Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Governing Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India
  • Cited by 142
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      04 April 2019
      04 April 2019
      ISBN:
      9781108592208
      9781108492553
      9781108716888
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108592208
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.67kg, 322 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (229 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.47kg, 324 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Area Studies, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Area Studies, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History
    Information

    Book description

    In 1865, the British rulers of north India resolved to bring about the gradual 'extinction' of transgender Hijras. This book, the first in-depth history of the Hijra community, illuminates the colonial and postcolonial governance of gender and sexuality and the production of colonial knowledge. From the 1850s, colonial officials and middle class Indians increasingly expressed moral outrage at Hijras' feminine gender expression, sexuality, bodies and public performances. To the British, Hijras were an ungovernable population that posed a danger to colonial rule. In 1871, the colonial government passed a law that criminalised Hijras, with the explicit aim of causing Hijras' 'extermination'. But Hijras evaded police, kept on the move, broke the law and kept their cultural traditions alive. Based on extensive archival work in India and the UK, Jessica Hinchy argues that Hijras were criminalised not simply because of imported British norms, but due to a complex set of local factors, including elite Indian attitudes.

    Reviews

    ‘This brilliantly researched and highly original book reveals how the colonial state equated gender disorder with political disorder. Highly relevant to contemporary Indian debates on gender, sexuality and law, this is a masterful account of the relationship between colonial governance and gender expression, sexual behaviour, domestic arrangements and intimate relationships.'

    Clare Anderson - University of Leicester

    ‘Deftly reading the colonial archive against the grain, Hinchy has provided a rich and novel analysis of the Hijra community against the backdrop of moral panic in British India.'

    Kim A. Wagner - Queen Mary University of London

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    • 1 - The Hijra Panic
      pp 27-43
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • HTML
      • Export citation

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.