17 September 2024 : Daily Answer Writing

Q1) How did the British education policy in colonial India fuel the rise of Indian nationalism instead of achieving its intended purpose of perpetuating Indian subjugation?

(150 Words/10 Marks)

Ans

The British education policy in India aimed to serve the vested colonial interests. The British education policy subjugated Indians further, as can be seen from:

1. Propagation of the British rule:
2. Ensure a cheap supply of educated Indians to man the sub-ordinate positions in the administration.
3. Educated Indians were expected to help expand the market for British manufacturers.
4. Educated Indians were envisaged to act as a buffer between Indian masses and British government in India.
5. British education was expected to reconcile the Indians with the British rule.
6. Excessive focus on the English language and its requirement for government employment, subjugated large number of people to economic backwardness. E.g., English as medium of education in schools and colleges.
7. Neglecting mass education created a wide linguistic and cultural gulf between the educated few and the masses. E.g., Macaulay’s minute favored education for limited number.
8. Education under the British rule was expensive and therefore became a prerogative of the rich, alienating the poor masses. E.g., post Montagu-Chelmsford reforms government grants were substantially reduced.
9. Limited educational opportunities for women under the British rule led to their perpetual subjugation. Page 3 of 26

Even though the British education policy aimed at subjugation of Indians, it inadvertently catalyzed Indian nationalism, as can be seen from:

1. The ideas of philosophers like John Locke and Voltaire were percolated among educated Indians. It catalyzed the spirit of free thoughts and enabled these Indians to question the British superiority/hegemony.
2. British education policy aided indirectly in unification of society by undermining the caste barriers. Further, leaders like Swami Vivekananda, I C Vidyasagar etc., combined traditional values with modern education to ignite nationalism among the masses.
3. Rise of the middle-class intelligentsia:
4. British education gave rise to a new breed of middle class that gave leadership to the congress during its moderate phase. E.g., G K Gokhle, M G Ranade etc.
5. English education brought the people of India in close contact with developments across the globe. E.g., defeat of Russia at the hands of an Asian power.
6. British education raised the aspirations of the educated classes in the country. However, the inability of the government to meet these aspirations led to alienation and consequently rise of nationalism.
7. British education led to political sensitization of the people and thus enabled them to critique the British policies. E.g., the drain theory presented by Indian economists.
8. Universities formed by the British became a hotbed of nationalism, a platform for exchange of political ideas, and also facilitated growth of secret societies.

The unintended consequence of the education policy led to rise of independent thinking in leaders who propagated ideas of anti-imperialism and nationalism.