Was Raja Rammohun Roy a ‘British Stooge’? - News18

What exactly was Raja Rammohun Roy’s role vis-à-vis the British administration’s introduction of an English education system in early 19th century colonial India, replacing the older system that consisted of a traditional Sanskrit pedagogy? Based on the verbal admissions made by well-known products of the liberal system of English education and the historiographical analysis of early 19th-century Indian society by reputed historians, we shall examine whether Raja Rammohun Roy was either the very first proponent, among Indians, of English education, or even the only Indian who advocated for the adoption of the English education in colonial India; whether his letter to Lord Amherst was effectual in bringing policy changes; and, last but not the least, whether the Raja was familiar with the Sanskrit language and the shastras written in it, and to what extent. Majumdar notes, “By far, the most important institution that helped the spread of English education in Bengal was Hindu College, established in Calcutta on January 20, 1817.” Let us enquire: what exactly has been the Raja’s role, if any, in establishing this institution of higher learning, which single-handedly produced most of the greatest scientists, historians, archaeologists, philosophers, poets, religious teachers and politicians of 19th and early 20th-century India? Majumdar writes: “It appears that about the beginning of May, 1816, a Brahmin of Calcutta saw Sir Hyde East, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and informed him that many of the leading Hindus were desirous of forming an establishment for the education of their children in a liberal manner as practised by Europeans, and desired him to hold a meeting for this purpose.” Sir Edward assented to the request and “with the permission of the Governor-General and the Supreme Council, called a meeting at his house on May 14, 1816, at which fifty and upwards of the most respectable Hindu inhabitants of rank or wealth attended, including also the principal Pandits, when a sum of nearly half-a-lakh of Rupees was subscribed and many more subscriptions were promised.” This account, taken almost verbatim by Majumdar from a letter that Sir Edward wrote to a friend of his, is remarkable – for it reveals that the Hindu inhabitants of Calcutta, irrespective of their caste and class, were highly eager to educate their children in the European system of liberal education in English, as early as in the year 1816 – almost two decades prior to Macaulay’s and Lord Bentinck’s interventions in this direction!