Marriage and the Issue of Conversion under Muslim Personal Law during the Colonial Period

The marriage laws of many communities either originate or receive sanction from religious scriptures and are legitimised through religious rules and rituals. Different religions differ on different counts on the notion and nature of marriage. Yet, even before marriage as purely secular contract ofa special kind between two individuals was thought of, ideas of justice, equity and good conscience forced considerable changes to be made through secular legislation (or judicial decision) in the norms governing marriages between members of different communities.