The British came to India not only to fulfill their territorial conquest and control over revenue but they also felt that they had a cultural mission to “civilize the natives”, change their customs and values. For this they took special interest in “education of Indians”. This had several implications on the lives of Indians. And our education system, even today, is heavily influenced by the systems introduced by the British. 

Education Under the British Rule

Evolution of Education: Many ideas of education and many education systems that we take for granted today have evolved in the last two hundred years. 

• Debates on Education: There were serious debates regarding the education system in India and many schools of thought emerged during that course. 
• Reactions to British Influence: The Indian populace and leaders also reacted in varied ways to the ‘civilizing mission’ of the British.

Orientalist Thought 

• Arrival: William Jones arrived in Calcutta in 1783. 

• Appointment as Judge: He was appointed as a junior judge at the Supreme Court. 
• Linguistic Scholar: He was a linguist and had studied Greek and Latin at Oxford, knew French and English, had also learnt Arabic and Persian. 
• Rediscovering Heritage: In India he soon began studying ancient Indian texts on law, philosophy, religion, politics, morality, arithmetic, medicine and the other sciences.
• Translation Efforts: Others who had studied about ancient Indian heritage, Indian languages and translated Sanskrit and Persian works into English were Englishmen like Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed. 
  • All of them had shared deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and of the West. 
• Cultural Exploration: Together with them, Jones set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and started a journal called Asiatick Researches. 
• Rediscovering Heritage: Jones and Colebrooke came to represent a particular attitude towards India. 
• Promoting Indian Learning: They realized that to better understand India, it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts that were produced in the ancient period by both Hindus and Muslims, because only after studying the ancient past, the future development of India could be planned. 

• Discovery of Ancient Texts: Thus Jones and Colebrooke translated many texts, discovered many ancient Indian texts and knew that this would help the British learn from Indian culture but it would also help Indians rediscover their own heritage, and understand the lost glories of their past. 
• Promotion: Influenced by such ideas, many Company officials argued that the British ought to promote Indian rather than western learning. 
• Various Institutes: The need was felt to set up institutions to encourage the study of  ancient Indian texts and teach Sanskrit and Persian literature and poetry.
• Teaching Native Values and Subjects: They also felt that in order to win a place in the hearts of the “natives” and to remove “alien” rule, Hindus and Muslims must be taught what they valued and treasured and not alien subjects.

• Establishment of Educational Institutions: Hence, a madrasa was set up in Calcutta in 1781 to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law; and the Hindu College was established in Benaras in 1791 to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts that would be useful for the administration of the country. 

Anglicist Thought

Critique of Orientalists: The people from this school of thought criticized the Orientalists. 

• Promotion of Western Knowledge: According to them, knowledge of the East was full of errors and unscientific and Eastern literature was non-serious and light-hearted. 
• James Mill’s Utilitarian Approach: James Mill was one of its proponents. 
  • Aim: He said that the aim of education ought to be to teach what was useful and practical. 
  • Technical Knowledge: Indians should be made familiar with the scientific and technical advances of the West. 
  • By the 1830s, the attack on the Orientalists became sharper. 
• Macaulay’s Views: Thomas Babington Macaulay also saw India as an uncivilized country that needed to be civilized. 
• Resource Utilization: He urged that the British government in India stop wasting public money in promoting Oriental learning, because it had no practical use. 
  • Macaulay said, “who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”.
• English as the Medium of Instruction: He emphasized the need to teach the English language to make them aware of the developments in Western science and philosophy. 
• English education would civilize Indians, change (perhaps make it better) their tastes, values and culture. 
  • The English Education Act of 1835 was introduced, based on Macaulay’s minutes. 
• Higher Education: The decision was to make English the medium of instruction for higher education. 
• Decline of Oriental Institutions: The promotion of Oriental institutions was to be stopped as they were seen as “temples of darkness” that were falling into decay. 

Conclusion

British rule in India introduced a new era of education. The debate between Orientalists and Anglicists shaped a system that valued Western knowledge delivered in English. This foundation, though reformed, continues to influence Indian education today.

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