English becomes official language of British India

Background. English established a foothold in India through East India Company trading ports. By the 1830s, English-language public instruction began under Company rule. Macaulay, serving on the Supreme Council, argued that Sanskrit and Persian were less accessible than English for useful learning. He recommended English as the medium for secondary education and the training of English-speaking Indian teachers, setting the stage for administrative language change.

Macaulay's Minute. Thomas Babington Macaulay played a substantial role in determining India's education policy. His Minute on Indian Education, issued in February 1835, was primarily responsible for introducing Western institutional education. Macaulay argued that existing Sanskrit and Persian texts were of little use for useful learning, advocating for English as the foreign language to be taught to Indian students.

Legislative Implementation. Macaulay's recommendations largely coincided with the views of Bentinck, whose English Education Act 1835 closely matched Macaulay's proposals on education. Subsequent Governors-General took a more conciliatory approach to existing Indian education. Separately, in 1835 English replaced Persian as the official language of the East India Company, a Company-wide administrative change distinct from the education legislation.