What did Macaulay do to India? Know the real story of that one Englishman who changed our way of thinking.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, who came to India in 1834, is known to us only as the one who imposed English — but his real story is far deeper and more startling. In this episode, Sangam Talks presents an analysis based on Macaulay’s personal letters, his 1835 Minute on Education, and his middle-class mindset, examining how an ordinary man constructed an extraordinary colonial system.
Macaulay himself had written that a Hindu, upon receiving an English education, cannot remain connected to his religion — and this was not his sorrow, but his joy. From the IPC to the Kala Pani, his legacy lives on even today in our justice system.
But the most important question remains this — if Russia can become a superpower in its own language, then can India break free from the spell of its Macaulay?

About The Speaker:
Prashant Pandey is currently the Director of the Centre for Hindu Identity Studies (CHIS). He worked as a journalist for nearly two decades, contributing to several national English newspapers. He has also been involved in book publishing and has co-authored two books, one of which is BBC’s True Lies.