Inheritance is the passage of property to another person upon the death of an individual. A deceased person's property can be inherited by their spouse and direct blood relatives (children, parents and siblings). Inheritance rights, especially those of daughters, are different in different societies. In India, too, inheritance laws operate on different spectrums. Some communities in the north-east observe matrilineal lineage, whilst in other communities, in other areas, there may be certain biases dictating the inheritance rights of sons and daughters.

The Khasi tribe of Meghalaya follows the matrilineal law of inheritance. According to the norms, the youngest daughter of the family stays with the parents and inherits the house. After marriage, she continues to stay with her parents; her husband is expected to shift with her.

Families belonging to the Garo tribe also follow the matrilineal lineage. Alike the Khasi family, the youngest daughter will inherit the property. If there is no female inheritor within the immediate family, the property passes to the daughter of the mother's sister.

For Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh families following the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, the norms have not always been so clear. The act follows the concept of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). The HUF consists of all lineal descendants of a common ancestor. When the act was first introduced in 1956, property rights of sons and daughters were different. While sons had a complete right over their father's property, daughters enjoyed property rights until they got married. This was because the daughter ceased to be a part of the HUF after marriage.

September of 2005 saw an amendment in the act i.e the daughter, whether married or unmarried, is considered a member of her father's HUF and can be appointed as "Karta" or someone who manages the property.

In February 2018, the Supreme Court made another general rule – a daughter, living or dead on the date of the amendment, will be entitled to share in father's property, thus making her children also eligible to claim this right. Even after marriage, the daughter continues to be a coparcener in the HUF and, thus, demand partition of the said property. In case of a married daughter who has died, her children shall be entitled to her share as applicable on the day of partition.

Muslims are governed under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937. This law deals with their personal matters as well as matters of property inheritance. Under the law, a daughter's right of inheritance is half of the son's share to their father's estate. She has full control over her share of property and has the legal right to manage and dispose of her share as per her wish.

The succession and inheritance laws for the Christian and Parsi communities are dictated by the Indian Succession Act, 1925. In a Christian family, sons and daughters inherit equally. The property rights of the Parsi community also make sons and daughters equally eligible for inheritance.

However, while the laws are in place on paper, the Indian women still face inheritance-related biases and struggles. There is a dire need to effectively implement strict laws, and simultaneously, efforts must be made to make women economically independent and aware of their rights.