Muslims that<br />
it was improper to separate religion from education. Hunter rightly<br />
observed "The truth is our system of public instruction ignores the three<br />
most powerful instincts of the Muslim's heart. In the first place it conducts<br />
education in vernacular, a language which the educated Mohammedan<br />
despise, and by means of Hindu teachers whom the whole Mohammedan<br />
community hate. In the second place our rural schools seldom enable<br />
a Mohammedan to learn the tongues necessary for his holding a respect-<br />
able position in life, and for the performance of his religious duties. In<br />
the third place our system of public instruction makes no provision for the<br />
religious education of the Mohammedan youth. As observed by Loyed<br />
Thorpe "Muslims believed rightly or wrongly that the British had a special<br />
vendetta directed against them. They also felt that the British had a spe-<br />
cial antipathy towards Islam."7 Sir Valentire Chirol had observed "As<br />
a matter of fact, British rule has in many ways worked out to the relative<br />
detriment of Mohammedan influence and to the greater advantage of the<br />
Hindus."<br />
Resumption proceedings<br />
15. Resumption proceedings during the period 1829-1851 was the last<br />
straw to break the camel's back. Since 1765 Muslims had been ruined<br />
economically. Resumption proceedings made them poorer still. The<br />
timings of the Resumption proceedings were very unfortunate for Muslim<br />
education. This was the period when Macaulay's famous decision against<br />
oriental learning had been taken and Persian replaced as the language<br />
of the Courts. Education statistics reveal the hopeless position to which<br />
Muslims had been reduced. In 1841 Muslims were 24O/, of the students<br />
under education. It had been reduced to 16% by 1856. During the<br />
period 1865 to 1871, Muslims were only 38% out of those who passed<br />
Entrance and 10% of those who graduated. Education of the Muslims<br />
was at the lowest ebb when Hunter forcefully drew the attention of the<br />
Authorities to the unfortunate condition of Muslims in the field of educa-
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 187<br />
tlon. It appears from D.P.I.'s report for 1870-72 that during the previous<br />
five years out d 429 graduates only ten were Muslims.<br />
Causes of Muslim backwardness<br />
16. In Pre-British India a Muslim child started going to School<br />
in the fifth year with Persian as the main language for study. At the<br />
secondary course Arabic was included in the course of study. Education<br />
was free but as the teacher was dependent on the community for necessities<br />
of his life, his economic status was precarious. His social status was<br />
however high. The teaching was generally through lectures with students<br />
sitting on the floor around the teacher. Due to purdah the education of<br />
women was restricted. The wealthier families who could afford made<br />
private arrangement for the education of women.<br />
17. Muslims did not believe in subordinating education to the policies<br />
of Government. The educational institutes were independent of the state<br />
control. Rulers however recognised their resposnibilities in this connexion<br />
and the need of State support. Muslims considered it obligatory to pro-<br />
vide education as a religious act. Religious education was required to be<br />
included in the curriculum as an integral part of Islamic cultural tradition.<br />
Muslim landlords used to entertain teachers at their own cost for the<br />
benefit of the poor children of the neighbourhood and it was rare to find<br />
an opulent person in the village who did not pay for a teacher. But this<br />
class was dwindling even in 1841 when Adam reported on education in<br />
Bengal.<br />
18. "Hindus however followed a different tradition. While the<br />
curriculum in the higher seminaries of learning was largely influenced<br />
by religion, the elementary schools were singularly free from any direct<br />
religious teaching.'%<br />
19. In Bengal, the Baptist Mission founded the Serampur College<br />
with the object of instructing both Christian and non-Christian youths in<br />
western learning. It was the first Missionary College in India. In 1830,<br />
Alexander Duff started Duff College which later became Scottish Churches<br />
College.<br />
20. The system of education introduced by the British overlooked<br />
some of the powerful instincts which guided Muslims in the matter of<br />
education. In Bengal education was conducted through the medium of<br />
sanskritised Bengali by means of Hindu teachers whom Muslims hated.
188 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
The nlral schools rarely taught Arabic and Persian a knowledge of which<br />
was necessary for a Muslim to hold a respectable position in life and for<br />
the performance of his religious duties. They made no provision for<br />
religious education.<br />
21. Dr. Mullick observes "Wherever the vernacular of the country<br />
was Urdu, or where the Muslims used the common dialect of the locality,<br />
they occupied their proper position in the primary and secondary schools<br />
run or aided by the State, but where they spoke a language different from<br />
the majority of the population, no arrangement had been made to meet<br />
the situation. These obstacles grew greater as the higher standards of<br />
education were reached; consequently it was in the high schools, colleges<br />
and universities that the backwardness of the Muslims was most conspicu-<br />
cous." In East Bengal the dialect of the Muslims was much removed from<br />
the language of Bengali books. It was particularly so in the district of<br />
Chittagong and Sylhet.<br />
According to Dr. Mulllck "In 1885-86 it was only in private schools<br />
that the percentage of Muslims pupils (21'7) exceeded the proportion of<br />
Muslim population. In the higher grades the percentage declined being<br />
13'5, 5'1 and 4'1 respectively in Secondary Schools, professional and<br />
Arts Colleges." The analysis of statistics about Muslim education<br />
during the five years 1897-1902 shows that the progress was not satisfactory.<br />
The increase in number of pupils under public instruction was only 1400<br />
against 86,000 during the previous five years. The percentage of pupils<br />
to children of school going age virtually remained stationary during the<br />
decade 1892 to 1902 . It was 8.5 % in 1892 and 8,5 % in 1902.<br />
22. But the Muslims themselves were also to blame for negligence in<br />
taking advantage of opportunities of English education provided by the<br />
Calcutta Madrassah. In 1855 Colingah branch school of Calcutta<br />
Madrassah situated in a predominantly Muslim locality was found to<br />
contain 125 Hindu pupils and only 14 Muslims. The poverty of the<br />
Muslims had no doubt something to do with this. But the real cause<br />
must be the apathy of the Muslims towards English education. In 1867,<br />
on the representation of the Muslims the Anglo-Persian Department of<br />
Calcutta Madrassah was raised to the status of a second grade college but<br />
only 6 students joined the college when classes were opened. The number<br />
fell to 4 next year. In the following year, it fell to 3 all of whom left dur-<br />
ing the session. Government therefore cannot be blamed if they closed
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 189<br />
down the Intermediate College classes in Calcutta Madrassah. In order<br />
to improve the administration of the Madrassah it became necessary to have<br />
resident English Professor within its compound. But the English Profes-<br />
sor had to be smuggled into the Madrassah compound at night to prevent<br />
uproar by the students against the entry of an Englishmen within the<br />
sacred precincts of the Madrassah.<br />
When the Calcutta University was started Muslims did not come<br />
forward in sufficient numbers to join it. The first B.A. Examination of the<br />
Calcutta University was held in 1858 when two students passed. The<br />
first Muslim Graduate came out in 1861. The next Muslim passed B.A.<br />
in 1865. Upto 1870 only 12 Muslims had passed the B.A. Examination<br />
of the Calcutta University out of nearly 250 who graduated during the<br />
period.<br />
23. The educational backwardness of the Muslims attracted the<br />
attention of Lord Mayo who issued his famous resolution of 7th August<br />
1871. This resolution is an important document in the history of Muslim<br />
education in India. This was the first occasion when Government of<br />
India took steps for encouragement of education amongst Muslims.<br />
24. The resolution of the Government said 9 "The condition of the<br />
Mohammedan population of India as regards education has of late been<br />
frequently pressed upon the attention of the Government of India. From<br />
statistics recently submitted to Governor General in Council it is evident<br />
that in no part of the country except perhaps the N.W.F.P. and the Panjab<br />
do the Mohammedans adequately or in proportion to the rest of the commu-<br />
nity avail themselves of the educational advantages that the Government<br />
offers. It is much to be regretted that so large and important a class,<br />
possessing a classical literature replete with works of profound learning<br />
and great value and counting among its members a section specially de-<br />
voted to the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge, should stand aloof<br />
from active co-operation with our educational system and should lose the<br />
advantages both material and social which others enjoy. His Excellency<br />
in Council believes that Secondary and Higher education conveyed in the<br />
Vernacular and rendered more accessible than now, coupled with a more<br />
systematic encouragement and recognition of Arabic and Persian literature,<br />
would not only be acceptable to the Mohammedan community but could<br />
enlist the sympathies of the more earnest and enlightened of its members<br />
on the side'of education.
SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
"The Governor General in Council is desirous that further en-<br />
couragement should be given to the classical and vernacular languages<br />
of Mohammedan in all Government Schools and Colleges. In avowedly<br />
English Schools, established in Mohammedan districts, the appointment<br />
of qualified Mohammedan English teachers might with advantage, be<br />
encouraged. As in the Vernacular Schools, so in this class also, assis-<br />
tance might justly be given to Mohammedans by grants in aid to create<br />
Schools of their own. Greater encouragement should also be given<br />
to the creation of a vernacular literature for the Mohammedans - a<br />
measure the importance of which was specially urged upon the Government<br />
of India by H.M's Secretary of State on more than one occasion."<br />
24. Action on these lines were taken in the Province. In Bengal the<br />
Muslims have a grievance that the Mohsin Trust was applied to the main-<br />
tenance of an English College as the intention of the donor was to encour-<br />
age Persian and Arabic learning. To do away with these grievances<br />
Government decided to found 3 new madrassahs and provide fund for<br />
scholarships and payment of the fee of Mussalman students in English<br />
Colleges and Schools. The three Madrassahs were started at Dacca,<br />
Chittagong and Rajshahi. Each was placed under an Atabic Scholar of<br />
repute. The Superintendent of Dacca Madrassah was MoulZnii' Obaid-<br />
ullah A1 Obeidi Bahrul 'UInm (grandfather of late Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy),<br />
an enlightened scholar and friend of Sir Syed. It was intended that in each<br />
of these the full course of Calcutta Madrassah should in time be taught.<br />
English was to be added to the course wherever the pupil showed a desire<br />
to learn that language. At Dacca a teacher of English was at once appoin-<br />
ted. To the payment of the scholarships tenable by Mussalmans in Mad-<br />
rassahs or in English Colleges and Schools there was allotted the sum of<br />
Rs. 9,000/- while 18,0001- went to payment of 2/3rd of the fees of Moham-<br />
medan pupils in Government Colleges and Schools outside Calcutta and<br />
also to the payment of the Moulvis in some schools. Moreover Govern-<br />
ment also incorporated hundreds of Maktabs in the primary system.<br />
26. The Indian Education Commission of 1882-83 (Hunter Commi-<br />
ssion) made the following recommendations (1) The special encouragement<br />
of Mohammedan education be regarded as a legitimate charge on local and<br />
provincial funds. (2) The indigenous Mohammedan Schools be liberally<br />
encouraged to add secular subjects to their course of instruction. (3)<br />
Special standards for Mohammedan Primary Schools be prescribed. (4) A<br />
graduated system of special scholarship for Mohammedans be established.
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 191<br />
(5) That Mohammedan inspecting officers be employed more largely for<br />
inspecting primary schools. Lord Mayo requested Sir William Hunter<br />
to examine the question "Are Indian Mussalmans bound by their religion<br />
to rebel against the Queen". The result of the enquiry was "Indian Mussal-<br />
mans." Hunter forcibly pointed out that the English system of secular<br />
education had failed to attract the Muslims. He attributed the indifference<br />
of Muslims towards English education to (1) the absence of religious<br />
education, (2) want of provision for teaching Arabic and Persian and<br />
(3) absence of Muslims teachers. His diagnosis seems to have been quite<br />
correct.<br />
27. The Government of Bengal admitted in 1872 that "Muslims had<br />
not been very fairly treated in the matter of manning the Government's<br />
educational machinery. Not a single employee of the Inspecting agency<br />
was a Muslim. There were scarcely any Muslim amongst the teachers<br />
of the Government Schools".<br />
About this time Government's attention was drawn by Nawab<br />
'Abdul Laiif as to the misuse of the Mohsin fund. The proceeds of the<br />
endowment were being utilised for running Hooghly College. In 1850<br />
out of 409 pupils in the College Department of this College only 5 were<br />
Muslims. It thus appears that Hindu community were getting the lion's<br />
share out of a pious endowment specially created for the benefit of the<br />
Muslims.<br />
28. Muslims had almost a monopoly in the legal profession till<br />
Persian was replaced as a language of the Courts. According to Hunter<br />
there were 6 Muslims against seven Hindu Lawyers in 1838. Muslims<br />
held their own till 1851. Between 1852 and 1668 out of 240 pleaders<br />
enrolled only one was Muslim. One of the objects of the Calcutta Mad-<br />
rassah was to encourage the study of Mohammedan Law. But when with<br />
the change of the court language the Calcutta Madrassah became a useless<br />
institution no arrangement for teaching law through the medium of English<br />
was made in it. Instead appointment of a Professor of Law at Hindu<br />
College was sanctioned in 1842 and the first course of lectures was delivered<br />
by the Advocate General himself. It appears from the calendar of the<br />
Calcutta University upto 1868 only one Mussalman had passed the B.L.<br />
Examination of the Calcutta University.<br />
29. Facilities for English Education were at first provided in urban<br />
areas like Calcutta, Hoogly and Dacca. The Muslim gentry were concen-
192 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
trated in old cities like Murshidabad and Dacca. Calcutta which had<br />
become a city after British occupation did not have sufficient number of<br />
Muslim upper classes. The Hindu trader classes had flocked to Calcutta<br />
and derived considerable benefit from the commercial and revenue policy<br />
of the British. They had discarded their classics like Sanskrit and learnt<br />
Persian during Muslim rule. They now switched over to English and<br />
began to flock to English Schools with avidity. Ram Mohan Roy and<br />
other leading H.indus carried on an agitation against oriental learning<br />
and wanted English education to be spread everywhere.<br />
The Calcutta University neglected the education of Muslims from<br />
the start. The University discarded the recommendation of Education<br />
despatch of 1854 to offer facilities of amation to Calcutta, Hooghly and<br />
other Madrassahs.<br />
There were some well-to-do Muslims who were resident in Hooghly<br />
and its neighbourhood. They took advantage of the English education.<br />
The first Muslim graduate of India, Khan Bahadur Delwar Hussain Ahmed,<br />
was a resident of Hooghly. Syed Ameer 'Ali, the first Bengali Muslim to<br />
pass M.A., also came from Hooghly.<br />
30. There were a large number of Muslim gentry in Dacca. Muslims<br />
were in the majority in the city of Dacca all throughout the British period.<br />
Unfortunately the Muslim gentry of Dacca did not take kindly to English<br />
education. Though Dacca College was amated to Calcutta University<br />
from its start no Muslim from Dacca city graduated before 1886. The<br />
Muslim gentry seems to have flocked round the old Nawab family of Dacca.<br />
The last Nawab of Dacca was holding court till forties of the last century.<br />
Thereafter the Khwaja family came to the forefront. Though Nawab<br />
'Abdul Gani had started the Gani School, it did not thrive.<br />
31. The first English Schools were started by Missionaries. For<br />
two reasons the missionaries concentrated near about Calcutta. They<br />
chose Presidence Division as their field of operation as it was near their<br />
seat of power. Secondly they knew their primary object of conversion<br />
would be more successful amongst the Hindus than amongst the Muslims.<br />
On account of the caste system the lower classes amongst the Hindus were<br />
under great hardship. They readily accepted Christianity to improve<br />
their social and economic conditions. The English Schools were mostly<br />
started in such urban areas where there were few Muslims. The best<br />
institution for imparting English education before the foundation of
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 193<br />
Calcutta University was the Hindu College. It got lavish patronage from<br />
the Government. Its doors were however closed to Muslims. Hence<br />
Muslims got no opportunity for higher education till Presidency College<br />
A was started in 1854.<br />
L<br />
32. Another important point was that education in the early stages<br />
had to be imparted through vernacular. Through the efforts of missionaries<br />
like Carey, Marshman on one hand and the pandits of the Fort William<br />
College on the other, the whole character of the Bengali language was<br />
changed. It was denuded of all words of Arabic and Persian origin.<br />
These were replaced by words borrowed from Sanskrit having Hindu<br />
ideology and mythology. The Bengali language thus developed was unintelligible<br />
and repugnant to the Muslims. In United Province and Oudh<br />
where education was through Urdu Muslims promptly took advantage of<br />
the English education. Unfortunately Bengali Muslims were divided as to<br />
whether they should declare Bengali or Urdu as their varnacular. The<br />
upper class Muslims like Nawab 'Abdul Latif, Syed Ameer 'Mi, Nawab<br />
Salimullah had Urdu as their mother tongue. The rural masses did not<br />
understand Urdu. Their needs were overlooked. Nawab 'Abdul Latif<br />
drew attention to the fact that many of the Bengali text books were repugnant<br />
to Muslims. In his speech delivered at the thirteenth Session of<br />
Mohammadan Educational conference at Calc~~tta under the presidency<br />
of Syed Ameer 'Ali, Nawab 'Ali Choudhury also forcefully drew attention<br />
to this fact. Farsighted Rev Adams had recommended in 1835 preparation<br />
of special text books to suit the Muslim taste. It had not been heeded<br />
till the end of 19th century. Towards the end of 19th century passages or<br />
books objected to by Muslims were replaced and passages from Muslim<br />
authors were included. Muslims then took to English education without<br />
any hesitation. The absence of instruction in the tenets of their own<br />
faith and the injurious effects of English education in creating a disbelief<br />
in their religion, the economic condition of Muslim peasantry in Bengal<br />
were the main reasons for the backwardness of Muslim in English education.<br />
33. The other factor was the decline of the artisan classes on account<br />
of replacement of handloom cloth by factory products. It is only when<br />
jute growing became profitable towards the end of 19th century that<br />
Muslims peasants in Bengal had sufficient money to educate their children.<br />
Statistics regarding progress of Education.<br />
34. In 1870-71 Muslims who were 32'3% of total population were
194 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
4'0 in colleges and 14'0 in Primary Schooos for boys. In 1874 Muslims<br />
were 4% in Colleges and 19'5% in Schools. In 1876-86 they were 4'3<br />
in Colleges and 18 % in Schools. In 1881-82 they were 3.8 and 24.5%<br />
respectively. According to statistics published by Government the per-<br />
centage of Muslim students in Schools had increased to 23'8 in 1881-82<br />
from 14.4 in 1871. The same sources reveal that the percentage of Mus-<br />
lims in Colleges during the same period had declined from 4'04 to 3'8%.<br />
No explanation for this phenomenal growth in School going children<br />
amongst Muslims is forthcoming. Presumably inflatedfigures were shown<br />
by including fictitious figures for student population of Qur'Xn schools<br />
or Maktabs which taught nothing but Arabic spelling and recitation of the<br />
verses of the Qur'Bn. The inclusion of Statistics of students in these<br />
institutions makes the figures of Muslim pupils under education fictitious.<br />
In 1886-87 Muslims formed 4'3 % in Arts College and 12.1 % in Secondary<br />
Schools. In 1886-87 2409 passed Entrance under Calcutta University of<br />
which 133 were Muslim, 369 passed B.A. of which 14 were Muslims. In<br />
1891-92 out of 171 2 who passed Entrance 85 were Muslims and out of 275<br />
graduates 14 were Muslims. They were 5'7 in Arts Colleges and 13'5%<br />
in Secondary Schools in 1891-92.<br />
Between 1858 and 1893, of 4981 graduates of Calcutta University<br />
only 203 were Muslims. During the same period out of 2,588 law gradua-<br />
tes, only 76 were Muslims. In Secondary Schools Muslims were 8.70%<br />
in 1882, 12'1 % in 1887 and 13'5 % in 1892.<br />
Tn colleges in 1896-97 Muslims formed 5'6% and in 1901-02 only<br />
6%. In Primary Schools their percentages were 28'4 and 28'0 respectively.<br />
In High Schools, they were 1 1'3 % and 12'01 %. The partition of Bengal<br />
had a marked effect in accelerating the pace of education of the Muslims.<br />
Sir Bamfylde Fuller, the Lieutenant Governor took a keen personal in-<br />
terest in the education of the Muslims. According to Dr. Mullick "In<br />
the field of education this progress was quite marked. Whereas the<br />
total increase in the number of pupils of all communities in 1906-07 was<br />
3 %, the pupils of the Muslim community registered an increases of 6'8 %.<br />
The number of Muslim pupils at different stages increased from 4,25,084<br />
in 1906-07 to 5,75,667 in 191 1-12 and their proportion to total number<br />
from 52 to 53'8 %. The rate of increase during the five years was as high<br />
as 35'1 P!. The increase in the number was much more marked in Govern-<br />
ment than in private institutions and over 9 % of Muslims under instruction<br />
were attending Schools of the former class."lo
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 195<br />
In 1915 out of 14,746 College students 1,154 were Muslims. In<br />
Calcutta Medical College out of 81 1 there were 11 Muslims. In Sibpur<br />
Engineering College out of 320 students only 7 were Muslims.<br />
In 1913-14, Muslims were 7'8 % in colleges, in 1916-17 8'8 and 1921-<br />
22, 12'8. In Primary Schools, they were 43'1 %, 46'9% and 48,5% res-<br />
pectively.<br />
In 1916 though Muslims formed 52 of the population, they were<br />
42% in Schools. In Primary Schools they were 55'4% ,in middle 25'0%<br />
and in High School stage 14'7 %.<br />
In Bengal the efforts to convert Maktab into useful primary schools<br />
began in 1904. The first step was the creation of model maktab under<br />
Government control. Grants were made to Maktabs which adopted<br />
the Primary Course. The number of such maktabs rose to 6,048 with<br />
293,802 pupils in 1916- 17.<br />
In 1921 Muslims were 54% in Bengal and the percentage of Mus-<br />
lim Scholars was 46'6 %.<br />
In 1926-27, they were 14'3 in colleges and in 1931-32, 13'7%. In<br />
the Primary stage they were 50'5 and 53'6% respectively.<br />
In 1936-37 Muslims formed 54'9:d of population of Bengal and<br />
51'7% of students.<br />
During British regime Muslims who made the greatest progress<br />
in education were in U.P. and Punjab. The advantage in U.P. ws that<br />
education was through the medium of Urdu. In that Province Muslims<br />
lived in urban areas. They were well off. The Punjab University had<br />
established Faculties of Oriental learning and recognised the Arabic<br />
Madrassahs. The oriental students on their passing certain required exa-<br />
minations were permitted to sit for examination in the English papers of<br />
the Entrance, Intermediate and B.A Examinations and on their obtaining<br />
pass marks in English, were declared to have passed the University exa-<br />
minations. Thus without attending lectures in colleges and without<br />
passing examinations in any subject other than English the students in<br />
Faculty of Oriental Learning in the Punjab obtain Matriculate and I.A.<br />
Certificates and even the B.A. Degree. Hence the Muslims suffered no<br />
disadvantage and during the first ten years from 1882 Punjab University<br />
produced many Muslim Graduates.
196 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
35. Nawab 'Abdul Latif and Syed Ameer 'Ali took lead in the educa-<br />
tion of Muslims. They both pressed for Urdu and did not cultivate Ben-<br />
gali. In the Muslim Literary Society of Nawab 'Abdul Latif speeches were<br />
delivered in English, Urdu and Persian. Nobody however spoke in Ban-<br />
gali. Titus Oates has calculated that at the beginning of the 20th century<br />
there were 2 corores and 22 lacs Bengali speaking Muslims as against 18<br />
lacs Urdu speaking Muslims in Bengal.<br />
Yet the Muslim Assistant Inspector of School in 1889 reported that<br />
a large number of Mussalmans even of the lower classes preferred Urdu<br />
to Bengali as medium of instruction for their children. This happened<br />
chiefly because the Muslims in rural areas were suffering from inferio-<br />
rity complex. Though most of them were converts from Hindus and Bud-<br />
dhists and spoke the same languate as their Hindu neighbours they claimed<br />
to be descendants of Turks, Afghans and Persians who had come as<br />
conquerors and wanted to improve their social status by learning Urdu<br />
and Persian. Another reason why they wanted to avoid learning Bengali<br />
in schools was the highly sanskritised Bengali full of Hindu mythology<br />
which was in vogue at that time. The text books contained many mis-<br />
representations and libellous attacks on the Muslims.<br />
36. Hunter Commissions's recommendations.<br />
Hunter Commission in 1882 recommended that Mohammedan<br />
inspecting officers be employed more largely. As a result in 1889 two<br />
Muslim Assistant Inspector of Schools were appointed 1 I. But these<br />
posts were abolished in 1901. This caused some set-back in primary<br />
education.<br />
The paucity of Muslim officers in education department in the<br />
end of the last century will appear from the following statistics. In 1893<br />
out of 44 Deputy Inspectors of Schools in Bengal Presidency only two<br />
were Muslims, out of 181 Sub-Inspectors only 9 were Muslims and out<br />
of 279 teachers in Government High Schools only 11 were Muslims.<br />
Moulvi 'Abdul Karim pointed out 12 "The presence of even one Moham-<br />
medan teacher in a school inspires confidence among the local Mussal-<br />
mans, many of whom do not hesitate to send their children to the school<br />
in the hope that their morals and manners, to which Mussalmans attach<br />
great importance, will be properly looked after."<br />
37. Mr. Taylor was appointed Assistant Director of Public Instruction<br />
for Muslim Education in 1909. Government soon realised the mistake
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 197<br />
they had committed by abolishing without sufficient thought the posts of<br />
Assistant Inspectors for Muslim Education in 1901. In 1914 they created<br />
the posts of five Assistant Inspectors for Muslim Education - one for<br />
each Division of the Presidency of Bengal.<br />
Muslims and Calcutta University<br />
38. Calcutta University never countenanced the idea of linking Madrassah<br />
education with University. In the beginning the Madrassahs were<br />
not aiated to University inspite of Woods despatch. NO provision<br />
for teaching Arabic and Persian was made till 1871 when Lord Mayo<br />
drew the attention of Government to it. Sanskrit College was affiliated<br />
to Calcutta University and a student passed M.A. in Sanskrit in 1865<br />
when M.A. Examination was started. The first Muslims to pass in M.A.<br />
in Persian from Bengal were (Nawab) Shamsul Huda and ZShid Suhrwardy<br />
who passed in 1889. It was in 1871 that Government of India directed<br />
that encouragement should be given to classical languages of the Muslims.<br />
In 1921 Shamsul Huda Committee recommended that the Calcutta Uni-<br />
versity should permit Madrassah students to appear in English papers<br />
in Matric, I.A. and B.A. Examinations. Unfortunately these recommenda-<br />
tions were never given effect to.<br />
39. While presiding over Bengal Provincial Muslim League in 1920,<br />
Mr. 'Abdul Karim (Later Member of Council of State) said "The interests<br />
of Mussalman in the Calcutta University had grievously suffered for want<br />
of adequate and effective representation, there being only 7 Mussalmans<br />
out of 110 Fellows, not one of them being a member of the Syndicate.<br />
Since the introduction of elective system in Calcutta University not<br />
a single Muhammedan has ever been returned, although competent candidates<br />
were in the field. As a result of the dominating influence of one<br />
particular community there was not a single Muhammedan out of 70<br />
lecturers in the Law College, not a single Mohammedan (2 on Persian and<br />
Arabic excepted) out of a !arge number of University lecturers and only<br />
9 Mohammedan out of 851 Examiners (the examiners in ~rabic, Persian<br />
and Urdu excepted) for the University examinations held during the<br />
previous year."<br />
40. According to Momin Committee "The Calcutta University<br />
practically passed on by default of the Musalmans to the other commu-<br />
nity who naturally developed it into a Hindu temple of learning whose<br />
influence filtered through the several stages of instruction down to the<br />
primary schools".l3
198 SYED MURTAZA ALI<br />
Reformed Madrassah Scheme<br />
Had the Calcutta University done in 1857 what Punjab University<br />
did in 1882 the history of Muslim education in Bengal would have been<br />
different. This mistake was corrected in 1914 when the Reformed Mad-<br />
rassah Scheme was promulgated.<br />
41. According to Dr. Saghir Hasan14 "Reformed Madrassah Scheme<br />
played the most important role in promoting Arabic and Islamic studies in<br />
~en~al.' The main object of the scheme was to combine Western Education<br />
with Arabic learining and to bring about a synthesis of the old Madrassah<br />
system of education and that of modem universities. Schamsul<br />
Ulema Abti NZsir Waheed was the originator of the scheme. Prominent<br />
Muslim leaders of ~en~al like Nawab 'Ali Choudhury, Nawab Ser'ijul<br />
Islam and the renowned Muslim historian and Arabic scholar Shibli<br />
N'um'ini of Nadwatul 'UlarnZ' were among the members of the Committee<br />
formed by Government of Bengal to draw up a comprehensive scheme for<br />
the reform of the Madrassahs. It (Reformed Madrassah Scheme) turned<br />
open the door of the University to Madrassah students with the result<br />
that in East Pakistan the gulf between the western educated and the<br />
Madrassah educated is not as wide as in the other parts of the subcontinent<br />
and in contrast with the strange practice of keeping Islamic and<br />
Arabic studies apart which is prevalent in the Universities of West Pakistan<br />
and is detrimental to both the disciplines, the University of Dacca<br />
has kept them correlated and makes it compulsory for a student of Islamic<br />
studies to be a scholar of Arabic as well".<br />
Notes:<br />
1. Madrasahs & Muslim Education - M. Fazlur Rab. M.A. 1941. P. 28.<br />
2. Report of Madrmsah Education Committee, 1941. P. 149.<br />
3. British Policy and Mus1k.s of Bengal. P. 201, A.R., Mallick 1961.<br />
4. Moslem Education Advisory Committee 1934, P. 7.<br />
5. British Policy & the Muslims of Bengal P. 183.<br />
6. British Policy & the Muslims of Bengal P. 178.<br />
7. Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, 1966.<br />
8. Edrrcation in Modern India by Amth Nath Basu. P. 6.<br />
9. Moslem &cat- Advisory Committee, 1934, P. 7.
10. Journal of Pakistan Historical Society - April 1965.<br />
<strong>MUSLIM</strong> <strong>EDUCATION</strong> 199<br />
11. Mvi. Abdul Karim, B.A. of Sylhet (1863-1943) was one of them. He took lead in<br />
promoting Muslim Education in Bengal.<br />
12. Mohammedan Education in Bengal, 1900.<br />
13. Muslim Educatioml Advisory Committee 1934. P. 7.<br />
14. Islamic Studies June 1967.