Education in J&K during Dogra rule
Education in J&K during Dogra rule
Before the introduction of the western system of education in the State, the indigenous schools, pathshalas, and madrasas, were run by the members of the Hindu and Muslim communities and generally housed in temples and mosques. The places well known for some good indigenous schools were Srinagar in the Kashmir province and the Jammu city, Purmandal and Utter Behni in the Jammu province. The hectic literary activity during Ranbir Singh’s regime received life and vigour from his personal interest and care about this aspect of the cultural life of the people of the State.
Maharaja Ranbir Singh, who ruled this State from 1857 to 1885 did not establish any school on the western lines. But his son and successor Maharaja Partap Singh, established one such school in the very first year of his regime, i.e. 1886. Then forward more and more schools where the western type of education was imparted were opened. These modern schools were divided into three categories i.e. Primary, Middle and High School. The High Schools prepared the students for the matriculation examination of the Punjab University to which these institutions were affiliated. Great attention was paid by the State Govt. to furnish it’s schools with qualified teachers. Special grants were budgeted for the training of unqualified teachers at the training college and the normal school at Lahore. But this caused great expense to the Darbar and teachers from Srinagar generally avoided going to distant and hot place like Lahore for training purposes. Hence a normal school was opened in Srinagar in 1903-04 for their training. In 1912-13, the Darbar sanctioned special grants for the training of the qualified teachers at the local normal school and the college at Lahore. A new State Normal school was opened at Jammu in 1922-23. This saved the local teachers from going outside for training. The teachers training school tremodelled on the lines envisaged in the reorganisation committee’s report was started in Srinagar with effect from first Katik 1995. The former normal school at Udhampur which trained teachers was abolished.
In addition to the basic school opened in Batmaloo another basic school was opened in Jammu city which also did quite creditable work.
On Sept 2, 1940, a B.T. class was opened in the Prince of Wales College, Jammu and 30 graduates were admitted. Formally 10 graduate teachers on an average were deputed annually for B.T.
Thus an important landmark was reached in the progress of secondary education in the State and a long felt want was met. The training college, Jammu was constituted, did good work and in couple of years after it’s start attained a standard of work in the year from 13th April, 1944 to 12th April 1945. The State Govt, opened a teachers training school at Jammu on the lines of the Srinagar Teacher training school, to meet the increased demand for trained teachers in basic education. To ensure a good state of health to the students, physical instructor was given in every school. These were drill teachers attached to the high schools. The State Govt. encouraged technical education in the interest of people and established Amar Singh technical institute in Srinagar on Nov. 1913 and which was formally opened by Maharaja Partap Singh next year on 29th May. In 1924 another technical institute under the name of Shri Pratap Singh Technical School was opened at Jammu. So far there were only two technical schools in the State, one at Srinagar and other at Jammu.
Adult education was introduced in the State by the Darbar in the year 1938-39. The first day of Katik 1995. Keeping in view the fact that even the advanced provinces and State of India were very backward in the education of females, same was the condition of J&K. In the discrimination of female education in the State the contribution of the private enterprises was more than that of the Govt. agency.
Gurmat Kanya Pathshala was the first Girls Schools in the Jammu city
. In Srinagar, the first girls school on the modern lines was established during the early nineties of the last century by one of the Christian Mission ladies. The State Govt. also entered the arena and opened between 1911-21, three secondary girls schools, there being no Govt schools for girls before 1911. The Darbar took further steps in the direction of popularizing the girls education deptt. The measures had to a great expansion of the female education in the State and within a period of 35 years i.e. 1910-45 the number of school reached 21,062.
Kashmir has been internationally known for it’s old religious and historical and philosophical literature in Sanskrit. But there was no known local production of any literary merit worth mentioning. The only real literary activity in the State worth mentioning was created by the Indian Newspaper and some books which came from the Punjab. No newspaper or periodical was published in the State itself till 1924 with the exception of the weekly official Gazette and the magazines of the Jammu and Srinagar Colleges. The Magazines of the Prince of Wales College, Jammu was entitled “The Tawi”, the first issue of which came out in 1913-14 that of Shri Partap College, Srinagar, was entitled “The Partap”, the first number appeared in Jan. 1916. “Ladakh News” a monthly in Bodhi language on the current events, was first brought out in 1903 by the moravian mission in Ladakh, but its publication caused in 1907. It was only in June 1924 that the first regularly weekly in the State appeared from Jammu under the name of the “The Ranbir”. It was the result of the joint efforts of Mr Mulk Raj Saraf and Pandit Ganga Nath. It had the target circulation and the number of it’s reader was considerable in the State.
In the year 1942, the Amar Singh Degree College, Srinagar came into existence and it started it’s magazine “The Lala Rukh”. There were two public libraries in the State during the regime of the Dogra Maharaja i.e. Shri Partap Singh Library, Jammu and Shri Partap Singh Library, Srinagar.
The Shri Ranbir Library, Jammu was founded by Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1879 A. D. The Shri Partap Singh Library Srinagar was established at the desire of Maharaja Partap Singh. In addition to books as many as 33 newspapers and periodicals were subscribed for the Shri Ranbir Library and 36 for the Shri Pratap Singh Library during that period.
Arrangements for education in the frontier districts of Gilgit and Ladakh were also made and in this connection primary and middle schools were opened during the Dogra Rule.
Prince of Wales College, Jammu was inaugurated on the 20th of April, 1907. The college was given this application in commemoration of the visit of the Prince of Wales to this place in 1905. At the time of the start the college was housed in Ajaibghar on 18 Sept. 1912. The college was located in the new building erected for it out side the city on the north side of river Tawi. In the year 1905 a college was opened in Srinagar under the name of Shri Partap Hindu College” The establishment of this college was the outcome of a great desire harboured by the Kashmiri Pandits for acquiring higher education. They could receive higher education only by joining a college at Lahore which was a hot and far off place. Therefore, the necessity of college at Srinagar was felt to meet this requirement they enlisted the active support of Dr Anne Basent, who personally came to Srinagar to inaugurate it. In July 1912 the then Govt. took over the college and deleted the name Hindu from it’s name and it was now called Shri Partap College.
On 14 June, 1944 the Kashmir Govt. established an intermediate college at Mirpur under the name of Karan Singh Ji College, but this college could remain in existence only for three years. In Oct. 1944, the Maharaja Govt. gave sanction for the opening of an intermediate Arts College in the Poonch Jagir, Maharani Mahila College, Jammu which was founded in June 1944 with the approval of the then Maharaja of the State Hari Singh Ji. It was taken over by the State Govt on 9th Nov 1953 and renamed Govt College for Women Parade Ground, Jammu, with coming into existence of this college at Jammu a long standing desire of the citizens, who wanted a separate college for girls fulfillled.
In 1925 when Maharaja Hari Singh ascended the throne, there were two colleges in the State, one at Srinagar and the other at Jammu and 706 other educational institutions with a total roll of 44601. The annual expenditure on education amounted to Rs. 10.75 lacs. The Srinagar college had to be bifurcated in 1942 into an intermediated and degree colleges, but then still rush was so heavy that several privates colleges had to be subsidised into existence to absorb the surplus student population. In Jammu, intermediate colleges were started in Mirpur and Poonch to drain away part of the student population while Mahila College in the city diverted the girl students to itself. The number of the colleges rose from 2 to 11. In 1930, the Govt. promulgated, the compulsory primary education and paid the attention towards basic, primary, secondary and adult education in the State. The teachers training school was remodelled was started in Srinagar in Oct 1938 another teacher training school was opened in Jammu for B.T. class. The drive against illiteracy met with great success, there were over 4000 adult literacy centres in 1943 and about 55000 adults were being made literate. About 28000 were granted literacy certificates of these 1457 were women. In 1925, the number of primary schools was 706 it rose to 20728 in 1945. Govt. paid the attention towards the physical education also during the period physical instructions and directors were accordingly attached to schools and colleges. Many steps were taken up for the education of Backward communities and areas, scholarships were granted and education was made free upto matriculation and only a nominal fee was charged in the colleges. Special attention was paid towards female education in the State by the Maharaja Hari Singh, a special department for female education under a deputy directors was setup. Free conveyance was provided and callers appointed to collect girls from house to house and bearing them to schools. The State had now 335 girls schools with a roll of 21062 girls students. This includes several high and middle schools. Girls students were now joining its B.T. class and colleges of post graduate courses.
Christian missionaries also played a great role in the spread of education in Srinagar, Maharaja Hari Singh could not remain influenced by the progressive and modern education activities of the Church missionaries in Kashmir. In 1927, the women’s welfare trust Srinagar came into existence with brilliant intellectuals as its trustees. They established six primary schools and three middle schools in Srinagar. The number of students rose to 375. The trust also opened three schools for Muslim girls in Srinagar. All efforts were made for the advancement of education in the State during this period.
