434 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
complained that it has not been passed much earlier. As far as I know, this Bill or at least the main provisions of this Bill have been before the house or its predecessor and before the country including the members of the Bar for nearly eight years. It cannot be said by any stretch of imagination that this Bill has taken either this House or the country by surprise.
I well remember in 1945, at the time of the general elections, I was opposed by certain groups precisely because I stood for social reform, because I stood for the codification of the Hindu Law. The very fact that I was elected and I am still here is an indication that I carry the views of my constituency.
A point has been made by my honourable friend Pandit Maitra that this House is not competent to pass a legislation of this character. I think this objection I have heard so often in the course of the last fifteen years that every time when a social reform Bill was before the House, the same objection was raised. With what result, everybody knows. If this House is competent to pass the Constitution for free India, I fail to see how it is not competent to pass this legislation. As if to reinforce the agreement with a personal appeal, my honourable friend Pandit Maitra referred to the views expressed by Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad. I have, and, in fact, every person in this House has, every respect for Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Yet, there is a duty which every member of this House owes to his conscience and to his constituency and to this great country in which he lives above everything, not merely as a legislator, but as a person who visualises the reconstruction of Hindu society and he would be failing in his duty if he were to take into consideration only the personal views of one eminent person or another eminent person. When I say this, I say it in no spirit of disrespect, but because I feel duty is higher than any respect for any individual.
The main point is, has the time not come for the codification of the Hindu law ; has the time not come for the introduction of certain reforms in the system of marriage, adoption, inheritance and all other things which go to constitute what is generally known as the Hindu Law. The sources of Hindu Law are so many. I do not want to dilate on this and I do not want to take much time of the House. But there is a clear case established that there must be some uniformity, some definitions about the interpretation of the law. If the law is not clear, if the law is not uniform, the stability of society suffers. If we have different interpretations of a particular text by half a dozen High Courts, I think the time has come when all this must be put an end to.