Alexander Duff was a prominant villain of India and blamed for damaging Hinduism and Indian culture with unethical tactics. He was a Christian missionary of Presbyterian Assembly. He reached India with his wife in 1829 braving hardship of a difficult and adventurous journey. Eventually, he landed in Calcutta without having any belonging and found a shelter in a Hindu temple. But later he worked towards ruining the same Hindu faith that gave him the first shelter on reaching India. The details of his arrival in India and his missionary activities are well documented in several Missionary Digests. One of such books, ‘Alexander Duff, Pioneer of Missionary Education’ by William Paton published in 1923 covers depicts his life and activities in detail which are further endorsed by Baptist Board of Education, Depart of Missionary Education New York in their publication ‘Alexander Duff, India’s Educational Pioneer’. In this missionary publication its clearly stated on page 11 that he had come to India intending to assail the very system of Hinduism itself. On the same page its written, “Duff believed he saw the way to weaken and, in the end, destroy Hinduism itself. As he put it himself, he wanted to prepare a mine which should one day explode beneath the very citadel of Hinduism. He met old William Carey and discussed his plan and received his approval to the same.
Alexander Duff’s Plan
His plan was to use Christian education, carried eventually to the highest level in English, and given through the medium of English, as the great instrument of assault on Hinduism and of the presentation of Christianity. Thus, it had two critical policy decisions to be made, first make use of higher education as a missionary instrument and second, impart higher education in English. His plan is explicitly explained, endorsed and admired in the above publication of Department of Missionary Education, New York.
With above plan, Alexander Duff established his school with help of Ram Mohan Roy. In this school, he converted 4 students namely Krishna Mohan Banerjea, Gopinath Nundi, Mohesh Chunder Ghose, and Anando Chandra Mozumdar, into Christianity within 3 years of setting up his school. All these students were from well off families whereas earlier most of the converts were orphans, outcastes, poors, beggars and crippled. All these converted students successfully resisted all pressures from their respective families, relatives, and castes. His success surprised other missionaries and his approach of using Education as a weapon for conversion to Christianity. Since Muslims in general were keeping off English education, technology, and western knowledge, so they did not get into his trap.
Later, The English Education Act 1835 enacted to give effect to the resolution of the Governor General Lord William Bentinck. This Act crippled the funding of Oriental education in vernacular medium with Sanskrit and Arabic based scriptures. It was meant to promote the education in English medium only. Macaulay’s Minutes also provided the impetus to the above legislation. Eastern Philosophy, Sanskrit, Arabic, and ancient knowledge became the casualty of Macaulay’s Minutes.
After enactment of the Indian Education Act 1835, Indian education system was radically changed by sidelining the Orientalists and traditional Indian education. Gradually, Sankrit language was made to almost extinct ensuring that Indians totally rely on the translations of their own ancient scriptures which were already distorted, skewed, and misinterpreted by the missionary influenced translators at Fort William College. The paper and printing both were not available in India and until 1870, Indians did not have free access to paper and printing both as It was to be imported from Europe and they were lacking relevant business connections there.
By 1857 rebellion, the influence of Orientalist had faded, and the East India Company’s bureaucracy and military were dominated by missionary influenced officials. After 1857 rebellion, the British Policy of non-interference in the religious affairs of Indians, constrained the Christian Missionaries to make any adverse remark on the religion or the religious practices of Indians. Thus, they changed their tactics and started using Indians under their influence to create social discords among Hindus in particular. Jyoti Rao Phule, E.V.R. Naicker and later B.R. Ambedkar etc. were smartly used in the game and its effects are still glaring even after more than 150 years. This proves the plan of Alexander Duff that he wanted to plant a mine to destroy Hinduism. Unfortunately, an evil has been presented as an educationist.
