Chitra Sinha
Dr Chitra Sinha is a PhD from the University of Mumbai and has been a Visiting Fellow, Centre for Study of Women, University of California at Los Angeles, USA. She has taught at the Visva Bharati University, SNDT Women's University and in colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai in a teaching career spanning two decades. She has been a recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the SSRC Fellowship of the Ford Foundation.
NIF Books
The book explores a significant episode of Indian social history, the Hindu Code Bill controversy that stirred the Indian social consciousness in the mid-twentieth century. Revisiting the communicative processes surrounding the reform of Hindu customary laws relating to marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, and maintenance, the book provides an in-depth account of the intense debate that took place in and outside the legislature involving political groups, social associations, religious organizations, legal associations, and the women’s movement. Placing the debate in a historical continuum, the author traces the genesis of the Hindu Code Bill by exploring the linkages of late eighteenth century initiatives of colonial administration, the efforts of eighteenth century social reformers, and the contribution of Indian national movement as well as women’s organizations in early twentieth century. The book analyses the relationship of discourses in the public and legislative spheres and emphasizes the role of Nehru, Ambedkar, B.N. Rau and other prominent personalities in the promotion of gender justice. The book argues that while effective implementation of enabling legal provisions were impeded by deeply entrenched patriarchal structures in Independent India, the debate contributed towards a gradual transformation of the Indian social consciousness, thus contributing towards gender justice in Indian society.
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Reviews:
‘‘[The author] has not merely documented the actual debates in legislature but has set these against the background of the women’s movement and stirring of social consciousness in social circles. She has ably demonstrated the interface between legal reform and social change by delving into the communicative process on the formative period when the three actors—the state, the legal pundits and the concerned public—conjoined to engage with the momentous changes that the bill sought to unleash.’ – Maithreyi Krishnaraj, Social Change