The Hindu Family and the Emergence of Modern India

Tracing the historical roots of India's transition to independence, Newbigin's highly original study explores the role of economy, gender and religion in the development of representative politics in twentieth-century India. This book will stimulate debate across disciplines, particularly among scholars considering law, gender and economy in colonial and post-colonial societies.

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Between 1955 and 1956 the Government of India passed four Hindu Law Acts to reform and codify Hindu family law. Scholars have understood these acts as a response to growing concern about women's rights but, in a powerful re-reading of their history, this book traces the origins of the Hindu law reform project to changes in the political-economy of late colonial rule. The Hindu Family and the Emergence of Modern India considers how questions regarding family structure, property rights and gender relations contributed to the development of representative politics, and how, in solving these questions, India's secular and state power structures were consequently drawn into a complex and unique relationship with Hindu law. In this comprehensive and illuminating resource for scholars and students, Newbigin demonstrates the significance of gender and economy to the history of twentieth-century democratic government, as it emerged in India and beyond.