602 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
rest of the world. That is not the idea. But the codification of the Law is one thing and amendment of it is another. This Bill seeks to do two things. We want to codify the law and amend its provisions. So far as codification is concerned, I understand it means that we want to remove the anomalies. At the present moment we have got so many systems of law prevalent. There is Dayabhaga in certain parts, there is Mitakshara in certain other parts, and the Bombay school has its own distinctive features. And there is what is called Marumakkattayam in certain parts of South India. But the areas where they are prevalent have also become well-defined, and there is a certain amount of stability. Therefore, if we proceed first with the task of codifying the law as it stands at present in these well-defined areas, that itself will not only bring about uniformity but it will also lead to a process of amendment, at a later stage. Mere codification of the law as it stands will also not evoke much controversy, because that is the existing law. Irrespective of the question that it has been modified by the courts consisting of British judges, there is a certain stability about it. Therefore, if we only confine ourselves to codification I think, much of the opposition that we see at the present moment will not be there. Not only that. If we do the codification only, we will secure the good will of the people and I believe that it will facilitate the amendment of the Hindu Code for certain other matters and by gradual stages subsequently. But the amendment of the existing law in the way it is tried to be done is another matter. Codification and amendment of the law have been hanging fire for the last so many years. In my view if we had proceeded with the codification only as a first step, the law would have been codified long ago. Ever since the Rau Committee was appointed, evidence was taken and so many Reports and so many Bills were formulated. But they tried to do two things simultaneously, namely, codification as well as amendment. Naturally, both have remained unfulfilled. If they had confined themselves to codification only, it would have been done long back and the stage would now have been reached for amendment. That is my view of the matter.
The present Bill deals, as I said, with three distinct matters, namely, marriage, inheritance and succession. Let us see what the basic idea of our society is. With the impact of modem ideas, modern education and modern methods of life the question of equality of sexes has naturally been agitating the minds of people, particularly of the