Framed comparatively rather than doctrinally, Hindu law denotes the body of legal rules, drawn chiefly from the Dharmasastra textual tradition, that British colonial administrators from 1772 onward applied as personal law to Hindus in India rather than imposing English common law uniformly. The foundational text used for this purpose was the Manusmriti, which colonial officials treated as a code although it originated as a religious-ethical treatise. Two major regional schools developed, Mitakshara across most of India and Dayabhaga in Bengal and Assam, identified as such in an 1869 Privy Council case. Religious doctrine on dharma itself is treated in the atlas's sibling coverage of Hinduism; this entry describes the comparative-law category as colonial administrators and legal scholars constructed and applied it.
Facts
Origin Year1772 marks British colonial administrators choosing to apply separate religion-based personal law rather than uniform English common law. The operative text, the Manusmriti, is separately dated by mainstream scholarship to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, and the underlying Dharmasastra tradition is older still. Example JurisdictionsBritish India; Hindu-law-influenced practice historically extended into Cambodia, Java, Bali, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma 1 Primary Source of LawThe Dharmasastra or Smriti textual tradition, led by the Manusmriti, as reinterpreted and applied as positive law by British colonial courts 2 Classification
Legal Family Connections
Associated With
Source Law of India (Wikipedia)
In Legal Family
In Legal System
Legal-system family: Religious Law Systems, following the CIA World Factbook and JuriGlobe comparative-law family classification.
Includes
Source Manusmriti (Wikipedia)
Source Gentoo Code (Wikipedia)
Source Jimutavahana (Wikipedia)
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Source Hindu Law (Wikipedia)tier 2
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
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Sources
1. Hindu Law (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia- Introduction section
- Hindu law is based on the Hindu texts, the ancient term is Dharma
2. Manusmriti (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn British India section
The British colonial officials, however, mistook the Manusmriti as codes of law, failing to recognise that it was a commentary on morals and law and not a statement of positive law. The colonial officials of the early 19th century also failed to recognise that Manusmriti was one of many competing Dharmasastra texts, it was not in use for centuries during the Islamic rule period of India. The officials resurrected Manusmriti, constructed statements of positive law from the text for non-Muslims, in order to remain faithful to its policy of using sharia for the South Asian Muslim population.
- Includes: Code of Manu (Manusmriti), Colonial-Era Codification section
View the Source Law of India (Wikipedia)
Jimutavahana (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Jimutavahana, LeadQuote, Includes: Jimutavahana, Lead
Jīmūtavāhana (c. 12th century) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and writer of legal and religious treatises on Vaishnavism of early medieval period.
Gentoo Code (Wikipedia)
Includes: Gentoo Code, LeadQuote, Includes: Gentoo Code, Lead
Vivādārṇavasetu is a digest of Hindu law in 21 sections (taraṅga) compiled for Warren Hastings by the pandits.
Hindu law (Wikipedia)
In Group: Hindu and Jain Law, Introduction, sentence 1Quote, In Group: Hindu and Jain Law, Introduction, sentence 1
Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India.
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