Name: Kunal Saxena

Enrolment No.: A8111120043

Programme: B.A.LL.B (Hons)
Semester: 1st, Section: A
Batch: 2020-2025

THE SOCIOLOGY PSDA REPORT

TOPIC: THE CHANGING CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE
OF JOINT FAMILY STRUCTURE IN INDIA.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who provided me to complete
this report. I would like to earnestly acknowledge the effort and time given by my subject
teacher Dr Ritu Agarwal who has supported and guided me in completing my
assignment. Her sincerity, vision and motivation deeply inspired me.
I owe my deep gratitude to Mr JP Yadav (HOD) for his extensive support and
professional ethics and providing such an opportunity for assignment and project work. I
would like to thanks to all the people who supervise and support me in any manner.

INDEX
INTRODUCTION-
DEFINATION& TYPES OF FAMILIES-
EARLIER PERSPECTIVE OF JOINT FAMILIES-
CURRENT PERSPECTIVE OF JOINT FAMILIES-
CAUSES FOR DISINTRIGATION OF JOINT FAMILIES-
LEGAL FACTORS-
COMPARISON BETWEEN JOINT & NUCLEAR FAMILIES-
CONCLUSION-
REFERENCES-
INTRODUCTION

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The family is considered the basic unit of society since every individual has a family of
origin, which is the major source of survival, development and protection. The family
provides a link between continuity and change by way of socialisation. It has a major
potential to provide stability and support when there are problems from the environment.

The institution of family in India has experienced a series of changes over the 20th century.
As a popular theme of sociological and social anthropological interest, the family in India
received a great deal of attention for a few decades after India's political independence. The
impact of political freedom, nation-building, planned economy, urbanisation and
industrialisation on the Indian family occupied scholars until the 1970s, but this interest
declined somewhat in the 1980s. While the debate on the disintegration of the family, i.e.,
decline of joint and rise of nuclear families/households, was an analytical one, the idea of the
household dimension of the family was a conceptual advance, supported by descriptions of
the process of the phases of the developmental process of the household. While the
household, as a unit of analysis, was based on commensality and co-residence, the jointness
of the Hindu family was derived from corporate ties through common property and rituals.
Analysis of the process of household development gives a dynamic view of the institution,
but it focuses more on the form and structure rather than the content of its relations.

What is a nuclear family, what constitutes jointness, where to draw the line or are there some
dichotomous entities like nuclear or joint families – these are some of the issues that have
constantly plagued the social scientists. The family has been variously defined by different
sociologists and some form of consensus on the definitional aspect of the family still appears
a remote possibility. However, the most commonly accepted definition of the nuclear family
is that it consists of husband and wife with or without their unmarried children, whether
biological or adopted. The joint family, especially in India, is generally seen in terms of at
least three generations of parents, their married children and grandchildren living together
(lineal joint family) or brothers and their wives and children residing together (fraternal joint

family. For a man in the middle generation, belonging to a joint family means joining his
conjugal family to his family of orientation (i.e., into which he was born).

Definition of Family& Its Types:

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Family is a socially recognized group (usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or
adoption) that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society.
Sociologists identify different types of families based on how one enters into them.

 A social group is made up of parents and their children.

 A group of people who come from the same ancestor you resemble your mother's side
of the family.
 A group of people living together in a household.
 A group of things sharing certain characteristics of a family of languages.

Family sociology continues to thrive, and is producing a wide range of research that is
demythologizing our beliefs about family systems of the past, and expanding our
understanding of the diversity of family life, not only between individual nations, but also
between various classes, ethnic groups, and regions. More studies are crossing discipline
boundaries, looking at the interrelationship of family life and work, and how micro-family
relationships are affected by macro-social and economic changes. Family sociology is also
incorporating the life-cycle perspective, exploring how families differ at various stages, from
early marriage to old age. Finally, there is an increasing amount of research concerning
different family forms, such as lone-parent and reconstituted families; and, inevitably, family
sociology has become closely entwined with practical policy concerns.

Types of the family:-

Based on the composition of the family, three distinct types of family organizations emerge:-

A. Nuclear Family- The most basic among the families is called natal or nuclear or
elementary, or simple family, which consists of a married man and woman and their
offspring. Nuclear families are often combined, like atoms in a molecule, into larger
aggregates. Although such families are generally referred to as composite forms of
family.
B. Joint Family- Family in which members of a unilateral descent group (a group in
which descent through either the female or the male line is emphasized) live together
with their spouses and offspring in one homestead and under the authority of one of
the members. The joint family is an extension of the nuclear family (parents and
dependent children), and it typically grows when children of one sex do not leave
their parents’ home at marriage but bring their spouses to live with them. Thus, a
patrilineal joint family might consist of an older man and his wife, his sons and
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 unmarried daughters, his sons’ wives and children, and so forth. For a man in the
middle generation, belonging to a joint family means joining his conjugal family to
his family of orientation (i.e., into which he was born).
Eight key aspects of joint family:
 The Head of the family (Karta) takes all decisions regarding the financial and
economic1 aspects of the family.
 All members live under one roof.
 Share the same kitchen.
 Three generations living together (though often two or more brothers live
together, or father and son live together or all the descendants of males live
together).
 Income and expenditure in a common pool- property held together.
 A commonplace of worship.
 All decisions are made by the male head of the family- patrilineal, patriarchal.
 No division of property until the death of the Karta (head of the family or
older male person).
C. Polygamous Family- A polygamous family ordinarily consists of two or more
nuclear families conjoined by plural marriage. These types of families are statistically
very few in number in general. There are basically two types of polygamous family
based on the forms of marriage, viz., polygyny, i.e., one husband with more than one
wife at a time, and polyandry, i.e., one wife with more than one husband at the same
time.

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 Earlier Perspective:

As far as Indian society is concerned, sociological researches has brought forth many
fascinating results. It is extremely important to know that the Indian family is highly
diversified. Keeping in view this diversity, a uniform family pattern is very difficult to expect
throughout India. There are variations in family patterns not only regionally but also based on
caste, religion, and rural-urban basis. And so, it is not surprising that sociological researches
on family patterns in India are as diversified as the diversity of India itself.

 A joint family is more characteristic of higher twice-born castes, while the least
characteristic among the lower castes and the scheduled castes.
 Regional differences exist in the prevalence of joint family. North India, especially
the Gang etic Plain shows higher incidences of joint families than Central or South
India like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, or Andhra Pradesh.
 There is a difference in the customary time of the break-up of joint families in various
groups and places in India.
As far as rural areas are concerned, most of the studies show that traditional joint family is
predominant among the upper castes like the landed gentry and the priestly class. The nuclear
family is more prevalent among the lower castes. Cohn (1961) in his study of Chamars of

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Senapur (UP) tries to explain why the achievement of a joint family is so difficult among the
scheduled castes. This is due to several factors such as

 Demographic factor: with low life-expectancy among the lower castes, there is less
chance of three generations existing at the same time.
 Spatial mobility: Movement of individuals from one place to another in search of
better economic opportunities also makes joint families difficult.
 Role of women: women in these families have always worked since pre-industrial
times due to financial constraints. The pronounced status of women in these families
and strong conjugal bonds has a critical role to play in the weakening of the lineal or
fraternal bonds.

As regards urban canters, many sociological studies do indicate that as a consequence of the
surge in industrialization and urbanization in the recent past, the number of nuclear
households is increasing at an unprecedented rate. However, Kapadia (1958) maintains that
families that have migrated to cities still retain their joint family bonds in their native villages
or towns. These families retain their, what he calls, Joint Family Ethic‟. This is evident from
the physical presence of relatives at the time of certain events like birth, marriage, death,
illness, etc.

Earlier societies preferred to live in Joint families or extended families so they can easily
communicate as there was no technological advancement and letters used to take days
sometimes months to reach. They used to practice this tradition of the joint family so daily
chores could be divided between members of the family and more number of members was
also very beneficial for finance and as they can pool their money and give benefit to everyone
else in the family and this was also good from the security point of view as cases of burglary
and theft would have fewer chances to take place, it also helped in focusing on their works as
they know someone is there at home there are many more benefits of a joint family, this is
why earlier people preferred to live in a joint family.

Current Perspective:

In India, the old traditional joint family system no longer continues. It was patriarchal, its size
was large, the status of women in the family was very low, and members of the family had no
individual identity, and the decision-making power lied exclusively with the eldest male
member of the family. A recent study of the 2011 Census said that in Delhi, 69.5% of

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households have only one married couple, and less than 6% of all Indian households have 9
or more people living in them. While the traditional joint family is hard to find, you will
likely encounter a modern version of it.

Whether jointness is considered in terms of residence, mutual obligations , and property;

whether a joint family system is being replaced by a nuclear family system; whether a joint
family as an institution is dying put is a matter of dispute and the future of Indian family
system has been debated. Various empirical studies point to the new trends of the Indian
family system. It is a fact that the joint family system is disintegrating. This disintegration is
more evident in cities and industrial centres than in rural areas.

 Small Family size: Urbanisation has emphasized individuality and privacy which
gives another incentive for being independent of a large family group. Hence, joint
families are breaking up and in their place; small families are coming into existence.
 Neo-Local Residence: As a result of industrialization and urbanization more and
more young married couples set up their residence in the place of their work. Neo-
local residence is, therefore, coming into existence more and more.
 Functional Jointness: The married sons who have set independent households
continue to maintain their connection with their joint families in their native places.
Some of them continue to fulfil their obligations to their parents and siblings. But the
ties between the neo-local residence and distant kin are very weak.
 Equality of Individual: It is generally recognized that families have been the
dominant mode of value orientation in traditional societies and individualism had no
place in it. The patriarchs or parents in the family no longer try to impose their
authority on the children but give them more freedom to determine their goals and the
means to achieve them. The individual’s status is evaluated not by his age or
relationship but by his accomplishments.
 Equal Status for Women: In the developed patriarchal system of the past, the
patriarch had unlimited and undisputed authority over his wife, sons, and daughters.
Women were allotted subordinate position to men. In a traditional Indian home, the
woman knows that she cannot have a say in family matters. There is a gradual change
in the status and role of women. The relationship between husband and wife has
undergone major changes. However, the traditional attitude of both males and females
towards the status of women is tending to change. In such families where women
have taken up jobs, men have come to treat them in terms of equality.

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 Causes for the Disintegration of a Joint family:

The joint family system emerged pre-eminently to cater to certain felt needs of individuals.
But consequent upon the forces of various factors such as lack of privacy, Urbanization,
Industrialization, conflicts regarding the family property, etc. The main causes are as
follows:-

I. Industrialization: So far as the rural economic system was concerned, the joint
family was a unit of both production and consumption. But with the arrival of the
industrial economy, the family no longer functions as a unit of production. On the
contrary, it has become essentially a unit of consumption. Under such circumstances,
the maintenance of the joint family has been rendered extremely difficult. Moreover,
the establishment of factories and industries in the countryside has led to the closure
of small scale and cottage industries.
II. Urbanization: In most of the discussions on the impact of urbanization on the family
structure, one specific observation is fairly common: that, due to the influence of
urbanization, the joint family structure is under severe stress, and in many cases, it has
developed a tendency toward nuclearization. When there is no disagreement on the
authenticity of such a tendency, the traditional ideal joint family was perhaps not the
exclusive type before such influence came into existence. Nevertheless, various
accounts demonstrate how both nuclear and joint structures have evolved innumerable
varieties due to the influence of urbanization.
III. Land Reforms: Earlier, the members of the joint family normally lived together due
to common ancestral property, which was vast in size. Land reforms imposed ceiling
restriction on the landholdings. In many cases, the heads of the family resorted to the
theoretical partition of the family by dividing the land among the sons to avoid the
law of the land ceiling. During their lifetime the sons live under his tutelage if he was
powerful; otherwise, sons gradually began to live separately during their parents'
lifetime. The theoretical partition hastens formal partition and sows the seeds for
separate living.
IV. Economic Factors: With no property, contribution to the income of the family is the
major asset for this group. Since old people may not have the capacity to work and
contribute to the family resources, they are not considered as essential and important
persons in the family.

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 V. Role of women: Due to the poor financial position of the family, women are required
to take up paid employment outside the home. So the traditional division of labour in
a joint family where women look after the home and children and men go out to work
cannot operate. Women's economic activities make the continuity of the joint family
difficult.
VI. Mobility: Movement of individuals from one place to another, in search of better
economic opportunity, also makes joint family living difficult. This meant residential
separation from their ancestral home. If they were married, they sometimes took their
wives and children (and even one or two relatives) along with them.
VII. Influence of Western Culture: Western culture has fostered in young men and
women individualistic tendencies with the result that they do not want their fortunes
to be tied down forever with those of the joint family. B.B. Saha rightly observes that
individualism as a gift of western culture has given rise to a separatist tendency
among them. Furthermore, influenced by western values such as rationalism, equality,
freedom, etc., they do not like to remain submissive under the tight grip of the joint
family. The result is the disintegration of the joint family system.
VIII. Over Population: In rural India, agriculture is the major occupation of the ruralises.
Land being fixed, agriculture fails to employ the ever-increasing number of people
depending upon it. The rapid growth of the population leads to an imbalance of man
and land equation. People are forced to go to towns and cities in search of
employment. This has disintegrated joint family
IX. The problem of accommodation: The problem of accommodation has a lion’s share
in the disintegration of the joint family system. This problem is more pronounced in
big cities and metropolis. Members of a joint family find it extremely difficult to live
together despite their desire and willingness to do so. Needless to state that the
problem of accommodation leads to loss of privacy and lack of adjustment and
understanding among the people, thereby making the healthy functioning of the joint
family impossible.
X. Change in Marriage System: Change in the marriage system harms the continuance
of the joint family system. Factors like solemnization of marriage at a late age, the
restricted role of the head of the family in mate selection, the freedom enjoyed by
young men and women in matrimonial affairs, perception of marriage by most of the
people as a social ceremony rather than a religious sacrament, etc. have weakened
joint family ties.

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 Legal Factors:

Legislators regarding employment, education, marriage and property, have affected the
family system in many ways. Labour laws passed for the benefit of employees like The
Indian Workmen Compensation Act (1923). The Minimum Wages Act 1948, helped to
reduce the economic reliance of members on the joint family for economic support. In 1930
the Hindu Gains of Learning Act was passed whereby it was declared that the property
acquired by a Hindu out of his education was his personal property though his education was
paid for by the joint family. The distinction between self-acquired property and joint family
property was drawn. In 1937, during the British rule, a law was passed by which a woman
acquired a limited right to her husband's property. She could hold the property of her husband
after his death as a limited owner during her lifetime. But after she died the property
devolved to the heirs (usually the sons) of the husband.

Concerning marriage, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929, to curb infant
marriages. It prescribed the minimum age (18 and 14 years respectively) at marriage for boys
and girls. This act also aimed to give women an opportunity for education.

After Independence, the Hindu Succession Act (1956) was passed which gave a daughter and
son rights to the father's property. These legislations challenged the inheritance patterns that
prevailed in joint families before the passing of this act and the dependent position of women
within the family.

Compression between Joint & Nuclear Family:

Family is the basic unit of society. Many people have different principles about family,
including its members of the household. Here, we will discuss the difference between a joint
family and nuclear family.

A joint family, also known as an extended family, is defined by a family that includes not
only parents and children but also the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives
that live nearby or exist within the same household. Joint families are larger than nuclear
families.

Joint Family Nuclear Family

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 Definition- A family consisting of parents, A family made up of a
grandparents, aunts, uncles, offspring mother, father, and children.
and other relatives.

Synonymous Extended family. Conjugal family, traditional

Terms- family, elementary family.

Flow Of Joint families collectively earn more Typically earns less than joint
Income- because there are more wage earners families because of lesser
present. wage earners.

Members- Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Parents and Children.

children, cousins, etc.

Emotion- Tends to be distributed among the More straightforward

different members. A Closer relationships since they are
relationship with other family focused simply between the
members. spouse, parents and child, or
siblings.

Freedom- Lesser freedom due to more social More Freedom.

obligations.

Advantages- Larger collective income, more More privacy, less financial

support from family members, more demands, fewer quarrels,
connections, children have more more freedom.
support from the many adults in the
household.

Disadvantages- Less privacy and space, the higher Less likely to socialize with
tendency of jealousy and quarrels, other family members, less
support within the household,
potentially distracting study or work
tendency to be collectively-
environment, more expenses. like minded due to the limited
number of personalities at
home.
The difference between a joint family and nuclear family is not limited in the number of its
members. Income, expenses, freedom, space, and how members treat each other significantly
differ between the two models. There is no set standard whether a joint or nuclear family is
better - each type has its own share of advantages and disadvantages.

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 Conclusion:

With so uncertain and changing lifestyle of society, the jointness of families are dissolving,
many people for a better job and better living standards are leaving joint families and moving
towards the nuclear family system with everchanging and expanding world it is hard to
predict what could happen next the overall perspective of joint family is changing with a
rapid pace, The modern family or, rather the post-modern family is also witnessing several
new forms of it cropping up. Post-modernity is witnessing the emergence of same-sex
couples, cohabitation or live-in relations, single-parent households and a large chunk of
divorced living alone or with their children. Further, though the nuclear family does play a
vital role in enhancing the status and power of women within the family, it is not free from
vices. It has its share of problems as is evident from too much emotional dependence of its
members on each other, constant bickering and squabbles among the spouses, rising divorce
rates and the increasing negligence of the old-age people. With new dimensions of
relationships and marriages coming up, the traditional idea of family has come under serious
question. Family, all over the world, is facing the heat – not only concerning its long-standing
definition and conception but also about its very existence as a social institution.

References

o https://www.britannica.com
o https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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 o https://www.encyclopedia.com
o https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com
o https://courses.lumenlearning.com
o https://wikipedia.com
o https://www.thehindubusinessline.com

o Kolenda, Pauline. (1968). Region, caste and family structure: A comparative study of
the Indian joint family. In Milton Singer and Bernard Cohn (Eds.). Structure and
change in Indian society(pp 339-396). New York: Wenner-Green Foundation.
o https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
o https://www.scielo.br

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