Finding Rights in the Family: An Examination of Indian Personal Laws through the Lens of Human Rights

Abstract

India has a legal plurality system, or personal law system, for family law. Personal laws govern marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption according to religious beliefs and conventions. Unfortunately, this legal system has failed to alleviate inequality and defend human rights. Even if they are codified, many Indian personal laws are seldom updated. Saturation occurs when attempts to alter personal laws to accommodate new issues caused by family system restructuring violate human rights and harm individuals. Legal system restructuring has challenged the old framework. Marriage, adoption, inheritance, maintenance, guardianship, and child custody have been challenged by social change. The spread of consumerist society has made matters worse. Indian family life has evolved owing to fast economic expansion, social change, and technological advancement. Family-related topics in urban and rural communities were simpler decades ago.