The British viewed education as a tool not only for administration but also for their “civilising mission”—to reform Indian customs and values.
The objective was to create “good subjects” who would support colonial rule and internalize British superiority.
William Jones (1783) arrived in Calcutta as a judge and scholar of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and classical languages.
Together with Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed, he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) and published Asiatick Researches.
Belief: India’s greatness lay in its ancient texts; studying Sanskrit and Persian would help both British and Indians rediscover India’s heritage.
Orientalist View:
British should promote Indian learning rather than impose Western knowledge.
Study of classical languages and religious texts was essential to understand Indian society.
Institutions:
Calcutta Madrasa (1781) for Arabic, Persian, Islamic law.
Benaras Sanskrit College (1791) for Hindu law and philosophy.
From the early 19th century, officials began to denounce Oriental studies as unscientific and impractical.
James Mill argued that education should be useful and practical, introducing Western science and rationality.
Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Minute on Education (1835):
Condemned Indian literature and knowledge as inferior.
Declared that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”
Advocated English as the medium of instruction and European education for Indians.
Result: English Education Act, 1835 – promotion of English education and withdrawal of support from Oriental institutions.
Also known as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India”.
Issued by Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control.
Key Points:
Emphasis on European learning for moral and practical improvement.
Advocated the establishment of education departments and universities (Calcutta, Madras, Bombay – 1857).
Promoted teacher training and government inspection of schools.
Aimed to produce an educated class to assist in administration and commerce.
Encouraged the development of a class of Indians loyal to the British, familiar with Western values.
Initially restricted by the East India Company, fearing local backlash.
Missionaries established institutions like the Serampore Mission (1800) and Serampore College (1818) under Danish control.
Promoted moral education through Christianity.
After 1857, the British became cautious about overt missionary activity to avoid antagonising Indian sentiments.
Report of William Adam (1830s) on Bengal and Bihar:
Over 1 lakh pathshalas, teaching around 20 lakh students.
Features: No fixed fees, flexible attendance, oral teaching, seasonal schedule (suspended during harvest).
Locally funded by communities or wealthy patrons.
Curriculum and timing adapted to local needs—education was informal and inclusive.
Post-1854: The Company sought to “improve” vernacular education.
Introduced new administrative control—government pandits supervised schools.
Imposed regular timetables, examinations, textbooks, and attendance rules.
Schools accepting new rules received grants; others were excluded.
Result:
Flexibility of the earlier system was lost.
Poor rural children dropped out due to rigid attendance requirements.
Education became bureaucratic and elitist.
Strongly criticised colonial education as enslaving and alienating Indians from their culture.
Key arguments:
English education created a sense of inferiority.
It distanced Indians from their roots and local languages.
True education should be moral, practical, and holistic—developing body, mind, and spirit.
Advocated craft-based learning (Nai Talim) and education in mother tongue.
Founded Santiniketan (1901)—an “abode of peace” emphasizing learning in natural surroundings.
Criticised rigid British schools for killing creativity and joy.
Advocated freedom, imagination, and harmony with nature in education.
Supported the inclusion of science and technology, integrating the best of Western and Indian traditions.
| Aspect | Mahatma Gandhi | Rabindranath Tagore |
|---|---|---|
| View of Western Education | Rejected as enslaving | Selectively accepted for science and art |
| Medium of Instruction | Vernacular (Indian languages) | Vernacular and English |
| Method | Handicrafts, self-reliance, moral training | Creativity, nature-based learning |
| Aim | Moral regeneration and swaraj | Freedom of thought, synthesis of East & West |
British education policy created an English-educated elite serving colonial interests.
However, it also laid the foundation for a new middle class that led the nationalist movement.
The debate between Western vs. Indigenous education shaped India’s post-independence educational philosophy.