Regional Diversity
The Dravidian Southern regions follow various practices that are more gender specific when compared to the north in matters of inheritance of property. There was a custom of handing over a piece of land to the daughter at the time of her marriage within Madras Presidency and the income from it was for her exclusive use and devolved on her female heir.
Women could remarry if the husband’s whereabouts were not known for a long time; if the first husband returned, the woman could choose to live with either. Matrilineal practices were prevalent in Nayars, Nambudiris and Malabar Muslims. According to Sambandham practice, women continued to live in their natal house after marriage and children belonged to their caste and tarawad. Sambandhan marriages were loose matrimonial alliances which could be easily terminated with consent of both parties. Tarawad and tavazi were female-headed joint family systems with the line of descendants through females. These traditions were brought to an end with the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Lakshadweep Islands, inhabited by a 99% Muslim population, followed the matrilineal system of marumakkathayam. Muslims in Kerala have retained their marumukkatayam system and Mappilla tarawad.The Mithakshara joint family system was abolished in Kerala. Kerala abolished Malabar joint families of the matrilineal type governed by Marumukkatayam, Aliyasantana, Nambudiri and other matrilineal laws, but they are operative in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The Christian Succession Acts of Travancore and Cochin are in vogue in Kerala with its practice of joint family system.
Portuguese Civil Law is still applicable in Goa (Portuguese Decrees on Marriage and Divorce, 1910, and Decree on Canonical Marriages, 1946, in Goa Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. However, the Gentle Hindu Usages Decree, 1880, allows application of some customs.
Thus different family laws are applicable to Goan Hindus than in other parts. The law for Goan Christians and Muslims as well is different from those applicable to their fellow members in the rest of the country. The Shariat Act and the Special Marriages Act do not apply in Goa.Hindus, Christians and Muslims in Puducherry are divided into two groups — Renoncants and others. Renoncants are still governed by French Civil Code and to others, other Indian laws are applicable.
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, was re-enacted by Jammu and KashmirAssembly. J & K has its own Hindu Succession Act, without repealing the Buddhist Succession Act, 1943. Till recently, Muslim laws were applicable but local customs prevailed in matters of inheritance. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, was made applicable only recently in J & K.
Tribal customary law is protected by legislation in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. The Khasi, Jaintia and Garo tribes continued matrilineal inheritance even after their conversion to Christianity.
The Mitakshara school of Hindu law has four regional variations: Varanasi, Mithilia, Dravida and Maharashtra, which governs the succession.
V.
More on the topic Regional Diversity:
- Local and regional processes interact to determine local species diversity
- CONCEPT 18.1 Patterns of species diversity and distribution vary at global, regional, and local spatial scales.
- CONCEPT 18.3 Regional differences in species diversity are influenced by area and distance, which determine the balance between immigration and extinction rates.
- CONCEPT 19.1 Species diversity differs among communities as a consequence of regional species pools, abiotic conditions, and species interactions.
- In the Case Study at the opening of this chapter, we saw lower hantavirus prevalence in small-mammal communities with higher species diversity than in those with lower species diversity (see Figure 19.2).
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Regional Variations
- Space and Scale between the Local, Regional and Global
- The Regional Roots of Conflict
- Intuitional Diversity
- The Limits of Planning: Central Policies and Regional Realities
- Regional Biogeography
- Unity in Diversity
- Regional Climate Influences
- Regional and Archaeological Setting
- REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT BANKS
- The Threat Environment: Regional Violence
- Patterns of species diversity at different spatial scales are interconnected
- Species diversity varies with latitude