Vol. 17, Part I · pages 306–310

281A BILL............MONEY-LENDING Agreement to pay arrears of interest void. Any agreement entered into by a debtor to pay any arrears of interest due on a loan shall be void. Chapter VIII. Proceedings in respect of offences All offences cognizable. 49. All offences under this Act shall be cognizable and shall be triable by any Magistrate. Appeals from convictions or acquittals. 50. An order of conviction or acquittal passed under this Act in respect of any offence under this Act shall be appeallable in the same manner as if it was an order passed under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. Chapter IX. Supplemental Power to make rules. 51. (1) It shall be lawful for Government to make rules prescribing- (a) the form of the certificate and the license to be granted to the money-lender, (b) the procedure to be followed in making applications for certificates and licenses, (c) the authorities empowered to grant licenses and certificates, to issue books of accounts, pass books, memorandum and their form, (d) procedure in respect of appeals from orders passed under the provisions of this Act, (e) the form of account books, pass books and the method of authentication, (f) the forms of the annual statements of accounts to be submitted by the money-lender to his debtor, (g) fees for the supply of account books, pass-books etc., (h) charges payable by the debtor to the money-lender in respect of loans.

282 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES (2) Before any such rules are made under this section a draft thereof shall be laid before each chamber of the legislature for a period of not less than 21 days during the session of the chamber, and if either chamber before the expiration of the said period passes a resolution against the draft or any part thereof, no further proceedings shall be taken thereon, but without prejudice to the making of a new draft rule. Statement of Objects And Reasons This Bill is intended to control and regulate the business of money-lending. For that purpose it provides– Firstly- (i) that no money-lender shall carry on the business of money-lending unless he has taken out a license and that license shall not be granted to any person who does not posses a certificate of good character; (ii) that the license issued to a money-lender shall be liable to be suspended or revoked if he is found guilty of breach of any duty imposed upon him by this Bill. Secondly- (i) the bill provided that all loans made by a moneylender whether secured or unsecured shall be evidenced by writing signed by the borrower; (ii) that a money-lender shall give a pass-book to the borrower in which all transactions between them shall be entered by the money-lender; (iii) that annualy the money-lender shall send to the borrower a statement of his accounts; (iv) that charging of compound interest or other costs shall be illegal. Thirdly- the Bill lays down the mode of keeping accounts by the money-lender. It requires : (i) that the money-lender shall keep his accounts in the books obtained by Government; (ii) that at the end of every year he shall produce his books before a government official, who shall initial the first and last entries in such books; (iii) that no books of accounts shall be admissible in

283A BILL............MONEY-LENDING evidence in any suit or proceedings unless they are kept in conformity with these rules. Fourthly- the bill contains provisions regarding suits between a money-lender and a borrower. It lays down :– (i) that such suit shall not be triable by the Small Causes Court unless it is in respect of a single transaction; (ii) that the court may re-open certain transactions if the interest is excessive or if the transaction is unconsciousnable; (iii) that interest shall be deemed to be excessive if it exceeds a certain level fixed in relation to the Bank rate; (iv) that accounts between a money-lender and a borrower shall be taken in accordance with certain rules which are embodied in the D. A. R. Act; (v) that in the execution of a decree against a borrower the court may grant instalments and sell only such amount of property of the borrower as may be sufficient, satisfaction of the decree. Fifthly- The bill makes void any contract for payment of the loan by the borrower outside the Province the object being to prevent a money-lender from defeating the provisions of this Act. B. R. Ambedkar zz Reprinted from a booklet printed at Shree Laxmi Narayan Press, 364. Thakurdwar, Bombay.

20 I SHALL STAND FOR PRINCIPLE AND WILL FIGHT ALONE FOR IT Ahmedabad, October 22.1938. “I do not believe any progress has been made by the Congress Ministry of Bombay by bringing in the Trade Disputes and Tenancy Bills. We have fundamental differences with the Congress for years. We are not fighting for offices in the province, but we fight for our rights.” Thus observed Dr. Ambedkar who came here this morning in an interview with the pressman. Continuing, he said “if I join hands with the Congress today, I can have what I like, but our case is entirely different. I do not care if the whole of my community differs from me and join the Congress, but I shall stand for principle and will fight alone for it.” Referring to Mr. Jinnah, he said, “Mr. Jinnah is totally carrying the Muslims on the wrong path. I do not understand what differences he has with the Congress. If the League really stands for the interests of the Minorities, I welcome Mr. Jinnah to join hands with other sections who differ from the Congress, and make a united front of all these sections against the Congress. The Muslim League, to my mind, is fighting for elections and ministry. Mr. Jinnah on one side is fighting with the Congress, while on the other side he intends to come to a pact with the Congress, which is entirely meaningless. Appeal to him to learn a lesson from the Poona pact.” 1 zz 1 The Bombay Chronicle : dated 22nd October 1938.

21 MINISTRY SEEMS TO BE INTOXICATED WITH POWER Bombay, Thursday.* ‘In the name of the working class of Bombay, in the name of Law and Order and in the name of decent administration of the province I demand an impartial and public inquiry into the scandalous mismanagement of the protest strike by the police department under the control of the Hon. Mr. Munshi. I demand a public inquiry into the absolutely uncalled for firing and lathi charges to which the police repeatedly resorted’ said Dr. B. R. Ambedkar leader of the Independent Labour Party in the course of a statement to the Press. 1 ‘ What has come over the Congress Ministry, asked Dr. Ambedkar, ‘that it should not be able to manage a single day’s strike without resorting to such disgraceful terror.’ ‘ There were strikes that lasted for days and weeks and months in the past. There was one that lasted for seven and a half months with processions and meetings and demonstrations every day. There were no such lathi charges and firing during the whole of this period.’ ‘Today under Congress Raj we cannot have a single day’s strike without repression and terrorism being let loose. That i s what the Congress has come to.’ The Press What about the press, the press that stood for freedom and rights of workers and championed their cause as long as the Congress needed their help ? Today that press is resorting to lies and falsehoods and distortions and suppression of facts that must make the British and Anglo-Indian journal blush with shame. 1: Free Press Journal, dated 9th November 1938. i.e. Wednesday. * The 3rd November 1938.