Question

Role of christain missionaries in educational policies of colonial british

Answer 1

Ideally Christian missionaries hoped to make schools the spiritual and religious centers. Through education they hoped to eradicate the practices and behaviors of natives like Idol worship, polytheism, bigotry, polygamy and many superstitions which were considered by them to be much uncivilized. Their ultimate aim was to proselytize the native population and prove the falsehood of the native religions. Regular Bible lessons were supposed to become the norm in the schools of Christian missionaries whereas the reality at the ground level for Christian Educational missionaries in India turned out to be otherwise. Bellinoit says that the examination preparation was given priority at the expense of the time needed to engage in spiritual and religious lessons. During the colonial period, government was the only source of the employment for the educated. Administration, governance and military were the only sectors where the employment was generated. These sectors reached the saturation very soon.