BR Ambedkar had said that a UCC is desirable but for the moment it should remain voluntary, and thus Directive Principles of the State Policy were added in the constitution
It was 187 years back when the Britishers produced a report which emphasized the dire need for uniformity in the codification of Indian laws relating to crimes, evidence and contracts besides making specific recommendations regarding the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims which must be kept outside such codification to ensure stability and harmony in the society.
Due to an increase in legislation dealing with personal laws, British Raj was forced to appoint B N Rau Committee to codify Hindu law in 1941. Based on these recommendations, a bill was then adopted in 1956 as the Hindu Succession Act to amend and codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. However, there were separate personal laws for Muslims, Christians and Parsis. A spate of Hindu family laws governing marriage, divorce, guardianship, succession and the ownership of property were enacted through the 1950s even as opposition from some quarters persisted.
As a devout and committed activist (Sawamsevak) of RSS and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, prime minister, Narender Modi has fulfilled their dream of abrogation of article 370,35 A and laying the foundation stone of the Ayodhya Ram temple though the issue was settled by the supreme court, now Modi regime has set the rolling to execute the core issue of the Uniform Civil Code(UCC) which will align with Savarkar vision and ideology of Hinduness thereby acting as a guarantor of ‘secularism’ like moon and space mission would mean embracing the advanced progress in science and technology in India.
The prime minister has recently set the agenda in motion to fulfil the third electoral promise of implementation of the promise of uniform civil code (UCC) made by the BJP/RSS combine which preceded the abrogation of article 370 and the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya though the timing is undoubtedly linked to 2024 parliamentary polls.
As per top BJP leaders in Delhi, a bill about the implementation of UCC in the country may be introduced in the parliament during the ensuing session which begins on July 20 and it may be sent to the Standing Committee of Parliament to ascertain more views from different sections of the society to make it acceptable and less controversial.
In a related development, the Justice Ranjana Desai committee appointed by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami one year ago may submit the UCC draft soon which will pave the way for its implementation in the hilly state. But Uttarakhand will become the second state in India to implement UCC which was adopted at the first instance by Goa in 1867 by the then Portuguese rulers and it was Re adopted with some modifications post-independence.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena(Udhav Thakre) and Bahujan Samaj Party have supported UCC whereas the majority of opposition parties and Muslim organizations are opposing it tooth and nail. Opposition parties are convinced that BJP is embarking upon UCC to take advantage of polarization in 2024 polls hence the prime minister made it a central point in his speech on June 27 during one day visit to Gujrat.
PM Modi’s assertion of “Two Laws in a house” clearly indicates that UCC will eliminate this discrimination and protect the rights of Muslim women.PM has got clarity about UCC and dubbed the opponents as Anti-Muslim women. PM quoted the supreme court which has favoured UCC which eliminates the chances of opposing it.
The parliamentary committee on personnel, public grievances and law and justice headed by BJP leader, Sushil Kumar Modi tried to inject possible space for keeping tribal communities and northeastern states out of the ambit of UCC as the constitution permitted some exceptions for certain groups which will help in preserving their unique customs and traditional laws. Law commission members sought to make a case that UCC may be examined afresh though the commission in 2018 had described it(UCC) as neither necessary nor desirable ..gave their input about UCC and submitted their proposals to the parliamentary committee. Politicians of northeast states are apprehensive about UCC as they feel that it may pose a threat to their identity.
It may be recalled that B R Ambedkar while formulating the Constitution had said that a UCC is desirable but for the moment it should remain voluntary, and thus Article 35 of the draft Constitution was added as a part of the Directive Principles of the State Policy in part IV of the Constitution of India as Article 44.
In this scenario, the Modi government is poised to implement UCC and party-ruled states will follow suit thereby dividing the opposition parties which may support or oppose the proposed bill in parliament based on their political exigency and political Will.
(Writer is a political analyst and senior journalist)
