The Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871 was a project to geographically redistribute and immobilize criminalized populations on the basis of family units. Family ties were a key site of contestation between criminalized people and the colonial state, as well as cooperation, or at least, situationally coinciding interests. This article’s focus on the family goes against the grain of existing literature, which has primarily debated the historical causes of the CTA and the colonial construction of the ‘criminal tribe’. This article explores a particular type of family tie—marriage—to provide a new vantage point on the minutiae of everyday life under the CTA, while also shedding light on the history of conjugality in modern South Asia. In 1891, the colonial government in north India launched a matchmaking campaign in which district Magistrates became marriage brokers. Colonial governments showed an uneven concern with marriage practices, which varied between criminalized communities and over time. In the case of ‘nomadic’ criminalized groups, colonial governments were more concerned with conjugality, since they attempted more significant transformations in the relationships between individuals, families, social groupings and space. Moreover, criminalized peoples’ strategies and demands propelled colonial involvement into marital matters. Yet the colonial government could not sustain a highly interventionist management of intimate relationships.

1871年的《刑事部落法》（CTA）是一个在家庭单位的基础上重新分配和固定犯罪人口的项目。家庭纽带是被定罪的人与殖民国家之间争夺，合作或至少在某些情况下利益重合的重要场所。本文对家庭的关注与现有文献的内容背道而驰，现有文献主要讨论了CTA的历史原因和“犯罪部落”的殖民地建设。本文探讨了一种特殊的家庭关系，即婚姻，为CTA之下的日常生活细节提供了一个新的优势，同时也阐明了现代南亚婚姻的历史。在1891年，印度北部的殖民地政府发起了一场婚介活动，地方治安官成为了婚姻经纪人。殖民地政府对婚姻习惯的关注程度参差不齐。在“游牧”的犯罪集团中，殖民地政府更加关注婚姻问题，因为他们试图在个人，家庭，社会团体和空间之间的关系上进行更重大的转变。此外，将人民的战略和要求定为刑事犯罪，促使殖民地卷入婚姻事务。然而，殖民政府无法维持对亲密关系的高度干预主义管理。在“游牧”的犯罪集团中，殖民地政府更加关注婚姻问题，因为他们试图在个人，家庭，社会团体和空间之间的关系上进行更重大的转变。此外，将人民的战略和要求定为刑事犯罪，促使殖民地卷入婚姻事务。然而，殖民政府无法维持对亲密关系的高度干预主义管理。在“游牧”的犯罪集团中，殖民地政府更加关注婚姻问题，因为他们试图在个人，家庭，社会团体和空间之间的关系上进行更重大的转变。此外，将人民的战略和要求定为刑事犯罪，促使殖民地卷入婚姻事务。然而，殖民政府无法维持对亲密关系的高度干预主义管理。