I had read in some book (I think it was "Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India" by Lawrence James) , that after the British take over of Bengal, in the end of 18th c, that the British started to establish a parallel modern legal structure for the new colony, and brought in British legal experts to India.
Remember the original British orientalist/Indologist, Sir William Jones was first and foremost a Judge in a London court. Establishing a 'modern' legal system of India, was his primary charter for which he was sailed from London to Kolkata, and it was during the study of Manusmriti that he realized the similarities between Sanskrit and Latin.
So, back then, British tried to look into dharma shAstra-s (besides shariyat) to create the local legal paradigm - and with the turn of events and motives in the next 50 years, turned the whole thing into an entirely demeaning and damaging exercise.
Remember the original British orientalist/Indologist, Sir William Jones was first and foremost a Judge in a London court. Establishing a 'modern' legal system of India, was his primary charter for which he was sailed from London to Kolkata, and it was during the study of Manusmriti that he realized the similarities between Sanskrit and Latin.
So, back then, British tried to look into dharma shAstra-s (besides shariyat) to create the local legal paradigm - and with the turn of events and motives in the next 50 years, turned the whole thing into an entirely demeaning and damaging exercise.