22 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
I welcome every aspect of this Bill. If there are defects which are obvious here and there I daresay they will be remedied by all the distinguished personalities whose names have been mentioned in connection with the formation of the Select Committee. I have taken a little more time than necessary. Perhaps, I can hold forth for hours together. I have got the experience of 68 years covering a careful study of all kinds of conditions and I would have liked very much to continue except for the fact that today’s time is limited and we must apply the guillotine at 7 O’clock and some of our sisters and brothers are very anxious to speak and I am also anxious to hear them.
- Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad (West Bengal : Muslim): Sir, I am in the most unfortunate position of having been charged with the communication of certain views which have been entrusted to me by some of my friends. They are some criticisms of the Bill. I must however assure the House that personally I would fully support the Bill. Its provisions are largely in accord with the laws which prevail in my own community and the Bill tries to do absolute justice to all regardless of practical results. It is however, with some amount of nervousness that I have risen to speak. When I find that sturdy members of the House who would have spoken against the Bill have quailed before a powerful array of five distinguished members of the fair sex, ready to stand to their guns, little courage can I muster in giving out the views which I am charged to communicate.
Sir, the Honourable the Law Minister has not told us anything about the opinions that have been collected and printed in the pamphlets which have been circulated to us. They were made available to us at a very late stage. If it was desired that Honourable Members should read them, analyse them and tell the House the result of their analysis I think the time is too short. There is a pamphlet the Report of the Hindu Law Committee which contains a large number of opinions. I am sorry this was not circulated amongst the members. ( An Honourable Member : “It was circulated”). It was not. This book was not circulated.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : It was kept in the Library for a very long time.
*C.A. (Leg.) D., Vol. IV, 9th April 1948, pp. 3639-42.