Hinduism: Details about 'Hindu Law'
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home
|
Hindu law is a general term for the legal system—including philosophy of law and legal procedure—which existed in traditional India and was therefore coterminous with the institutions of the Hindu religion as they related to law in society. Among the most significant sources of Hindu law is the Manusmriti or 'Institutes of Manu.' Laws governing inheritance were shaped by the 12th century Mitakshara of Vijnaneshwara, which forms the basis of Hindu inheritance law in most of India, and the Dayabhaga of Jimutavahana, from which the inheritance law of West Bengal is derived. Selected FeaturesHindu law prohibited gambling. Legal scholar Ram Mohan Roy declared that traditional principles of Hindu law opposed polygamy, a common practice in India. Some, including B. R. Ambedkar have seen in the Manusmriti the origin of the extreme caste system rooted in the concept of "untouchability". Law and GenderTraditionally, Hindu law granted an infinitely greater range of rights and freedoms to men than women. "Day and night must women be held by their protectors in a state of dependence," states the Manusmriti. The rule of inheritance was agnatic, that is, descent traced through males to the exclusion of females. The gradual growth of strtd/iana, or property of a woman given by the husband before or after marriage, or by the wife's family, may have led to the practice of sati for both the family of the widow and the Brahmans had an interest in getting the estate of a woman out of the way. Women had only limited rights of inheritance, and were disqualified as witnesses, as in many traditional legal systems. See also
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||