DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 519
Mediterranean difficulties arose because they acquired immovable property. It is a matter of history that they felt the difficulty of a large number of shareholders inheriting the property leading thus to disruption. Then it was that the system of wakf, which we now find today, was thought of. Some passages in the Holi Book were developed by Muslim divines and they tried to develop the law of wakf That was now they wanted to counteract the evil effect of division. In India the law of wakf was further developed by Indian courts and especially by the Privy Council and this to a large extent thwarted the application of the wakf law in domestic purposes. It is well-known that Mr. Jinnah, in 1913, brought a Bill in the House and got an Act passed—the wakf Act—which recognised the validity of certain wakfs which were regular in practice among the Muslims. This was an attempt to counteract the evil effect of infinitesimal divisions. The Muslim approach to the division of property is entirely different. The outlook of a Muslim is individualistic. In fact, the infinitesimal division induces in them separatist tendencies. Brothers do not live in the joint family for long; they quickly divide. We have seen a separatist tendency on a large scale in recent Indian history. So, the approach of a Muslim is individualistic whereas the approach of a Hindu is from the family point of view. The Hindu lives in a family. There the unit is the family and they approach the women’s rights from the point of view of a family. The Muslim approach is different. In fact women in a Hindu family are not unequal to men, the question of inequality as has been pointed out does not really arise; they are equal to men in every way but each has a recognised part in the economy of the Hindu family. That is the way of approach of the question. Although I do not question the authority of this House to legislate on any matter, I question only the propriety of this House entering into this legislation without discussing and going into details of the system under which the Hindu civilisation has lived. The position of a Hindu widow should be considered from that angle and if on adequate consideration it appears that the system is rotten, it is for the Hindu society to change it. It is not for me to change it. It is up to me only to point out certain things which come to my mind as a member of the Legislature; it is not my vote that will carry; the vote of the majority will carry. I have a duty to submit certain points as they appear to me. I submit therefore that the Hindu law is not unjust to the female. It has done full justice to the female considering her as a part of the family system where she has a part