Colonial Masculinity: The "Manly Englishman" and the "Effeminate Bengali" in the Late Nineteenth Century

Colonial masculinity breaks new ground by placing masculinity at the centre of colonial and nationalist politics in the late-nineteenth century in India. Mrinalini Sinha situates the analysis very specifically in the context of an imperial social formation, examining colonial masculinity not only in the context of social forces within India, but also as framed by and framing political, economic, and ideological shifts in Britain. This book traces the impact of colonial masculinity in four controversies: the "white mutiny" against the Ilbert Bill in 1883; the official government response to the Native Volunteer movement in 1885; the recommendations of the Public Service Commission of 1886; and the Indian opposition to the Age of Consent Bill in 1891.