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162 amply sufficient and it was difficult so to frame the bill as to prevent it doing injustice to those who declined to take advantage of its provisions. The original intention of the Act was to render legal all marriages not performed according to any recognised form of religion, but this practical institution of civil marriage met with a strong protest on the ground that it would totally destroy the ancient social organization of the country, allowing any man to marry whomsoever he pleased irrespective of caste. The Bill was therefore altered to apply only to members of the Brahmo Samaj and it was expressly stipulated that the contracting parties should state that they did not profess the Hindu, Muhammadan, Christian, Parsi, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain religion. To avoid any possible hardships, the act expressly stated that 'nothing in this act contained shall affect the validity of any marriage not solemnised under its provisions; nor shall this act be deemed directly or indirectly to affect the validity of any mode of contracting marriage; but if the validity of any such mode shall hereafter come into question before any Court, such question shall be decided as if this act had not been passed.' The Act finally became law on the 19th March 1872 and Keshub rightly regarded it as one of his greatest triumphs. It was an official recognition of the Brahmo Samaj, providing for its convenience a special law. Henceforward the Brahmo Samaj had its own form of marriage