Polygamy in India

Polygamy in India

News: Recently, Uttarakhand’s law on Universal Civil Code banned Polygamy in the state.

What is Polygamy?
• Polygamy is a type of relationship that typically involves a person marrying more than one partner. It is the opposite of monogamy, where one person marries one spouse. There are generally three forms of polygamy.
• Polygyny: A man marries multiple wives.
• Polyandry: A woman marries multiple men.
• Group Marriage: Several men and women marry each other.

Polygamy in India:
• The NFHS-5: It showed the prevalence of polygamy (the percentage of women who reported their husbands had other wives) was highest among Christians (2.1%), followed by Muslims (1.9%), and Hindus (1.3%). Overall, Scheduled Tribes reported the highest incidence at 2.4%.
• Census data: According to the census of 2011, there are 28.65 crore married men in India, compared to 29.3 crore married women. The difference between the two numbers — 65.71 lakh — can be explained either by the incidence of polygamy or men gone abroad.

Impact of Polygamous marriages:

Social, psychological and emotional impact
• Polygamous marriages can lead to distinct household problems, often stemming from jealousy between cowives over the husband’s affections and resources.
• Women in polygamous marriages have a higher chance of experiencing depression than in monogamous marriages.
• Children with polygamous parents had a significantly higher Global Severity Index.
• Polygamous marriages can lead to serious repercussions in terms of gender equity and justice.

Economic impact
• Polygamous households may face challenges in distributing resources such as time, attention, and finances among multiple spouses and their children.

Legal and Marital Rights
• In many jurisdictions, polygamous marriages are not legally recognized, leading to potential legal and financial issues. Complications may arise concerning inheritance rights and custody arrangements for children.

Supreme Court’s views:
• The Supreme Court, in a verdict uploaded in 2021, had mentioned that India recognizes a plural legal system, wherein different religious communities are permitted to be governed by different ‘personal laws’.
However, personal laws must meet the test of constitutional validity and constitutional morality, in as much as, they cannot be violative of Articles 14, 15,21 of the Constitution.