Family is one of the main socializing institutions of the society and basis of which is cooperation among the family members. According to Pope, “the family is more sacred than the State.” It was pointed out by Will and Ariel Durant that the family is nucleus of civilization. Household share a dogmatic belief in the rules, traditional practices & custom which prescribed rules of conduct, duties and obligations towards each other and the society. The property owned by an individual can be classified only as ancestral or self-acquired.

The ancestral property or the joint family property is the subject matter of the partition and is best described as passing down of the property to a Hindu person by his three immediate ancestors, that is, father, grandfather and the great grandfather. A Hindu Joint Family comprises of the lineal descendants and their dependants originating from a common ancestor.

The underlying essence of a joint family is the way that it follows its beginning back to one common ancestor and with the addition and deaths of family members, joint families can continue till eternity. Joint family status is ordinarily the result of birth or affiliation by adoption or marriage and need not be linked with possession of joint family property The broad concept of property ownership dominates the unique Hindu Joint Family system.

To explain, the court in Anurago Kuer vs Darshan Raut (1938) 40 BOMLR 758, ruled out that Partition is a matter of individual volition and reduce the members to the position of tenant-in-common requiring only a definite, unequivocal intention on the part of the member/s to separate and enjoy his share in absolute severalty. The partition does not annul the family or relations and does not disturb the right incidental to such relations, such as, right to inherit

Argument In Favour
While examining matters like partition it is important to take broadest view of the matter for the interest of families is and regard to considerations that viewing it as a transaction between persons not members of the same family, would not be considered. In simple words Partition are governed by principles which are not applicable to dealings between strangers. After partition also the Indian people keep intact the family attachment and live their traditional morality.

Householders consider themselves duty bound to participate in ceremonial celebrations like marriage, birthday, religious and other family function. Such participation keeps the joint family feelings alive. Partition be a security that a person inherits from his ancestors, a right from birth served later.

It be considered a gift that a Karta forwards on to his descendants. Partition allows the members have their equal share. The comfort of jointness of a family become home for idlers and drones as the non-earning members who lives without exhausting themselves. While other members exhaust themselves earning for the family some lead a life of utter lethargy. A Hindu family is presumed to be joint in food, worship, and state. It is not favourable to large accumulation of capital.

When one has got to share his/her income with large family, saving is not much. The property of the family being jointly owned is occasionally allowed to go waste. Despite the social practices that shackled women, gender neutral inheritance law has motivated women asserting their inheritance right.

The 2005 amendment act in the Hindu succession act,1956, proclaimed daughter of a Mitakshara Coparcener is a now a coparcener. Not being a coparcener, a woman could not be a Karta of a Hindu Undivided Property prior to 2005 amendment. Therefore, she stands on equal footing with the son of a coparcener and can demand for partition and share equal to that of a son.

Argument Against
As the society has progressed, members determination to keep the householders cohesive and keep up the spirit of sharing and caring alive is declining, there is low articulate demarcation regarding ownership of a property. The underlying scenarios that stimulate partition actions revolve around a range of possible owner interests. Ownership of property in a tenancy in common involving individuals with kinship relations to each other may take on many configurations.

The second, a reconcilable interest includes a co-owner or co-owners who have different interests in disposition of the property, however they fail to reach a series of negotiated terms that are completely satisfactory. The tension between the relationships increases especially when question of adoptive and illegitimate relations come into the picture.

Often it is observed that full birth relations try to dominate half blood and uterine blood relations. Such Family conflicts may escalate physical abuse or injury to the family members and future relationships are compromised. The most common differences and family disputes in a family are a consequence of inequitable distribution of wealth among family members. Householders approach the court to obtain a decree for working out the resultant severance and allotting definite share.

Joint family and disputes in the modern era have become an ordinary sight in the courts of law. The ancient system generally treated property acquired by family members as joint family property. History of India is the evidence of our old customary practice of passing down the ancestral property to the successors, but as the society and concept of recognition of the members of the family has evolved so has the concept of rules of inheritance.

Conclusion
Just like a double-faced coin, partition has two sides. It would be inappropriate to say that concept of partition is a threat to the social fabric of India. The one single objective partition is to bring an end to the dispute among the family members and to avoid any prolonged litigation which could have been avoided in the first place. The expectation is to preserve the amity among family members and the sanctity of the relations which the family members share.

Efforts ought to be made from the grass-root level to eliminate the difficulties in the way of implementation of the partition law. Both the society and legislature ought to make genuine endeavours to get positive outcomes from it.