Question

Which of these statements illustrates how Britain exerted sociocultural imperialism in India?

Answer 1

The introduction of western culture and education led to the loss of traditional cultural of the colonies

Answer 2

Britain exerted sociocultural imperialism in India by promoting western thought and literature in the subcontinent.

By comparing Indian literature via rationality, humanism, and the notion of progress, the British initiated a new wave of thought. They attempted to instill a sense of inferiority.

Methods used for promoting western thought:

• The British introduced a number of acts and reforms, including the General Committee of Public Instruction in 1823, Lord Macaulay's Education Policy in 1835, and Wood's Dispatch in 1854, which is known as the "Magna Carta of English Education in India" and contains comprehensive plans for the spread of English education in India.
• They introduced western education through missionary schools, which took the place of traditional schools.
• They promoted casteism and communalism while advocating modern concepts of liberty, equality, and justice. These missionaries attempted to instill western mentality in Indians so that they would embrace imperialist law and order.

In a nutshell, after 1858 AD, the British doctrine of cautious modernization began to fade. They aimed to acclimate Indians to partial modernization in order for them to support colonial modernization. Their plan was to implement partial modernization or 'colonial modernization.'