UNDESIRABLE HUSBANDS
WHY J ADI AX 'GIRLS AVOID ELDEST SONS. "Wanted —A bridegroom (except the eldest son) belonging - to a respectable family, settled in life for a Maulik girl aged 14, good-looking, healthy, educated, well up in music, knows household duties, knitting, etc. A reasonable dowry will be offered."
The above matrimonial advertisement in an Allahabad newspaper is quoted by Reuter’s correspondent to illustrate the anxiety of Indian parents to prevent their daughters from marrying the eldest son of a family.
The reason is that, under the ancient tradition of the joint family system, the eldest son, next to the father, shares the entire, responsibilities of the family. Even when the father is alive, he gradually abdicates in favour of the eldest son, who is expected to manage the estates, look after his brothers, educate them, and see them established in life, and many off his sisters, which involves months of unceasing worry over the selection of the bridegrooms.
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Bibliographic details
Patea Mail, Volume LIII, 14 March 1932, Page 4
Word Count
159UNDESIRABLE HUSBANDS Patea Mail, Volume LIII, 14 March 1932, Page 4
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