Mary Roy

Mary Roy

, from Kerala, is a crusader for equal property rights for Syrian Christian women. Daughters used to be entitled to a quarter of the son's share, or Rs 5000, whichever was less, if the father died intestate. In 1986, in response to a court case initiated by Mary Roy, the Supreme Court ruled that daughters were entitled to an equal share in their father's property. And what's more, they made it retroactive. Roy suffered ostracism and opposition during and after this case. A controversial and somewhat paradoxical figure, she founded the Corpus Christi school in Kottayam which offers a liberal, Western-leaning education. Of late, she has gained more attention as the mother of Arundhati Roy whose novel, The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize in 1997.

Newsclips & Links

Mary Roy is a celebrity in her own right. Mini-biography and article, from Rediff.

Who is Ammu?. Is Mary Roy the Ammu of Arundhati's novel? Rediff.

An interview with Mary Roy, from Rediff.

Divorce and Christian marriages in India