It is the Constitution of free India and as such it is connected with the people. Therefore this should not be considered as a mere Constitution; Because we have also to raise the morale of our people through the Articles of this Constitution; hence the difference between this Constitution and the constitutions of other types is necessary Englishmen had their way of dealing with such problems. If they did not like to confer a right on the people then in that case, they used to give from one hand and take away from another after making verbal changes here and there. At the end of substantial Articles they used to add such proviso and conditions which rendered them ineffective. If there is any such defect in our Constitution, then it should be removed. Some Members have criticised the Fundamental Rights and their provisos. I think, perhaps due to official reasons certain provisos were considered unavoidable. But I would like to say that such Provisos should not find place in the Constitution. For instance the right of acquiring, holding and disposing of property has been conferred in the main clause but according to the condition which has been laid down in article 5, it shall not affect the operation of any existing law. Whether this clause affects any province or not, but it does affect our Punjab. Land alienation Act is prevalent in the Punjab since a very long time. According to this Act if a man actually tills the soil but does not belong to the zamindar class, he cannot acquire lands. It was proper that this restriction should have been removed. But this has not been done. The proviso attached to this Article have created confusion and it is not clear whether this restriction has been removed. On this point clarification is necessary. Punjab and the zamindars of Punjab have been very much affected by this clause; for those who have money cannot acquire land due to this restriction. The result is that those who want to dispose of their properties do not get reasonable price. Punjab is the home of middle class zamindars. Due to this law there is possibility that small zamindars will become smaller and big zamindars will become bigger. I cannot dilate on this point, because the time at my disposal is short. All that I can say is that this state of affairs is unnatural, and this restriction should have been removed.
