MAPPING WOMEN’S GAIN IN INHERITANCE AND PROPERTY RIGHTS UNDER THE HINDU SUCCESSION ACT
MAPPING WOMEN’S GAIN IN INHERITANCE AND PROPERTY RIGHTS UNDER THE HINDU SUCCESSION ACT
ABSTRACT
This research proposal intends to analyze the fundamental changes in the Hindu Succession Act (HSA), 1956 and examine whether it actually gave women in Hindu Joint Families an equal right to property as compared to the male counterparts. The proposal basically tries to examine the sections which are most crucial for inheritance when it comes to female heirs and other female members of the family and look for defects (if any) in these sections. Also this paper looks into the concept of ‘Streedhan’ and how HSA brought fundamental changes in it and Women’s estate.
A Hindu Undivided Family or a Hindu Joint Family is an extended family arrangement prevalent among Hindus of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of many generations living under the same roof. The joint family status is the result of birth in the same family. This system has been unfavorable towards women as it denied them a right to hold property. But amendments in the legislations governing succession rights namely the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 claim to have brought fundamental changes in these laws. The aim of this research proposal is to look into those sections of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which govern inheritance and succession rights for female heirs in Hindu Undivided Families and weigh whether the implementation of the sections have proven to be a tool for achieving equal rights for property succession for female heirs or not.
The time
ABSTRACT
This research proposal intends to analyze the fundamental changes in the Hindu Succession Act (HSA), 1956 and examine whether it actually gave women in Hindu Joint Families an equal right to property as compared to the male counterparts. The proposal basically tries to examine the sections which are most crucial for inheritance when it comes to female heirs and other female members of the family and look for defects (if any) in these sections. Also this paper looks into the concept of ‘Streedhan’ and how HSA brought fundamental changes in it and Women’s estate.
A Hindu Undivided Family or a Hindu Joint Family is an extended family arrangement prevalent among Hindus of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of many generations living under the same roof. The joint family status is the result of birth in the same family. This system has been unfavorable towards women as it denied them a right to hold property. But amendments in the legislations governing succession rights namely the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 claim to have brought fundamental changes in these laws. The aim of this research proposal is to look into those sections of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which govern inheritance and succession rights for female heirs in Hindu Undivided Families and weigh whether the implementation of the sections have proven to be a tool for achieving equal rights for property succession for female heirs or not.
The time
Bibliography: Equality among unequals: A critical look at Hindu Succession, Adv Rakesh Shukla Gender Imbalance in India: Causes and Consequences, Economic and Political Weekly, Madan Mohan Landmark step to gender equality, Bina Agarwal Report of Sub Group on Land Related Issues submitted to : Working Group on Gender issues, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Public Private Partnership, innovative Finance and Micro Finance in Agriculture for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007 – 2012) Succession, Gender Equality and Customary Tribal laws, Rakesh Shukla Women and Law in India, OXFORD University Press, Flavia Agnes