Sex, Law, and the Politics of Age: Child Marriage in India, 1891-1937

Ishita Pande's study explores the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929) and age as a key category of identity in late colonial India, highlighting the importance of debates over child protection in shaping modern subjects and citizenship.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 338 pages
Publication date: 24 March 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Ishita Pande's groundbreaking study presents a dual biography of India's pioneering Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929) and the age itself as a vital category of identity in upholding the rule of law and governing intimate life in late colonial India. By delving into a comprehensive range of sources, including legislative assembly debates, legal cases, government reports, propaganda literature, Hindi novels, and sexological tracts, Pande weaves a rich narrative that explores the significance of debates on child protection in shaping India's coming of age. Through her meticulous tracing of the history of age in colonial India, Pande sheds light on the profound role of law in shaping modern subjects, revealing how seemingly natural age-based exclusions and understandings of legal minority became the justification for other political exclusions and the marginalization of entire communities in colonial India. Moreover, Pande underscores how childhood as a political category played a fundamental role in shaping not only ideas about sexual norms and domestic life but also in conceptualizing citizenship and India as a nation during this formative period. This insightful study not only contributes to our understanding of India's historical development but also sheds light on the enduring legacies of colonialism and the ongoing struggle for social justice and equality.

Weight: 457g
ISBN-13: 9781108747486
Edition number: New ed