When did T.B. Macaulay present his ‘minutes on education’ advocating English education in India?

The correct option is 2nd February 1835.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (T.B. Macaulay) presented his highly influential "Minute on Indian Education" on 2nd February 1835. This document became the cornerstone of British educational policy in India, advocating strongly for the introduction of Western education using English as the medium of instruction.

During this period, there was a major debate between the "Orientalists" (who favored funding traditional Indian education in languages like Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian) and the "Anglicists" (who favored modern Western education in English). As the President of the General Committee of Public Instruction, Macaulay argued that Western learning was superior and that English was the key to modern science, literature, and philosophy.

Macaulay’s goal was to create a class of Anglicized Indians who could serve as intermediaries between the British rulers and the local population, famously stating his desire to produce "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect."

Following the presentation of this Minute on 2nd February 1835, Governor-General Lord William Bentinck officially approved it, leading to the enactment of the English Education Act on 7th March 1835, which formally redirected government educational funding toward English-medium institutions.