DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 935
Suppose there is a rich man and his daughter inherits his property. When she is married does it prevent the other man to belabour her and to beat her ? What prevents him from doing that ? Many people speak supporting this Code. I am not referring to Members of Parliament—they know everything. I am only suggesting what many people outside are saying. Today under the Hindu Law the girl is not absolutely taboo. If a man dies leaving no children behind, the widow inherits the entire property. Apart from Deshmukh’s Act, under the ancient Hindu Law she is the heir of all the property of the husband in cases where there are no children. Secondly, if there is a daughter and the mother predeceases the father and there are no other children, she becomes the heir to the entire property. There is absolutely no difficulty. What is sought to be done here is that simultaneouly with the son the girl also must have a share. The responsibility of maintaining the household is that of the boy. We are not rich millionares. The zamindars have also been liquidated. Rajahs have gone. Only the middle class people are there. I am addressing myself only to them. There are the poorest people where both the husband and wife eke out their living by working as coolies. And what happens to the majority of middle class people ? The husband may be working as a clerk getting Rs. 100 or Rs. 200 a month. He educates his boy and expects that when he comes of the age of 21 or
25 he would take charge of the family at a time when he is himself fifty of fifty-five. When he retires there are a number of children to be taken care of. The property that he has accumulated is so small. I know in my part of the country persons who have any holdings over five crores are only ten or five per cent, of the entire persons holding land. Land is the wealth in our country. There may be a few industrialists in Bombay and a few in Ahmedabad. But generally people have neither industry nor land. The only industry for a middle class man is to become a clerk and earn some money, and by the sweat of his labour he earns it. The responsibility of looking after the family is thrown upon that boy. He may get a small land or a thatched house as patrimony. The society expects him to take charge of his younger brothers and sisters and also to maintain the old parents. When the Britishers were ruling us the officials in the Railway Department, station-masters and others, used to get passes sometimes in the year to go round. The pass is for the family. I am sorry to note that the same practice is still continuing as regards the description of the family, namely that the family means himself, his wife and children. What about the old parents ? This may