APPENDIX III 251 



6. There is some difficulty in framing provisions to secure 

 the integrity of the holding in spite of existing law and 

 custom in favour of the subdivision of land. As will be seen, 

 the above scheme aims at effecting the object in view by 

 giving the registered owner an exclusive interest in the hold- 

 ing at the outset ; by preventing the subdivision of the 

 holding by transfer inter vivos or by will or by the operation 

 of law ; and by preventing subdivision in the case of the 

 owner's death intestate. Each of these provisions appears 

 essential to the success of the Bill. With regard to the first, 

 it may be said that wherever two or more persons are inter- 

 ested (whether jointly or otherwise) in a holding there is a 

 probability that at some time the holders will desire to divide 

 the land. The necessity for the second provision seems 

 obvious ; but it may be observed that in order to prevent 

 partition the holding must not be permitted to become joint 

 property or coparcenary property according to Hindu law. 

 With regard to the third, there is considerable difficulty. If 

 the operation of any law under which property is divided on 

 an intestate succession is excluded, some rule of succession 

 to take its place must be devised. Hindu and Mohammedan 

 law, the Indian Succession Act, 1865, and the Parsi Intestate 

 Succession Act, 1865, all contemplate the division of immove- 

 able property on succession. The Hindu law, indeed, recog- 

 nises impartible property, but the principles governing the 

 succession to such property do not appear to be sufficiently 

 clear for application to agricultural holdings, in connection 

 with which it is desirable to prevent litigation as far as 

 possible. Moreover as an economic holding could be trans- 

 ferred to any person, a law of succession that will prevent its 

 subdivision in all cases, whatever the law of succession to 

 which the transferee is subject, is required. The difficulty 

 ccnnot apparently be surmounted except by enacting special 

 rules of succession for economic holdings. Some provisional 

 rules for this purpose have been set out in the schedule, but 



