ABSTRACT
In ‘Modern Education’ (1853), John Ruskin argues that educational reforms are necessary to achieve a utopian world. He says that ideally education of a child should focus on natural history, politics, and religion. These would result in developing a child in a holistic manner, and thus ensure a better society. However, he does not believe that these ideals are practical in his era due to his lack of faith in the government.
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), on the other hand, had immense faith in the government and the British Crown and showed that these ideals are practical in the Victorian era. He does this through the manner in which he depicts Kim, the eponymous hero of the arguably imperialist novel (1901). Kim’s education is not limited to his schooling, but is only complete when he figures out who he is – a conundrum he struggles with throughout the novel. This he is able to answer at the end of the novel after his various adventures alongside the Lama. Kim’s wanderings with the Lama through the plains and mountains of India familiarise him to the natural history of the land, which enables him to partake in the political minefield of the Great Game. Moreover, his dealings with the Lama result in his understanding of the politics and religion that are a part and parcel of the world that he moves in. As Kipling suggests at the end of the novel, due to this Kim is able to empathise as much with the British as with Indians, and thus matures into a true leader who is interested in bettering society. Therefore, in this paper I will attempt to show how this is done, and thereby prove that Kipling was not only a torch bearer for administrative reforms, but a zealot for education reforms as well.
