Constituting a ‘Moral’ Public: Society, Law and Literature in Colonial India

The issue of obscenity in colonial India is a multifaceted and complex subject that intertwines notions of morality, culture, law, and power dynamics. Obscenity, defined as material that is offensive or morally repugnant, was a contested terrain during the colonial period as it is now, reflecting the clash between what was claimed as indigenous traditions and the values imposed by British colonial authorities. Notions of Victorian morality played a huge role in conditioning a section of Indian society to apply similar standards in India. This paper explores the nuances of obscenity in colonial India, examining its manifestations, the responses it elicited, its implications for society, and mainly its contestations in the legal arena. By looking at the obscenity trials of Sadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai, this paper will also try to highlight the complexities of the artistic process, which was often at loggerheads with forces that tried to regulate and reshape what was socially and culturally permissible.