Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c11.s3.5

c11.s3.5

In 1822, Rammohun Roy published *Modern Encroachments on the Ancient Rights of Females according to the Hindu Law of Inheritance* showing that “it was the corrupt and defective understanding of Bengal’s Dāyabhāga (laws of inheritance) that resulted in the practice of widow burning”. He also argued that “India had a constitution and it was the decline of this constitution and its checks and balances that had sunk India into backwardness”.²⁹ “Locating Indian history within the wider realm of international constitutional liberalism",³⁰ he further argued in favour of the reform of Parliament and for switching over to the medium of Indian languages for official and judicial purposes.³¹ He employed the term “separation” to suggest the end of British rule and also demanded equal status of Indians in the international fraternity, demanding change in regulation to allow his countrymen to serve in high offices.