#history
The First British School in Kashmir.
The educational activities of the Church Missionary Society ( CMS) London in South India, especially the native State of Travancore in the days of British rule are well known.
Few people know that
the CMS established the first truly secular school in the kingdom of Kashmir in 1920.
Dr. C. E. Tyndale-Biscoe’s Church Mission School in Srinagar, Kashmir, attracted a large number of students since students of all castes and creeds were admitted for the first time.
The school provided education to Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians.
The diverse subjects included Gymnastics, Boating, Swimming, Football, Cricket, Manual labour, Deportment, “Absence of dirty tricks”, Self-control and Cleanliness, Obedience and Honesty, Pluck and Unselfishness, Esprit de Corps, and Duty to Neighbors.
The curriculum also included English and
Mathematics, necessary to pass the State Examinations for the Civil Service in addition to Sanskrit and Scripture.
– Philip Thornton.
( adapted).
(Photo by Maurice Pratt Dunlap).
