A Legal Discourse on Domestic Violence in India

I. Introduction
A. Domestic violence
A cursory study of Indian statutes surrounding
the rights of women shows that a lot of change
have taken place in our relatively young legal
system. The constitutional forefathers of India
had in their hand the task of making law for a
country where people will be free, equal and in
peace after years of oppression. They had at their
disposal a country that had been through famine2,
economic breakdown3 and bloody revolution4.
At a time when a married man and his wife
were considered to be one legal entity – that of
the husband – women had a difficult time getting
aid in case of the abuse of their rights. For
instance, the propouxnders of legal principles in
the ancient Hindu system were openly against the
notion of allowing women the rights accorded to
men5.