EDUCATION COMMISSION
EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE, BABU HARISCHANDRA I have always taken an interest in education. I am a Sanskrit, Hindi and Urdu poet, and have composed many works in verse and prose. I started a Hindi journal, the Kavivachana Sudha, which still exists. My aim has always been to better the educational status of my countrymen, to improve the vernacular language of these provinces, and to add to the stock of the vernacular literature. I have always taken pleasure in the enlightenment of my fellow countrymen. I have established a school for elementary education in the City of Benares. I was a member of the Benares Educational Committee, and have had considerable opportunity of coming into contact with those connected with the Educational Department and other men of learning. I have given prizes students and scholars of Government schools and colleges to encourage the advancement of learning. I belong to the North Western Provinces, and my experience is confined to them. It is true that the officers of the Education Department are not sufficiently respected by the ignorant public. It is not the fault of the department. It is owing to the quiet nature of the work which the department has to do, viz., supervision and examination of schools. In India hukumat (authority) commands respect. Ar education officer cannot consign a man to custody, cannot fine him, cannot sqeeze his purse. They are much like missionaries, in pursuit of a good cause, unmindful of the scorn of the ignorant, whereas the functions of the Revenue and Police Departments inspire awe in the minds of the people, affecting as they do matters in which they have a nearer interest than they have in the education of their little ones ... To remove this evil, the best remedy would be to make primary education compulsory in India as it is in England and other European countries, to make the language of the court the language used by the people, and to introduce into the court papers the character which the majority of the public can read. The character in use in primary schools of these provinces is, with slight exceptions, entirely Hindi, and the character used in the courts and offices is Persian, and therefore the primary Hindi education which 08 rustic lad gains at his village has no value, reward or attraction attached a Skor भारतेन्दु समग्र २०५४
