Role of Missionaries in Modern Education

Let’s now look at the role of missionaries in the spread of modern education in India — a subject that often appears in both UPSC prelims and mains.
While the British government’s educational policies were largely politically and economically driven, missionaries brought their own motives — religious and moral — which sometimes aligned with, and at other times conflicted with, official policy.

Missionary Motivation

• Missionaries believed that modern (Western) education would weaken people’s faith in their traditional religions and lead them towards Christianity.
• Their approach wasn’t purely about literacy — it was about moral and religious transformation in line with Christian beliefs.
• Serampore missionaries in Bengal were especially active in promoting education.

From Restriction to Permission

• Initially, the East India Company (EIC) feared that missionary activities could provoke social unrest.
  • 1783: Act of Parliament required missionaries to obtain a special licence to enter India.
• Charter Act of 1813:
  • Marked a major policy shift — missionaries were now officially permitted to conduct religious and educational work in India.

Opposition to “Practical Education”

• While British officials like Wood and Macaulay emphasised practical and secular education for administrative needs, missionaries criticised this as morally insufficient.
• They argued that true education should develop moral character, achievable only through Christian teaching.

Post-1857 Hesitation

• After the Revolt of 1857, the British government became cautious about openly supporting missionary education.
• Reason: Fear of offending native customs and religious beliefs at a politically sensitive time.

The Serampore Mission

• Founded in 1800 by William Carey and two associates in Serampore (then under Danish control, avoiding EIC restrictions).
• Key Contributions:
  1. Printing Press (1800) – Produced religious literature and educational material.
  2. Serampore College (1818) – Combined religious instruction with Western learning.

William Carey — The Pioneer Missionary-Educator

• 1801: Appointed head of the Bengali Department at Fort William College in Calcutta.
• Worked with Indian scholars to produce Bengali textbooks.
• Mastered multiple Indian languages — wrote grammars for Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada.
• Translated:
  • Ramayana into English.
  • Bible into Bengali, Punjabi, Oriya, Assamese, Marathi, Hindi, Sanskrit.
• 1792: His essay An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens led to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society.
• Social Reform Work:
  • Actively urged the government to ban infanticide and other harmful customs.

Significance for UPSC

• Missionaries were parallel agents of modern education, working alongside (but not always in sync with) the British state.
• They promoted vernacular language study, printing technology, and women’s education — but with a strong religious agenda.
• The Serampore Mission and William Carey stand out as case studies of missionary influence in 19th-century India.