ABSTRACT
The pressure of a uniform British administration, and of Western thought, would ultimately result in the growth of Indian nationalism and in a demand for self-government, was apparent to the wisest British administrators early in the nineteenth century. The most important element in that process was the introduction of Western education, with English as its basis. Education occupied little of the Company’s attention in the first few decades of British rule. The Orientalists were routed, and although vernacular education was ultimately to receive attention, English and Western learning were henceforth to have preference over Sanskrit and Arabic studies. The impact of Western thought, made possible by English education, provided that shock and in due course Indian thought once more became creative. The Ramakrishna mission was primarily intended for social service, but religion and politics have always been closely intertwined in India, and the mission became a focus of national feeling.
