A Milestone In Hindu Marriage Reform In India

Relevance: GS2 - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation GS1 - Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. Role of women and women’s organization, their problems and their remedies.

(Source: The Hindu, 09/29/2023)

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Why in the news?

• This article discusses “Suyamarithai Seerthirutha Thirumanam” or Self-respect marriages which did away with the need for priests and rituals to complete wedding ceremonies.
• However, these marriages have faced numerous hurdles including judicial and executive interpretations thereby compromising the rights of those involved.

What are Suyamarithai Seerthirutha Thirumanam?

• Suyamarithai Seerthirutha Thirumanam or self-respect marriages refer to marriages that are solemnized in the presence of relatives, friends, or other persons.
• It aimed to simplify marriage ceremonies by eliminating the need for mandatory Brahmin priests, holy fire, and saptapadi (seven steps).
• The parties to the marriage declare each other to be husband or wife in the language of their choice and then garland each other or exchange rings or tie a thali or mangal sutra.
• These marriages have to be registered under the law.

Why was it introduced?

• According to the self-respect movement, traditional Hindu marriages, especially Brahmanical ones, reinforced the ideas of caste hierarchy and patriarchy.
• It advocated for dissoluble contracts between a man and a woman to enter into a conjugal relationship, irrespective of religious practices.
• The movement claimed that civil registration of all marriages and the provision of women's rights to dissolve marriages, remarry, and claim property rights was necessary to tackle existing social evils such as bigamy and sexual discrimination.

Historical background

• Chidambaram Chettiar vs. Deivanai Achi case(1953): The Madras High Court declared non-ritual Hindu marriages associated with the self-respect movement null and void citing the Manusmriti.
  • As a result, children born from these unions were considered illegitimate.
  • The Court also suggested that the Madras legislature take the initiative to legitimize self-respect marriages and protect the rights of Hindus who opted for these marriages.
• Rajathi v/s K. Selliah case (1958): A district court in Tiruchi denied the appellant Rajathi conjugal rights on the grounds that her marriage was invalid under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
  • The court criticized the self-respect movement for the plight of young women in such ‘illegal’ marriages.
• Hindu Code Bill: The report submitted in 1947 by the Hindu Law Committee headed by B.N. Rau only recognized and affirmed the legal status of Virasaiva, Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, and Prarthana Samaj marriages.
  • Therefore, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 granted legal status only to these reformed marriages and not to self-respect marriages.
• Special Marriage Act: In 1954, Parliament passed the Special Marriage Act under which self-respect marriages were to be solemnized.
  • This led to the Madras government withdrawing the Hindu Non-Conformist Marriage Registration Bill, 1954 introduced by it in 1953
• Madras Suyamariyathai Marriage Validation Bill: In 1959, the DMK introduced the ‘Madras Suyamariyathai Marriage Validation Bill’ to legalize self-respect marriages with retrospective effect but it was defeated.
  • It was introduced again in 1965 to protect women in such marriages by giving them the legal right to seek divorce or redress in the case of bigamy but was not passed.
  • In 1967, the Bill was introduced as Section 7 A, The Hindu Marriage (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act 1967, and received the President’s assent in 1968 but was relevant only to the state of Tamil Nadu.
  • It deals with the special provision on “self-respect and secular marriages” and validated all non-ritual Hindu marriages which can be referred to as “suyamariyathai” or “seerthiruththa marriage” or any other name.

What are the challenges faced by the Act?

Judicial interpretation

• The judiciary has interpreted self-respect marriages as illegal and discredited reformed marriages often of an inter-caste nature.
• These judgments were used by opponents to demean women in such marriages as concubines and children as illegitimate.
• Prevalent hegemonic ideals of Hindu marriage practices have been used to counter Dravidian ideas of alternative non-Brahminic marriage practices.

Contemporary challenges

• In 2017, the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment refused to recognize the Section 7 Act and rejected applications from Tamil Nadu when awarding inter-caste couples.
  • It claimed that these marriages were not registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Court rulings

• “S. Nagalingam vs Sivagami” (2001): The Supreme Court recognized the petitioner’s marriage despite the lack of a saptapadi ceremony.
  • It ruled that Section 7-A would apply and that self-respect marriages do not require any public solemnization or declaration.
• In August 2023, the Supreme Court of India reiterated the validity of Suyamarithai marriages in Tamil Nadu in a habeas corpus petition filed in the Ilavarasan v. Superintendent of Police case.
  • The SC noted that the Madras High Court observations that Suyamarithai marriages were invalid violated the fundamental right to life under Article 21 as it inhibits two adult individuals from exercising their free will.

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