Figure 1.--This photo was taken in the mission school of Baldiabasa, a village in Uttar Dinajpur District (West Bengal) in the 2000s. The children for the photo are wearing the new uniforms donated by school's Western sponsor. Most of the children, however, prefer to wear no footwear. They have brought the flip-flops in their hands to show the benefactors that they received the entire uniform. The Hose of Ruth is an American chsrity caring fior battered women nd children.c

Christians are a very small part of the Indian population, only about 3 percent. There are a few areas in which Christinity was important locally, but in most areas, the country is overwealming Hindu with a substantial Muslim minority. Christianity has, however, played a major role in the development of the Indian education system. This was of course because Britain was the colonial power an introduced the idea of secular education to India. It is through the British example that the idea of public education, state financed schools for the whole population as introduced to India. Education in India before the arrival of the British was limited to the elite of society. Upper caste boys would go to gurukuls to study under the tutorship of a guru. The numbers involved were limited. Girls even upper caste families were not educated. With the arrival of missionaries they began to start schools for common people, generally in the vernacular language. Even authors who criticize the missionaries often admit of the imortant role they played in education. One such critic, for example, acknowledges the contribution of missionaries in Bengal to the cause of mass education. [Bagchee] Missionaries educated children in local languages. They significantly advanced the standard of education, trained teachers, and improved methods of teaching. English colonial adminidtrators who were Christians established the first secular schools in India during the Raj. During the British Raj, Christian private schools were quite prominent and widely attended by both British and Indian students. The British founded secular schools, but many had religious association just as the private schools in Britain had. Christian schools were founded, especially in areas with a heavy Christian population. Many contiunue to function. Christiam churches not only founded school for basically educational purposes. Many of these schools were fee paying private schools. But the Christian missions foiunded by churches in Britain and oher countries. also opened schools with a primarily humanitarian character. Special attention was given to poor, abandoned, and orphaned children. They rececive support from Western churches. Our knowledge of the privte school system in India is still limited, but we do not know of any other effort quite like this in India. .

Sources

Bagchee, Moni. "Christian Missionaries in Bengal".

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Created: 5:01 AM 11/9/2009
Last updated: 6:52 AM 11/21/2018