National Council of Education

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The National Council of Education - Bengal (or NCE - Bengal)

Bengal National College and Bengal Technical Institute which would later merge to form Jadavpur University. Institutions which were functioning under the council were considered to be hotbeds of swadeshi activities and the government banned nationalistic activities such as the singing of patriotic songs.[2][3]

Background

University of Calcutta, one of the three universities in modern India,[4] was set up by the British in Calcutta in 1857 as a means of spreading western philosophical thought among the elites in India. Towards the end of the 19th century, a strong nationalist movement and identity arose within the Indian subcontinent, which was particularly prominent in Bengal, which by the start of 1900 had seen the beginnings of the Swadeshi movement, which drew a substantial contribution from the youth of Bengal. Leading nationalists saw the Calcutta University as a predominantly a Western Institution. Its focus on Western Themed philosophy and humanities at the expense of Indian ones, and the large number of ICS and administrative officers from amongst its graduates were seen to form the bulwark of British colonialism, and the Calcutta University came to be termed Goldighir Ghulamkhana (the slavehouse by the lake, with reference to a lake beside which the university was situated).

Dawn society

Main articles:
Dawn (Bengali magazine)

Satish Chandra Mukherjee, a Bengali Indian teacher who taught in the South Calcutta suburb of Bhowanipore, set up in 1895 the Bhagabat Chatushpati. This institute promoted history and understandings of Indian religions and philosophy. In 1897 he founded the Dawn Magazine and in 1902, Mukherjee founded the Dawn society. Through his society and magazine, Mukherjee promulgated Indian philosophies and teachings and criticized the Calcutta University's syllabus for its lack of emphasis on what he believed to be necessary for nation building. Mukherjee's work, in the nascent nationalist sentiments, found support among leading luminaries of Bengal at the time. Soon, the Dawn society was calling for nationalist education with an emphasis on sciences and focus towards Indian values.[5]

Universities act 1904

Main article: Indian Universities Commission 1902

Lord Curzon had introduced the Universities act, 1904, much to the chagrin of the native populace of Bengal who saw this as a means to limit access to English educational institutions from the native populations. The government also decided to disaffiliate many private Indian colleges, which had come up lately and were regarded by the Government as hot beds of nationalist agitation. The measures stirred the educated middle class to move for alternative systems of education. The real impetus though was provided by the partition of Bengal by

R.W. Carlyle prohibited the participation of students in political meetings on the threat of withdrawal of funding and grants. The decade preceding these decrees had seen Bengali intellectuals increasingly calling for indigenous schools and colleges to replace British institutions.[citation needed
]

National Council for Education

On 10 December 1905, the Landholders Society organized a meeting at Park Street, attended by around 1500 delegates, including

Bande Mataram.[citation needed] The student's mess at the college was frequented by students of East Bengal who belonged to the Dhaka branch of the Anushilan Samiti, and was known to be hotbed of revolutionary nationalism, which was uncontrolled or even encouraged by the college.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ "Shaping the Dream". National Council of Education Bengal. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020.
  2. ISBN 9788131753750
    .
  3. ^ "National Council of Education". Banglapedia. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  4. ^ Other two being Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras University
  5. ISBN 978-81-317-2818-5
    .
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