Anglo-Hindu Law

Anglo-Hindu Law

The first phase of Anglo Hindu Law (1772–1864) is characterized by three main features: 1) the collection and translation of important Dharmaśāstra texts by British administrator-scholars (e.g., Jones, Henry Thomas Colebrooke, Sutherland, and Borrodaile) in order to apply the rules of such texts to Hindus, 2) the employment of Court Pandits in British courts to aid British magistrates in the interpretation of classical Hindu law, and 3) the proliferation of case law that resulted eventually in the "redundancy" of Court Pandits.

In 1864, just after India became a formal part of the British Empire, Anglo-Hindu law entered into a second phase (1864–1947). One in which the Court Pandits were dismissed due to the extensive case law that emerged during the first phase as well as growing suspicions of corruption. During this time, a series of parliamentary acts were passed to fix certain aspects of Anglo-Hindu law and to provide it with a legislative foundation. With the disappearance of Court Pandits, continual growth of case law on topics involving questions of Anglo-Hindu law combined with the new legislative foundation diminished the relevance and interest in Dharmaśāstra as the source of law also diminished. The gap between the idealized legal system of Dharmaśāstra and the diversity of customary law throughout British India led to the fixing of regional customary laws by British officials. This was done through interviews, observations, and discussions with locals. Massive volumes of customary rules that were in theory being enforced were collected throughout British India and became part of the consultative resources of the courts.

One of the most interesting aspects of the development of Anglo-Hindu law is the warm reception it generally received in India. The British felt that one of their great gifts to India was a more rational system of law and it appears that a lot of Indians agreed. Law was generally not among the colonial legacies that the nationalist movement in India wanted to remove or overturn.