The history of education in the Indian subcontinent began with teaching of traditional elements such as Indian religions, Indian mathematics, Indian logic at early Hindu and Buddhist centres of learning such as Taxila and Nalanda before the common era. Islamic education became ingrained with the establishment of the Islamic empires in the Indian subcontinent in the Middle Ages while the coming of the Europeans later bought western education to colonial India. A series of measures continuing throughout the early half of the 20th century ultimately laid the foundation of education in the Republic of India, education in Pakistan and much of South Asia.
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Early education in India commenced under the supervision of a guru.[1] Initially, education was open to all and seen as one of the methods to achieve Moksha, or enlightenment. As time progressed, due to superiority complexes, the education was imparted on the basis of caste and the related duties that one had to perform as a member of a specific caste.[1] The Brahmans learned about scriptures and religion while the Kshatriya were educated in the various aspects of warfare.[1] The Vaishya caste learned commerce and other specific vocational courses while education was largely denied to the Shudras, the lowest caste.[1] The earliest venues of education in India were often secluded from the main population.[1] Students were expected to follow strict monastic guidelines prescribed by the guru and stay away from cities in ashrams.[2] However, as population increased under the Gupta empire centres of urban learning became increasingly common and cities such as Varanasi and the Buddhist centre at Nalanda became increasingly visible.[2]
Education in India in its traditional form was closely related to religion.[3] Among the Heterodox schools of belief were the Jain and Buddhist schools.[4] Heterodox Buddhist education was more inclusive and aside of the monastic orders the Buddhist education centres were urban institutes of learning such as Taxila and Nalanda where grammar, medicine, philosophy, logic, metaphysics, arts and crafts etc. were also taught.[1][2] Early secular Buddhist institutions of higher learning like Taxila and Nalanda continued to function well into the common era and were attended by students from China and Central Asia.[3]
On the subject of education for the nobility Joseph Prabhu writes: "Outside the religious framework, kings and princes were educated in the arts and sciences related to government: politics (danda-nıti), economics (vartta), philosophy (anvıksiki), and historical traditions (itihasa). Here the authoritative source was Kautilya’s Arthashastra, often compared to Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince for its worldly outlook and political scheming."[1] The Rgveda mentions female poets called brahmavadinis, specifically Lopamudra and Ghosha.[5] By 800 BCE women such as Gargi and Maitreyi were mentioned as scholars in the religious Upnishads.[5] Maya, mother of the historic Buddha, was an educated queen while other women in India contributed to writing of the Pali canon.[5] Out of the composers of the Sangam literature 154 were women.[6] However, the education and society of the era continued to be dominated by educated male population.[7] It is possible that later historian twisted the truth that the so called lower castes in the society were denied the right to education only in order to pitch for better concessions and create a feelgood factor to the leaders of society so they may corner the valuable mass support. If one did not learn how to kill a wild boar without being goared or gather honey without being strung by it or sow maize and harvest or brew the fine somabanams or make tools and implements, the society would have perhaps gone with out food or shelter. It is wrong to say that the teaching existed only in schools run by the upper cast teachers in their so called Gurukuls. The society was teaching its subjects in the exact and required skills as appropriate to the time. It is widely acclaimed now that the class room education does not teach the actual required skill sets either for life as it is perceived now or add value to the humanity at large.
Chinese scholars such as Xuanzang and Yi Jing arrived in Indian institutions of learning to survey Buddhist texts.[8] Yi Jing additionally noted the arrival of 56 scholars from China, Japan, and Korea.[9] However, the Buddhist institutions of learning were slowly giving way to a resurgent tradition of Brahmanism during that era.[9] Scholars from India also journeyed to China to translate Buddhist texts.[10] During the 10th century a monk named Dharmadeva from Nalanda journeyed to China and translated a number of texts.[10] Another centre at Vikramshila maintained close relations with Tibet.[10] The Buddhist teacher Atisa was the head monk in Vikramshila before his journey to Tibet.[10]
Examples of royal patronage include construction of buildings under the Rastrakuta dynasty in 945 CE.[11] The institutions arranged for multiple residences for educators as well as state sponsored education and arrangements for students and scholars.[11] Similar arrangements were made by the Chola dynasty in 1024 CE, which provided state support to selected students in educational establishments.[12] Temple schools from 12–13th centuries included the school at the Nataraja temple situated at Chidambaram which employed 20 librarians, out of whom 8 were copiers of manuscripts and 2 were employed for verification of the copied manuscripts.[13] The remaining staff conducted other duties, including preservation and maintained of reference material.[13]
Another establishment during this period is the Uddandapura institute established during the 8th century under the patronage of the Pala dynasty.[14] The institution developed ties with Tibet and became a centre of Tantric Buddhism.[14] During the 10–11th centuries the number of monks reached a thousand, equaling the strength of monks at the sacred Mahabodhi complex.[14] By the time of the arrival of the Islamic scholar Al Biruni India already had an established system of science and technology in place.[15] Also by the 12th century, invasions from India's northern borders disrupted traditional education systems as foreign armies raided educational institutes, among other establishments.[14]
With the advent of Islam in India the traditional methods of education increasingly came under Islamic influence.[16] Pre-Mughal rulers such as Qutb-ud-din Aybak and other Muslim rulers initiated institutions which imparted religious knowledge.[16] Scholars such as Nizamuddin Auliya and Moinuddin Chishti became prominent educators and established Islamic monasteries.[16] Students from Bukhara and Afghanistan visited India to study humanities and science.[16]
Islamic institution of education in India included traditional madrassas and maktabs which taught grammar, philosophy, mathematics, and law influenced by the Greek traditions inherited by Persia and the Middle East before Islam spread from these regions into India.[17] A feature of this traditional Islamic education was its emphasis on the connection between science and humanities.[17] Among the centres of education in India was 18th century Delhi was the Madrasa Rahimiya under the supervision of Shah Waliullah, an educator who favored an approach balancing the Islamic scriptures and science.[18] The course at the Madrasa Rahimiya prescribed 2 books on grammar, 1 book on philosophy, 2 books on logic, 2 books on astronomy and mathematics, and 5 books on mysticism.[18] Another centre of prominence arose in Lucknow under Mulla Nizamuddin Sahlawi, who educated at the Firangi Mahal and prescribed a course called the Dars-i-Nizami which combined traditional studies with modern and laid emphasis on logic.[18]
The education system under the rule of Akbar adopted an inclusive approach with the monarch favoring additional courses: medicine, agriculture, geography, and even from texts from other languages and religions, such as Patanjali's work in Sanskrit.[19] The traditional science in this period was influenced by the ideas of Aristotle, Bhāskara II, Charaka and Ibn Sina.[20] This inclusive approach was not uncommon in Mughal India.[18] The more conservative monarch Aurangzeb also favored teaching of subjects which could be applied to administration.[18] The Mughals, in fact, adopted a liberal approach to sciences and as contact with Persia increased the more intolerant Ottoman school of manqul education came to be gradually substituted by the more relaxed maqul school.[21]
The Middle Ages also saw the rise of private tuition in India.[20] A tutor, or Riyazi, was an educated professional who could earn a suitable living by performing tasks such as creating calenders or generating revenue estimates for nobility.[20] Another trend in this era is the mobility among professions, exemplified by Qaim Khan, a prince famous for his mastery in crafting leather shoes and forging cannons.[20]
During the 19th and 20th centuries most of the Indian princely states fell under the British Raj.[22] The British rule during the 19th century did not take adequate measures to help develop science and technology in India and instead focused more on arts and humanities.[23] Till 1899 only the University of Bombay offered a separate degree in sciences.[24] In 1899 B.Sc and M.Sc. courses were also supported by the University of Calcutta.[25] By the late 19th century India had lagged behind in science and technology and related education.[23] However, the nobility and aristocracy in India largely continued to encourage the development of sciences and technical education, both traditional and western.[22]
While some science related subjects were not allowed in the government curriculum in the 1850s the private institutions could also not follow science courses due to lack of funds required to establish laboratories etc.[25] The fees for scientific education under the British rule were also high.[25] The salary that one would get in the colonial administration was meager and made the prospect of attaining higher education bleak since the native population was not employed for high positions in the colonial setup.[25] Even the natives who did manage to attain higher education faced issues of discrimination in terms of wages and privileges.[26]
One argument for the British detachment towards the study of science in India is that England itself was gradually outpaced in science and technology by European rival Germany and a resurgent United states of America so the prospects of the British Raj adopting a world class science policy towards its colonies increasingly decreased.[27] However, Deepak Kumar notes the British turn to professional education during the 1860s and the French initiatives at raising awareness on science and technology in French colonies.[27] The British themselves undertook science initiatives in Canada and South Africa.[27] Growing awareness for the need of technical education in India gave rise to establishment of institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science, established by philanthropist Jamshetji Tata in 1909.[28] By the 1930s India had a total of only 10 institutions offering engineering courses.[29] However, with the advent of the second world war in 1939 the "War Technicians Training Scheme" under Ernest Bevin was initiated, thereby laying the foundation of modern technical education in India.[29] Later, planned development of scientific education under Ardeshir Dalal was initiated in 1944.[29]
The Madras Medical College opened in 1835, and imparted medical education to women so that they could treat the female population who traditionally shied away from medical treatments under qualified male professionals.[30] The concept of educated women among medical professionals gained popularity during the late 19th century and by 1894, the Women's Christian Medical College, an exclusive medical school for women, was established in Ludhiana of Punjab.[30]
The British established the Government College University in Lahore, of present day Pakistan in 1864. The institution was initially affiliated with the University of Calcutta for examination. The prestigious University of the Punjab, also in Lahore, was the fourth university established by the colonials in South Asia, in the year 1882.
British education became solidified into India as missionary schools were established during the 1920s.[31] New policies in 1835 gave rise to the use of English as a medium of education of western science.[31] Fritz Blackwell writes: 'With the establishment of five universities in major cities in the middle of the century and the increase in primary and secondary schools, political consciousness also increased. The curriculum was Western, and the response was impressive; for example, the University of Calcutta in 1900 was reportedly the largest university in the world, with more than eight thousand students. Further, a number of Indians, including Gandhi and Nehru attended university in England.'[32] Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, also attended education in Great Britain.
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