Pakistan has truly become a banana republic. The fight between politicians has not ended, and a conflict has arisen between the judiciary and the establishment. Security agencies complain that the suspects of May 9 are being held back by the judiciary, the judiciary has its own reservations. No one talks about the state of education in the country today. Since gaining consciousness and being involved in Pakistan’s educational system, a recurring thing we hear is that our backwardness is due to the British-imposed education system. Many times the question arises in the mind, who were these Lord Macaulay and what conspiracy did they hatch to keep our nation backward? Was this conspiracy so strong that we could not end it even after the creation of Pakistan and implement a better education system? Eventually, one day when the search for his “unpardonable sin” is found, it will be known that they were not as guilty as they are accused of. Our national habit has become to blame Jews and Hindus for our mistakes. Similarly, pointing all the flaws in the education system at poor Lord Macaulay’s head and trying to absolve oneself of responsibility is not right. Let’s analyze Lord Macaulay and his “sins”.
British colonial rule lasted for almost two hundred years in India. During this time, four British figures became very infamous. Lord Clive, who in 1757, by defeating the rulers of Bengal and his French allies in the Battle of Plassey, laid the foundation of the rule of the East India Company in India. General Dyer, who ordered firing in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919, killing hundreds of Indians, was killed by Sardar Udham Singh in Britain. Mountbatten, in whose era India was divided, and Lord Thomas Macaulay, who was said to have laid the foundation of such an education system in India through his “educational essays” that created a class of educated illiterates loyal to the British government and its agents. Let’s analyze Lord Macaulay and his “sins”.
It can be said about Lord Macaulay that he was wrongly accused. It is very important to thoroughly investigate Macaulay and not make a decision against him based on hearsay and accusations. Among the general public, there is a famous article about Macaulay’s education system in India called the “Minutes on Indian Education”. But not many people have made an effort to know about it. It is clear from this document that despite the accusations mentioned above, Macaulay was an extremely brilliant educationist and far-sighted analyst, and he did not feel any hesitation in presenting his extremely controversial opinion. Let’s analyze Macaulay’s “Minutes”.
Macaulay’s opinion was that the languages spoken in India were not developed enough to provide advanced scientific education in them. Languages like Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit on one side, and English on the other, were being discussed as mediums of education. Macaulay only recommended that these languages should not be aided from government funds to make them mediums of education because the people of India understand these languages and do not wish to learn them. His opinion was that instead of forcing people into adopting a certain mode of education through financial aid and incentives, the choice of medium of education should be left to their will. Macaulay advocated for the continuation of the Sanskrit College in Benares and the Islamic College in Delhi, believing that these two institutions were enough for the progress and promotion of Eastern languages. He also provided evidence from the history of the language in England to support his opinion.
His remaining story will unfold in future.