896 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Shri R. K. Chaudhuri : Coming to the clause under discussion personally, I would prefer that the provision should remain unchanged, so far as professing the religion is concerned. My hon. friend Dr. Ambedkar and a few others have sought to amend the provision by saying that this Code shall apply to Hindus by religion. It is very difficult for anybody to prove that he is by religion a Hindu. What does the word ‘religion’ indicate. The word ‘religion’ is derived from religio, to bind. Can I say that I am a Hindu by religion ? I may say that I am born of Hindu parents, that I am a son of a Hindu and therefore I am a Hindu. It would be difficult to say that I am a Hindu by religion. The Hindu religion lays down a very high standard. Judged by those standards, it will be found that most of the people who call themselves Hindus are not really Hindus. I may profess myself to be a Hindu : I may like to be governed by the Hindu law or Hindu Code ; but I cannot call myself to be a Hindu by religion. I do not follow the principles of that religion at all. How can I say that I am a Hindu by religion ? A Hindu is not expected to take meat. According to the Hindu religion, it is a forbidden thing. There may be many in this house, who may be calling themselves Hindus, but who would not be a Hindu according to those standards. Many who may call themselves Hindus may be doing un-Hindu acts. But, still, they would like to be governed by the Hindu Code. To say that this Code shall only apply to those who follow the principles of the Hindu religion would be a misnomer and is certainly opposed to all principles of honesty. I say that although I may not be a Hindu, although I may not be a follower of the Hindu religion, I profess Hinduism ; I say that I am a Hindu. So long as I say that I am a Hindu, the Hindu Law or the Hindu Code may be applicable to me. So long as I do not renounce my religion, so long as I say that I am a Hindu, because I call myself a Hindu, I shall be governed by the Hindu Law. Or as my hon. friend Mr. Jaspat Roy Kapoor contemplates, so long as a man says that he will be governed by the Hindu Code, he shall be governed by the Hindu Code ; not otherwise. Therefore, I say, how can you lay down this condition that one must be a Hindu by religion ?
In our part of the country, that is in Assam, the tribal people have been held to be governed by the Hindu Law. They are not Hindus. They are not Hindus by religion. They do not follow the principles laid down in Hinduism for marriage. They do not observe the same kind of the prohibitive degree of Hindu marriage. They do not follow