Truth Behind Education in India unlike what Dr. Mohan Bhagawat had said.
Missionaries, Modern India, and the Truth Behind Education
By Joshua Thangaraj Gnanasekar - Chief Editor, Pilgrim Echoes
Introduction
During the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dr. Mohan Bhagwat remarked that India’s education system was shaped primarily by foreign rulers who wanted to dominate, not develop. He urged that independent India must instill pride by teaching its children about their heritage.
There is truth in his observation. From the Delhi Sultans to the Mughal emperors to the British crown, rulers generally focused on tax collection, military dominance, and political power. Yet the story is bigger—and far more hopeful—than that.
India’s true modern awakening did not come from kings, emperors, or zamindars. It came from missionaries inspired by the Bible, who labored not to rule but to serve. Their vision of education, human dignity, and social reform laid the foundations of the India we know today.
Indigenous Kings and Exploitation
While foreign rulers exploited India, many indigenous rulers were no different.
The Marathas (17th–18th c.): imposed chauth and sardeshmukhi—taxes totaling 35–40% of farm produce, crushing peasants.
Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu (16th–18th c.): extracted heavy levies and raided villages to fund wars, forcing farmers off fertile lands.
The Bengal famine of 1770: while millions starved, local zamindars and princes still demanded taxes.
Historian Burton Stein notes that pre-colonial India had little concept of “public good.” Rulers rarely invested in education, health, or mass welfare (Stein, A History of India, 2010).
Did You Know?
In 1881, female literacy in India was less than 1%. It was missionaries, not kings, who began opening schools for girls.
Education for the Masses
When William Carey arrived in Serampore in 1793, education was largely restricted to upper-caste males. Carey pioneered vernacular schools, insisting that every child deserved literacy.
1818: Founded Serampore College—Asia’s first degree-awarding institution.
By 1850: Missionaries had started 25,000+ schools, educating 700,000 children, including lower castes and girls (Mangalwadi, 1993).
This was revolutionary. Where kings trained clerks and soldiers, missionaries trained thinking citizens.
Printing and Publishing Revolution
In 1800, Carey set up India’s first modern printing press. His team translated the Bible into over 40 Indian languages, standardizing grammar and preserving local tongues.
Missionaries pioneered Indian journalism:
First Bengali newspaper: Samachar Darpan (1818)
First Oriya newspaper: Bodha Dayini (1849)
First Assamese newspaper: Orunodoi (1846)
First Marathi newspaper: Dnyanodaya (1842)
This print culture ignited a national awakening that rulers never envisioned.
Timeline: Education & Reform
1793 – William Carey arrives in Serampore.
1800 – First modern printing press in India.
1818 – Serampore College founded.
1829 – Sati abolished after missionary petitions.
1830s – Alexander Duff launches English-medium schools.
1850s – 25,000 schools established by missionaries.
Women’s Education and Social Reform
At a time when society silenced women, missionaries opened doors for them.
Alexander Duff founded Scottish Church College (1830), pioneering women’s education in Bengal.
Amy Carmichael (1900s) rescued children from temple slavery in Tamil Nadu, giving them homes and schools.
Missionaries campaigned against sati, child marriage, and female infanticide.
In 1829, sati was abolished under William Bentinck—after relentless lobbying by Carey and his colleagues. No Indian king had outlawed it in centuries.
Seeds of National Awakening
The reforms and schools of missionaries created a new class of Indian thinkers.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy—influenced by biblical ideas—fought against social evils.
Jyotirao Phule—inspired by Christian teaching—opened schools for women and Dalits.
Many future freedom fighters were trained in missionary-founded colleges.
In short, missionaries prepared the intellectual and moral soil in which India’s independence movement would later grow.
Conclusion
Dr. Bhagwat is right: foreign rulers did not develop India. But it is equally true that indigenous rulers exploited rather than uplifted their people. The real development came from missionaries who, motivated by the Bible, sought to serve rather than rule.
When kings built palaces, missionaries built schools.
When rulers minted coins, missionaries printed books.
When leaders demanded tribute, missionaries uplifted women and the oppressed.
If today India values education, equality, freedom, and reform, much of the credit goes to the Bible-inspired vision of men and women like William Carey, Alexander Duff, and Amy Carmichael.
As Jesus said: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). That spirit of service—not power—is what truly made modern India possible.
References
Vishal Mangalwadi, The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture (Crossway Books, 1993).
Vishal Mangalwadi, The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization(Thomas Nelson, 2011).
Robert Eric Frykenberg, Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Burton Stein, A History of India (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).
Rajayyan, K., South Indian History and Society (1982).
Brian Stanley, The History of the Baptist Missionary Society 1792–1992 (T&T Clark, 1992).
William Carey, Enquiries into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens(1792).
Census of India, 1881 (official literacy statistics).
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