DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 1155
Bengalis like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chander Sen and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is no good for the Bengali leader to cry a halt to these reforms. That is not the rigth way. Hinduism has been a progressive religion. The various Smritis and Mimamsa, are but a codification of Hindu law. As pointed out by my friend Shrimati Padmaja Naidu, who in her ineivitable poetic way paid happy compliments to Dr. Ambedkar, our Constitution has given certain rights to women of India and Dr. Ambedkar is doing nothing more than giving effect to the intentions of the Constitution.
My hon. friend Sardar Man belongs to a great nation, the fighting nation that has saved and maintained the freedom of India. He however struck a discordant note by saying that the Sikhs are not Hindus. I had the privilege of working with many Sikh leaders. Let us, therefore, not harp on our differences on the Hindu Code Bill. But I may say that if the Sikh opinion is sounded, now or hereafter, they would never like to remain stagnant. If and when such opinions are taken, we will find that Sikh women are for progress and advance.
As regards Pandit Govind Malaviya, I have great affection for him, because I was a lieutenant of his revered and august father, the late Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. My memory goes back to the thirties when we were passing the Child Marriage Restraint Act on the floor of the House. The great seer that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was, he saw the signs of the times and although he was sad that this House enacted the Child Marriage Restraint Act known as the Sarda Act, he never opposed it in such violent language and in such words of thunder as my young friend Pandit Govind Malaviya did.
Pandit Malaviya : Because these things were not proposed then.
Shri B. Das : True. But I was only quoting my own leader and his august father that he was for advancement and progress. That is all that I wanted to submit.
Shir A. C. Shukla (Madhya Pradesh) : For those who are weak, you cannot follow the highest ideal?
Shri B. Das : Those who belong to the orthodox and conservative school in India have helped us in passing the Constitution. They have helped us, though at times a little weakly, in the battle for freedom that we fought for so many years. Since 1947 we are all going forward. If “go forward” is our motto now, then nothing will stop the .advancement and progress of India or any section of our community, be it Hindu, Muslim or any other. Therefore, instead of showing that