Page 183 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Unit 24: Impact of Industrialisation, Urbanisation and Modernisation on Joint Family

3. Impact of Western Culture and Education: Indians started getting English education after Notes
establishment of British rule in India. Their thoughts, mentality, and social values started
getting affected by the western culture. As a result of British education, elements of Euro-
pean culture is being collected in Indian society and the family related assumptions has
started changing. As a result, Indian joint families had also undergone some changes. The
equality of men and women has also been recognised here. The implementation of consti-
tutional amendment has given political right to Indian women as they got the right to vote.
At this time many womanly professions nursing, doctory, teaching, steno clerical etc. came
into existence which provided economic freedom to women. The birth control instruments
has freed the Indian women from unwanted pregnancies and they started working in dif-
ferent sectors outside their home. Western, liberal thoughts and progressive philosophy has
developed the concept of male-female equality and the concept of independent, natural and
subjective love is encouraged. Sex was said to be a natural requirement and marriage was
considered to be based on natural love. As a result, the concept of love marriage and civil
marriage developed. These ideological changes were so fast that the traditional social think-
ing called not keep pace with it. These romantic thoughts also affected English literature.
The thoughts pertaining to revolt against the social restrictions and unfulfilled desires start-
ed appearing through this. It also affected the Indian literature. Here also, the subjective,
natural love and women’s freedom are given importance in poems, novels and features, it
tried to free a man from the shackle of family and cast. These ideological changes affected
the male-female relationship which has contributed in changing the joint families. These
modern thoughts seems to be against the ideals of a joint family. Now a days women want
to live freely away from the restrictions of joint family where the relationship of husband
and wife is important, where they can live closely with one another and raise and educate
their children as they wish.
Educating women has made them more aware of their rights, transmitted a new energy in
them and provided them with an opportunity to re-examine the rules of social life. They
played an important role in national movement. They got rights equal to men, and a change
in their social reputation, at this time new revolution has taken place. Raja Ram Mohen
Roy has started a movement against “Sati-pratha” and gradually the leaders of Navjagriti
tried to provide a legal base to widow-remarriage, inter-caste marriage, divorce and restric-
tion on child marriage etc. and at the same time they tried to bring it to public notice and
to get a healthy public opinion. All these reasons have contributed in changing the joint
families.
4. New Social Rules/Legislation: The Hindu customs were treated differently in the British
courts, as a result the members in a joint family, gradually started asking for their rights in
properties that lead to breaking away the joint families. A number of different laws started
taking shape in the country. Since the beginning of 20th century which harmed the base of
joint families. The existence of joint families has based on the fact that no member of the
family had got a personal right. Now the law has permitted the ‘Karta’ to sell properties to
pay off debts. ‘Hindu succession act-1929’ had provided family properties to these mem-
bers who wanted to live separate from the joint family. “Gales of learning Act 1930” had
widely extended the limit of wealth and property earned by a person. The right of women
in property in a joint family was accepted through the woman right of Property act-1937.
The traditional patrilineal system of a joint family destroyed after acceptance of equal rights
of wives as of husbands in the family properties. The special marriage act was amended in
1954 and allowed the marriage of man and women irrespective of caste and religion. The
dischebancies of marriage is abolished by allowing the equal rights to both male and fe-
male related to the rules of divorce by passing the “Hindu Marriage and Divorce act 1955.”
Women were allowed rights equal to men in properties by passing the “Hindu Succession
Act 1955.” In the same year, Minor Children Consenate Act, was passed, to protect the eco-
nomic interest of a minor child in the family. All these social laws provided an opportunity
to flourish the changes in joint families which had sprouted as a result of new social and
economic conditions.

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