In which year was the 'Age of consent Act’ passed?

The correct answer is B) 1891. The Age of Consent Act, 1891 raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse within marriage from 10 to 12 years for girls. It followed the death of Phulmoni Devi, a 11-year-old girl who died in 1889 after marital rape, which pushed reformers like Behramji Malabari to campaign for the law. The Act was an early colonial intervention in personal and social life, and it shows the tension between reform and the government's caution about interfering with religious custom.

• A) 1870: No age of consent legislation was passed in this year.
• C) 1874: Not the year of this Act. The 1870s saw other reform debates, but not this law.
• D) 1876: Also incorrect. The Act came only in 1891.

Mains angle: the Act is a standard example for questions on social reform in colonial India and on the limits of state intervention in customary practices. Compare it with the Age of Consent debate that followed Rukhmabai's case and the later Sarda Act (1929), which fixed the minimum age of marriage.

Trap: Aspirants mix up the Age of Consent Act, 1891 with the Sarda Act, 1929. The 1891 Act concerns consent to sexual relations, while the Sarda Act concerns the age of marriage.