Chakla: How the British Raj Created a ‘Licensed Vice’ System
In British India, the army ran a system of regulated prostitution for its soldiers. With up to a quarter of British troops in India hospitalised for venereal disease, the Raj passed the Cantonment Act of 1864 and the Indian Contagious Diseases Act of 1868. Under these laws, chaklas (regimental brothels) were set up in the cantonments, Indian women were registered as prostitutes, forced into compulsory medical examinations, detained in lock hospitals, and paid as little as 4 annas.
This documentary explains how the "licensed vice" system worked, what happened inside the lock hospitals, the role of the mahaldarini who managed the chaklas, and how British and Indian campaigners, including Josephine Butler, exposed it and forced the repeal of the Acts.
Chapters
00:00 What was the Chakla system?
01:06 British soldiers in India and venereal disease
02:49 Licensed vice: the Contagious Diseases Acts
04:45 Inside the lock hospitals
06:14 Chaklas under the mahaldarini
08:55 How the exploitation continued
Read the full essay
How a "Prostitute Caste" Lie Justified Brothel Slavery in British India, with full sources.
