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.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only statement 2 is correct. Under Mitakshara a son gets a share in joint family property by birth, so he can claim it in his father's lifetime; under Dayabhaga he gets no right by birth and inherits only after his father's death. The two schools differ by region and by this rule, not by caste or by the sex of the property-holders.
- ✗ 1. The schools are regional, not caste-based: Dayabhaga applies in Assam, Bengal and Tripura, and Mitakshara in the rest of India.
- ✓ 2. In Mitakshara, sons, grandsons and great-grandsons acquire an interest in the joint property by birth. In Dayabhaga, there is no right by birth; the son inherits only on his father's death.
- ✗ 3. Both schools govern the property of a Hindu family. What separates them is when a son's right begins and where each applies, not a split between male-only and male-and-female property.
Remember · Mitakshara: son's right by birth (most of India). Dayabhaga: no birthright, son inherits after father's death (Bengal, Assam, Tripura).
Sources
- Sikkim Judicial Academy (Justice Arindam Mukherjee, Calcutta High Court) — Session 2: Hindu succession ↗ “The existing of Dayabhaga coparcenary comes only after the death of the father, by that the son will inherit the property of him and constitute a coparcenary. … in this school there is no right by birth given to son. Son can inherit the property on his father’s death.”
- Partition Suits (judicial training material, s3waas.gov.in) ↗ “Only in Assam, Bengal and Tripura Dayabhaga Law is applicable and remaining states of India Mithakshara Law is applicable. … It includes only those persons who acquire by birth an interest in the joint or coparcenery property.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·