Political
Diary
New Delhi, 1 November 2022
Uniform
Civil Code
TIPTOEING
STEALTHILY
By
Poonam I Kaushish
It’s
the silly season of Ram-Rahim political poll cut outs with election to two
States Gujarat and Himachal soon and Karnataka next year. Each community has
upped the ante of identity politics to suit narrow political ends and massage
their vote-banks.
Amidst this Gujarat Sarkar
unleashed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) genie last week by setting up a
committee to study its implementation and intends rolling it out pre-poll, the fourth State after Uttarakhand, Himachal
and Assam. The Code is BJP’s key agenda and was part of its 2019 Lok Sabha
election manifesto alongside Ram temple in Ayodhya and abrogation of Article
370 in J&K which have been fulfilled.
In fact, Modi believes no country should have any religion-based
law other than a single law for citizens. Just as he has umpteen times mooted
the One Nation, One Poll idea to ensure the country is perennially not trapped
in the year-long election circus which is wreaking havoc on our body politic
leaving hardly any time for governance.
Alongside, after successfully implementing One Nation, One
Ration Card, ‘One Nation, One Mobility Card, One Nation, One Grid and One
Nation, One Sign Language, he has now mooted One Nation, One Uniform for police
forces last week so that citizens anywhere can recognise police personnel as they
would have a brand recall just like the red-and-black post boxes in the
country.
Constitutionally, police forces are under the State Governments
jurisdiction with each of 28 States having their own force. As both ‘public
order’ and ‘police’ are placed in List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule
which deals with division of powers between the Union and States. Also there
are inconsistencies in their official attire. Kolkata and Goa Police wear white,
Puducherry Police bright red cap with khaki and Delhi Police white and blue.
Predictably,
Opposition has attacked this “one nation” push as symptomatic of Modi’s stress
on uniformity and his disregard for India’s diversity saying “good governance
and not uniformity should be the objective of a democracy. The BJP and its
cahoots always whip up one nation issues or UCC with an eye on upcoming polls
to detract attention from its failures on taming high prices and burgeoning
unemployment.”
Added a
senior Congress leader, “By getting his home State to bring UCC, Modi is
tiptoeing stealthily to present us with a fait accompli. He should realize UCC
would interfere with the right of religious freedom and in personal laws of
religious groups unless religious groups are prepared for change, (sic). It is
a ‘minority versus majority’ issue and the Hindutva Brigade’s policy for
Muslims living in India.”
Those hooting for UCC underscore it divests religion from social
relations and personal law like Hindu Code Bill, Shariat law etc which are based on scriptures and customs of various
religious communities. Replacing it with a common law
governing personal matters: marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and
succession for citizens irrespective of religion, harmonising
diverse cultural groups, removing inequalities and protecting women rights
thereby creating a gender-equal society.
Moreover
modern Indian society is gradually becoming homogenous, the traditional
barriers of religion, community and caste are slowly dissipating, the UCC provides protection to vulnerable sections and religious minorities,
while encouraging nationalistic fervour through unity.
But it
is easier said than done due to the country's diversity and religious laws,
which not only differ sect-wise, but also by community, caste and region.
Already, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has expressed reservations,
stating India has a multi-cultural and multi-religious society and each group
has the Constitutional right to maintain its identity. Adding, the UCC is a
threat to India’s diversity and encroachment on their rights to religious
freedom which will disregard their traditions, imposing rules influenced by the
majority religious community.
Arguably,
what is it about the UCC that makes the political tribe other than the Hindutva
Brigade see red? Why should a Code be viewed as encroaching on the right of
religious freedom? Or being anti-minority? If Hindu personal law can be
modernized and a traditional Christian custom struck down as unconstitutional,
why should Muslim personal law be treated as being sacred to the secular cause?
Bluntly,
UCC spells out that there is no necessary connection between religious and
personal law in a civilized society. Moreover with the dynamic ever-changing
geo-security situation there is need for strengthening the country’s unity and
integrity along-with rejection of different laws for different communities and
reforming India.
Besides,
it does not affect personal laws of a particular community. These laws will
only help remove gender biases from personal laws bring gender equality and
bind together all individual laws’ to have one set of common laws which will
apply to all Indian nationals regardless of community and religion.
Goa is
the only State which has a UCC regardless of religion, gender, caste. It has a
common family law whereby all Hindus, Muslims and Christians are bound with the
same law related to marriage, divorce, succession. When Goa became a Union
Territory in 1961, Parliament authorized the Portuguese civil code of 1867 be
amended and repealed by the competent legislature.
Certainly
the path to UCC is sensitive and difficult but it must be taken. A beginning
has to be made if the Constitution is to have any meaning. Discrimination
cannot be justified on the grounds of traditions and customs. To establish
equality the law that regulates population of a country should also be
one.
A
common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing
desperate loyalties to laws, which have conflicting ideologies. A way forward
is to follow Balasaheb Ambedkar who advocated “optional” common civil code.
Whereby, Parliament in the initial stage makes a provision of the Code being
purely voluntary.
Regrettably,
in today’s politico-social reality Ambedkar’s sound advice is ignored and
dismissed as a utopian hypothesis and Article 44 has remained a dead letter. As
things stand both Hindus and Muslims have lost sight of the essentials of their
respective religions and are largely misled by bigots and fundamentalists.
Worse, even the educated are speaking the language barely distinguishable from
that of Hindu-Muslim fundamentalists. Their stock answer to every critique:
Religion is in danger.
What next? Ultimately, no community should be allowed to veto or
block progressive legislation. Especially, if it is voluntary and does not seek
to impose any view or way of life on any one arbitrarily. Time now to reject
different laws for different communities, implement Article 44 and reform
India.
One cannot progress riding on past’s wheels. India needs uniform
laws and should figure what is
satisfactory to all groups. Criminal and commercial laws are basic, so
there is little purpose behind common laws to appear as something else. It just
partitions Indians on the premise of religion that should not happen in the
21st century. It is beyond endurance of sensitive minds to allow injustice to
be suffered when it is so palpable. What gives? ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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