Hindu Marriage Act - Hindu View of Marriage

Hindu View of Marriage

According to the tenets of Hinduism, marriage is a sacred relationship, a sacrament, and a divine covenant meant for procreation and continuation of family lineage. It is a vow between two people to stay together and uphold traditional family values in accordance with Dharma. In the traditional Hindu system of marriage, there is no role for the state as marriage remained a private affair within the social realm. Within this traditional framework reference, marriage is undoubtedly the most important transitional point in a Hindu’s life and the most important of all the Hindu ‘’sanskaras’’ (life-cycle rituals).

Therefore there was fierce religious opposition to enacting such laws for marriage, succession and adoption. The greatest opposition was to the provision of equal inheritance by sons and daughters (male and female heirs) whereas until then only the sons inherited property. These Acts were put forth under the leadership of Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who strongly believed in enactment of modern laws for Hindus.

Some persons have argued that Hindu marriage cannot be subjected to legislative intervention. Derrett predicted in his later writings that despite some evidence of modernization, the dominant view in Hindu society for the foreseeable future would remain that marriage is a form of social obligation.