The Hindu Code Bill

The decade of 1940s was a vital decade in Indian history. The nation was bestowed with the unprecedented opportunity to transform itself as a modern nation. To build a modern nation, a variety of economic , political, social and cultural factors had to come to terms with each other. The vision of planned economic development and self reliance within a curious mixture of socialism and capitalism led to the evolution of political structures within the ambit a democratic set up.

As economic and political forces reconfigured themselves to contribute towards the emergence of the modern economy, the cultural milieu also experienced the need for alignment to the aspirations of an emerging nation.The protracted debate over the Hindu Code Bill with widespread participation across all regions and segments of the Indian society between 1941 and 1956 , known as the Hindu Code Bill debate , epitomised the necessity of the society to strike an alliance with the forces of modernization. Customary Hindu laws, frozen in religious beliefs of centuries , came to be challenged by the egalitarian, secular structure envisioned by the leaders of the modern Indian nation.The extensive Hindu Code Bill debate, in both public and legislative spheres, was of momentous importance to the entire project of carving a new, secular India. It was the debate that contributed to the family law reforms that influenced, to a great extent, the distribution of power and resources within the society, particularly at a granular level, within the family and enabled Indian society to align with the planned economic progress and modernisation.

While there may be a permanence of certain fundamental beliefs about the nature of life that is pervasive through Hinduism, Hindus as a group are highly non-homogenous. As Derrett says in his book on Hindu law, "We find the Hindus to be as diverse in race, psychology, habitat, employment and way of life as any collection of human beings that might be gathered from the ends of the earth." The Dharmaśāstra—the textual authority on matters of marriage, adoption, the joint family, minorities, succession, religious endowments, and caste privileges—has often been seen as the private law of the Hindus. However, whatever is known and interpreted about this Hindu law is a jumble of rules, often inconsistent and incompatible with one another, that are lacking in uniformity.

Hindu law's content and structure has ultimately survived as a result of its administration by British judges who gave a lot of attention to Hindu religious-legal texts, while simultaneously invoking English procedure, jurisprudence, and English law to fill any gaps. Opinions often differ as to the extent of the discrepancy between the current law and the public's needs, but most agree that a substantial inconsistency exists.The British colonial government administered India largely through a policy of noninterference, allowing civil matters to be dealt with through respective religious communities. Matters that fell under the jurisdiction of these communities were called "personal laws." The British began the intensive process of codifying Hindu personal law in the early 1940s in an attempt to notate and therefore organise the Indian political system.

In 1941, the colonial government had appointed a four-member Hindu Law Committee, known as the Rau Committee after its chairman B. N. Rau. The committee was to resolve doubts about the Deshmukh Act's(Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act 1937 -which had given the widow a son's share in property that was one of the most substantial steps towards the Hindu Code Bill.) construction,ensure that its introduction of new female heirs was not made at the expense of the decedent's own daughter, and consider bills introduced to abolish women's limited estate and to make polygamy a ground for separate residence and maintenance. Later in 1941 the Committee reported that the time had come for a Hindu Code. Social progress and modernization could only be achieved though fundamental reforms, which recognized gender equality. The code was to be shaped with the aid of orthodox, conservative and reformist Hindus and by a comprehensive blending of the best of the current schools of Hindu law and the ancient texts.

The 1941 Report was accompanied by two draft bills, each of which was laid before a select committee of both houses of the legislature. Much publicity was given to the project, and as a result of these committees' reports, the Hindu Law Committee itself was revived in 1944 and under its chairman, B. N. Rau, prepared a Draft Code dealing with Succession, Maintenance, Marriage and Divorce, Minority and Guardianship and Adoption. It was this Code which was widely circulated and discussed and given the name "Hindu Code Bill". After publication in twelve regional languages and a wide publicity campaign, the Rau Committee toured the country and examined witnesses.( The result 1947 report of the committee included and went far beyond the 1941 proposals, recommending the abolition of the joint-family property system, the introduction of the daughter's simultaneous succession with the son to the father's estate, the abolition of the barrier to intercaste marriages, the assimilation of civil and sacramental marriages, and the introduction of divorce for the higher castes.It was the intention of the Government that this first draft should become law on 1 January 1948, but the whole project was temporarily suspended when independence led to the priorities of the legislature to be consumed with the task of creating the new regime.)

In December 1946, the Constituent Assembly convened to devise a Constitution for the soon-to-be-independent India. There were extensive debates over the place of personal laws in the new Indian legal system. Some argued that India's various personal laws were too divisive and that a uniform civil code should be instituted in their place. And once the notion of a uniform civil code was put forward, it soon became accepted as an important part of the effort to construct an Indian national identity, over the separate identities of caste, religion and ethnicity.Some resistance to the code was on the grounds that its imposition would destroy the cultural identity of minorities, the protection of which is crucial to democracy. Certain feminists thus argue that the uniform civil code debate balances on the polarity of the state and community, rendering the gender-based axis upon which it turns, invisible.

A compromise was reached in the inclusion in the first draft of an article that compelled the state "to endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." This clause—which equated to a goal, not a right—became Article 44 in the Constitution. It was widely criticised by proponents of a uniform code because it contained no mechanism and provided no timetable for enforcement. However, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and others insisted on its inclusion, arguing that though only symbolic it was an important step towards national unity.Though Nehru himself likely would have favored a uniform code, he knew that personal laws were linked with religious identity in India and therefore could not be easily abolished. Recognizing that what he wanted was not a political reality he settled for an unenforceable clause.

Following India's independence in 1947, the postcolonial government led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru completed the codification and reform of Hindu personal law, a process started by the British. According to the British policy of noninterference, reform of personal law should have arisen from a demand from the Hindu community. This was not the case, as there was significant opposition from various Hindu politicians, organisations and devotees who saw themselves unjustly singled out as the sole religious community whose laws were to be reformed. However, the Nehru administration saw such codification as necessary in order to unify the Hindu community, which ideally would be a first step towards unifying the nation.

The Ministry of Law revised the first draft in 1948 and made some small alterations to it, making it more suitable for discussion in the Constituent Assembly, where it was finally introduced. It was referred to a select committee under the chairmanship of law minister B. R. Ambedkar, and this committee made a number of important changes in the Bill. This edition had eight sections: part one delineated who would be considered a Hindu and did away with the caste system. Significantly, part one stipulated that the Hindu Code would apply to anyone who was not a Muslim, Parsi, Christian or Jew, and asserted that all Hindus would be governed under a uniform law. Part two of the bill concerned marriage; part three adoption; part four, guardianship; part five the policy on joint-family property, and was controversial as it included the nontraditional allocation of property to women. Part six concerned policies regarding women's property, and parts seven and eight established policies on succession and maintenance. By allowing for divorce, Ambedkar's version of the Hindu Code conflicted with traditional Hindu personal law, which did not sanction divorce (although it was practiced). It also "established one joint family system of property ownership for all Hindus", doing away with regional rules. Finally, it allotted portions of inheritance to daughters, while giving widows complete property rights where they had previously been restricted.

Conflicts also arose from the categorization of who would be considered Hindu. The Code established "Hindu" to be a negative category that would include all those who did not identify as a Muslim, Jew, Christian, or Parsi. Such a broad designation ignored the tremendous diversity of region, tradition and custom in Hinduism. Those who practised Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism were considered to be Hindus under the jurisdiction of the Code Bill. While these had originally included aspects of Hinduism, by this time they had evolved into unique religions with their own customs, traditions, and rituals. There was also significant controversy over what was established to be Hindu personal law. Sanctioned under Hinduism were a variety of practices and perspectives. Therefore, the administration had to arbitrate between these variations, legitimating some and disregarding or marginalising others.

The Hindu Code Bill's proponents included both men and women within and outside of Parliament belonging to various political parties. Significant support for the bills came from Congress' women's wing (All-India Women's Conference), and several other women's organizations. Advocates largely sought to convince the public that the bills did not stray far from classical Hindu personal law. Essentially, those in Parliament who opposed the bills were men, and largely came from Nehru's own Congress party. They believed that the code bills would institute reform that strayed too far from the classical Hindu social order, and were too radical. They argued that practices such as divorce were absolutely not condoned by Hinduism. "To a Hindu the marriage is sacramental and as such indissoluble."They also felt that should equal property rights be given to women, the Mitākṣarā concept of a joint family would crumble, as would the foundation of Hindu society. They also insisted that were daughters and wives given inheritance more conflicts would arise within families. Their main argument, however, was that the bills lacked public support. Therefore, they were a direct contradiction to the policy of noninterference and would mean the government was meddling in personal law. They implied that these were bills propagated by a small minority of Hindus onto the majority who did not want them.

The draft that Ambedkar submitted to the Constituent Assembly was opposed by several sections of lawmakers. The motion to begin discussion on the Hindu Code Bill was debated for over fifty hours, and discussion was postponed for over a year. Realizing that he would have to make significant concessions to get the bill passed, Nehru suggested that the proposed law be split into several sections. He told the Constituent Assembly they would only contend with the first 55 clauses concerning marriage and divorce, while the rest would be considered by the Parliament of India after the first general election. However, this compromise was largely ineffective in convincing conservatives to support the bill. When only 3 of the 55 clauses passed after an additional week of debating, Nehru had Ambedkar's committee distribute a new draft that complied with many of the critics' demands, including the reinstitution of the Mitākṣarā joint family system, an amendment to allow for brothers to buy out daughters' share of the inheritance, and a stipulation allowing divorce only after three years of marriage.However, after the bills were defeated again in the assembly, Ambedkar resigned. In a letter which he released to the press, he held that his decision was largely based on the treatment which had been accorded to the Hindu Code Bill as well as the administration's inability to get it passed.

In 1951–52, India held its first general elections. Nehru made the Hindu Code Bill one of his top campaign initiatives, declaring that should the Indian National Congress win, he would succeed in getting it passed through parliament. Congress won sweeping victories, with Nehru reinstated as prime minister, and he began a comprehensive effort to devise a Bill that could actually get passed. Nehru split the Code Bill into four separate bills, including the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act. These were met with significantly less opposition, and between the years of 1952 and 1956 each was effectively introduced in and passed by Parliament.

Nehru's primary purpose in instituting the Hindu code bills was to unify the Hindu community. Therefore, it made sense to define Hindu in the broadest possible sense. Through legal equity Nehru intended to "erase distinctions within the Hindu community and create Hindu social unity." "The integration of Hindus into a homogeneous society could best be done by enacting an all-embracing code which encompasses within its fold every sect, caste, and religious denomination." The debates over Article 44 in the Constitution revealed that many believed varied laws and legal divisions helped create, or at least were reflective of, social divisions.Nehru and his supporters insisted that the Hindu community, which comprised 80% of the Indian population, first needed to be united before any actions were taken to unify the rest of India. Therefore, the codification of Hindu personal law became a symbolic beginning on the road to establishing the Indian national identity.Nehru also felt that because he was Hindu, it was his prerogative to codify specifically Hindu law, as opposed to Muslim or Jewish law.

Those in Parliament who supported the bills also saw them as a vital move towards the modernization of Hindu society, as they would clearly delineate secular laws from religious law. Many also heralded the bills' opportunity to implement greater rights for women, which were established to be necessary for India's development.

Clouds

 

Clouds are visible accumulations of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere.They are  the clumping of condensing water vapor.

Moist air near the Earth’s surface is raised from the ground to high in the atmosphere by the heat of the sun,orographic barrier(Orographic lift) or by a colder invading air mass, called a cold front, that pushes the warm, moist air upward. When the air is lifted, both the air pressure and temperature drops.As soon as the air temperature reaches the air’s dew point, the water vapor in the moist air condenses, and clouds form. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air, so lowering the temperature of an air mass is like squeezing a sponge. Clouds are the visible result of that squeeze of cooler, moist air.

Moist air becomes cloudy with only slight cooling.With further cooling, the water or ice particles that make up the cloud can grow into bigger particles that fall to Earth as precipitation.Clouds form when humid air cools enough for water vapor to condense into droplets or ice crystals. The altitude at which this happens depends on the humidity and the rate at which temperature drops with elevation.

Clouds differ greatly in size, shape, and color. They can appear thin and wispy, or bulky and lumpy.

Clouds usually appear white because the tiny water droplets inside them are tightly packed, reflecting most of the sunlight that hits them. White is how our eyes perceive all wavelengths of sunlight mixed together.

When it’s about to rain, clouds darken because the water vapor is clumping together into raindrops, leaving larger spaces between drops of water. Less light is reflected. The rain cloud appears black or gray.
 
Normally, water vapor can only condense onto condensation nuclei—tiny particles that serve as kernels around which drops can form.Condensation nuclei are often nothing but natural dust. But soot particles from automobile exhaust or other types of pollution can also serve the purpose.

Cloud  Types

Clouds are classified according to their height above and appearance (texture) from the ground.

The following cloud roots and translations summarize the components of this classification system:

 1) Cirro-: curl of hair, high.                                     
 2) Alto-: mid.                                                                       
 3) Strato-: layer.
 4) Cumulo-: heap.
 5) Nimbo-: rain, precipitation.

High-level clouds: 

High-level clouds occur above about 20,000 feet (6,000 meters)  and are given the prefix "cirro-". Due to cold tropospheric temperatures at these levels, the clouds primarily are  composed of ice crystals,  and often appear thin, streaky, and white (although a low sun angle, e.g., near sunset, can create an array  of color on the clouds).

The three main types of high clouds are cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus.

Cirrus clouds are wispy, feathery, and composed entirely of ice crystals. They often are the first sign of an approaching warm front or upper-level jet streak.

Unlike cirrus, cirrostratus clouds form more of a widespread, veil-like layer (similar to what stratus clouds do in low levels).  When sunlight or moonlight passes through the hexagonal-shaped ice crystals of cirrostratus clouds, the light is dispersed or refracted (similar to light passing through a prism) in such a way that a familiar ring or halo may form. As a warm front approaches, cirrus clouds tend to thicken into cirrostratus, which may, in turn, thicken and lower into altostratus, stratus, and even nimbostratus.

Finally, cirrocumulus clouds are layered clouds permeated with small cumuliform lumpiness. They also may line up in streets or rows of clouds across the sky denoting localized areas of ascent (cloud axes) and descent (cloud-free channels).

 Mid-level clouds:

The bases of clouds in the middle level of the troposphere, given the prefix "alto-", appear between 6,500 and 20,000 feet (2,000 - 6,000 meters ). Depending on the altitude, time of year, and vertical temperature structure of the troposphere, these clouds may be composed of liquid water droplets, ice crystals, or a combination of the two, including supercooled droplets (i.e., liquid droplets whose temperatures are below freezing). 

The two main type of mid-level clouds are altostratus and altocumulus.

Altostratus clouds are "strato" type clouds that possess a flat and uniform type texture in the mid levels. They frequently indicate the approach of a warm front and may thicken and lower into stratus, then nimbostratus resulting in rain or snow. However, altostratus clouds themselves do not produce significant precipitation at the surface, although sprinkles or occasionally light showers may occur from a thick alto-stratus deck. 

Altocumulus clouds exhibit "cumulo" type characteristics in mid levels, i.e., heap-like clouds with convective elements.  Like cirrocumulus, altocumulus may align in rows or streets of clouds, with cloud axes indicating localized areas of ascending, moist air, and clear zones between rows suggesting locally descending, drier air. Altocumulus clouds with some vertical extent may denote the presence of elevated instability, especially in the morning, which could become boundary-layer based and be released into deep convection during the afternoon or evening. 

Low-level clouds:

Low-level clouds are not given a prefix, although their names are derived from "strato-" or "cumulo-", depending on their characteristics. Low clouds occur below 6500 feet (2000 mts), and normally consist of liquid water droplets or even supercooled droplets, except during cold winter storms when ice crystals (and snow) comprise much of the clouds.

The two main types of low clouds include stratus, which develop horizontally, and cumulus, which develop vertically.

Stratus clouds are uniform and flat, producing a gray layer of cloud cover which may be precipitation-free or may cause periods of light precipitation or drizzle.  Low stratus decks are common in winter in the Ohio Valley, especially behind a storm system when cold, dismal, gray weather can linger for several hours or even a day or two.

Stratocumulus clouds are hybrids of layered stratus and cellular cumulus, i.e., individual cloud elements, characteristic of cumulo type clouds, clumped together in a continuous distribution, characteristic of strato type clouds. Stratocumulus also can be thought of as a layer of cloud clumps with thick and thin areas. These clouds appear frequently in the atmosphere, either ahead of or behind a frontal system.

Nimbostratus clouds are generally thick, dense stratus or stratocumulus clouds producing steady rain or snow . 

In contrast to layered, horizontal stratus, cumulus clouds are more cellular (individual) in nature, have flat bottoms and rounded tops, and grow vertically. In fact, their name depends on the degree of vertical development. For instance, scattered cumulus clouds showing little vertical growth on an otherwise sunny day used to be termed "cumulus humilis" or "fair weather cumulus," although normally they simply are referred to just as cumulus or flat cumulus.

A cumulus cloud that exhibits significant vertical development (but is not yet a thunderstorm) is called cumulus congestus or towering cumulus. If enough atmospheric instability, moisture, and lift are present, then strong updrafts can develop in the cumulus cloud leading to a mature, deep cumulonimbus cloud, i.e., a thunderstorm producing heavy rain. In addition, cloud electrification occurs within cumulonimbus clouds due to many collisions between charged water droplet, graupel (ice-water mix), and ice crystal particles, resulting in lightning and thunder.  

 

click to enlarge

 Other Clouds :

Mammatus: Drooping underside (pouch-like appearance) of a cumulonimbus cloud in its latter stage of development. Mammatus most often are seen hanging from the anvil of a severe thunderstorm, but do not produce severe weather. They can accompany non-severe storms as well. 

Contrail: Narrow, elongated cloud formed as jet aircraft exhaust condenses in cold air at high altitudes, indicative of upper level humidity and wind drift.

Fog: Layer of stratus clouds on or near the ground. Different types include radiation fog (forms overnight and burns off in the morning) and advection fog.

Wall Cloud:  A localized lowering from the rain-free base of a strong thunderstorm. The lowering denotes a storm's updraft where rapidly rising air causes lower pressure just below the main updraft, which enhances condensation and cloud formation just under the primary cloud base. Wall clouds take on many shapes and sizes. Some exhibit strong upward motion and cyclonic rotation, leading to tornado formation, while others do not rotate and essentially are harmless.

Shelf Cloud: A low, horizontal, sometimes wedge-shaped cloud associated with the leading edge of a thunderstorm?s outflow or gust front and potentially strong winds. Although often appearing ominous, shelf clouds normally do not produce tornadoes. 

Hole-Punch Clouds: Also known as a fallstreak hole, this type of cloud is usually formed when the water temperature in the cloud is below freezing but the water has not frozen.  When sections of the water starts to freeze, the surrounding water vapor will also freeze and begin to descend. This leaves a rounded hole in the cloud.The theory on its creation is that a disruption of the cloud layer stability, which can be caused by a passing jet aircraft, creates a descending motion that can lead to the stimulation of evaporation, producing a hole.

Mackerel sky  is a popular term for a sky covered with extensive cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds arranged in somewhat regular waves and showing blue sky in the gaps. The pattern resembles the scales on a mackerel fish, thus, the name.

Mackerel sky

Clouds above the troposphere

Clouds are found almost exclusively in the troposphere. The stratosphere is very dry, because vertical transfer is limited by the high stability and because any transfer would have to occur through the tropopause, which is so cold that the saturation vapour pressure is negligibly small. Yet on occasion thin veils of clouds are observed above the tropopause.

Nacreous clouds, also known as mother-of-pearl clouds, are stratospheric; they occur between 15 and 30 km. Large volcanic eruptions emit dust particles in the lower stratosphere. These may combine with ice to produce nacreous clouds. In fact, in the year following Mt Pinatubo eruption in 1991, many nacreous clouds where spotted by airline pilots flying in the twilight. Polar stratospheric clouds occur at about 20 km, where the air is at -80°C during the Antarctic winter. Their presence is a factor in the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole.

Nacreous Clouds

 Noctilucent clouds occur in the upper mesosphere, at about 80 km. Their name derives from the fact that they can be seen from the ground when the Sun is 7-10 degrees below the horizon and only reflects off these very high clouds . It arises from the water vapour released upon oxidation of methane. The recent observed increase of such clouds is related to increased atmospheric concentrations of methane, a greenhouse gas. Noctilucent clouds are most common in the summer in polar regions. At this time the mesospheric lapse rate is close to neutral, and this makes uplift easier. 

Noctilucent Clouds

Clouds and Weather

Certain types of clouds produce precipitation. Clouds also produce the bolt of electricity called lightning and the sound of thunder that accompanies it. Lightning is formed in a cloud when positively charged particles and negatively charged particles are separated, forming an electrical field. When the electrical field is strong enough, it discharges a superheated bolt of lightning to the Earth. Most of what we consider to be single lightning strikes are in fact three or four separate strokes of lightning.

The sound of thunder is actually the sonic shock wave that comes when the air, heated by the lightning bolt, expands very rapidly. Thunder sometimes sounds like it comes in waves because of the time it takes the sound to travel. Because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, lightning will always appear before its thunder is heard.

Meteorologists measure cloud cover, or the amount of the visible sky covered by clouds, in units called oktas. An okta estimates how many eighths of the sky (octo-) is covered in clouds. A clear sky is 0 oktas, while a totally overcast or gray sky is 8 oktas.

Scientists have experimented with a process called cloud seeding for many years. Cloud seeding aims to influence weather patterns. Seeds, or microscopic particles, are placed in clouds. These seeds are artificial cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which are tiny particles of dust, salt, or pollution that collect in all clouds. Every raindrop and snowflake contains a CCN. Water or ice droplets accumulate around CCN. Scientists hope that cloud seeding will allow people to control precipitation.