180 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
the vaguest of the vague words, and it is very difficult to give any positive definition of what is negligence and what is not negligence. If I may refer to what happened during the course of the Civil Disobedience Movement, I think it will give an analogy by which it might be possible for my honourable friend to realise the difficulty which I feel. I believe it is true— I will stand corrected if I am told that I am wrong—that during the Civil Disobedience Movement many civil servants who were in the service of the State and whose children had taken to the Civil Disobedience Movement, were brought under disciplinary action on the ground that they had not justified their duty to the State by seeing that the children did not follow the movement which was subversive of the Government of the day. I think I am right in saying that members who are now sitting opposite did take great objection to that principle, because, if I understand them correctly, their contention was that no parents could be responsible for the conduct of their children, especially if the conduct involved the holding of a certain opinion which may differ very legitimately from the opinion of their parents. My submission is that a child may develop criminal proclivities notwithstanding the fact that the parent has been as careful and as dutiful as ordinarily parents are; and unless the word “neglect” or “connivance” or “conducing” is properly defined, it seems to me that this Bill may lead to consequences which would be far greater than those which probably the Honourable the Home Member himself intends.
My honourable friend Mr. Bramble, who undoubtedly, as one sees from the speech that he made, has devoted special attention to the study of this problem, has pointed out that the English law contains certain anomalies, and that if the English law is to be taken as our model, we ought to take this occasion in order to see that the anomalies which are found in the English law are not introduced in the legislation that we are passing. I have every reason to believe that the statement that he has made is based upon the deepest study, and if that is so and the prestige of the Government does not come in the way, I would join in the request made by the honourable member Mr. Bramble that this Bill could very well be referred to a select committee, where all the points that may be raised either in favour of certain principles or against may be threshed out, so that the Bill may become as perfect as we in this House can make it. With these remarks, I support the first reading of the Bill.
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