Postcolonial politics and personal laws : colonial legal legacies and the Indian state

"Placing the contemporary discussion on personal laws in India in historical perspective, this important book views the debate as a critical component of Indian democracy. Balancing the imperatives of multiculturalism, national integration, and gender justice, it affirms that there is a complex continuity between the terms of the debate in the postcolonial Indian state and in its colonial counterpart." "The author examines how the Indian state has wielded power and formulated policies which govern various communities. She shows the extent to which its actions have been influenced by the legacy of its predecessor colonial state. Her focus is on the handling of personal law issues by the colonial administration and various governments of independent India." "The book shows how the policy of 'non-interference' in the personal laws of religious communities has remained the touchstone for order and social justice in the colonial as well as the postcolonial period. It establishes that the policy has not been consistently applied in either. The driving force has, not surprisingly, been the priorities and interests of the state itself. Based on primary sources, Parliamentary and Constituent Assembly debates, and interviews with key contemporary political figures, this book makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate. It will interest scholars and students of family law, gender studies, legal history, and contemporary Indian politics, policymakers, and informed general readers."--Jacket This book explores the postcolonial state in India in a longitudinal perspective. It concentrates on the religious legal system of personal laws in India. These laws are a prime example of continuity between the colonial and postcolonial Indian state. In addition, this book investigates how the postcolonial state in India has formed policies on the personal laws through the 1990s. It tries to improve the understanding of how the postcolonial state has exerted power in the post-independence era, and the extent to which that exercise of power has been affected by the legacies of the colonial state. Indian independence came in the form of a legal statute and it is precisely for such reasons that the case of India can provide significant insight into the forms and limits of legal continuity between the colonial and postcolonial eras. Furthermore, the personal laws in India are important for the study of this continuity. This book then reviews the evolution of Indian government policy on the personal laws to identify the extent to which colonial legal institutions persisted after independence and shaped the policies of the postcolonial government