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Revised version of the paper entitled ''“Decline of Civil Society in India in the Colonial Era : The Case of Indigenous Village Schools of Vernacular Education”'', presented at the conference on ''“Social Consciousness and culture in Modern India” '' sponsored by Centre for Studies in Civilizations, India International Centre, New Delhi, 27-28 February, 2006

Thomas Munro reported in 1806 that every village was a kind of “little republic” and the Fifth Report of 1812 quoted him “liberally in an endorsement of the view that village government had been in place from time immemorial¹⁹”. Mark Wilks wrote in 1810 about the continuity and vigour of the autonomy of internal management of village by villagers in spite of the changes of imperial dynasties and rulers from time to time²⁰. Considering different historical records and reports of the British authorities of early nineteenth century in this context, James Ray Hagen contends that village “operated off itself, that is, physical and moral control was enforced from within rather than dependent on higher level of imperial authority21”authority²¹”. The observations of Jonathan Ducan, Colonel Sleeman and others also endorse this view of the nature of village in pre-British India22India²². 

It is difficult to find out any categorical answer to these questions since field-view history of rural societies is still largely unexplored. However, according to Eugen Weber, a fruitful source of understanding the minds and feelings of rural people may be found in their songs, dances, proverbs, tales, etc.²³ Of all these, proverbs define the rules and structure that society sets for individuals, fashion their mentalities, help them in constructing their identities and regulate their relationships with their fellow men / women, their lands, occupations, etc.²⁴ Considering these functions of proverbs, one may assume that those (proverbs) which relate to agricultural operations served the need of guiding and educating the peasants for conducting efficiently the activities of agricultural production. Such proverbs existed in the rural areas of almost all the regions in large number. For example, John Christian who collected more than five hundred proverbs from the rural areas of Bihar in the last decade of the nineteenth century found not less than seventy of them constituting a stock of knowledge used by peasants in different seasons and contexts of agricultural operations25operations²⁵. Similarly, there are not less than seventy Dak proverbs which have been in circulation in north India since at least medieval period26period²⁶. However, proverbs were not enough to serve their need for keeping and maintaining the agricultural and trade accounts, which formed a necessary part of agrarian life. Probably, village schools were gradually evolved by the efforts of village communities themselves for serving the said need of the class of self sufficient peasant proprietors, artisans, and others who were the chief constituents of the village structure. It is difficult to say when and how exactly these schools emerged. This issue should be seriously taken up for historical exploration and inquiry by the scholars interested in the history and sociology of rural societies. However, an attempt is made here to have at least a glimpse into the changing conditions of agricultural education since ancient period.

Agricultural science as a discipline of education was ignored by the elites (who favoured chiefly the philosophical, literary and religious disciplines) since, perhaps, late ancient or early medieval period. In the ancient period, the subjects relating to agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade were included in the discipline known as Varta which was one of the four Vidyas, viz. Anvikshiki (Sankhya, Yoga and Lokayata), Trayi (three Vedas), Varta and Dandaniti27Dandaniti²⁷. Upper class people including those of ruling families used to be educated in these disciplines under the guidance of experts28experts²⁸. The gahapatis of different varnas who were constituents of the upper or elite class not only controlled the land but directly participated in different agricultural operations29operations²⁹. But, it seems that as the value of Dharmashastras began to grow, Lokayata and Varta were ignored. The number of Vidyas that was four earlier increased to fourteen by the time of Yajnavalkya's smriti. But, Varta and Lokayata were excluded from the list of fourteen Vidyas30Vidyas³⁰. Buddhist centres of learning also ignored Varta31Varta³¹. So far as Lokayata is concerned, Buddha himself is said to have been against learning it which, according to Pali texts, flourished well in the ancient period32period³². According to K.P. Jayaswal, by the eleventh century A.D. the influence of Dharmashastra became so strong that even Dandaniti fell from the favour of elites33elites³³. By the fifteenth century A.D., it seems that Vidyas were ordinally grouped in two, upper and lower, categories34categories³⁴. The important point to note in this context is that Varta does not find a place either in the category of upper or in that of lower Vidyas.

It is difficult to say how this kind of change occurred in Indian society. However, it may be noted that the tradition of Lokayata, concerned with Lok. (folk) that is, praja (the masses) who remained subjected to rule from above35above³⁵, has been existing since ancient days according to Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya36Chattopadhyaya³⁶.In Lokayata, agricultural science (Varta) was considered very important37important³⁷. According to Har Prasad Shastri, Lokayata also includes different tantrik cults prevailing among Lok, the chief constituent of the peasant sector of society38society³⁸. R.S. Sharma contends in this context that shudras and women (of all caste groups) were prohibited from participating in any activity based on the Vedic tradition since the days preceding the Mauryan rule39rule³⁹. As they were denied any access to the Vedic tradition, they perhaps, increasingly became vulnerable to the non-Vedic appeals of tantrik cults. Sharma writes while discussing the crisis of Kaliyug depicted in different puranas and other Sanskrit texts that the period after third or fourth century A.D. is marked with intense hostility between brahmanas and shudras40shudras⁴⁰. Vaishyas and shudras were "engaged in production and payment of taxes and in supply of surplus labour "and kshatriyas and brahmanas "lived on taxes, tributes and gifts"⁴¹. The clash of the interests of the brahmanas and kshatriyas constituting the upper class and those constituting lok or the lower class became quite visible since third or fourth century A.D42D⁴². This hostility, perhaps, increased a great deal due to their conflicting ideological traditions. The upper or elite class adhered to the Vedic tradition and, therefore, believed in upholding and maintaining Varna ashram order. But others had practically no option other than following non-Vedic cults and sects. Sharma categorically says that Tantrism originally belonging to Shakta sect became very well pronounced in the Shaiva, Vaishnava, Buddhist and Jain sects and "generally provided for the initiation of women and shudras and did not discriminate between the Varnas... Shudra teachers could initiate sudras and chandalas and could perform sacrifices43sacrifices⁴³". Tantric tradition further gained ground following the emergence and spread of Nath cult44cult⁴⁴. So, broadly speaking, two antagonistic traditions, one of Vedic orthodoxy or Sanatanis comprising the elite category of brahmanas and kshatriyas, and the other of Tantrism upheld by lok comprising chiefly shudras, and also Vaishyas and women (of all caste groups), continued to flourish parallel to each other since early medieval period. These two broad traditions in spite of being conflicting with each other might also have had the relationship of give and take in the course of their coexistence in society. However, the important point to note is the continuity of hostility between these two main traditions, particularly the hostility between brahmanas and shudras (discussed before) across centuries. Probably, it was because of this prolonged hostility that elite group ignored agriculture (the occupation of lok) to the extent that agricultural education was removed from the recognized list of Vidyas (mentioned before) and a religious sanction was instituted against participation of elite castes in the processes of land cultivation. So, perhaps, the accounts of socio-cultural life and institutions of lok remained mostly unrecorded in the past centuries because the production of shastras and other writings almost always remained in the hands of those who were hostile to the world-views and traditions of lok. Absence of any account of village school in any dharmashastra or purana or literary or philosophical work may be due to this reason. However, it should not be inferred from above that village schools did not exist at that time simply because of the nonavailability of any written account about such rural institutions. Weber asserts that "the illiterate are not in fact inarticulate; they can and do express their feelings and their minds in several ways"⁴⁵, and can create and maintain their institutions and traditions.