DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 589
codification of existing Hindu law. ( An Honourable Member: Question). You may question it, but I think Sir B. N. Rau is a far greater legal authority than the hon. Member.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : That is absolutely no argument. He may be or not. I can understand an argument—but this sort of talk I cannot stand.
Mr. Deputy Speaker : Order, order.
Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra : But what is the meaning in arguing that such and such a man is far above anybody else here ? Is that any argument ?
Mr. Deputy Speaker : There is no meaning in all hon. Members talking simultaneously. Each hon. Member will have his turn and I am prepared to sit here as long as the House wants me to.
So far as the hon. Member’s reference to Sir B. N. Rau is concerned, he probably meant that he was a Judge of the Calcutta High Court and it is not unparliamentary to say that the opinion of a particular person is highly valuable. Even as an individual the hon. Member perhaps meant that he knows him much better than any other Member of the House.
The Honourable Shri K. Santhanam : Sir, I merely stated that Sir B. N. Rau is a better legal authority than the questioner.
Sjt. Rohini Kumar Chaudhuri : On a point of order, Sir, Hindu Law is absolutely and intimately connected with Hindu religion. Can anyone tolerate the idea of a non-Hindu being an authority on Hindu Law and principles ?
Mr. Deputy Speaker : I can well appreciate differences of opinion among hon. Members. But there is no room for excitement. Let there be patience first and all hon. Members will certainly contribute to the debate in a harmonious atmosphere.
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi : The hon. Member who just now interrupted seems to say that Shri B. N. Rau is not a Hindu ; it is an insinuation which should not be allowed. Shri B. N. Rau is not here and it is your duty, Sir, to protect him.
Mr. Deputy Speaker : I am not in a position to say to what religion any particular person belongs. I do not know it personally. But I expect hon. Members to keep within limits, and because they have got certain privileges, they should not defame others. They should keep within limits, and if an hon. Member makes an aspersion, it will be wrong.