Thomas Babington Macaulay must be turning in his grave wondering what had he wrought.
After East India Company had conquered India and was in full control of India san Punjab in 1830s, he set out to educate a class of Indians who will be intermediary between the British and the Indian masses and will help them rule. They will be fluent in English and accept British as a superior race but will be seen by masses as part of them.
British never had the numbers needed to rule directly. At the height of British Raj, there were fewer that 100,000 English men, women and children in India. There were less than 10,000 of them in the army of almost 200,000.
Macaulay’s children were quick studies. They were not happy being clerks. They went on to become engineers, doctors and scientists. Within 50 years, they had started Indian National Congress as a national movement.
Macualay’s children have turned out to be very aspirational. They out-argued British out of India, gave India constitution and built a well functioning democracy.
As they moved on to the world stage they constitute 10% of all the business and science/engineering professors in US and almost 14% doctors. They are emerging as CEOs in top corporations. One of them may even become a VP of US.
I know the Saffron crowd detests Macaulay’s children but they are just being ungrateful.
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