Hinduism and Law: An Introduction

by Timothy Lubin (Editor), Donald R. Davis Jr (Editor), Jayanth K. Krishnan (Editor)

Overview

Covering the earliest Sanskrit rulebooks through to the codification of 'Hindu law' in modern times, this interdisciplinary volume examines the interactions between Hinduism and the law. The authors present the major transformations to India's legal system in both the colonial and post colonial periods and their relation to recent changes in Hinduism. Thematic studies show how law and Hinduism relate and interact in areas such as ritual, logic, politics, and literature, offering a broad coverage of South Asia's contributions to religion and law at the intersection of society, politics and culture. In doing so, the authors build on previous treatments of Hindu law as a purely text-based tradition, and in the process, provide a fascinating account of an often neglected social and political history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780511849299
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/21/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	734 KB

About the Author

Donald R. Davis is Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His previous publications include The Spirit of Hindu Law (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and The Boundaries of Hindu Law: Tradition, Custom and Politics in Medieval Kerala (2004).
Jayanth Krishnan is Professor of Law and the Charles L. Whistler Faculty Fellow at Indiana University, Maurer School of Law. Krishnan's academic interests focus on the legal profession and law-and-globalization, with a special emphasis on how these areas intersect in India. His publications on these subjects have appeared in reputed law reviews and peer-reviewed journals.
Timothy Lubin is Professor in the Department of Religion, and Lecturer in Law and Religion in the School of Law, at Washington and Lee University. His publications concern classical Hindu ritual and doctrine, and their relation to legal precepts and practices in India.

Table of Contents

Foreword; List of contributors; Chronology; Map; Introduction Timothy Lubin, Donald R. Davis, Jr and Jayanth Krishnan; Part I. Hindu Law: 1. An historical overview of Hindu law Donald R. Davis, Jr; 2. Dharmaśāstra: a textual history Patrick Olivelle; 3. Hindu legal practice in premodern India Axel Michaels; 4. The creation of Anglo-Hindu law Rosane Rocher; 5. Marriage and family in colonial Hindu law Rachel Sturman; 6. Hindu law as personal law Rina Verma Williams; Part II. Law in Ancient and Medieval Hindu Traditions: 7. Hindu jurisprudence and scriptural hermeneutics Lawrence McCrea; 8. Indic conceptions of authority Timothy Lubin; 9. Śūdra Dharma and legal treatments of caste Ananya Vajpeyi; 10. Law, literature, and the problem of politics in medieval India Whitney Cox; 11. Hindu law as performance: ritual and poetic elements in Dharmaśāstra Robert Yelle; Part III. Law and Modern Hinduism: 12. Temples, deities, and the law Richard Davis; 13. In the divine court of appeals: vows before the God of justice Aditya Malik; 14. Contemporary caste discrimination and affirmative action Laura Dudley Jenkins; 15. Law and Hindu nationalist movements Smita Narula; 16. Legally and politically layered identities: a thumbnail survey of selected Hindu migration patterns from South Asia Jayanth Krishnan; Appendices; Glossary; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

'[This] book has established connections between bodies of knowledge that were hitherto unconnected and, thereby, initiated a discourse in which all scholars of the polity and the law should be engaged.' Amita Dhanda, The Hindu

From the Publisher