Representing and communicating the law in British India c. 1833-1900

Completed PhD Project

This project explores the redefinition of legal authority and sovereignty which occurred as a result of the transfer of British colonial power in India from the East India Company to the Crown in 1858. It focuses on how this change informed the development and use of criminal law to authorise and legitimise British rule.

By considering the authority of law, and law as communication, it seeks to answer two key questions. Firstly, what were the differences between the sources of colonial legal authority under Company and Crown rule, respectively, and to what extent did these sources of authority inform their actions in seeking to legitimise colonial presence? Secondly, to what extent was the transfer of authority from Company to Crown rule reflected in the communication of criminal law in British India after 1858? These questions are explored using a case study approach covering the trial of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II and the crowning of Queen Victoria as ‘Empress of India’; the development of the Indian Penal Code as a form of communication; the Female Infanticide Prevention Act, and the Ilbert Bill controversy.