Hindu legal system

Hindu legal system

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  HINDU LEGAL SYSTEMAND ITS INFLUENCE PRESENTED BY- SMITA SATAPATHY ROLL NO-020 LLM
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  INTRODUCTION  Hindu lawis a personal law. In addition to India, it is also applied to Hindus in other countries such as Burma, Malaya, Kenya and Tanzania.  The word “Hindu used to refer to the ethnic group of people or Indians and, in the thirteenth century, the word “Hindu” was more widely used to distinguish them from the Islamic kingdoms within India.
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   “Hinduism” wasused during the British Rule in the nineteenth century to refer to the Hindu religious culture group as distinct from Christianity and Islam.  The following people are considered to be Hindu with respect to application of Hindu Law- • Hindu by Religion • Hindu by Birth • Persons who are not Muslim, Christian, Jew, or Parsee by religion. • Persons who are not governed by any other religious law will be governed by Hindu Law.
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  RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS  Theword dharma is derived from the root dhr, which means to uphold, sustain, and nourish. "Dharma" is a comprehensive term, that encompasses notions of duty, morality, ritual, law, order, and justice.  Law embraced all of life and was synonymous with virtue. The Hindu word for law- "dharma"-shows this derivation
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   Shruti means"what is heard".  Smriti means "what is remembered  Smritis can be divided into two - Early smritis (Dharmasutras) and Later smritis (Dharmashastras).  Dharmasutras were mostly written in prose form but also contain verses. It is clear that they were meant to be training manuals of sages for teaching students. Important are-  Gautama-inheritance, partition, and stridhan  Baudhayan- marriage, sonship, and inheritance  Apastamba- rejected prajapatya marriage  Vashistha- remarriage of virgin widows
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   Dharmashastras weremostly in metrical verses and were based of Dharmasutras. However, they were a lot more systematic and clear. They dealt with the subject matter in three parts-  Aachara : This includes the theories of religious observances,  Vyavahar : This includes the civil law.  Prayaschitta : This deals with penance and expiation.
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   Manusmriti compilesall the laws that were scattered in pre-smriti sutras and gathas.  Commentaries (bhasya) take the form of linguistic exegeses, hypothetical examples, and theoretical disquisitions on a single Dharmasastra text.  Caste system- 4 types- 1. Brahmanas 2. Kshtriyas 3. Vaisyas 4. Sudras
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   The Hindulaw, as we all know, got divided into two branches --- the Mitakshara and the Dayabagha.  The Mitakshara prevailed over the whole of India except Bengal and Assam, while the Dayabhaga prevailed in Bengal and Assam.  The difference arose because two different interpretations were given by the commentators to one word `pinda’
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   Hindu lawcan primarily be divided into three categories: 1. the 'Classical Hindu Law', 2. the 'AngloHindu Law', and 3. the 'Modern Hindu Law'.  The Classical Hindu Law includes the diverse legal practices connected with the Vedic Traditions in some ways and existing from the Vedic times until 1772. This phase
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   Anglo-Hindu Lawcan be divided into two phases. 1. The first phase is the period between 1772 and 1864. This phase starts in 1772 when the British adopted rules for administration of justice in Bengal. 2. The second phase is the period between 1864 and 1947. After 1864, India was formally part of the British Empire, and in 1947, India became independent of the
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   Modern HinduLaw-The British adopted (especially during 1864 and 1947) the modern law or the English legal system and replaced the existing Indian laws, except for laws related to family or personal matters like marriage, inheritance and succession of property. Family law or the personal law applicable to Hindus is the Modern Hindu Law.
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  ATTEMPTS TO CODIFYLAW  A major attempt at codification was made in 1947 when the Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the Indian Legislative Assembly.  Fresh efforts were made to codify the law in a piecemeal fashion as a result of which the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 and
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  ROLE OF CUSTOMS Customs means a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time.  Customs are of three types:  Local Customs- The peculiar law of a country prevailing from time immemorial without conflicting with the Vedas is called Desachar or local or territorial custom
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   Family Customs-kulachar is the usage confined to a particular family  Caste and Community Customs – A caste custom binds all the members of a caste residing in a particular area. It varies with localities even among the members of the same caste.  Custom and usage are not synonymous terms. A usage is a repetition of acts whereas custom is the law or general rule
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  INFLUENCE OF HINDULAW  Marriage rites transmitted through Greece to Rome, i.e. after the birth of a child the rite of purification was performed.  Ceremony of tonsure spread to China and Japan.  Greece adopted belief to have a son
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   Father consideredas head of the family in Rome  In Rome at the time of the Twelve Table (No. 4), like Hindu father, could sell his offspring only in cases of extreme necessity in order to save both from privation.  Woman must never seek independence, Roman and Greece, adopted the principle of perpetual guardianship for women
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  CONCLUSION  The principlesof Hindu law constitute an unusual unmatched in the history of the world. Unlike other religion Hinduism does not require its members to accept particular religious doctrines about God, and soul, the creation, redemption, and so on. It is open to every Hindu to believe in one God or another, in
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