The 19th century was a transformative period for education in India, marked by significant reforms and the

establishment of new educational institutions under the influence of both colonial rule and indigenous
initiatives. This era saw the introduction of Western education, the promotion of scientific inquiry, and the
expansion of educational opportunities, particularly for women. The following trace outlines the key
developments in the growth of modern education during this period.

A BREIF ACCOUNT ON INDIGENOUS EDUCATION SYSTEM OF INDIA

Upto an extent Indian indigenous education system can be said as religious based and the rough idea
given by early British records of late 18 and early 19 th century also says the same. ‘Madrasas’ and
‘Maktabs were educational institutions of Muslims and ‘Tols’ and ‘Patshalas’ were for the Hindus. There
was a lack of secular and scientific learning during this period. However, many Hindus were a part of
Persian schools as it was the court language.

Irrespective of the religion, the schools were generally having the financial contribution from zamindars
or local wealthy persons. The curriculum gave main emphasis on classical languages like Arabic, Persian
or Sanskrit and subjects like logic, law, medicine, metaphysics etc. In the early 19 th century, there was
representation of non-upper castes and scheduled caste in lower level schools. However women were
generally debarred from receiving formal education. Supplemented with handwritten manuscripts,
memory and oral tradition of the teachers formed the basis of knowledge and information. Although the
Kings patronized people for their learning, the State had limited role in school education.

Most of the villages had elementary schools which taught basic arithmetic and literacy which were
essential to meet needs of day to day life and such schools were run were ran by individual teachers
along with the monetary help of the local elites or Zamindars in the village.

The Arabic madrassas were much more religious in the orientation of learning, but not much enquiry
based. While Sanskrit scholar was by definition a male Brahmin, an Arabic scholar was perhaps less
exclusive in social origin. Scientific leaning on law, medicine, mathematics, development of new
knowledge through free thinking, imagination, or intense observation was not popularized in those feudal
monarchical societies. More emphasis was upon niceties of grammar, philosophy and religion.

Thus the education system of India in 18th and early 19th centuries had its own merits and demerits.

Education system

The early policy of the East India Company in India was one of non-intervention in social matters,
respecting traditional Indian culture, as exemplified by Warren Hastings’s policy of Orientalism. This
approach aimed to understand Indian culture through Sanskrit and Persian scriptures and apply that
knowledge in governance, leading to the establishment of institutions like the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Calcutta Madrassa, and Sanskrit College at Banaras.

Over time, there was a gradual shift towards cautious intervention in Indian social institutions influenced
by ideological movements in Britain, such as Evangelicalism, Utilitarianism, and free trade thinking.
Evangelists pushed for government intervention to reform Indian religions, while Utilitarians and free
trade advocates sought social and economic reforms.

English education was introduced in India in the 18 th century through charity schools for European and
Anglo-Indian children. The Company’s direct involvement in educating the indigenous population began
with the Charter Act of 1813, which allocated funds for promoting literature and sciences among Indians.
The Act also allowed missionaries to enter India and promote Western education. The real beginning of
Western education in India is marked by the Charter Act of 1813, which provided funding for education
and allowed missionary activities.

The debate between Orientalists, who supported traditional Indian learning, and Anglicists, who
advocated for Western education in English, culminated in Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Minute on
Indian Education in 1835. Macaulay’s Minute, which dismissed the value of Oriental learning in favor of
European literature and sciences taught in English, was endorsed by Governor-General William Bentinck
and led to the establishment of a Western-style education system aimed at creating a class of Indians
who were English in taste and intellect.

The language policy adopted by the English East India Company after assuming political power in18th
century, mirrored that of its political predecessors, the Mughals. Using Persian as the language for the
official discourses for some time, later it was branded as the language of dissidence and was officially
abandoned by 1832 in Bombay and Madras presidencies and by 1637 in Bengal presidency. “The British
were aware that study of native languages was an essential for administering India and a deep rooted
knowledge of the native society was needed for breaking the initial hurdles faced by East India Company
officials codified and taught classical and vernacular languages in both England and India and on this
regard Bernard Cohn observes that, such institutions were helpful for the Company to gain the command
of language which was crucial for the consolidation of power in India.

Influences on Early Colonial Education: Orientalists, Anglicists, and Evangelists

In the early days of British rule in India, various groups had different ideas about how to handle
education. These groups were the Orientalists, Anglicists, and Evangelists, each with their unique
policies and goals.

The Orientalists believed that the British should learn from Indian culture and traditions to govern
effectively.According to the Orientalists, administrative practice ought to be based Upon concepts of
government and administration that had operated in India since time Immemorial. Furthermore,
knowledge of this was contained in classical texts the Shastras in particular. The Orientalism was
adopted as the official policy of British India by Governor General Warren Hastings who believed that,
promotion of native education in India is very essential (Minute, 1781). According to him, “accumulation
of knowledge” and “social communication are critical instruments for conquest apart from political and
military measures. Governor-General Warren Hastings promoted native education, leading to the
establishment of institutions like the Calcutta Madrasa and the Sanskrit College in Benares. Therefore,
the adoption of Orientalist policy was not only to promote education but also a method to consolidate
the British power in India by eradicating the prejudices against the British dominion in India. Secondly
another important part of this project was to produce English elite corps.
The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded to encourage the study of Indian culture and create an elite
group of British officers knowledgeable about Indian society. Thus, the Orientalist policy consisted of
three main intentions: the first conciliation of both Hindu and Muslim society in British raj, secondly
creating an elite corps who acculturated Indian institutions, laws and customs and finally the
consolidation of British power and secure it in India.

Anglicists

The Anglicists believed that education should be based on Western knowledge and taught in English.
They aimed to transform Indian society by imparting modern, Western thought and culture through
education.

They argued that teaching traditional Indian subjects would not produce rational and strong individuals.
They supported the Filtration theory, which suggested focusing resources on educating the upper
classes. These educated elites would then spread knowledge to the masses.

The Evangelists

They wanted to convert Indians to Christianity using education. The British feared that Western ideas and
Christianity could disrupt Indian society and harm the Company’s control and interests. To prevent
problems, the Company restricted missionary activities and even expelled some missionaries. This
restriction caused disagreements within the Company. Some members, like Charles Grant and William
Wilberforce, wanted more freedom for missionaries and supported spreading Western education and
Christianity.

The Orientalist and Evangelist Controversy and Charles Grant

William Wilberforce, Charles Grant, and Zachary Macaulay:These influential people criticized the
Orientalist policy. Among them the most important was Charles Grant, as expressed by Gauri
Vishwanathan in his book, “An officer of the East India Company, Grant was one of the first Englishmen to
urge the promotion of both Western literature and Christianity in India. In 1792, Grant wrote Observations
on the State of Society, depicting a negative view of Indian society, highlighting issues like betrayal,
corruption, and cruelty. He blamed ignorance and religion for these problems.

On one hand, the Orientalist Policy was the preservation of old system to secure the British power but
Charles Grant and the Evangelists was the supporter of terminating the old system and modernisation of
Indian society. Grant believed introducing Western knowledge and Christianity would cure the “darkness”
in Indian society. He argued that educating Indians with Western knowledge would bring positive
changes.

Medium of Instruction: Grant suggested that English should be the medium of instruction to bridge
communication between the British and Indians. He believed this would open up new ideas to Indians
and help consolidate British power. Grant cited the Mughal Empire using Persian as the official language
to assimilate conquered people and maintain power. He suggested that using English in India would
similarly help the British maintain their rule.

THE END OF ANTI-MISSIONARY POLICY OF THE COMPANY

1. The end of the Company policies against the missionaries and their activities in India. The13th
resolution of the Charter Act of 1813 opened the doors of India for the missionaries and it can be
regarded as the legitimisation of the missionary activities in India. It was the first and official victory of the
Evangelists.

2. The most important point in the Charter was Section 43. It had two objectives: (A) The revival and
improvement of literature and the encouragement of the learned natives of India. (B) The introduction
and promotion of knowledge of sciences among the inhabitants of British territories in India.

3. It was the beginning of the intervention of England in Indian Education.

4. It terminated the monopoly of Company in India. But, despite the provisions of the Charter regarding
the promotion of education and encouragement of learned natives, there was no any direct reference for
the method of education. Therefore two kinds of problems emerged regarding:1. The form of education2.
The medium of instruction .

In 1828, Lord William Bentinck was appointed the new Governor General of India. He was greatly
influenced by the utilitarianism and at his suggestion English classes to the Sanskrit College and other
Oriental institutions. He appointed Thomas B. Macaulay as president of the General Committee of Public
Instruction. It was Macaulay who then drew up an elaborate minute championing the cause of English
education. He argued that only adoption of English as a medium of instruction would make the
promotion of European knowledge and science possible. He pointed out that the dialects of India were
‘poor and rude’ and this made the translation of valuable works into vernaculars difficult. He also argued
that since English was the language of the ruling classes it was likely to become the language of
commerce in the East. Giving the example of the overcrowding of the Scottish Church College as
compared to the Hindu College, Macaulay reasoned that the Indians too preferred English education. He
then suggested that the government should cut the expenditure it incurred on maintenance of Oriental
institutions and promotion of Oriental learning. Headvocated the abolition of all Oriental Colleges,
discontinuation of stipends and that printing of Oriental works should be stopped.He argued for
promotion of English education and the codification of Hindu and Muslim laws into English. His main aim
was to consolidate the British Empire through English laws and culture.

After evaluating Macaulay's proposal, Lord Bentinck passed a resolution on 7th March 1835. The
resolution contained four orders. Thesestated that funds appropriated for the purpose of education
would be employed in English education, western literature and sciences would be taught in English,
Persian would be replaced by English as the official language and that available funds would be used to
encourage higher education rather than elementary. It is often argued that Bentinck's resolution was
influenced by Macaulay's Minute. Percival Spears on the other hand points to the fact that Bentinck was
confronted with the task of economizing the task of administration. For this purpose, he wished to
introduce a higher class of Indian subordinates in the judicial and the revenue divisions. Hence it was
desired that the natives should be versed in English. He intended a 'downward filtration' of English
education and his policy was not meant for the masses but for the rich and learned. Bentinck hoped that
these men would then facilitate the percolation of English downward through regional languages. There
was also a need felt to replace Persian as the official language and in educational institutions. Bentinck
also saw English language to be the cure of all social evils that existed in the Indian society and the key to
improvement.Spears is critical of the policy as he feels that the infiltration theory failed and that the
policy was unable to 'adapt its social means to its cultural end'.

Historians have questioned the importance of the minute introduced by Macaulay and it implementation.
Edward Thompson in 1937, questioned the minute and argued that it was decisive consideration behind
it was the financial economy and it was supplemented by wishes of the Indians. His argument was that it
proved cheaper to teach Indians to read English than to subsidise translations. He says that Macaulay
was only acting on the ideas promoted by Evangelicals and Utilitarians. Percival Spear argued that much
before Macaulay arrived in India, Bentinck had already convince himself of the value of British language
and that the minute only acted as an occasion for a change of policy that had been accepted in principle.
Robert Frykenberg asserted that the minute didn't reflect any radical change and he says that it’s a ‘myth’
that the minute was occasion for any change. This was supported by the observations of Cambridge
historians like Sinha and Roselli. In 1969 D.P. Sinha, pointed out that there was a sense of continuity in
education, Lord Auckland accepted the logic of the resolution of 1835 by sanctioning abolition of
stipends but then later restored modest scholarships. John Rosselli said that apart from cutting off funds
for printing of texts, Bentinck didn’t touch existing institutions like Sanskrit College and the Madrassa.
Nationalist historians like Syed Nurullah and J.P. Naik had accused Bentinck for imposing English
education on ‘unwilling Indians’. This has been contradicted by A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed who pointed out
that Indians willingly participated in the implementation of English education, he showed that Macaulay
suggested the addition of two Indian members in the General Committee of Public Instructions.
Frykenberg pointed to the contribution of Raja Rammohan Roy towards the introduction of modernisation
in India. More recently John Clive argued that Macaulay himself believed that teaching English would
require grammatical study of Indian vernaculars.

Despite such criticisms, one can’t ignore the impact that the impact of these policies. The resolution of
1835 signalled the advent of socio-economic and political changes in India. Most of these implications
were felt in the long run but some of the most immediate results were that it paved way for the emergence
of English as the most powerful language in India as it became the only medium of English language. It
resulted in a large English speaking professional and secretarial class. While the resolution managed to
depress Oriental learning, it also allowed for the development of vernacular languages. The Orientals
accepted the importance of Western education but at the same time they emphasised the importance of
Indian languages as medium of instruction. The General Committee of Public instructions tried to
establish a system of vernacular instructions in the provinces and took into consideration the plan laid
down by William Adam for the improvement of vernacular education.

Lord Auckland, who succeeded Bentinck in 1836, expressed his views on education in the minute of 1839
and attempted to resolve the Anglo- Oriental controversy. He restored the grants that had been previously
been sanctioned to the Oriental colleges and stated that the funds should be appropriated first for
Oriental studies and then for English instruction. He replaced the stipends with some scholarships and
ensured the maintenance of these colleges. He also sanctioned the publication of works in classical
languages. He proposed the establishment of Central colleges in Patna, Benares and
Allahabad.Auckland’s plan was important as the government realised the need to keep the Oriental and
English education systems separate. It was found that the Indians were not ready to sacrifice their own
system of learning and that it was not possible to spread education through English and it had to be done
through the vernacular. Auckland’s plan for a comprehensive and graduated system of education in every
district resulted in the emergence and adoption of the first comprehensive and real education policy.
Hardinge, the next governor general, initiated further reforms and innovations in the area of education.
Higher education advanced at rapid speed as a network of English and vernacular education institutions
were established. In 1844-45, the Council of Education drew up a plan to establish a Central University,
modelled on the London University and offering degrees in Arts, Science, Law, Medicine and Civil
Engineering, in Bengal. Similar proposals were made by Thomason in the North Western provinces and by
Thomas Monro in Madras.

CHARLES WOOD’S EDUCATIONAL DESPATCH, 1854

Considered as Magna Carta of English education in India, Charles Wood’s Educational Despatch of 1854,
finally settled the controversy between Anglicist and Orientalist views.Its onjective was speculated as
diffusion of the improved arts, literature, philosophy and sciences of Europe. “The objective was
considered to be important as British thought that ‘this knowledge would teach Indians about the
marvelous results of the employment of capital and labor and to shape them to emulate the British in
developing vast resources of their country. Thus all these facts implied the emergence of a capitalist
colonial state in India by blending knowledge and power.

The essential features of Despatch can be noted as:

English was preferred as the medium of instruction for higher education and Vernacular languages was
considered as medium through which European knowledge could be infiltered to the masses.

Proposed hierarchy of schools, Vernacular primary at village level, followed by Anglo- vernacular high
schools and at district level, affiliated colleges.

Recommendation for Grant in aids for private efforts in education.

Proposal for setting up a Department of Public Instruction to review the progress of education in a
province, which was later established in 1855.

Proposal to set up universities at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, later established in 1857.

Despatch underlined the importance of vocational education and recommended for setting up
prospective teachers for the same.

Despatch emphasized the need of setting up technical colleges and supported education of women.

HUNTER COMMISSION

Following Wood’s Despatch, a commission was formulated in 1882 under William Wilson Hunter for
reviewing the progress made in the field of education.Confining itself mostly to primary and secondary
education, commission made large recommendations Special emphasis was laid on primary education
whose control was ought to be transferred to municipal and district boards. At the secondary level, it was
suggested that there should be two streams of learning, first one providing literary education, and the
other more of a practical nature providing vocational or commercial education.Commission reinstated
the need of encouragement for private initiatives in education and the need of providing adequate
facilities for spreading women education. “The recommendations of commission showed its impact for
next two decades and there was unforeseen growth in the field of education. Subsequently the Allahabad
University and Punjab University was established in the year 1887 and 1882 respectively.”