Marriage
and the family
Among the Adivasis, marriage is not a
religious sacrament, but a civil contract, and it is performed in different
ways depending upon the customs prevalent within a particular community or the
circumstances prevailing in the two families. In most marriages, a bride price
is paid as compensation to the girl’s father, and many people call this type of
marriage as ‘marriage by purchase’, since it is like a one-time purchase of a bride.
When, there is a hike in the bride price in order to make it some kind of status symbol, the groom finds it difficult to pay and may have to work in his father-in –law’s house so that he can pay the equivalent of a bride price through his free labour. There is also marriage by capturing the bride, which generally takes place in a fair or festival market. The bride’s parents show mock concern and
sometimes wail and make a big show of mock resistance. But they finally accept the groom. A similar custom is that of a bride capturing a groom, not through force but by forcibly entering his house and refusing to leave. The groom and his parents may refuse food and beat up the girl, but if she is able to bear the suffering, she becomes the wife. There are marriages where the boy is put to a physical test before he can claim his partner like the Indian Swayam Var, and also probationary marriages where the groom lives in his father-in-law’s house for some time and tries to woo his daughter. Couples may also elope after falling in love, and they may marry through an oath before a deity. Here, the parents and other members of the community finally give sanction to the relationship. Divorce is quite common among the Jaunsaris and it is usually the younger wives who desert their husbands, for other partners. Village Councils many times decide on annulment of marriage, if it is required, through customary laws. In short it is clear that tribal women have the right to choose their partners and leave them if they wish.
In tribal society descent may be traced both through the mother’s line, ( matrilinear system) or through the father’s line, (patrilinear system).With the exception of the Khasis, Jaintias, Garos and Lalungs of Meghalaya in the North-East, who follow the matrilinear system, most of the other tribes in India follow a patrilinear system.
The Mappilas of Kerala are also a matrilineal community. There are very rare cases of bilineal descent within a tribe. But we must understand that matriliny is not equivalent to matriarchy, which means that the women wield power not only with regard to matters related to the family, but also manage the economy and are the main decision makers, i.e., they govern the community and society at large.
The nuclear family formed through monogamous marriage is the most common type of family prevalent among the tribals in India. However, the Todas of Nilgiri or the Bhutias of Ladakh and Sikkim are polyandrous, i.e., one may find more than one husband for a woman. Also, the practice of several women marrying a number of brothers is found among the Jaunsaris tribe of Jaunsar Bahar in Uttarakhand. This system is called polygynandry. Here, the eldest woman usually wields greatest power and commands more respect.
But now they are also adopting the monogamous marriage system. Of course, this also holds true in the Hindu joint family, where the wife of the eldest brother is the most privileged. But here the eldest wife usually resides at a dwelling place in the central village, which is called sadar; the younger wives have to toil hard in the farm houses.
○○सविधान दिवस के कुछ महत्वपूर्ण प्रश्न
○ परथम संविधान दिवस कब मनाया गया ?
➖26 नवंबर 2015
○ भारत का संविधान कब लागू हुआ ?
➖26 जनवरी 1950
○ भारतीय संविधान के निर्माण में कुल
कितना समय लगा ?
➖2 वर्ष 11 माह 18
दिन
○ सर्वप्रथम 1895 में संविधान के
गठन की मांग किसने की ?
➖बाल गंगाधर तिलक
○ सविधान सभा के गठन का विचार सर्वप्रथम
किसने दिया ?
➖सवराज पार्टी ने
○ सविधान सभा का प्रथम अधिवेशन किस शहर
में हुआ ?
➖दिल्ली
○ डॉ. भीमराव अंबेडकर ने संविधान के किस
अनुच्छेद को संविधान की आत्मा कहा है ?
➖अनुच्छेद 32
○ सविधान सभा के कुल कितने अधिवेशन हुए ?
➖12
○ सविधान सभा ने संविधान को कब पारित
किया ?
➖26 नवंबर 1949
○ सविधान सभा की प्रारूप समिति में कितने
सदस्य थे ?
➖7
○ डॉ. भीमराव अंबेडकर का संविधान सभा में
निर्वाचन किस प्रांत से हुआ ?
➖बॉम्बे
○ सविधान सभा में उद्देश्य प्रस्ताव
किसके द्वारा रखा गया ?
➖पडित जवाहर लाल नेहरू
○ सविधान सभा में कुल कितनी महिला सदस्य
थी ?
➖15
○ भारतीय संविधान में कुल कितने अनुच्छेद
हैं ?
➖395
○ भारतीय संविधान द्वारा नागरिकों को
कितने मूल अधिकार दिए गए हैं ?
➖6
○ भारत की स्वतंत्रता के समय ब्रिटेन में
प्रधानमंत्री थे :
➖एटली
○ सविधान सभा का गठन किस योजना के तहत
हुआ ?
➖कबिनेट मिशन
○ सविधान सभा के सदस्यों को चुनने के लिए
चुनाव कब हुए ?
➖जलाई 1946
○ भारत - पाक विभाजन के उपरांत संविधान
सभा में कितने सदस्य रह गए ?
➖299
