There is much debate around the topic Uniform Civil Code . Many groups are in its favour and are applauding the BJP govt for bringing much needed reforms while many are criticising the government and saying that the BJP is using its Hindu Nationalist approach and by bringing in the UCC , it will violate their Fundamental Right u/a 25 , 26,27 and 28 . Now let’s analyse what is Uniform Civil Code . Does it mean that now there will be One law for whole country .
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Uniform Civil Code is given u/a 44 of the constitution in Part 4 i.e it is a directive principal of state policy which means that it is not a enforceable right rather it is a direction which is given to the government . Uniform Civil Code is a proposed legal framework that will codify and apply a uniform set of laws related to person matters such as marriage, divorce, succession etc to all individuals irrespective of their religion. So it brings us to a question that whether UCC should be applicable in India or should we leave personal matters to the individual who would follow their own customs and practices.
Uniform Civil Code: A Positive Step?
UCC is a positive step that is taken in regard to personal laws because in India that are sone practices and customs which goes against the principles of Constitution and these practices and customs discriminate against women and members of particular castes . For example, the practice of Female Genital Mutilation is prevalent among the members of Dawoodi Bohra community. The United Nations has declared the FGM as human right violation but there is no ban in India. The community who practice FGM favour the practice saying that it is part of their culture and they have the right to do it . So a UCC has the potential of banning such type of practice as the people will be governed by a set of uniform laws that would ban such type of evil practices
which are against the constitution or discriminate against the women. Also issues like Maintenance and Divorce are as of now being governed by respective laws which are most of the time discriminating against the women . Like the practice of Instant Triple Talaq ( talaqe-bidat) which was prevalent in Muslim was again discriminating Muslim women . In 2017 , the central government passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 which criminalised the act of instant triple talaq So I believe that the practices and customs which are against the the constitution, which discriminate women should necessarily be declared illegal and wrong and hence Uniform Civil Code in this regard is a much needed reform.
A Cautious Approach
However at the same time, I personally believe that Uniform Civil Code should be made applicable only is respective area where the practice is discriminating or against the Constitution. And the other practices and customs should be left untouched and the central government should not regulate them.
The reasons for this are –
Diversity in India
India is a land of huge cultural and regional diversity. People of India follow different kinds of practices and customs which they believe have been followed from ages . So in such a country which has a huge cultural, regional linguistic diversity bringing out a uniform law could be detrimental. It is essential that the people from different communities who follow different practices and customs should accommodated and be allowed to follow their own practices as long as they are not in the violation of the Constitution or discriminating against any particular gender .
Shifting from the model of Secularism
India follows a model of secularism which believes in equal protection to all religions. This model of India is very peculiar since it does not disassociates religion completely from the state like the French model of Secularism. Indian model of secularism says that every religion is equal and state shall give equal treatment to all religions . With bringing of a UCC, India would be shifting from its model of Secularism and would be moving towards French Model of Secularism which states that there should be separation of religion from the state and removal of religious values from public space . But the French model has resulted in serious consequence in form of social tension in the society, the example of which can be found in the killing of French School Teacher which
resulted in many killings across the nation . So if UCC would become applicable there is an apprehension that religion and religious values would be dissociated from state so as to bring uniformity but this decision could bring similar situation which arose in France due to its model of secularism.
Acceptance
The mere idea of central government to bring UCC has led to communal tensions across India . Now one could imagine what would happen if actually central government enacts UCC. There is already a lack of consensus among various communities on the issue of uniform application of civil laws . There are huge chances that any communities would not be accepting UCC if enacted and this could definitely lead to Communal violence across the country .
Conclusion
So I believe that UCC should be enacted and should definitely change some of the laws and practices but only to a certain extent. Not all the practices and customs should be banned , rather only those practices which are against the Constitution and violate Human Rights or are discriminatory towards a particular gender, should be declared illegal and a law governing only those practices and customs should be brought by the government.
