HENRY MAINE's contribution to comparative law and jurisprudence is the famous proposition:

1. SIR HENRY SUMNER MAINE (1822-1888), Anglo-Indian jurist, contributed foundational work in comparative law and legal history. 2. WORKS: 'Ancient Law' (1861), 'Lectures on the Early History of Institutions' (1875), 'Village Communities in the East and West' (1871). 3. KEY THESIS: 'The MOVEMENT OF THE PROGRESSIVE SOCIETIES has hitherto been a MOVEMENT FROM STATUS TO CONTRACT.' 4. STATUS societies: relationships determined by social position (family, caste, feudal hierarchy, age). 5. CONTRACT societies: relationships determined by consensual agreements between free individuals. 6. Maine studied ancient and Indian legal systems (he was Law Member of Viceroy's Council in India, 1862-69). 7. Maine's contributions: HISTORICAL JURISPRUDENCE; comparative legal anthropology; village communities as living examples of ancient legal forms. 8. CRITICISM: Maine's 'progressive societies' was Eurocentric; modern scholars question the rigid status-contract dichotomy. 9. Hence option B is correct. _Source: Legal Research Methodology + Jurisprudence — Henry Maine, 'Ancient Law' (1861)_