The English Education Act of 1835 made English the medium of instruction for:

The English Education Act of 1835 was a decision of the Council of India, taken under the Governor-General Lord William Bentinck. It ended the long debate between the "Orientalists" and the "Anglicists" about what kind of education the government should support in India.

The Charter Act of 1813 had set aside one lakh rupees a year for the education of Indians, but it did not say what should be taught. The Orientalists, such as H.T. Prinsep, wanted the money to support traditional learning in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. The Anglicists wanted Western science and literature taught in English. Thomas Babington Macaulay, the Law Member of the Governor-General's Council, wrote his famous "Minute on Indian Education" on 2 February 1835. He argued strongly for English education, aiming to create "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect" who would act as interpreters between the British and the people.

Bentinck accepted Macaulay's view. The resolution of 7 March 1835 declared that government funds would be used for European literature and science, taught through English, in higher education. This led to the "downward filtration theory", which held that education would filter down from the educated upper classes to the masses. In 1837, English replaced Persian as the language of the courts and administration.

Later, Wood's Despatch of 1854, often called the "Magna Carta of English education in India", led to the founding of universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Primary education was not the focus; the Act favoured higher education for a small class.
• ✗Religious education was not funded by the Act.
• ✗Military training was not covered by this Act.