DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 263
a Code intended to consolidate the Hindu society and their laws, it was desirable to impose this condition, namely, that the father shall continue to be the natural guardian so long as he continues to be a Hindu. The Code in its altered form also has introduced another change, namely, that a Hindu widow has been given power to appoint a testmentary guardian if her husband has not appointed anyone. She had not any such power and this power has been given to her by the Select Committe.
Now, Sir, I come to the part of the Bill which deals with succession and I will first refer to changes made in the succession to males. Now so far as what are called the compact series of heirs under the Hindu Law, which are placed in category I by the Rau Committee is concerned, the Select Committee has made no alteration at all. The compact series remains as it is, both in the line of heirs as well as in the order of heirs. That matter has not been altered at all. But with regard to persons which are included in clauses 1 to 4 of the Rau Committee, certain changes have been made both in the matter of the line of succession and also in the matter of priority of succession. The Committee has followed both the principles, namely, propinquity as well as natural love and affection, and it is on that basis that the Select Committee has made certain alterations in the heirs set out in clauses 1 to 4 of the original Bill. The select Committee has also done one thing more : it has curtailed the number of degrees of agnates and cognates who can become heirs to the deceased, and also it has removed the other heirs, such as for instance, heirs which are not related, such as Sam Brahmchari Guru and so on. The reason why the Select Committee has curtailed the number of heirs as provided for in the original Bill is this. We are under this code giving the right to make a will to every Hindu. A line of criticism has been levelled in a very important journal, namely, the journal of Comparative Legislation, in which a very eminent lawyer has made the point that when you give the right to make a will, it is unnecessary to provide such a long list of heirs which extend to the fourteenth degree from the deceased. If the deceased is interested in a man which is related to him in the fourteenth degree and is alive at the time of his death, it is open to him to make a will and to give a part of his property to the particular person in whom he is interested.
If the deceased himself during his lifetime has not chosen to remember a relation who is related to him by the 14th degree there is no particular reason why because of mere intestacy he should be