402 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
illiterate but may I ask you how many men are literate? Three out of four men continue to be illiterate today ( An honourable Member: ‘Nine out of ten’.) Therefore, the relative advantage enjoyed by men is confined only to one in four of the male population ( An honourable Members : ‘they are the sons of their mothers.’) and is should also be remembered that the percentage of literacy among women is rising very much faster today than it is among men ( Shri H. V. Kamath : ‘Question.’). With regard to the quantum of her share I have already stated the position of the Select Committee. We have recommended an equal share to the daughter. I appeal to you that you should be generous enough to endorse the recommendation made by the Select Committee without any hesitation on your part. I will now come to another subject, namely monogamy. However much I wish to speak on this subject, I do not do it because of the limited time at my disposal. Not only that, but this has been dealt with amply by the honourable the Law Minister and also by several other speakers. Many arguments have been put forward on economic and social and other grounds; even religion and spiritualism have been sought in aid to support their arguments. But feelings were expressed in a very light hearted manner: if only a man is healthy and wealthy, why not he marry and marry again! Also, that if the rule of monogamy is enforced many Hindus will become Muslims in order to secure the benefits of polygamy! I need not answer this question because I have found one lady witness very ably and effectively answering tills point. She said that if the rule of monogamy is not enforced, it may be that women will become Ciiristians in order to secure the benefits of monogamy, but neither of them I think is serious.
Shri B. Das (Orissa : General): Do you think a Christian woman is happier than a Hindu woman?
Shrimati G. Durgabai: As the honourable the Law Minister has already stated, the force of world opinion and the practices prevailing in the whole world are there and they are in favour of monogamy. Therefore, I need not deal with this matter any more.
Neither have I time nor is it desirable for me to take the other aspects of the Bill because there are other Members who will deal with the questions like marriage and divorce; but I only wish to say something on co-parcenary. The distinction between Mitakshara and Dayabhaga came as a result of the different interpretations put by the commentators and other interpreters. Fundamentally, the basis of