Gender, Customary Law, and the Colonial Law of Inheritance: The Keri Kolitani Case

The ‘Great Chastity Case’ of Keri Kolitani created a stir in 19th-century Indian civil society. It raised conflicting issues regarding women’s rights to inherit property and the conditions under which they could forfeit those rights. In the course of its journey from the lowest to the highest colonial courts, the case questioned the status of the customary laws of various indigenous communities that inhabited different regions of the country, Hindu religious laws and Western concepts of jurisprudence. The judgements of the colonial courts sought to balance customary practices, religious laws and the secular law of inheritance and forfeiture, which is significant in light of the fact that some of the orthodox opinions expressed at the time persist in civil society even today.