The Constitution of India guarantees equality as a fundamental right. This, however, remains only at the level of theory as the various religious personal laws in force in the country and followed by different communities deny equality to women in personal matters. This inequitous contradiction is the subject of this pioneering study. Dr. Parashar argues that the concept of religious personal law was created by colonial administrators and has been maintained by independent India since, in a religiously plural society, it helps the State’s end of governance. The author traces the legislative conduct of the State and demonstrates that it has adopted discrepant policies with respect to the different religious personal laws. While Hindu personal law has been extensively reformed, the other personal laws have been left largely untouched. As a result, Hindu women have gained new rights, though not complete equality, while women of the minority communities continue to suffer inequalities. The author critically examines the arguments used by the State to reform, or refrain from reforming, religious personal laws. This analysis establishes conclusively that the State has acted in an inconsistent manner, and that its decisions are not governed by considerations of equality and gender justice but primarily by political factors. The author concludes that the only way to sever the connection between religious and civil rights is to adopt a secular and uniform civil code which should be non-optional. Dr. Parashar also highlights the inadequacies of the various feminist analyses of the nature of law and suggests that any discussion of the nature of the State must incorporate the significance of religion as a political factor. This major study will interest lawyers, legal activists, feminists and all those fighting to end gender discrimination.

This volume is a collection of articles by scholars across disciplines to create a discourse of family law independent of Religious Personal Law, whilst striving for fairness and justice to all. It demonstrates the artificiality of the public–private divide and seeks the systematic development of ideas for a fair and just family law in contemporary India. The book does not merely document the pathologies of power within the family but also makes proposals for remedying these inequities. It is not confined to considering what changes need to be inducted into existing family law to make it more just, but also strategises on the means and methods of effecting the change. It lifts the familial veil and scrutinises the status, rights and disabilities of some of the subordinated members of the family. The volume is an invitation to redefine family law with the twin tools of reflection and responsibility. It will interest those in law judges, legislators, law reformers as well as those in women and family studies, policy makers and policy analysts, apart from the general reader.

This text presents an overview of the major issues and topics in current developments in Indian family law. Indian law has produced a number of very important innovations in the past two decades, which are also highly instructive for law reform debates in western and other jurisdictions. Topics discussed are: marriage, divorce, polygamy, maintenance, property and the Uniform Civil Code.

The essays in this collection examine issues of gender, family, and law in the Middle East and South Asia. In particular, the authors address the impact of colonialism on law, family, and gender relations; the role of religious politics in writing family law and the implications for gender relations; and the tension between international standards emerging from UN conferences and conventions and various nationalist projects. Employing the frame of globalization, the authors highlight how local and global forces interact and influence the experience and actions of people who engage with the law. By virtue of a "south-south" comparison of two quite similar and culturally linked regions, contributors avoid positing "the West" as a modern telos. Drawing upon the fields of anthropology, history, sociology, and law, this volume offers a wide-ranging exploration of the complicated history of jurisprudence with regard to family and gender.

The basic objective of this book is to explore the possibilities of reform in Muslim Personal Law and Hindu Personal Law from women rights perspective. It is a long, complex discourse. But the key factor in the whole discourse is gender . The issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC ) is being hugely politicized and communalized by communal forces in the name of religion. But the endeavour here is to see the whole issue objectively through the lens of gender equality.

This text presents an overview of the major issues and topics in current developments in Indian family law. Indian law has produced a number of very important innovations in the past two decades, which are also highly instructive for law reform debates in western and other jurisdictions. Topics discussed are: marriage, divorce, polygamy, maintenance, property and the Uniform Civil Code.