The State of Indigenous Education | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

Decline of Hindu and Muslim Seats of Learning (18th Century):

• Political turmoil in India during the 18th century negatively impacted intellectual pursuits.
• Warren Hastings noted the decay of schools in Northern India and the Deccan.

British East India Company and Education:

• After the British takeover in Bengal (1765), native schools lost their public endowments.

Efforts to Promote Learning:

• The Indian officers of the East India Company urged the Court of Directors to promote learning.
• Warren Hastings established the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781 for Persian and Arabic studies.
• In 1791, a Sanskrit College was opened in Benares for Hindu laws, literature, and religion.
• Fort William College was set up in 1800 by Lord Wellesley to train civil servants in Indian languages and customs.
• Despite these efforts, there were more teachers than students and the initiatives met with little success.

Christian Missionaries and Education:

• Christian missionaries, particularly the Serampore missionaries, advocated for education through Western literature and Christian teachings in English.

Court of Directors and Education Development:

• In 1813, the Charter Act marked the beginning of education development in India with an annual expenditure for the revival and promotion of literature and sciences among the inhabitants of British territories.

Factors Shaping British Education Policy in India

• Education policy in British India was primarily a tool for maintaining and reinforcing colonial rule, rather than a genuine effort to educate the populace.
• The British favored a Western system of education through English, driven by political, administrative, commercial and moral considerations to support their colonial interests.

Administrative Motive:

• The main goal of introducing Western education was to make lower-level administration more efficient and economical.
• As the British Empire expanded in India, the administrative structure became more complex, requiring staffing at various low-level posts.
• It was cost-prohibitive and politically unwise to import a large number of officials from England. Therefore, it was more practical to recruit Indians after providing them with some education and general knowledge.
• The Company’s administrative needs required Indians who were proficient in classical and vernacular languages.
• For instance, in the revenue and judicial departments, clerical and middle-level staff needed to know English.
• In the Judicial Department, Indians fluent in Sanskrit, Arabic or Persian were needed to assist English judges by explaining Hindu or Muslim law from texts in these languages.
• Knowledge of Persian and vernacular languages was also important in the Political Department for communication with Indian state rulers.
• Clerical staff in revenue and commercial departments needed vernacular knowledge for interactions with the largely uneducated masses.
• For higher-grade positions in the Company’s services, knowledge of both English and vernacular languages was essential.

 Political Motive:

• The British believed that educating Indians in Western knowledge would be beneficial in many ways.
• Western education was thought to help Indians move away from outdated beliefs and adopt a more conciliatory attitude, fostering a sense of belonging.
• It aimed to create a class of people who, while Indian by blood, would be English in their attitudes and behaviors, serving as a bridge between the British rulers and the Indian populace.
• The newly educated class, whether knowingly or not, often supported British rule in India.
• Macaulay's vision of creating a class of people who were "Indians in blood and color, but English in taste, opinion, morals, and intellect" came to fruition.

Commercial Motive:

• The British commercial community strongly supported the anglicization of education in India.
• The English-educated Indian middle class became significant consumers of British goods, aiding in the expansion of markets for British products in India.

Moral Consideration:

• Moral considerations were closely tied to the spread of Christianity.
• Alexander Duff viewed education as a powerful tool for attracting non-Christians to Christianity.
• Although Macaulay hoped that the spread of Western knowledge would lead to increased conversions to Christianity, this did not fully materialize.
• Some conversions from the upper classes did occur.

Growing Popularity of Western Learning and Ram Mohan Roy

• The economic factor played a crucial role in the preference for the English language and Western literature. Indians sought an educational system that would help them earn a livelihood.
• Progressive Indian elements supported the spread of English education and Western learning.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy opposed the government’s plan to strengthen the Calcutta, Madras, and Benares Sanskrit Colleges and establish more oriental colleges in Bengal.
• In a letter to Lord Amherst in 1823, he argued that Sanskrit education would burden students with grammatical intricacies and metaphysical concepts that were practically useless.
• Roy criticized the Vedantic doctrines for teaching youths to disregard family ties and worldly attachments.
• He advocated for modern scientific education, emphasizing subjects like Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and Anatomy.
• Roy's protests led the government to promote English and Oriental languages.
• The government sanctioned a grant for the Calcutta Hindu College, established in 1817, which focused on English instruction and Western humanities and sciences.
• Three Sanskrit Colleges were established in Calcutta, Delhi and Agra, and funds were allocated for translating European scientific works into Oriental languages.