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Britain saw knowledge as a perquisite for benevolent control in early colonial India. By

knowing about its people, Britain could help them and embed its own authority within the

society. Learning and gathering of knowledge about India was a vital part of Britains early

endeavor in India. The way in which knowledge was gathered was the result of a key assumption

about Indian society, that its subjects were entrapped within a system of traditional authority, or

attachment to form that they were unable to escape . The types of knowledge pursued most 1

ardently were language acquisition and study of Indian society.

The acquisition of knowledge was considered to be a key pursuit for new missionaries in

India. John Murdochs Indian Missionary Manual, is subtitled Hints to Young Missionaries in

India; With Lists of Books. From this title we can see that extensive reading was one of the

most prominently advised activities for a new missionary. In the Indian Missionary Manual,

Murdoch draws on his experience as well as the experience of other missionaries to advocate for

a course of study once a missionary has arrived in India. The missionary was expected to spend

most of his time after first arriving in the country on study. This period of study paralleled wider

British efforts to collect knowledge about India.

Just as the missionary wished to control the soul of the Indians, the British wished to

exercise control over Indian society. Much of this was well intentioned: through their collected

knowledge, the missionaries, as well as the general British population in India, wished to

promote social reform of activities that they found to be unpalatable. The knowledge gained

through study allowed them to exercise this control and in the legitimization and furthering of

British colonialism.

Murdoch, John. Indian Missionary Manual: Hints to Young Missionaries in India, with Lists of Books. London: 1Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, 1870 , p. 93.

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Language was the initial primary field of study for the new missionary. Acquisition of

language was key for both communication with the people and for reading of texts. Murdoch

advocates that in the course of a day, a missionary should devote six hours to language study . 2

Missionaries were most concerned with studying vernacular languages. The manual has a chapter

titled study of the vernaculars which outlines tips for studying and using language, as well as

more specific information about the theorized development of the languages and their

relationship to each other. It was considered essential for the missionary to master a vernacular

language, and this was to be the source of their principal attention for their first year in India . 3

The expectations for level of language fluency was high, with the exam expectations for

Marathi including translation work, including a couple of pages of some idiomatic Tract,

writing a short sermon and a letter to a catechist, as well as reading and memorization of

Marathi scripting some passages on the sate of man by nature and salvation by Christ, and a

conversation with native speakers . This showed that use of vernacular language was taken 4

seriously by the missionaries, and that the basic expectation of the missionaries would be that

they would be able to communicate with native speakers, in spoken and written speech, on

complicated topics like religion. The study of Sanskrit was less enthusiastically encouraged, but

still considered to be useful for some missionaries who have already master the vernacular

language . 5

This emphasis on language as a tool for furthering the interests of the British was

paralleled in British non-missionaries. The British administrators were interested in Persian, the

Ibid, 902

Ibid, 703

Ibid, 874

Ibid, 88 5

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language of administration . British academics were also interested in other courtly and classical 6

languages, such as Arabic and Sanskrit . These languages allowed the British to communicate 7

with the elite, and to study the Mughal system of government as well as traditional religious

texts, from which law was derived . Early in the Births experience in India, these languages 8

were emphasized more than the vernacular language, but after the establishment of the British

Raj, vernacular language also became a point of interest for the British, who used Hindustani as

a language of administration . 9

What was the point of language study? The British devoted a large amount of time and

resources to studying Indian languages. Wouldnt it have been easier to impose English as a

national language? By studying Indian languages, the British furthered their interests by

infiltrating Indian society. Because they were able to speak with the population, and to read

vernacular and classical literature, the British were able to gain exposure to a much larger portion

of society. It also allowed them to operate with less reliance on Indian interlocutors. This allowed

them to impose themselves directly on the people, which created less room for dissent and more

room for the spread of British interests.

Another source of knowledge for both missionaries and the British administration opened

by their knowledge of language were Indian sacred texts. These were used by the colonial

government to create an indigenously derived system of law . They were also used by the 10

missionaries to gain familiarity with native religious thought. Indians are believed to be governed

Cohn, Bernard S. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: British in India, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton 6University Press. 1996. p. 22

Ibid 217

Ibid 22, 258

Ibid 339

Ibid 25-3010

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entirely by traditional societal structures and customs which have their grounding in these texts.

There is a sense that these customs are the predominant sources of authority in India, and that it

would take application of vast forces for a Hindu mind to be dissevered . What the British 11

wished to do was become the authority, so they needed to familiarize themselves with the

existing system.

The British believed that by understanding the social and religious context of India, they

would be able to have greater success controlling the population. The missionary manual depicts

Indians as congregated with a hundred and fifty millions of human captives , who lack

independent habit . In this view, understanding Indians meant understanding the system 12

which controls them, it is only by knowing why and how Indians were trapped that they could be

freed to live better lives.

This is exemplified by the discussion of caste. Caste is said to have more influence over

people than anything else . It is said to be impermeable, and an Indian caste is compared to an 13

animal genus . This shows that the British believed caste, like other elements of Indian society, 14

to be something occurring in nature, rather than something which has been socially constructed

and enforced. In this way, the British approach to gaining knowledge about Indians can be

compared to the way in which biologists gather descriptive information about animals: through

observation and consultation of authoritative texts on the subject, rather than through direct

interaction with the subject. One example of this is the fact that missionaries are encouraged to

Murdoch 95 11

Ibid 3, 95 12

Ibid 93 13

Ibid 93-9414

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carry notebooks to record observations . This approach could explain why the primary source 15

material for the missionary manual is the observations and writings of other missionaries, rather

than experiences of native Christians and converts.

There are two exceptions to this pattern. In the section on philosophy, missionaries are

enjoined to purchase pamphlets of philosophy at the market . These pamphlets are critical to the 16

dialog within the contemporary Indian society, as opposed the the centuries old epics and

traditional commentaries, or the thousands of years old Vedas. Additionally, missionaries are

advised to ask questions of their servants in order to better understand the people . However, 17

both of these instances can be argued to be within the context of the traditional authority system.

Servants have a clear role in helping their masters, and the manner it is advised to converse with

them is more light conversation than deep intellectual engagement. The authors of the

philosophy pamphlets are likely to be members of the elite, born into castes which enable them

to be authoritative on philosophical matters. Additionally, there is no discussion of diversity of

philosophy, so it can be construed that the writings within the pamphlets falls under traditional

authority.

British acquisition of knowledge was a tool for expanding colonial rule. It was generally

done with benevolent intentions, as the British believed that they had the ability to free Indians

from what they saw as a system of repression. The approach was two pronged; studying

authority bearing texts were a way to impose themselves top down on society and studying

vernacular languages was a way to impose themselves bottom up.

Ibid 12115

Ibid 11616

Ibid 9017

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Works Cited

Cohn, Bernard S. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: British in India, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1996.

Murdoch, John. Indian Missionary Manual: Hints to Young Missionaries in India, with Lists of Books. London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, 1870 , p. 93.