Hey all!
I am looking for some serious advice to help my mother get a fair share for her maintenance and property which is rightfully hers. My mother (and I) belongs to Himachal Pradesh/ Shimla District and my father comes from Kinnaur ( a District in H.P.), which is a Tribal District (and tribal laws). My mother married my father in 1983, and had me a year after. However, my father was previously also married to my mother's sister and had 4 children out of that marriage. As it is a part of culture and isn't considered awkward two wives are often seen living with one husband in a local Himachali household. I have two older step brothers (both married with children now) and two older step sisters (both married with children) and one younger real sister which my mother had with my father in 1992. Ever since I was a little girl, I saw my father abuse (emotionally/ mentally NOT physically) my mother and she went through a very tough time with him through out all these years. When my step brothers grew up( they are about 42 and 38 years of age), they started disrespecting her and often abused us little girls too by depriving us of basic things and being very mean.
However, that's in the past. Fortunately I got a very good education, and am married and living abroad. My sister is very young (20) though and lives at a hostel away from my mom. My mother stayed with my father inspite of the trauma she had to suffer (and still suffers). My step mother was my mom's real elder sister but had some health issues before my mom married my father. My step mother died in 2007.
Now the problem is that my father is quite old, doesn't keep well and my step brothers and their wives are very mean with my mother. My father didn't make my mom the beneficiary for the pension money he gets, but made my step mom the legal beneficiary but soon afterwards she died (and I guess one can not change that?). My father also owns land property for apple orchards (in acres) and has a ancestral home in Kinnaur which my younger step brother takes care of. My father also has a residential property in Simla where my mom is living at the moment with my older step brother and his wife and children. But looking at my father’s health and condition (he's about 70 years old now) I fear that soon after my dad dies, my step brothers will throw my mom out of the house and she will be left with nowhere to go and nothing in her hands for her old age. Inspite of how he treated her, my mother has always taken care of my father and never asked for anything in return (which I think was foolish on her part, but her values are conventional too). My father is orthodox and favors his sons more. I do not communicate with him and he doesn't feel any affection of warmth towards me either.
As per the tribal (Kinnaur) laws, a woman does not get any share from her husband's ancestral property but only the sons' do. (I am not sure if I am right on that one, but would love to hear someone knowledgable guide me about it). What I want for my mother and my sister is to have a peaceful yet comfortable life and the house that we have in Shimla and some maintenance money if she can fairly claim it. My father is an ex bureaucrat so the pension money he gets would suffice my mother (she's about 58 years old now) and my younger sister (about 20 years old ) during her old age and also when we have to marry my sister off.
I would really appreciate if anyone can guide me how to go about it and who to approach and what all I can do to help her.
Thanks a lot!
