Page 101 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

76 Karine Bates

lower-caste women. Does this indicate a reinforcement of Brahmanic
ideology or flexibility in the kotwal system as Wagle and Waters claim?
It is difficult to draw conclusions on these three studies because more
researches are needed. The records are incomplete and there is no
overview of all cases. Therefore, it is not possible to evaluate the case
sample; only reinterpretation is possible. What is certain is that based
on limited evidence, the authors come to different conclusions. On the
other hand, whatever the case is, stricter reinforcement of Brahmanic
rules, especially for Brahmans, did take place.

British Modification of Law

In the western part of India the colonial period lasted nearly 130 years
(1818–1947). The major changes provoked by British colonization had
profound impacts on the indigenous population, which had to adapt
to a colonial economy. New administrative arrangements were made
in order to deal with the introduction of new land revenue systems,
the rise of administrative and marketing towns and the introduction of
administrative–judicial institutions. This new kind of administration
had an impact on the production of subsistence crops and also on many
of the social structures. The reactions of people in western India were
a mix of resilience, continuity and change.
Along with these changes, the British transformed and tried to sup-
plant indigenous legal systems, and in particular the system known as
Hindu law. Before examining the interplay of these various instances of
conflict resolutions, it is necessary to present the main orientations of
the British concerning the legal system.
The British introduced the concept of a modern legal system in India,
with uniform territorial rules based on universalistic norms that linked
rights and obligations to specific transactions rather than to fixed birth
status or caste (Galanter 1989: 15). The rules were to be administered
by a hierarchy of courts where a bureaucracy of professionals employed
rational procedures (ibid.).
According to Galanter, there were two distinct, but overlapping,
stages of the introduction of a modern legal system in India (ibid.: 17).
The first was initiated by Warren Hastings who organized a system of
courts for the hinterland of Bengal (Misra 1959, 1961; Patra 1961). The
expansion of the governments’ judicial institutions and the initiation