The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c9.s1.3

c9.s1.3

[But it is interesting to observe that even under ancient and mediæval conditions the legal sense of Hindus was akin to and approached the "modern" conscience in both these postulates of civic existence. Thus, for instance, the emancipation of the individual from the head of the family was effected very early in Hindu law. It is embodied in the institution of inheritance and partition of property *per stirpes* (i. e. per stocks) as opposed to that *per capita* (i. e. per head).¹