Question

Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?

Answer 1

Hint: James Mill was a great economist and philosopher. He wrote on psychology and education. Thomas Macaulay was a British historian and politician. They played a major role in the introduction of English and western concepts to education in India. Thomas Macaulay published his argument on the subject in “Macaulay’s Minute”.

Complete answer:
James Mill and Thomas Macaulay felt that education should be practical. They felt that the people of India should be made familiar with the advances made in the west. Also, they thought that Indians were uncivilized and needed to be civilized and which can be done only when European education would be imparted to them.
Thomas Macaulay Vision:
Macaulay acknowledged in the Minute the historic role of Sanskrit and Arabic Literature in the subcontinent, it also mentioned that they had limitations. His minute clearly stated the intentions that Indian in blood and color but English in taste, in morals and in opinions.
James Mill Vision:
Mill was also influential in English politics. His range was wide extending from education and psychology to political economy. According to him, India was backward and had an unacceptable culture. The main purpose of James Mill was to state a view about India was to defend the reason behind British Intervention in Indian affairs.

Note: James Mill was the first person to write about India in a sequenced order. Macaulay successfully westernized education in India, English was made the official language for the Governments and courts. They contended that western Education was somehow scientific and logical and that of India was irrational and unscientific.