The first of two-volumes on the subject, this book provides an in-depth analysis of family laws while exploring the overlaps and contradictions in them. It reviews the legal history of personal laws of the colonial and post colonial periods and their application in contemporary matrimonial law. The ground level litigation practices are interwoven with the framework of statutory provisions, which in turn provide an entry point into the rights discourses and social movements. The book discusses cases, Acts, and amendments, and unravels legal complexities. The concern of the book is to weave women's realities into legal theories and position women's claims within the Constitution to highlight the lacunae in laws and to analyse their effectiveness at the ground level.