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Q6 (IAS/2021) History & Culture â€ș Modern India (Pre-1857) â€ș Colonial education policy Official Key

Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School?

Result
Your answer: —  Â·  Correct: C
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 3: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

The Hindu Female School was established in 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune to promote women's education in India. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a titan of the Bengal Renaissance, served as its first Secretary. His tireless efforts in managing the school’s administration and convincing conservative families to educate their daughters were instrumental in its success. In 1856, the institution was renamed Bethune Female School.

  • Annie Besant: Associated with the Theosophical Society and Central Hindu College, not the founding of Bethune School.
  • Debendranath Tagore: A leader of the Brahmo Samaj; though he supported social reforms, he was not the Secretary of this specific institution.
  • Sarojini Naidu: A prominent leader of the 20th-century freedom struggle, active much later than the school's establishment.

Vidyasagar’s association remains a landmark in the history of female education in India.

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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School? [A] 

At a glance
Origin: Mixed / unclear origin Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 2.5/10 · 0/10
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This is a textbook 'Sitter' directly from Spectrum and Old NCERT Bipin Chandra. It rewards specific attention to the 'official titles' held by reformers, not just their general causes. If you missed this, you are reading the 'Social Reform' chapters too passively.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Was Annie Besant associated as Secretary of the Hindu Female School (later known as Bethune Female School)?
Origin: Weak / unclear Fairness: Borderline / guessy
Indirect textbook clues
Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 7: Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century > MODERN INDIA > p. 131
Strength: 5/5
“In 1850, Vidyasagar protested against child-marriage. All his life he campaigned against polygamy. He was also deeply interested in the education of women. As a Government Inspector of Schools, he organised thirty-five girls' schools, many of which he ran at his own expense. As Secretary to the Bethune School, he was one of the pioneers of higher education for women. The Bethune School, founded in Calcutta in 1849, was the first fruit of the powerful movement for women's education that arose in the 1840's and 1850's. While the education of women was not unknown in India, a great deal of prejudice against it existed.”
Why relevant

States that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was 'Secretary to the Bethune School', giving a named historical office-holder for that school.

How to extend

A student could use this to check lists of Bethune School secretaries or timelines to see if Besant appears (if she does not, that counts against the claim).

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar > p. 213
Strength: 5/5
“Vidyasagar started a movement in support of widow remarriage which resulted in legalisation of widow remarriage. He was also a crusader against child marriage and polygamy. He did much for the cause of women's education. As government inspector of schools, he helped organise thirtyfive girls' schools many of which he ran at his own expense. As secretary of Bethune School (established in 1849), he was one of the pioneers of higher education for women in India.”
Why relevant

Also identifies Vidyasagar explicitly as 'secretary of Bethune School', reinforcing that Vidyasagar — not Besant — is recorded in that role in standard accounts.

How to extend

Compare Vidyasagar's documented dates in office with Besant's lifetime and activities to assess plausibility of Besant having held the same post.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 197
Strength: 4/5
“Education of Women The Christian missionaries were the first to set up the Calcutta Female Juvenile Society in 1819. The Bethune School, founded by J.E.D. Bethune, president of the Council of Education in Calcutta in 1849 was the first fruit of the powerful movement for women's education that arose in the 1840s and 1850s. Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was associated with no less than 35 girls' schools in Bengal and is considered one of the pioneers of women's education. Charles Wood's Despatch on Education (1854) laid great stress on the need for female education. In 1914, the Women's Medical Service did a lot of work in training nurses and mid-wives.”
Why relevant

Gives the founding date and early-movement context for the Bethune School (1849), establishing its mid‑19th century origins.

How to extend

Use the 1849 founding date against Besant's arrival in India (see other snippets) to judge whether she could plausibly have been an early secretary.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 30: Development of Education > Developments > p. 566
Strength: 4/5
“In 1857, universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up and later, departments of education were set up in all provinces. The Bethune School founded by J.E.D. Bethune at Calcutta (1849) was the first fruit of a powerful movement for education of women which arose in 1840s and 1850s. Bethune was the president of the Council of Education. Mostly due to Bethune's efforts, girls' schools were set up on a sound footing and brought under government's grantsin-aid and inspection system. An Agriculture Institute at Pusa (Bihar) and an Engineering Institute at Roorkee were started. The ideals and methods of Wood's Despatch dominated the field for five decades which saw rapid westernisation of education system in India, with educational institutions run by European headmasters and principals.”
Why relevant

Repeatedly notes Bethune School was founded in 1849 and placed on a formal footing by Bethune, indicating the school's key administrative period was mid‑19th century.

How to extend

A student could combine this with Besant's known activities/arrival date to infer temporal (im)probability of her serving as secretary at that time.

History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 3: Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement > 3.1 All India Home Rule League > p. 32
Strength: 4/5
“We may recall that many foreigners such as A. O. Hume had played a pivotal role in our freedom movement in the early stages. Dr Annie Besant played a similar role in the early part of the twentieth century. Besant was Irish by birth and had been active in the Irish home rule, Fabian socialist and birth control movements while in Britain. She joined the Theosophical Society, and came to India in 1893. She founded the Central Hindu College in Benaras (later upgraded as Benaras Hindu University by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1916). With the death of H. S.”
Why relevant

Records that Annie Besant came to India in 1893 and founded the Central Hindu College (1898), showing her major educational work in India occurred late in the 19th century.

How to extend

Compare Besant's India arrival and institutional involvement dates with the Bethune School's mid‑19th history to evaluate whether she likely held a mid‑19th post such as secretary.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

CDS-I · 2006 · Q70 Relevance score: 0.37

During the period of the Indian freedom struggle, who among the following started the Central Hindu School ?

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Consider the following statements : 1. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar founded the Bethune School at Calcutta with the main aim of encouraging education for women. 2. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the first graduate of the Calcutta University. 3. Keshav Chandra Sen’s campaign against Sati led to the enactment of a law to ban Sati by the then Governor General. Which of the statements is/are correct?

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Which one of the following statements about Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is NOT correct ?

NDA-I · 2014 · Q51 Relevance score: -1.12

Who among the following was associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association?

CDS-II · 2014 · Q86 Relevance score: -1.47

Statement I : The Bethune School, founded in Calcutta in 1849 was the first fruit of the powerful move- ment for women’s education that arose in the 1840s and 1850s. Statement I : The first step in giving modem education to girls was undertaken by Vidyasagar in 1800.