FAMILY SYSTEM

Published on 30 Jan 2025

Family System and Its Changes in India

Family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife with or without children or of a man or woman alone, with children. It is the first and the most immediate social environment to which a child is exposed.

✔ Shift to Nuclear Families: In recent decades, there has been a gradual transition from joint families to nuclear families. Factors such as urbanization, industrialization, and career opportunities have led to smaller family units.

✔ Reducing family size: Now people prefer smaller families even though we are witnessing no-kid families.

✔ Decline of Traditional Joint Family: Historically, India's social fabric revolved around the joint family system. Several generations lived under one roof, sharing resources and responsibilities.

✔ Neo-Local Residence: Neo-local residence is becoming increasingly popular due to industrialization and urbanisation, allowing young married couples to live in their workplace.

✔ Fluid nature of the family: With increased focus on career and professional growth, a family has become a mere weekend family, whereby a couple can meet at the weekend.

✔ Same-sex marriages: The acceptance of same-sex marriages in India represents a significant change in the traditional family system, allowing for legal recognition of diverse relationships.

Reasons for Changes in the Indian Family System

✔ Legislative measures: Prohibition of early marriage and fixing the minimum age of marriage have lengthened the period of education and modified inter-personal relations within the family, the composition of the family, and the stability of the joint family.

● Example: The child marriage Restraint Act, of 1929, and the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955

✔ Urbanization: As people move to cities for work, nuclear families are more practical. This leads to an increase in nuclear families in urban centres.

● Example: At the all-India level, 50 per cent of the 318 million households were nuclear in 2022, up from 37 per cent of households in 2008 as per data from Kantar.

✔ Education: Pursuing higher education and careers often require young adults to live independently in a country with a significant rise in education.

● Example: From a literacy rate of mere 18.3% in 1951 to 74.4% in 2018, India has come a long way in establishing a well-educated nation.

✔ Changing Roles: Women's empowerment and changing gender roles have led to more women pursuing careers.

● Example: A significant 88.7% of married women usually participate in decisions about their health care, making major household purchases and visits to family or relatives (NFHS-5).

✔ Influence of Western values: Values such as modern science, rationalism, individualism, equality, free life, democracy, and freedom of women have changed the Indian family system.

● Example: Indian couples adopting live-in relationships and same-sex marriages.

Impact on changes in family system in Indian Society

✔ Economic Independence: Smaller families often have more economic independence.

✔ Social Isolation: Nuclear families can experience social isolation compared to the strong support networks of joint families.

✔ Gender Dynamics: The shift can impact gender dynamics, with both positive and negative consequences.

✔ Adaptation: While the traditional joint family system has evolved, aspects of it are still prevalent in Indian society. Many families maintain close-knit relationships with extended family members while residing separately.

The family system in India has witnessed significant changes, moving from joint to nuclear families due to various socio-economic factors. While these changes offer new opportunities, they also bring unique challenges and opportunities for adaptation.