Macaulays role in the Indian Education - TopicsExpress



          

Macaulays role in the Indian Education System. ---------------------------------------------- Why are some Indians pissed off with Macaulay? ---------------------------------------------- The Moslem conquest brought to an end the creative period of classical Indian political thought. Sukras Nitisastra is the last major work and it, draws heavily upon the ancient traditional literature. With the collapse of the Mogul political system in the eighteenth century, a resurgence of Hindu political power in the militant nationalism of the Maratha confederacy gave promise of becoming the sovereign power all India. But no important intellectual revival accompanied the Hindu political revival. Not until the nineteenth century, when the British had established foreign control after the Maratha decline, did a strong current of creative thought began to flow again in the cultural life of India -- a movement that may be designated THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE. THE REBIRTH OF LEARNING IS ASSOCIATED WITH MODERN EDUCATION ESTABLISHED BY THE BRITISH IN INDIA. The British provided their administration with trained civil servants and at the same time propagated a common language that could be used for commercial and political purposes throughout the land. THE CREATION OF A PROGRAM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN ENGLISH WAS NOT ENTIRELY A ONE-SIDED IMPOSITION. UNTIL MACAULAY BROKE THE STALEMATE IN 1835, THE BRITISH THEMSELVES WERE DEADLOCKED ON THE ISSUE OF TEACHING ENGLISH OR IN THE INDIAN CLASSICAL LANGUAGE. At the same time, many progressive Hindus were demanding English as a key to the resources of Western civilization, even against British opposition. The Mohammedans, at first, boycotted the whole movement on the ground that it was a scheme to Christianize the population and destroy the foundations of Moslem religious life. As a result, the Hindu community was the chief beneficiary of the new program, not only in the matter of public employment but in relation to the intellectual revival created directly or indirectly by Western contacts. THIS REVIVAL WAS BROUGHT ABOUT IN TWO WAYS. FIRST, THERE CAME THE WORK OF SUCH PIONEERS AS SIR WILLIAM JONES, WHO TRANSLATED THE CODE OF MANU, JAMES PRINSEP, WHO UNRAVELED THE ANCIENT ALPHABETS, AND MAX MULLER, WHO FIRST EDITED THE COMPLETE TEXT OF THE RIG-VEDA. THESE AND OTHER SCHOLARS, INDIAN AND EUROPEAN, REDISCOVERED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO ***ALL EDUCATED INDIANS*** THE GREAT WORKS OF SANSKRIT LITERATURE, FORMERLY KNOWN ONLY IN PART EVEN TO BRAHMIN PUNDITS. Second, Western institutions and ideas, introduced by English administration and literature, provided a challenge to many aspects of Indian society. Not only were such social customs as Suttee and child marriage brought into question, but the political and legal traditions of the country also were reexamined. Chief among the Indian Renaissance leaders was Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), who is recognized by many as the father of modern political thought in India. He is better known as the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, the remarkable nineteenth-century movement of reformed and militant Hinduism. But, his work in campaigning for the establishing English-language schools and newspapers and his powerful advocacy of judicial and administrative reforms deserve equal recognition. What were the teachings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy? HE STRUCK A NOTE OF UNIVERSALISM WHICH IS HEARD AGAIN AND AGAIN IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE HINDU PROPHETS OF THE NEW AGE. IT IS A NOTE WE HEAR IN SRI RAMAKRISHNA PRAMAHAMSA, IN SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, IN JUSTICE RANADE, IN RABINDRANATH TAGORE, IN MAHATMA GANDHI, IN SRI AUROBINDO AND IN PROFESSOR RADHAKRISHNAN. IN FACT, IT IS THE MOST DISTINGUISHING NOTE OF THE HINDU RENAISSANCE OF THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES. IT IS THE FULFILLMENT AND REALIZATION OF THE UNIVERSALISM OF THE UPANISHADS. Whereas in the religious field, Roy emphasized the values latent in all the great creeds, in the political sphere he stressed freedom from OUTWORN and, PERVERTED RESTRICTIONS. In his political reforms he announced his intention to restore to India her ancient traditions of the Dharma by REMOVING THE SENSELESS ACCRETIONS THAT HAD DEFILED IT IN LATER YEARS. Thus,in leading the successful fight against Suttee adn other customs, he quotes Manu, Vyasa, and Narada to prove his authority. -------------- The White Umbrella Indian political thought from Manu to Gandhi. By D. Mackenzie Brown --------------
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 05:54:42 +0000

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