Polygamy, including polygyny, is outlawed in India. While it was not prohibited in Ancient India and was common among aristocrats and emperors, it is believed that it was not a major cultural practice. The lack of prohibition was in part due to the separation between land laws and religion (independence of the judiciary), and partially since all of the major religions of India portrayed polygamy in a neutral light.[1]
Gayatri Devi, the third wife of Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur, pictured by Cecil Beaton in 1940
In contrast to Europe, polygamy prevailed in ancient India for rulers and kings.[2] It was common for rulers (for example Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar). Some wealthy individuals (for example Ramkrishna Dalmia, Gajanan Birla[3] and P. Rajagopal) had multiple wives.
The British colonial Empire of India permitted Islamic provinces to allow husbands to have multiple wives. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh was cremated in Lahore, four of his wives and seven concubines took to sati,[4] and their urn-like memorials exist at his Samadhi.[5]
^"Polyandrous family customs in India". Drishtikone. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^"Polygamous Marriages in India, Vaidehi Yelamanchili, Sulabha Parasuraman, Population Association of America, 2010 Annual Meeting". Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
^The Birlas: Empire in transition, T.N. Ninan, Chander Uday Singh, Sumanta Sen, India Today, 20 July 2013
^Samadhi of Ranjit Singh – a sight of religious harmony, Pakistan Today, JANUARY 16, 2016, NADEEM DAR
^‘Sati’ choice before Maharaja Ranjit’s Ranis, Kanwarjit Singh Kang, 28 June 2015
Polygamy, including polygyny, is outlawed inIndia. While it was not prohibited in Ancient India and was common among aristocrats and emperors, it is believed...
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