Quote by Thomas Babington Macaulay

It is impossible for us, with our limited means, to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population.Macaulay's minute on education arguing for the use of English in India

Summary

In this quote, Macaulay's minute on education, he argues for the formation of a class of people in India who are of Indian descent but possess English tastes, opinions, morals, and intellect. These individuals would act as intermediaries between the English governing class and the masses, working to refine the local languages and gradually introduce Western scientific terms. Macaulay believed that by using English in education, the knowledge could be effectively conveyed to the larger population, despite their linguistic barriers. Macaulay's perspective emphasizes the importance of English as a tool for intellectual and societal progress in India during British colonial rule.