UNIFORM
CIVIL CODE – POLITY
News: BJP is committed to bringing Uniform Civil Code: Amit Shah
What's
in the news?
● The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is committed to implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, but only after discussions and by following all democratic processes, Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking at an event organised by news channel Times Now.
Uniform
Civil Code:
●
The Uniform Civil Code, which comes under Article 44 of the Constitution of
India, proposes to introduce personal
laws that would apply to all citizens equally, irrespective of their religion,
gender, caste, etc.
●
Uniform Civil Code essentially refers to a
common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce,
adoption, inheritance, and succession.
●
Article 44 states, “The State shall
endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the
territory of India”. However, since the article comes under the directive
principles of state policy, they are regarded as only guidelines and it is not
mandatory to use them.
● At present, the personal laws of various communities are largely governed by their religion.
Arguments
in favour of UCC:
1.
Gender Inequality:
●
Various aspects of prevailing marriage personal laws discriminate women, like Sharia
law allows a Muslim male to solemnise up to four marriages without taking
consent of his existing wives.
●
This blanket immunity enables husbands
from other communities to desert their wives by converting to Islam and escape
from the legal proceedings.
●
According to the feminists, UCC will
result into gender justice. It will
help in realizing the constitutional
ideals of equality before law, human dignity.
2.
National Integration:
●
The Supreme Court of India has opined that
UCC can serve as an instrument for national integration by removing disparate
loyalties to law which have conflicting ideologies.
3.
Secularism:
●
India is a secular democracy.
●
A common civil and personal law in India
would ensure equality among all its citizens, irrespective of their religion,
class, caste, gender etc. Thus, UCC will lead to equality in society.
4.
Simplification of complex laws:
●
UCC will simplify the cumbersome legal
matters governed by personal laws. In the absence of UCC judges interpret
various provisions like maintenance in case of Muslim women according to their
prejudices and opinion.
●
The introduction of UCC will prevent such
interference and promote uniform provisions.
5.
Societal reforms:
●
Existing personal laws are mainly based on
the patriarchal notions of the society in all religions.
● UCC will remove such patriarchal notions by destroying their sanctity.
Arguments
against UCC:
1.
Affect religious rights of community:
●
Many communities, particularly minority
communities perceive Uniform Civil Code as an encroachment on their rights to religious freedom.
●
They fear that a common code will neglect
their traditions and impose rules which will be mainly dictated and influenced
by the majority religious communities.
2.
Conflicting fundamental rights:
●
The conflict of freedom of religion (Article 25,26) with equality before
law (Article 14) and right to
equality.
3.
Affects religious diversity:
●
It is erroneous to assume that India has
different personal laws because of religious diversity. As a matter of fact,
the law differs from state to state.
●
Under the Constitution, the power to
legislate in respect of personal laws rests with both Parliament and state
Assemblies.
●
Preservation of legal diversity seems to
be the reason for inclusion of personal law in the Concurrent List (entry No.
5).
4.
Uniform rather than common:
●
The Constitution’s framers used the term
“uniform” in Article 44 and not “common”, because “common” means “one and the
same in all circumstances”, while “uniform” means “the same in similar
conditions”.
●
Different people may have different laws,
but the law within a particular group should be uniform. Such a classification
is permissible even under the right to equality under Article 14.
5.
Law Commission recommendations:
●
The Law Commission of India has said that
a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is “neither
necessary nor desirable at this stage.”
●
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India is
ignorant of the diversity of its cultures, customs, traditions, castes,
ethnicity, languages and religious ideologies. From north to south and from
east to west, each state in India has a different culture and a different
outlook towards life.
6.
Affects tribal culture and customs:
●
In the Northeast, there are more than 200
tribes with their own varied customary laws.
● The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
WAY
FORWARD:
1.
Ensuring diversity:
●
The guiding principles of the Constitution
itself visualize diversity and have tried to promote uniformity among peoples
of different denominations.
2.
Gradual changes:
●
A uniform law, although highly desirable
but may be counterproductive to the unity and integrity of the nation
especially if applied hastily.
●
In a democracy and rule of law, a gradual
progressive change and order must be brought about.
3.
Bring out only certain provisions under UCC:
●
Only those elements of customs and
traditions should be brought into a unified law that causes injustice to
individuals.
●
There are some good and equitable
provisions in personal laws, which are worth incorporating into the unified
law.
●
Good customs and traditions should be
protected to preserve the indigenous culture associated with them. It will help
India protect its strength i.e. unity in diversity.
●
Codification of all personal laws as
suggested by the Law Commission.
●
By codification of different personal
laws, one can arrive at certain universal principles that prioritize equity
rather than the imposition of a Uniform Civil Code.
● To resolve the contentious issues like UCC, common consensus of all the stakeholders is needed.
Doing the right thing
also requires the right manner, right time and above all right intentions. The
UCC debate has nothing to do with nationalism or secularism. The most important
concern is ‘gender justice’. UCC
matters should be taken forward by women organizations.