INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD

Abstract:    The central theme of this paper is to critically examine the existing historiography on the 'Age of Consent’ Debate during the colonial period in India and to outline the continuities and changes in the nature of this debate from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. This paper argues that the creation of a Committee on Age of Consent by the Government of India on the 25th of June, 1928, marks the beginning of an intensification of the discussion around the issues of consent and marriage. The committee itself plays a crucial role in intensifying this discussion by initiating the process of obtaining public opinion on the subject by sending a team with a questionnaire to the various parts of the subcontinent. It is also opined in this paper that the appointment of an official committee by the government of India provides a new direction to the debate around the issue of consent and shapes the history of women's activism in India. The facts and arguments in this paper are based on the primary sources belonging to the period of our concern. The main primary sources for this research study are the Report of the Age of Consent Committee, 1928-1929 and the popular newspapers of the early 20th century.