Revisiting Pettigrew’s Education: The Ushering of the Colonial Ideology Through Schools and Textbooks Amongst the Tangkhul Nagas (1896 -1938)

A. C. Kharingpam

A. C. Kharingpam

Abstract

This article attempts to relook at the works of Rev. William Pettigrew from the point of view of the native eyes. The dwindling of the Tangkhul Naga language and the introduction of the western education system to the Tangkhul Naga tribe in the year 1896 led to the tribe embracing Christianity. The systematic overhauling of the education system from being rooted in oral culture to that with a written education system brought a sea change in the lives of the tribe. The article sought to relocate the intricate coupling of the Bible and the school text in the late 19^th century and the early 20^th century.

Keywords: Tangkhul, William Pettigrew, Conversion, Education, Missionary, Manipur.

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Author Biography

A. C. Kharingpam

A. C. Kharingpam teaches in the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His area of interest lies in Postcolonial Literature, Bible, and Language. Mr. Kharingpam teaches postcolonial literature, Theory, and the Bible to both the M.A. and B.A. students. He has successfully designed and curated many courses for the M.A. and B.A. levels. The Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia was the first to introduce ‘Writings from the Northeast’ as a paper each in M.A. and B.A. in the country. He designed this course and teaches M. Phil, M.A. and B.A. classes.

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