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Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia - Couverture souple

Sharafi, Mitra

 
9781501785986: Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1501785982 ISBN 13 : 9781501785986
Editeur : Cornell University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Fear of the False uncovers colonial South Asia's critical role in the development of forensic science. Around 1900, the government of British India created a web of institutions for the scientific detection of crime. Driven by anxieties about "native mendacity," newly minted forensic analysts focused on uncovering faked evidence planted by South Asians. These experts, joining toxicologists known as "chemical examiners," were supposed to extract objective, scientific truth in the service of British justice. But in trying to counteract the presumed tendency of colonized peoples to lie, the system enabled widespread misconduct by state experts, increasing the risk of wrongful convictions of South Asian defendants. Through scrupulously documented legal cases, Mitra Sharafi reveals that colonial dynamics put special pressure on the relationship between truth and justice. Examining falsity on both sides of the law through the use of testing to (mis)identify poisons, blood, and spermatozoa, as well as debates over adversarialism and inquisitorialism in the colonial courtroom, Fear of the False explores advances in forensic science and shortcuts in criminal procedure against the backdrop of colonial mistrust. Thanks to generous funding from the University of Wisconsin Law School, the ebook editions of this book are available as open access volumes through the Cornell Open initiative.

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À propos de l'auteur

Mitra Sharafi is the Evjue-Bascom Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and the author of Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia, as well as articles on abortion, divorce, constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the legal education profession in South Asia, and she hosts the South Asian Legal History Resources website.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Cornell University Press
Date d'édition
2026
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1501785982
ISBN 13 
9781501785986
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
276
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible