DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 419
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi: We protest the use of the word ‘incestuous’. It is very wrong to condemn outright a system which is prevailing in large parts of the country. It is a reflection on a whole province.
Mr. Chairman : Order, order.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : Therefore, I cannot but raise my voice of protest against such a system, because I believe that marriage between first cousins is not conducive to the well being of society from the biological and engenic points of view and is opposed to the notions of Hindu Law.
L. Krishnaswami Bharathi: No, no.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra: Thus, not only from the point of view of society, but also for the peace and purity of family life, I want that this should be condemned. It is immoral and outrageous. . Sir, my honourable sister, Durgabai, said quite rightly, that monogamy should not be opposed. I do not know of any honourable Member in this House who really does not want monogamy. Monogamy everyone of us want, not for our mere likes ; circumstances have forced us to accept this monogamous marriage. It is a fact. Polygamy has passed away completely from the upper classes of this country not by legislation. That is my main contention. If you want to eradicate a social evil you should work up from within, not from above. If my honourable friends look to the history of this country, they will find my position amply proved. We all know the miseries and sufferings of Hindu widows. There are so many cases of child and young widows which break our hearts or at any rate it ought to break our hearts. In fact, in the past generation, the late Pandit Vidyasagar of hallowed memory was so much moved by it that he got passed the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act. But the country was not prepared for it and what was the result ? The Act virtually became a dead letter and has remained so till now. That is bound to be the fate of all social legislation which have not originated from a demand from within the society.
I was telling the house that polygamy has virtually disappeared from the country for a variety of reasons such as a growing sense of responsibility in conjugal life, Growing consciousness among womanhood and above all the interplay of all manner of forces, most important of which is economic, which makes it impossible to indulge in the luxury of having many wives at the same time. Therefore, I