Britain's pickle battle makes US Gujaratis think

Thursday, 26 February 2004, 20:30 IST
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Washington, As the great big pickle empire battle rages in Britain - with prominent Gujaratis at the centre of it - the community in the US says little has changed since they stepped off Indian shores. Long held mores within the Gujarati community abroad are being questioned as the daughters of the late Lakshmishanker Pathak, founder of the Patak pickle empire, fight a court battle with their brother in Britain. American Gujaratis say rarely does any family give daughters an equal share or part of family property or business. Though it has been some 40 years since Gujaratis found their way to the US and set up businesses and worked as engineers, doctors, scientists or in other professions, property and marriage norms seem to have remained traditional. Subhash Patel, president of the San Francisco Gujarati Culture Association (GCA), told IANS: "I have been here for 21 years, and haven't seen any changes. Property goes to the son and that's the tradition. "It's up to the parents and it does happen that sometimes some of the property is left to the daughter." The GCA has some 850 members. "The way I've been brought up, normally, when the girl is 'given away', she is given a certain amount of gold. At that time the boys don't ask why so much is given to her. The father divides the rest between the sons," Patel said. But the Patak empire's daughters had originally been given some 12 percent of the shares in the company by their father back in 1974. However, in 1989, their father asked them to sign over the shares to their mother ostensibly because of a tax investigation, the daughters contend in their court statements. Then their mother turned over the shares to the sons, but the daughters say they were supposed to be given back the shares after the investigation. Today, they want their original part-ownership to be restored on grounds that they worked hard to maintain and grow the business and that living in Britain, one must follow the norms of the dominant culture. "Yes, leaving property to the sons is the tradition of Gujarati culture. But all fathers don't follow that strictly," said Dinesh Gandhi, treasurer of the Tampa Bay Gujarati Samaj. "There are always some exceptions. If someone has only one daughter, or nowadays, fathers are so advanced, if the kids are good and follow his instructions, he may make a will regardless of whether it is a boy or girl. Usually, the parents try to give as much wealth during the daughter's wedding since it is mostly arranged marriages." Swapna Shah, president of Gujarati Samaj in Tampa, Florida, concurred and said she agreed with the existing system. "Usually among Gujaratis, we don't get any, the brothers get everything. After our wedding, we should not expect anything from our parents. Whatever they have to give they give at the wedding. That is my view." At the same time, she said, nowadays it is possible that sometimes "boys and girls are treated equally. But it all depends on what relationship there is with the family. In my case, all the property goes to my brother. I cannot even think that after marriage, I could expect anything from my parents. "Even though I am living here for 20 years, my thoughts and views are still like olden times." Arif Osmani, a counsellor from Navsari town near Surat in Gujarat, and a Bharatiya Janata Party member, who was on a visit to the US, said: "Gujaratis, like all Hindus in India, are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act but also the whole Hindu civil code governs everything. According to that, the property is to be given equally to daughters and sons. "In Muslim personal law there are shares laid out. But what happens is that the girls when they get married, so much is given to them." He contended that with fewer joint families and the growth in business, the daughters are as much entitled. "If the daughter is in the business, she may get her share in cash and kind. Now, as a lawyer, I know that most people try to stick to the law." Mahesh Vyas, professional auditor and engineer and executive member of the Triangle Gujarati Association in North Carolina, says: "I would equally divide between my son or daughter, so it depends on a person's preference." "Property is usually given to the wife or spouse, and if the spouse is not surviving then it is split equally among the heirs - daughter and sons. Normally, some families may leave a little more for the son than the daughter, but it's not easy to have a pat answer to this," Vyas conceded. "Gujarati culture does not say you should not treat your children equally. Traditionally, the Hindu culture gives more weight to the son. "But these days daughters do more for their parents than the sons do. The daughter, even though she lives with her new husband, spends more time looking after her parents," Vyas emphasised.
Source: IANS