Polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
, including
polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...
, is outlawed in India. While it was not prohibited in
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
and was common among aristocrats and emperors, it is believed that it was not a major cultural practice. The lack of prohibition was in part due to the separation between land laws and religion (independence of the judiciary), and partially since all of the
major religions of India portrayed polygamy in a neutral light. According to some government data polygamy is decreasing day by day in India.
History
Vedic period
In Rig Vedic time women in India enjoyed a very high status. The monogamy was mostly common these days but some wealthier sections also practiced polygamy.
[Rout, Naresh. "Role of Women in Ancient India: January - 2016 Odisha Review , Indian Religions".]
Ancient period
In contrast to Europe, polygamy prevailed in ancient India among rich merchant, warriors and feudal lords. It was a common rule rather than an exception. Hindu text
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
also mentioned about polyandry and polygamy.
[Singh, Suraj Kumar. (2012). Polygamy in India - With Special Reference to the Bulkiest Constitution in the World. SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.2018822.]
Colonial
Marrying multiple wives was common for rulers even in colonial era also. For example
Bhupinder Singh of Patiala
Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh, (12 October 1891 – 23 March 1938) was an Indian royal and cricket player. He was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala in British India from 1900 to 1938.
Biography
Bhupinder Singh was born at ...
and
Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar practiced polygamy. Similarly some wealthy individuals for example
Ramkrishna Dalmia
Dalmia Bharat Group, (DBG) is an Indian conglomerate company, which trace their origin to the businesses established by ''Ramkrishna Dalmia'' and Jaidayal Dalmia. The Dalmia brothers established a business conglomerate in eastern India, in t ...
, Gajanan Birla and
P. Rajagopal had multiple wives.
The British colonial
Empire of India
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
permitted Islamic provinces to allow husbands to have multiple wives. When
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...
was cremated in Lahore, four of his wives and seven concubines took to sati, and their urn-like memorials exist at his
Samadhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
.
Legal developments
Section 494 and 495 of the
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established ...
of 1860, prohibited polygamy for the Christians. In 1955, the
Hindu Marriage Act
The Hindu Marriage Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18th of May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hind ...
was drafted, which prohibited marriage of a Hindu whose spouse was still living. Thus polygamy became illegal in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 1956, uniformly for all of its citizens except for Muslims, who are permitted to have four wives and for Hindus in Goa and along the western coast where bigamy is legal.
Muslim polygamy
In religious text
There is no religious injunction directing Muslims to marry more than one wife. As described in
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, extract demonstrates compassion for neglected female orphans, allowing Muslims to contract multiple marriages if they are willing to deal with them justly. This includes second, third, and fourth marriages, provided they can handle them justly.
Muslim personal law
Muslims in the rest of the country are subject to the terms of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, interpreted by the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-government organisation constituted in 1973 by that time Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to adopt suitable strategies for the protection and continued applicability of Muslim Personal ...
. This personal law permited them to have upto four wives at the same time and makes them the only community in India to practice polygamy.
However, in a judgment in February 2015, the
Supreme court of India stated that "Polygamy was not an integral or fundamental part of the Muslim religion, and monogamy was a reform within the power of the State under Article 25".
Polygamy in modern India
Although In modern India a polygamous marriage is null and void by the law (except Muslims), it sometimes accepted in some rural areas mostly among
tribals, often with approval by earlier wives.
The 2005-06
National Family Health Survey
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is an India-wide survey conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, with the International Institute for Population Sciences serving as the nodal agency.
History
In 1992-93, t ...
(NFHS-3) found that 1.9 percent of women reported that their husband had other wife or wives besides herself. Further surveyed by NFHS-5 during 2019-2021 it decreased to only 1.4%. Polygamy declines with income improvement, with 2.4% of poor households experiencing it, compared to 0.5% of rich households.
In popular culture
''
Chand'' is a social drama film dealing with the story of a childless couple with
Balraj Sahni and
Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
in lead roles. Mr. Kapoor (Balraj Sahni) who is married to Kamla (
Pandari Bai
Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...
) cannot have a child of their own. Kamla wants a child but under duress agrees to have Mr. Kapoor take a second wife and have a child. Sahni marries Vimla (Meena Kumari) with a heavy up front payment to her father. The marriage just collapses shortly after when Meena Kumari finds herself with another wife competing for the same husband. She gives birth to a child but leaves her husbands house to live with her father as it was evident that she was losing her senses in the situation she was thrown in. As she recovers her senses at her father's place she wants her child back but both Kamla and Mr. Kapoor declines to give the child back. The issue goes to court but the court decides against Vimla and she goes mad. Watch the rest of it to see how matters end happily and both Vimla and Kamla decides to live peacefully with the same husband. Even though the movie was released in the year 1959, the film was based in the year 1955, before the abolishing of polygamy.
Mizoram
In Mizoram state, a Christian sect known as "
Lalpa Kohhran Thar" (literal translation "The Lord's New Church"), sometimes known as "Khuangtuaha Pawl" or "Pu Chana Páwl" or "Ziona Pawl" (referring the leaders; ''pawl'' means sect or organisation) practices polygamy.
Khuangtuaha (1891–1955) formed the sect in 1942, and was supported by his younger brother Chana (1910–1997). Chana introduced polygamous marriage and had seven wives. Khuangtuaha followed suit and married three wives.
Chana's son,
Ziona (1945–2021), was the most prolific polygamous man of the sect. At the time of his death in 2021, he had 38 wives, 89 children and 33 grandchildren.
But polygamy is not practiced freely; men are allowed to marry wives only if they can support them by livelihood,
and this is decided by the priests.
Only the leaders and their elite lineages are usually able to afford the conditions; thus, it is not widely practiced.
See also
*
Polyandry in India
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polygamy In India
Marriage in India
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...