Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.57

c7.s1.57

We have referred to the power of the master of a slave which extended to the right of conferring a slave in marriage. These powers of the head of an establishment extended in varying degrees over its members. The patriarchal idea permeated the whole social system and superseded the original spirit of the laws and customs of matrimony. The master of a slave had his prototype in the Sultan in relation to his household (which we have described earlier) and in a father in relation to his children. Under these conditions entirely new meanings were given to the marriage laws. The original liberty of choice began to react in adverse proportion to the degree of relationship, until finally the social intercourse of the sexes came to be confined purely to those who were *Mahrams* or of the same *Gotra*, i.e. who could never marry under any circumstances.