IMPORTATION OF IDEOLOGIES : FROM MACAULAY MINUTES TO WOOD COMMISSION Lava

In this article I examine Nepal’s language policy with particular reference to Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC known as Wood Commission) Report of 1956. In this essay I analyze how theWood Commission Report was employed as a means of importing values introduced by the British India’s Macaulay Minutes of 1835. I explore how the post independence Education Commission had an overarching eff ect on the educational language policy discourse in the country. I investigate the eff ects of the NNEPC language policy on the educational practices in Nepal. First, I consider how the independent Nepal responded to the aspirations of the people for change in its educational language planning and policy. * Ministry of Education and Sports Journal of Education and Researc21 21 9/9/08 12:23:53 PM Journal of Education and Research Vol. 1 No. 1, 2008 22 the Commission to develop “a uniform system of education for the whole country [emphasis added” (NNEPC, 1956). ! is reveals that the new democratic Government was also trying to homogenize the peoples in the country by introducing a ‘uniform system of education’. From this it appears that although the Government was making changes to comply with the popular demand, in reality it was longing to continue the legacy of the Rana regime (Awasthi, 2004; Gupta, 1964; Caddell, 2002). Formation of the NNEPC In line with the recommendation of the NEB, an Education Commission was formed (Sharma, 1986; Caddell, 2002). In order to accomplish this task, the Government invited foreign advisors (Eagle, 2000; NNEPC, 1956). ! is was, perhaps, the start of foreign advisor’s visible presence in Nepal (Sharma, 1986). Consequently, the country entered into another phase of domination and importation of alien thoughts. Nepal experienced imposition of western values and ideas (Rana, 1998). Intellectually, Nepal became more dependent on the West than it was ever before (Sharma, 1986). ! e western infl uence eventually inspired Nepal to attempt to become a monolingual nation-state (NNEPC, 1956). ! us, Nepalese people’s desire for change was greeted with an attempt to reduce Nepal’s multilingual social construct. Since the leaderships in the Government, apparently, did not have adequate experience to embark on a new phase of educational reconstruction, they strongly felt a need for technical support from outside Nepal. ! ere was a visible lack of clarity and confi dence at the policy level (NNEPC, 1956). Realizing the need for assistance, the United States of America off ered technical advice to the Government of Nepal for educational development (Eagle, 2000, p. 19). At that time, Dr Hugh B. Wood, US Fulbright Scholar and educationalist, was on an assignment in India. ! e Government of Nepal approached the US AID to provide Dr Wood as an education advisor to Nepal. ! e US Government amiably accepted it, and Dr Wood took his assignment in Nepal in 1953 (Sharma, 1986, p. 181-182). Dr Wood’s arrival in Kathmandu heralded the beginning of a new era in educational language policy in the country. It was a turning point in the history of language planning in multilingual Nepal (NNEPC, 1956; Caddell, 2002; Eagle, 2000). Following the visit of Dr Wood, the Government constituted the Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC), popularly known as the Wood Commission, in 1954 (Sharma, 1986). Dr Wood was appointed as the Educational Advisor to the Commission. ! e Wood Commission was historic and had overarching infl uence on the language policies in the post-NNEPC Nepal. It was historic in the sense that such a Commission was formed for the fi rst time in the country, and that it still forms the basis for Nepal’s contemporary educational policy. ! e NNEPC report has been infl uential in the education system and educational language policies introduced at diff erent points in time (Caddell, 2002). Moreover, the NNEPC legacy is still in action and has been playing a role in the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of Nepal’s language policy (NEC, 1992). More importantly, the NNEPC report is a pioneering piece of work in the fi eld of education in the country. It set the tone of the entire education sector. It was acclaimed for its comprehensive coverage and detailed description of the issues on education. It was seen as a step forward in the Nepalese education system (NNEPC, 1956). ! e Commission placed emphasis on the universalization of primary education and on the improvement of educational service delivery systems across the country. ! e report acknowledged the role of education for social transformation and decentralization (Caddell, 2002). In this respect, the report was a landmark in the history of Nepalese Education (NNEPC, 1956). Besides, the Commission Journal of Education and Researc22 22 9/9/08 12:23:53 PM Journal of Education and Research Vol. 1 No. 1, 2008 23 tried to highlight the life of rural Nepal. It made an attempt to paint a picture of multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual nation. ! e report looked into the issues relating to the medium of instruction, language teaching and learning, teacher preparation and instructional materials, emphasizing the importance of the non-Nepali speaking (NNS) children in schools of Nepal (NNEPC, 1956). Nevertheless, the NNEPC report was unable to capture the spirit of the political change in the country. ! e report, in reality, failed to recognize the need for multilingual education in Nepal. Instead, the report placed emphasis on introducing reduction of multilingualism. It tried to impose linguistic restrictions, and discouraged the spread of multilingualism in the country (Caddell, 2000; Chene, 1996). ! e NNEPC Report: Importation of Western


Aspirations for Change
Nepal witnessed a formal introduction of a Governmental language policy after the inception of democracy in the country in 1951 (Gupta, 1964;NNEPC, 1956).In the 1950s, following the political change, educational programmes became a major concern for the public (Sharma, 1986).
e new democratic Government was bound to respond to people's aspirations in the changed context (Caddell, 2002;Gupta, 1964).Schools and educational institutions started to grow rapidly.People's interest in and access to education increased all over the country (Sharma, 1986).People started exerting pressure on the Government to do more to augment the process of reform in education (Gupta, 1964).People's aspiration led the Government to initiate the educational reform programme to respond to country's educational needs (Sharma, 1986).
To bring about a visible change in the country, the Government created the Ministry of Education, and appointed a Secretary of Education and a Chief Inspector of Schools (Eagle, 2000).In order to provide an effi cient management base to the school system, Nepal was divided into seven inspectorate zones.Each zone was headed by a Divisional Inspector of Schools.To bring in uniformity in the operation of schools, Educational Administrative Guidelines were developed for the school inspectors (Sharma, 1986).
To obtain advice on education and facilitate the process of change, the Government formed a twenty-member National Education Board (NEB) in 1952 (Sharma, 1986, p. 181).e main tasks of the Board were to "supervise and expand the existing educational facilities" (NNEPC, 1956, p. 1).e NEB played an important role in providing inputs for policy decisions in the changed context.In 1953, the NEB suggested that the Government form a National Commission for Educational Planning to develop a scheme for the universalization of education in Nepal.It also set the agenda for the Commission to develop "a uniform system of education for the whole country [emphasis added" (NNEPC, 1956). is reveals that the new democratic Government was also trying to homogenize the peoples in the country by introducing a 'uniform system of education'.From this it appears that although the Government was making changes to comply with the popular demand, in reality it was longing to continue the legacy of the Rana regime (Awasthi, 2004;Gupta, 1964;Caddell, 2002).

Formation of the NNEPC
In line with the recommendation of the NEB, an Education Commission was formed (Sharma, 1986;Caddell, 2002).In order to accomplish this task, the Government invited foreign advisors (Eagle, 2000;NNEPC, 1956). is was, perhaps, the start of foreign advisor's visible presence in Nepal (Sharma, 1986).Consequently, the country entered into another phase of domination and importation of alien thoughts.Nepal experienced imposition of western values and ideas (Rana, 1998).Intellectually, Nepal became more dependent on the West than it was ever before (Sharma, 1986).
e western infl uence eventually inspired Nepal to attempt to become a monolingual nation-state (NNEPC, 1956).us, Nepalese people's desire for change was greeted with an attempt to reduce Nepal's multilingual social construct.
Since the leaderships in the Government, apparently, did not have adequate experience to embark on a new phase of educational reconstruction, they strongly felt a need for technical support from outside Nepal.ere was a visible lack of clarity and confi dence at the policy level (NNEPC, 1956).Realizing the need for assistance, the United States of America off ered technical advice to the Government of Nepal for educational development (Eagle, 2000, p. 19).At that time, Dr Hugh B. Wood, US Fulbright Scholar and educationalist, was on an assignment in India.e Government of Nepal approached the US AID to provide Dr Wood as an education advisor to Nepal.e US Government amiably accepted it, and Dr Wood took his assignment in Nepal in 1953 (Sharma, 1986, p. 181-182).Dr Wood's arrival in Kathmandu heralded the beginning of a new era in educational language policy in the country.It was a turning point in the history of language planning in multilingual Nepal (NNEPC, 1956;Caddell, 2002;Eagle, 2000).
Following the visit of Dr Wood, the Government constituted the Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC), popularly known as the Wood Commission, in 1954 (Sharma, 1986).Dr Wood was appointed as the Educational Advisor to the Commission.e Wood Commission was historic and had overarching infl uence on the language policies in the post-NNEPC Nepal.It was historic in the sense that such a Commission was formed for the fi rst time in the country, and that it still forms the basis for Nepal's contemporary educational policy.e NNEPC report has been infl uential in the education system and educational language policies introduced at diff erent points in time (Caddell, 2002).Moreover, the NNEPC legacy is still in action and has been playing a role in the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of Nepal's language policy (NEC, 1992).
More importantly, the NNEPC report is a pioneering piece of work in the fi eld of education in the country.It set the tone of the entire education sector.It was acclaimed for its comprehensive coverage and detailed description of the issues on education.It was seen as a step forward in the Nepalese education system (NNEPC, 1956).
e Commission placed emphasis on the universalization of primary education and on the improvement of educational service delivery systems across the country.
e report acknowledged the role of education for social transformation and decentralization (Caddell, 2002).In this respect, the report was a landmark in the history of Nepalese Education (NNEPC, 1956).Besides, the Commission tried to highlight the life of rural Nepal.It made an attempt to paint a picture of multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual nation.e report looked into the issues relating to the medium of instruction, language teaching and learning, teacher preparation and instructional materials, emphasizing the importance of the non-Nepali speaking (NNS) children in schools of Nepal (NNEPC, 1956).
Nevertheless, the NNEPC report was unable to capture the spirit of the political change in the country.
e report, in reality, failed to recognize the need for multilingual education in Nepal.Instead, the report placed emphasis on introducing reduction of multilingualism.It tried to impose linguistic restrictions, and discouraged the spread of multilingualism in the country (Caddell, 2000;Chene, 1996).

e NNEPC Report: Importation of Western Ideals
Multilingualism has been people's lifeline in the South Asian Region (Ferguson, 1996).People in Nepal present a living example of multilingual social life.Nepal's diversity has been celebrated for time immemorial.It was celebrated by the Malla Kings.So was by Prithvi Narayan Shah, who unifi ed the country (Acharya, 2002;Rana, 1998;Bhattarai, 2001).us, reduction of multilingualism was not an indigenous construct of Nepal.
e linguistic restrictionism was an alien concept for the people and polity, and was an importation from the west.e concept of reductionism grew during the British Raj in India, and fl ourished after the NNEPC report.Dr Wood played a major part to give shape to reduction of multilingualism in this country.e following views expressed by Dr Wood reveal his monolithic mindset.I quote: [……] that two hundred years before, the very problem had started then in the face in the United States of America, which at that time had a multiplicity of spoken languages: but that after the War of Independence, English was given due prominence as the medium of instruction and that today there is no problem of language (as cited in Caddell, 2000 from a press release quoting Wood).ese remarks made by Dr Wood clearly refl ected the non-Nepali ideology of a monolingual nation-state.Since Dr Wood was the architect of the NNEPC, the report, owing to this, proved to be a means of advocating the western ideology of monolingualism.It becomes clear that Dr Wood's concept of multilingual restrictionism played a decisive role while crafting the report.
e NNEPC, thus, was the manifestation of the one-language [ek bhasa] non-Nepali construct.
e report itself was an example of how an alien ideology was imported to transform Nepal into a monolingual nation-state (Caddell, 2000;Chene, 1996).

e Macaulay Minutes
Nepal's educational language policies are heavily infl uenced by the language polices of the British India.
e Macaulay Minutes 1 on Education of 1835 during the British raj in India greatly aff ected Nepal's educational policies (Sharma, 1986).Stating the intent of the Macaulay Minutes, Phillipson (1992, p. 110) notes that " e signifi cance of language was understood from the early expansionist phase of imperialism.
[…] the English language was regarded as a force for the 'modernizing' of the country [India], the purpose being to educate a class of Indians who could function as interpreters between the British colonial power and the millions of Indians they 1 The British Government in India invited Lord Macaulay from Britain in 1835 to decide about the medium of instruction and set the structure of education.Macaulay was Chairman of the Governor-General's Committee on Public Instruction (Phillipson, 1992).The Macaulay Minutes are considered to be the foundation of Indian education system.Lord Macaulay introduced English as the medium of instruction.He, however, is often blamed for imposing the English education system and the language of the colonials.More serious charge on Macaulay is that he introduced the Downward Filtration Model of education to anglicize the people in India.
governed, 'a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect'…" e underlying meaning of the Macaulay Minutes was thus to create a class of people that could serve the purpose of the East India Company and that could maintain supremacy of the colonial power over the native speakers of Indian languages by imposing the English language, and its values and principles.e Macaulay Minutes provided India with a basis for introducing the modern education system in place of indigenous Indian education (Prasad, 2001).e hidden agenda of the Macaulay Minutes was to gradually Anglicize India and dislodge Indian linguistic culture (Knapp, 2002) and implement English curricula across India.
e Minutes formally opened ways for the expansion of the English language in India both as the medium of introduction and as a subject of study (Cha, 2002).Also, the agenda for the change in India through the Macaulay Minutes was to divide India linguistically between Anglophile elites and the masses.For this, Macaulay employed the 'downward fi ltration method' by making the local elite an agent for anglicizing India (Knapp, 2002).Phillipson (1992) observes that the result of the Macaulay Minutes was that throughout the South Asian sub-continent [including Nepal] English became the medium of all formal domains of a society's functioning including education, administration, trade and commence.Because of Nepal's cultural, religious and social ties, and educational links with India, the eff ect of the Macaulay Minutes was far-reaching on the minds and lives of the people in Nepal.
Owing to the eff ects of the Macaulay Minutes, people started ignoring the indigenous languages and education systems in the Sub-continent (Reagan, 1996).Consequently, the roots of Hindu and Buddhist traditions of education in Nepal were badly shaken by the language policy that followed the Macaulay Minutes.Further, the educational policy in India had visible impacts on Nepal's education system and its language policies.ere are inter-connections between the Macaulay Minutes and the Wood Commission (NNEPC) report.e eff ects of the Macaulay Minutes are clearly seen in NNEPC fi ndings and recommendations.

Nepal's Educational Language Policy: Continuation of Colonial Legacy
We  , 1956, p. 169)."Classifi cation tests should be used to discover the status of language profi ciency (in Nepali) and to group trainees according to their needs" (NNEPC, 1956, p. 169).

Destruction
Conversion: "It is my fi rm belief that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not be a single idolater among the respected classes 30 years hence" (Macaulay in his letter to his father dated 12 th Oct, 1836 as cited in V Ravi Kumar).
Homogenization: " It is believed that many pupils will cease to be dependent upon their MT […].And it should be emphasized that if Nepali is to become the true national language, then we must insist that its use be enforced in the primary school" (NNEPC, 1956, p. 96).

Perpetuation
Linguistic Rejectionism: "I have never found one among them [Orientalists] who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia" (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967: p. 1) " e funds which thus be placed at our disposal would enable us to give larger encouragement to … schools in which the English language might be well and thoroughly taught.(Macaulay in Edwards, 1967, p. 4) "… we ought to employ them [funds] in teaching what is best worth knowing; that English is better worth knowing than Sanskrit and Arabic…" (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967, p. 4) Imposition: "And it should be emphasized that if Nepali is to become the true national language, then we must insist that its use be enforced in the primary school" (NNEPC, 1956, p. 96).

Possession
Intellectual supremacy: "Whoever knows that language [English], has access to all the vast intellectual wealth, which all the wisest nations of the earth have created and hoarded in the course of ninety generations" (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967, p. 2) "We know that foreigners of all nations do learn our language [English]suffi ciently to have access to all the most abstruse knowledge which it contains, …" (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967, p. 3) "We have to educate a people who cannot at present be educated by means of their mother-tongue.… the English tongue is that which would be the most useful to our native subjects [Indians]" (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967,  From these examples it becomes clear that both the Macaulay Minutes and Wood Commission had the same mission.ey followed the same course of assimilation, destruction, perpetuation, possession and restriction in order to establish a monolingual nation-state.It is not simply a matter of coincidence to have so many things in common.Reduction of multilingualism was the manifestation of their mission.Both of these pioneering pieces are the refl ections of the underlying agenda borrowed from the west.Macaulay tried to achieve the purpose of anglicizing India by employing the 'downward fi ltration model', whereas the NNEPC attempted to expand Nepali through a 'direct prohibition method' under the pretext of national unity.Both of them aim at attaining their objectives through linguistic expansion of the dominant language at the cost of the various mother tongues i.e. a spread 2 of one language (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000; Yadav, 1990).

Nepalese Factors Infl uencing NNEPC Report
It is evident that the underlying principle of the NNEPC report was to turn Nepal into a monolingual nation-state.It also becomes clear that the report was an attempt to systematically engineer the plan to introduce linguistic nationalism in the country (Rana, 1998).As a result, the agenda for linguistic nationalism (Awasthi, 2004) has received prominence in 2 According to Skutnabb-Kangas (2000) subtractive spread of languages means that incoming language fi rst displaces, then replaces original languages, domain by domain.According to Phillipson (1992) it is a result of linguistic imperialism.

Restriction
Prohibition for printing: "I would at once stop the printing of Arabic and Sanskrit books; …. ….We are a Board for wasting public money, for printing books which are less value than the paper on which they are printed was while it was blank; " (Macaulay in Edwards, 1967, p. 4) Control over Material: "… … printed and manufactured aids must be produced in the Nepali language, and be designed for Nepal's schools" (NNEPC, 1956, p. 186).
the educational language planning throughout the post-independence era of Nepal (Yadav, 1990).It proved to be a benchmark for national development in the country (Whelpton, 1997).e NNEPC legitimized the Nepali language and tried to make Nepali inevitable for all primary school children (Caddell, 2002;Chene, 1996).
It is pertinent to analyze why the Macaulay Minutes became so important in the NNEPC report.Several domestic factors may have contributed to this.One of the factors might be the educational orientation of the Commission members.Most of the members were infl uenced by the post-Macaulay Minutes India by virtue of their education and training.e Commission members appeared to be honest and were committed to doing well to the children in Nepal.
ere is no doubt about their good intentions.However, the eff ects of their work were diff erent from what they intended.Despite being very knowledgeable and highly level senior Government offi cials and extremely qualifi ed professionals, from the results of the report it appears that they happened to be the carriers of the colonial culture of the British India.It could be claimed that there was a visible eff ect of 'downward fi ltration model' on the NNEPC members (Chene, 1996;Caddell, 2002;Awasthi, 2004).
e second factor could be the Macaulay model itself.e Macaulay Minutes might have been taken as the prototypic work for educational planning in Nepal.e Commission members might have employed the Minutes as a ready reference while preparing the NNEPC report.
e third factor might be that the members of the Commission were mainly from the elite social background.Another factor could be that the ordinary people's level of awareness was extremely low.People were unable to challenge the framework set by the Commission.Also, there were no open dialogues between the rulers and the ruled.e Commission members seemed to work in the interest of the former.

NNEPC Implications
Although Nepal's overt policies on language(s) after the Wood Commission changed from time to time to respond to the political changes in the country, the covert policies appear to have been reproduced and/ or recycled from the NNEPC report.e basic ideology put forward by the Wood Commission has still been seen as a framework for educational language planning in the country (Awasthi, 2004;Caddell, 2000Caddell, , 2002;;Yadav, 1990).
ey followed the pattern that was laid down by the Wood Commission.Although Nepal witnessed legislative changes in its educational language policies after 1990, the practices in the country have remained unchanged (EDSC, 1997;EDSC, 1999;CHIRAG, 2001;VCDP, 2004).
Although the mission of the Wood Commission appears to be guided by the aspirations of the people as to how all children in this country could receive good education according to the spirit of democracy, the eff ect of the Wood Commission report was such that it disadvantaged the indigenous and ethnic minority children.e report appeared to be an 'assimilation-oriented majority discourse' in the sense that it tried to legitimize Nepali-only medium of instruction policies.It demonstrated defi ciency orientations and presented Nepal's minority languages as problems, not as rights and resources (Ruiz, 1984;Kontra et al., 1999).
Summing Up e Wood Commission report failed to represent 'real' Nepal and failed to recognize the importance of children's mother tongue in education.It tried to legitimize the Nepali-only ideology and contributed to promoting this concept in the school system.e report is a testimony of how a state tends to become triumphalist over the minorities and tries to homogenize the indigenous peoples in the country.e report states that: e study of a non-Nepali local tongue would mitigate against the eff ective development of Nepali, for the student would make greater use of it than Nepali -at home and in the community -and thus Nepali would remain a "foreign" language.If the younger generation is taught to use Nepali as the basic language, then other languages will gradually disappear, and greater national strength and unity will result (NNEPC -1956, p. 97).
In contrast, if we look at the Report of the UNESCO Meeting of Specialists 1951, it highlights the importance of mother tongue, and shows interdependence of mother tongue and second language.e report (UNESCO, 1951) illuminates that: [….] it seems clear that national interests are best served by optimum advancement of education, and this in turn can be promoted by the use of the local language as a medium of instruction, at least at the beginning of the school programme.
[….] an equal or better command of the second language can be imparted if the school begins with the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, subsequently introducing the second language as a subject of instruction.e UNESCO Report emphasized the need for mother tongues to ensure national unity and to promote the second language.By contrast, the NNEPC placed emphasis on the development of the Nepali language at the cost of other non-Nepali tongues.It insisted that 'greater national strength and unity' would be achieved by adopting Nepali as 'the basic language' in the school system and thereby making other languages disappear.
Further, Chene (1996) raises the question about the intention of the NNEPC.She holds that the Commission's policy of Nepali as the medium of instruction in schools was a measure that would actively work to kill off the other languages of the country (1996, p. 126).From her observation also it appears that the Commission took 'other languages' as a threat to the Nepali-nation and national unity.e NNEPC seems to see local languages as an obstacle to education.is argument is against the very foundation of the Nepali-nation (Awasthi, 2004) and against the principles of education (UNESCO, 1951;UNESCO, 2003;OSCE, 1992;Dutcher, 1995, p. 36).Clearly, Nepal as a nation-state rests on its multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual construction.It is also clear that Nepal's geography, ecology, demography and social construction, inter alia, are all in harmony with multilingualism.Nepal's diversity is its reality.If its linguistic diversity is reduced and/ or restricted, the existence of Nepal is unthinkable.Skutnabb-Kangas emphasizes that "national unity can only be built on respect for the languages and cultures of all the peoples who make up the nation" (2000, p. 241).us, the NNEPC's proposition is unfounded and chauvinistic.It is detrimental to providing a fi rm foundation for non-Nepali speaking children's education and detrimental to off ering a broad base for the Nepali-nation.
can see a link between what Lord Macaulay said in India and what the Wood Commission (NNEPC) suggested in Nepal.ere are striking similarities between the two.I have taken some examples from both the Macaulay Minutes and Wood Commission.I have arranged them into fi ve broad categories in which they have common views and approaches.Under each category I have supplied sub-headings summing up the substance of the text under each column.I have also italicised the key words and phrases of the extracts in order to help see the similarities between the two.My major categories are: "No other [than Nepali] languages should be taught, even optionally, in the primary school …" "Nepali should be the MOI, exclusively from the third grade on, and as much as possible in the fi rst two grades."