School Reports sent to British Army

The photos of the actual reports that I make reference to are in Proofs.

The image below illustrates the various reports I went through

Abysmal standards of toilets/latrines/lavatories – Discoveries 1932-1945

From y.e. 31.3.1933

The latrines are entirely insanitary and crude. During the rush hours they can only be described as disgusting to a degree. General Sir George Jeffreys is also of the opinion that the whole system is inadequate.

Latrines should be completely overhauled and re-designed with a view to removing the existing insanitary defects.

The pans are iron buckets which however well tarred, must give off an offensive odour. The number of seats is considered insufficient during the rush hours.

The drain could be flushed down periodically.

Double septic tanks would be needed.

From y.e. 31.3.1934

A flush system is needed in the Girls’ School latrines.

School was inspected on 26 May 1933 by General Sir George Jeffreys.

From y.e. 31,3,1935

The flush system has also been provided in the Girls’ School

From y.e. 31.3.1936

The Boys’ bathrooms – of which I have always been ashamed – have been entirely remodelled and fitted with European baths as well as showers.

An urgent need is a more satisfactory arrangement for the washing lavatories which are very inconvenient at present especially for the elder girls

From y.e. 31.3.1937

Preparatory School Lavatory – Very Primitive and should be modernised as early as possible.

From y.e. 31.3.1939

The septic tanks smelled badly….

At present there appears to be 3 to 4 commodes for one dormitory of 60 children. This might easily prove inadequate if ever a slight outbreak of bowel disease occurred. I would suggest that ‘pull-the-plugs’ be put in place instead of the periodic flush system in use in the day lavatories.

Menials Latrines: I understand that the present type of latrine is being replaced by the deep bore-hole pattern and the work should be expedited.

From 31.3.1940

All menial latrines have been converted to the bore-hole system which is proving satisfactory. Sanitary night-soil carts have been dispensed with and have been replaced with fly-proof bore-holes. Fresh bore-holes are made as the occasion arises

The abysmal standards were not just confined to Lovedale! Here is an extract from Lawrence School Sanawar’s Report of 31.3.1936:

Sanawar has always been run on the ‘barrack system, children dressing and performing their toilet in public. This is a very sound plan for boys and small girls; it is open to grave objections in in the case of older girls. The lack of privacy is deeply felt by the girls while the Staff deplore the lack of opportunity of training girls in manners and habits before they leave us for situations. I would much like a bungalow where the senior girls could spend their final year in something resembling home conditions before going out into the world. The provision of a main office building would release accommodation which could be utilised for a house for the senior girls.

See below an illustration of the type of toilets that would have been in use in the Lawrence Schools up to Independence and beyond.

Please also see my Page ‘Infrastructure’.

Anglo-Indians: Reviled, Despised, Resented, Derided – Discoveries 1932-1945

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1934:

There is no place in India today for the Domiciled European or Anglo-Indian who is not well qualified.

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1935

..Similarly entry into other professions is becoming increasingly competitive and still children of Anglo-Indian parentage are being registered for admission into the school. Often, the stock is extremely poor and the families outrageously large. It is a pity that the principles of birth control are not more widely known to this portion of the population for there seems every probability that many of these boys must join the ranks of the unwanted.

Note from Jitu: This community virtually took over the school when the British parted. 70 % of the students in 1950, 3 years after the British left were Anglo-Indians and the Railway Colony culture they brought remained a major influence in the school for decades!

Extract from y.e. 31.3.37

Alternative courses in technical and vocational training seem to be of most imperative importance in the present conditions of employment both in India and elsewhere. Boys who have been brought up in School on Public School lines have to take employment on incomes of Rs 30 per mensem or else be unemployed for years. It is possible that the continual problem of debt among the Anglo-Indian and European community in India is largely due to the education we have given them in the past, which has accustomed them to a higher standard of living than they can afterwards maintain.

Note from Jitu: The most ‘powerful’ Anglo-Indian boys in the school left to become nobodies and disappeared into the ether! Those that could migrated abroad to lead lives in low grade employment far removed from the high ranks they thought they deserved but not before they got away with the boorish behaviour that should have been stamped out! Note also this extract repeated under Staffing.

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1945

When the Japanese war is over it is problematical whether it will still be possible for boys to enter the services as easily as they now do, and the question of careers for those at school-leaving age will quite likely become acute especially for the Anglo-Indian child who would find it difficult to find employment outside this country.

Note from Jitu: A prescient observation: None of the Anglo-Indians I studied with ever disclosed any plans about what they intended to do after school. Whereas the Indians had plans to go on to careers in Medicine, Engineering, Business etc. it was a mystery what the Anglo-Indians intended to do. I have said the following in my post titled : ‘Anglo-Indian Influence’:

‘None of the rest of us knew about the functioning of the community. No one knew what the Anglo-Indian parents did for a living, where they lived, what they ate, whose company they kept, what sort of activities they participated in or anything else. A kind of ‘mystique’ developed around that community.’

The mystique continued after school. A number of them joined the Merchant Navy, many disappeared to God knows where, many migrated and some of the girls (hats off to them) accepted that they were Indians and inter-married.

Anglo-Indians were also a problem at Lawrence School Sanawar as the following extracts show:

Page 3 Annual Report of the Lawrence Royal Military School , Sanawar 1st April 1933 to March 1934. Page 2 Careers

The prospects before such Anglo-Boys as we have continue gloomy; it is not a question of finding well-paid posts for them, but of finding any employment suited to their training and upbringing.

Page 2 Annual Report of the Lawrence Royal Military School, Sanawar, 1st April 1935 to 31 March 1936. Page 2 Careers

The prospects before such Anglo-Indian boys as we have continue gloomy. The subject was well aired at the Governors Meeting and many suggestions made then or later by members of the Board of Governors. Much was hoped for from a visit made to Sanawar made by an officer of the Quartermaster General’s Branch; I have to report, unfortunately, that the net result was that not one single boy was placed in employment. Three boys were placed in employment by the efforts of the Principal or parents, but two boys presenting grave problems are still left on our hands.

Note from Jitu: Even after I joined the school in 1958, I know not of a single Anglo-Indian who became a doctor/engineer/lawyer/business tycoon/armed forces officer. Most became ‘shippies’ (derogatory term for joined the Merchant Navy) or migrated to Australia/England/ Canada for low skill low paid jobs. Even the highly regarded Mac, a teacher about whom there are several Pages and multiple references elsewhere went downhill and was a pauper at death. Please see my Page Anglo-Indians Documentaries and Research Papers which show that such such was the collapse of the Anglo-Indian community that even after death, Mother Teressa’s charity collected their bodies for burial!

With reference to the Page relating to Anglo-Indian Mac: This character had every opportunity to make a success of his life. The results of his students for the two subjects he taught, English Language and English Literature were excellent. He could even have become the Headmaster! However, because of his own stupidity, he died a pauper with even his funeral expenses being paid for by a former Chemistry master of Lawrence School, Iyengar and an Old Lawrencian student, Vallikappen.

Environmental Disaster – Discoveries 1932-1945

I set out the text of a Page titled: Environment Disaster in the Making

The extract below is taken from Glimpses of a glorious Past a PDF book by my friend Prem Rao:

”The area around Lovedale was thickly forested and the school was blessed over time to acquire around 750+ acres which earlier generations of school boys explored to the full. The early British settlers saw the danger of deforestation as Ooty and Coonoor developed. They recognized the need to have rapidly growing trees and introduced trees like the Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), wattle (Acacia dealbata), and blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus). It was reported that in 1849-50, 20,000 Blackwood trees were planted around the picturesque Ooty Lake. The year 1863 saw the establishment of a blue-gum plantations of over 1,600 acres in Ooty and another of 1,300 acres in Coonoor. This foresight helped alter the appearance and ecology of the region over the next few decades, covering the “rolling hills with dense foliage.” With more relevance to Lovedale, there is a minute by the President of the Asylum Committee dated July 12, 1864: “I have visited the site of the new Lawrence Asylum, and am of the opinion that it would be desirable to commence immediately the plantations which are required to shelter the buildings against the action of the south west and north east monsoons. Some attempts were made last year to plant some trees to the westward of the buildings but those being made without any definite plan, and upon no system, have failed altogether. I have been over the ground with Mr. McIvor, and been sketched out upon the plan and noted upon the ground the extent of the plantations which will be required, which may be roughly estimated to extend over about 100 acres; and as it is very desirable that the plantations should be sufficient to shelter the buildings by the time that these latter are fit to receive the children, no time should be lost in preparing the ground and planting the trees. I think it would be wise to entrust this work to Mr. McIvor, and to hand over to him such a number of convicts as may be required to get the whole of the land in order for planting with as little delay as possible. He should be called upon to submit a sketch of the plantations he proposed to make with an estimate of the amount of labour required to
complete the preparation of the ground by the time that the season of 1865 will permit the planting to
commence. As upwards of 200,000 trees will be required, I have written privately to the Governors of the
Australian Colonies, requesting them to cause seeds of the different forest trees to be collected and sent to Madras.

This course of action has resulted in an environmental disaster in the Nilgiri Hills. The trees imported from Australia absorb an inordinate amount of water and has ruined the water table built over millennia!

Now here is an extract from y.e. 31.3.1945: Forestry

Mr. P.S. Nair continues in the post of Estate Manager, and his work is chiefly concerned with trying to make good the impoverishment that has arisen through haphazard an unscientific felling and planting of trees during recent years…………….Mr. Nair planted several thousands of young blue gum trees last year and he is about to plant out many thousands more from his nursery.

Note 1 from Jitu Savani: The blue gum tree, not a native tree to the Nilgiri Hills took off to such an extent that now it has replaced all native species. The local eco-system built since the beginning of life on Earth was completely messed up as the rapidly growing and renewable blue gum absorbs so much water that there was not much water for human consumption. This caused severe problems throughout the period I was in Lovedale and continue to cause problems even to this day! In 2018 many 68ers (i.e., Old Lawrencians from my year) gathered for a reunion. We stayed at Sterling Resorts, a 5 star hotel in Fern Hill. Almost every Old Lawrencian and accompanying family member went down with severe food poisoning because the Hotel used contaminated water transported by truck to the hotel.

Note 2 from Jitu Savani: Mr Nair was the first Indian member of staff to reach such a senior and responsible position.

Finances – Discoveries 1932-1945

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1933

The School held funds in both, Imperial Bank of India Ooty as well as Imperial Bank of India London.

In the Imperial Bank of India, London in the name of the Trustees

Investment in 3½% War Loan £3804.15.11 = Rs. 50730

In todays terms, that would be worth £335821 or rupees 33½ crores!

Note from Jitu: Why was a school based in India investing into British War Loan? This was a sign that the school was emphatically not for Indians! A further reading of the accounts shows that Value of the Land was Rd 1.43 lacks while the buildings were worth 16½ lacks! These were values as at 31.3.1933. Present day Indians would, I am sure value the land (750 acres) well above the buildings.

Shameful Statistics – Discoveries 1932-1945

In this post I have:

1. Analysed the composition of school leavers and the low standards attained and

2. Efforts made to exclude Indians

Here is a page extracted from the School Report for the year ending March 1945.

Here is an extract from an email to my classmates of the 68 batch

I have attached a couple of pages I photographed from confidential reports that used to be sent to Army HQ in UK.  Remember, our school’s title was Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School, the operative words being Royal Military.

68ers may conclude that the pride we feel about the History of LSL may be misplaced and indeed we may need to view as unacceptable the many practices that obtained.  However, that was then and today, being Independence Day, we can take pride in leaving old colonial practices behind and look ahead, whatever our ethnic or religious origins, with confidence in our own worth as equals to anybody! My own brother married a Czech lady and I am very close to my Eurasian nephews Rahul, Dilip and Vivek.  Tomorrow, I am meeting my Eurasian grand-nieces Daisy and Izzy, whose mum is a Bulgarian!   

Take the first photograph:  This sets out the statistics of the boys and girls going through the school from the day it started, up to 31 March 1945, a total of 87 years.  The war in Europe was a month away from concluding.  It was still 4 months before Japan was nuked and I am sure our very own Aruna’s father was witness to the surrender of Japan as was  Mountbatten who a couple of years later (February 1947) was appointed Viceroy, a disastrous move if ever there was one! The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny against the British in which Aruna’s dad may well have played a part, was still 11 months away.  So there was no certainty as to when the British would leave and educational institutions such as Lawrence School would be taken over by the Indians.  Thus, the manner in which Lawrence was run up to the year ending 31 March 1945 was in keeping with what the British intended.

You will observe:

1. The total number of boys that went through the school was 4265.
2. Of these, by far the greatest number, 1267 or 30% were removed because the parents were unable to pay the fees or similar reasons.  The names of such boys were published.  Imagine the embarrassment they would have felt.  In view of the heavy subsidy made available to the schools catering for the lower rungs of the British ruling class by the colonial Government of India, the fees were anyway minimal and so the parents would have been dirt poor if they couldn’t even pay those.
3. 687, or 16%, enlisted for the BRITRISH Army, Navy and Airforce.  Boys used to be sent to Chepstow in Wales for this purpose.  Remember, enlisting is a lot different to being accepted so there is no certainty as to exactly how many were accepted and joined.
4.  602 boys (559 Telegraph and 43 Cable), or 14% were appointed to telegraph/cable companies.  Telegraph/cable operators needed only basic literacy! 
5. 406 boys or 10% were removed by parents for employment.  This could only have been for low wage low skill employment, for what else could school leavers without even a school leaving certificate do?
6. The 59 who obtained appointments to Medical, Engineering and other colleges were not doing MBBS or any other such degrees, far from it!  Then as now, one needed to do inter-science (or A levels) for that.  These 59 would have taken up training to become lab technicians or equipment operators (e.g. intravenous drips).
7. 53+68+16+44+128+66, total 375 boys or 9% left for various other low skill low wage employment.

Within 7. above, 16 boys left to become schoolmasters.  One can imagine what sort of school master a 16 year old boy would have made!  Also within 7. above, 128 boys were apprenticed to Lawrence Press, full name Lawrence Asylum Press. This was a press in Madras which was given preferential treatment in that all Government publications (gazettes, notices, adverts etc.) were assigned to Lawrence Press, putting other commercial presses at a disadvantage.  In fact, other commercial presses objected and I have set out as an addendum below an extract from Hansard which is the official record of the House of Commons in London.

As far as girls are concerned, the statistics are even grimmer.  Of the total 1743 girls, 856 or 50% were removed by parents unable to pay fees!  39 obtained employment as school mistresses.  One can easily guess what sort of school mistresses school leavers would make! 147 (79 + 68) went into the nursing profession.  These school leavers would not have been the equivalent of the Lady of the Lamp (Florence Nightingale), but more likely employed to give bed baths or deal with bed-pans. A number of girls who left Lawrence went on to become domestic servants. 26 Girls left school to get married! 

In my days practising as a banker/accountant I learnt when interpreting figures presented in relation to business performance, an old adage ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’. That same adage could apply to Lawrence School in that what it was accepting can best be classified as rubbish and therefore what it was churning out was also rubbish!  I certainly wouldn’t be proud of this kind of History! I am not for one moment denying my own humble and poverty stricken origins; I am merely proving that Lawrence School doesn’t have that glorious a History! It must be noted that none of the top British administrators would send their children to schools in India.  Henry Lawrence’s sons were sent to Rugby School in England.

This proves beyond any doubt that the the institution was certainly not one that could be classified as ‘academic’ particularly as fewer that 2% of the pupils, both boys and girls went into higher education. Emphatically, this is not a demonstration of a glorious past!

The second photograph makes for even more shocking reading and exhibits the shameful, racist manner in which the school operated.  You will observe that as at 31 March 1933,  in the section headed ‘Nationality (Boarders)’, there are 242 Pure Europeans, 56 Europeans as defined by A.R.I…and 1 Anglo Indian.  All of these boys were Christians (see the next page, 15).  There were no Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Parsees, Jains, Buddhists or even Jews.  They were simply not allowed!  You will remember from an earlier communication of mine that Lawrence only wanted Christians and so the School was fulfilling his wishes!

What, you may ask are ‘Europeans as defined by A.R.I. ‘?  A.R.I stands for Anthropological Research Institute. And this is where the racism of our alma mater whose History we are meant to be proud about and whose ‘Founder’ we honour comes to the fore. So let me explain:

As well as members of the Military, there were many poor Europeans present in India.  Such poor Europeans may have had ancestors who arrived from Europe as military men or minor mercantile clerks but stayed on following service as they were far too poor to return. Besides Britain, among countries from which such Europeans arrived were  Portugal, Armenia and France (remember Patrice Dedeyn of Nilgiri House?). Generally, such Europeans couldn’t prove their pure European ancestry and were classified as ‘Domiciled Europeans’.  Such ‘Domiciled Europeans’ were determined to take advantage of the facilities available to Pure Europeans and therefore tried to get into such institutions as Lawrence School, and also enter the subaltern echelons of the Railways, Docks and Harbours industries.  The Pure Europeans were determined to keep the contamination of ‘impure’ Europeans away.  

So, how was that done?  Anthropologists were assigned to carry out such a task!  And how did these anthropologists operate?

1. Initially, looks could be one of the determining factors. Blue eyes, blond hair etc comes to mind. However, there were and are many Pure Europeans who do not have blue eyes and blond hair but are, yet, Pure Europeans.  Then the degree of ‘whiteness’ would come into the calculation.  
2. Examining nail pigmentation and the hair follicles at the nape of the neck could be another factor.
3. The frequency of visits to Europe could be a factor.  Just why anthropologists were required for this is anybody’s guess.  However, there is absolutely no doubt that hardly any Pure European or Domiciled European would have been able to afford a single visit to Britain and thus had no choice but to remain in India.
4. The most astonishing factor would be the accent with which these poor Europeans spoke.  Etymologists (word experts) would be employed for such a purpose.  The Anglo-Indians/Eurasians were said to speak with a ‘Chi-Chi’ accent!.  I kid you not! You can Google Chi Chi Indians! Anglo-Indians/Eurasians were derogatively referred to as Chi Chi Indians! Thus  a person who to all intents and purposes appeared to be white could fail the Pure European test because of his accent!  Such Chi Chi Indians were also referred to, derogatively, as 15 anna Indians (remember 16 annas made a rupee and therefore 15 annas meant there was some impurity). Chi, in everyday Hindi usage refers to something disgusting and 68ers will recall that we pronounced this word ‘che’.  Today, if anybody claimed they could determine the ‘Europeanness’ of a person merely by listening to his accent, that person would be derided!  I have three Eurasian nephews who would easily pass the accent test as they were born in UK and studied in elite English schools!  My two Eurasian grand nieces who are growing up in Liverpool speak with a Liverpudlian accent no different from any other Liverpudlian! I am sure the children of my US based 68er friends speak with a perfect US accent! 

So what was the purpose of such classifications/ differences?  To start with, the British did not intend Lawrence and other similar English schools to be elite schools.  Far from it!  The British needed people at the lowest levels to be administrators in such institutions as Railways, Customs, Police etc.  As well as that, Lawrencians from that era joined the British Army as enlisted men, also known as ‘squaddies’ or, as I would say ‘cannon fodder’.  All of them would have been residents in Railway Colonies and Cantonments.  A Cantonment is defined as a civilian area controlled by the military.  These colonies/cantonments formed a buffer between the ‘unwashed Indians’ such as our ancestors and the whites, as the British were determined to prevent miscegenation (i.e., marriage between Indians and whites).  Within such Colonies/Cantonments, there was a hierarchy whereby at the top were the Pure Europeans followed by Domiciled Europeans followed by Eurasians who took their place in the social hierarchy in accordance with the extent of their whiteness.  Bottom of the list were Indian Christians pretending to be Eurasians!  Strenuous efforts would be made to move up the hierarchy: thus, Domiciled Europeans would try to pass themselves off as Pure Europeans, Eurasians would try to pass themselves of as Domiciled Europeans and Indian Christians would try to pass themselves off as Eurasians!  The People from such Colonies/Cantonments kept themselves to themselves and were hostile towards outsiders such as normal, ordinary Indians.  The feeling was mutual!   

Let me at this juncture mention two couples, both residents of such colonies, and their sons.  Mervyn Dorsey, an administrator in the Port Trust of Madras and his wife Olive both of Madras had a son, Arnold George Dorsey born in 1936 (one year after our very own Denzil). Rodger Oscar Webb, a steward in the railways and his wife Dorothy Marie, both residents of Dehra Dun had a son, Harry Rodger Webb born in 1940.  Arnold George of course is better known as Englebert Humperdinck and Harry Roger is better known as Cliff Richard! Neither would have been classified as Pure European.      

Not a single Lawrencian up to the time of Independence would have been capable of entering the upper echelons of colonial British administration in India. Administration posts at that level included State Governors (e.g. Lawley, Governor of Madras, after whom Mac’s watering hole in Ooty was named), or Residents/Ambassadors to the Princely States.  Remember, Sir Henry Lawrence was Resident at Rajputana.  This is because to enter that kind of role, one needed to pass the Indian Civil Service exams (ICS).  Such exams, could, up to 1919 only be taken in England! Thus, my friends Bala and Vickram could not have taken their IAS exams unless they had very rich parents and even then, the questions would have been skewed in favour of those with a British Education, which included being proficient in Greek and Latin.  An infamous British politician, Enoch Powell who served in India had studied Greek! I would mention here that Latin was taught in Lovedale before being replaced with Urdu.  I also quote here an extract from Lawrence of Lucknow by J.L. Morison ‘Working eight or ten hours a day he (Lawrence) passed language examinations in Urdu, Hindi and Persian’.  When the door was slightly opened so that ICS could be taken in India, educated Indians far outperformed Europeans. 

You may ask:  Is this History of relevance to us 68ers?  The answer is yes!  If for nothing else, we can relate such History to people we knew rather than viewing such matters as mere statistics! Our teachers Barbara Prince and Dorothy (Bunty) Dudley both left school only to return shortly thereafter with diplomas in Froebel Training which is a rubbish diploma relating to teaching Nursery School children through play!  Prince Senior (Denzil’s dad) was a Gate Sergeant, i.e., the guy who mans the level crossing, and was a resident of Lallaguda Railway Colony, Secunderabad.  Both, Denzil and his sister Barbara were from that Colony.  Prince senior was a classic example of a Domiciled European, i.e., too poor to return to the UK.  Our very own Mac was from a Railway Colony in Indore/Mhow where his dad Vernon was a Telegraph Operator and his mother Margaret Delphine McMahon (nee Braganza) was a Eurasian of Indo-Portuguese stock.  However all that is for you to see, if you are interested, when my blog is ready!

Even after Independence, not a lot had changed:  Here is an extract from Princi’s speech at Founders in 1950:

Mr Thomas said, “ Our total strength today is 377. Apart from 261 Entitled children who are either Anglo-Indian or British and 21 Day Scholars, we have now 91 boys and 4 girls belonging to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Parsee communities on our rolls.”

It is astonishing that 3 years after Independence, 70% of the children were Anglo-Indian!  How, one may ask did this come about as the Anglo-Indians were still ensconced in Railway Colonies and were in no position to pay fees that were charged to ordinary Indians?  The answer is this:  the leader of the Anglo-Indians, Frank Anthony, negotiated with Gandhi and Nehru the inclusion in the Indian Constitution Article 337 which made special provisions in terms of educational grants/subsidies provided to the Anglo-Indian population of India.  It stated that the grant shall cease to exist after 10 years from the coming into effect of the Indian Constitution.  Google that by all means!

There is another twist though.  The so called Anglo-Indians consisted in very large part pupils who could be better described as Indo-Portuguese. In British times the Indo-Portuguese were referred to as Mestizos. I have gone through the rolls of admittance up to and including 1954 and have found the following names in abundance: D’Vaz, Rozario, Rodrigues, Alemao, DeFries, D’Costa, D’Souza, Cabaral, D’Rozario, Pacheco.  My friend Viju may recall, when travelling by train on our way to or from school and coming across men with sleek combed back hair with a kiss-curl in front speculating what their names could possibly be and conclude that it was probably Rodrigues which we pronounced Rod-Ri-Gyu-Ez as opposed to the right pronunciation Rod-Reegs! We also had staff of Indo-Portuguese origin, viz our printer D’cruze, piano teacher Diaz, Dr. Braganza. 

Last, but not the least below is the addendum from the House of Commons relating to Lawrence Asylum Press.

With kind regards.

Jitu

Interesting Papers- Chi Chi Indians

Here is an academic paper by Elizabeth Buettner including reference to Chi Chi Indians and note the mention made about Schools in Ootacamund

About Chi-Chi – Derivation of derogatory term for Anglo-Indians

The Lawrence Asylum Press 1890

The Bureaucracy of the British – Bureaucrats by race and numbers

An example of just how shameful the History of our alma mater can be gleaned from the following extracts from the March 1945 report:

You will observe that there were 85 SED Boys. What you may ask is SED and why is that shameful? Well, SED stands for Special Emergency Department and relates to boys from UK evacuated to India to be safe from German Bombs that were raining down on UK. Children about to depart from India to the UK were stopped from doing so as it was unsafe. Children already in UK were sent back! Here is an extract from Last Children of the Raj by Laurence Fleming:

When WW2 erupted in 1939, many children who were in school in Britain were recalled to India, moving into temporarily-created schools in India. In 1940, in one convoy the P&O troopship Stratheden carried at least 200 children back to India.‘

 

The Government paid the school a generous amount to accommodate these boys who were well fed, clothed and sheltered. They led blissfully happy lives. Our Indian ancestors were not so lucky! Indian grain, grown for Indians, by Indians was diverted to Europe by Winston Churchill, ‘to feed sturdy Greeks’ and this led to millions of Indians including Indian children of the same age as the SED boys starving to death in the Churchill created famine!

In order to reiterate the sheer wickedness of the British in starving to death Indian boys while feeding boys sent from UK to India, their ages being the same, and in which Lawrence School participated enthusiastically not least because of the profit motive, I am setting out the exact words from the report the school sent to Army HQ in UK:

Special Emergency Department.- During the past year the Department has reached its full growth and development; at the end of 1944, I had 76 boys in the S.E.D. of whom 23 were due to leave. I had a considerable waiting list for 1945, and I admitted as many as I could so as to have the department at the maximum strength this current year. We started this year therefore with 87 boys; some of these are being withdrawn in the course of the year, and a large number will be leaving in the natural course of events at the end of November. . At the time of writing the total strength of the S.E.D. is 82 boys. The S.E.D. had proved of great financial help to the school in these days of enormously enhanced priced, and we have had good reason to be grateful for the foresight of my predecessor in his creation of this Department in 1941. I have tried to maintain it at full strength so that this financial help may again be forthcoming if necessary. I am very uncertain about the future; the end of the European war will make it increasingly possible for boys to return to England for their education; that is why some have already been withdrawn this year, and there are at least another dozen who will be withdrawn before the end of the year for the same reason. I no longer have a waiting listfor admission, and am therefore very doubtful about the prospects in 1946. the Department cannot be maintained unless I have a minimum of 40 boys throughout the year; the position will, however, be clearer towards the end of the year.. the current year should be a good one; I budgeted on a strength of 60 boys, and as already stated, started the year with 87 and still have 82. I do not think that the numbers are likely to fall below 60 before November, so that there should be a substantial profit by the time the year ends.

During WW2, 87,000 Indians laid sown their lives fighting for the British while they were, through institutions like Lawrence School indulging in the odious practice set out above!

Low Standards of Pupils – Discoveries 1932-1945

From the report for the year ending 31.3.1933.

At present, owing to the small staff available, it is often necessary to promote boys who are really unfit for promotion.

From the report for the year ending 31.3.1934

…since the seniors remaining must inevitably be largely composed of elderly ”duds”.

From report for year ending 31.3.1935

The annoyances due to petty pilfering and continuous lying etc. which I experienced during my first year have now entirely ceased owing to the initiative and disciplinary actions of the prefects.

Note from Jitu: What disciplinary actions? Severe beatings as happened in subsequent years? Or major thefts by the likes of vice head boy Kalli Jacob who was the biggest thief (see post titled Mac’s Enforcers).

From the y.e. 31.3.1935:

The consequence has been that these very young boys have a far greater degree of freedom than is suitable to their age, and this freedom has in consequence been either abused or, alternatively not used to advantage. To avoid this difficulty and to prevent promising small boys developing into idle louts, a new house has been opened and named after Sir George Stanley.

Note from Jitu: Stanley House received boys from Knapp House and at the age of 14 they passed on to one of the senior houses.

From y.e. 31.3.1935

It is manifestly absurd for boys of 17 and 18 to be sitting for Junior Cambridge Examination normally taken by boys of 13 and 14 in England.

From y.e. 31.3.1935

…The crudity and hooliganism against which I had to battle during my first year has completely died .

Note from Jitu: So, up to the previous year there WAS crudity and hooliganism.

From y.e. 31.3.1936

The lack of initiative and the lethargy of boys and girls brought up in India is very apparent and it is a problem … for there is such manifest helplessness in practical matters such inordinate clumsiness and inability to tackle a practical question intelligently.

From y.e. 31.3.1936

It must be remembered that many schools dependent upon numbers for financial stability, would not be able to run the risk of entering candidates who were not fairly certain to be successful and were Lovedale in the same position it would not have been possible to enter a number of hardworking but backward boys and girls.

Note from Jitu: ‘enter’ means entering for junior exams

From y.e 31.3.1936

A most depressing aspect of education in India is the very large degree of independence enjoyed by Universities which like that of Madras are obstructionist in their policy.

Note from Jitu: This statement was made at the time a certain K.I. Thomas was getting his Masters’ degree at Madras University. That same K.I. Thomas went on to become the much revered Headmaster for 19 years. Ironic though it may seem, Madras University was established by Lord Canning, Lawrence’s boss, the very same Canning who appointed Lawrence Chief Commissionaire to Oudh and subsequently Brigadier General.

From y.e. 31.3. 1936

The elder boys possess a poise and dignity which is still lacking in many of the elder girls, among whom I still observe vulgar outbursts of giggling and general lack of refinement which creates a very unfavourable impression.

From y.e. 31.3.1936

…I was very unfavourably impressed with this when I first came here: the boys and girls seemed to count for nothing and the staff had little or no personal contact with them out of school hours. The atmosphere was painfully repressive and the boys and girls reacted accordingly by being unreliable and deceitful.

From y.e. 31.3.1936

… boys and girls growing up in a foreign environment, where standards are often deplorably low. Doubtless there are some who criticise our policy and feel that too much notice is taken of immature boys and girls, that they are being too much impressed with their own importance and that they are being provided with amenities which they will not enjoy when they leave school

From y.e 31.3.1936

In the past I found them mere sponges prepared to absorb anything and rarely were intelligent questions asked – partly I think because it was regarded as impolite and partly through intellectual sloth.

From y.e. 31.3.1936

Advance, however is slow and there are still very many boys and girls who merely lounge away their abundant spare time: they do not read; they do not play games; they do not indulge in any of the sidelines which make so strong an appeal to boys and girls in England. As might be expected, the classwork of such is invariably poor – often extremely so. This country appears to exert an insidious influence on many people so that initiative and vitality are destroyed; this may be understandable, if not excusable, in the heat of the plains, but it is a deplorable trait in young boys and girls whose lives are lived for 10 months in the year in such a climate as Lovedale enjoys. But it is exceedingly difficult to arouse any enthusiasm in some and even when it is aroused, there is a pathetic lack of staying power, and interest soon wanes and things are left half done. One of our biggest problems must be to counteract this evil influence and to stimulate by every means possible an interest in things which will make life full and worthwhile.

Note from Jitu: Note the casual manner in which India is blamed for exerting an insidious influence on European boys and girls!

From y.e. 31.3.1937

During my seven years experience of European Education in India, I have become convinced that a great mistake has been made in copying too closely the Public Schools of England. Not one single boy or girl would be in such a school if in England. I have found it impossible to run the monitoral system exactly as it is done in English Public Schools. Our model should be rather the elementary and secondary schools of England.

Parents unable to pay fees

I have just captured a representative sample from the reports

Year Ending	Name	Age	Years in School	Standard Reached	Comment
31.3.1933	Broomfield N.C	12yrs 11 mths	10 mths	iii (3)
31.3.1933	Bailey A.J	15yrs 1 mth	9yrs 7 mths	v (5)
31.3.1934	Andrews A.H.	16 yrs 2 mths	8yrs 6 mths	vi (6)	16 yrs old, 8 yrs at School, only 6 standard!
31.3.1934	Shortland T	14 yrs 9 mths	4yrs	iv (4)
31.3.1934	Healey C W C	11 yrs 3 mths	2yrs 10 mths	ii (2)

Over age low performers expelled

Year Ending	Name	Age on leaving	How long in school	Literary Standard	Remarks
31.3.1933	Hiscox I J	19 yrs 1mth	12 yrs 6 mths	ix (9)	19 years old after 12yrs 6 mths reaches only 9 standard!
31.3.1933	Reedman J M	17 yrs 11 mths	9 yrs 7 mths	ix (9)	18 yrs old only 9 standard!
31.3.1934	Dennis J W C	18 yrs 6 mths	12 yrs 9 mths	viii (8)	18 and a half years and only 8 standard
31.3.1934	Reedman C S	15 yrs 6 mths	8yrs 10 mths	viii (8)
31.3.1934	Wroot C W	17 yrs 8 mths	6 yrs 6 mths	v (5)	Nearly 18 years old and only 5 standard

Open Discrimination Faced By Indians in India – Discoveries – 1932-1945

From the report for the year ending 31.3.1933, you will clearly see that included in the staff are the following members all of whom were non-teaching:

1. Mr. H.K. Nanjaiah
2. Mr. J.D. Gnanapragasam
3. Mr. S.H. Sankaralingam
4. Mr. Chinaswamy Pillay
5. Mr. P. Raju

In annexure E of the report for the y.e. 31.3.1935, Nos. 1.2 and 3 are repeated with the additional information that

1. Mr Nanjaiah was appointed on 1.11.1909
2. Mr. Gnanapragasam was appointed on 1.10.1929
3. Mr. Sankaralingam was appointed on 11.4.1928

In annexure D, Page 40 of the report for the y.e. 31.3.1945 you will see the following obviously Indian staff together with their date of appointment and and their monthly salaries:

Mr. K. Kakamalan	01.06.1935/01.04.1939	Rs 65 p.m
Mr. K.B. Kongan	01.02.1943	Rs 46 p.m
Mr. K. Nagarajan	13.03.1939	Rs 55 p.m
Mr. A. Bellie	01.01.1943	Rs 80 p.m
Mr. K. Ragunathan	01.01.1943	Rs 46 p.m
Mr. M. Roland	01.01.1941	Rs 45 p.m
Mr. P.S. Nair	24.11.1943/01.03.1945	Rs 200 p.m

I knew personally Mr. Kongan, Mr. K. Nagarajan, Mr. Bellie and Mr. Rolland. Mr. Kongan worked as the accountant during my time in school and used to stand out as he wore a black cap typical of Badaga Tribesmen. Mr. Nagarajan had become the quartermaster and his daughter Kamakshi was was my classmate. Mr. Bellie had become the Estate Manager and his son, Bhojan Bellie who I knew well although he was a few years senior, joined the National Defence Academy (N.D.A) and was the first Badaga tribesman to become an officer in the Indian Army. Mr. Roland became the ‘projectionist’ and was in charge of setting up the facilities to show movies in school. While I don’t remember meeting Mr Ragunathan, I am aware that his son, Thiyagarajan Ragunathan, an Old Lawrencian passed away in 2023.

I now point out the following unequivocal provisos in the reports:

Y.e. 31.3.1939 Page 60 and y.e. 31.3.45 page 48 both state

Children of European members of staff may be admitted as day-scholars without payment of fee.

It follows that whereas the children of Europeans who worked in the same office as the Indians and probably shared the desks, chairs etc., could have their children study free, the children of the Indians named above couldn’t and probably weren’t admitted anyway!

Note: On page 45 for y.e. 31.3.33 the wording is Children of members of staff may be admitted as day scholars without payment of fee. The word European is missing. Jitu’s interpretation is that at that stage there was no pressure to take on more Indian staff nor, in British eyes was there a possibility that they would be thrown out lock, stock and barrel. Thus it was unlikely that any Indian parent would even dare to think their child would be allowed in as a pupil. In latter years, leading to Independence, Indian staff did join not least because the Europeans had been called for military service. I have mentioned above Kongan, Nagarajan, Bellie and Roland all of whom I knew personally!

On page 32 for the y.e. 31.3.34 and page 30 for the y.e. 31.3.37 reference is made to European Staff and Employees in respect of Medical treatment.

It follows that Indians were treated differently than their European colleagues! Aren’t patients just patients and aren’t illnesses the same whatever the ethnicity of the patient?

On page 44 of the report for the year ending 31 March 1939, reference is made to the expenditure on the Indian Christian cemetery.

It follows that even in death, there was separation! Mr Roland, mentioned in the Indian staff above was as Christian as anybody else but alas, he wasn’t European.

In the report for the y.e. 31.3.37, reference is made to the Indian Contractor.

Note from Jitu: What did the Principal expect in India? An Albanian contractor?

In the report for y.e. 31.3.34 reference is made to Showers for Indian Children’s School.

In the report for the y.e. 31.3.1935, the Principal states: I am above all things anxious that the boys and girls who leave Lovedale, should not be satisfied with anything but the best, whether in matters of conduct or honour, or surroundings, for unhappily the standard prevalent in India in all these matters is all too often low.

Note from Jitu: A mere 16 years previously, an Old Lawrencian of Ghora Galli, (now in Pakistan)General Dyer was responsible for killing hundreds of unarmed Indian women and children. Honour in that?

From y.e. 31.3.1936

The lack of initiative and the lethargy of boys and girls brought up in India is very apparent and it is a problem … for there is such manifest helplessness in practical matters such inordinate clumsiness and inability to tackle a practical question intelligently.

Extract from report for the y.e. 31.3.1945: Amount spent on haircuts Rs 190.

Note from Jitu: I can speak from experience on such a matter: Throughout the 11 years I was at the school, there was one barber who cut the hair of all the boys, Prep School, Junior School and Senior School. There were no electric razors, just mechanical clippers and scissors. If in 1944-45 there were say 400 boys requiring one haircut a month for 10 months, that is 4000 haircuts. Divide 190 by 4000 and that amounts to .475 paisa per haircut! Not even half a paisa (forget rupee) per haircut! And the barber, who would certainly have been an Indian was expected to survive on that! The matter could be worse as there were also girls that needed hair-cutting. So assuming some of that 190 rupees was spent of Girls’ haircuts, the Indian barber could have been earning less than one third of one paisa per haircut

Here are the words of the Principal the Rev. C.B. Hall, c.1938 taken from the Lawrencian Magazine and incorporated in Glimpses of a Glorious Past:

I very much want to provide an Indian padre to devote himself to the moral and spiritual welfare of our Indian servants and their families.

Note from Jitu: A separate padre for Indians? Isn’t the Christian religion the same for all Christians?

Overtly and unabashedly Christian – Discoveries 1932-1945

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1945 Page 11

The Chapel – I have felt very greatly the loss of the Revd. C.F. Ash in matters pertaining to the Chapel and its services. I am now virtually single handed in this respect and have found the work a heavy responsibility, especially during such times as Lent, Holy Week and Easter. I have, however, so far maintained all our services except that I have been obliged to forego the daily celebration of of the Holy Communion, and to restrict these services to twice weekly. The Holly Communion is celebrated every Sunday at 8.30 a.m. and at the 10.30 a.m. Parade Service we have Sung the Eucharist on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, and Matins on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays. There is Evensong and Sermon each Sunday at 5-30 p.m except on the last Sunday of each month. We were able to maintain both the week-day and the Sunday services throughout the holiday months. On Saturday evenings there is a voluntary service at 7 p.m. for the staff and the children; its purpose is to give communicants some preparation for the Sacrament on the following morning, and also to give some form of weekly instruction in the Christian Faith based upon the teaching and message of the appropriate Collect,…..

Note from Jitu: I have no idea what any of these terms mean: Lent, Holy Week, Holy Communion, Sung the Eucharist, Matins, Evensong, communicants, Sacrament. Nor do I want to know! What I do know is that 11 years after Independence when I joined the school, such practices were carried out by the very large Anglo-Indian/Christian community, both staff, students servants etc. Surely in an allegedly secular school, such practices should have been carried out discretely and not to the extent set out!

Staffing: Poor Quality and other issues, subjects taught and difficulties encountered – Discoveries 1932-1945

From y.e. 31.3.1933

Urdu having been introduced as a second foreign language. Latin is still taught in the higher classes to those who will require it and are likely to profit by studying it.

Chemistry and Biology have have been introduced into the regular curriculum and the school badly needs a Biological laboratory.

Note from Jitu Savani: Urdu and Latin taught to European boys and girls of low expectations? I would have thought, Tamil would be the most appropriate as the only foreign language appropriate for South India where the school is located.

From y.e. 31.3.1934

‘When a second chemical laboratory has been equipped – an urgent need.’

I am giving a course of lectures in Biology to the senior boys as soon as the Biological Laboratory has been fully equipped.

My sister has kindly filled the vacancy caused by Mr. Babb’s absence and is taking all the Chemistry of the senior forms in the boys school as well as the General Science course of the Girls’ school. She is also taking piano pupils in the Boys’ school.

The school is still in many ways under staffed.

I am glad to report that a number of staff are seeking to qualify themselves better and I hope their example will prove infectious.

Mr. M. Sardar Khan MA, BT, Fr ECON.S has been appointed Urdu master.

Note from Jitu: There was a shortage of staff and equipment. Thus, the few staff available had to work long hours and under pressure. Not exactly what an elite or prestigious school should have exhibited! Mr Sardar Khan was the first Indian name I came across on the teaching staff and that too as an Urdu teacher, a subject that wouldn’t have benefitted anybody in South India. Mr Khan was way overqualified for the job teaching basic Urdu to not particularly bright pupils.

From the y.e. 31.3.35

The provision of fresh laboratories for Physics has still to be undertaken.

From y.e. 31.3.1937

Some years ago there was a carpentry class in this school. It is unfortunate that this was discontinued.

Note from Jitu Savani: See my post Mrs. Fowles and I. The monster Mrs Fowles’ connection with Lawrence School go back to her father-in-law who was a carpentry instructor in the school!

Alternative courses in technical and vocational training seem to be of most imperative importance in the present conditions of employment both in India and elsewhere. Boys who have been brought up in school on Public School lines have to take employment on incomes of Rs 30 per mensem or else be unemployed for years. It is possible that the continual problem of debt among the Anglo-Indian and European community in India is largely due to the education we have given them in the past, which has accustomed them to a higher standard of living that they can afterwards maintain.

Note from Jitu Savani: This extract repeated in Anglo-Indians.

from y.e 31.3.1937

It has been found necessary to discontinue the teaching of Biology.

Biology is an exceedingly expensive subject and it is not always possible to get a properly qualified teacher for it. Although it is a most fascinating and useful subject, we have not enough pupils to to benefit from it. The existing apparatus will be sold as soon as possible.

Note from Jitu Savani: There would have been many Biology teachers to chose from but they would have been Indian and this school didn’t want Indian teachers!

From y.e. 31.3.1937

It has been arranged that Mrs. Dover should be give study leave to take her M.A. Examination in Calcutta in July.

In May, Mrs. Dadswell, who had been appointed in February had a nervous breakdown and had to resign. The consequent chaos in the organisation of work has thrown a severe strain on the staff of the Girls’ School and must have a very bad effect on on the studies of the girls. The confusion cannot be rectified till August 1st when Mrs. Dover returns. I consider it unnecessary and undesirable that teachers should be given leave on full pay to improve their qualifications. The expense and trouble caused to the school is not worth the possible increase of efficiency on the part of the teacher. It is always possible to appoint teachers in the first place with adequate qualifications.

Note from Jitu Savani: A complete contrast to what was said in the report for the y.e. 31.3.1934 namely ‘ I am glad to report that a number of staff are seeking to qualify themselves better and I hope their example will prove infectious.’

From y.e. 31.3.1937

Mr. Rashid Ahmed M.A. (Punjab) M.O.L. was appointed Junior Urdu Master.

Note from Jitu: Only the second Indian on the teaching staff.

From y.e. 31.3.1939

I believe that the time has now come for a thorough overhaul of the organisation. This will of necessity involve resignation or removal of the existing staff who are unable or unwilling to fit in with new ways.

From 31.3.1939

Co-education was introduced throughout the school at the beginning of this year. I am convinced that this is the solution of the many problems created by placing Boys’ and Girls’ schools so close together.

From 31.3.1939

I urgently need a good Senior Housemaster for the Boys’ school. Since his appointment in 1930 the present Headmaster has not lived in the Headmaster’s quarters in the Boys’ School, and so has not carried out the duties of Senior Housemaster. These were prepared for two or three years by the steward, who has absolutely none of the necessary qualifications. For four years the running of the House was entirely in the hands of the prefects, who were specifically kept on in the school until the age of 20 or 21 for this purpose. The present arrangement is that there is one master on duty. This is not satisfactory, and a good resident Housemaster from England with Public School experience is very necessary. I hope to be able to find the right man before next year; and I hope to also have the necessary organisation and readjustment of the staff completed by the beginning of 1940 so that a fresh start can be made.

Note from Jitu Savani: The school must have been in complete chaos! If boys are kept on for an extra 4 to 5 years, as prefects, after they should have been obliged to leave, merely to carry out functions that should have been performed by trained teachers, it is not difficult to conclude that discipline would have been maintained through fists, for what chance would say a 10 year old stand against a 21 year old immature ‘prefect’?

From the y.e. 31.3.1939

But in the boys’ School things are not nearly as good as they could and should be. There is a satisfaction with a low standard of work on the part of both, children and staff which is distressingly difficult to break. This is chiefly due to the fact that nearly all the Boys’ School staff have never had experience of teaching elsewhere, and so they do not know what is possible. In future more staff appointments must be made of experienced teachers who have proved their worth elsewhere.

Note from Jitu Savani: The low standards were destined to remain, for a mere 5 months later, Britain declared war against Germany. A year before that, war was looming what with the ‘peace in our time’ fiasco with Neville Chamberlain the PM of Britain.

From y.e. 31.3.1940

As I expected, co-education has improved the work of the school and is bringing about a better tone in the relations of the boys and girls.

Note from Jitu Savani: By the moral standards of the time and the low calibre/low stock of the intake, co-education was to prove a disaster. See ‘Myth of Co-education’.

From y.e. 31.3 1940

The Boys’ school has been without a resident Housemaster for the past 10 years.

Note from Jitu Savani: In my time, resident Housemaster Mac didn’t make any difference. He was never there to perform his housemaster duties! See various posts on that crook!

Observations from Jitu Savani:

Staffing problems went on all the times I was in the school and most of this can only be attributed to K.I. Thomas. He should never have given Naeem leave to go to the USA for a further qualification with the assurance of his job waiting for him on his return! Naeem set a precedent as he was followed by Vydyanathan, Hariharan and Iyengar all of whom left the school for better prospects leaving the school facing critical shortages!

I can say from personal experience that a fatal blow was struck as far as I was concerned when legendary Headmaster K.I.Thomas let go of a brilliant Physics teacher K.C. Jacob. Jacob was a Masters degree holder from Brown’s University, USA, had taught me Physics in standard 9 (I passed easily) and had been in the school 12 years. He would have stayed on happily but he fell out with K.I. Thomas. Here is what E. John the English teacher wrote:

”The Malayalees (the people of Kerala who spoke Malayalam) in the faculty were a clannish lot who formed a group within a group. We often met socially. The irascible K. C. Jacob was the doyen of our clan. A Brown University alumnus, he proved himself to be a brilliant teacher. He also had a faintly puritanical streak in him. He could be witty, but his one-liners were always delivered deadpan. On the rare occasions that he laughed, he was careful that he was with close friends who would not let on that he could be amusing or warm-hearted. Upright to a fault, he would not brook anyone who strayed from the straight and the narrow. In spite of his bursts of ire at erring students, he was a kindly person whose bark was worse than his bite.

Sadly, Jacob has passed on. I remember him best for his avuncular strictures to his colleagues, delivered with a wry smile. He left Lovedale; miffed by a professional disagreement he had had with the headmaster. He had felt let down by him, one of his own kind; a Malayalee no less. Rumour had it that the so-called disagreement was engineered by the Senior Master who could not see eye to eye with Jacob on matters professional. Kunjanchenkutty- that was his pet name- and his family were very close to us while we were together at Lovedale. In fact, when the headship at the Cochin Refinery School was offered to him, it was at my insistence that he accepted it. Better by far to be your own master than brood in mortification.”

Note from Jitu: When I arrived back to school at the beginning on 1967, there was no Physics teacher. For a while, an Old Lawrencian, a lovely lady called Vasanti Vasudevan who had passed out just 3 years previously at age 16 and so was about to start college taught until a permanent replacement was found in the person of Dorairaj. This short, both in build and temper, bald, man could barely string a sentence in English together and as far as I was concerned, I was never ever going to pass Physics.

Here is an extract from ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’, a book written by past Headmaster Dev Lahiri:

Bullying was not the only problem staring me in the face. One of the problems that plagues our education system in general and the public school system in particular, is the woeful shortage of good teachers. It is a sad fact that most of those who opt for teaching, particularly in remote boarding schools, rarely do so as a first choice. The head of the school very rarely has the privilege of being able to choose from a large catchment area of trained teachers, in the same manner that a corporate head does, in terms of his personnel requirements.

Whilst Lawrence School was singularly blessed in some of the teachers it had, it too shared the problem endemic to most residential schools. The fact that this body was seriously fractured, only added to my woes. Some suggested that it was a Tamil v Malayalee problem. Being from North of the Vindhyas, I was blissfully unaware of this divide, which was just as well because it allowed me to ignore these divisions even if they did exist. The better teachers in the faculty seem to have been thoroughly deflated by the indiscipline that prevailed in the school. Most felt threatened by the senior boys and with good reason. Private property such as scooters and cars were frequently vandalised, particularly if a teacher reported an act of indiscipline to the authorities.

Tradition of theft – Discoveries 1932-1945

From report for year ending 31.3.1935

The annoyances due to petty pilfering and continuous lying etc. which I experienced during my first year have now entirely ceased owing to the initiative and disciplinary actions of the prefects.

Extract from y.e. 31.3.1939

For the past two years I have discovered a serious leakage in the engineering department

Note from Jitu: Thieving, pilfering, purloining were part and parcel of life in Lovedale since the beginning of British times. Right until I left the school, this ‘tradition’ hadn’t stopped. See my posts:

1. Mac- Wilfred Joseph McMahon – The Stalwart Who Never Was 5 B
2. The Kleptomaniac Brothers
3. Baby Krishna to Butchadkhana within that Brutality Bullying Cruelty Theft and Torture from Day 1

The Ubiquitous Prefects – The abrogation of responsibility – Discoveries 1932-1945

Extract from letter written by Honoria Lawrence to Alex, the Lawrences’ eldest son, May 30, 1849, about Lawrence School, Sanawar:

‘Both boys and girls are divided into companies, and the elder ones in charge are called Corporal, Sergeant, and Sergeant Major. These are responsible for the behaviour of their divisions, for reporting anything wrong to the superintendent, for clean hands, faces, and hair. If they hear an improper word spoken to say it must be reported, and various other matters of discipline. Thus, perfect order is kept up.

At night when they turn into the dormitory each Sergeant Major stands before his division, each boy standing at the front of his bed. The word is given ‘jackets off’; off go all the jackets: ‘fold up jackets’; in a moment all are folded and and laid smoothly at the foot of the bed; ‘shoes off’; then a rattle as all the great strong shoes come off and are placed under the beds: ‘kneel down’, all kneel down by the side of his bed, and there is perfect silence for three or four minutes. Then they finish undressing and get into bed. Nearly the same goes on with the girls upstairs.

Extract from Report for year ending 31.3.1934

‘The running of the School out of class hours is now practically entirely in the hands of the Prefects who have shouldered their responsibilities admirably and are undoubtedly learning the meaning of responsibility and the right use of authority.’

Note from Jitu Savani: This was an unfortunate precedent laid down by Principal Dr.R. Simpson. However, in those days there was no such appointment as ‘Housemaster’. The concept of Housemaster came about in 1953 and should have led to their being responsible for running the school out of class hours. After all, that was the idea of appointing them and that is what they were paid to do. Mac (about whom there are multiple posts) perfected the art of reviving the pre-1953 system. Immediately after class hours he was away in Ooty patronising the Lawley Institute with fellow gamblers. Mac trousered a Housemasters salary but had absolutely no intention of carrying out the requisite duties. It was fundamentally dishonest of Mac to accept a Housemaster’s salary in the first place! Thus while Mac was nominally in charge, the ‘right use of authority’ engaged in by the prefects he appointed was to use fists, torture and theft!

Extract from Report for year ending 31.3.1935

‘The annoyances due to petty pilfering and continuous lying etc. which I experienced during my first year have now entirely ceased owing to the initiative and disciplinary actions of the prefects who have given the lead to all right-minded boys and girls, and there is plenty of evidence that a sense of honour and responsibility is developing even among the junior boys and girls.’

Note from Jitu: In my time, the petty pilfering became straightforward robbery. Legally, the difference between theft and robbery is that the latter is taking property using force. The prefects who were meant to ensure the cessation of theft became violent robbers because Mac and his ilk abandoned the victims to their fate. More details are set out in my Post – Mac The Stalwart Who Never Was Part 5 B – The Enforcers – The Kerala Villagers.

Extract from Report for year ending 31.3.1939

I urgently need a good Senior Housemaster for the Boys’ school. Since his appointment in 1930 the present Headmaster has not lived in the Headmaster’s quarters in the Boys’ School, and so has not carried out the duties of Senior Housemaster. These were performed for two or three years by the steward, who has absolutely none of the necessary qualifications. For four years the running of the House was entirely in the hands of the prefects, who were specifically kept on in the school until the age of 20 or 21 for this purpose.The present arrangement is that there is one master on duty. This is not satisfactory, and a good resident Housemaster from England with Public School experience is very necessary. I hope to be able to find the right man before next year; and I hope to also have the necessary organisation and readjustment of the staff completed by the beginning of 1940 so that a fresh start can be made.

Note from Jitu: The school must have been in complete chaos! If boys are kept on for an extra 4 to 5 years, as prefects, after they should have been obliged to leave, merely to carry out functions that should have been performed by trained teachers, it is not difficult to conclude that discipline would have been maintained through fists for what chance would say a 10 year old stand against a 21 year old immature ‘prefect’?

The myth of co-education – Discoveries 1932-1945

Here is an extract from the report of the school for the year ending 31.3.1939

Co-education was introduced throughout the school at the beginning of this year. I am convinced that this is the solution of the many problems created by placing Boys’ and Girls’ school so close together.

Here is an extract from the report of the school for the year ending 31.3.1940

As I expected, co-education has improved the work of the school and is bringing about a better tone in the relations of the boys and girls.

And now, overriding the two extracts above is the following extract from the report of the school for the year ending 31.3.1945

Discipline: It has often been remarked that war breeds in young people a spirit of lawlessness, and this may in part explain many difficulties which arose last year that called for extreme disciplinary measures on my part. We are always, and rightly on the qui vive for any signs of undesirable friendships between girls and boys. It is impossible to watch every child all the time in an estate of nearly 800 acres, but very clear and stringent school rules are laid down to prevent any underhand intrigues if possible. Towards the end of last year the Headmistress discovered that several boys and girls were in the habit of writing each other secret letters of a most mawkish nature., and of meeting in obscure parts of the estate at illegal times. A very thorough investigation ensued, as a result of which I had to expel two girls and one boy, and to request the parents of eight other children to withdraw those children at the end of the year. Those who were expelled had broken out of their dormitories at midnight in order to visit by arrangement their girl or boy friends in the opposite school. Fortunately, the matter was dealt with before any irretrievable harm was done. , and steps were immediately taken to prevent the future use of the exits from the dormitories which the children’s ingenuity had devised. We have started this year therefore with a number of undesirable boys and girls removed from the school and so far the discipline in this respect has been excellent; I am well aware none the less, that it is always towards the end of the year that that the test of the School’s discipline really really comes. I discussed the matter in great detail with Miss Cavanagh, for I know that this type of ill-discipline has a most deplorable effect upon the standard of work in the class-rooms. She has given me much helpful advice and her fullest support for the re-organisation will involve the giving up of co-education and the reversion of the system of a separate boys’ school and a separate boys’ school and a separate girls’ school. Miss Tate will be the Headmistress of the Girls’ School and I am hoping to secure the sanction of the Board of Governors to the appointment of Mr. Richardson as Headmaster of the Boys’ School. After five years’ experience of co-education at Lovedale, I am convinced that the time has come from the point of view of work and from that of moral welfare for us to return to the previous system of separated schools. In this matter I have not only the full support of the Government Inspectress, but also the unqualified backing of the entire staff. The separation will be effected during the forthcoming June Holidays and the new system will will come into force on June 13 next. It may be of interest to notice that the Lawrence Royal Military School, Sanawar, took the same step a little while ago, and I believe for precisely the same reasons. I have every reason to hope that this reorganisation will establish the discipline of the school on a firmer footing than it has been for some years past.

Note from Jitu: To sum up, co-education was introduced in 1939 and then done away with in 1945 because, the boys and girls studying together turned into rutting teenagers! (Rutting:  in a period of sexual excitement and activity).

The Settler Community – Discoveries 1932-1945

From the report for the y.e. 31 March 1945 the following names are included as members of the Board of Governors:

H.R. Dunk

R.H. Rolfe

In the next page, it is said of H. R. Dunk: Mr. H.R. Dunk passed away on March 14 last year after a short illness; he had been a member of the Board of Governors for 23 years and had served the School with a loyal and devoted interest……

Note from Jitu: So who were these characters? Dunk, a resident of Furnhill was a twice married businessman from Byculla, Bombay, born in 1865. At the time he was appointed to the Board in 1921 he was 58 years old and probably retired to spend the rest of his life in the Nilgiris. From Jeremy Paxman’s documentary ‘Empire’ one can observe what the British attitude to Ooty was ; ‘As soon as they discovered Ooty they began to turn it into a version of Surrey, as a defence against India!’ He was appointed during the time of the ‘legendary’ Padfield. In 1930 he was president of Ooty club at the age of 67. It follows that he was very much part of the ‘Settler’ and ‘gated’ community that Padfield ministered to. The school we are meant to be proud about didn’t have a single Indian on its board! Yet during Padfield’s time, for example, Sir Ganga Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner was ADC to King George 5. This proves that Padfield did absolutely nothing for the welfare of Indians and the praise heaped on him is nonsensical.

The second character was another civilian who was a clerk and became an accountant ( unlikely that he was qualified, otherwise his qualification would have been shown). Once again just part of the ‘Settler’ community.

See below photo of Presidents of Ooty Club, with Dunk as President in 1930

See also my Post Nilgiri Guide and Directory

Bengal Famine and Lawrence School Lovedale

How? One may wonder does the Bengal Famine relate to a Blog about Lawrence School Lovedale. So let me set out matters:

In the report for the year ending 31 March 1945, sent by the School to the British Army in the United Kingdom, you will observe that there were 85 SED Boys. What you may ask is SED and why is that shameful? Well, SED stands for Special Emergency Department and relates to boys from UK evacuated to India to be safe from German Bombs that were raining down on UK. Children about to depart from India to the UK were stopped from doing so as it was unsafe. Children already in UK were sent back to India! Here is an extract from Last Children of the Raj by Laurence Fleming: ‘When WW2 erupted in 1939, many children who were in school in Britain were recalled to India, moving into temporarily-created schools in India. In 1940, in one convoy the P&O troopship Stratheden carried at least 200 children back to India.‘

In the picture below observe that the School had 85 SED boys.

The Colonial Government paid the school a generous amount to accommodate these boys who were well fed, clothed and sheltered. They led blissfully happy lives. Our Indian ancestors were not so lucky! Indian grain, grown for Indians, by Indians was diverted to Europe by Winston Churchill, ‘to feed sturdy Greeks’ and this led to millions of Indians including Indian children of the same age as the SED boys starving to death in the Churchill created famine!

In order to reiterate the sheer wickedness of the British in starving to death Indian boys while feeding boys sent from UK to India, their ages being the same, and in which Lawrence School participated enthusiastically not least because of the profit motive, I am setting out the exact words from the report the school sent to Army HQ in UK:

Special Emergency Department.- During the past year the Department has reached its full growth and development; at the end of 1944, I had 76 boys in the S.E.D. of whom 23 were due to leave. I had a considerable waiting list for 1945, and I admitted as many as I could so as to have the department at the maximum strength this current year. We started this year therefore with 87 boys; some of these are being withdrawn in the course of the year, and a large number will be leaving in the natural course of events at the end of November. . At the time of writing the total strength of the S.E.D. is 82 boys. The S.E.D. had proved of great financial help to the school in these days of enormously enhanced prices, and we have had good reason to be grateful for the foresight of my predecessor in his creation of this Department in 1941. I have tried to maintain it at full strength so that this financial help may again be forthcoming if necessary. I am very uncertain about the future; the end of the European war will make it increasingly possible for boys to return to England for their education; that is why some have already been withdrawn this year, and there are at least another dozen who will be withdrawn before the end of the year for the same reason. I no longer have a waiting list for admission, and am therefore very doubtful about the prospects in 1946. the Department cannot be maintained unless I have a minimum of 40 boys throughout the year; the position will, however, be clearer towards the end of the year.. the current year should be a good one; I budgeted on a strength of 60 boys, and as already stated, started the year with 87 and still have 82. I do not think that the numbers are likely to fall below 60 before November, so that there should be a substantial profit by the time the year ends.

During WW2, 87,000 Indians laid down their lives fighting for the British while the British were, through institutions like Lawrence School indulging in the odious practice set out above! Nobody cared that 4 million Indians perished by starvation in that Churchill created famine.

The man-made famine and the contrast between the plight of starving Indians and well-fed British officers dining in the city’s many colonial clubs has been described as one of the darkest chapters in British rule on the Indian subcontinent.

Miss Madhusree Mukerjee, author of Churchill’s Secret War blames Churchill’s ‘racism’ for his refusal to intervene. He derided Gandhi as a “half-naked holy man” and once said: “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” He was known to favour Islam over Hinduism.

Sanawar and Mt Abu School Reports 1933-34 and 1935-36 sent to the British Army in UK. These reports are set out in Photographic Proofs of Reports for those who are interested in digging deeper into the other Lawrence Schools set up as Asylums by Sir Henry Lawrence.