Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhammi has announced Uniform Civil Code in the state if the Bharatiya Janata Party is voted to power in the assembly polls on February 14.
It’s as big and historic a move as ever in India and a game-changer of tsunami-proportion.
BJP is testing waters in Uttarakhand but the UCC would start rolling unless the Centre develops cold feet for protests would be bigger than what one witnessed in anti-CAA and farm laws saga.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is part of Article 44 of the Constitution which expects the State to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout India. It would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, land etc.
Thus far, personal laws play a big role on such matters for different religious communities and some are highly discriminatory, mostly against women.
For instance, Hindu daughters have equal rights on father’s property. However, a Muslim daughter is entitled to only half of what a son gets under the Muslim law.
While the marriageable age of both boys and girls is being raised to 21 years, under Muslim Law, marriages of children under 16 years is permissible by Sharia enforcers.
Under the Christian Divorce Act, a two-year waiting period is mandated for mutual divorce between a couple. This could virtually mean death for any or both partners in a marriage.
Similarly, maintenance rights under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is optional for Muslim couples under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights to Divorce) Act, 1986. However, few couples register themselves to be governed by section 125 of CrPC.
We must recall the defence of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in Supreme Court in the Triple Talaq case: It defended the practice, polygamy and nikah halal. It said that “if the judgement takes long in coming, a husband could resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive.” Marriage is an arrangement in which “male is stronger and female weaker sex”. Further, “polygamy ensures sexual purity and chastity and whenever polygamy is banned, it emerges from history that illicit sex has raised its head.”
A codification of personal laws would ensure better gender equality. It would be enacted by the legislature, subject to modification and under the purview of judicial review. Religious overlords are taken out of equation. The personal matters would be under the domain of legislature and not religious boards.
Sure, the UCC would mean that it would be a made-to-fit legislation for each religious groups. There was a time when the Hindu Marriage, Adoption and Succession Acts were massively opposed in 1956. Today it has settled into a norm. It has helped in uplifting millions of Hindu women.
In today’s world, it is nobody’s case that discrimination and inequality be allowed to perpetuate in the name of personal laws. Citing religious faith is not good enough. If it was so, child marriage would never have disappeared from our society.
A Massive Moment in India’s history
India prides itself a secular nation. Nothing could be more secular than UCC treating its citizens with the same eye.
UCC sure would fall into the crosshair of Islamic fundamentalist forces in the country and all those who piggyback on it like the divisive political parties and their unholy alliance with Left-Liberals that controls the mainstream discourse.
It would take the card of religious identity out of hands of such forces who create unrest in society and paralyse the Centre as well as judiciary as one is witness to in the ongoing Hijab Row in Karnataka.
BJP could opt for UCC in states it controls and, as said, test the waters. Or it could have it passed in both houses of parliament. In any case, this issue could burn for months, even years. But its an ace for BJP’s future, as well India’s.
There would be massive retaliation and Supreme Court would be brought in. But the truth is, the judiciary has no role in it. It can’t go against the wish of Constitution itself. All it could do is to take a stand on a particular section of the law. The law on UCC itself is beyond its scope.
Meanwhile, be sure that a storm would break out in India as the citadels-private shops of religions’ upholders would foment trouble.
India’s streets would be full of trouble and the likes one witnessed during the anti-CAA protests and the farmers’ laws, would be child’s play.
Most noticeable would be the “earthquake” in Bengal, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana etc where Muslims exert a strong voice. So it would be in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh etc. Indeed, the whole of India could reel as the eco-system is still in the fist of Breaking India forces.
One hopes BJP plays its cards well this time. They must bite the bullet. It’s good for them; it’s good for the nation.
