Werner Menski, Emeritus Professor of South Asian Laws, SOAS, University of London.
ABSTRACT
Various forms of child abuse among Hindus, in homes and workplaces, have remained largely hidden, while the mainly historically-focused literature on such problems does not capture recent changes and challenges. The resulting “blind spots” require a critical overview of such writing to identify how plain (in)human evilmindedness, greed and various socio-economic pressures continue to result in grave violations of children’s rights and bodies among Hindus. Linked to this, the final part focuses particularly on recent Indian socio-legal and ethical dilemmas regarding child marriages and the agency of young people.
