"Eventually, all parts of the Hindu Code Bill were passed, piecemeal and in slow stages, and President Prasad gave assent to them all, but not before an extraordinary event in the post-1952 Lok Sabha. Sarojini Naidu’s son and an eloquent first-time Leftist MP, J.Jaisooriya, ended his maiden speech with the words: “Sir, the honourable prime minister had assured us that his government would stand or fall by the Hindu Code. The Hindu Code has fallen but the government, to quote the famous Rampur telegram to Hakim Ajmal Khan, still stands”. There was a huge outburst of hilarity in the House. Nehru was one of the few members bewildered by it. Until Rafi Ahmed Kidwai explained to him that the telegram in question had bewailed the excessive consequences of an aphrodisiac."
Of Reform and Resistance by Inder Malhotra,
The Indian Express(May1,2009)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)