of textbooks before 1837. Overall, Laird attributed much success to the missionary educationalist movement in Bengal of 1793-1837. However, he did end his book with a conflicting statement which rebuked the missionaries for their “bigotry and prejudice” regarding Hinduism, Islam and all other creeds other than Christianity. Furthermore, he mocks the missionaries’ implementation of education for the broadening of heathen minds without keeping their own minds open. This striking statement confused the lector as it seemed to contradict the attitude of the rest of the book.Kanti Prasanna Sen Gupta effectively dismantles the missionaries’ ideology that education is inevitably followed by conversion using the educational climate of the Hindu College of the time. Although the college was not founded by a missionary, or for the purpose of encouraging conversions, Christian missionaries considered it to “prepare the way...for future reception of Christianity”. Although it is true the college experienced a surge of anti-Hindu ideology, moreover, the students were protesting all orthodoxy, including Christianity. This reflects the traditional Hindu ideology that all religions are different means to the same ends. What resulted at Hindu College was nothing short of anarchy and undermined all ethics, Hindu and otherwise. Therefore, the western liberal atmosphere shared by its contemporary Christian schools, became a breeding ground for “evils,” one that both the Christians and the Hindus tried to remedy. Gupta’s overall argument is that the lasting contributions of the missionaries towards the social progress in Bengal came directly from their non-evangelical work and indirectly from their evangelical activities. It was actually more significant that they were westerners than anything else. Gupta argues that the missionaries were most effective in implementing Socio-Religious ...
