DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 1147
Shri J.R. Kapoor (Uttar Pradesh) : Only if they so desire.
Khwaja Inait Ullah : If they so desire, and also those who do not. Amendment No. 90 runs : “This Code applies to all Indians irrespective of their religion, caste or creed.” Likewise, it is also in 91, 92 and 93. Some members—my hon. friend Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, especially while moving this amendment said at the very outset that “secularism” was spreading like a disease in India. I regret to say that my friend, who is so very capable, thinks secularism, which is not a disease but a cure, to be a disease and wants that all the laws under it be made uniform, i.e., the laws that are made for Hindus be also made applicable to the Muslims. This is quite correct if it (the law) is a law of economy, a political law, influencing somebody’s character or the social life of India ; it should then definitely be one ; but secularism never means that such laws and personal laws be formulated as may be same for a Hindu and a Muslim. It means that the same will be said about Hindus as about Muslims, though it is not necessary so for a personal law as we have several laws which ‘differ from those of Hindus. Just yesterday a Sikh colleague of mine, said that their laws also differed from those of Hindus. I do not intend discussing that aspect of the matter, but I only submit about its application to Muslims.
Our Hon. Minister Gadgil said in his speech yesterday that he wanted to change the social law of the Hindus, and for changing this he advanced the argument, which I think he did successfully, that since this law has been seeing changes’, we are also entitled to change it. But he said furthermore that they would try in this way so that in the days to come the Muslims may be included. To him I would ‘like to submit humbly that they can change that law only because of the fact that the Hindu Law, as he proved, has been seeing changes. But here I want to tell him that Muslim law has neither been changed for the last 1350 years, nor shall it be changed in the days to come, since Muslims believe that their laws for marriage and division of property are not made by them but made by God and as they appear in the Holy Quran so nobody on the surface of this earth has the right to change them.
Sardar B. S. Man (Punjab) : Do the Muslims of the Punjab abide by the law of Shariat or the law of Custom, which is entirely different from Shariat ?
Khwaja Inait Ullah : If somebody says that the Muslims of the Punjab drink, does it mean that all Muslims will be allowed to take