Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

PEOPLE

FAMILY AND MARRIAGE

even of unborn heirs is recognised, and elaborate rules of succes- sion and partition exist for the eventuality of a split in the family. Each male has his own independent wife or wives. In this whole region a woman is not allowed to speak with the elder brother of her husband; she must not uncover her head before him. In Bengal a man may not enter the inner apartments of the house, if the wife of the younger brother is alone there. On the other hand, the rela- tions of a woman with the younger brother of her husband are of complete familiarity. In modern times this relationship is depicted as that between elder sister and younger brother or between mother and son. But folk-songs and proverbs and older literature leave no doubt at all that the relationship was that between lovers. In the whole of this region, children of father's brother or sister and mother's brother or sister are called brothers and sisters and marriage among them is strictly prohibited. It is customary among certain castes to avoid altogether the marriage of a boy to a girl in the family bearing the gotra of their maternal uncle's family. This avoidance of the maternal uncle's gotra (clan among the non-brah- manas) is a peculiarity of the northern plains. Thus the present family institution, marriage practices, kinship systems and terms, taboos, and familiar relationship all point to a patriarchal system with junior levirate as the starting point in the near past and perhaps fraternal polyandry and patriarchal household in the dis- tant past." (Dr. Iravati Karve, "The Indian Social Organisation : An Anthropological Survey " in The Cultural Heritage of India 1970). While the joint family system has provided stability and conti- nuity it has not been able to cope with stresses brought about by industrialisation, urbanisation and the revolutionary changes in transportation leading to greater mobility. The joint family has been an impediment to individual initiative and mobility. Hence the growth of the nuclear family which consists of husband, wife and their children. "The first and most basic form of (family organisa- tion) called herewith the nuclear family consists typically of a married man and woman with their offspring, although in individual cases one or more additional persons may reside with them. The nuclear family is a universal human grouping. Either as a whole prevailing form of the family, or as the basic unit from which more complex familial forms are compounded, it exists as a distinct and strong functional group in every known society" (G.P. Murdock). The nuclear family represents a movement from the village to the urban area and from land to new employment opportunities in non-agricultural activity in the urban areas. The household struc- ture has had to be modified to meet the demands of education. There is no simple, clear-cut distinction between nuclear and extended families. The Indian family is a multifaceted structure. But despite pressures, the nuclear family and the joint family co- exist to some extent. Because of this fragmentation of land is avoided although two of the five brothers may no longer be actively engaged in agriculture. A more typical pattern is for men to come to the city alone leaving wives and children at home in the village where they can be cared for by the extended family. "Indeed the nuclear, urban family finds its moorings in the village joint family system of as great value as the resultant relief to the residual joint family from decrease of burden on the limited land-holding." (S.N Chopra, India : An Area Study) Marriage - A Samskaara : The coming together of a man and woman is necessary for the fulfilment of the threefold ideals of life i.e; Dharma

Human beings everywhere live in households. The family is the first and the simplest social, economic and religious unit. According to G.P. Murdock, "The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It in- cludes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually inhabiting adults" (G.P. Murdock, Social Structure, Macmillan, New York). Family and Kinship are central to Indian society. The Indian family may be extended (joint) or nuclear. More often than not it may contain a bit of both in response to the pressures of modernity and urbanisation. A family member owes his or her family overrid- ing loyalty. An individual's position within the family is defined by age, sex and relationship to others; each person occupies a specific role and enjoys rights and duties acknowledged by fellow family members and society at large. All activities are designed to conform to these considerations. The traditional Indian joint family may house three or four generations under one roof. It remains the primary social force in the lives of most Indians. The family in India was traditionally called Avibhakta Kutumba (undivided). It is usually a joint or extended family. Its principal features are 1) It extends to three or four generations; 2) Its members live together generally under the same roof having a common kitchen and sharing whatever property the family might possess and 3) It is a self-sufficient unit, socially as well as eco- nomically. The joint family is governed by a family code in which the respective roles of each party in the co-operative enterprise, which the joint family basically is, the rights and obligations, are clearly spelt out. The family code has recognition in law both customary and statutory. It is inevitable that rules of conduct are strictly en- joined for otherwise a community of people living together could not function at all. The joint family system was created over the years to serve several needs. Primarily it evolved as an institution to keep landed property intact and protect it from splitting and dispersing into un- economic holdings. The joint family is also a refuge for the old, the invalid and the unemployed as well as the unfortunate like the young widow. The joint family protected its members against the vicissitudes and sorrows of life. The loss of parents, old age and handicaps were more bearable in the joint family group than in the single family unit. It was a place where the old never felt aban- doned and unwanted and relatives could turn to in times of dis- tress. Living expenses were greatly reduced because of a common roof and a kitchen. "And, above all, the joint family furnished, until more recently, a philosophy and an outlook towards living where duty was more important than individual rights and co-operation higher in the scale of values than personal gain" (S.N. Chopra, India : An Area Study, Vikas, New Delhi 1977). "South of the Himalayan range, the whole of the river system fed by the Himalayas comprises a region where languages derived from Sanskrit are spoken, and where patriarchal institutions pre- vail. In Punjab, Sind, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, and parts of Orissa, the family pattern is that of a patriarchal, patrilocal joint family. The property is held jointly by the male descendants of a common ancestor, but in this the ownership of each living male and