This article was originally posted on the Dharma Dispatch Substack.
Thomas Babbington Macaulay’s comprehensive vandalism of the unbroken educational heritage of India wouldn’t have been so successful but for the unstinted official support he received from William Bentinck, then the Governor General of India.
Bentinck’s destruction of the centuries-old educational system of India is a devastation that the country may never fully recover from. His project was ably assisted by Macaulay, Charles Trevelyan, Charles Metcalfe, and Mountstuart Elphinstone.
Hundreds of Sanskrit schools and colleges across Bengal were the maiden victims of this project. The Calcutta-based Goḻiśrī Saṃskṛta-pāṭhaśālā (Golishri Sanskrit School) in Calcutta was one of the first such institutions to fall.
Premachandra-Vagisha, the head of the Golisri School, wrote anxious letters to the British, desperately begging them not to destroy his sacred school. Reading those letters, even today, is a painful experience.
But nobody in the 19th Century British establishment paid heed to his gut-wrenching appeals. The consequence: five generations of Calcutta citizens haven’t even heard the name of Golisri Sanskrit School.
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FAQs
What is this article about?
The article discusses how Thomas Babbington Macaulay and Governor General William Bentinck are presented as undermining India’s older educational heritage in the 19th century. It focuses on the loss of Sanskrit schools and colleges in Bengal, including the Golishri Sanskrit School in Calcutta.
What was the Golishri Sanskrit School?
The article identifies the Goḻiśrī Saṃskṛta-pāṭhaśālā, or Golishri Sanskrit School, as a Calcutta-based Sanskrit school. It says the school was among the first institutions to fall during the British-backed changes to India’s educational system.
Who supported Macaulay's role in changing Indian education according to the post?
The post says Macaulay received official support from William Bentinck, then the Governor General of India. It also names Charles Trevelyan, Charles Metcalfe, and Mountstuart Elphinstone as assisting Bentinck’s project.
Who was Premachandra-Vagisha?
Premachandra-Vagisha is described as the head of the Golisri School. The article says he wrote anxious letters to British officials asking them not to destroy the school.
Where was this article originally posted?
The article states that it was originally posted on the Dharma Dispatch Substack. The page also asks readers to consider supporting Dharma Dispatch on Substack and following its Twitter account.
