What were the main reasons for the Anglicist and classicist controversy?

The main reason for the Anglicist- Orientalist controversy was the difference in opinion with regards to the kind of education the native population of India would receive.

The Orientalists under Dr. H.H Wilson advocated for Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian as medium of education while the Angliicsts under Charles Trevelyan wanted the medium of education to be in English.

For further reading check the following articles:

• Government of India Act, 1919
• British Raj
• European Colonialism in India