INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION
2. DEFINITION OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY
3. MEANING OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY
4. WHO CAN BE A KARTA?
5. FEATURES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY
6. FUNCTIONS OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY
7. ADVANTAGES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY
8. DISADVANTAGES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

INTRODUCTION
A joint family or undivided family is an extended family arrangement
prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting
of many generations living in the same home. All the male members are
blood relatives and all the women are either mothers, wives, unmarried
daughters, or widowed relatives, all bound by the common relationship. The
joint family status being the result of birth, possession of joint cord that knits
the members of the family together is not property but the relationship.
The family is headed by a patriarch, usually the oldest male called, who
makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire
family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the kitchen, child
rearing and minor religious practices. All money goes to the common pool
and all property is held jointly.
There are several schools of laws. Broadly, systems of laws are very
common. Family ties are given more importance than marital ties. The
arrangement provides a kind of social security in a familial atmosphere.

DEFINITION OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

According to the Bombay High Court, a joint Hindu family consists of all
persons lineally descended from one common ancestor and includes their
wives and unmarried daughters. Jointness is the fundamental feature of this
kind of family. However, the interpretation of this kind of jointness is not to
be conceived in literary sense. One may say that mere staying together can
constitute the status of jointness. The meaning, however, is far wider. The
family is treated as joint not only with reference to the estate but also with
regard to food and worship. However, the existence of a joint estate is not a
fundamental requirement.
SOME OF THIS DEFINITIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
(1) According to Smt. Iravati Karve, A joint family is a group of people who
generally live under one roof, who eat food cooked at one hearth, who hold
property in common and who participate in common worship and are related
to each other as some particular type of Kindred.

(2) According to K.M. Kapadia, Joint family is a group formed not only of a
couple and their children but also other relations either from fathers side or
from mothers side depending on whether the joint family is patrilineal or
matrilineal.
(3) According to Henery Maine, The Hindu joint family is a group constituted
of known ancestors and adopted sons and relatives related to these sons
through marriage.

MEANING OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

A business, which continues from one generation tom another generation is
known as joint Hindu family business or firm. This is special form of business
organization, which now exists only in India. And the business is within the
family. The head of the family is the head of the business also. He is known
as karta and the members are known as co- parceners. Joint Hindu
Family is governed by the Mitaksara Law.
A Hindu joint family consists of the common ancestor and all his lineal male
descendants upto any generation together with the wife/ wives (or widows)
and unmarried daughters of the common ancestor and of the lineal male
descendants. Whatever the skeptic may say about the future of the Hindu
joint family, it has been and is still the fundamental aspect of the life of

Hindus. A co-parcenery is a narrow body of persons within a joint family. It

exclusively consists of male members. A Hindu coparcenery is a corporate
entity, though not incorporated. A coparcenery consists of four successive
generations including the last male holder of the property. The last male
holder of the property is the senior most member of the family.
In the entire Hindu joint family, the karta or manager (the English word
manager is wholly inadequate in understanding his unique position) occupies
a very important position. Karta is the eldest male member of the family. He
is the Hindu patriarch. Only a coparcener can become Karta. Such unique is
his position that there is no office or any institution or any other system of
the world, which can be compared with it. His position is sui generis i.e. of his
own kind or peculiar to himself. Peculiarity lies in the fact that in terms of his
share/interest, the Karta is not superior and has no superior interests in the
coparcenery. If partition takes place he is entitled to take his share. He is a
person with limited powers, but, within the ambit of his sphere, he possesses
such vast powers as are possessed by none else. His position is recognized
/conferred by law. No stranger can ever be qualified to be a karta, but an
adopted son who is the eldest in the family can be qualified.

WHO CAN BE A KARTA?

It is a presumption of Hindu law, that ordinarily the senior most male
member is the Karta of the joint family
Article 236 of the Mulla Hindu Law defines "Karta" as follows:
Karta- Property belonging to a joint family is ordinarily managed by the
father or other senior member for the time being of the family: The Manager
of a joint family is called Karta.

In a Joint Hindu Family, the responsibility of Karta is to manage the Joint

Hindu Family property. He is the custodian of the income and assets of the
Joint Hindu Family. He is liable to make good to other family members with
their shares of all sums which he has misappropriated or which he spent for
purposes other than those in which the joint family was interested. His role is
crucial. He is entrusted not only with the management of land/assets of the
family but also is entrusted to do the general welfare of the family.

FEATURES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

1. Common Residence:
One of the most important features of the joint family system is common
residence. Members of the joint family normally reside together in the same
house or at one particular place. Some scholars like Iravati Karve regard coresidentiality as an essential ingredient of jointness.

2. Common Kitchen:
Living together is not the only ingredient of joint family. A group of persons
living at one place or under one roof may not form a joint family. Therefore,
the essential feature of a joint family is the common kitchen. The members
eat food prepared jointly at the common kitchen. The undivided kitchen has
been traditionally associated with the joint family system.
3. Common property:
The members hold common property. As Milley writes, the joint family is a
cooperative institution similar to a joint stock company in which there is joint
property. The head of the family manages the family property like a trustee.
The total earnings of the members are pooled into family treasury and family
expenses are met out of that. According to old Hindu law givers, the nature
of joint family consisted in the ownership of ancestral property. Daya Bhag
and Mitakshara rules enjoin that during the life time of the father, the
property of the family cannot be divided between the members of the family.
4. Depth of Generations:
The joint family is large in size in comparison to nuclear family. It consists of
members of three or more generations including grandparents, parents and
children. Sometimes, other kith and kin such as uncles, aunts, cousins and
great grandsons also live in the joint family.
5. Common Worship:
The Hindu joint family derives its strength from religion. Hence, it is
associated with various religious rituals and practices. It is. a feature of joint
family system that there is a common mode of worship and common Gods

and Goddesses. The reason for this might have been the practice of ancestor
worship and the custom of Pinda Dana.
6. Co-operation and Sentiment:
Scholars like I.P. Desai and K.M. Kapadia point out that jointness should be
looked in functional terms. A patrilineal joint family may consist of a number
of households headed by males related through the father. It may be located
even at distant places and may not even have property in common. But what
is common is that it identifies itself as members of a particular family,
cooperates in rituals and ceremonies, renders financial and other kinds of
help, and cherishes common family sentiment and abides by the norms of
joint living.
7. Ritual Bonds:
The ritual bonds of the joint family are considered to be important
component of jointness. A joint family, thus, is bound together by periodic
propitiation of the dead ancestors. The members perform a Shradha
ceremony in which the senior male member of the joint family propitiates his
dead fathers or mothers spirit offering it through the Pinda on behalf of all
the members.
8. Authority of Karta:
The Hindu family is usually patriarchal. In the patriarchal joint family, the
eldest male member exercises authority. The authority of the head of the
family is considered to be supreme. The Hindu family, in theory and practice,
enjoins the figure of the head of the family who is responsible for the
management of the house, management of finances, bread winner and wage
earner. The head of the family or the Karta enjoys the highest position in the
family.

9. Mutual Obligations:
The joint family consists of a number of relations who have a common
residence and a common kitchen. Because of living together and enjoying
property in common, the members of the joint family are also bound
together by the ties of mutuality of obligations. It means that since they live
together, they share the sorrows and joys together. On all important
occasions like birth, death and marriage, they commonly share the burden of
sentiments and emotions.
10. Familistic Organisation:
Joint family is based on a family which means the subordination of individual
interests to the interests of the family as a whole. This also means that goals
or interests of the family must be the goals or interests of the individuals.
11. Filial Relationship:
In contrast to conjugal ties (i.e. between husband and wife), emphasis is laid
on filial relationship (the father-son relationship) and fraternal relationship
(the relationship between brothers) in the joint family system. In other words,
the conjugal relationship is subordinated to filial and fraternal relationships.
12. Arranged Marriage:
In the joint family, the head considers it as his privilege to arrange the
marriages of the members. The individuals right to select his / her life
partner is not allowed. The younger members rarely challenge his decisions
and arrangements.

13. Self-Sufficiency:
There was a time when the joint family was mostly self- sufficient. It used to
meet the economic, recreational, educational and other needs of members.
The rural agricultural joint families were mostly self-reliant.

FUNCTIONS OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

(1) Economic functions:
Joint family performs a number of economic functions. It guarantees food,
clothing and shelter to its members. All the members of joint family works
together on a cooperative basis and in that way it saves money that would
have been spent on hired labour. Besides collective purchase of household
articles also saves money. It avoids fragmentation of agricultural land and
thereby helps in increasing productivity. By this way joint family ensures
economic progress of the family as well as society.
(2) Protective functions:
Joint family performs a number of protective functions for its members. It
acts as a safe home for the physically or mentally handicapped, sick, old
members.
It also acts as an asylum for the orphans. It also assures a proper living for
the widows. Thus joint family acts as a social insurance company for the old,
sick and destitute.
(3) Recreational functions:
Joint family performed a number of recreational functions for its members. It
provides healthy recreation to all its members. By arranging feasts on

different religious, social and festive occasions it provides recreation to its

members. The joking relationships in the joint family are another source of
amusement.
(4) Fosters social virtues:
Joint family fosters good social virtues like sacrifice, love, affection,
cooperation, mutual help, selflessness, renunciation among its members and
makes the family a cradle of social virtues. Under care and guidance of the
elders the youths are prevented from being wayward. These social virtues
are learned during the process of socialization.
(5) Socialism:
Socialism prevails in joint family because it believes in the socialistic
principle i.e. from each according to his ability and to each according to his
necessity. Hence Sir Henry maine is right when he remarked that the joint
family is like a corporation where the father acts as its trustee. Earnings of
all the members are kept in a common family fund from where the
expenditures are met.
(6) Acts as a unique device of division of labor:
Joint family acts as a unique system of division of labor. All the advantages of
modern division of labor are enjoyed by joint family. All the works of the
family are equally distributed according to the abilities of its members. All
the family members help during harvesting of crops. None is over burdened.
It brought economic benefits to family.
(7) Provides leisure:
Joint family provides necessary leisure to its members. As all the works are
divided among the members and it finish within a little time and the rest

time is spent in leisure. Besides the sick and old member are provided with
more leisure
(8) Agency of social control:
Joint family acts as an agency of social control. As an informal agency it
controls the deviant behaviors of its members. The unsocial and anti-social
activities

of

its

members

are

suppressed

within

healthy

environment.

ADVANTAGES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

1. Easy formation: -

family

Formation of Joint Hindu family is very easy. Because it does not require any
legal formalities to form. It comes into existence under the Hindu succession
Act 1956.
2. Quick decisions and prompt action: The Karta is the sole manager of the business and head of the family. He
need not consult any one before taking any decisions. Therefore he can take
quick decisions and prompt actions
3. Flexibility in operation: The management is in the hands of the Karta. He takes the decisions
according to the changing circumstances. He can expand or contracts his
business at his convenience. He enjoys maximum flexibility in operation.
4. Business Secrecy: A joint Hindu family business can maintain business secrecy. Because they
need not have to publish theres any account to any outsider of the family.

5. Continuity of business: Joint Hindu family business does not dissolve due to death of Karta. Because
a minor members that is a co-parceners can become a karta after the death
of the Head of the family
6. Minimum Government regulations: Though the Hindu undivided Family is the result of Hindu Law, there is least
Government control over Hindu undivided Family because the business are
conducted by the family members itself so they no need to publish any
accounts and reports to any outsiders.
7. Limited liability of co-parceners: -

The Co-parceners enjoy limited liability. The liability of the co-parceners is

limited to the extent of the shares in the family business. However, the
liability of the Karta is unlimited.
8. Rearing of Children:
The ideal place for the upbringing of children is the joint family. The joint
family not only consists of young couples but also the old and aged persons
who live together. The old and aged persons have a rich experience of life.
As a result of this, the grandfather and the grand mother always look after
the children of their sons and daughters and the older generation is capable
of inculcating the best of the family traditions and wisdom in them.

DISADVANTAGES OF JOINT HINDU FAMILY

1. Family Tensions and Clashes:

The joint family is a hot bed for tensions and dissensions because there are
varying degrees of interests which clash with each other and result in
quarrels. Frequent quarrels among women and between elder and younger
members are a common feature of many joint families in India.
2. Retards the Development of Personality:
In joint family there is very little opportunity for the fostering of individual
autonomy or self-dependence. The whole environment of the family is not
congenial for the growth of individual because he is bound by the minutest
rules and regulations framed by the head of the family who looks upon men
and women as children even when they attain adulthood.
3. Luck of Initiative for Hard work:
In a joint family, all the members are required to pool their earnings into a
common fund and everyone of the family has an equal share in this fund
irrespective of his earning capacity. As such, there is no correspondence
between ones efforts and his reward. As a result a member, even if he is
capable of doing hard work, does not do so. Because he knows that he is
capable of doing hard work, does not do so. Because he knows that he is
neither going to get all the benefits of his neither hard work nor he is going
to be rewarded for his hard work.
4. Poverty:
The condition of joint families is found to be poor. Poverty is mainly due to
idleness of some of its members, lack of incentives for hard work, absence of
any scope for initiative and enterprise and high birth rate.

5. Denies Privacy:
In a joint family, privacy is denied to the newlywed couple. The invariable
presence of other family members ashames the bride and she cannot freely
talk to her husband. Any natural love between husband and wife is
prevented from blossoming. Over-crowded houses are also found to have
harmful effects on children as well.
6. Unfavorable for Savings and Investment:
The joint family is not favorable for accumulation of capital. When one has to
share ones income with a large family, it is not possible to save much. There
is no inspiration for the accumulation of capital and investment. Lack of
capital accumulation hinders economic development.
7. Home for Idlers:
Joint family is a home for idlers. Since all the members are assured of their
basic necessities of life, many members do not take interest to earn their
livelihood. When a person can eat comfortably without exerting himself, he is
unlikely to indulge in any strenuous activity.
8. Low Status of Women:
An important feature of the joint family system is the low status of women.
During childhood, a woman is subordinated to her father, during youth to her
husband and during old age to her son. This low status has meant several

disadvantages to the women folk have no right over family property. They
lead a very miserable life because they are generally harassed by in-laws,
particularly mother-in-laws. On the other hand they have to work hard for
others.
9. More Children:
Another result of joint family system is the uncontrolled reproduction. The
joint family system is found to be associated with higher birth rate. A Hindu
is supposed to have a male child to support him during his old age and to
offer him Pinda.
10. Child Marriage:
Another evil influence of the joint family system has been the practice of
child marriage among the Hindus. Old and aged people want to see the
marriage of their grandsons and granddaughters in their life time. This has
resulted in the evil practice of child marriage.