DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 31
that the consent of the guardian must be obtained. If the consent of the guardian had been obtained by means of fraud or force, that marriage can be deemed to be invalid, but if the consent had not been obtained at all, then why should not the marriage be deemed to be invalid? On the contrary it has been laid down that the marriage will not be deemed to be invalid merely for this reason. This is the one defect which should be considered by the Select Committee.
Another point which I have to mention is in regard to ‘Succession’ and which Mrs. Hansa Mehta has just referred to in her speech. But I do not see eye to eye with the views expressed by her and am of the opinion that the manner in which the order of succession has been prescribed ignores the fundamental tenets of Dharam Shastras (Hindu Code of Law). I do not mean that the women should not be given any rights. I am of the opinion that, they have been given more rights here than men. I may point out that while a daughter gets a share both in her patrimony and the property of her husband’s family, there does not exist any such provision in this Bill which gives a man a share in the property of his father-in-law in addition to his patrimony. The men are thus, being subjected to the same injustice which has uptil now been done to the women. On the contrary, it can be argued that the share which his wife will get in her patrimony will make up the deficiency. But after considering objects underlying the Bill and the worldly conditions which have necessitated it, it is felt that the real problem remains unsolved. The reason for this is that the property which a woman acquires out of her patrimony shall be treated as her Stridhana and her husband will have no right to that, therefore, he will not derive any particular benefit from this. In this way, I submit this second point for consideration by the Select Committee which is very essential.
I have yet to say another thing. Whatever may be the differences between the tenets of Dharam shastra and the present day conditions, I feel that we must follow the fundamental principles propounded therein; and keeping these in view we should decide all the issues. We should make only those changes which are considered necessary in view of the present conditions and trend of the society. We should not resort to introduce any change merely under excitement or in imitation of the western civilisation which may obstruct the growth of our society and produce some sort of difficulties that may not be desirable.