The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-01-19
WESTERN CULTURE IN INDIA
@5Sas AND JAPAN.

K f e 5s& gst
The natural defect of the Indian stu
dent always has been his excessive re-
lance on his powers of memory. A
special term-''to by-heart'-is current
among the students in Calcutta to
express the normal process Of studying
a subject. FThe usual me bod OF get
ting up textbook, on philosophy. 10
gic or English literature is to by
heart" either the textbook itself or the
lecturers notes upon 4.
And this defect OF Indian thought
is greatly aggravated by the necessity
OF learning in English. The power Of
independent thought and Judgment,
weak to begin with. is crushed under
the oppressive weight Of a foreign Ian
guage. No doub' the best men in the
university rise above the disability,
and think, speak and write in English
extraordinary we'll; but to the majority
the double effect of acquiring new
knowledge and expressing ideas in a
new language is quite overwhelming.
The result is that the general body Of
students tend to acquire a mass Of I'M
digested information, which they never
really assimilate or make their own.
A few years ago visited mission
college in South India. In. honor of my
visit and to display their powers OF
original thought, the senior students
got up a debate, at which i was asked
to preside. The subject chosen was
1.-THE Advantages and Disadvantages
of the B. Al. class, who happened to
be reading philosophy. opened the at
tack on celibacy by the startling state
ment, "Celibaey is contrary to the cate
gorical Imperative OF Kant That is
typical OF defect which is found in
every deDartment of practical life and
work. The university student. as a
rule, excels in the acquisition of knowl-
edge, but fails in its application. His
main need is originality, but 1t is hope
less to expect him to acquire it until
he is allowed to think in his own YER
nacu1ar. English undergraduates would
exhibit a similar lack Of originality if
they were obliged to do all their think.
ing in Latin or German. And as 1t is
impossible for practical reasons to give
university education through the YER
naculars of the country, we must ac-
quiesce in the conclusion that the In
dian universities are not likely to rem
edy among the mass of the students
the characteristic defect Of the Indian
mind. It is instructive in this connec-
ton to notice the very different effect
produced by Western education in ia
pan from that produced in India. The
standard of education, judged by the
prescribed course OF study, does not
seem to be nearly as high in Japan as
it is in India; but what the Japanese
have learned they have really assimi-
lated and made their own. The knowl-
edge brought from the West has not
been allowed to float vaguely on the
surfgace Of their rninds.: it has en-.
tered into the soul of the nation, and
is rapidly bringing forth fruit In the
national life and character. We see
nothing of this kind in India. There
are no doubt many reasons to account
for the difference. But certainly one
reason Is that the Japanese, almost
from the first Introduction Of western
education, determined that the medium
Of instruction should be their own YER
nacular. And the result is that they
have been able, to grasp and under
stand the new ideas Of Western litera-
ture and science for more readily than
the people Of India--Henry Madras, in
The Nineteenth Century. M