430 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
old system has stood the test of time. The change might suit my province, but not all India. I do not want that this Mitakshara law of inheritance should be scrapped in favour of one which is neither the Mitakshara law of inheritance nor the Dayabhaga law. It is a hybrid mixture of both which is conducive to the welfare of none, tending to bring about the disintergation and downfall of Hindu society as it will completely unsettle a well settled order of things.
I think I have exhausted the patience of the House and must bring my speech to a close. ( Honourable Members : ‘No, no’) I have dealt with inheritance, I have dealt with marriage. I feel that those two branches of Hindu law which are sought to be drastically amended should get fuller consideration. But it will be a tragedy for India, for the Hindu society, if in the name of reform, you uproot the Hindus from their safe and ancient moorings which have protected them from the stress and storm of centuries. Let me again repeat that our Shastras, besides making elaborate provisions for all matters of social life, left a wide field to wellestablished local customs and usages. They have been very salutary in their effect, as stabilizing forces in society. If we ignore them and make a fetish of codification we will cast Hindu Law into a mould absolutely inflexible, rigid and cast iron; we will be importing into it unncessarily a character which never belong to it. We will be transforming it into something, which will never be able to adjust itself to the needs of times, as it has been in the past.
Sir, before I conclude, I will touch on the argument which has been advanced here also, but which has been very lightly brushed aside by those who do not like it. It has been argued—and I believe perfectly rightly—that this Legislature is not competent to deal with it.
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi: Legally incompetent ?
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra: Yes. I feel that it is not competent. In any case, if you take shelter behind legal formation, I will tell you, morally you have absolutely no justification for passing this Code. I know this objection was raised not only from people like us, but by people very highly placed in the political life of this country, by people with high political stature ; for instance, by a man of the eminence and standing of the Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the President of the Indian Constituent Assembly, the sovereign body by which in season and out of season, we are all swearing. I want to know whether or not his views deserve our best consideration. Personally, I have very great respect for him. He is not only the uncrowned