1024 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
to find it is likely to be accepted, I suggest that the present proposals should be confined only to the marriage and divorce laws and nothing else should be enacted by this Parliament for the present.
- Shrimati Jayashri (Bombay) : I beg to support the amendment moved by the Hon. Law Minister to clause 2.I am glad that subclause (4) of clause 2 is sought to be dropped. That sub-clause says :
“Notwithstanding anything contained in the Special Marriage Act,
1872 (III of 1872), this Code shall apply to all the Hindus whose marriages have been solemnized under the provisions of that Act prior to the commencement of this Code.”
10-00 A . M .
I am glad that this sub-clause has been dropped, because under the Special Marriage Act the rights that people enjoyed were much broader. This applies to the Indian Succession Act also. Although under the Hindu Code we are trying to bring about reform, yet this Code does not confer the same rights which are available under the Special Marriage Act..
Mr. Deputy Speaker : Under the Special Marriage Act, they cannot adopt. Under this Code, they can. Is that not an advance ?
Shrimati Jayashri : I am saying that the inheritance rights there are broader than under the Hindu Code. So, I am glad that he has dropped this sub-clause from the Bill.
With regard to the argument as to why we should not make this an ideal and universal Code which can be applied to Muslims, Parsis and Christians, I would like to say that we must first find out whether Members are prepared to go so far. It would be an ideal Code if we could reach to the stage of the Indian Succession Act and the Civil Marriage Act, but it is clear that our society is not at present prepared even to accept the reforms under the Hindu Code and go thus far. So, I wonder whether Members will accept the broader principles which underlie the Special Marriage Act.
Yesterday, Dr. Mookerjee said that the Muslims also should be asked to accept the monogamy principle. I would like to say that the Muslim Law gives much more rights to women. Under our existing Hindu Law, women are not given those rights.
*P.D., Vol. XV, Part II, 18th September 1951, pp 2750-54.