Fear of the False

Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia

Mitra Sharafi

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Hardback

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English

Cornell University Press
15 April 2026

Asian history; Forensic science; Criminology: legal aspects; Legal history

Series: Corpus Juris: the Humanities in Politics and Law

Fear of the False uncovers colonial South AsiaIndia'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 expose counteract the presumed tendency of colonized peoples to lie, the new system allowed and encouragedenabled widespread misconduct by state experts, leading to 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 science truth and justice. Examining falsity on both sides of the law through the use of testing to (mis)identify poisons, blood, and semenspermatozoa, 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.

By: Mitra Sharafi
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781501785979
ISBN 10: 1501785974
Series: Corpus Juris: the Humanities in Politics and Law
Pages: 282
Publication Date: 15 April 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Mitra Sharafi is the Evjue-Bascom Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and the author of Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia, as well as articles on abortion, divorce, constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the legal education profession in South Asia, and she hosts the South Asian Legal History Resources website.