“A knowledge of European science and English literature is essential for India's advancement.”
— Ram Mohan Roy[commonly attributed] Theme of Roy's 1823 letter to Lord Amherst on education; wording a summary
Commentary
This sentiment reflects Ram Mohan Roy's advocacy of English-language education and Western scientific learning in preference to traditional Sanskrit schooling. His 1823 letter to Lord Amherst, the Governor-General, argued for an education that would give Indians access to modern science, mathematics, and literature. Sophia Dobson Collet's biography places the letter within Roy's broader programme of social and intellectual reform. David Kopf, in The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind (1979), argues that Roy's educational views were part of a larger conception of modernity in which the critical use of reason would transform Indian society. The debate between Orientalists and Anglicists, in which Roy's position was prominent, gave the letter a lasting significance. The sentence is a summary of the argument, and the letter should be read in full for the exact wording.
Commentary
This sentiment reflects Ram Mohan Roy's advocacy of English-language education and Western scientific learning in preference to traditional Sanskrit schooling. His 1823 letter to Lord Amherst, the Governor-General, argued for an education that would give Indians access to modern science, mathematics, and literature. Sophia Dobson Collet's biography places the letter within Roy's broader programme of social and intellectual reform. David Kopf, in The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind (1979), argues that Roy's educational views were part of a larger conception of modernity in which the critical use of reason would transform Indian society. The debate between Orientalists and Anglicists, in which Roy's position was prominent, gave the letter a lasting significance. The sentence is a summary of the argument, and the letter should be read in full for the exact wording.