The Gujarat government has recently approved the formation of a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code, commonly known as UCC. The committee will be headed by a retired HC judge and will consist of three to four members. Earlier, the BJP governments in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh had also announced the implementation of the UCC in their states. The announcement of BJP government has once again created a storm in political circles. Naturally, any common man will have curiosity to know, why this issue is so sensitive? What is the status of UCC in our constitution? Why BJP is emphasising for the implementation of UCC in the country, but not implementing in states where it is ruling? and finally why this announcement is at the time of assembly election only? To have 360” scenario of uniform civil code in mind, let’s look at it since its beginning.
The UCC refers to a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession for all citizens, irrespective of religion. Implementation of a uniform civil code across the nation is one of the contentious promises pursued by Bharatiya Janta Party. Currently, personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures. It is an important issue regarding secularism in Indian politics and continues to remain disputed by India›s political left wing, Muslim groups and other conservative religious groups and sects in defence of sharia and religious customs. In other parts of the country, different personal laws are applicable to different religious communities. For instance, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is applicable to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 is applicable to matters related to Parsis, the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 for Christians and the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Application Act, 1937 is applicable to Muslims in personal matters.
The Article 44 of the Constitution says, “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” Though many political leaders have backed the UCC saying that it will bring equality to the country, some parties, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and All India United Democratic Front, have termed it “an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move”. They are of the opinion that India is a country of different castes and communities. There are different laws of different religions. If the UCC is implemented, then it will affect the country. In their opinion, the BJP-led government is not only targeting Muslims but also other religions. All India Muslim Personal Law Board has also alleged it to be a rhetoric for bringing the law an attempt by Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Central governments to divert the attention from the concerns of inflation, economy, and rising unemployment.
Constitutional background of UCC
Personal laws were first framed during the British Raj, mainly for Hindu and Muslim citizens. The British feared opposition from community leaders and refrained from further interfering within this domestic sphere. Indian state of Goa was separated from India due to colonial rule in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa and Daman, retained a common family law known as the Goa civil code and thus being only state in India with a uniform civil code till date. Following India’s independence, Hindu code bills were introduced which largely codified and reformed personal laws in various sects among Indian religions like Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs while exempted Christians, Jews, Muslims and Parsis, being identified as distinct communities from Hindus.
In 1948, Nehru entrusted the drafting of the new code to a sub-committee of the Assembly and nominated Ambedkar as its head. The questioning of the customs governing the private life of the Hindus aroused a profound emotion, not only among the traditionalists of the Hindu Mahasabha, but also among leaders of the Congress as prestigious as Rajendra Prasad, who, after being president of the Constituent Assembly had become the first President of the Indian Republic. Prasad, in a letter to Patel, who himself showed strong reservations vis-à-vis such reforms of the Hindu traditions, rose against a project whose “new concepts and new ideas are not only foreign to the Hindu law but are susceptible of dividing every family”. Many Congress members also opposed a reform of Hindu practices concerning inheritance, marriage (and divorce) and adoption, as shown by the fate of the Hindu Code Bill. During the debates in Constituent Assembly, B.R. Ambedkar had demonstrated his will to reform Indian society by recommending the adoption of a Civil Code of western inspiration. He had then opposed the delegates who wished to immortalize personal laws, especially Muslim representatives who showed themselves very attached to the Sharia. Jawaharlal Nehru was attached to this code in which he saw, quite as Ambedkar, one of the corner stones of the modernization of India. He even announced that his government would resign if this bill was not passed. Ambedkar pressed him to submit it as quickly as possible to Parliament. Nehru asked him for a little patience and even split the Code into four subsets for defusing the opposition before submitting it to the Assembly on 17 September 1951. Dr Ambedkar had resigned from the cabinet in 1951 when his draft of the Hindu Code Bill was stalled by the Parliament.
Originally, the idea of Uniform Civil Code was tabled by the National Planning Commission appointed by the Congress in 1940. There was a subcommittee who was to examine women’s status and recommends reforms of personal law for gender equality. In 1947, UCC was sought to be enshrined in the Constitution of India as a fundamental right by Minoo Masani, Hansa Mehta, Amrit Kaur and Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The Constitution Assembly debated UCC in 1948 and Article 44 of Indian Constitution i.e., Directive Principles of State Policy sets implementation of uniform civil laws which is the duty of the state under Part IV. Reformist bills were passed in 1950, which gave Hindu women the right to divorce and inherit property. Bigamy and child marriages are outlawed. Since then, UCC has remained very sensitive and controversial. We shall discuss the politics of UCC in next article.
Sudhir S. Raval is a veteran journalist and columnist from Gujarat and Consulting Editor with iTV Network, New Delhi.