Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?
Social StudiesClass 8CBSEAnswered 27 Mar 2026
Answer
James Mill and Thomas Macaulay felt that the knowledge of English would allow Indians to read some of the finest literature that the world had produced; it would make them aware of the developments in Western science and philosophy. The teaching of English could thus be a way of ‘civilising’ people, changing their tastes, values and culture. They also felt that the aim of education should be to teach what was useful and practical. So, Indians should be made familiar with the scientific and technical advances that the West had made, rather than with the poetry and sacred literature of the ‘Orient’.
Suggested Q&A
Social Studies · Class 8- Social StudiesClass 8What was Birsa’s vision of a golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?
- Social StudiesClass 8What accounts for the anger of the tribals against the dikus?
- Social StudiesClass 8How did the powers of tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?
- Social StudiesClass 8What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?
- Social StudiesClass 8State whether true or false: (a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds. (b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase price. (c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery. (d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life.
- Social StudiesClass 8(a) The British described the tribal people as ____________. (b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as ____________. (c) The tribal chiefs got ____________ titles in central India under the British land settlements. (d) Tribals went to work in the ____________ of Assam and the ____________ in Bihar.