Page:On the education of the people of India (IA oneducationofpeo00trevrich).pdf/153

Rh the majority of the scholars were Hindus; “Is this comparative large number of Hindu scholars" Mr. Adam continues “the effect of a laudable desire to study a foreign literature placed within their reach? Or is it the effect of an artificial stimulus? This may be judged by comparing the number of Hindu teachers and scholars of Persian, which, until lately, was almost the exclusive language of local administration, with that of Hindu teachers and scholars of Arabic, which is not called into use in the ordinary routine of government. With regard to teachers; there is not a single Hindu teacher of Arabic in the five districts: all are Mussulmans. With regard to scholars, there are only 9 Hindu to 149 Mussulman students of Arabic, and consequently 2,087 Hindus to 1,409 Mussulmans who are learning Persian. The small comparative number of Arabic students who are Hindus, and the large comparative number of the Persian scholars of the same class seem to admit of only one explanation; viz., that the study of Persian has been unnaturally forced by the practice of government; and it seems probable, that even a considerable number of the Mussulmans who learn Persian may be under the same artificial influence.” This is another proof, that the tendency of