DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 1143
the amendments of which I had given notice three days ago. I beg to move :
(i) In part (a) of sub-clause (1) of clause 2, after “including” insert “Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs”.
(ii) Omit part (b) of sub-clause (1) of clause 2.
After the first amendment, the clause will read as follows :
“to all Hindus, that is to say, to all persons professing the Hindu religion in any of its forms or developments, including Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Virashaivas or Lingayats and member of the Brahmo, the Prarthana etc. etc.”
I have moved this amendment for a simple reason. I hope and pray that I am a devout Hindu—I do not know if I can make that claim— and
Dr. Ambedkar: After such a speech who else can make that claim ?
Pandit Malaviya : And in the Sankalpa which we perform on all occasions, we say Bauddhavatare. If only I had the time, I would have tried to show that Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc., while they have their own independent place and position, cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be treated as outside the pale of Hinduism. That does not mean that Hinduism lays any claim upon them or wishes in any way to restrict their complete independence and separate existence. It is not that. I am talking of the historical relation. They have all sprung out of it and have always formed part of it. Even in their religious books and procedure, even in their daily practices and daily life, there are any number of points of identical similarity which still persist. In this land there should be no need, therefore, to show them separately. My amendment does not make any difference in the result. The clause instead of coming as a separate clause comes within the previous one.
I have now only to make an appeal to the Members of this House to view this matter dispassionately. As I said, I do not deny that there are some people who feel that it will be good for society if such a law is enacted. My appeal to them is to proceed in the right manner about it. Sometime ago there was the Inter-caste Marriage Act which was passed, making inter-caste marriages among Arya Samajists valid. At that very time Dr. Bhagwan Dasji, that great learned scholar and devotee of Manu, brought before the then Central Assembly, a Bill