[HedgeYourBets]

One of the causes for the breaking up of the joint family into smaller nuclear units is, the decline in family values. Previously the elders of the clan / family were held in great respect and they took most of the important decisions for all the members in the family. But due to the influence of western culture, the younger generation started deviating from these values. Women became more empowered and started asserting themselves within the family.

This led to inevitable ego clashes between the older and the younger generations. The elders could not adapt themselves to the changes in the moderan world and expected & demanded the same kind of respect from their sons, which they themselves had shown towards their elders, so many decades ago. The mother-in-law expected her son's wife to show her the same amount of respect which she herself had given to her mother-in-law.

This huge descripancy between the expectations of the elders on one hand, and what were the ground realities lead to an invisible divide between the two generations within the joint famliy setup. This barrier widened further when the sons started leaving the family in search of greener pastures.

And after living in this kind of independent setup, the wives of these sons also got accustomed to their new found "freedom" - of being able to do whatever they want, without the constant "interference" of their in-laws. And were not wiling to settle to living again with their in-laws once the sons returned after earning money and respect.

And thus, the Nuclear familly came into existence !