ABSTRACT
The Calcutta Madrasah was the first educational institution established by the East India Company in India. It was not solely the love for oriental literature or an ardent desire for its revival that impelled Warren Hastings to lay the foundation of the Madrasah. His objective was as much utilitarian as idealistic, if not more so. The business of revenue and judicial administration was still conducted in the Persian language. In the administration of justice, Hindu and Muslim legal systems were generally followed. The government therefore needed Hindu and Muslim young men to fill the subordinate position in the administration. The Calcutta Madrasah and the Benaras Sanskrit College founded by Jonathan Duncan ten years after the foundation of the former supplied the necessary personnel for the administration. Of course, by establishing these two institutions the Company’s government sought to conciliate its Indian subjects.
