When East India Company was ruling India, there was an intense debate as to what was the medium of education for the Indian population that should be supported by the government. There were the orientalists among the English officials who saw a lot of intellectual inputs in ancient Indian literature and sciences; they were of the conviction that Sanskrit and Arabic were the best suited for the Indians, since these languages were in consonance with social and cultural standards of the common man over here.
There were others like Macaulay and others who took the vigorous stand that Indians should be given a chance to imbibe English language and connected knowledge. Macaulays Minutes on Education was a very propound argument for English. It won the day, and English was implemented by the East India Company. Yet, support to Sanskrit and Arabic schools was not withdrawn; education in other vernacular was not given financial support. (It needs to be noted here that in Indian schools it is taught that the British taught English to the Indians to make them slaves and fit for working under them).
There is no need to emphasis that this was to change India like nothing else. Yet, English was a tool that the political leaders of the nationalistic India did not want in the hands of the common man. For, they existed on the pedestal of the feudal languages. If English came, then Gandhi-ji becomes just a Gandhi or a Mohandas. Pandith-ji becomes a mere Nehru; it reaches down to the lower edges of India mob, wherein every single minuscule leader loses his grandeur.
Moreover, if English is imbibed by the common masses, the whole feudal structure of the Indian social landscape vanishes and a social plateau replaces it. The individuals in the higher echelons of society simply arrive at areas where the common masses can compete with them.
When British Empire was dismantled and the geographical area now known as India (actually around 650 independent nations, many of them with direct treaty of support with the British Crown) was handed over to a handful of individuals of doubtful capacity and quality, the nation simply was redirected from its carefully chosen course. The first thing that was done by the new Indian leaders (of dubious commitment and doubtful honesty), was to dismantle English from its role of illuminating the Indian masses.
A most cunning education policy was introduced wherein three languages were made to be studied. The first was Hindi, the so-called national language. Second the state vernacular, and third English. In most states, English was so demoted that only children of rich or government officials could affords its study in costly private schools. It was to create a class of English-educated persons from rich parentage and an immense lot of no-English-knowing persons, who were to end up at the lower edges of the social spectrum. Later a minor percentage of them were to corner government jobs, since in course of time, political parties strove to remove English from public administration. Public Administration became a core of horror, wherein pure feudal attitudes came to the fore.
All over the nation, Hindi came to be taught at Central Government expense. Here it may be remembered that when India became independent, Hindi was a very poor language, with a lot of feudal-social-structure literature. Only around 22% of its speakers at that time were literate; meaning that actually this 22% only could be really statistically relevant when language knowledge is reckoned (thus making it irrelevant as a national language; for there were other vernacular with a very higher literate population).
This Hindi education at Government expense had a beautiful fallout for a minor group of splendidly placed individuals. They were the Hindi filmmakers. Their films now had an all-India audience. Money from all over India gathered in their hands. In many South Indian areas, there was talk of north Indian looks, which were identified with the chocolate looks of the Hindi actors. Extremely fair, whispers of green above the upper lip and on the chin.
The very word Bollywood is a very cheap imitation of the name Hollywood.
Yet, when one when went to Delhi and Bombay, one simply couldnt find such figures on the roadside. Everywhere in India, actually the rich, who lived in splendid reclusivity from the common crowd, did have exclusive looks.
Now, as is happening in all feudal language nations including China, a few persons stand in vantage positions, and get strangling command over the rest of the population. They possess a sort of power, which is not conceivable in an English nation.
Hindi film producers also are in such a diabolic position. They exist as or at least have a claim to being Indian Cultural leaders, when actually they are Cultural Despoilers.
Now, Hindi has continued its ugly course to spoil English. Delhi and Bombay media promotes a sort of English, which they claim is Inglish, a malignant infection on English with Hindi.
Beyond that the infection is fast spreading to other areas. Earlier times, when children viewed such International English Channels as Cartoonnetwork and Disney Land, English programmes were exclusively seen. Now both Cartoonnetworkindia as well as Disney Land India compete to provide more and more Hindi and Tamil programmes interspersed among their English programmes. It thus happens that children, who watch these channels to imbibe the English spirit, are bound to end up with an unwarranted imbibing of Hindi and Tamil social scenery.
Then there is the horror of horrors: Both CartoonnetworkIndia as well as Disney Land India is dubbing many beautiful English Cartoon characters as well as movies into these languages. Only a discerning person can see the debasement that is happening to beautiful English cartoon characters, who had illuminated the imagination of immense children. It is terrible to see the manner in which both cartoon characters as well as real actors, get dislodged from their positions of refinement and splintered into varying positions of feudal structuring. It boils the mind to see these fascinating persons being at the mercy of untidy persons, with nasty minds, who poke in words and sentences of horrific standards into their mouths. Characters that existed on a level of equal dignity are made to bear the ugly twisting of contorted languages.
Lord Macaulay was not rich; he had meagre means to recurring income. Yet, when one sees his commitment to intellectual honesty, one is really humbled. He was risking a grand job that could accrue to him both position as well as income. Yet, the Gods stood by him.
His real tragedy would be that most of the natives to whom he intended to lend the halo of English, would themselves stand in opposition to his schemes. Till recently there were many communist leaders in India, who used anti-English as a theme song for political mileage; for them otherwise also English was a threat, as English would have liberated their own followers from their clutches. Yet, it was only a stark reminder of uncanny oriental doubletalk to see that most of these Communist leaders, with financial acumen, send their own children to English nations, where they took citizenship, belying communist propaganda that nations are untouchable Capitalistic nations. The huge number of dumbstruck communist followers simply crows with happiness as their own leaders plan their eternal subjugation.
I am quoting from Macaulays minutes, wherein he is seen ready to relinquish his position, if the government were to stand by delinquent logics:
If the decision of his Lordship in Council should be such as I anticipate, I shall enter on the performance of my duties with the greatest zeal and alacrity. If, on the other hand, it be the opinion of the government that the present system ought to remain unchanged, I beg that I may be permitted to retire from the chair of the Committee. I feel that I could not be of the smallest use there-I feel, also, that I should be lending my countenance to what I firmly believe to be a mere delusion. I believe that the present system tends, not to accelerate the progress of truth, but to delay the natural death of expiring errors. I conceive that we have at present no right to the respectable name of a Board of Public Instruction. We are a Board for wasting public money, for printing books which are of less value than the paper on which they are printed was while it was blank; for giving artificial encouragement to absurd history, absurd metaphysics, absurd physics, absurd theology; for raising up a breed of scholars who find their scholarship an encumbrance and a blemish, who live on the public while they are receiving their education, and whose education is so utterly useless to them that when they have received it they must either starve of live on the public all the rest of their lives. Entertaining these opinions, I am naturally desirous to decline all share in the responsibility of a body, which, unless it alters its whole mode of proceeding, I must consider not merely as useless, but as positively noxious.
(It may be noted that Macaulay, though a Christian was not amused with the antics of the Christian religion, including the Indian version of it).
The personnel who work for bringing out Hindi and Tamil programmes in the aforementioned internationally acclaimed TV channels are really working for the devil. They are spreading poison, to an already impoverished populace. It only befits to say that they are accursed.
I had not read anything directly by Macaulay. Recently I came across his Minutes here. I am simply fascinated that many of my understandings stand ratified by him, some hundred and seventy five years ago.
