[Solved] With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following statements is/ are correct? 1. Mitakshara was the civil law for upper castes and Dayabhaga was the civil law for lower castes. 2. In the Mitakshara system, the sons can claim right to the property during the lifetime of the father, whereas in the Dayabhaga system, it is only after the death of the father that the sons can claim right to the property. 3. The Mitakshara system deals with the matters related to the property held by male members only of a family, whereas the Dayabhaga system deals with the matters related to the property held by both male and female members of a family.

Q40. With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following statements is/ are correct?

1. Mitakshara was the civil law for upper castes and Dayabhaga was the civil law for lower castes.

2. In the Mitakshara system, the sons can claim right to the property during the lifetime of the father, whereas in the Dayabhaga system, it is only after the death of the father that the sons can claim right to the property.

3. The Mitakshara system deals with the matters related to the property held by male members only of a family, whereas the Dayabhaga system deals with the matters related to the property held by both male and female members of a family.

Select the correct answer using the code given below

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 only

C. 1 and 3

D. 3 only

Answer: B

The distinction between the Mitakshara and Dayabhaga systems is not based on caste.

• Instead, these systems are regional variations of Hindu law, particularly concerning inheritance and property.
• Mitakshara was prevalent in most parts of India, whereas Dayabhaga was primarily followed in Bengal and parts of Assam.
• Both systems applied to Hindus, not divided by caste but by geographic region. Applicability of either of the laws is not exclusive to any specific caste(s). Hence statement 1 is not correct.

In the Mitakshara system, sons acquire a right to ancestral property by birth, meaning they have a share in the joint family property during the father’s lifetime.

In the Dayabhaga system, sons do not have a right to the property until the father’s death, as inheritance follows the principle of succession. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Both Mitakshara and Dayabhaga systems were primarily concerned with the male inheritance in property.

In both systems, inheritance laws focused mainly on male members.

However, over time, women’s rights to property were reformed, but traditionally, this statement is not correct in its characterization of the two systems. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

Extra:

Mitakshara Law:

It is based on the Yajvavalkya Smriti about the laws of inheritance

Under this law, as it existed until the amendments made by The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, the son acquires by birth an interest in the ancestral property.

In Mitakshara law, on the death of a coparcener, his interest became merged with that of the surviving coparceners.

A coparcener is a person who shares equally with others in the inheritance of an undivided estate or in the rights to it.

Dayabhaga Law:

Dayabhaga (c 12th century) is the code of Hindu inheritance of property by jimutavahana.

In Dayabhaga, a son does not automatically get a share of his father’s inheritance while the father is alive.

It mostly prevailed in Bengal.