DR. AMBEDKAR AND THE HINDU CODE BILL 835
It may be that the parents of a child are Hindus; but they may change their religion. So, I want that in order to have this relationship…………
Shri K. C. Sharma (Uttar Pradesh) : May I draw the attention of the chairman to the convention of the House that all drafting amendments be left to the draftmen and the time of the House be not wasted ?
Mr. Chairman : There is no such absolute convention; it all depends on the particular amendment.
Shri Naziruddin Ahmad : This only shows that the hon. Member is not listening to the arguments, but is only trying to find and create objections. Although this is more of drafting nature, I think it involves a substantial thing. The question is this. You say that a child, legitimate or illegitimate of a Hindu, is a Hindu. Supposing the father changes his religion in that case, he is not a Hindu at the relevant time when the question arises. I therefore want to make it clear that he is a Hindu or has been a Hindu. It may be that a father was not a Hindu, but has accepted the Hindu religion at the relevant time. If you say, a man who is a Hindu, it means, who is a Hindu for the time being; he might not have been a Hindu before. That is why I am saying : “a person who is or has been a Hindu”; who has been a Hindu all along. The child of such a parent would be a Hindu. Suppose there is a Muslim who adopts the Hindu religion today. The question of the status of his child comes into question. Could his child, who was born at a time when the parents were Muslims, be a Hindu today because today the father is a Hindu ? That is why I have tried to change the clause. Though it is of a drafting nature, it has substantial effects. I submit that these small points require careful consideration. The question, in effect, is, if a man is converted to Hinduism today, whether his child, who may be a Christian, or a Muslim or a Jew according to the religion of his father before his conversion, would be a Hindu. This is a serious constitutional question, and I hope the House will seriously consider that. But, the difficulty would be for the Hon. Law Minister to carefully listen to these points and to reply to them, and for the House to follow all these arguments and replies. As a matter of fact, Dr. Ambedkar will say, “I oppose all the amendments” and the House will say, “We respectfully agree”.