NEED FOR UNIFORM CIVIL CODE
India needs a uniform civil code for two principal reasons.
First, a secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices. This was a key issue debated during the writing of the Constitution, with passionate arguments on both sides. The Indian Constitution was eventually stuck with a compromise solution, a directive principle that says: “The state shall endeavor to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”[i]
Certain people in the Constituent Assembly have huge differences in pay. Three of them are MinooMasani, Hansa Mehta and RajkumariAmrit Kaur. As Kaur pointed out: “One of the factors hindering India’s move towards nationality is the existence of individual laws that depend on religion. These laws keep many parts of India’s life in watertight compartments.”
Then, after freedom The Hindu traditionalists’ resistance to the Hindu law bill finally survived in the main ten years. As for Muslim protectionists, there is no comparable attempt. The political authority at the time erroneously chose not to explain this part of the moderate assessment of Muslims shortly after the injury.
There is a second motivation for the need for a unified civil code: equality of sexual orientation. Women’s privileges are usually restricted by strict laws such as India or Muslims. The triple talaq behavior is an exemplary model. It must be noted that Ambedkar actively strives for the Hindu provisions of the bill, believing that this is an opportunity for women to participate. The unparalleled Muslim social reformer Hamid Dalwai has made women’s privileges at the core of his mission to unify the civil code.
Sadly, concerns about a unified civil law have been outlined for common government issues. Too many benevolent people see it as the majority under the guise of social change. They must understand why even the courts often say in their judgments that public institutions must move towards a unified civil code. The decision in the Shah Bano case was excellent, but the court also made similar points in other important judgments.
Cannot rush towards a typical civil code. There is undeniable political evidence that can alleviate the concerns of the Muslim community. Public authorities should strive to build trust, albeit stricter, as the government used to do in the past, as opposed to strict traditionalists, and normal reasoning with social reformers. The basic rule should be that established laws will abolish strict laws in a dominant republic. Many practices of strict custom management are at risk, and the Indian Constitution guarantees its key rights. In fact, even individuals who oppose the formulation of various civil codes by the Constituent Assembly do not oppose the issue of norms but oppose political practicability. They are confident that India will be transformed into a typical civil code within 10 years or somewhere nearby.
Even before India’s autonomy, supporters of the unified civil law had been lobbying for it. India has always been in a position of multiple tones and tastes, and it is difficult to tell what constitutes India until it achieves autonomy in 1947.
The struggle against British principles and the conquest of our autonomy also helped to make this country we call India a reality. Even then, as everyone knows, to further join India and make it a true mainstream country, we need a unified civil code. However, even after 66 years of autonomy, we have no right to choose to do so. The purpose why this has not been done is confusing, a separate issue, but it all comes down to political will. Legislators have always believed that it is beneficial to participate in the government affairs of the polling station and try to reconcile various castes and assemblies, rather than trying to coordinate our country. Instead of treating it negatively, we should treat it positively and discuss the reasons why we need to unify Civil Code.[ii]
[i] Article 44 of the Indian Constitution
[ii] Paras Diwan, Law of Marriage and Divorce: A Comprehensive treatise on Matrimonial Laws of all the Indian communities including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews, 7th Edn., 2016.