“अंग्रेजी शिक्षा से दंभ, राग, जुल्म वगैरह बढ़े हैं। अंग्रेजी शिक्षा पाए हुए लोगों ने प्रजा को ठगने में, उसे परेशान करने में कुछ भी उठा नहीं रखा है। अब अगर हम अंग्रेजी शिक्षा पाए हुए लोग उसके लिए कुछ करते हैं, तो उसका हम पर जो कर्ज चढ़ा हुआ है, उसका कुछ हिस्सा ही हम अदा करते हैं।”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Hind Swaraj (1909), Hindi translation; passage on English education breeding arrogance and exploitation.
About this quote
Colonial-style schooling, in this reading, trained an elite to look down on ordinary people and profit at their expense. So when the educated turn their skills back toward serving the poor, that isn't charity but repayment of a debt already run up. Privilege becomes an obligation, not a gift.
When to use it
- A doctor who trained on public scholarships spends two years in rural clinics before opening a private practice.
- An engineer whose degree was subsidized volunteers to rebuild the water system in the district she grew up in.
- A lawyer takes unpaid tenant cases, treating the hours as paying back the community that funded his schooling.