Fear of the False
Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia
Series: Corpus Juris: the Humanities in Politics and Law;
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Product details:
- Publisher Cornell University Press
- Date of Publication 15 April 2026
- ISBN 9781501785986
- Binding Paperback
- No. of pages276 pages
- Size 229x152 mm
- Weight 666 g
- Language English
- Illustrations 10 Halftones, black and white - 2 Maps 700
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Long description:
"
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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