The Views Of Macaulay And Gandhi On Improving Social And...

This essay looks at the opposing views of Macaulay and Gandhi on improving both the social and political structure of India. Macaulay suggested that education in english will produce colonial subjects that will produce a class of Indian men to think like the British. This ultimately aids in the goal to have British rule in India. Thomas Macaulay was the chair of the Committee of Public Instruction in 1835 British India. He has argued in his minute that the traditional Sanskrit and Arabic education in India is useless, and thus education in English language and literature should be introduced. He believed that by introducing English literature studies in India, British would be aiding Indians to see and understand a new world beyond the Vedas and Shastras which only taught religion. He also believed that English education would provide skills to young men to make a living for themselves so they can live independent of the state. From Gandhi’s point of view, he believed that Ind ians should be able to rule themselves without English monarchy. Macaulay s proposition goes against Gandhi’s satyagraha (i.e. passive resistance) practice because he believed that by obeying the British, Indians were voluntarily becoming their slaves. The satyagraha movement was one of the leading reasons for the British rule to end in India as the satyagrahis practiced non-violence as a method of rebellion against the British and their laws. Ultimately both Macaulay and Gandhi wanted the nation to