Industrious, truthful, upright and manly: reforming poor young men in the borstal schools of India in the 1920s and 1930s

Catriona Ellis*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

This article analyses the expansion of the borstal system for young male offenders in late colonial India. Based on legislative debates and prison administration reports, it considers the ways in which young adults were defined and treated within the context of these penal institutions. It reveals how institutionalised care for young men was used to reinforce the power of middle class coercive networks; to define and produce particular forms of masculinity among the poor youth of India and to contribute to wider, emerging discourses about the distinctive position of adolescents in Indian society.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)859-873
Number of pages15
JournalGender and History
Volume36
Issue number3
Early online date4 Aug 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • borstal institutions
  • colonial India
  • young offenders

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