Sanawar’s Rich Educational Legacy Should be Strengthened Further

On cold days in tough hilly terrain, when workers struggled to create a few small constructions for an asylum for orphans and other needy children of soldier households in 1847, they could not have imagined that 177 years later this would be one of the most sought-after schools in India.

At that time some British representatives inclined towards welfare activities were merely doing the best they could to meet a real need in ‘best Christian traditions’ as they saw this. They could not have foreseen that over a hundred years later in independent India a student from this school will have the honor of being the youngest ever to win the highest award for bravery in armed forces, that several students from here will go on to become leading decision makers of the country as chief ministers and union ministers and that some other students from here will quite literally ‘reach the top’, the boys successfully reaching the summit of the Mount Everest and girls the top of Mount Kalimanjaro.

Yes, the Lawrence Sanawar School, situated in a beautiful, biodiversity rich campus near Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, has come a long way since it was first visualized as a help for children of soldier families facing difficult times. The fact that it could overcome many difficulties is still attributed by some local persons to the noble intentions of the founders Henry Lawrence and his wife Honaria Lawrence. At an early stage they came in contact with a well-run orphanage for girls near Calcutta to which they donated their savings. This also inspired them to do more for children on their own. Henry was willing to work hard and had the inclination and the ability to establish close relationships with native people. He rose fast to occupy very senior official positions in Punjab (including present day Himachal), Rajasthan and Oudh. Due to his friendly ways Henry became close to several Punjabi nobles and when Lord Dalhousie adopted more aggressive policies, Henry resigned from a senior governance position in Punjab. His biographers note that his departure from Lahore looked like a funeral procession as those who had worked with him and had developed affectionate relationships were crying. Later from his senior positions in Rajasthan and Oudh he is reported to have warned about the urgency of improving the condition of natives and native soldiers to avoid discontent and rebellion. The importance of his warnings was realized at the time of the great 1857 uprising in India. Posted in a very senior position then in Oudh, Henry was seriously injured in an attack. When in bed with considerable pain, he summoned those serving him and gave them one year’s advance pay. He died after this in 1858, at the age of 53. Honoria had died earlier from disease in 1854. However, before their deaths, the two had done enough through their commitment to children to ensure lasting benefits, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to this day.

They had found time in the middle of busy official engagements (including one in Nepal) and some health setbacks to obtain official permission as well as to collect donations (the biggest one coming initially from the king of Jammu who was close to Henry, a fact that, of course, could not have foreseen that a future Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, would get his school education here). Thanks to this, several educational institutes could start and three of these continue to make important contributions to this day. Two of these are in India, the Lawrence School, Sanawar (Himachal Pradesh) and the Lovedale Lawrence School near Ooty. The third such institute is in Pakistan—the Lawrence College in Ghoragali, Muree Hills.

The school at Sanawar was the first one to come up in 1847, and notably, as a co-educational school for its era. It is arguably the earliest co-educational boarding school. This school had achieved a great reputation in British times, but faced a major crisis around 1947 as most British students left following independence. However, the visit of Education Minister Maulana Azad helped restore hope for its continuation as a school of great repute, leading to several changes suitable for the evolving times. In the post- independence years the first three principals E.G. Carter, Major Ravi Som Dutt and Somi Ranjan made a significant contribution of stabilizing the school. Earlier the famous friend of Mahatma Gandhi, C.F.Andrews, had also been the principal here for some time.