East India Company and Education

Nisarg Joshi

Education, History

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East India Company was not interested, interfering in local Indian’s education affairs. They ignored it until 19th century. When British government first made proposal to East India Company, to introduce school masters and missionaries in Indian Society as their humble Duty, Board of directors of East India Company replied:

“India has her own system of education which had been in existence from time immemorial. The Hindus have as good a system of faith as most people and that it would be madness to attempt their conversion or to give them any more learning or any description of learning than what they already have”

Three people came on state during 1820s and 1830s. William Bentinck as Governor General. Macaulay as Legislative member of supreme council and William Adam as Education system surveyor.

William Bentinck was appointed to take decision whether to promote conversion via education or not. William Adam was in favor of continuing with native education. Macaulay was in favor of introducing English education and missionaries.

Bentinck liked Macaulay’s idea and on the 7th march, 1835, passed a resolution in favor of promotion of European education among Native India and diverted all education funds for English education. This exclusive proposal sealed the fate of Sanskrit based education in her own land. Adam’s proposal was later rejected stating it as ‘Impracticable’ and thus western education got the monopoly in India and a splendid opportunity was lost to introduce unified education system based on Sanskrit.

Why Bentinck approved Macaulay’s plan instead Adam’s when he himself appointed Adam to do Survey of Native education system?

Conditioned citizens are better obedient slaves than free thinking individuals.

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