More and more women are breaking old traditions and keeping their maiden name and surname after marriage, legal minds speak on the process and complexities

xFor generations, a woman’s surname after marriage was rarely a subject open for debate. In most societies, including India, taking the husband’s last name was an automatic step, folded into the rituals of matrimony. But today, an increasing number of women are sticking to their maiden name and surname after marriage. The once “unquestioned” surname change is becoming a site of personal negotiation, legal clarity, cultural friction and increasingly, an individual choice.

Mere Tradition, Not Law

Surname change after marriage is not mandated by law in India. You find no clause or section asking you to do so. The courts have repeatedly

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