Traditional Indian Family Structures

Extended Families

• Throughout most of India, the traditional family structure is that of an extended family based on patrilineal ties. This usually consists of a father and mother, their grown sons, and their wives and children. These various generations all live under one roof, sharing meals, household duties, worship time, and often business or agricultural pursuits. Most Indians believe that these extended, or joint, families living together benefit all involved in terms of social and economic responsibilities.

Benefits of Extended Family Households

• Loyalty to family is a deeply held ideal among Indians, according to the book "India: A Country Study," by James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden. In rural areas, a large family helps to run the farm, while in cities, family connections can provide employment and economic assistance. Extended family members, whether living in the same household or nearby, are expected to provide each other with financial help, emotional support, and other advantages. Mutual assistance in daily work, emergencies, and factional conflicts benefits all involved. The extended family grouping, or kinship, is emphasized over relationships between spouses or parents and children. In other words, what's good for the whole family outweighs what's good for a few members or oneself. Heitzman and Worden write that "family members feel an intense emotional interdependence" with each other and the kinship as a whole.

Family Hierarchy

• Within these extended family households, members respect a hierarchy based on age and gender. According to "India: A Country Study," elders rank above juniors, and males outrank females. The eldest male in a household, whether grandfather or uncle, would serve as head of the household, followed by his wife, who would delegate household responsibilities to the other females in the home. Married sons or nephews would follow, then their unmarried sisters, with daughters-in-law falling lowest in the order of household adults. As for the children, boys commonly enjoy higher status than girls; sons are often pampered while daughters are virtually ignored, according to an "Encyclopaedia Britannica" article. The males in a family usually control all family resources.

Marriage

• Almost all Indian marriages are arranged by family elders on the basis of caste, kinship, economic status, education and astrology. Most young women are expected to move in with their husband's family upon marriage, but they still remain closely connected to their birth family and village. A bride's family usually provides a dowry to the groom's family, and wives are expected to be subservient to husbands. Marriage is an important and respected institution in India, according to the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" article. Almost all adults marry and remain married for life, with divorce being very rare. In some groups, widows are even prohibited from remarrying.

Changes to Traditional Ideals

• According to "India: A Country Study," this traditional Indian family structure has begun to undergo changes since the late 20th century. Although having the extended family living together is traditional, actual living arrangements vary depending on region, social status and financial circumstance. Families consisting of a married couple and their children living together is becoming more common, as Westernization spreads or family members have to travel to find work. In many cases, clusters of relatives live in compounds or near each other, if not under the same roof, thus still being able to share economic and household burdens. In recent times, according the "Encyclopedia Britannica" article, non-arranged marriages, or love marriages, have become more common in cities.