GENDER, KINSHIP AND SOCIETY: ANALYSING FEMALE INTESTATE SUCCESSION AND INHERITANCE UNDER HINDU SUCCESSION ACT 1956

The concept of succession has always been a central topic when it comes to Hindu Law. Decades before the introduction of Hindu Succession Act, many independent schools of law existed in India which governed succession and inheritance of individuals. These regional schools like Dayabhaga, Mitakshari, Mithila, Banaras, Bombay, Nanduri followed various practices leading to different laws throughout the country. The difference in law of inheritance of these schools, the matriarchal system in South India, the dissimilar local and family customs prevalent in India made the application of one uniform law a necessity leading to the conception of the Hindu Succession Act in 1956. The Hindu Succession Act brought pivotal changes like uniform regulations, inclusion of Jain, Sikh and Buddhist converts and reconverts and abolition of the concept of survivorship however one of the most significant changes it brought was in regard to female inheritance and succession. The Dayabhaga and the Mitakshari schools neglected females when it came to succession and were notorious for being patrilineal in nature. The Act attempted to fill in this gap with better frameworks and provisions which benefitted women. The 2005 amendment to the Act became revolutionary due to the inclusion of both married and unmarried women in coparcenary property. This paper attempts to highlight the role of kinship and gender as an institution in influencing inheritance of women and emphasizes various sociological aspects of the same. It also strives to explain how intestate property is devolved upon female relations on the death of Hindu male or female under HSA Act 1956. Key Words: inheritance, succession, kinship, female, coparcenary property