510 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
practice. There was no provision in the original Bill for registration of a sacramental marriage as a condition of the validity of the marriage. I shall try to show that the Departmental Bill has introduced such changes. They
may be unconscious but the change to me appears to be that no marriage will be valid unless it is registered. Registration has not been made optional as in the case of Muslims, but in this case by the Departmental Bill the optional character of the old formalities have been interfered with and the validity has been made subject to registration; otherwise, as I shall try to
show, the marriage would be invalid.
The original Bill, Part IV dealt with this subject. In clause 2 it was laid down that there shall be two forms of Hindu marriage, namely, the
sacramental marriage and the civil marriage. Leaving aside the civil marriage, with which I am not at present concerned, “there shall be two forms of Hindu marriage—sacramental marriage and civil marriage”. That is what was provided in the original Bill. The forms were left to the wellknown custom and well-known requirements of Hindu marriage and provide
nothing for registration. The House will be pleased to consider the corresponding provisions in the Departmental Bill. The original Bill merely said that the sacramental form of marriage will be one of the forms of marriage. Details were left to the descretion of the parties.
In Clause 6 of the Departmental Bill which also corresponds to Clause
6 of the final Bill, the following provision is made.
“Save as otherwise expressly provided herein, no marriage between Hindus shall be recognised as a valid marriage unless it is solemnized either as a sacramental marriage or as a civil marriage in accordance with the provisions of this Part.”
The original provision was that marriage might be performed in the sacramental form in the usual religious form well known to Hindu society, but in the departmental Bill it is said that no marriage shall be valid unless it is performed in accordance with this Part.
Let us consider the provisions of this Part. We come at once to another part of the Bill, namely, clause 6 of part IV of the original Bill corresponding to clause 9 of the departmental Bill as well as the
final Bill. ( An honourable Member: ‘Please note that Dr. Ambedkar is away.’) Clause 9 deals with registration of sacramental marriage. In the original Bill it was stated : “For the purpose of facilitating proof of sacramental marriage, rules may be prescribed for the entering of