Question

Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?

Answer 1

• James Mill declared that British should not put any effort into winning the hearts of natives, British should not teach the natives what the natives respected or wanted.
• James Mill wanted the British to teach what was practical and useful as per their opinion.
• James Mill did not want the natives to be taught sacred literature and poetry but wanted them to be taught technical and scientific advances made by the West.
• The Orientalist vision of learning received heavy criticism from the British officials from the early nineteenth century.
• As per British officials, thoughts of the East were fully unscientific and the knowledge of the East was filled with errors.
• As per British officials the Eastern literature was light-hearted and lacked seriousness.
• Hence the British officials argued that efforts must be made to discourage the study of Sanskrit and Arabic languages and literatures.
• The attacks on the Orientalists became sharper by the 1830s.
• Thomas Babington Macaulay was the most influential and outspoken critic of Orientalists.
• Thomas Babington Macaulay wanted to civilise India as he felt India was an uncivilized country.
• As per Macaulay, compared to the knowledge produced by England, no branch of knowledge from the East could match with that of England.
• As per Macaulay, the whole native literature of Arabia and India was not worthy of even a single shelf of a good library in Europe.
• Macaulay declared that British Government should not waste public money on the promotion of Oriental learning as it lacked any kind of practical use.
• Macaulay emphasised the need to teach the English language with great passion and energy.
• Macaulay felt that some of the finest literature produced by the world could be read by Indians if they had the knowledge of English.
• Macaulay felt Indians would gain awareness of the developments in philosophy and Western Science if they learnt English. Hence he said, English would help in changing the culture, values, tastes of people and would civilize people.
• The English Education Act of 1835 was introduced following Macaulay’s minute.
• The decision was to stop the promotion of Oriental institutions like Benaras Sanskrit College and decided to make English as the medium of instruction for higher education.
• Schools started receiving English textbooks, oriental institutions were treated as they were temples of darkness which would decay.