Introduction

Education in India as a broad category involved fields like technical education, medical education, education for various social groups and segments, legal education, religious and moral education and language-math-science education. The role of education in making ‘good’ citizens of Indians often revolved around moral instruction. The Indian educational records are impressive for their sheer meticulous detailing and attempt at ordering what was clearly a contested field. The British authorities were clearly not a united house when it came to the several questions around the education of the native subjects. A few statesmen and commentators saw Western education as central to the project of unifying India into the Empire. There were practical problems in teaching Hindu girls, as fieldnotes and letters by activists documented: native women’s indolence, the numerous festivals that interrupted all schedules, poor health and of course early marriage and motherhood.