Appropriation and invention of tradition : the East India Company and Hindu law in early colonial Bengal

The beginning of Anglo-Hindu jurisprudence was occasioned by decisive developments in the cultural, intellectual, and legal history of India. This book deals with the appropriation of the Dharmasastras - a powerful written tradition - and its codification, in the construction of Hindu law. It explores the significant connections between this process of formalization and the consolidation of the empire in Bengal. Bhattacharyya-Panda analyses the shifting administrative and political needs of the colonial regime as well as the perceptions and attitudes of the officials in this process of codification. Through a careful study of the compilations, Vivadarmavasetu and Vivadabhabgarnava alongside their late eighteenth-century colonial translations, she brings out the ways in which ancient textual traditions - the prescriptive, normative, and moralistic rules of the Dharmasastras - were metamorphosed into legal rules to be directly administered in courts. Investigating the intricate and dynamic links between power and knowledge in the evolution of institutions under colonial rule, this book underlines innovative ways of looking at the legal history of colonial India. The beginning of Anglo-Hindu jurisprudence was occasioned by decisive developments in the cultural, intellectual, and legal history of India. This book deals with the appropriation of the Dharmaśāstras — a powerful written tradition — and its codification, in the construction of Hindu law. It explores the significant connections between this process of formalization and the consolidation of the empire in Bengal. It analyses the shifting administrative and political needs of the colonial regime as well as the perceptions and attitudes of the officials in this process of codification. Through a careful study of the compilations, Vivādarṇavasetu and Vivādabhangārṇava alongside their late eighteenth-century colonial translations, the book brings out the ways in which ancient textual traditions — the prescriptive, normative, and moralistic rules of the Dharmaśāstras — were metamorphosed into legal rules to be directly administered in courts. Investigating the intricate and dynamic links between power and knowledge in the evolution of institutions under colonial rule, this book underlines innovative ways of looking at the legal history of colonial India This Book, Strongly Grounded In Primary Sources, Makes An Important Contribution To The Intellectual History Of Early Modern Bengal. It Brings To Light The Complex Interpenetration Of Diverse Interests, Opinions, And Ideologies Articulated By Various Social Groups Implicated In The Process Of Colonization On The Lines Of Ranajit Guha's Work On Property Relations In Bengal And Radhika Singha's Work On Law. There Is No Comparable Work Specifically On The Subject Of Hindu Property Rights And How These Came To Be Perceived Or Interpreted In Early Modern Bengal. The Author Explores The So-called Compendia Prepared Under British Auspices And Argues That There Was Hardly Any Link Between The Smritis And The Laws. The Latter Were Determined Almost Entirely By Changing British Policy With Regard To Land Revenue And That Many Of The Positive Features Of Hindu Custom Like Women's Rights To Property Were Undermined In The Process. The book, strongly grounded in primary sources, reconstructs the intellectual and legal history of early modern Bengal. It studies the subject of Hindu property rights and exploring the compendia prepared under the British. The author argues that there was hardly any link between the Smritis and the colonial Hindu laws . Investigating The Intricate And Dynamic Links Between Power And Knowledge In The Evolution Of Institutions Under Colonial Rule, This Book Underlines Innovative Ways Of Looking At The Legal History Of Colonial India. Nandini Bhattacharyya-panda. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [257]-268) And Index.