‘Uniform Civil Code debate in India a political conspiracy’

ANKARA (AA): Several groups have forcefully opposed the idea of uniform civil code in India, while some experts see it as a political move by the Hindu nationalist government, aimed at mobilizing Hindu voters.

“Majoritarian morality must not supersede personal laws, religious freedom, and minority rights in the name of a code which remains an enigma,” the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a representative body of Indian Muslims, said in its objections.

Restarting the UCC debate is “part of a political conspiracy,” said Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, India’s largest socioreligious Muslim organization, adding that it would violate the religious freedom and fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens in the constitution.

The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the governing body of all Sikh temples, warned that the UCC will hurt the distinct identity of minority communities in India.

In several states with large populations of tribal groups, there is alarm that the common code would dilute the special privileges afforded to them under the current constitution.

M R Shamshad, an Indian legal expert, told the media that the UCC is less about justice and more about creating homogeneity.

“In different parts of the country, people realize that, step by step, everybody’s identity will be targeted by the mighty majoritarian Brahminical (upper caste Hindu) values,” he said.

Several political parties have also joined the chorus against the UCC, with the main opposition Congress rejecting the idea of uniform laws for all.

‘UCC will unite India’

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been vociferously advocating for the UCC.

The BJP-led government in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state, formed a panel to draw up a draft, while several other states governed by the ruling party have also expressed their support.

Earlier this month, India’s Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted that the UCC “will unite” India.

“Any further delay in its implementation … will be corrosive for our values,” he said in a speech at a convocation ceremony.

The Law Commission of India (LCI), the government advisory body that is gathering public suggestions on the UCC, said it received an “overwhelming response” and extended the deadline for submissions until July 28.

The UCC idea has been around for decades but was always a divisive one in a country with many different communities who have their own faith and beliefs.

In a nutshell, the UCC means that all people, regardless of region or religion, would be subject to the same set of civil laws.

Currently in India, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other tribal groups have their own personal laws for issues such as marriage, inheritance and other matters.

Openly advocating for the common code last month, Modi said India can no longer go on with separate laws for different people.

“If in one house, there is one law for one family member and another for another family member, can that house function? … How then can a country function with such a system?” he said at a BJP meeting in June.

The BJP mentioned the UCC in its election manifesto in 2019, vowing to implement the set of common personal laws, and has taken up the issue again with the next vote less than a year out.