No, Lord Macaulay did not glorify India or our education system in any of his speeches.

Claim

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Explanation

In the above viral tweet, we were able to see the newspaper cutting stating, “I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system her culture for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation” – Lord Macaulay’s Address to the British Parliament 2nd Feb 1835.

An idea that he addressed in the London Parliament on February 2, 1835, to change the ancient education system of Indians and make them think English is superior is going viral on social media. This post was shared by many users with similar claims which can be seen here and here. Come, let’s check the authenticity of this claim.

#History
Lord Macaulay’s Minute

• The famous Lord Macaulay’s Minute settled the row in favour of Anglicists— the limited government resources were to be devoted to the teaching of Western sciences a lone
literature through the medium of English language alone. pic.twitter.com/6YwKZCh5DL

— _ᴩʀᴜᴛʜᴠɪ_ (@SPRUTHVI_17) August 27, 2023

What’s the truth?

A simple Google search with relevant keywords led us to TB Macaulay’s ‘Minute on Education’ address dated 02 February 1835 shared by Columbia University which confirms the fact that Macaulay has not addressed the British Parliament on the said day as claimed in the viral post.

While reading further through his minute, Macaulay has not made any statement lauding India’s ancient education system as claimed in the post. In fact, in this minute promoting Western education Macaulay has stated that ‘A shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia The intrinsic superiority of the Western literature is indeed fully admitted by those members of the committee who support the oriental plan of education.”

Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British officer who lived from 1800 to 1859. In 1835, during the reign of Governor General Lord William Bentinck, a draft of the Macaulay Law and Education System in India was published.

Also, the implementation of the new English education system or pursuing higher education in several Indian languages ​​including ancient Sanskrit and Arabic was discussed.

Sometimes even Indian political leaders use the same newspaper clip of Macaulay for political reasons. Imran Khan once talked about Macaulay during his campaign against former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

How much truth does Macaulay’s words hold?

• It is completely wrong to say that Macaulay was in Britain in February 1835. He was a legal member of the Governor-General’s Council in India from 1834 to 1838.
• The Indian education system is not discussed in Parliament or addressed in the Governor General’s Council, Calcutta.
• Macaulay did not express his views on India and Indian culture as in the paper cut circulating as an opinion. Also, he intended to introduce his new English system of education only for the elite, not to separate or destroy it from the old ones.

Until 1838 he had orders not to return to Britain without completing his assignment. In February 1835, Macaulay was in Calcutta. When YOUTURN contacted the Parliament of the UK and asked about this issue they sent a link where they had already answered this question. It said, “There is no Parliamentary record so there is no record of it in the House of Commons. Macaulay, a historian, essayist, and poet, was MP from 1830-34, 1840-47 and 1852-57. He resigned as MP in early 1834 and traveled to India where he became a member of the SUPREME COUNCIL OF INDIA. So it might be written in the Supreme Council of India.

Searching through British parliamentary records from the early 19th century, led us to the Hansard archives which also didn’t provide any solid evidence regarding this purported speech.

Lord Macaulay’s remarks on India in British Parliament in 1933 can be read in the book Speeches by Lord Macaulay: With His Minute on Indian Education Code. According to the book, on page 134, Government of India, Macaulay’s thoughts about India don’t fit the paper circulating on social media as it is contradictory.

Funnily, we got another similar paper cut with the same message shared by a user namely “Lord Abraham Mutai” in 2018, whereas they have replaced the word ‘India’ with ‘Africa’

This proves that this paper cut is widely spread on social media with different country names creating more confusion. In reality, there is no proof for the above said words of Macaulay.

Conclusion:

The truth is that there is no evidence anywhere to substantiate the said words about the circulating paper-cut of Macaulay’s thoughts about Indian ancient education system. All the above records prove that Lord Macaulay did not deliver any speech glorifying India and advocating a plan to conquer India in British Parliament on 02 February 1835.

Proof Links