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Polyandry in India refers to the practice ofpolyandry, whereby a woman has two or more husbands at the same time, either historically on the Indian subcontinent or currently in the country ofIndia. An early example can be found in the Hindu epicMahabharata, in whichDraupadi, daughter of the king ofPanchala, is married to five brothers.[1]
Polyandry was mainly prevalent in theKinnaur Region, a part ofHimachal in India which is close to theTibet or currently theIndo-China border. As mentioned in the epicMahabharata, thePandavas were banished from their kingdom for thirteen years and they spent the last year hiding in this hilly terrain of Kinnaur. Some Kinaauris claim that this practice has been inherited from the Pandavas, who they identify as their ancestors[citation needed]. TheGarhwali people similarly identify their practice of polyandry with their descent from the Pandavas.
Polyandry is also seen inSouth India among theTodas tribes ofNilgiris, Nanjanad Vellala ofTravancore.[2] While polyandrous unions have disappeared from the traditions of many of the groups and tribes, it is still practiced by somePaharis, especially in theJaunsar-Bawar region inNorthern India.
Recent years have seen the rise infraternal polyandry in theagrarian societies inMalwa region ofPunjab to avoid division of farming land.[3]
Section 494 and 495 of theIndian Penal Code of 1860, prohibited polygamy for the Christians. In 1955, theHindu Marriage Act was drafted, which prohibited marriage of a Hindu whose spouse was still living. Thuspolygamy became illegal inIndia in 1956.[4]
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Polyandry is in practice in many villages ofKinnaur district ofHimachal Pradesh. Fraternal polyandry (where husbands are related to each other) is mainly in practice in villages, where the societies are male dominated and which still follow ancient rituals and customs.
There are many forms of polyandry which can be found here. Most often, all the brothers are married to a woman and sometimes the marriage to brothers happens at a later date. The wife can only ascertain the blood-relationship of the children, though recently there have been a few instances ofpaternity tests usingDNA samples to resolve inheritance disputes. The rules for breaking the marriage are strict and a brother going against the marriage agreement can be treated as an outcast while losing his entire share in the property.[5]
Historically, fraternal polyandry has been practiced by wealthier families, associated with a highercaste, in Kinnaur as a way to keep wealth within one family. This allowed for land to be properly inherited and kept in one family. It was assurance that the land and wealth held by one family could not be partitioned. Those in lower castes also practiced fraternal polyandry if they had a larger amount of land.[6]
The territory of Kinnaur remained forbidden for many years as the land route was only established 30 years ago. The joint families are now fragmented into nuclear families. The level of economies and financial resources have transformed the life of the people of Kinnaur into city.[7][clarification needed]
Todas are tribal people residing in theNilgiri hills (Tamil Nadu) in South India who for several centuries practiced polyandry.[8] They practiced a form of polyandrous relationship which is considered to be a classic example of polyandry. They practiced both fraternal andsequential polyandry.
The men who shared one or two wives were not always full or half-brothers.[9] A Toda woman when married was automatically married to her husband's brothers.[10] When the wife became pregnant, one husband would ceremonially give a bow and arrow to the wife, and would be the father of that child. When the next child arrived, same husband who performed that ceremony continues to be called father even though child is not biologically related to him, unless another husband would perform the ceremony and become the father.[11][clarification needed]
Polyandry andpolygamy were prevalent inKerala till the late 19th century and isolated cases were reported until the mid-20th century. Castes practicing polyandry wereNairs,Thiyyas,Kammalar, andMukkuvar of Kerala[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Historians assert that there exists no authenticated case of polyandry among the Nairs. The evidence presented for such a custom during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries primarily stems from accounts provided by foreign travelers who were prohibited from approaching within sixty yards of a Nair's residence. Consequently, their testimonies offer an exceedingly unsatisfactory basis for definitive conclusions regarding Nair customs. Conversely, the extensive Malayalam literature on the subject provides a more nuanced and culturally informed perspective.[20]
In the case of polyandry, a man's property is inherited by his sister's children and not his own.[21] Under a polyandrous system, the only verifiable blood-relationships could be ascertained through females.[22] However, polyandry is a contested issue with opinion divided between those who support its existence[23][24] and those who do not.[25]Ezhavas,Mukkuvas,Kammalars of Kerala also practised polyandry. The custom of fraternal polyandry was common amongThiyyas of Malabar andezhavas. According to Cyriac Pullipally, female members of theThiyya,ezhava, andmukkuvas community associated with English, French, Dutch, and Portuguese men as their concubines.[26]
In certain areas of Punjab, especially theBathinda andMansa districts of Malwa region, poor farmers follow the practice of polyandry under economic compulsion to avoid further fragmentation of their already small landholdings. A study conducted in 2019 byPanjab University found evidence of polyandry in Haryana and Punjab. The study culminated in the bookGender Culture and Honour and found cases of wife sharing in the districts of Yamunanagar in Haryana and Mansa and Fatehgarh Sahib of Punjab.[27]
Polyandry was practised inJaunsar-Bawar inUttarakhand.[28] A distinct group of people calledPaharis live in the lower ranges ofHimalayas inNorthern India from southeasternKashmir all the way throughNepal. Polyandry has been reported among these people in many districts but studied in great detail in Jaunsar-Bawar. It is a region inDehradun district inUttarakhand. The practice is believed to have descended from their ancestors who had earlier settled down in the plains from Himalayas.[29]
Polyandrous union occurs in this region when a woman marries the eldest son in a family. The woman automatically becomes the wife of all his brothers upon her marriage. The brothers can be married to more than one woman if the first woman was sterile or if the age difference of the brothers were large. The wife is shared equally by all brothers and no one in the group has exclusive privilege to the wife. The woman considers all the men in the group her husband and the children recognise them all as their father.[30][31]
By 1976, 83.3% of Tibetans who wereexiled from China had taken refuge in India.[32] In Tibet, monogamy, polygamy, and polyandry have traditionally been practiced. Some Tibetan refugees now settled in India practice polyandry as a result of their material conditions.[33] Fraternal polyandry is a way for Tibetans to avoid having to build multiple houses every time a male in the family marries. One wife married to many brothers allows for less resources to be used on one brother and his one wife. Polyandry is also a way for Tibetans to not have to marry non-Tibetans whilst they are settled in India.[34]
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Fraternal polyandry exists among the Khasa of Dehradun; theMala Madessar, theMavilan, etc. of Kerala and among the Sirmur, Shimla, Kullu, and Lahaul-Spiti of Himachal Pradesh.[6] Non-fraternal polyandry exists among the Kota; and among theKarvazhi,Pulaya,Muthuvan, andMannan in Kerala.
In the1911 Census of India, E.A. Gait mentions polyandry of theBhotias,Kanets of Kulu valley, people of state ofBashahr,Thakkars andMegs ofKashmir,Gonds ofCentral Provinces,Todas andKurumbas ofNilgiris,Kallars ofMadurai,Tolkolans ofMalabar,Ezhavas,Kaniyans andKammalans ofCochin,Muduvas ofTravancore and of Nairs.[35][36]
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