Binary Thinking Of The British Colonists And Macaulay Education

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Binary Thinking Of The British Colonists And
Macaulay Education
Chaitanya Kumari Writes informational articles on
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The Europeans, including the British, are
generally guilty of binary thinking where they
conclude that things are just good or bad. They
refuse to admit that there can also be something
that is in between. So, it can be said that,
for them, everything is either totally black or
completely white, and they dont accept the
possibility of gray. Its the view of the
British that anything that does not conform to
their ideology or clashes with their interests
has to be discarded or destroyed. It can never
have any positive aspect. Its this particular
line of thought that led to the introduction of
Macaulays education in India. There have been
several instances that highlight the binary
thinking of the British. When the Anglican Church
dissociated from the Roman Catholic Church,
things became terrible for the adherents of
Catholicism in Great Britain.
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The Anglican Church combines elements from
Catholic Church and Protestanism. The Protestant
Calvinists in England called the Puritans, as
they opposed the accommodation to Catholic
practices. This was not appreciated in England by
the King and the Church of England. Several
stringent restrictions were enforced on them and
the Puritans were persecuted. Eventually, they
left Great Britain and migrated to the USA ready
to face the unknown new world rather than live in
persecution in England. This persecution of
Catholic and especially the harsh persecution of
Puritan Protestant Christians reflects the binary
thinking of the Colonial era British ruling
class. They go against people or institutions
that dont adhere to their dictates. They
automatically become black. It was this very
mindset that led the British to implement
policies aimed at destabilizing the traditional
education system in India during the nineteenth
century. The British believed that the this
traditional bharatiya educational system could
undermine their control. As a result, they
labeled it backward and strategically replaced
it with the Macaulay System of Education.
Unfortunately, the Macaulay system continues to
be followed in India even today.
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In this regard, the most disturbing facet is that
even the Indians educated under the Macaulay
system have adopted the same binary thinking.
They also lose no opportunity to belittle the
ancient Indian education system. These educated
Indians are blinded by their English education.
They are so unwilling to recognize the value of
Indias ancient education system. They think that
it is just black. It can be said without
hesitation that Macaulay-educated Indians have
not only continued to study the British inspired
curriculum in schools and colleges, but they have
also adopted the British arrogance. Humility
is a concept foreign to these educated
individuals, yet it was an essential aspect of
our traditional education system. The fact that
these knowledgeable Indians enjoy professional
success does not justify their biased attitude
from binary thinking. In addition, the products
of Macaulay education need constant validation of
westerners and have no spine of their own. If
something is of Western origin, it is undoubtedly
superior.
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In the same way, if a thing fails to receive the
validation of any qualified Westerner, it carries
no value. With this mindset, its unsurprising
that they fail to see the great ideas that were
part of Bharatiya education. These educated
folks point out that corruption in India has
reached alarming levels. Little do they realize
that the seeds of corruption, as we see it today,
were sown almost two hundred years ago with the
Macaulay system. Some of these misguided
individuals even justify the British, citing
concepts like survival of the fittest. This,
too, is a result of that English education, which
promotes binary thinking. It is not just the
English-educated people living in India who stick
to that erroneous viewpoint. An overwhelming
majority of the Indian diaspora display the same
kind of thinking despite their first hand
exposure by living in western countries. The
binary thinking of the British colonists and the
unfettered continuity of that system has lead to
many defects in current India. Tragically, it has
devalued Indias rich scientific, logical
education system and cultural heritage.
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