This is the first part of a series of articles on why UCC is being used as a weapon of sort against Indian Muslims.
Dr. Javed Jamil | Clarion India
INDIA as a nation takes pride in its golden philosophy of unity in diversity. But time and again, certain forces tend to put this on the death bed by seeking steps that would threaten the vary basis of a united India.
More often than not, such issues come in relation to the Muslim community. Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one such issue. Though the demand for it has continued since Independence, in recent times it has assumed dangerous proportions. The Law Commission has also kept working on the issue. In its last report, the commission took a view against the imposition of Uniform Civil Code. But in June 2023, it again issued a notification seeking views and suggestions on the issue. And now, with Lok Sabha elections approaching, UCC is in the news again.
The government of northern state of Uttarakhand has already taken steps to impose it across the state, even against the wishes of Muslims, liberals and several other groups. With live-in-relationship being turned into a sort of civil marriage without rituals, liberalists are not be happy because they believe in sexual relationships without any hindrances, especially legal boundaries.
But more often than not, UCC is used as a weapon of sort against Indian Muslims, which always evokes emotional reactions from the community. The threat comes from at least three kinds of elements, which have been powerful in the country since Independence in 1947. The first are the forces of Hindutva, which make noise less out of any ideological convictions and more out of their desire to dominate the country. They feel that if Hindus are to be united as a formidable socio-political unit monopolising power in the country, the best course of action would be to arouse hatred towards Muslims, to pose them and their religion as a threat to the Hindu religion, Hindu culture and Hindu identity, and to ensure that they are not allowed to develop into a socially, economically and politically powerful community at par with Hindus.
The second and the most important group is that of the corporates who, as part of the globalisation, regard moral and family values enshrined in religions as a massive obstacle in their plans of turning human beings into commercial entities. Though they have problems with all the religions particularly in their public role, they are particularly aggressive against Islam, because it has a clear distinction between the permitted (halal) and the prohibited (haram), and because its followers are more determined believers in their entire religious system. They seek to commercialise every single element of human strength, weakness or need that can help them create and monopolise wealth. In recent decades, their influence in the affairs of individuals, society as well as establishment has grown so much that almost nothing can happen without their overt or covert support.
The third group is that of the leftist forces whose socio-economic ideology does not recognise religion altogether. They reject God, reject religion even as a private affair, and have their own notions of forced equality. In recent decades, with the downfall of communism in the world and disintegration of the Soviet empire, this group has, of course, become almost non-existent, but in combination with the market, they often espouse same “liberal” values which the latter relish.
It will be seen in this discussion that none of these groups are concerned with either the dignity of human beings as human beings or in their peaceful existence as individuals, or their rights as males or females. Their only concern is their monopoly. It is therefore unthinkable for Muslims that they can ever agree to a Uniform Civil Code, which is pushed by these forces on the basis of their vested interests.
Under these circumstances, it becomes mandatory for Muslims to counter these designs not only through social and political agitations but also through intellectual discourse based on the merits or demerits of the concept of UCC being pushed by these forces. It will then be easy to understand why Islam alone can be the basis of any code of life, individual, family or social, for Muslims.
It will also be worthwhile to examine the weaknesses of Muslims themselves in following the spirit of Islam in their affairs, and how they can tackle their problems within the parameters of their religion and how they can play a meaningful role in the secular fabric of the country.
Apart from being an important issue regarding secularism in India, Uniform Civil Code became one of the most controversial topics in contemporary politics during the Shah Bano case in 1985, when Supreme Court gave a verdict in a divorce case, which went against the Islamic position, and also advocated the imposition of UCC. There was a mass movement by Muslims against the verdict, and finally the Congress government passed a new law, which to some extent satisfied Muslim demands. The debate then focused on the Muslim Personal Law, which is partially based on the Shariah laws and remains unchanged since 1937. Some of the main objections by the opponents have been related to unilateral divorce and polygamy in the country.
Personal laws were first framed during the British rule, mainly for Hindu and Muslim citizens of the country. The British feared opposition from community leaders and refrained from further interfering within this domestic sphere. Till independence in 1947, a few law reforms were passed to improve the condition of women, especially Hindu widows. In 1956, parliament passed Hindu Code Bill despite significant opposition. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was in favour of a Uniform Civil code and he had to finally accept the compromise of it being added to the Directive Principles while maintaining personal laws.
In later parts of this article, we will examine all the aspects, ideological, constitutional and political, of the concerned issues. We will also touch the scientific, medical and social facts related to several issues.
The Hindutva lobby supports UCC on the following grounds:
1. When India is one, why are its laws not the same for all; and when UCC is enshrined as one of the Directive Principles in the Constitution, why has it not been enforced yet?
2. Muslim Personal Law is an impediment in the assimilation of Muslims in Indian culture, and is an unnecessary privilege;
3. Muslim Personal Law violates women’s rights of equality.
In coming pages, we will answer all these baseless arguments.
Dr. Javed Jamil is India-based thinker and writer with over 20 books to his credit. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com
