India’s Ongoing Debate Over the Uniform Civil Code: A Quest for Equality and Secularism
Image Source: The Sentinal Assam
The discussion for a uniform civil code, which would replace the existing personal laws based on the scriptures and traditions of each significant religious community in India, is still ongoing in that country. Universal laws governing all citizens are meant to supersede personal laws based on the scriptures and traditions of each major religious community in India.
There is a set of universal personal laws for all citizens under one Civil Code. For example, Hindus and Muslims currently have different personal laws. Property, marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession are all covered by personal law.
Beginning of the Uniform Civil Code:
The Universal Civil Code became a political flashpoint in India in 1985 during the Shah Bano case. Bano, a Muslim lady, should receive alimony from her ex-spouse, the Supreme Court had ruled. The court gave a unanimous opinion regarding that decision. The earliest non-public legal guidelines were created at some point during the British Raj, mostly for Muslims and Hindus. The British stayed out of this domestic dispute out of concern for the community leaders’ resistance.
To strengthen women’s rights, equality, and secularism, women activists first called for a single civil code at the beginning of the 20th century. A few legal changes had been made up until India’s independence in 1947 to improve the situation of women, specifically Hindu widows. The Hindu Code Bill was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1956 despite strong resistance. Even though Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his allies, and women’s campaigners referred to it as a universal civil code, they ultimately had to accept the compromise of having it included in the Directive Principles due to strong opposition.
Indian Constitution on Uniform Civil Code:
In Article 44 of the constitution, which is a Directive Principle of State Policy, it is stated that the state shall work to ensure that citizens have access to India as a whole and have one civil code. In several cases, the Supreme Court has used Article 44 and the idea of a universal civil code, mostly to draw attention to the legislature’s and the executive’s lackluster approach to carrying out the order.
The State is required by Article 44 of the Constitution to work toward establishing a unified civil code across the entirety of India. It is included in Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), Part IV of the Constitution, which the State is obligated to keep in mind when it governs the nation.
Need for Uniform Civil Code:
- It Encourages True Secularism: India currently practices selective secularism, which means that while we are secular in some contexts, we are not in others. All citizens of India must follow the same rules regardless of their religious affiliation – whether they are Sikh, Christian, Muslim, or Hindu. I think this is righteous and secular. A uniform civil code simply means that everyone will be treated equally; it does not imply that people’s ability to practice their religion will be restricted. Real secularism is that.
- All Indians ought to be treated equally: We currently have personal rules based on specific religions; therefore, while Muslims can have several marriages in India, a Hindu or a Christian will face legal action for similar behavior. I don’t think this is equality. All Indians should be treated equally under the law regarding marriage, inheritance, family, land, and other matters. The only way to ensure that all Indians are treated equally is to do so.
- More rights will be given to women as a result: Common civil law also improves the status of women in India. We are sentencing all Indian women to subjugation and mistreatment by permitting outdated religious laws to continue to regulate family life in our deeply patriarchal and sexist country. With the understanding that women should be treated fairly and given equal rights in today’s society, a consistent civil code will assist in altering these antiquated customs.
- It exists in every modern nation: A nation that is modern and developing will have a consistent civil code. This is proof that caste and religious politics no longer rule in the country. It might be accurate to argue that our culture and society have deteriorated to the point that we are neither traditional nor modern. A consistent civil code will advance society and bring India closer to its goal of being a developed nation.
For people of various religious and denominational backgrounds, as well as for the fostering of national solidarity, a unified civil code is an absolute necessity. Thus, to adhere to the genuine spirit of secularism, many religious ideologies must come together and culminate in common and unified values and purposes. Nevertheless, despite more than 60 years of independence, the dream of a uniform civil code has not come true.
Treating all and sundry equally and ensuring that reasonable, honest, and predictable guidelines protect each person are the ideas and concepts of establishing a preferred civil code that governs private laws. A unified civil code would also establish regulations that might be applied to everybody’s troubles, regardless of their religious ideals, which is the cornerstone of secularism. It would make it possible to eradicate gender discrimination primarily based on ideals, help togetherness, and give a boost to the secular cloth.
India has set itself the intention of making an earthly society, making the introduction of an unmarried civil code all of the more proper given that it’ll put off the diversity of marriage laws, streamline the Indian felony gadget, and boost social cohesion in India. It will assist to forge an experience of country-wide identification and restrain the country’s fissiparous tendencies. A universally applicable set of guidelines primarily based on social justice and gender equality in family subjects may be included in the uniform civil code.
Conclusion:
The case illustrates the risks of having a law that is particularly associated with a religion, which could endanger citizens’ basic rights, equality, gender justice, and the legal system. Such regulation could introduce unnecessary discrimination and complexity, making it challenging for judicial institutions to deal with similar issues.
The advancement of a state in the modern world is threatened by this. The adoption of a common civil code in India will fundamentally change the country’s approach to various issues, bring about national cohesion, resolve ideological disagreements, and establish gender equity. It is an important step in the modern world because it complies with the Constitution’s responsibility to establish equality and eliminate inequities.
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