748 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
move; what are the conditions under which they should live. They are pearls. I do not understand why there should be objection to the woman getting equal share in all amentities that are given by God to the human beings.
Some of the members who preceded me said that the time is not opportune. This measure has been before the country ever since the resolution of the Central Assembly was adopted on 20th January 1944. This Hindu Code has reached the nook and corner of India and not only educated men but the masses in general have understood the theme of this legislation. I do not know whether such members, as told the House that it is not competent to deal with this Bill, are talking with a sense of their responsibility to the country. I do not know whether members of this Assembly who have the proud privilege to produce a Constitution for thirty crores of people, which has been welcomed not only in India but in foreign countries, are not competent to deal with this Bill for the uplift of women in this country. We have clearly laid down in the Fundamental Right of the Constitution that the State shall not discriminate on grounds only of “religion, caste, sex....”. We have got again Article
15 (3) which says that “Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.” Again in Article 46, it is stated : “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people……” do not women come under this category, and ought they not to be protected? After all, this legislation is a permissible one and ought to be welcomed by everybody.
If you study the rules regarding marriage, inheritance, adoption and all these things of Hindus in the different provinces, you will find that they are not the same. They differ in many places. In the Constitution we have said that we must evolve a common Civil Code. This legislation is, in my opinion, the forerunner before we come to that stage. I come from a district where there are a lot of hill tribes. Their marriage ceremonies, laws of inheritance etc. differ substantially from those of Hindus, although they profess to be Hindus. Among the picturesque Toda aboriginal community, there is poligamy and due to this social evil the community is dwindling. The ceremonrials of the other tribal community of Badagas also differ from those of Hindus, although they profess to be Hindus. The custom among them is that when a man wants to marry a girl, he has to pay dowry— what they call Thiraipanam. After that, if the woman wants to go away from the husband and if another man were to pay the same dowry i. e., Thiraipanam, the woman is free to choose another man.