With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Mitakshara was the civil law for upper castes and Dayabhaga was the civil law for lower castes.
- 2. In the Mitakshara system, the sons can claim right to the property during the lifetime of the father, whereas in the Dayabhaga system, it is only after the death of the father that the sons can claim right to the property.
- 3. The Mitakshara system deals with the matters related to the property held by male members only of a family, whereas the Dayabhaga system deals with the matters related to the property held by both male and female members of a family.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
1 and 2
2 only
1 and 3
3 only
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2021
Statement 2 is correct: This statement accurately describes a key difference. Under the Mitakshara system, a son acquires a right by birth in the ancestral property of the joint family (coparcenary). Under the Dayabhaga system, the son does not acquire any right in the father’s property during the father’s lifetime; inheritance occurs only after the father’s death, when the property becomes divisible.
Statement 3 is incorrect: Both systems traditionally dealt with coparcenary property, which primarily consisted of property held by male members in a joint family. While the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (and its 2005 amendment) significantly reformed this by giving daughters equal rights in ancestral property, the traditional systems as originally conceived did not deal equally with property held by both male and female members in the manner implied.