Editorial: All for one, one for all
The Law Commission had in fact initiated a public consultation process on the UCC a fortnight ago, soliciting views from members of civil society as well as religious organisations.
A debate has been raging ever since Prime Minister Modi batted for Uniform Civil Code (UCC) earlier this week, during a speech in Bhopal. The PM observed that if there is one law for one member of the house, and another law for another member, how can the house run. He was justifying the ruling party’s redux mission to implement the UCC as 2024 Lok Sabha polls approach.
The UCC implies having a common law for all citizens in India irrespective of religion. Its implementation has been a part of the BJP’s election manifesto for a while now. The state of Uttarakhand is already in the process of forming a legislation around it. The Law Commission had in fact initiated a public consultation process on the UCC a fortnight ago, soliciting views from members of civil society as well as religious organisations.
Since then, it has received as many as 8.5 lakh responses, spanning a gamut of perspectives and arguments – both in favour of the implementation and against it. Per observers in Tamil Nadu, the PM’s push to replace the personal laws of each religion might not hold water in the State. The DMK’s spokesman TKS Elangovan remarked that the government has no authority to violate fundamental rights of citizens.
He pointed out that Modi’s aim was to target the minority community, a sentiment echoed by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee as well. They believe that the PM is dividing people on religious/communal lines in order to reap rich dividends in the election. Elangovan called out the Centre to roll out UCC starting with the Hindu religion – citing the example of how some individuals are denied entry into shrines, and barred from performing religious rites like pujas, but others are.
It struck a chord with many in the state, who had witnessed the implementation of a poll promise of the ruling party – appointing archakas (temple priests) who had been picked from all castes. Interestingly, even AIADMK, an ally of the BJP had highlighted its commitment to oppose the code in its 2019 poll manifesto – which seems ironic considering former CM J Jayalalithaa had convinced her party’s executive committee to rule in favour of the UCC back in 2003. Right now, just about two parties – the AAP and the Shiv Sena, out of the 23 parties that attended the June 23 Opposition meet in Patna have conveyed their ‘in principle’ support for the UCC.
The previous Law Commission’s consultation paper ‘Reform of Family Law’ unveiled in 2018 pointed out that cultural diversity cannot be compromised to a degree that our quest for uniformity ends up becoming a threat to India’s territorial integrity. Political groups are taking a cautious approach to the UCC debate as it is a politically inflammable and sensitive matter that concerns the nation. Article 44 of the Constitution does seek the implementation of UCC. It’s an aspiration that someday, all citizens would feel confident about their role in our democracy, which will be potent enough to override barriers placed by their religions, castes and tribes. Eventually, they can agree to a common set of laws governing personal aspects of our lives including marriage, inheritance and divorce. However, this roll-out must be based on fundamental notions of liberty, equality and justice for all citizens. It must not be steamrolled in a blatant show of majoritarianism.