EDUCATION AS TOOL OF IDEAOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN COLONIAL AND POST COLONIAL PERIOD

In colonial period [Pre-British period], India was not an illiterate country. India’s land was more advanced in education than many christian country of the West. In earlier time , almost every village had its school religion. In colonial period in India, there were four methods of education at work. The education was being given by the Brahmins to their pupils, seats of Sanskrit learning, Maktabs and Madrassas for Mohmedans.




India in the 16th century was ruled by the Muslim monarchy of the Mugal empire and after the state through the military apparatus, local zamindar[landlords]. When the East India Company took up the political supremacy in India, they did not give any thought on the education. British educational policies in India were intended to control politically the Indian subcontinents and to keep its people economically dependent on British nation.



The East India Company was transformed from a commercial body to an administrative one. After that it became the government of India. Moreover the growth of official state aided education and arose that changes took place in this period such as Calcutta Madrassa(1781)was founded by Warren Hastings. The Banaras Hindu College (1791)it produced well-qualifed Hindu Law officers for court of justice.




The missionaries (Europeans) who also came in India at the same time. They were setting up schools for Indian children in their native language as well as English. After some times the East India Company decided to ban missionaries education. Despite it the Christian Missionaries intended to strengthen and pacify the traditional Indian elites(landlords,Brahamanas).

Important educational changes happened in the 19th century. The Anglo-Indian Vidyalay College was founded in Calcutta in 1816, followed by a Sanskrit College (1823). In this way, the opportunities for educated Indians were almost as bureaucrats in colonial government. At the same time, primary schools were limited but secondary mostly.



Private preparatory to college education, were being expanding. Finally, the British colonial policy neglected the primary schools. After Industrialization and Modernization the condition of primary schools and higher education have been expanded among the masses. The extension of educational system has brought social stratification and traditional structures of inequality. Due to lack of economical background, unequal academic performance, cohesion in levels of children. So, education has certain social function and social mobility,through which one can acquire lower strata to higher strata of social instability and occupational achievement.