DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 1199
and allow many kinds of customs which will take away from the effect of the Bill. Then it would mean that there would be no use having this Code if in respect of every matter you allow a custom to prevail.
Mr. Deputy Speaker : We are once again going into the details. It is one thing to say that hereafter no custom at all will prevail, only the law will prevail. But it is another thing to say that we have to allow certain customs. In that case when we go into the details we will find out what ought to be allowed and what customs ought not to be allowed.
Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava: I am restricting the scope of customs by this definition. Supposing only those customs as have been judicially recognised are to be allowed, that would certianly restrict the scope of custom. Otherwise if we leave custom undefined when a man is faced with difficulty and produce any amount of evidence ; custom can be proved not only by instances but by opinions, by reference to texts. Therefore, I want that so far as custom is concerned its scope may be restricted. It is not that I have only taken one case and put it for the consideration of Dr. Ambedkar. I have gone further and just to show the absurdity of how he is allowing so much liberalisation of customs, I have given certain amendments to show to him and to impress upon him that he should proceed cautiously. Therefore, my amendment No. 446 says:
“or any rule which is certain not unreasonable and has been judicially recognised as valid and binding in any local area, tribe, community, group or family”.
I can understand that there are some customs which are growing, some which have been crystallised. As regards those which are growing, we want that they may not grow because that is the only way of having a statutory rule effective. In regard to customs which have not been judicially recognised, my own view is that we should not bring them within the scope. Either we accept that the society should accept custom as the sole rule of conduct and there should be no other rule among the Hindu community as was the case before—in that case also we will reach a stage when custom will become so stereotyped that we will attain what we want to—or, in the other case when we want to impose the rule of thumb, when we want to lay down by statute that such-and-such shall be the rule. Anyhow we will be well advised if we recognise customs which have been judicially recognised. In the definition given, it would appear there is no mention of any judicial recognition of any customs. On the contrary, the words in the first proviso are :