1285 Standard Weights and [ 4 DEC. 1953 J Measures Bill, 1953 1286 what the causes are. I wish this had been MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: It is not a pointed out to me by the Secretariat so that it technical mistake. This Bill is made could have been corrected. In view of the fact applicable to the whole of India. Parliament that the omission has not been only from one has got powers to pass such a law only for side, I would request you to put it to the Part C States and even the Bill that has been House as to whether they would like in this introduced by the Government refers to Part particular case to condone •this little C States. I refuse to allow the Bill. omission which can be rectified at a later stage. DR. SHRIMATI SEETA PARMA- NAND: Sir, I would like to make a PANDIT S. S. N. TANKHA (Uttar Pradesh): request. When the Ancient and Histo May I know whether the House has that rical Monuments Protection (Amend right? ment) Bill was before the House, the hon. Minister in charge of the Bill was KAKASAHEB KALELKAR (Nominated): allowed to take two hours for correc We see no harm in making that little ting some faults and introduce it .................... correction and allowing the Bill to be proceeded with. MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: That was only an addition to a Schedule; the body of SHRI C. C. BISWAS: I agree with my hon. the Bill was not altered. friend that the House cannot condone a defect like this. It goes to the root of the matter. She SHRI S. N. MAZUMDAR (West might make a complaint that it was not. Bengal): Sir, may I submit............... pointed out to her. But suppose it was pointed MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: Mr. out and in spite of that it was not done. In Mazumdar, I have given the ruling; I will not such a situation will the House condone it? allow the Bill to be proceeded with. (Interruptions.) SHRI RAMA RAO: Is there any pro vision in our Secretariat to help us 3 P.M. with the technical and legal knowledge PANDIT S. S. N. TANKHA: It is not within required......... the right of this House to condone this. MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: It is for the MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: It is not a hon. Member to take the necessary help from little mistake; I tried to point out to the hon. the office. Member that it was a serious mistake; it is not a little mistake. THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS AND STATES (DR. K. N. KATJU) : You SHRI PRITHVIRAJ KAPOOR (Nomi- consult me; I shall help nated): Sir. when the hon. Member is you. concerned with the soul of the Bill, why should we bother ourselves with the body thereof? THE STANDARD WEIGHTS AND MEASURES BILL, 1953 KAKASAHEB KALELKAR: Sir, when the hon. Member herself says that she intends this Bill to extend only to Part C States, that MR. DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: We ought to be enough and for a little technical shall go to the next Bill, the Standard Weights error, it is not proper to disallow and Measures Bill. Shri Kishen Chand. consideration. Supposing there is a printing mistake ov a mistake of grammar, we would SHRI KISHEN CHAND (Hyderabad): Mr. have corrected it. Deputy Chairman, I beg to move: "That the Bill to provide for the standardisation of weights and 1287 Standard Weights and [COUNCIL] Measures Bill, 1953 1288 [Shri Kishen Chand.] measures in We find the curious figure of 82-2/7 pounds harmony w>th the metric system be coming in. Then, in Bombay, there are two taken into consideration." types of maunds: one is of 28 pounds and the other is of 24J pounds. If you consider the At the outset, I may point out that this has maund of 24J pounds it will be seen that 44 been included as coming under the powers of maunds is equal to a hundredweight. Parliament under the Seventh Schedule. Under this Schedule, item 50 has "the In some other parts, there are seers establishment of standards of weight and of other denominations in existence. measure", as an item in the Union List and Then, after a seer, we have got a therefore this Bill can come before Parlia- palla. In certain provinces, we use a ment. measure called palla which is equal to 3 maunds. In South India there Well, Sir, under the British rule, the are certain measures equal to 3 seers standard weights and measures were and 11 seers. So, in this way, there established. In the case of weights, on a is a confusion right through from this curious basis, it was fixed that a tola will be end to the other end. I suggest, Sir, equal to 180 grains avoirdupois; and on the that the basic figure is a tola and a basis of one tola it was decided to partially tola is 180 grains; and a tola is equal introduce the decimal system so that 5 tolas to 12 mashas. One masha is equal should make a chhatak; and because a rupee to 15 grains; by coincidence, a gram is had 16 annas, it was considered that 16 15-4 grains; thus there is a small diffe chhataks should make a seer. A seer was rence of -4 grains only. If we change considered to be of 80 tolas and a tola was our masha from 15 to 154 grains it 180 grains and, therefore, a seer was 14,400 will be exactly equal to a gram. My grains while a pound was only 7,000 grains: suggestion, therefore, is to change our so, our seer was slightly more than 2 pounds. masha from 15 to 154 grains; a change of less than 3 per cent, and a very Then, if you compare this with the other small change......... system that is prevalent throughout the world, the metric system, a kilogram is equal to SHRI H. P. SAKSENA: (Uttar Pradesh): 15,432 grains. Therefore, our seer is different Why are you so much in love with grains? from 2 pounds as well as the kilogram. It has no international status for scien--tific SHRI KISHEN CHAND: We must purposes, and for this we have to use the remember that we are not in either of the two pound or the kilogram. world systems of weights —the British or the metric. There are only two systems prevalent Then it will be found that there are in the world, the pound and the kilogram. different kinds of this seer. It is 80 tolas according to the Government regulations. In SHRI H. P. SAKSENA: What if .................t various parts of the country, we have a seer of 100 tolas, 32 tolas; 24 tolas and so on; and so SHRI KISHEN CHAND: The seer of India various other seers are prevalent in different cannot be used for any scientific measure parts of the country. The confusion does not because it has got no other connection with rest there. The maund is the most confusing any scientific or practical measure. You have unit of weight. When we want to refer to a got to ally with the pound or with the maund of 40 seers, we refer to it as the kilogram: then only you ^an use it for any "Bengal maund" and this Bengal maund is scientific purpose. If we' think that we must equal to 82-2/7 pounds. have a separate unit of weight and a separate unit of measure—separate from the entire world—and we must have a separata 1289 Standard Weights and [ 4 DEC. 1953 ] Measures Bill, 1953 1290 system of units for all the scientific uses, 1 am sure may come in immediately. Some years afraid, no other Member will support Mr. back—about four years back— a committee Saksena in that type of contention. We have was appointed by the Government of India to got to. make up our mind. Either we go in for go into this question of lineal weights and the pound or for the kilogram. And by a slight measures, and they have studied the whole alteration we can •convert our unit into a question and recommended to the world unit. , Therefore, I submit. Sir, rhat we j Government of India unanimously that the should change our masha from 15 grams to 15 metric system should be adopted. I think the 42 grams and make it exactly equal to one Government in due course will take up this gram: That is the first alteration suggested by question, and my object of bringing forward me. The second alteration is that at present a this Bill is to focus the attention of Gov- seer is equal to 960 mashas and it should be ernment to this urgent need. I submit. Sir, that made into a thousand mashas. The result of all such a simple measure as this, which is not this will be that one seer will have 10 chattaks going to involve any hardship, should be instead of having 16 chattaks. A chattak will adopted. The total difference in the masha in have 10 tolas and a tola will have 10 mashas our unit of weight is going to be only about 3 and a masha will have 10 rattis. They will all per cent, and we will thus standardise our be multiples of 10. We retain our old names maund. A maund will be equal to 10 seers. and with very slight variation in the units, we You know even now in Bombay we have a bring them in con-formity with the world maund of 12 seers.