Prostitution in colonial India
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The practice of
Cantonment Act of 1864
Although the governments of many Indian
Furthermore, the Cantonment Act of 1864 provided for the establishment and extension of hospitals in
Cantonment Act of 1895
As the practice of prostitution increasingly became a source of contention between Indians and the British, another Cantonment Act was enacted. This Act of 1895 explicitly outlawed any licensing or official approval of prostitution in cantonments.[4] This was seen as a strong measure to prevent the spread of venereal disease, and most of the military was opposed to the Act.[4] The Cantonment Acts serve as examples of only some of the tension over prostitution in colonial India.
Contagious Disease Acts
Between 1864 and 1869 many parts of British India, including the British military cantonments, were subjected to the Contagious Disease Acts.
Opposition to Contagious Diseases Acts
From the time the Contagious Disease Acts had been enacted, they were controversial. There was a growing Abolitionism movement that sought to end state-regulated prostitution.[5] Some of this opposition came from the prominent feminist Josephine Butler. Feminists saw prostitutes as an obstacle to equality in society, and therefore sought to end state-sanctioned prostitution. Other Abolitionists viewed state sanctioned prostitution as morally offensive and harmful.[5] In 1869, groups were formed in opposition to the Contagious Disease Acts, which included the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts.[5] These repeal efforts proved to be successful in 1883, when the Acts were suspended. The next year they were completely repealed.[5]
Immigration of European prostitutes
In the early 20th Century, European prostitutes were visible in the major cities and seaports of British India.[1] As seaports became more prominent in India, more European women immigrated to serve as prostitutes.[1] Many British authorities tolerated the immigration of European prostitutes in the hope that men would engage in sex with them, instead of Indian women.[1]
Although, state-regulated prostitution was seen as a necessity to satisfy
Generally, Indian women were not seen as violated or as victims when they engaged in prostitution with British men.
A concern for the welfare of prostitutes was mounting. International forces were pressured to take action against the trafficking of women and girls.
In most cases, European prostitutes were considered "poor whites" or "low Europeans", indicating their perceived low socio-economic class.
Religious clashes
The British were proactive in state legislation . But cultural misunderstandings contributed to how and to what extent practices regarded as prostitution by the British were regulated. One misunderstanding was British perception of
Although British moral sensibilities were no doubt disturbed by the sexual practices of Devadasis, they were also unaccustomed to the traditional rights Devadasis enjoyed. Under Hindu Law, Devadasis were granted property and inheritance rights, often unheard of by women.[10] Although certain forms of prostitution were permitted by the British, they eventually profiled Devadasis as an illegitimate form of prostitution.[8]
Justification for prostitution
The British authorities offered several justifications for the British regulation of prostitution in colonial British India. One justification of such state regulation of prostitution was the notion that prostitution was a vital safeguard against homosexuality.[11] Specifically, access to prostitutes was necessary to protect British military men from engaging in homosexual behaviour. Therefore, military administrators approved of brothels in cantonments.[1] One 1917 committee report by the Government of India claimed that homosexuality would invariably take hold if men were denied access to women.[11] This apparent fear of homosexuality had colonial roots. Many European colonialists viewed homosexuality as perverse, "un-British" behaviour, whereas they often believed that same-sex practices were "natural" to other "inferior" peoples, such as Indians, Arabs, and Africans.[11]
The British saw another further need for prostitution, especially amongst the military. It was seen as necessary to stave off boredom among soldiers and to reinforce imperial dominance through sexual control of Indian women.[1] The British preserved and regulated prostitution through mandatory licensing and medical examinations, not out of concern for prostitutes, but out of concern for their own military men.
View of Christian missionaries
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 144250345.
- ^ a b c d Bhandari, Sudhanshu (19 June 2010). "Prostitution in Colonial India". Mainstream Weekly. XLVIII (26). Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- S2CID 145288117. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ S2CID 153946917.
- ^ PMID 28135962.
- ^ Philippa Levine, Prostitution, Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire (Psychology Press, 2003), 96-7.
- ^ S2CID 146273713.
- ^ S2CID 143497775.
- ^ hdl:10022/AC:P:13307.
- ^ JSTOR 4403368.
- ^ a b c Levine, Philippa (2004). Gender and Empire. Oxford: Oxford. pp. 134–55.
- ^ ISBN 9780842310147.
- ISBN 9781611645514.
- ISBN 9783631609453.
- ISBN 9780719048203.
Further reading
- Mitra, D. (2020). Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought. LCCN 2019016737.
- Legg, S. (2014). Prostitution and the Ends of Empire: Scale, Governmentalities, and Interwar India. ISBN 978-0-822-37617-0.
- Stephen Legg (2009). "Governing prostitution in colonial Delhi: from cantonment regulations to international hygiene (1864–1939)". S2CID 145288117.
- Major, A. (2012). Slavery, Abolitionism and Empire in India, 1772-1843. Liverpool Studies in Internati. ISBN 978-1-846-31758-3.
- Kalpana Kannabiran. “Judiciary, Social Reform and Debate on ‘Religious Prostitution’ in Colonial India.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 30, no. 43, JSTOR 4403368
- Legg, Stephen. “An Intimate and Imperial Feminism: Meliscent Shephard and the Regulation of Prostitution in Colonial India.” doi:10.1068/d10507
- Forbes, Geraldine Hancock. Review of Under the Raj: Prostitution in Colonial Bengal.
- Tambe, Ashwini. “The Elusive Ingénue: A Transnational Feminist Analysis of European Prostitution in Colonial Bombay.”
- Priyadarshini Vijaisri (2005). "Contending identities: Sacred prostitution and reform in colonial South India". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 28 (3). S2CID 145634918.
- Leucci, T. (2005) “Priyadarshini Vijaisri. Recasting the Devadasi. Patterns of sacred prostitution in colonial India. New Delhi, Kanishka Publisher, 2004, 346 p.,”
- LEGG, S. T. E. P. H. E. N. (2012) “Stimulation, Segregation and Scandal: Geographies of Prostitution Regulation in British India, between Registration (1888) and Suppression (1923),”