532 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
produce unhappiness and disruption in families where divorce is not prevalent. In these days of easy approach to the law Courts, it would be the wealthy classes that would seek the so-called advantages of this procedure rather than the poorer classes. Therefore, divorce, if it is to be provided, must be provided with the consent of the people. At any rate the second marriage may be permitted with the consent of the first wife under special circumstances. Polygamy is fast dying out and should not be stepped by legislation. This may lead to divorce proceedings, or a man may cross over to Pakistan or to Burma, or to Malaya or to other places and take a second wife and come back. So if society is not sufficiently advanced and educated and sufficiently alive to the need of monogamy and divorce, a provision of this nature would not be accepted by them and would lead to evasions in many cases. Court proceedings should not therefore be encouraged. Again, if divorce proceedings are frequent, it will lead to considerable amount of unhappiness.
Shri Khurshed Lal (Deputy Minister of Communications): May I know if divorce is so bad, then would the honourable Member support the abolition of divorce in Muslim law ?
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : Although a Member of the Select Committee, the honourable Member was absent from the House when this matter was argued earlier. I think the honourable Member should concern himself more with further increase in the rate on postcards than intervening in the debate in a scrappy manner. This matter has already been very elaborately argued out in the absence of the honourable Member.
Shri Khurshed Lal : Is ‘postcards’ relevant in this ?
Mr. Deputy Speaker : It is better that we divorce ourselves from ‘postcards’!
Shri Ramnath Goenka (Madras : General): I think you should move for changing the Shariat Law !
Mr. Deputy Speaker : Let there be no personal remarks. One remark of such a nature always leads to another.
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad : Removal of the Shariat Law would interfere with the existing law. The introduction of monogamy and divorce among the Hindus would be an interference with the existing law. Therein lies the difference between the two. In fact you must not readily interfere with accepted law and therefore the analogy of the Muslim law should not be applied.