WOMEN’S EDUCATION IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT 1800-1947

SYNOPSIS

     The establishment of British rule in India marked the beginning of a new era in the history of India.  It had introduced new political, economic, social and educational systems.  Of all these, the educational system opened new vistas by creating a new set of opportunities in the society. As a result a new class of intelligentsia trained in modern Western Sciences and Cultures emerged in the Indian Society.  This intelligentsia became the pioneers of all progressive democratic movements – Social, Political, Economic and Cultural.  Of all the activities carried out by this group, emancipation of Women is more significant.  On one hand, the British liberal views and Christian missionary activities and the attitudes of the bureaucrats helped in judging the position of women in relation to the European standards and values and led to the condemnation of the customs and conventions of traditional Indian society relating to women such as child marriage, Sati, Dowry, illiteracy and widowhood. Due to their effort the burning of widows and female infanticide have been put down, slavery has been abolished, in connection with all Government business and public works, Sunday has been made a day of rest, converts to Christianity have been protected, by a special enactment, in the possession of their property and rights, the re-marriage of widows has been legalized, female education has been encouraged, a comprehensive scheme of national education has been set on foot, in connection with which the Grant-in-Aid system has been introduced, and Missionary schools are no longer excluded from the benefit of Government Grants.¹   On the other hand, westernization created an awareness regarding the subordinate position of women and the need for rationalizing and eliminating the traditional customs and convertions which were oppressive to women.  This new perception of women was the result of the emergence of a new class of western educated intelligentsia.  These people were pioneers in rousing new ideas and thoughts in the political, social, religious and administrative fields.  The British, Christian missionaries as well as the Indian intelligentsia felt that “educating women” is the only means through which the emancipation of Indian women can be achieved. Hence, the women’s education movement was “Indianized” over the course of the 19^th century.  The Sati Abolition movement provided one of the reason for the advancement in favour of reforming women’s conditions, the women’s education movement was to provide another.”²   Hence, the importance of educating women was first published in Bengal by the Atmiya Sabha, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1815.  This came in to force in 1820 by starting a Girl’s School at Nazereth  in Tinnelveli district by C.M.S. missionary, which happened to be the First Formal Female Normal School of Tinneveli district³  of Madras Presidency and in South India.

DEFINITION OF WOMEN’S EDUCATION:

     Providing for all facilities and opportunities for the learning of females on par with those available for the education of males is termed as Women’s education.⁴   women belong to poverty line and middle class were not in a position to contribute directly to the economic development and progress of the country.  Therefore, the missionaries believe in the concept that if they educate a woman, they educate a family, society,  to contribute directly to the economic development  and so on. Hence, they decided to educate the poor and middle class women by following anti – Downward Filtration Theory and succeed in Tirunelveli district.

IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN’S EDUCATION :

      Since Women’s Education plays an important role in the society, and in the progress of any nation.  Without providing proper educational opportunities for all women in our country who constitute roughly about 50% of the population, it is futile to think of achieving universal literacy.

     As Swami Vivekananda pointed out that “Education of a male benefits him largely; educating a girl is equivalent to educating her entire family.”⁵  Women’s education is indispensable for a healthy family life, providing a sound basis for the cognitive development of children in the family, eradicate illiteracy in the society and effectively participate in various community development programme etc. and make them as a successful person.  That is why the revolutionary poet Mahakavi Bharathi proclaimed, that “This world can prosper only if women are all educated on par with men.”⁶  Gandhiji went one step further in his statement, that “Women should receive education on par with men; if necessary provide them specialized education”.  All India Women’s Conference on Educational Reform (1927) demanded specialized education for women to fulfil their “peculiar” role in society.⁷

     In 1904, Annie Besant pointed out that “The national movement for girls education must be on national lines; it must accept the general.  Hindu conceptions of women’s   place in the national life ….. India needs nobly trained wives and mothers, wise and tender rulers of the household, educated teachers of the young, helpful counselors of their husbands, skilled nurses of the sick rather than girl graduates”⁸ Sarojini Naidu also expressed similar views regarding Women’s education.  To her, education was a birthright and those who denied it to their women robbed themselves and the nation, and for Indian women were mothers of the nations.⁹  Kothari Education Commission also considered that “For  the full development resources, welfare of the family and the good up-keep of children, inculcating good conduct in them, women’s education is more important than education of the males.”¹⁰

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

     This present study, made an attempt to analyze certain salient features of the women’s education in Tirunelveli district.  It further tries to highlight the work of missionaries, indigenous societies on the one hand and the EIC and Crown on the other hand encouraged women’s education in Tirunelveli district.  The objective of the study is to find the genesis and growth of women’s education in Tirunelveli district. No attempt has been made so far to study the development of women’s education in Tirunelveli District from 1800 to 1947 or the growth and development of female education under the East India Company and Crown. This work covers more than one and a half century, which helps the scholars  to understand the history and origin of formal female educational institutions, such as  Pyal schools or Thinnai palli, Indigenous educational institutions,  Anglo-Indian schools, Female Normal Schools, Co-educational institutions,  Female Teacher’s Training Institutes, College for women,   Special Schools and Industrial Schools for women  in Tirunelveli District and its development in the 19^th and the first half of the 20^th Century.   The First Formal Female School has started by Christian Missionaries, which has still functioning and promote female education in this district. Whereas, in Ramnad a few schools started earlier than this period were closed within two or three years.¹¹ Hence, Tirunelveli district is rightly been called as a pioneer district for promoting female education in Madras Presidency.

HYPOTHESES:

      This study is the first attempt to write the origin, growth and development of female formal education in Tirunelveli District.  For the first time in the history of female education in Tirunelveli district, the Christian missionaries has been taken efforts to establish First Female Normal School, First Female Boarding School, First Female Industrial School, First Female Teacher Training School, First Female Special School, First  Female Special School Teacher’s Training Institute, First Women’s College in South India, by starting  Industrial school for women and promote International Trade for their economic independence and so on . All the efforts were initiated only by the Christian missionaries rather than by the Government.  Moreover, the Christian missionaries were instrumental in framing the educational policies in India along with the government.  As per the government records of 1885, there was no government female formal school in Tirunelveli district,¹² which is clear that Christian missionaries are the forerunners in establishing the female educational institution in Tirunelveli district of Madras Presidency.  So, this study covers the period from 1800 to 1947, when the activities of the Christian missionaries were evident.

     More over the government educational policy “Downward Filtration Theory” was not implemented successfully in this district, because the missionaries first educate the converted people, who were outcaste or lower community in social status.  Thus, the first educational development took place among the poor and the needy, not from the higher caste people in this district. 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE :

      During the early days the Roman Catholic missionaries and the Protestant  missionaries from Britain worked in the Tirunelveli district for the spread of women’s education. No particular and systematic attempts have been made so far to assess the efforts and activities of missionaries; East India Company and the Crown towards women’s education in Tirunelveli district.  Scholars like M.Sargur Doss, Educational Policy in Madras Presidency 1800-1900,(Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Madras (Madras,1961),  Lalitha  Jayaraman, History of Education in Madras Presidency 1800-1857 (Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation, University of Madras, 1986) in their research  analyzed the British Educational System in Madras Presidency, Anlet Sobitha Bai.W., in her Dissertation titled   Contribution of Protestant Women Missionaries in Tinnevelly (1823-1924),(Unpublished M.Phil., Dessertation, M.S. University,) dealt  the contribution of women protestant missionaries in Tinnevelly between 1823 to 1924; Mary Kenneth, Magalir Kalviyil Sarah Tucker Palliyin Pangu,(Unpublished M.Phil., Dessertation, M.K. University, Madurai)dealt only about the contribution of Sarah Tucker School to promote women’s education in  this district, Maniel.J.’s project titled , Sarah Tucker Magalir Menilaippalli Oor Ooyvoo,(Unpublished M.Ed., Project, M.K.University, May,1990) analyzed the growth and development of the Sarah Tucker Higher Secondary School, Palamcottah , and its contribution to promote women’s education ; Anjaline Bama.S., in her Dissertation titled Nellai Maavattaththil Kalvi Vallarchip- paniyil Selvi. Anne Jane Askwith Ammaiyaarin Tondu(Tamil), (Unpublished M.Phil Dessertation, M.S. University, April,1995) enumerate the contributions of Selvi Anne Jane Askwith Ammaiyaar( in Tamil) towards women’s education and Special Education for the visually challenged boys and girls in this district. Thus, no one is done research on the entire district.

      The works of Sathianadhan.S., titled History of Education in the Madras Presidency, (Madras,1894), the first of its kind throws light on the continuous history of educational operations in the Madras Presidency; Syed Nurullah & Naik.J.P.’s A Students’ History of Education in India (1800-1965), 5^th Edition, (Macmillan and co. Ltd.,London, 1964) dealt detail about the development of Education in India from 1765 to 1965; Alka Saxena (ed.)’s  Socialization of Women Education (New Delhi,2002), analyzed the socialization of women’s education and its impact on socio-economic life of educated women in India; Gouri Srivastava’s, Education in India-In Historical Perspective,(New Delhi, 2001) which dealt the status of Indigenous education in the eighteenth and nineteenth century with special reference to Bengal Presidency and also covers the causes for the decline of indigenous system of education and the rise and growth of Western Education in Bengal Presidency; Benoy Bhusan Roy & Pranati Ray’s, Zenana Mission-The Role of Christian Missionaries for the Education of Women in 19^th Century Bengal (ISPCK-Delhi, 1998), talks about the position of women in England, since the British were the rulers and they were the pioneers in female education by establishing  Zenana Mission in Bengal; Seema Sharma’s History of Education, (New Delhi, 2004) dealt the development of  education through the ages, educational theories, educational committee’s reports and its impact on primary, secondary and higher education in India; Powar.K.B. & Panda.S.K.’s, Higher Education in India:In Search of Quality,(Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, 1995) dealt with the quality of Higher Education, Participation of Women in Higher Education-issues and challenges in India; Veeraiah’s  Education in Emerging India, (Mumbai, 2000) dealt about the Education in India through the ages; Indra Sharma & Sharma.N.R., History and Problems of Indian Education, (place& Year are not available), highlights the efforts taken under the East India Company and Crown for the development of Education.  The above book reviews help us to understand development of Education under East India Company and Crown or by the British in India.

      The works of  Sherring’s, History of Protestant Mission in India (Benaras, 1874)which covers the activities of the Protestant Missionaries and their contribution to Indian Education; Paul Appasamy’s, The Centenary History of the C.M.S. in Tirunelveli (Palayamcottah,1923) dealt with the contribution of C.M.S. towards the growth and development of Education in Tirunelveli District and the work of the dedicated  Missionaries for these cause and it also throws light on how the missionaries tackle the local problems in order to spread christianity by giving education and won their hearts; Nora Brockway’s, A Larger way for women: Aspects of Christian Education for Girls in South India 1712-1948 (London, 1949) bring out the effort of Christian Missionaries towards Eclesiastical and  to women’s education in South India from 18^th Century to the first half of the 20^th Century; Kenneth Ingham’s, Reformers in India 1793-1833: An Account of the work of Christian Missionaries on Behalf of Social Reform (Cambridge, 1956) dealt with the Societal changes after the arrival of Christian Missionaries in India; A. Mathew’s, Christian Mission Education and Nationalism for Dominance to Compromise 1870-1970; and Sydney H.Moore’s, History of Missions in India have dealt with the efforts of various Missions in promoting Women’s Education in India.

     Rev. M. Rajasekaran’s,(ed.) Life History of Rev. Rhenius, (Holy Trinity Cathedral, Palayamkottai, 2010) was the authentic book written by  Rev. D.a. Christudoss which traces the life history and service of Rev. Rhenius and it also point out the status of  low caste and high caste people in the society, and  the support rendered by  the indigenous rich people for the establishment of more than 300 educational institutions and churches,  within 18 years of his service (1814-1838) in Tirunelveli district. This original book was written by Rev. D.A. Christudoss with 472 pages [old publication not available ]

     An autobiography of Rev. Paramanandam, gives a clear picture about the types of indigenous educational institution, fee structure, salary of the teachers and women’s education in Sankaranynarkoil Taluk of Tirunelveli district..

      The works of Edward Jonnathan.D’s, Miss.Anne Jane Askwith and the school for the Blind, Palamkottai (1888-1919),(Hindal press, Tirunelveli-7);  Pascoo,C.E’s., Two Hundred Years of S.P.G. (1701-1900), (Westminister,1901);  Stephen Neil’s, Bhakthi- Hindu and Christian,(Madras, 1974), & The Story of the Christian Church in India and Pakistan, Indian Edition, C.L.S., (I.S.P.C.K., 1972), Weston,Bishop’s, The Early History of the Tinnevelli Mission have dealt the efforts of missionaries to promote women’s education in Tirunelvelly District;  Sita Anantha Raman’s work on Getting Girls to School- Social Reform in the Tamil District, 1870-1930 analyzed the social reform of Tamil District between 1870 to 1930, and also examine the educational process that  transformed the colonial era, triggered by the Western presence.  This involved the   South Indians with special reference to Tirunelveli district as dynamic participants  in the beginning.  The Guide Book of the Tirunelveli District – the thirty-first Provincial educational Conference, 1940, Ambasamudram, clearly mentions about the growth of education with datas, educational institutions for boys and girls and so on; David & Sarojini Packiamuthu (eds.), A New Society (Tamil),(grow and increase publications, Tirunelveli-2) gave  a rich ideas about the Social, Cultural, Economic, Religious and Educational condition with special reference to individual personalities, which helps us to understand the position of the converts in Tirunelveli districts from 16^th century to till date; Jacob.R.S.’s Oorum Perum [Tamil] Part II & III (Jaya Publication, Palayamcottai,2004 & 2007) highlights the reason for the name of the village and its historical importance based on folk tales in Tirunelveli district during the 19^th and 20^th century and mentioned socio-economic, religious, educational condition of the people and the help rendered by the  mission missionaries. Another book written by the same author – Thiruchabai Thiruthondargal (Jaya Publications, Palayamcottai, 2005) highlights life and work of the dedicated missionaries  like Nellaikku Kalvi Thantha Rev. Rhenius, Bishop Sargent, Rev. Ringal Thobey, Rev. Amy Carmicheal Rev. Ragland, Rev. Caldwell, and their work for the cause of religion and education of  Tirunelveli district.    

SCOPE OF THE STUDY :

        In ancient India, men and women received the same type of education and enjoyed the same status.  The curriculum was religious in nature and both of them learn together in the same place.  In the medieval period, the practice of child marriage and purdah system resulted in the decline of  women’s education.  After the advent of the British in India, women’s education is promoted by the Christian missionaries in early phases and later on by the British government.  There are various studies highlighting the English education and the British policy in India.¹³  A major part of the scholarship in the history of education in India concentrated on connecting the growth of the education system with the political activities of its products, “ the English educated.”¹⁴ The provision of education represents the most sustained and far-reaching attempts of a society to create consciousness among certain sections of that society like backward castes, women etc.  Thus, educational system is of greater importance in studying any society .  To understand the regional variations in the growth of education, there is a need for regional and district level histories of education including various sections of the society. Because, the history of women’s education in India is intricately woven into the wider fabric of social and religious transformation that took place in the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. Therefore this study, which analyses the genesis, growth and development of women’s education in Tinnevelly district between 1800  to 1947, has four main thrusts.  This study uses Primary and Secondary sources from various documents to reconstruct the Primary Educational Development of formal education for girls in the Tinnevelly district.  Secondly, the Origin, growth and development of Higher Education for women in Tirunelveli district were highlighted;  thirdly, it throws light on the historical incident for the origin, growth and development of  Industrial Education, fourthly narrate the historic incident for the genesis, growth and development of Speical School Education in Tinnevelly district.  This study covers the years from 1800 to 1947 i.e. by the end of Poligar Administration and transfer of power by acquisition of Tirunelveli  district by the East India Company to the Indian  Independence.  In other words, it covers the period of East India Company’s rule to the Victorian rule in Tirunelveli district and the efforts of the Christian missionaries,  the Company, and Crown towards the development of women’s education in Tirunelveli district with the help of Primary and Secondary Sources.     The History of Women’s education in India, particularly in Tirunelveli District of Madras Presidency, from the colonial period to the Independence was analyzed and the measures were taken by both missionaries and British governments to deal with the educational backwardness of women. During the19^th century, in Tirunelveli district Christian missionaries rendered a remarkable service to promote women’s education and founder of all types of educational institutions in Madras Presidencies.  Almost all institutions survive till now and promote women’s education in this district. Thus, this work may help us to understand not only the History of Women’s Education in Tirunelveli District  [1800-1947] from  the acquisition of Tirunelveli  to Independence  but also help us to known about the genesis of Women’s Education in Madras Presidency.

     This work may be divided on the basis of types of educational institutions started by the missionaries, government  and indigenous people for promoting women’s education in this district from 1800 to 1947 as follows:

1.      Women’s Education in Pre-British Period

2.      Genesis of Primary Education for Women In Tirunelveli District From 1800To 1947

3.      Genesis of Higher Education in Tirunelveli District:

4.      Genesis of Industrial Education  and

5.      Genesis of Special Education  in Tirunelveli  District

SOURCES:

  This study is based mainly on the Archival material such as the Proceedings of Board of Revenue, Public Consultations, Tirunelveli District Records, Selections from the Educational Records, Reports of the Indian Education Commission, Annual Reports on the Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency, District  Gazetteers and Manuals, Educational  Reports of Missionaries in India , the Notes on the Schemes for the Advancement of Female Education in India since 1902, Papers Relating to Female Education (1907), the Hartog Committee Report (1929), the Report of the Primary Education Committee (1929-30), the Sargent Committee Report (1944), and the Hansa Mehta Report on the Post-war Educational Reconstruction with special reference to women’s education (1945), Quinquennial Reports on Education and Secondary Sources  such as books, articles, Journals, Daily Newspapers and others. Field data were collected by visiting theTirunelveli district and Stephen Neil Research Centre, Palayamcottai, Thembavani Thottam Roman Catholic Centre, Tirunelveli Social Service Centre for collecting information and meeting the officials to collect data.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

    The methodology adopted in the presentation of this study is historical, comparison and exploratory. Find the historic reason for the genesis of Female Normal School, Teacher Training Institutions, Female High Schools, First Women’s College, Vocational Training Centers,  , First Special School in Tirunelveli district of  Madras Presidency.  It is necessary to understand the genesis and growth and development of women’s education in Tirunelveli district under East India company and under the Crown, which help us to know about the past and the present development.  Almost all government educational policies are the innovative policies of missionaries introduced  to promote women’s education in Tirunelveli district, which is clear from the primary sources available in the government and non -governmental records. 

LIMITATIONS:

      Limitation of the study is availability of Protestant regards regarding women’s education in Tirunelveli district, unable to mention everything in detail due to page constrain.  In some area unavoidably deviate from the main objective of growth and development of women’s education because, some girls’ schools converted as co-educational institution, again separated as girls’ schools, in order to write the continuous growth of that institution is necessary to mention, which help us to understand the historic development of women’s education in Tirunelveli district.  Another limitation of the study is lack of source availability about the Roman Catholic contribution to the development of women’s education in this district because their achievement records were not maintained by the diocese of Palayamkottai.  Till 1973, Palayamkottai and Tirunelveli district came under the control of the Madura Mission, they started few schools on the coastal regions their main motive is to promote social service and focus on the development of weaker section of the society.  Almost all Government records, Tirunelveli written as Tinnevelly; Palayamkottai written as Palamcottah, throughout the work , the researcher used only the former spelling to avoid confusion to the readers.

CHAPTERIZATION

     The thesis is divided into six chapters.

      Introduction which gives an overview of the study, need for the study, objectives of the study, hypotheses, review of literature of contextual relevance, scope of the study, area of study,  tools for data collection and handicaps, research methodology adopted for the study, limitations of the study and chapterization.

     The first chapter traces the PHYSICAL FEATURE  of Tirunelveli district, boundaries, historical importance of this district from ancient to the acquisition of Tirunelveli district by East India Company in 1800 to Indian Independence, the geographical location and its influence on the growth and development of women’s education in Tirunelveli district between 1800 to 1947.  Prosperity of the district on one side and drought on the other side motivated the people to send their daughters to get education in mission schools.  The dry part of the district, led to the parent to send their daughters to vocational institutions started by the missionaries to make the women self reliant and economically independent with the available materials obtained from palm trees.

      The second Chapter, Women’s Education  In The Pre-British Period analyses the position of women’s education in Ancient, Medieval and at the advent of British  in Tirunelveli District,  position  of indigenous schools and its quality, the curriculum, the mode of payment to the master in Tirunelveli district.   However, women’s education lagged behind till the missionaries opened separate schools for girls in Tirunelveli district.  In order to encourage the women, the missionaries distributed cash and gifts to improve women’s education, ultimately enlightened the public and in spite of the hostile opposition from the orthodox section, they could realize the necessity of women’s education and encouraged women to receive education.

      The third  chapter Historic Development Of Primary Education For Women In Tirunelveli District From  1800 To 1947  Which has been critically analyze the steps  taken up by the missionaries, who were the pioneers of women’s education in Tirunelveli district with reference to  Portuguese missionaries  who were the Torchbearers’ of modern education in India;¹³  contribution of  Danish missionaries, Roman Catholic missionaries,  the role of  Protestant Christian missionaries, historic incident to open girl’s school in Tirunelveli district, special features of mission girl’s schools in Tirunelveli district.

      The fourth chapter, Genesis of Higher Education in Tirunelveli District From 1820 To 1947, which through light on the higher educational institutions and its contribution to women’s education, the policies adopted by the missionaries and the role of Government to promote higher education in this district.

     The fifth chapter, Genesis of Industrial Schools in Tirunelveli District, explain the necessity to start industrial schools in this district,  courses offered, and how it enhance their economic status, historic events related with this institutions also discussed.

     The sixth chapter, Genesis of Special Schools in Tirunelveli district, deals a historic narration for the development of special school education for the special children not only Tirunelveli district but also the entire Madras Presidency, and paved the way for the formation of separate board for the welfare of the differently able children at present level.

Finally discussed the suggestion and conclusion drawn based on this study.

                                                     BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.Radhakumar, The History of Doing: A illustrated Account of Movements of Women’s Rights and Feminism in India 1800-1990,(New Delhi, 1993),p.14.

2. Caldwell,R. (Rev.), Lectures on the Tinnevelly Missions, descriptive of the field, the work, and the results; with an introductory lecture on the progress of Christianity in India, Republished from the “Colonial Church Chronicle”,  Bell & Daldy, London, 1857, p.5.

3.Appasamy,Paul, The Centenary History of the C.M.S. in Tirunelveli, (Palamcottah, 1923), p.36; Brockway Nora, A Larger Way for Women:  Aspects of Christian Education for Girls in South India 1712 -1948 (London, 1949), p.50.Muller, Bicentenary of the Tirunelveli Church (1780-1980), p.9; Wyatt,J.L. (ed.) Remineiscences of Bishop Caldwell (Madras, 1894), p. 177.

4.Nagarajan.K. (Dr.), Education in the Emerging Indian society, (Chennai, 2009), p.392.

5.Vinita Kaul,  (Dr.), Women and the Wind of Change, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 2000, p.83

6.Bharathiar poem refer here

7.  Vinita Kaul. (Dr.),  Women and the Wind of Change, Gyan publishing House, 2000, p.96.

8.  Annie Besant, Wake up India (Madras, 1913), p.73.

9. Sarojini Naidu, Speeches and Writings (Madras, 1904) pp. 18-20.

10.ICSSR, Status of Women in India (Synopsis of the Report of the National committee on the Status of Women), (New Delhi, 1975), p.88; Jayapalan.N., Problems of India Education, (New Delhi, 2005), p.40; Saxena Alka, Socialisation of Women Education , (New Delhi, 2002), p.73.

11. Ramnad District Gazetteer, Madras Government,TNA

12.  Indian Education Commission Report, 1883,TNA

13. Mohmood Syed, History of English Education in India (Aligarh, 1985); A.I.Mayhew, Education of India 1835-1920 (London, 1926); B.D.Basu, History of Education in India Under the East India Company (Calcutta, 1927); S.Nurullah, A History of Education In India during the British  Period (Bombay, 1947);  Syed Nurullah and J.P. Naik, History of Education in India (Bombay, 1951) and Y.B. Mathur, Women’s Education in India 1813-1966 (New Delhi, 1973).

14.B.T. McCully, English Education and the Origins of Indian Nationalism (New york, 1940);  B.B. Misra, The Indian Middle Classes: Their Growth in Modern Times (London,1961);  Anil Seal, The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the later 19^th century (Cambridge, 1968) and Aparna Basu,  The Growth of Education and Political Development of India 1889-1920,(Delhi,1974) and Essays in the History of Indian Education (New Delhi, 1982).

MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS

“Journalism in India – which has major strengths and resources, physical and intellectual, at its command – needs an internal accountability to higher intellectual and ethical standards, a more precise and less breathless style of work, and public advocacy of its role as a vital part of the striving for a democratic, just society.”¹  -  Mr. N. Ram.

The media play a significant role in forming and influencing people’s attitudes and behavior.  It has a central role in mediating information and forming public opinion.  It media casts an eye on events that few of us directly experience and renders remote happenings observable and meaningful.  In addition to news stories, feature articles, and investigative journalism, sporadic mass media education and prevention campaigns are launched.  These campaigns usually Endeavour to broaden community knowledge of human abuse and neglect, to influence people’s attitudes towards under privileged children, young people based on community or religion or regional variations. Mass media campaigns reveals many examples of campaigns impacting on public knowledge about issues such as work safety, drug and alcohol use, drink driving, speeding, cigarette smoking, obesity, AIDS, and domestic violence. Attitudinal and behavioural change may occur during campaigns, but it may be short lived, lapsing when campaigns end.

 The two main arms of media are print media and electronic media. Both the media highlighting violence assaulted on that day anywhere else in the world broadcasting all murders, kidnappings, robberies in the form of news, movies, videos, cartoons and video games, serials, which resulting in increasing violence  in the society. To avoid increasing violence in the society, UNESCO and other media agencies formulated guidelines to minimize human rights violation.

Media has its visible and invisible impact on all aspects of modern life.  The newspaper, the radio, the T.V., the advertisement and the film played the major media of modern mass communication and wage a frantic war of ideas, ideologies and opinions every day on the tensile nerves of our social fabric.  The persons who are on the back of all media, carry out their functions in their diverse capacities not only for the performance of their basic duties to inform, instruct and entertain but also quite often to opinionate their audience.²  Mass media has the capacity of reach “simultaneously” many thousands of people who are not related to the sender.  It depends on “technical devices” or “machines” to quickly distribute messages to diverse audiences often unknown to each other.  It is accessible to many people, but may be avoided.  It is “controlled by gatekeepers” who censor the content of messages.  However, mass communication simultaneously presents opportunities and limitations, both of which require consideration when it affects human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION BY MEDIA

            The mass media have wielded enormous power to their own ends.  The proprietors have propagated their own opinions; sometimes to become subordinated to big business and sometimes have allowed the advertisers to control the editorial policy and content.  The mass media have often paid more attention to the superficial and sensational aspects in their reporting on human events than to the significant aspects and their recreational prices have frequently been unsubstantial,  endangered public morals and have invaded people’s private unjustifiably.  The mass media are controlled by a socio-economic class in general terms, “the entrepreneurial class” and access to the media is difficult for the new comer or underprivileged people.  At the national and international level men’s minds are being subjected to a ceaseless and clever bombardment of messages³.  These messages are calculated to influence and control, which cause for human rights violation. “Kho”   and “Khaththi” are the recent Tamil movies clearly depict the position of media and how it affects the human rights violation in the society and position of media workers.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO STOP HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION

Media campaigns required at home and outside home by posters, cinema media should be directed to the general community, parents, children, perpetrators, victims and indirect professionals.  A wide range of media approaches should be used, including advertising, community service announcements, publicity i.e. feature articles and documentaries and edutainment i.e. the  deliberate inclusion of educational messages in entertainment vehicles such as TV soap operas.  Media campaigns can serve a number of roles, but primarily placing the issue on the community’s agenda; framing the issue;  eliciting  reports of abuse; directing individuals to sources of information; changing social norms; modeling appropriate and inappropriate behaviours; and increasing the awareness of the target audience with respect to their own behavior and hence increasing the likelihood of the individual assessing his or her own behavior and their self responsibility for such behaviour.  Mass media helps to solve political agency problems and make governments more accountable.  The intuition of what is driving the results is simple – by making the actions of the politicians more transparent the media is providing information to citizens as to the likelihood that they will protected in the future.  Citizens in turn are using this information in their voting decisions.

WHAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED TO PROMOTE WORLD PEACE?

Most of the media give much more attention to crime, deaths, disasters, wars and strife than to harmonious communities, acts of kindness and win-win conflict resolution. The mass media frequently create unrealistic fears about criminals, foreign peoples and mass protest.  “News” often is more like entertainment than information or education.  News reports, especially on television, are typically given without much overt context.   Consumers of the media consequently don’t understand the “facts” that are often wrong or misleading.  Powerful groups, especially governments and large corporations, shape the news in a range of ways, such as by providing selected information, offering access to stories in exchange for favourable coverage, spreading disinformation, and threatening reprisal.  Advertising is another powerful influence on commercial media.

MEDIA ENSURES HUMAN RIGHTS

Media ensures modernity in approach to create awareness and also ensures radicalism in thought and action, promise and perfection; and to earnestly shoulder social responsibilities of imparting education, making everyone aware of health and hygiene, economy and affluence and , above all, inspiring to be self-supporting and self-esteemed in every sphere of life this is, indeed, a new vision of mass education for social consciousness – a vision that allows humanity to be enriched with the spirit of social  transcendence.⁴

A free press can only flourish in a democratic environment and to strengthen the democratic foundation of the state.  According to the guidelines the Media should avoid exaggeration or distortion of facts or incidents in relation to communal matters or giving currency to unverified  rumors’, suspicions or inferences, as if they were facts and base their comments on them.  Encouraging or condoning violence even in the face of provocation a  means of obtaining redress of grievances, whether the same be genuine or not.  Avoid falsely giving a communal colour to incident in which members of different communities happen to be involved.  Avoid emphasizing matters that are apt to produce communal hatred or ill – will or fostering feelings of distrust between communities.  Not publishing alarming news which is in substance untrue or making provocative comments on such news or views, which embitter relations between different communities or regional or linguistic groups.  Avoid exaggerating actual happenings to achieve sensationalism, and publication of news which adversely affect communal harmony with banner headlines or in distinctive types.  Avoid making disrespectful, derogatory or insulting remarks on, or reference to, the different religions or faiths or founders.

Hence, Media in a democratic country has a primary duty to report events objectively and faithfully, it has also a larger obligation to the nation to defend and preserve the democratic way of life.  Therefore, it is necessary for the press to voluntarily adopt a policy not to play up or give undue publicity or to give ‘celebrity’ treatment to news, which lend to promote authoritarian and dictatorial trends or to aggravate communal or regional tensions.⁵ Media should endeavour at all times to promote the unity of the country and nation, pride in the country, its people, its achievements and its strength in diversity. Journalist should be most circumspect in dealing with movements and ideas which promote regionalism at the cost of national unity.

Responsibility shall be assumed for all information and comments published.  If responsibility is disclaimed, this will be explicitly stated.  Confidences shall always be respected, professional secrecy must be preserved. Any report found to be inaccurate and any comment on inaccurate reports shall be voluntarily rectified.  It shall be obligatory to give fair publicity to a correction of contradiction when a report published is shown to be false or inaccurate in material particulars.  Journalists or reporter shall not allow personal interest to influence professional conduct.  There is nothing so unworthy as the acceptance or demand of a bribe or inducement for the exercise by a journalist of his power to give or deny publicity to news or comments.  Journalists shall be very conscious of their obligation to their fellows in the profession and shall not seek to deprive fellow journalists of their livelihood by unfair means.

INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

World Journalist about 400,000 members representing a consultative meeting under the auspices of UNESCO since 1978.  The Second consultative meeting was held at Mexico City in 1980. In this meeting all representatives expressed its support to the UNESCO Declaration on fundamental Principles concerning the contribution of the Mass Media to strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to the promotion of Human Rights and to countering Racialism, apartheid and incitement of War.  It also adopted the “Mexico Declaration” with a set of principles regarding National and regional codes of journalistic ethics and international legal nature. 

The fourth consultative meeting was held at Prague and Paris in 1983, which noted the lasting value of the UNESCO Declaration in which it is stated inter alia that “the exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and information, recognized as an integral part of human rights and fundamental freedoms, is a vital factor in the strengthening of peace and international understanding”.  Further, the meeting recognized the important role which information and communication play in the contemporary world, both in national and international spheres, with a growing social responsibility being placed upon the mass media and journalists.  The VI principle stated about the respect for privacy and Human Dignity.  An integral part of the professional standards of the journalist is respect for the right of the individual to privacy and human dignity, in conformity with provisions of international and national law concerning protection of the rights and the reputation of others and prohibiting libel, calumny, slander and defamation.

Principle VII ensure respect for Public interest.  The journalist gives due respect for the national community, its democratic institutions and public morals. Principle VIII respect for Universal Values and Diversity of Cultures. A true journalist stands for the universal values of humanism, above all peace, democracy, human rights, social progress and national liberation, while respecting the distinctive character, value and dignity of each culture, as well as the right of each people freely to choose and develop its political, social, economic and cultural systems.  Thus the journalist participates actively in the social transformation towards democratic betterment of society and contributes through dialogue to a climate of confidence in international relations conductive to peace and justice everywhere, to détente, disarmament and national development.  It belongs to the ethics of the profession that the journalist be aware of relevant provisions contained in international conventions, declarations and resolutions.

Principle IX mentioned that Elimination of War and other Great Evils Confronting Humanity.  The ethical commitment to the universal values of humanism calls for the journalist to abstain from any justification for, or incitement to, wars of aggression and the arms race, especially in nuclear weapons, and all other forms of violence, hatred or discrimination, especially racialism and apartheid, oppression by tyrannical regimes, colonialism and neo-colonialism, as well as other great evils which afflict humanity, such as poverty, malnutrition and diseases.  By doing so, the journalist can help eliminate ignorance and misunderstanding among peoples, make nationals of a country sensitive to the needs and desires of others, ensure the respect for the rights and dignity of all nations, all  peoples and all  individuals without distinction of race, sex, language, nationality, religion or philosophical conviction.⁶  

A well known Delhi – based NGOs, working in the area of consumer protection, public interest litigation and other important matters concerning improvement in civic life in a recent write up stated that TV is no longer just a means for informing news, disseminating information and building opinion.  It is also for providing entertainment. The unfortunate development is that it has increasingly become the instrument for projecting crime, thrillers, horrors, vulgarity and obscenity.  Scenes of sex, crime and violence capture the imagination of large sections of viewers, especially adult and children and creating disturbing impact on society.

There are 60 types of violence projected on TV, both audio and visual⁷. These include slapping, threats, screaming, shooting, assaulting, abusing, pushing, stabbing, threats, torture, eeric sound tracks and threatening music. In one such serial, as many as 17 acts of violence were found in one episode of 25 minutes.  These included assaulting, slapping, plunging, shooting, strangulations, and supernatural occurrences.  Family dram serials also often depict conflicts which involve violence.  These carry scenes of domestic violence, often involving children, adults and women. These circumstances need to be urgently considered by governmental authorities as well as social activists so that measures can be devised and adopted for mitigating the situation.  These include persuading channels to adopt self-regulating measures, imbibing in producer’s norms and guidelines and dealing with defaulters.  They should avoid repeated these shows at an earlier time, and also put across a written or verbal warning before such a programme begins.  Child – specific progrmmes should be developmed and telecast by all channels.  It is necessary that people should raise voice against the growing tendency of depicting scenes of crime and violence on TV programmes serials, these can prove disastrous to the society and its future build-up.  Ways and means must be devised for avoidance of the slide towards social disaster.  The strength of the mass media lies in helping to put issues on the public agenda, in reinforcing local efforts, in raising consciousness about issues and in conveying simple information and less effective in conveying complex information and promote peace at home, nation and international level.

BIBLICAL THOUGHTS ON WOMEN’ S MARRIAGE AND DIVOCE

     The family is portrayed as the basic unit of society, and order within the family is the guarantor of social and political order. The vast provision of literature aims to ensure that individuals understand their integral roles within a smoothly functioning family and emphasizes the importance of marital and family stability for society and polity.  Fundamental to these considerations is religion, and particularly in Christianity, marriage is ordained by God and familiar relationships are prescribed by God.  Any behavior that runs counter to harmony in marriage or the family not only threatens social stability but is also regarded as contrary to the Divine Commandments.  However reconciling the apparently irreconcilable differences of the Biblical texts that allow divorce and those prohibit divorce.  Although, the New Testament references to divorce were ambiguous enough to prevent a rapid consensus within the church that divorce was wholly unacceptable, it is notable that the Christian debate for and against divorce drew on both texts from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.  This study focuses on the Biblical thoughts on women’s marriage and divorce or forced divorce in the present scenario.

     The major objectives of this study will be focus on why the man has the right to divorce his wife and denial of rights for a woman.  To the present society being plunged into a state of moral disintegration as the number of divorces rises beyond expected and controllable levels affecting people of all race, caste, culture and religion.

     This study analyses the Christian thoughts on marriage and divorce is suitable for the present scenario or not.  Whether the age old Christian thoughts applicable to the entire world which has varied culture and tradition.  Moreover, this paper reveals the contradictory thoughts of Christian Philosophy on Divorce in Old Testament and New Testament. Because Indian Penal Code,  Christian Marriage Acts has written on the basis of Biblical thoughts, which is applicable to the present situation or not.

Institutions of Marriage in the Ancient Society:

Genesis 1 and 2, clearly stated that God’s original plan for humanity as one man to one woman for life.  However, there was no code of rules required until the standards of society had fallen. Hence, the law-code of King Hammurabi of Babylon came into practice about 1700 BC which stated that:  “A man would not take a second wife unless the first was unable to have children. The husband was allowed a secondary wife (a concubine), or his wife might give him a slave-girl, to have children by her.  The children of the slave-girl, shall not be sent away.”  The above statement make it clear that women is the sole responsible for infertility, so she has to allow her husband to marry another girl or give him a slave-girl to have children.  Further it stated that nothing to say about the position of a second wife, but ensure the protection to her children.  In modern scenario scientifically proved that male or female may have the problem of infertility.  It may curable or the girls may beget a child with the help of scientific approach or hiring mothers.  However, Indian Penal Code also favour to the law- code of King Hammurabi that Divorce a woman, if she is not fit for beget heir.

      Male had the right to marry a secondary wife or his wife allowed him to get children by the slave girl. Here again the denial of rights of the first wife but also a slave-girl.  Thus, two women’s life is a questionable one; they couldn’t raise voice against the male.  Slave – girl had no rights to claim as equal to the first wife.  The slave-girl’s position is very pitiable, dependable and economically, socially degraded by her own family. For instance, Abraham at first only had one wife, Sarah, since she was barren, he took her slave-girl, Haggar (Genesis 16:1-2). Genesis23:1-2 refers that When Sarah died Abraham  married Qeturah as his second wife. Nahor (Genesis22:20-24) had children by his wife Milkah, and a concubine, Remuah.  This seems to be against the law of King Hammurabi however, polygamy was becoming a custom of the time.’

Polygamy Practice:

     According to Roland de Vaux, “The husband can, however, himself take a concubine, even if his wife has borne him children, but the concubine never has the same rights as his wife and he may not take a second concubine unless the first is barren.”   In the Fifteenth Century BC, in the region of Kirkuk, the same customs were prevalent, but the barren wife was under an obligation to provide a concubine for her husband. In the midst of this polygamy, there was still a relative monogamy because there was only one lawful wife.  However, it seems as though the Patriarchs followed a less stringent code of conduct than that which prevailed in Mesopotamia.  In Genesis29:15-30 and 30:1-9, Jacob married the two sisters, Leah and Rachel, each of whom gave him her maid.  In Indian Society, polygamy was acceptable practices in royal patriarchal society (women of the harem), in which women were less privileged than male. Still this practice is prevailed among the people in certain villages, but the government executed law against them, but not yet completely eradicated.

      By the end of the Second Millennium BC, the Assyrian Code of Law, assigned an intermediary place between the wife and the concubine, who is a slave, to the esirtu (Woman of the harem).  A man may have several esirtu and they may be raised to the rank of a wife.  Later the Talmud fixed the number of wives at four for a subject, eighteen for a king.

     It is clearly stated in the books of Samuel and Kings that the most common form of marriage in the Israelite society was monogamy.  There is not a single case recorded of bigamy among the commoners, (except that of Samuel’s father, at the very beginning of the period).  Also, there is no reference about polygamy in the wisdom books.  Although the New Testament upholds the ideal of monogamy, it does not prohibit polygamy except in the case of a bishop or a deacon. It is clear that polygamy was rarely practiced by the people and by Christian kings without the disapproval of the Church.   Likewise in India, only royal families or economically high status people used to have bigamy or concubines.  But, they were considered as illegal wives.  They had no rights to claim property or hereditary rights like the children of the first wife.  Indian society based on monogamy form of marriage is acceptable by the commoners.

A Purchase Theory:

     According to Purchase Theory,  the married woman came under the authority of her husband.   Exodus 20:17 refers that legally man counts as being the owner of his wife, and the wife is considered as the husband’s possession.    In Deuteronomy 21:13, 24:1, to ‘marry a wife’ is expressed by the Hebrew verb Ba’al, the root meaning of which is to ‘become a master’.  However, the question that now arises is whether a wife is really the property of her husband, in other words, had he bought her?  Ethnographers have suggested that the Israelites practiced a form of ‘Marriage by Purchase’, i.e.  ‘A Purchase-Theory’.  This theory can be substantiated by the custom of the mohar (dowry/bride-price).   Still this practice is existed among the Indian Society.

The Mohar:

     The ‘mohar’ was a sum of money, which was paid to the father of the bride in exchange for the hand of his daughter in marriage.  The amount of the mohar varied and depended on the father of the girl and the social standing of the family.  Payment of the mohar could be compound by service, e.g. like Jacob did for both his wives (Genesis 29:15-30). In India also has the same practice, that either dowry paid by bride family or by bride –groom family.  In ancient period ‘Sheridan’ has given by the girls’ family to bride, now this practice cause for many evil practices like dowry death, persecution by the in-laws led the girl to commit suicide or divorce and forced divorce.  

     Alternatively, mohar was paid  by accomplishing an appointed task,  as David did for Michal (I Samuel 18:25-27).  David demonstrated a becoming modesty (I Samuel 18:18-23), which was intertwined with his inability to pay the mohar appropriate for a King’s daughter.  The Mohar was one hundred foreskins of the Philistines – The task in exchange for the hand of his daughter was to take vengeance on the King’s enemies.  This obligation to pay a sum of money, or its equivalent, to the girl’s family obviously gives the Israelite marriage the outward appearance of a ‘purchase.’  In Indian History, there are so many references available that through marriage alliance, the neighbouring king avoid war, or giving her daughter as compensation for the King’s victory.

      However, there is a difference between compensation given to the family of the bride and the price paid for a woman.  The difference becomes clear, if we compare the mohar marriage with purchase marriage, i.e. a girl could be sold by her father to another man who intended her to be his own, or his son’s concubine.  Thus, she was a slave, and could be resold.  Here, women were treated as commodity, not considered her as equal partner in life, inhuman attitude is encouraged by this activities.  Our Indian Constitution guaranteed that all are equal’ . However, in Indian society, there is a practice to give dowry in order to maintain their statuesque to bride or bride groom irrespective of religion.  According to the practice of their caste, bride or bride groom purchased their partners by giving dowry or in the name of gift.

Beena And Erebu Marriage:

     By marriage a woman left her parents and went to live with her husband and joined his clan.  This was the normal custom.  In Genesis 24:58-59, Rebecca left her father and mother, in Genesis 24:5-8, Abraham would not allow Isaac to go to Mesopotamia unless the wife chosen for him agreed to come to Canaan.  However, there are few cases in the Bible where there was an exception.  In Genesis 31:26, 43 Jacob, after marrying Leah and Rachel, continued to live with his father-in-law, Laban.  In Judge 8:31, Gideon had a concubine who continued to live with her family at Shechem, Samson married a Philistine woman of Timnah, he continued to live with her parents, where Samson visited her (Judges 14:8, 15:1-2).  This type of marriage where the wife does not leave her father’s house, the husband takes up residence in her home and relinquishes his connections with his own clan, is called “beena marriage”.   Assyrian  law also provided for a case where a married woman continued to live with her father, this type of marriage was called “erebu”.  In general  in India, they followed the normal customs like after marriage a woman left her parents and went to live with her husband or his family.  However, the girl is the only daughter or no son in the family means, the bride groom takes up residence in her home.

Arranged Marriage:

     The Bible stipulated no age at which a girl could be married.  However, for centuries the custom in the East was for boys and girls to be married while they were very young. In the later days, the Jewish Rabbis fixed the minimum age for marriage at twelve years for a girl and thirteen years for a boy.  As a result of this practice parents made all the decisions when a marriage was being arranged.  Genesis Chapter 29:15 says that once the proposal of marriage had been put to the girl’s parents, they discussed the conditions, especially the amount of the mohar.  Arranged marriage led to the discussion of the mohar, that led to the girl lost her independence to decide her future partner.  In India, Child marriage prevailed till 1829, when the Saradah Act passed by the British Government.  The Age of Consent rise the marriageable age to 10, then to 12.  The parent only decided and arranged the marriage.

         In Genesis 24:4, this research notes that Abraham sent his servant to find Isaac a wife among his own family in Mesopotamia.  Laban declared that he would rather give his daughter to Jacob than to a stranger.  Tobias also advised his son   to choose a wife within his tribe (Tobias 4:12).  This statement make it clear that inter caste or inter clan marriage was not practiced.  In Indian society, even after converted to Christianity also sticks on to marry within the caste (see impact of mixed marriages).

     Marriages  also took place between persons of different families and even with foreign women. Joseph married an Egyptian, Moses married a Midianite.  Naomi’s two daughter-in –laws were Moabites.  Israelite women were also married to foreigners Batsheba to a Kittite, and the mother of Hiram, the bronze worker to a Tyrian.   However, at present this is a common phenomena that marry  a foreign women is considered as cultural sharing in India.  Inter caste marriages also accepted unconditionally by the parents due to the economically independent son and daughter of the family. This is the main reason for the more number of divorce would happened in the society due to lack of knowledge about others culture and tradition cause for misunderstanding between the couple.

Impact of Mixed Marriages:

     These mixed marriages first started with Kings for political reasons. However, it later became common among the subjects after settlement in Canaan (Judges 3:6).  The results of these mixed marriages were firstly that they ‘tainted the purity’ of Israel’s blood, secondly that they ‘endangered its religious faith’ (I Kings 11:4).  And thirdly, they were ‘forbidden by law’ (Exodus 34:15-16, Deuteronomy 7:3-4).37  In Indian Society also have the same reasons for avoiding the mixed marriages and castes is the prime cause for avoiding mixed marriages and each caste people has some unique cultural practices.  In case of mixed marriages on the basis of caste or religion, that led to the misunderstanding between the couples to understand the cultural values on both the side, finally ended with divorce.  At the time of court cases dealing with the validity of a “Christian marriage,” as with cases involving inheritance, illustrate the role of the Indian judiciary in defining religious boundaries.   The Madras High Court’s application of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, had the effect of separating a “Christian community” from the domain of “Hindu caste society” recognisized by the courts.  By extricating Christians from the “little societies” of caste, the judiciary furthered the marginalization of Christians from larger construction of Hindu society.  A set of related cases involving at least one Christian marital partner reveals a pattern of regulation whereby the courts regarded Christian identity and Hindu identity as mutual exclusive. The Madras judiciary, discussed in three sections, while constructing a Christian community around marriage, falsely ascribed the Anglican notion of a “clandestine marriage” to Christian marrying according to local caste rites.  The next section explains how, in judging the validity of inter-religious marriages, the courts came to regard the marriage ceremony itself as a site for the public profession of religious faith.  The final section of the three addresses the interplay between categories of religious identity and notions of monogamy and desertion derived from divorce cases.

    For instance, the Nadars of Tinnevelly, retained their caste solidarity well after conversion to Christianity and continued to intermarry with Hindu Nadars.  Because marital preferences so strongly signified the identity of a particular caste, they often revealed the pre-eminence of caste identity  over the imagined Christian identity. The same practices prevailed among the Christian Maravar Community of Tinnevelly.     The Nadar and Maravar Christians, marrying outside of one’s caste was far more offensive than marrying a non-Christian.  Such privileging of caste over religion by Christians themselves stood at odds with the judiciary’s tendency to regulate marriage according to religion.  Thus, the enforcement of the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872, renamed as Christian Marriage Act was often encumbered by the multiple identities of Indian Christians.  The enforcement of the Indian Christian Marriage Act worked against the tendency of Christian converts, especially those coming from lower social strata, to participate in more than one set of social relationships.  So it is a difficult task for the law makers and imposed a higher degree of uniformity upon Christian practices in India.

Engagements or Betrothal Ceremonies:

     The Hebrew word ‘aras’ literally meaning ‘engagement’ or ‘betrothal’, was a promise of marriage made sometime before the celebration of the wedding, according to the custom of Israel.  The same custom is prevailed in Tamil Nadu also.  Legal texts show that engagements were a recognized custom with ‘Judicial consequences’.  According to Deuteronomy 20:7, a man who was engaged, though not yet married, was excused from going to war.  In I Samuel 18:21, this research see the formula that was probably spoken by the girl’s father to make the engagement valid: ‘Today you shall be my son-in-law’.

     According to Roland  de Vaux, ‘in Israel and Mesopotamia, marriage was a purely civil contract’.  It was not sanctioned by any religious act.  Whereas in The Hebrew analogy denotes that the marriage is a religious pact. In India, marriage is a religious pact, especially  Christian marriages is considered as the Covenant of God, man should not  break the bond between the relationship between husband and wife in the name of divorce.  It is clear that the Biblical thought strictly against divorce.  In Proverbs 2:17, marriage is called the ‘Covenant of God’.  The Madras High Court also acknowledge the same that Christian Marriage in terms of monogamy i.e. an exclusive, life-long bond between one man and one woman.     It was custom among the Jews that a contract of marriage had to be signed.  In Tobias 7:13, a written contract of marriage is mentioned.  According to the Code of Hammurabi,  a marriage concluded without a contract is invalid. The formula pronounced at marriage according to the Elephantine contract was:  ‘She is my wife and I am her husband, from this day forever.’

     In assessing the early Israelite sociology for marriage  note that it was originally better, in close contracts of life for every marriageable woman to be in proper relationship to some man, rather than that improper relationships should arise in which the children would suffer because no one would be responsible for them.

Provision for Divorce:

      In the Jewish law of divorce men have been given great rights whereas sheer injustice has been done to women as they have been deprived of this right and they cannot demand divorce despite the defects and tyranny and oppression of their husbands.   

      There was no provision for divorce in the Christian law, Marriage was a permanent relation between the husband and wife; they could not be separated due to any reason.  This strictness was based on Christ’s teaching: “He who God unites cannot be disunited (Bible)”.  Christ’s saying was wrongly interpreted by his followers as it implied a moral lesson that divorce should not be given without any genuine reason.  It has been mentioned as follows: “A person who forsakes his wife, except on account of adultery, and marries a second woman commits sin.”

     According to the motivation given in Deuteronomy 24:1, a man could divorce his wife if he had ‘found some unseemly thing in her’.    The school of Rabbi Shammai acknowledged only adultery and misconduct for the grounds of divorce.   In India, the Divorce Act of 1869 defined the terms by which either partner of a Christian marriage could petition for a divorce. If the relations of husband and wife become strained and the efforts to effect reconciliation between them fail so that it is not possible for them to pull on, the husband can divorce his wife. According to Part III of the Divorce Act of 1869, a husband could petition the District Court or the High Court for a divorce on the grounds of his wife’s adultery.  A wife could petition for divorce on the ground that her husband had:  .... exchanged his profession of Christianity for the profession of some other religion, and gone through a form of marriage with another woman; or has been guilty of incestuous adultery, or bigamy with adultery or of marriage with another woman with adultery; or or rape, sodomy, or bestiality, or of adultery coupled with such cruelty as without adultery would have entitled her to a divorce a mensa at thoro; or of adultery coupled with descrtion, without reasonable excuse for two years or upwards.   But in the law of 1907, the ‘guilty’ was deleted and the court could now order the husband to pay the expenses of his wife despite complete separation between them.

Procedure of Divorce

     In the procedure of divorce, the husband made out a declaration contradicting that which had sealed the marriage, i.e. ‘she is no longer my wife and I am no longer her husband’.    In Assyria the formula for a divorce was : ‘I repudiate her’ or ‘ You are no more my wife’.  However, in Israel, Mesopotamia and Elephantine, they also practiced a custom in which the husband had to write his wife a certificate / bill/ writ of divorce, which allowed a woman to remarry.  According to IPC, in case of Christian Divorce, the judgment given after seven long years to get divorce. Almost all seven year, the mental agony of a girl or a man led them to take some wrong decision about their life and may commit suicide or had illegal life with someone.  Ultimately, it cause for cultural degradation in the name of religion.

Restrictions for Divorce:

     There were a few laws, which were laid to restrict the husband from the right of a divorce.  According to Deuteronomy 22:13-19, if a man had falsely accused his wife of not being a virgin when he married her, he could not divorce her.  Deuteronomy 22:28-29 stipulates that if a man had violated a girl, he was compelled to marry her.   If a divorced wife remarried and later her second husband died or liberated her by a divorce, the first husband was forbidden to take her back. with David, then given to another man, and finally taken back by David, however, David had never divorced her (I Samuel 18:20-27, 25:44, 2Samuel 3:13-16)

     Women had no right to ask for a divorce.  At the beginning of the Christian era, when Solome, the sister of Herod sent her husband Kostabar a letter of divorce, her actions were held to be against Jewish law. If the Gospel made reference to a woman divorcing her husband, it was the influence of Gentile customs. Whereas in India, women had the right to ask for a divorce, which  is guaranteed by our Constituion.

     According to the Code of Hammurabi, a husband could divorce his wife by pronouncing the appropriate formula, but he had to pay her compensation.  In Assyrian law, the husband had the right to divorce his wife without any compensation.  However, this led to the Assyrian marriage being complicated, because they often stipulated more onerous conditions for the husband.  When the marriages were arranged, the wife’s parents might protect her interests by special clauses.   Likewise in India, A woman, in order to fulfill her part of the contract, must produce male children; if she fails to produce  such children then a de facto divorce may occur with the infertile woman returning and remaining throughout her life at the village of her father. If she does not have male heirs, then she has no claims to inheritance of her husband’s estate except maintenance during her lifetime.

Comparison between Women in Israel Society and In Indian Society:

        According to Exodus 21:7and Deuteronomy 24:14,  a man could sell his daughter but, a man could never sell his wife. Whereas in Indian contest, women were respected so not to sold  by her father or by her husband, which is considered as offence and punished by law.

     A husband had the right to divorce his wife, but she was protected by the certificate of divorce (get), which guaranteed her freedom.  Within the family, respect for a wife increased on the birth of her first child.  This respect was even greater if the child was a boy. In Indian society, if a woman begets a boy baby first also respected by the family members.  The wisdom literature Proverbs 19:26, 23:22, 30:17 emphasized that children should respect both mother and the father equally. 

     The ceremony of a woman whose husband suspects her of adultery without proof is to take the woman before a priest.  She drinks the words of a curse mixed in water with the dust of the floor of the tabernacle.  If she is wrongly suspected, she goes away free.  The husband must then stop being jealous.  According to the book of Numbers tells the husband that without evidence he cannot take action against his wife.  Only the Lord knows and the question of guilt has to be left without the outcome of the ordeal.  If she is guilty, then the Lord will punish her by affliction.  In IPC (Indian Penal Code) ensure that the husband cannot take action against his wife without evidences, if he gave wrong information also punished by law.

          In Egypt it was custom that the wife was the head of the family, in Babylon, the wife could purchase property, take legal action, be a party to contracts, and she even had a share in her husband’s inheritance.  In the Colony of Elephantine, the Jewish wife acquired certain civil rights.  Since she owned property, she also became liable to taxation.

     When compare with other countries the Israelite and Indian woman had to do all the hard works at home.  Her role was to look after the flock, cook the food, do the spinning, etc. However, these tasks did not lower her status but rendered her sincere consideration, as a vital and important member in the family structure.  Many feminist theologians may argue that this picture of the Israelite and Indian woman, is a subordination to man, within a system of women oppression. However, one needs to take into consideration that it was custom in the Israelite society to be submissive to the authority of the man, who is the head of the family.

CONCLUSION

    Gottwald defined the society depicted in the Bible as a real historical society.  The Biblical literature is a product of that society, the literature’s form and ideas, as well as its descriptions of society and history, offer direct evidence of that society’s culture.  The encouragement of local religious and cultural identities was part of the imperial strategy.

       Israel had a unique family structure.  The several institutions of family such as the nature of the family, marriage, divorce, the role of women etc. differed from pagan societies.  These unique institutions and structures gave Israel its own family identity. Whereas in India, family is the basic unit of a society.  India has a unique family structure, bounded with caste and religion.  Each caste and religion has their own nature of institutions such as the nature of family, marriage, divorce, the role of women etc. differ from religion to religion and caste to caste.      

     Various Biblical passages depict that the family was an important component of the Israelite society, which has some unique family identity of the Israelite nation, solidarity to family and tribal organizations, together with family customs were of vital importance. Indian society also has a unique caste identity, with varied culture and tradition.  But, living with solidarity, communal harmony, united under the banner of Indians is the vital importance.

     The institutions of marriage was monogamous marriage with a polygamous nature.  The men had one lawful wife, but also several concubines.  The marriage was sanctioned by the payment of the mohar.  Choosing a bride was a very special occasion.  The link in the family bloodline was of vital importance.  Brides were the continuation of the family blood genealogy and also wealth circulated within the family.  Indian constitution allowed monogamy, which means one man  one wife as stated in the Bible, not allowed to live with concubines, which is the special feature of Indian society. If any man living with other woman without the permission of the first wife is considered as offence and adultery and all other practices alike Israelite society.

     With the institution of marriage, there was also the institution of divorce.  This right was granted to the man.  He had the right to discontinue his marriage.  However, there were certain restrictions.  The issuing of a ‘get’ (a certificate of divorce), guaranteed the woman her freedom to remarry.  In India, man and woman had the right to discontinue his or her marriage for a valued reason. After getting legal separation, both had the right to remarry.

     The women in the Israelite society also had a unique identity in comparison to the surrounding countries.  However, these family structures were soon to be challenged.  When the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, several mixed marriages were contracted, i.e. marriages to foreign women.  The contracting of mixed marriages brought influences of mixed cultures, mixed religions, mixed morality, mixed family structure etc.  It also began to fragment the original unique family identity created within the Israelite society. In India the converted Christians mixed with other community or religious people, several mixed marriages were contracted, which began to fragment the original unique family identity.

      This study may conclude that religion played a vital role in reconstructing society and enhance the independence of a women based on religious thoughts, amendment required in code of law according to the requirement of changes in the society,  Williamson stated that ‘the treatment described in Ezra of how he tackled the problem of mixed marriages is among the least attractive parts of Ezra and Nehemiah, if not the whole of Old Testament’.   Similarly Clines was appalled by the personal misery brought into so many families by the compulsory divorce of foreign wives and outraged at Ezra’s insistence on racial purity, which is uncongenial to modern liberal thoughts. Mixed marriages, divorce are unavoidable, accept the reality and act positively by inculcating the moral values based on religion, which help to maintain gender equality and develop peaceful society.