Which of the following led to the introduction of English Education in India? 1. Charter Act of 1813 2. General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823 3. Or

1. A. 1 and 2 only
2. B. 2 only
3. C. 1 and 3 only
4. D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: D

Explanation

CHARTER ACT OF 1813: The Act incorporated the principle of encouraging learned Indians and promoting knowledge of modern sciences in the country. The Act directed the. Company to sanction one lakh rupees annually for this purpose. However, even this petty amount was not made available till 1823, mainly because of the controversy raged on the question of the direction that this expenditure should take. In 1823, the Governor-General-in Council appointed a “General Committee of Public Instruction”, which had the responsibility to grant the one lakh of rupees for education. That committee consisted of 10(ten) European members belonging to 2 groups Anglicists and Orientalists. Hence, it promoted both Indian and english education. ORIENTALIST-ANGLIC1ST CONTROVERSY: Within the General Committee on Public Instruction, the Anglicists argued that the government spending on education should be exclusively for modern studies. The. Orientalists said while western sciences and literature should be taught to prepare students to take up jobs, emphasis should be placed on expansion of traditional Indian learning. Even the Anglicists were divided over the question of medium of instruction—one faction was for English language as the medium, while the other faction was for Indian languages (vernaculars) for the purpose. Lord Macaulay’s Minute (1835), This famous minute settled the row in favour of Anglicists—the limited government resources were to be devoted to teaching of western sciences and literature through the medium of English language alone.