DMK criticises Uttar Pradesh for 35-year delay in property rights for women

Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK on Thursday (September 11) criticised Uttar Pradesh as "lagging behind" for only now considering legislation that would grant married daughters equal rights in the agricultural lands of their fathers. The party noted that this development comes 35 years after the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi amended the Hindu law in the state to ensure equal property rights for women.

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Karunanidhi’s 1989 reform

In an editorial published on September 11, the DMK’s official mouthpiece Murasoli pointed out that Uttar Pradesh has "only now realised" what the late DMK patriarch had already implemented in 1989, 35 years ago, through the Hindu Succession Act (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, which provided women with equal rights to family property.

It further said that a resolution demanding equal property rights for daughters was passed as early as 1927, during the first conference of non-Brahmin youth in the then Madras Presidency.

"A resolution demanding property rights for women was passed in 1927 in the first conference of non-Brahmin youths of the Chennai presidency. That conference demanded equal property rights for girl children in Hindu families, similar to the rights enjoyed by boys," the editorial said.

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Gender equality in property inheritance

The editorial traced the roots of this reformist thinking to Periyar EV Ramasamy, who began advocating for women’s property rights nearly a century ago.

It recalled that Periyar passed a resolution in 1929 seeking property rights for women, and that the reformist leader had begun campaigning for it even before that.

In 1928, a similar resolution demanding equal rights for women in family properties was adopted at a conference presided over by Periyar, and again in 1929 at the Chengalpet conference, reinforcing the demand for gender equality in property inheritance.

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UP 'lags behind'

Murasoli noted that Uttar Pradesh is now reportedly preparing to pass a law to provide married daughters with a share in their fathers’ agricultural property. The editorial argued that this move only highlights how far the state has been "lagging behind" on gender rights, citing reports from a Tamil daily which quoted the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006, and the long-standing demand to amend its provisions to include women.

The editorial also referred to the landmark judgement delivered by the Supreme Court on August 11, 2020, led by Justice Arun Mishra, which upheld equal property rights for daughters under the Hindu Succession Act.

While acknowledging that Uttar Pradesh’s shift towards progressive reform has come rather late, Murasoli "welcomed" the move, stating that it is better that it is happening now than not at all. At the same time, it warned that conservative forces would likely oppose such a change and called on the Uttar Pradesh government to overcome such resistance and ensure women are granted their rightful share in property inheritance.