The question of a moral text-book has been
agitating the public mind ever since the inception
of the present system of education in India. In
these days, this agitation has been growing in
volume and in intensity. We hear, on all sides, not
only from Indians but English men as well, pious
denunciations against a system of instruction which
is divorced from all religious or moral training; and
prayers are made to Government in public reports
and in private petitions to introduce the teaching of
morality in all its educational institutions. The
Education Commission was not slow to point out
this defect and to suggest the desirability of preparing "a textbook based on fundamental principlesof natural religion, such as may be taught in allGovernment and non-Government Colleges."
"That there is room for reform in the present system of education it would be absurd to deny! but it would be a sad calumny to suppose that all these years of English education have not tended to improve the tone of mind and character of the Indian nation. The pure and lofty ideas and images with which the minds of our students are daily stored in Schools and Colleges cannot but act as a safe guard against all that is pernicious and as an incentive to them to strive after and in some way, to realise great and noble things.
"But, when I say this, I do not minimise the utility of moral text-books. Such books inculcating lofty, moral sentiments will be powerful aids tosecular education in helping its recipients to elevatethemselves to higher levels and to live manly,generous lives.
"It is in this spirit that I welcome theSubhashitharathnakaram of Mr. K. C. Kesava Pillai.
