On June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly advocated for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He said that the minorities were being ‘misled’ by the Opposition parties on the issue.
Addressing a gathering of party workers in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi said, “You tell me, how can there be one law for one member and another law for another member in a family? Will that home be able to function? Then how will the country be able to function with such a dual system? We have to remember that even in the Constitution, there is a mention of equal rights for all,” he said.
PM Modi’s statement set off a fiery debate on the UCC implementation. The proposed law has garnered significant attention in recent times with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government adamant on introducing the bill during the upcoming Parliamentary Monsoon Session.
What is Uniform Civil Code
UCC in simple terms can be described as ‘one nation, one law’. It is a legal framework that proposes to replace personal laws of different religions regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance or succession and adoption.
It is important to note that, unlike civic and criminal laws which are the same for all citizens, UCC focuses on personal laws as they are governed by various religions.
A brief history
The idea of UCC was first floated during British rule in 1864 when personal laws for Hindus and Muslims were framed. However, the British government decided not to ‘interfere’ with how different religious groups govern their issues pertaining to personal laws.
After independence, BR Ambedkar suggested the implementation of the UCC on the grounds of removing regressive and discriminatory Hindu laws against women. The debate led to the inclusion of a series of laws in the 1950s — Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, and Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.
As mentioned in Article 44 of the Constitution, under the Directive Principles of State Policy of India, which says that the State “shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”
Through the Hindu Code Bill, women could now inherit their father’s property, seek alimony in divorce and enjoy other rights.
To govern their familial affairs as per Sharia, Indian Muslims follow the Muslim Personal Law. The Sharia, or Islamic jurisprudence, is based on the Quran and Hadith (saying of Prophet Muhammad).
In 1985, Supreme Court’s verdict on Shah Bano case, where the petitioners sought alimony, sparked the debate on UCC. Shah Bano was a 69-year-old Muslim divorcee, who had first filed a petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 1978, seeking alimony from her lawyer husband Mohd. Ahmad Khan.
Bano argued that under Section 123 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, a man was obliged to pay his wife during the marriage and after divorce so she could fend for herself.
Challenging the petition, Khan argued that the Muslim Personal Law did not recognise alimony for divorced women in Islam. Khan was supported by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board demanded the courts stay out of their matter.
When the case was heard in the Supreme Court of India in 1985, the High Court’s decision was upheld by the then chief justice of India (CJI) YV Chandrachud. Delivering the verdict, the CJI stated that Section 123 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, was applicable to every citizen, regardless of his/her religion.
The case was considered a milestone as it threw light on the discrimination faced by divorced Muslim women under the Muslim Personal Law.
BJP’s pursuit of UCC implementation
The BJP has backed the UCC implementation since the party was formed. Late BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called out the Muslim community for its hesitation to embrace UCC. In a Parliament session, Vajpayee stated that with changing times, Islamic countries had amended personal laws, and questioned why could not it happen in India.
“The makers of our Constitution suggested UCC for a purpose. With time, many Islamic nations around the world have amended their personal laws. Yet, India has not found the political space to reason with the minority groups to codify Muslim or Christian Personal laws for the larger well-being of the nation,” he had said.
The Narendra Modi-led Central government has consistently spotlighted the implementation of UCC since it came to power in 2014. Apart from UCC, the abrogation of Article 370, which granted some autonomy to the erstwhile J&K state, and the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya were BJP’s major poll planks.
With the Lok Sabha elections due next year, the Centre is clearly doing the groundwork to implement the UCC.
UCC and its implications
If the UCC is implemented, the following areas in personal laws are likely to get affected.
- Age of marriage: Under UCC, everyone, regardless of religion will have to follow a single compulsory age for marriage. This can cause confusion. Under Muslim law, a girl is ready to wed once she attains puberty. The legal age for marriage for men and women in Hindu law is 21 and 18 years. The 21st Law Commission, which had rejected the UCC, argued that this contributed to the stereotype that a wife must be younger than her husband.
- Polygamy: The Centre argues that UCC can abolish the ill-treatment of Muslim women. Although polygamy is permitted in Islam, according to the National Family Health Survey 2019-2021 report, 1.9% of Muslim women confirmed a polygamic marriage as compared to 1.3% of Hindu women. The 21st Law Commission said that polygamy was an uncommon practice followed by Indian Muslims. It also noted that polygamy is often misused by people from other faiths who convert to Islam only to legally marry multiple times.
- Adoption and custody of children: In Hindu law, an adopted child is equal to a biological child whereas the Muslim law follows kafala, which states that an adopted child is under the care and guidance of a foster parent. Regarding custody of children, a father is considered the legal guardian as per Hindu Law. If the child is born without the couple being married, then the mother is considered their legal guardian. The 21st Law Commission observed that although the Hindu law was codified to counter discrimination against women, custody of children largely remained a male-dominated area.
- Divorce: In its report, the 21st Law Commission suggested a simpler divorce procedure as per the personal laws of various religious communities. The landmark Shah Bano (triple-talaq) case verdict, which makes a Muslim woman eligible for alimony until she is remarried, was a breather to many women facing discrimination and abuse in marriage.
UCC is not needed: Religious communities
The major opposition against the UCC is that its implementation will subdue laws mandated under various religions, and various tribal communities would be forced to follow the majoritarian (Hindu) law.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB has said that it has sent its objections to the Law Commission, demanding “not just tribals but every religious minority should be kept out of the purview of such a statute.’’
In a press statement, the AIMPLB stated: “Such a code is neither relevant nor beneficial for a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country like India.”
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a top representative body of the Sikh community, also rejects the UCC stating it is unnecessary. According to the committee, UCC is a “suppression for the existence of minorities, their religious rites, traditions, and culture”.
The Nagaland Tribal Council has also opposed the UCC, stating that if the law was implemented, it may diffuse Article 371A of the Constitution, which states that no law passed by the Parliament will interfere with the religious and social practices of the Naga community. Other tribal groups in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam, and Jharkhand have voiced their opposition to the proposed UCC.
Some BJP allies oppose the idea
Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said the National People’s Party is of the view that “UCC is against the idea of India’s strength and identity, which come from its diversity.” The NPP is in alliance with the BJP government in the state.
Chairman of the parliamentary committee on law and justice and BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi suggested that Indian tribals should be kept out of the purview of the UCC.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Mehmood Paracha said the Centre has one point agenda and it is ‘to implement Manusmriti and make a Hindu-Rashtra’. Dr BR Ambedkar wanted to bring the UCC because in Hinduism women were oppressed.
While the Congress has maintained its stand, saying UCC is undesirable at this stage, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP lent its support on the condition that UCC should be implemented only after wider consultations.
On June 14, the 22nd Law Commission, which recently got a three-year extension, invited views from all stakeholders, including people and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue. “The responses we have received are approximately 8.5 lakhs as of June 28, 2023,” Commission chairman Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi told news agency PTI.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on Wednesday claimed that the Uniform Civil Code is a “difficult” issue and efforts are on to make it easy.
Asked if the UCC had links with the idea of Hindu Rashtra, the noted economist said: “It sure does. But Hindu Rashtra is not the only way to progress. Hinduism is being misused.”
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