Consider the following statements: Warren Hastings set up the Calcut

Consider the following statements:

Warren Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrassa for the study and teaching of Muslim law related subjects.
Jonathan Duncan started a Sanskrit College at Varanasi for the study of Hindu law and philosophy.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option3″]

This question was previously asked in

UPSC NDA-1 – 2016

The correct answer is C) Both 1 and 2.

Statement 1 is correct. Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal, established the Calcutta Madrassa (now Aliah University) in 1781 with the aim of studying and teaching Muslim law, Persian, and Arabic. The primary purpose was to ensure that British judges had access to qualified Indians knowledgeable in Muslim law for the administration of justice.
Statement 2 is correct. Jonathan Duncan, then the Resident at Varanasi, established the Sanskrit College at Varanasi in 1791. The objective was similar to the Madrassa – to promote the study of Hindu law, philosophy, and literature, enabling British judges to administer justice according to Hindu personal law with the help of Indian scholars (pandits).

These institutions represent early attempts by the British East India Company to understand and govern according to the existing legal and cultural frameworks of India, particularly in matters of personal law, which were considered sacred. This policy of limited intervention in traditional laws and customs was sometimes referred to as the ‘Orientalist’ approach, although its motives were largely administrative convenience and maintaining control.

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