356 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
only amendment he was moving, I would not have found myself in very great difficulty in accepting his amendment, but he also proposes to remove the words “men and women equally” to which I have considerable objection. I would therefore ask him not to press this particular amendment on the assurance that, when the Constitution is gone through in this House and is remitted back to the Drafting Committee for the consideration of verbal changes, I shall be quite prepared to incorporate his feelings as I can quite understand that “every citizen” is better phraseology than the words “the citizens”.
With regard to his other amendments, viz., substitution of his own clauses for sub-clauses (ii) and (iii) of Article 31, all I want to say is this that I would have been quite prepared to consider the amendment of Professor Shah if he had shown that what be intended to do by the substitution of his own clauses was not possible to be done under the language as it stands. So far as I am able to see, I think the language that has been used in the Draft is a much more extensive language which also includes the particular propositions which have been moved by Professor Shah, and I therefore do not see the necessity for substituting these limited particular clauses for the clauses which have been drafted in general language deliberately for a set purpose. I therefore oppose his second and third amendments.
Mr. Vice-President : I shall now put the amendments to the vote, one by one.
[In all eight amendments were negatived. One was dropped. Only one amendment, that of Mr. Krishnamoorthy Rao was accepted and adopted. Article 31 was accordingly amended and added to the Constitution.]
ARTICLE 31-A
†Mr. Vice-President : Let Mr. Santhanam move.
The Honourable Shri K. Santhanam : Sir, I beg to move :
“That alter article 31. the following new article he added: —
“ 31-A. The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-Government.”
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : Sir, I accept the amendment.
*CAD, (Official Report), Vol. VII, 22nd November 1948, pp. 518-19
† Ibid., p. 520.