The formulation of contemporary inheritance laws on landed property has involved a complex process of interaction between the (colonial and postcolonial) State and different segments of the population, the interplay of varying ideologies and interests, and the conflicting pulls of scriptural rules and local custom. Around the early part of this century, these interactions increasingly took the form of explicit contestation, especially over women's property rights, revealed most prominently (but not only) in the pre- and post-Independence debates surrounding the Hindu Code Bill in India. Large numbers of Indian women participated in an organized campaign to expand women's rights, including property rights. Many Indian men supported the cause; the majority adamantly oppose it.