Rammohun Roy, the father of modern India, was born into a devout high-caste Hindu family in 1772. He showed an early genius for languages and a keen interest in religions. By the age of twenty he had learned Arabic, Persian, Greek, and Sanskrit (the ancient language of India) and had spent five years wandering through India seeking religious enlightenment. He then learned English and entered the service of the British East India Company, ultimately attaining the highest administrative rank possible for an Indian. In 1814, at the age of forty-two, he retired to Calcutta, where he founded several newspapers and a number of schools, and campaigned to abolish the practice of widow burning, or sati. He also established the Society of God, dedicated to combining Christian ethical teaching with certain Hindu beliefs. He spent his final years in England, where he died in 1833.Roy wrote a letter I would like you to read (you can by clicking here, please read pg. 111-113) in 1823 to the British governor-general of India, Lord Amherst, to oppose a British plan to sponsor a school in Calcutta to teach Sanskrit and Hindu literature. Roy believed that Indians should study English and receive a Western education.
In 1835 the debate over Indian education was settled when a British government committee decided that Indian schools should offer an English-style education. In the words of the committee’s chair, Thomas B. Macaulay, the goal was to produce young men who were “Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.”
After you have read the letter I would like you to reflect on and discuss the following: How would you characterize Roy’s attitude toward the British? Does he seem comfortable offering the British advice? Explain your answer. What does he especially admire in Western civilization? What does he consider to be the weaknesses of an education based on traditional Indian learning? According to Roy, what implications would a Hindu-based educational system have for India’s political future? Your thoughts…
16 comments:
It's annoying and obnoxious as written in the document Mr. Prill provided. They are giving the young Indian boys education, but they demand they be grateful and England's forcing them to be schooled by people that aren't even native to their land.
And it's not like England was doing it for them because there is always a reason behind these things.
And England thought of making those young Indians, European gentlemen experienced in mathematics, anatomy, chemistry, and other useful sciences. And wanted to make them scientists under England, making England look like a good guy, giving free education to them.
I think that while I was reading the document, I got that Roy obviously wanted the education for the young men in India. But that education wasn't necessarily all good for India. It was more for England's benefit because what England was planning to do with India was to try to many the young men in India be educated with things that England could benefit from, so that later on people would think that England was the good side, giving free education to the young men in India when it was just so that they could make these men do things under England.
Roy definitely shows respect to the British. He carefully chose his words to get the Britain's attention. Roy believes the more modernized science, technology, and teaching that is offered in England should also be offere in India so that India will become westernized. Although he writes about keeping traditional language, Roy seems to be more British than Indian. but he might be writing that letter just to get India caught up with the rest of the world, which might be bad foe the British.
I think that Roy did want the education for the men, although he knew that they had control when teaching them in English, when that is far from the native language. I think he seemed comfortable giving the British advice because he just simply told them how he felt about it. Englands free education makes them look like the little helpful country, when really they are just doing it to benefit themselves.
It seemed like he wanted the people of India to get the best education possible and that he believed learning mathmatics, chemistry, etc. from the british was more useful than learning from Indian scholars. It also kind of seemed like he was very careful not to say anything to offend the British. Although he seemed like he new how to talk to them without insulting them but still getting his message across.
This is an intresting case of imperialism where i think that Roy is one of the few that actually accepts westernization at first. it is guys like Roy that will end up starting movements against Europe in the end because he feels like he isn't getting the level of education that people in Europe are. plus i think it was Europe's way to westernize children before they could make opinions of Europe on thier own.
Throughout the document it seemd as if Roy wanted the Indians to the same things and ways of the European people. But at some points it seemed as if he was also against the British school polisies and rules. However, mostly he respected the British and knew that the only way India could become more westernized is to learn at the same pace as teh Europeans themselves.
Roy is very respectful and treats the British with honor. He doesn't seem too comfortable stating his opinion because he regards the British with such esteem that he has to choose his words wisely. Roy really wants to improve the education of the next Indian generation. He feels it is unnecessary to spend money on building a school to teach these natives something they already know. Roy wants a school full of useful subjects such as mathematics and science. He most likely wants the Indians to be caught up, and maybe even surpass, British knowledge.
i think that the whole idea behind this was to take young indian boys and fill there heads with imperialistic BRITISH ideas then send them back to india so that they would be little minions of the british. Because they are still indian the people might see them better and respect their ideas more than if the ruler was a white man
It seems to me that Roy wanted India to become more urban and modernized to move forward in societty without losing their culure. Like, becoming more advanced but not losing who they are in the progress, i personally dont see anything wrong with that.
I think Roy wanted the best for India and there education but he wanted them just to become Europe just like Europe does as well. Europe was only setting up the school so that they could use those boys in the long run and so that they looked liked they cared about other countries.
Roy want India to prosper, therefore he is in favor of the British who are trying to help educate the Indians and accepted the fact that India might become a fully British state, and therefore loosing its own culture. Though India will be benefitting from this, Great Britain will benefit from this the most.
I think Roy is a bit oblivious to the situation on the ground. He wants Indians to be more as Macaulay said "Indian in blood and color, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect." He is attempting to remove a culture. It isn't bad to help countries benefit from your technology, but those ideas can be diffused through trade. Imperialism is not a way to help a country prosper, it is how we diminish other countries. Remember, Development and Underdevelopment play hand-in-hand. As one society develops, it feeds on development of another. In other words, as Britain continued to flourish, India was becoming weaker and losing its magnificence. Britain is destroying a beautiful and extravagant culture, that is far more diverse than their own. Although Roy thinks that Westernization can lead to improvement, Russia failed to do so, and Imperialism really gets in the way of achieving anything great unless you're the Imperialist nation itself.
Roy seems to think that the British are more advanced, therefore their lifestyle is what other people should follow in order to achieve their "greatness."
Also, he seems fairly content with offering advice to the British, because he is apparently trying to do what he thinks is in the best interest of India. I think He believes that he is a direct influence of Indian culture and could help Britain to help India. Strangely enough he does not seem to think that his society is capable of anything great on their own, and needs to copy another society to advance. Which is forked up...
basically, europe was putting money towards teaching children what they already knew. they werent furthering the knowledge, they were pushing it upon more people. in this push of old knowledge, they want the people to be grateful, but its practically for nothing?
europe was trying to get these kids through school faster so they could work under europe as scientists.
roy is asking for british schools to keep the indian people out of darkness because he thinks that the goal of the british government is to allow native indian involvement in the government. i think this is where he was naive. the british never had any intentions of letting these educated school boys becoming part of the government. just the elites that the british felt they had to educate, they did. with roy's plea for schools in india, it shows that the indian people are acknowledging the winds of change. they know that britain holds the power, so if they can learn what the british know, then they too will know how to become powers. [or at least this is what i got out of it.]
Roy wanted western education for the rising generations in India so that they will have the same knowledge as Europeans. He compares sanskrit language with English and says that English is easier and more useful.
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