Early morning ritual of walking to the sunny corner, sitting on the winged chair, pulling out her glasses and reading the daily English newspaper.
Audio Show With Mrs. Bahl
Colonization, Education and English Literacy
The British came to India with a mission to civilize the natives and savages for the improvement and betterment of South Asian nations. Today, even though in hindsight, we can agree that this was merely to self-legitimize the British rule, much of what India enjoys now in terms of literacy and education was a byproduct of that civilizing mission.
It was believed that the use of English was the greatest symbol of British colonial power. English was not only a linguistic instrument; it was also an instrument of political power. It was adopted as the official language of the legal system, the education system, and commerce as well. English was the only language convenient for teaching science due to the lack of appropriate terms equivalent in the indigenous languages. Also, it became associated with elitism and prestige. English was a language that characterized the upper class. In the words of Thomas Babington Macaulay: education beyond sixth grade must be delivered in English, be western in orientation in literature and science, and produce a class of persons Indian in blood and color but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and intellect’.
In my opinion, it is evident that colonial education was a fast track to modernization. Inclusion may not have been on the agenda then, but it must now. Post-partition India saw a significant rise in the number of higher education colleges and universities, especially in metropolitan areas. This approach could have been a contributing factor to a greater divide between the rich and poor and urban and rural. Today, the idea of general literacy and foundation skills has overtaken the concept of education. More and more night schools, open schools, vocational centers and other non-formal educational institutes are propping as bargains. On the exterior, these seem to make educational opportunities equal for all, but in reality, are devoid of inclusivity and act as a mere cover-up for managerial and financial inadequacies.
"Education is about the creation of human capital and is responsive to market forces as well as being more accountable to the government."
It is indeed a powerful agent for social mobility, and hence, equality - both within our society and globally. In this sense, capitalism, democracy, rationality, industrialism, science and technology, and above all, secularism, are our society's structural and value components.
