Question

The present study…deals with a Muslim biradri (community) called the Multani Lohars. ... Karkhanedar is a vernacular term used for a person engaged in the business of manufacturing of which he is generally the owner…The karkhanas under study operate in domestic conditions and, therefore, have certain pervasive effects on the life of the karkhanedars who work in them. …The following case illustrates this. Mahmood, aged forty years, was living with his two younger brothers, one of whom was married. He had three children and was the head of the complex household. …All the three brothers were employed in various karkhanas and factories as skilled workers. Mahmood successfully fabricated replica of a motor part the import of which had been banned. This greatly encouraged him to start his own karkhana…Later it was decided that two karkhanas should be set up to manufacture the motor part. One was to be owned by the two elder brothers, and the other by the youngest, provided he set up a separate household. Rasheed set up an independent household, consisting of his wife and unmarried children. Therefore, one complex household, comprising three married brothers, gave birth to a simple household as a result of new entrepreneurial opportunities. Excerpted from S.M. Akram Rizvi, ‘Kinship and Industry among the Muslim Karkhanedars in Delhi’, in Imtiaz Ahmad, ed. Family, Kinship and Marriage among Muslims in India, New Delhi, Manohar, 1976, pp. 27- 48.

As per the given passage, a complex household implies which of the following?

विकल्प

• A household with more than one family

• A household with no clear authority figure

• A household with egalitarian decision making

• A household with no married couples

Answer 1

A household with more than one family