Introduction
- In India, the generation gap and the cultural impact of living together is wide and brief in a way that people connect and feel the togetherness living that way.
- However, since people live in joint families, they are suspected of joint family problems that can arise with time and lead to several complications and divorce.
What is a Joint Family?
- A joint family is many small nuclear families living together and sharing space as equal owners. This is a combined medium of staying near their immediate family for love and affection.
- There is a head of a joint family who has the authority and makes all the decisions regarding everything. This is one of the main joint family problems and leads to divorce in couples or their separate living.
- A couple can have a sense of security in a joint family but at the cost of their independence and privacy.
- For example, A couple living in a joint family may have decided to go on a trip somewhere, and the eldest member will disagree with their decision stating it’s unnecessary and a waste of money.
- This is mainly one of the most commonly known joint family problems where opinions clash, and disagreements happen.
What is the Impersonal Factor Leading to Divorce?
There can be some external factors and circumstances that can lead to divorce between the couple by filing a petition in the appropriate family court after taking the necessary legal consultation.
- The couple living in a joint family is prone to several levels of joint family problems that may occur at times while making decisions or being independent about their choice and lives.
- The oldest person in such joint families makes decisions for the younger ones, and hence disagreements can occur anytime because of mismatched opinions.
- A new bride is faced with taunts, judgments, harassment, or pressure to completion of home chores and other tasks in the household, which are common joint family problems.
- The joint family problems do not stop at just judgments and chores, it also affects the mental and physical health of the couple as they are in a constant state of stress most of the time if there are heated arguments or discussions in the family.
- There is a lack of trust and compassion in the relationship, which is also a factor in joint family problems. The couples don’t get enough freedom to act on their instincts which is necessary to avoid divorce and separation.
- The in-laws also add up to the already existing joint family problems by enticing cruel behavior or improper handling of the bride. This causes spouse conflicts and desertion, and, lastly, divorce.
- Monetary and economic growth is also a big aspect, and worrying about future financial status is never conducive to any healthy relationship.
- The husband might be incapable of feeding the family, so the wife is left with no choice but to either work or leave the family through divorce. The joint family problems arise here, too, as many don’t allow their daughter-in-law to work outside.
- Distress and disagreements happen quite frequently and contribute to joint family problems as the husband can pressure the wife for dowry because of his family’s suggestions. This is an illegal process and leads to immediate divorce and settlement.
- Denied privacy and intimate time is also the main reason for divorce that arise from joint family problems. Many family members are present under one roof, so the couple may not find time and privacy, which later leads to divorce. The couple may hire a divorce lawyer father to proceed with filing a petition.
Types of Divorce
There are two ways to get a divorce in India
- Mutual consent/ no-fault/ uncontested divorce
- Contested/fault divorce.
Grounds for Divorce
The grounds stated in section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 are:
- Adultery is the ground for divorce where the spouse of the petitioner is involved in an extramarital affair or sexual relation with another person.
- Cruelty: This can be a ground where the petitioner is filing a divorce because of a husband with joint family problems where they are misbehaving and are cruel to the bride. It means both physical and mental cruelty.
- Desertion is where one spouse is abandoned by the other without any plausible reasoning and circumstances. 2 years and more makes it grounds for divorce, and the wife or husband can file a petition by taking legal consultation from a divorce lawyer.
- Conversion is the ground for divorce or separation where the spouse has changed their religion without consultation from the other spouse or consideration and also gives rise to joint family problems.
- Insanity is when the person becomes insane or has an unsound mind. They become incapable of making decisions or being present in a marriage.
- Leprosy is an infection that can be transferred from one person to another by living together, so it is a legal ground for a divorce between couples.
- Communicable illness is a ground for divorce or separation under family laws if the disease is transmitted and is easily contracted. It can be an incurable or terminal illness and also becomes a divorce ground.
Other Grounds For Wife Only
Other than common joint family problems and the grounds that relate to separation, some other grounds are to be used by the wife only.
- She was married off at less than 15 years old by family pressure.
- Husband has performed or is guilty of rape, sodomy, or bestiality.
- The husband has performed bigamy, which is married to another woman during the bride’s lifetime.
Conclusion
The Indian family laws have a vast range for marriage and divorce grounds and their settlement which are related to joint family problems also. This can be solved with better awareness and knowledge of legal provisions.