ABSTRACT
Classical Hinduism has prescribed stages of life: celibacy, family life, resignation and renunciation. With conversion to Islam they have changed their religious faith, but in the socio-cultural spheres of life they continue to have the same basic attitudes as the Hindus. In the village community of Shamirpet, which has considerable variations of caste and class, and significant differences in education and urban contacts, it is only natural to expect great variations in the family ideals and ethics of the different groups. Almost everyone in the village would verbalize the expected husband-wife relationship. The daughter-in-law, coming from a different family and often from a different village, finds herself in totally new surroundings in her husband's home. Social ideals demand that there should be solidarity between siblings, especially between brothers, and that they should 'love and help' one another. Brief mention may be made of certain other categories of relatives who live together in the same house within the joint family.
