British expansion at a glance

Question: Did educational reforms have a more important effect on the Indians than the social,
religious and economic ones introduced by the British during the years 1773 to 1856? Explain
your answer. (14)
Hint: Follow the P.E.E technique to develop paras. Each para should have evidence and
explanation should be based on it. The paras should be distinctly separate from each other.

Answer: When the British entered India, their intensions were only to trade, but over time
[considering the position and status of the Indians in the country] they slowly and gradually
took over their political government. But with the coming of the British came their social,
religious, economic and political reforms in India that were introduced from the years 1773 to
1856.
Firstly, they were the Educational reforms, which were introduced by many of the British. As
many would notice, they were many colleges and universities that were established in Calcutta.
Examples to show this is the Fort William collage, the Hindu Collage and the Sanskrit Collage. All
of these collages were established in Calcutta. The reason for this was that Calcutta was the first
province that came under British rule and so it was a very important state and political value
and that political value came also came to the collages.
In addition to these educational reforms was when Lord Bentinck (1828 – 1835) introduced the
English Education Act of 1835 in which British and Western education were to be given
promotion and English to become the official language instead of Persian. This allowed the
Indians to follow the British way and style, and for them to be enrolled in the administration to
help the British and stay loyal to them.
With that were many other collages and institutes established. Examples are when Calcutta
Medical Collage and Hospital in 1835 was also made. Then in 1836, the Calcutta Public Library
was established by Lord Metcalfe (1835 – 1836) in which everyone was welcomed to gain
knowledge. Along with that, in 1847, there was the establishment of Roorkee Engineering
College which aimed to provide training to the young engineers to build the Ganges Canal. All of
the following collages and institutes had the same aim which was to educate and introduce to
the Indians the style of the British for their own means and benefit.
But Most of the educational reforms were under the Earl of Dalhousie. He firstly introduced the
Bethune Collegiate School for Women in 1849 which is the oldest women’s college in Asia. Sir
Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control, had an important effect on spreading
English learning and female education in India. When in 1854, he sent a dispatch to Lord
Dalhousie, who was then the Governor General of India. Wood suggested that primary collages
must adopt to vernacular languages, high schools must adopt to Angelo vernacular language
and on collage level English medium for education. This is known as Wood’s dispatch.
Vocational and women’s education were not stressed upon. One of the most favorable steps
taken by British was to create an English class for the Indian workforce, under their
British expansion at a glance

employment. After this, many other universities were introduced which included the University
of Calcutta, the University of Bombay and the University of Madras in 1857 as well as the
University of the Punjab in in 1882 and the University of Allahabad in 1887. Many efforts were
also made to promote English education as well. The Woods Dispatch aim was to create a social
class of Brown Indians that would speak English be loyal to the British and have British tastes.
They were also social reforms which were not made until Lord Bentinck placed a ban on Satti in
1829 in which widows were burned after the death of their husband and it was not appreciated
by the British. In addition to that, Charles Matecalfe who is known as Liberator of Indian Press
as he repealed the 1823 Licensing Regulations on the Indian Press. Lord Auckland started the
first Bengali daily newspaper in 1839.
There were not many religious reforms However in 1833, the act of Saint Helena was carried
out by Lord Bentinck in which Christian missionaries got exclusive rights to spread Christianity in
British India.
The British also brought some reforms to the economy. To begin with, Charles Cornwallis
introduced permanent settlement in Bihar and Bengal in 1793 and imposed agricultural and
land taxes over there. Then Lord Barlow found the first bank in Calcutta in 1806 which was the
first ever bank in India. Then, during Lord Hastings governance, a tax collection system was
introduced in Madras, where the tax was directly collected from the peasants. Lord Bentinck
introduced more tax reforms, bringing more of India under taxation. Lord Auckland established
the Bank of Bombay in 1840 and Lord Ellenbrough made the Bank of Madras. Last but not least,
Viscount Canning brought the system of budget in India which was a new concept for the local
people.