Hyderabad: Even as the BJP champions the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the Congress and BSP remain vehemently opposed, the BRS is undecided and AIMIM has vowed to fight the proposal tooth and nail. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave urgency to the matter by speaking of the necessity of bringing in the UCC, questioning why one country should have two different laws.
TPCC working president Mahesh Kumar Goud said, “The BJP is bringing up this issue with an eye on votes. If they were serious about its implementation, they would have brought it up before. Since they have failed on all fronts and cannot develop the country, they are bringing these divisive issues.”
Responding to a question on the issue, MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said, “It is being used to instigate (people) against Muslims. Tax rebate is allowed for the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). How is it allowed? Is this tax rebate not against the right to equality? Can the PM oppose this? Article 29 guarantees the right to culture as a fundamental right. I think the PM has not understood it. The pluralism and secularism that are there in the Indian Constitution are in line with Articles 25, 26, 29, 14, 19 and 21 are part of the basic structure of the Constitution.”
Elaborating, he said, “In Islam, marriage is a contract; in Hinduism, it’s a bond for eternity; and Christians say ‘I do’. The PM thinks the country’s diversity is a problem. He wants one nation, one election, one law, one culture, one religion. When the PM talks of UCC, he is talking of Hindu civil code. They want to protect all Hindu practices under the law. You have 300 MPs, can you abolish Hindu Undivided Family. Can you do it?”
Ambedkar did not consider UCC to be mandatory and said it should be voluntary. The Law Commission in 2018 said it is neither necessary nor desirable, he added.
Explaining his party’s stand, state BSP president R.S. Praveen Kumar said, “We are opposed to the UCC. It is not an issue at all. This country is defined by its diversity. The Constitution respects the diversity and cultural specificities in Articles 25 to 28. Laws of marriage, property and their dispute redressal are all included in them, and they are not ultra vires the Constitution. If any law is contrary to the Constitution, it would prevail over the personal laws.”
The nation currently faces problems of unemployment and poverty, among other issues. Instead of focusing on them, the BJP is trying to divert and stoke communal passions. Our party has clearly mentioned that we oppose UCC, the BSP leader said.
CPI Telangana secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao said, “It was decided that the UCC would be implemented after reaching a consensus. Until consensus is arrived, the respective civil codes will prevail. It has become a practice for the BJP, before every election, to raise a controversial issue to garner votes of the majority Hindus. They had raised the triple talaq issue before the earlier polls.”
Acknowledging that the UCC is a goal and is part of the Directive Principles of state policy, Prof M. Kodandaram, founder-president of the Telangana Jana Samithi, said, “Mistakes made in trying to implement a UCC will create new problems. In some communities, if the hand of a woman is held, it is assumed that they are married. In some, marriage is solemnised only if they go around the fire seven times. Tilt towards one tradition would not be taken kindly. Evolving a principle that appeals to everyone, tradition, community is difficult. Family traditions are different. How do you balance them? Diversities are to be properly understood and accommodated.”
Elsewhere, a round-table meeting organised by the Tehreek Muslim Shabban on Sunday called for Muslim unity against the UCC. Muslim intellectuals representing various organisations spoke at the meeting and appealed to political leaders, social activists and individuals to transcend their sectarian, political, and organisational affiliations to unite against the UCC.
UCC will bring more divisions
With the communal distress that the country is going through due to the ideological differences with the party in power, the Uniform Civil Code will bring more divisions against our minorities. India being a most diverse country with different religions, castes and tribes, it would be very difficult to bring them under a single umbrella without affecting their fundamental right to religion. The UCC would create more chaos than bring order to the personal laws.
Sudheer Penumala, Filmmaker
It will disturb framework of peaceful India
I strongly feel this law will infringe upon religious and cultural rights. India is a country where people have diverse worldviews, yet all of us live in peace and unity. The UCC will replace the religious personal laws with a uniform set of laws that would be applied consistently to all the citizens. This I fear would somehow disturb the framework of a peaceful India. We are a country known for our unity in diversity and implementing the UCC seems to distort that image on the world stage. We should not rush the move but re-think and consider all the consequences.
Arpana Saladi, YouTuber
A compromise should not be made
The price of UCC is losing the Indic identity to make sure that minority exceptionalism is gone. That is a compromise that I feel should not be made. Just like how certain terrible Hindu practices were rightly outlawed by the State (Article 17), so must the minorities reform their laws before coming to the UCC. In particular, by declaring many parts of the Sharia that are against social and gender justice as illegal, like fatwas for the death of persons, child marriages, polygamy, etc. UCC, I fear, will be an extension of the unequal treatment of the already interfered Hindu laws since 1955 placed against minority exceptionalism based on the idea of Eurocentric uniformity. This undemocratic treatment against Hindus must stop, and Hindu Civil Code revisited. Lastly, the publicity of the project, given the entrenched media, will be painted as anti-minorities and detrimental to the sovereignty of this land.
Vedanth Chandrashekar, Media communications professional
More awareness now, UCC Must
Article 44 has mandated that the states work towards a UCC, yet, for over 75 years, it has been ignored due to too many versatilities of Indian society, coupled with the political vetsed interests of a few. A step in this direction is a welcome change. During independence, the literacy rate was 12 per cent, which is now at 77 per cent. Hence the awareness of rights , and pursuit for justice is what citizens would look for. Legislation is needed to deliver justice in such cases. the UCC is a must today, for the betterment of future generations as well. Too many people, women across religions, communities, castes, etc. face injustices in their life's on divorce, child custody or property sharing amongst the kids. I just hope a consultative approach is taken, and a strong push is given to this UCC. It's needed and India is ready for it.
Vijay Gopal, Anti-corruption activist
Must have a consistent approach for all
UCC is logical if it is consistent across all religious spectrums. Currently, there are exceptions made for one side that are not made for another. People batting for the UCC are the same ones who do not support the entry of women in certain temples or the entry of Dalits into others. If that is done on the basis of religious grounds, why go after a certain practice in another religion if that is also being practiced on religious grounds? If the argument is that other Muslim countries have stopped triple talaq, and therefore, the conclusion derived is that it is not important to Islam, then there are other temples that allow women and Dalits. So can we not make the same conclusion? Logic dies when consistency of application dies.
Deepu Joseph, IT professional
