This dissertation research project examines how law can affect marginalized populations in a contemporary and historical context. The modern legal system introduced by British colonial rule shaped state regulation of citizens' private lives. Two current legal reform efforts in postcolonial India are examined in this project: a campaign to repeal the anti-sodomy law and the campaign to decriminalize adult prostitution. Using mixed methods in a three-phased design, the investigator addresses multiple research questions. First, the project utilizes archival analysis to examine how post-colonial legal regulation in these areas was shaped by the colonial state. In the second portion of this project, the co-PI uses an ethnographic comparative study of local and national groups in New Delhi to understand how contemporary resistance takes form in both legal reform movements. Third, the project draws on interviews and document analysis to examine how globalization, concerns over AIDS, and human rights regimes have shaped the development of these legal reforms in India. In this respect, the insights from this research will inform transnational efforts to bring global perspectives to these national legal issues.
