Abstract

This scholarly paper traces the educational history of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, from ancient times through British colonial rule, illustrating how the region became a microcosm of Bengal’s educational evolution. Beginning with Karnasubarna under King Sasanka (7th century CE), the region emerged as a centre of learning, as noted by Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, who observed that “the inhabitants of the country are patrons of learning.” During the medieval period, Buddhist monastic universities flourished under the Palas, while Hindu pathshalas/tols and Muslim maktabs/madrasahs were introduced by Muslim rulers. These diverse systems coexisted through royal and local patronage, creating a decentralised yet dynamic educational landscape. William Adam’s 19th-century reports revealed an extensive indigenous education system across Bengal, with numerous village schools that challenged colonial narratives of educational backwardness. Local rulers such as Rani Bhabani and the Royal Family of Kasimbazar supported both traditional and emerging forms of education, including early Western educational experiments. The British colonial era brought transformative changes through the Macaulay Minute (1835) and Wood’s Despatch (1854), which prioritised English education while neglecting indigenous systems. Institutions like Krishnath College (1853) emerged, demonstrating both colonial influence and local agency. British policies cultivated an English-speaking middle class and introduced modern administrative systems, but simultaneously eroded traditional learning and widened social disparities. The paper examines how political power, patronage, and policy shaped Murshidabad’s educational development. Indigenous systems persisted but were gradually supplanted by colonial structures, forging a complex legacy of cultural hybridity and socioeconomic transformation. This educational history reveals how education served as a tool for state-building and social engineering, shaped by the interplay between external imposition and local adaptation.