574 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
to safeguard her interests. They can get valuable rights in the property of their husband, in the property of their father-in-law.
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi (Madras: General) : We have already given that.
Pandit Mukut Bihari Lal Bhargava : If that is already given than, there is absolutely no necessity to give her a share in the patrimony. Even as I understand the law, a right of a limited character has been given; you can certainly widen that and give the daughter a right equal to that of her husband in her father-in-law’s property. That is a very good suggestion which we can consider.
Now, Sir, I come to the other important change in this revolutionary piece of legislation : I mean the disruption of the joint family status. A very important feature is that under section 86 of this Bill, no court of law will hereafter be entitled to take cognisance of the right by birth. I shudder to think of the evil consequences flowing from this provision. It is said that Bengal, and Assam are already governed by the Dayabhaga system of law which does not recognise the joint family status, under which every family member occupies a position of equality. Does it mean that this system should be extended to the whole of India ? If five crores of people are governed by this system, and twenty crores by the other system, is there any justification of law for extending the law of the five crores to the other twenty crores ? I say this is absolutely wrong. My submission is that the right of acquisition by birth is a valuable right of a Hindu son. It is a right which provides against the prodigality and spendthrift character of the father. It is this valuable right that has saved the properties of so many thousands of Hindu families. It is this right that is being done away with by this disastrous piece of legislation, in section 86. Not only this; section 87 provides that every joint family will have a compulsory disruption on the coming into effect of this unique piece of legislation. Why should there be a compulsory partition ? My submission is that these provisions are not of a simple character; they are of a revolutionary and radical character and there is absolutely no reason why changes of this enormous character should come into existence.
Then I come to the very important provision, incorporated in the Bill about what is known as dissolution of marriage. The clause that deals with this is clause 30. It lays down the grounds upon which dissolution can take place. The other clause relevant is clause 33 which