The history of education, specifically higher education, in India goes back to the days of Governor-General of Bengal Warren Hastings since 1772. Unlike Lord Macaulay who had contempt for all Indian languages including Sanskrit and Arabic, Warren Hastings had great respect for the ancient scriptures of Hinduism. This appreciation by Hastings pleased the high-caste Hindus who became his advisers and shaped the laws governing education and culture. Warren Hastings also founded the Madrasa Aliya in 1781 in Calcutta in an attempt to conciliate the goodwill of the Muslim population. On January 15, 1784, Hastings supported the foundation of Bengal Asiatic Society (now Asiatic Society of Bengal) by the oriental scholar Sir William Jones. This society became a storehouse for information and data pertaining to the Indian subcontinent. The literary collections of that time are available even today.
Jonathan Duncan recommended the establishment of a Hindoo College for the preservation and cultivation of Laws, Literature and Religion for the native Hindoos. Banaras Sanskrit College was established in 1791-92 by Jonathan Duncan, the East India Company Resident in Banaras. The great influence of Orientalism was obvious on the British administrators besides the practical political reasons. The East India Company needed the support of influential sections of society to consolidate their newly acquired power. These patronizing policies on education did not help the Indian masses, nor did it the Company’s administration. In fact it had the opposite effect; the religious bullies got encouraged and further persecuted the ordinary Indians. Both Hindus and Muslims suffered brutal suppression. It was not until Lord Wellesley, the sixth Governor-General of Bengal, conceived a plan to train and educate the Company’s civil servants in 1800 that formal education was introduced in India.
Filed under: Indian Education Tagged: | Asiatic Society of Bengal, Banaras Sanskrit College, Bengal Asiatic Society, Company’s civil servants, East India Company Resident at Banaras, Governor-General of Bengal Warren Hastings, Higher Education in India, Hindoo College, Indian subcontinent, Jonathan Duncan, Lord Macaulay, Lord Wellesley, Madrasa Aliya, Sir William Jones, sixth Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings
