Uniform Civil Code - A pat on back or a slap on face.

Yesterday i.e. 14th July, 2023 marked as the?deadline for sending views on Uniform civil code to the Law Commision of India?

On June 14, the 22nd Law Commission issued a notification?to elicit views from various stakeholders – including public and religious organizations – on UCC, where it stated that interested persons or organisations had 30 days to submit their views to the Law Commission in the form of consultation/discussion/working papers on any issues pertaining to UCC.

But wait, What is UCC ?

Part 4, of the Article 44 of the Indian Constitution says, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally regardless of their religion, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures. Personal laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and?maintenance. While article 25-28 of the Indian constitution guarantees?religious freedom?to Indian citizens and allows religious groups to maintain their own affairs, article 44 of the constitution expects the Indian state to apply?directive principles?and common law for all Indian citizens while formulating national policies.

Lets dodge back a little in the past to understand what was the viewpoint of various members of the constituent assembly before framing this provision under Article 44, Part 4- Directive Principle of State Policy,?

Why wasn't it considered as a Fundamental Right?

What was the debate between Article 25/28 and UCC?

India has Unity in Diversity, which are both considered as primary features of Indian society however "True Unity can stand only because of Strong Diversity".

We often see it is way more easier to maintain unity between homogenous population, however it is challenging to bind together a heterogenous one. In contemporary times due to the incidents occurring?in the Indian society, it is highlighted by Democracy Index that Diversity has been more pronounced than Unity. Ever tried asking yourself,

Why is it necessary to maintain a common conscience between a heterogenous community?

Why can't they hold their originality?

Why are we all trying to act as fundamentalist demanding for an extreme level of uniformity which is bound to assert natural conflicts?

Why cannot we simply digest the fact that everyone has their own identity and thats okay!

"India is not guided by Constitution as much as it is guided by the respective prevalent Cultures".

High time we realize the fact that UCC is not equivalent to a Unique Identification Number(Aadhar Card)

Its not the right time to maximize hapiness of maximum people, majority should not assert their opinions entirely on minorities, instead it is the duty of majority to develop confidence among the minorities.

Although their exist uniformity in most Civil and Criminal laws, there exist ample amount of Diversity there too, i.e State may make Ammendements in CRPC and IPC.

eg- Many states have reduced fines in Motor Vehicles Act, which clearly shows that yet today plurality exists in Civil and Criminal matters, how can we then aim for a uniformity in personal matters, where the practices are more diversified !

The Supreme Court of India however favours the implementation of UCC, as uniformity in laws help developing a backup for resolving upcoming cases and getting rid of backlogs, for instance in Ahmed Khan vs Shah Bano Begum Case1985 - it called for implementation of UCC, wherein?Shah Bano in April 1978 filed a petition in a court in Indore, demanding maintenance from her divorced husband Mohammed Ahmad Khan.?

The 21st Law Commision of India however, didnt favour UCC in 2018 stating that it is "Neither necessary not Desirable". Instead it recommended that discriminatory practices and prejudices need to be studied and suitably ammended respectively, certain measures under marriage and divorce should be uniformly accepted. This would better help in implementing policies rather than dwelling up on UCC, because uniformity gets in some unforeseen challenges like assimilation of culture, which the Nation strives to deal with - eg, Bombay High Court highlighted that The POSCO ACT forced Adivasis in Nilgris into conflict with law.

To sum up , UCC is required in India today, as there are many practices which require reform, however a considerate care should be ensured such that it is not forcefully implemented as a Political Ideology or a Vote-Bank Politics, rather it should be implemented with fair consensus.

The consensus building process should begin, wherein different religuous leaders and intellectuals sit together and emphasize on having unbiased discussions about better aspects of religion thereby framing a religion like that of "Din-i -Ilahi",?where the best aspect of each religion could be conglomerated.?

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