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UGC NET

DAILY
CLASS NOTES
English Literature

Paper – 02
English in India
Lecture – 01
English in India 1800-1900
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English in India 1800-1900

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

It is almost impossible to envisage the modern world without the English language. English has become a
global medium—consolidated, widespread, and integral to various domains. In India, its prominence can
be traced back to the British colonial era, where it gradually secured a pivotal role in education,
administration, the legal system, and broader social aspirations.
1.1 Colonial Drive for Hegemony
The British East India Company initially controlled Indian territories through treaties, warfare, and
annexations. Once in power, the British recognized that cultural supremacy could reinforce their
rule. One of their most potent tools was introducing English education to subjugate Indians
psychologically and culturally, ensuring a steady supply of Indians suited to the colonial
administrative machinery.
1.2 The East India Company (EIC) and Its Expanding Role
● The British East India Company (EIC) was originally a trading entity established in 1600
under a royal charter, primarily trading in spices, cotton, indigo, etc.
● Over time, especially after the Battle of Plassey (1757) and Treaty of Allahabad (1765), the
EIC gained territorial control, marking the start of the “Company Raj.”
● By the early 19th century, the EIC acted as de facto rulers over vast regions of India. This
administrative authority set the stage for introducing English education, mainly to:
1. Facilitate governance by creating a cadre of English-proficient Indian clerks/officials;
2. Culturally consolidate British imperial power, establishing a sense of British superiority.
Key Note: While the EIC initially used local Indian languages (Persian, etc.) for administration, it
gradually shifted toward English (decisively in 1835) as a unifying administrative language,
particularly under pressure from British reformers and debates within the colonial apparatus.

2. EARLY EFFORTS AND MAJOR HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

2.1 Charles Grant’s Treatise (1792)
● Charles Grant (1746–1823) was an East India Company employee who, as early as 1792,
advocated disseminating European literature and sciences in English among Indians.
● In his treatise Observations on the State of Society among the Asiatic Subjects of Great
Britain, Grant painted a stark picture of “superstition, idolatry, and immorality” in Indian
society. He argued that if India were to progress, the British should instill Western
civilization and knowledge through English.
● Grant believed English education would serve British interests by:
1. Diminishing the cultural distance between colonizers and natives;
2. Facilitating commerce with English-speaking Indians;
3. Ensuring loyalty, thus maximizing East India Company profit.
Key Point: Grant’s vision formed an early backbone for future arguments demanding official
approval of English studies in India. It fused moral and economic justifications—though, in
reality, these policies promoted British imperial consolidation.
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2.2 Charter Act of 1813

● Allocated one lakh rupees yearly to promote Indian education.
● Paved the way for introducing modern science and literature, allowing a flood of missionaries
who established numerous English-medium schools.
2.3 Demand Among Indians for English Learning
By the early 19th century, Indians, particularly in urban centers like Calcutta, desired English
education. Missionary schools offered instruction in English; Hindu College (founded 1817) also
taught English, enabling Indians to seek white-collar jobs in the colonial administration. This
growing interest aligned with the British aim to create a local workforce that could assist in
governance.
2.4 Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Letter to Lord Amherst (1823)
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a renowned social reformer advocating an end to social evils like sati
and child marriage. In 1823, when the General Committee proposed funding a Sanskrit College in
Calcutta, Roy wrote to Lord Amherst (dated 11 December 1813) opposing the idea of purely
Sanskrit-oriented education.
Excerpt:
“The Sanskrit system of education would be the best calculated to keep this country in darkness if
such had been the policy of the British legislator. But as the improvement of the native population is
the object of the government, it will consequently promote a more liberal and enlightened system of
instruction, embracing mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry and anatomy with other useful
sciences…”
● Roy believed this new approach could only happen with “a few gentlemen of talents and learning,
educated in Europe,” and with adequate apparatus and books in English.
● His appeal reflected a broader Indian sentiment: Indians yearned for English-based instruction in
the sciences and modern disciplines, rather than the colonial government’s initial emphasis on
vernacular or classical scholarship alone.
2.5 The Orientalists vs. The Anglicists
A significant controversy in the early 19th century arose among British policymakers about how
best to educate Indians:
1. Orientalists
○ Believed in the value of Indian classical learning, emphasizing Sanskrit, Arabic,
Persian, and other native languages.
○ Advocated nurturing India’s rich traditional scholarship.
○ Notable Orientalists included H.T. Prinsep.
2. Anglicists
○ Felt that Indian languages and literatures were outdated.
○ Proposed focusing on English education to enlighten Indians and better serve British
political/economic goals.
○ Included figures like Thomas Babington Macaulay and Charles Edward Trevelyan.
This debate surfaced in multiple committees and official circles, notably within the General
Committee of Public Instruction formed in 1823.
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2.6 Formation of the General Committee of Public Instruction (1823)

● Created to guide the EIC on educational matters, it contained equal numbers of Orientalists
and Anglicists.
● Achievements between 1823 and 1833:
○ Reorganized the Calcutta Madrasa & Banaras Sanskrit College.
○ Set up the Sanskrit College in Calcutta (1824) and colleges at Agra, Delhi.
○ Introduced English classes in Oriental institutions.
○ Printed/published Sanskrit and Arabic books and funded translations.
● However, the sharp split over whether funds should prioritize Oriental or English learning
escalated until Governor-General William Bentinck sought Macaulay’s advice, culminating
in the crucial events of 1835.

3. MACAULAY’S MINUTE AND ITS IMPACT

3.1 Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Arrival (1834)
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) was a Victorian essayist, Member of Parliament, and
significant figure in British imperialism. Arriving in India on 10 June 1834, Macaulay was
appointed President of the General Committee of Public Instruction.
● He traveled through Madras, Ootacamund (Nilgiris), and famously wrote:
“To be on land after three months at sea is of itself a great change. But to be in such a land!
The dark faces, with white turbans, and flowing robes... the very smell of atmosphere that of a
hothouse, and the architecture as strange as the vegetation.”
3.2 Macaulay’s Minute on Indian Education (2 February 1835)
Macaulay’s Minute drastically redirected colonial educational policy:
Famous Declarations:
1. “We must at present do our best to form a class of persons Indian in blood and
colour, but English in taste, opinions, morals, and intellect.”
2. “I have no knowledge of either Sanskrit or Arabic. But I have done what I could to
form a correct estimate of their value... I have never found one among
[Orientalists] who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was
worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”
● Macaulay derided local Indian literature and scholarship, asserting the West’s cultural
superiority.
● He saw English as the key to “modern knowledge,” more useful than Arabic or Sanskrit.
● He sought to produce an Indian elite—“acculturated intermediaries”—who would serve the
British by bridging communication with the larger native population.
● This approach is sometimes referred to as the “downward filtration” theory: educating a
small portion who, in theory, would pass on knowledge to the masses.
3.3 Critiques of Macaulay
● Noted Orientalists (e.g., H.H. Wilson, W.H. MacNaughten) condemned Macaulay’s
ignorance and rejection of Oriental heritage. They pointed out he hardly knew Arabic or
Sanskrit beyond translations.
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● Edward Said, in The World, the Text, and the Critic, criticized such Eurocentric and imperial
attitudes.
● Nonetheless, Macaulay’s opinions found strong favor in British administrative circles.
3.4 Lord Bentinck’s Resolution (7 March 1835)
Lord William Bentinck (Governor-General) approved Macaulay’s proposals. The official resolution
stated:
“The great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European
literature and science among the natives of India [and that] all the funds appropriated
for the purpose of education would best be employed in: English education alone.”
Major outcomes:
1. All educational funds were henceforth devoted to English-based instruction and the diffusion
of European science and literature.
2. Existing Oriental institutions were not immediately shut, but new budgets would not be spent
on Oriental publications.
3. The colonial administration recognized no further need to support Sanskrit or Arabic projects
extensively.
This was a watershed: from 1835 onward, colonial education in India centered on English.

4. SUBSEQUENT MILESTONES AND COMMISSIONS

4.1 Wood’s Despatch (1854) — “Magna Carta of English Education”
● Sir Charles Wood’s Despatch recommended a hierarchical system: English as the medium at
higher levels, vernacular at primary levels, teacher training, women’s education, and neutrality
regarding religion.
● Quote:
“The English language is to be the medium of instruction in the higher branches, and the
vernacular in the lower.”
● It proposed new universities in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras (1857) and formal grants-in-aid
to strengthen institutional networks.
4.2 The Hunter Commission (1882) / Indian Education Commission
Appointed by Lord Rippon and Chaired by William Wilson Hunter, the Commission examined
how effectively Wood’s Despatch had been implemented. Key recommendations:
● Encourage local bodies to manage primary education (with distinct funds for rural vs. urban
areas).
● Promote secondary schools run by private initiatives, offering government model schools as
guides.
● Introduce more vocational courses and further women’s education.
● The Commission observed that though these reforms sounded positive, traditional schools
declined, overshadowed by new English-medium establishments recognized under the British
system.
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KEY NOTE:
● After Wood’s Despatch, education in India shifted from the East India Company to direct
Parliamentary oversight.
● Queen Victoria, aiming for stability, allowed for reforms culminating in the Commission of
1882.
● W. W. Hunter’s own works include The Annals of Rural Bengal and The Imperial Gazetteer
of India (9 vols., 1881).
4.3 Further Acts and Reforms
● Indian Universities Commission (1902) and the Indian Universities Act (1904) called for
reorganizing university administration, clarifying affiliation rules, and ensuring a systematic
approach to introducing English as the medium after a certain level of vernacular grounding.

5. ROLE OF KEY FIGURES

5.1 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
● Often lauded for championing “modern” education (science, mathematics) rather than a purely
Sanskrit-based curriculum.
● Called by Arthur Mayhew the “earlier version of Macaulay,” Roy insisted Indians needed
exposure to contemporary global thought, not just classical Indian texts.
5.2 Thomas Babington Macaulay
● Sought to “civilize” Indians by imposing British morals and ideas.
● Famously said: “A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native
literature of India and Arabia.”
“We must do our best to form a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in
taste...”
5.3 Warren Hastings (Governor of Fort William, Calcutta, from 1772)
● Contrary to Macaulay, Hastings admired Indian culture, establishing the Calcutta Madrasa
(1781) and Banaras Sanskrit College (1791).
● He personally endorsed translations of Indian religious texts (e.g., Bhagavad Gita,
Mahabharata).
5.4 Charles Grant
● Credited as the “Father of Modern Education in India” for advocating English instruction to
reform Indian society and aid British governance.
5.5 C.E. Trevelyan
● Wrote On the Education of the People of India (1838), echoing Macaulay’s stance that English
would “civilize” Indians and vigorously condemning Indian beliefs, urging firm
implementation of English education.
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Notable Timelines:
● 1600: East India Company established.
● 1792: Charles Grant’s treatise.
● 1813: Charter Act earmarking funds for Indian education.
● 1823: General Committee of Public Instruction.
● 1835: Macaulay’s Minute + Bentinck’s resolution implementing English education.
● 1854: Wood’s Despatch.
● 1857: Establishment of Universities in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras.
● 1882: Hunter Commission.
● 1904: Indian Universities Act.

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