818 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
articles 15 and 25 of the Constitution, and also article 44. What has happened since then and now to compel us, to persuade us not to act according to those articles of our Constitution ? Nothing has really happened since then, which should persuade us to go contrary to those provisions. On the other hand, we find that even persons professing religions other than Hinduism, are also anxious that we should have a uniform Civil Code. Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad is a representative of the Muslims. He himself says that it is not open to have a legislation which will govern only one section of the nation, but that one legislation, must govern all the sections of the nation, all persons professing various religions. That being so, I submit there is no reason why we should hesitate to legislate for persons professing different religions. From the amendments that have been tabled and have already been moved. I find that the Sikhs would like to go away from the operation of this Code. That is the effect of one of the amendments moved by my hon. friend Sardar Hukam Singh. Then I find that there are other Hon. Members who are anxious that this clause 2 should be so amended that it should not be applicable necessarily to all the States and all the community. My Hon. Friend Pandit Thakurdas Bhargava, as we all know, is a very great social reformer, and he is always anxious to introduce legislations in this House directed towards social uplift. According to his amendment what he wants is that it should be left open to the various States to adopt the legislation or not. He also desires that it should be open to the various communities either to be governed by the Code or not.
Shri Tyagi : Surely it will not be territorially uniform in that case.
Shri J. R. Kapoor : Exactly. In order to make it applicable to all the territories and communities my amendment should be accepted. It does not restrict the operation of this Code to one territory or another, nor to one community or another. On the other hand it extends the scope of this legislation and seeks to embrace within its ambit Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis or persons professing any other faith.
During the general discussion of this Bill some good points were made by my hon. Friends Dr. Tek Chand and Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava. They said that this Bill would operate in a great measure as a hardship on various sections of the Hindu community, among whom marriage and divorce laws are easy. In some parts of the Punjab and elsewhere, it was pointed, marriages can be easily performed. Why should they be deprived of this easy manner of their marriages ?