Table of Contents
- Question 36: Lord Cornwallis's Anglicization
- Question 37: Statements on Orientalists and William Jones
- Question 38: Assertion/Reason - Introduction of English in India
- Question 39: Rammohan Roy's Letter (1823)
- Question 40: Macaulay’s Minute of 1835
- Question 41: Character "Lala Kanshi Ram"
- Question 42: First Director of CIEFL (EFL University)
Question 36
Which British administrator sought to make everything as English as possible in a country which resembles England in nothing”, as recorded by Sir Thomas Munro?
The quote by Sir Thomas Munro refers to the heavy-handed anglicization policies of Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General of India from 1786 to 1793).
Cornwallis is famous for introducing the Permanent Settlement (Zamindari system) and for his deep distrust of Indians in administrative roles. He sought to entirely reform the Indian administrative and legal systems to mirror British models, completely ignoring the deeply rooted indigenous customs, which Munro and other later administrators sharply criticized.
Question 37
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: The Orientalists in British India were not sympathetic towards India’s ancient learning.
Statement II: William Jones thought that in “imagination”, “ratiocination”, and philosophy, Indians were by no means inferior to Europeans.
In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Statement I is FALSE: The defining characteristic of the Orientalists (as opposed to the Anglicists) was that they were deeply sympathetic and fascinated by India's ancient learning, translating Sanskrit and Persian texts to uncover India's "Golden Age."
Statement II is TRUE: Sir William Jones, a pioneer of Orientalism and founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784), highly praised the ancient Indian intellectual tradition, arguing that their capabilities in philosophy and imagination rivaled those of Europeans.
Question 38
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.
Assertion A: The introduction of English in India was primarily for the benefit and consolidation of British power.
Reason R: English catered to the social and economic aspirations of the emerging middle class and urban elites in India.
In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Both statements are historically accurate, but Reason (R) does not explain the cause of Assertion (A).
Assertion (A) is true: The British introduced English primarily to create a compliant workforce of clerks to run their colonial administration cheaply (as Macaulay argued). Reason (R) is true: The Indian elite (like Rammohan Roy) embraced English because it offered upward social mobility and access to modern science. However, the British did not introduce English *because* they wanted to fulfill the aspirations of the Indian middle class; they did it for their own administrative power.
Question 39
On December 11, 1823, Rammohan Roy addressed a letter to the British authority which pleaded for modern Western education and is considered historically important for the introduction of English education in India. Who was the letter addressed to?
Raja Rammohan Roy's famous 1823 letter was addressed to the Governor-General, Lord Amherst.
In the letter, Roy strongly opposed the British government's plan to establish a Sanskrit College in Calcutta. He argued that spending funds to teach ancient, traditional Sanskrit theology was useless for the progress of the nation. Instead, he pleaded with Amherst to spend the government funds on teaching modern Western sciences (mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, and anatomy) through the medium of English.
Question 40
Macaulay’s Minute of 1835 sought to:
A. Promote European literature and science among the natives.
B. Impart knowledge of English literature and science through translated texts.
C. Encourage branches of native learning by more useful studies.
D. Stop expenditure on the publication of oriental works and spend funds only on English education.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Thomas Babington Macaulay's 1835 "Minute on Indian Education" definitively settled the Orientalist vs. Anglicist debate in favor of the Anglicists.
- (A) True: Its explicit goal was the promotion of European science and literature in India.
- (D) True: He insisted that government funds should completely cease supporting the printing of Arabic and Sanskrit texts, redirecting all money to English-medium schools.
Why B and C are wrong: He specifically argued against translation (B), stating that native languages were too impoverished to express complex scientific concepts. He also actively despised and discouraged native learning (C), famously claiming that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.
Question 41
Lala Kanshi Ram is a character in:
Lala Kanshi Ram is the central protagonist of Chaman Nahal's acclaimed Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novel, Azadi (1975).
Azadi is one of the most significant Indian novels dealing with the trauma of the 1947 Partition. Lala Kanshi Ram is a prosperous Hindu grain merchant living peacefully in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) whose life is violently uprooted. The novel painfully documents his family's horrific journey as refugees fleeing to India, losing their wealth, dignity, and loved ones along the way.
Question 42
Who among the following was the first Director of the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad (now EFL University)?
The eminent Indian writer, academic, and poet Prof. V.K. Gokak served as the first Director of the Central Institute of English (later CIEFL, now EFLU) in Hyderabad.
He led the institution from 1958 to 1966. Gokak was a towering figure in Indian academia, noted for his deep contributions to Kannada literature (for which he won the Jnanpith Award) and his pioneering role in structuring English language education and literary criticism in post-independence India.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Orientalist vs. Anglicist debate?
In the early 19th century, British administrators in India debated how to spend educational funds. Orientalists (like William Jones) believed in preserving and teaching traditional Indian languages (Sanskrit/Arabic) and classical knowledge. Anglicists (like Macaulay) believed native knowledge was worthless and demanded all funds be spent teaching Western sciences entirely in English.
Why is Chaman Nahal's "Azadi" considered important?
Published in 1975, Azadi ("Freedom") is widely considered one of the most powerful English-language novels dealing with the 1947 Partition of India. Unlike some political accounts, it focuses on the deeply personal, psychological trauma and physical horrors experienced by an ordinary family (led by Lala Kanshi Ram) displaced from Sialkot.
Who was Raja Rammohan Roy and why did he write to Lord Amherst?
Raja Rammohan Roy was a visionary social reformer (often called the "Father of the Bengal Renaissance"). In 1823, he wrote to Governor-General Lord Amherst protesting the establishment of a traditional Sanskrit College. Roy believed India could only progress and eradicate social evils if its youth were educated in modern, empirical Western sciences and English, rather than repeating ancient theology.
