A.

M Shah
Introduction: A.M shah in his book ‘Family in India’ questions the assumptions relating to
Indian family . In analysing his field data about family life in a Gujrat village, Shah felt the
need to look for an accepted definition of ‘joint family’. He wanted to compare his analysis
of joint family with other writers and hence stressed upon the need of common definition
ofthe term. He felt it necessary to examine how the related terms and concepts ‘family’,
‘elementary or nuclear or individual family’, ‘extended family’, ‘lineage’, ‘generation’ and a
few others were used by different scholars. Joint family is one of the three most important
fundamental institutions in Indian society. It is a common believe in India that JOINT
FAMILIES HAVE BROKEN DOWN, which shah tries to oppose it saying that the nature of
jointness is changing. Shah argues that the word family is used in different senses like
household, the group consisting of parents and their children, whether living together or not
and all those who are nearly related by blood and affinity (biological ties)
Now before explaining joint family, Shah here describes about elementary family. Generally,
It is assumed by many writers on Indian family, that members of an elementary family is
man, wife , children living together in the same household (common residence) , either by
themselves or as a part of a wider household group like joint or extended family . Thus, there
is no clear difference between elementary family and joint household. Also, the term
elementary family does not by itself carry any implication as to the transfer of residence.
Here, AM shah describes elementary family as an ideal type.
Shah goes into a further study of the lesser analysed concept of incomplete elementary
family. A complete elementary family is composed of all the persons included in its
definition- man, his wife and unmarried children, whereas an incomplete elementary family is
composed of only some and not all these persons. Shah here mentions that there are only few
writings on Indian family which refer to incomplete elementary family.
Now, he describes about joint family. He argues joint family means ‘two or more elementary
families joined together. It is called patrilineal when based on patrilineal descent and
matrilineal when based upon matrilineal descent. The term ‘extended family’ is used for
‘joint family’ and it is based on extension of parent- child relationship, thus, patrilineal
extended family is based upon an extension of father-son relationship and the matrilineal
extended family on an extension of mother- daughter relationship.
However, there arises a problem from this meaning of joint or extended family – what is the
limit of extension of patrilineal descent in the formation of joint or extended family? A.M
shah describes that here comes in the distinction between FAMILY AND LINEAGE.
Generation might be used to define limit of extension in forming a joint family. However,
there is no unanimity about the meaning of generation or about the method of counting the
number of generations as the number of generations refers to both the dead and the living
generations in some writings and in some other only living generations. It was seen that
wives were also not included while accounting generation though they are part of the family
they are not taken in account for generation counting.
There are also problems concerning the activities or functions to be associated with joint
family. It may deal with household group, property owning group ritual and ceremonial
group. Am shah tries to examine joint family as household group and he argues that it is seen
that the genealogical depth is not universal. It has changed over time and even in different
communities it is different. One of the concomitants that leads to difference in genealogical
depth is distinctive characteristics of kingship system of caste.
The structure of household becomes more and more complex when more and more relations
are added. Thus, with addition not only there is change in composition but also change in
relation. Shah describes how each person in a household is involved in a complex pattern of
behaviour with every member. This behaviour can be economic in nature. Also, a number of
rules and regulations of ethics have to observed by each member towards other members.
These rules are generally called ‘proper conduct’. Every relationship on a family has ‘proper
code of conduct’. But, sometimes there are conflict sin these conducts like loyalty of son
towards his parents and his wife.
Shah points out that the definition of Hindu family as a virilocal patrilineal extended or joint
family does not take into account certain important facts about Hindu family like sometimes
husband might go to live in wife’s parental home (gharjamai)which leads to formation of
joint or extended family, but it is only patrilineal (considiring daughter as patrilineal) and not
virilocal. The notions of elementary family is not adequate in understanding family. Family
needs to be understood in both legal and sociological way and hence Shah gives us two
approaches – legal approach and sociological approach.
Legal and sociological approach –
The property holding aspect of the joint family has been the subject of Hindu law throughout
Indian history. And thus, shah tries to understand joint family in legal terms. The Hindu
succession act is based on the classical law – Mitaksara , Dayabhaga.
The law distinguishes between joint family and coparcenery (joint heirship). Kane states
‘under mitaksara , a Hindu coparcenery is narrower group than joint family. It comprises
only those males who take by birth an interest in the joint or coparcenery property i.e. person
and his son’s , son’s sons , sons’s grandson’s form coparcenery. Coparcenery may exist even
within an elementary family.
On the other hand in Dayabhaga , there is no coparcenery between man and his son ,
married , unmarried , even though they may be living in a single household. The point is that
Hindu law is not concerned with the distinction between elementary family and joint or
extended family. The law is concerned primarily with the constitution of property holding
group and with the persons having rights of maintenance from the property-holding group
and not with the constitution of the household group.
It must be noted that there are basic differences between the meanings of legal and
sociological ‘joint family’. The jurists tend to be concerned more with the lying down of rules
and regulations than description of rules and regulation actually operative in a society. They
believed that Hindus are governed generally by the legal rules. On the other hand, a
sociologists would not presume as a lawyer that they (Hindus) are governed only by legal
rules. He would investigate customs and usages regarding ownership and inheritance of
property. He would study property disputes taken to law courts as well as those settled by
non-official panchayats and partitions settled by the members of family. He would consider
law as a social institution like many other institutions.
Shah goes on to a detailed examination of terms and concepts used in the sociological
writings on Indian family. They are based mostly upon systematic or impressionistic
observations of contemporary society.
Professor Madelbaum’s paper, ‘The family in India’ tries to depict Indian family organisation
in general terms and also to model the orthodox, joint family He has followed the classical
three-or-four generation formula. He says that large joint family of former times has been
replaced by small joint families, of fewer members and short duration, but he does not define
composition of these families. He also defines all functional characteristics associated with
the ideal joint family.
In “Kinship organisation in India”, Irawati Karve states that in the composition of the joint
family there are 3 or 4 generation of males related to a male ego as grandfather and his
brothers , father and his brothers , ego’s brothers and cousins , sons nephews and wife of
these male relatives , plus ego’s own unmarried sisters and daughters. Karve has however not
mentioned unmarried males at all. She also mentions characteristics of joint family but
nowhere in the book does she discusses about in which sections of hindu society such huge
joint family households exist or existed.
S. C. Dube uses 'family' primarily in the sense of 'household'. He defines an 'ideal' joint
family as a five- generation unit. He mentions a family type in which 'all nuclear families of
three generation share a common house'. He describes two- well known types of joint
families found in rural areas, one composed of parents and their married sons and their wives
and children and the other one composed of brothers and their wives and children.
In his paper 'A Joint Family Dispute in a Mysore Village', Srinivas distinguishes the joint
family from lineage or brotherhood. He understands joint family as a multi- functional group
He defines composition of joint family in general terms: ' It consists of the descendants in
male line, of a common ancestor, and their wives, sons, married as well as unmarried, and
unmarried daughters. He also provides graphic description of the process of partition of a
joint family household composed of a widowed mother, her three married sons and their
wives and children, one unmarried son, and a deceased son' s son.
Thus, a close survey of the various literature by AM shah points out that there are two main
kinds of terms and concepts used in the study of family in India. One taking the elementary
family as the starting point for the definition of all other terms and concepts and other not
concerned at all with the elementary family. The former called sociological and latter legal.
Amongst sociological terms and concepts, besides elementary family, the most widely used
term is joint family
Conclusion: In this essay, A.M Shah makes an attempt to determine to the nature of joint
family. Many social scientists argue that joint family is being replaced by elementary family
and in order to understand this problem, shah gives us nuanced understanding of the basic
terms, concepts related to study of Family in India.