Uniform Civil Code: Quest for Unity in Diversity
Asia News Agency
Much debate on the contours of the proposed code continues. It is understood that personal laws that clash with the constitutional mandate of gender equality will be examined and addressed in the proposed Uniform Ccivil Code (UCC). These could include laws that allow polygamy or prohibit equal rights for women in inheritance of property or in marriage.
The proposed UCC is also likely to reframe personal laws to ensure equal treatment before law. This could include, for example, persons being denied inheritance rights under very narrow, specific grounds.
On the issue of benefits that a community might enjoy over others, the Law Commission is not in favour of dropping it altogether. For example, the concept of Hindu Undivided Family and the tax benefits it provides, one option could be to suggest simply extending it to other communities rather than doing away with it. Proposed as a distinct category for taxation in 1917, apart from Hindus, families belonging to the Jain, Buddhist and Sikh faith can also create HUFs.
May not be a common code for all
While the Law Commission of India has set the ball rolling towards preparing a draft Uniform Civil Code, The Indian Express writes “it may not be a common code for all. It could be rather a uniform application of a set of principles to various personal laws.”
On July 4, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, is learnt to have questioned the feasibility of a UCC in tribal areas, including those in the North East, since their customs, traditions and rituals are different from other communities and the Constitution grants them protection.
However, it is learnt that the Commission is mulling leaving out specific customs which prescribe religious practices from the discussion on UCC.
From Tamil Nadu to Manipur
If unity is strength, Varghese K. George (Principal Staff Writer at The Hindu) writes “from Manipur to Tamil Nadu, and on the question of the Uniform Civil Code, the BJP’s obsession with oneness and discipline is not exactly creating either unity or strength."
At least 134 people have been killed in sectarian violence in Manipur that has been going on for two months; in Tamil Nadu, Governor R.N. Ravi announced the dismissal of a Minister in an unprecedented breach of constitutional norms. “Both States are theatres of an enhanced drive by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its agents towards closer integration with its version of nationalism, clearer categories, labels, and disciplining of people.”
Governor Ravi, writes George “is on a mission to tame Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu…” and spread ‘Sanatana Dharma’ (Hinduism).
The Meiteis and Kukis have had a hesitant compact within the State of Manipur, alongside episodes of violent clashes down the decades. In fact, according to George, “the State of Manipur is a microcosm of India’s story itself, of how diverse peoples come together as a political unit, and how things can go wrong. Communities living in this region are so stridently protective of their cultural autonomy, and resistant to modern State formation….”
Hindutva approach
The Hindutva approach towards the region “is to integrate the place and people to its vision of a civilisational project that is not restricted by the political boundaries of India. There is a contradiction here: on the one hand, Hindutva proponents talk about civilisation and heritage that radiates into east Asia, and in some telling takes the northeast as a centre of this heritage. On the other hand, it is trying to enforce the boundaries drawn by colonial rulers and inherited by the Indian state with unprecedented ferocity.”
Opposition to Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
Manipur and Tamil Nadu, argues George “are regionally confined questions, but the call for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will have implications across the country. Though it is often portrayed as a concession to Muslims in Hindutva telling, autonomy in personal laws is very precious for several tribal communities across the country. In Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, tribal bodies are planning to protest against the UCC proposal .
Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia of Meghalaya are matrilineal communities that have customary laws that might not be amenable top a UCC. Even the BJP supported Chief Minister (CM) of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma has said UCC is not welcome…..
“Unity is strength. But the pursuit of unity will have to be guided by wisdom, maturity, and a sense of history. That is the Big Picture.”
Without justice there can be no equality
The cornerstone of a democratic society is equality, writes Mohan Guruswamy (policy analyst studying economic and security issues, held senior positions in government and industry; also specialises in the Chinese economy). “Without equality, there can be no justice, just as without justice there can be no equality. True justice cannot be based on unjust laws, though it is possible to have a law-abiding society with the most unjust laws in place.”
In his celebrated work A Theory of Justice, John Rawls said that every person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. As such, writes Guruswamy “justice denies that this loss of freedom for a few is made right by the greater good shared by others.
“It does not allow that the sacrifice imposed on a few is outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by the many. Therefore, it follows that in a just society, the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled. The rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interest.”
Much of the legal argument by those still in favour of the existing system of separate personal laws on the basis of religion and custom, states Guruswamy “derive from the premise that personal laws are a part and parcel of the freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution of India. This is despite the fact that Clause 2 of the same article specifically saves secular activities associated with religious practices from the guarantee of religious freedom.”
