Unraveling The Paradox Of Inequality: Exploring Hindu Women’s Inheritance Rights In Agricultural Land And Ownership In India

Abstract

Social justice necessitates that woman be afforded equal treatment in both economic and social domains[1]. Women possess a mere 20 percent of land globally, while constituting over half of the world's population, contributing the bulk of the world's food supply, and doing 60% to 80% of agricultural labor in underdeveloped nations[2]. According to the Indian Agricultural Census of 2015-16, the percentage of female operational holders rose from 12.79% in 2010-11 to 13.87% in 2015-16, and further increased to 14% in 2023, indicating a growing involvement of females in the administration and operation of agricultural lands[3]. Despite women constituting over 42 percent of the agricultural workforce in the entire nation, less than 2 percent of agricultural land is said to be inherited by female family members, while 83 percent is inherited by males, with the remainder acquired through alternative means. Agricultural land is the predominant portion of real estate in India. Indian women have been deprived of the right to inherit this vital resource, notwithstanding the constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom from bias.

Hindu women, comprising about 40% of the entire Indian population, have been negatively impacted by the restriction of ownership rights to agricultural land. The inheritance of property among Hindus is regulated by the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 (HSA, 1956). The legislation was enacted to ensure daughters had identical inheritance rights as sons and to provide absolute property rights to females; yet, it also imposed significant restrictions on agricultural land. Agricultural property was explicitly excluded from the provisions of HSA, 1956 until 2005, as stipulated in section 4(2)10 of HSA, 1956. The legislative deletion of section 4(2) of the HSA, 1956, due to the change, has engendered ambiguity about the applicability of the HSA, 1956 to agricultural property, since the legislature has not explicitly affirmed its application to such property. This study examines several state tenurial laws, the legislative authority of the government to enact legislation for the succession of agricultural land, and the impact of the removal of section 4(2) of the HSA, 1956 on the rights of Hindu women in agrarian property[4]. The paper also examines the gender-based gap in property ownership in India, where women have traditionally been denied the ability to inherit property, including land.