The practice of prostitution in colonial India was influenced by the policies of British rule in India. During the 19th and 20th centuries the colonial government facilitated, regulated and allowed the existence of prostitution.
Not only was prostitution in India affected by the policy of the Governor General of India , it was also influenced by the moral and political beliefs of the British authorities, and conflicts and tensions between the British authorities and the Indian populace at large. The colonial government had a profound effect on prostitution in India, both legislatively and socially. Although the governments of many Indian princely states had regulated prostitution prior to the s, such regulation in British India was first ushered in by the Cantonment Act of The structuring features of the Cantonment Acts provided for about twelve to fifteen Indian women for each regiment of British soldiers.
Each regiment contained about a thousand soldiers. These women were kept in brothels called chaklas. They were licensed by military officials and were allowed to consort with soldiers only. The structural inequalities that pushed women into prostitution were often enforced by the colonial governments. Furthermore, the Cantonment Act of provided for the establishment and extension of hospitals in cantonments. This eventually led to the Indian Contagious Disease Acts.
As the practice of prostitution increasingly became a source of contention between Indians and the British, another Cantonment Act was enacted. This Act of explicitly outlawed any licensing or official approval of prostitution in cantonments.
Between and many parts of British India, including the British military cantonments, were subjected to the Contagious Disease Acts. The Acts required the registration of women engaged in prostitution.
