MEASURES SUGGESTED FOE INDIA 75 



become law, they would have already been exercising 

 a remedial effect on the land tenure of the Bombay 

 Presidency. This would almost certainly have been 

 the case had a Land Commission been appointed with 

 some funds at its disposal ; for the situation of many 

 uneconomic holders is so bad that they would be glad 

 to come to any reasonable arrangement that would 

 help them out of their difficulties, and the sight of 

 money "on the table" would have more effect than 

 many theoretical considerations. Objections to the 

 proposed legislation were made on several grounds. 

 On the one hand objection was raised to any tampering 

 with Hindu law, even if the legislation were merely 

 of a permissive nature ; and on the other hand it was 

 urged that in the absence of drastic provisions, involv- 

 ing compulsion, rapid progress would not be possible. 

 It was between these two extremes that the Bill 

 attempted to steer a middle course. A third objection 

 was based on the supposed injustice to those who, 

 under the ordinary provisions of the Hindu law of 

 inheritance, would get shares in the land, but who 

 might be deprived of their share by the proposed legis- 

 lation. This argument refers only to future genera- 

 tions, and to cases where a man, who has no property 

 but land, prefers to leave the impartible holding to one 

 of his sons rather than sell the land and divide the 

 proceeds amongst all his sons. In such cases the 

 younger sons would certainly be deprived of their 

 normal rights under the existing law. But what 

 do such rights amount to? In effect they are as 



