The controversial and complex issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India is back in the news once again. The 22nd Law Commission has decided to revisit the issue and has solicited the views of the public despite its predecessor’s conclusion in 2018 that it is “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made a strong pitch for the UCC at an election rally in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Some BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand, Assam, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc. have taken the decision to implement it.

The UCC proposes to have a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, alimony, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens irrespective of their religious affiliations in place of separate religion-based personal laws that govern such matters today. But religious minorities, tribals, and feminists are sceptical about it. They consider the UCC a backdoor attempt to impose the cultural and religious practices of the majority community on them. They see it as a direct assault on their identity and culture, in blatant violation of the cultural and religious rights granted to them by the Constitution. The BJP blames opposition parties for misleading and instigating minorities because of appeasement and vote bank politics.

It is a pity that the debate on an issue of socio-political reform as big as UCC has always been mired in ignorance, political manoeuvrings, and religious polarisation, which leave behind the core issue of gender justice. The entire debate on UCC primarily veers around its desirability and discontent, and not on the merit. Most of the arguments, either in favour or against, are based on either assumptions or apprehensions, as no one has any exact idea as to how does a UCC look like or what provisions it will cover.

The political discourse on UCC is often interwoven with hateful Islamophobic slogans and narratives like ‘Hum do hamare do, who panch, unkepachees’ (we are two, we have two children, whereas they are five – husband and four wives – and they have 25 children), creating a sense of fear among Hindus that if a UCC is not implemented, Muslims will multiply and become a majority, which will change the demographic profile of India. Such observations foster many prejudices based on wrong presumptions and infuse a negative image of Muslims in the minds of the majority community.

Stigmasing and othering minorities 

As a part of a sinister design, often attempt is made, to stigmatise, demonise, and denigrate minority communities, especially Muslims, as regressive and anti-women who are always opposed to any reform in their personal laws, and thus they are a big obstacle to national integration. On the other hand, Hindus are projected as more tolerant and adaptive to secular laws concerning women. The call for a UCC is never premised on securing gender justice or women’s rights but largely draws on the deficiencies in Muslim Personal Law (MPL) but largely remain silent on deficiencies in the personal laws of other communities. Because of such narratives and slanderous attacks on their religious beliefs, instead of getting ready for UCC, Muslims’ attitude gets even harder. It also turns the demand for a UCC into an anti-Muslim agenda.

Amid the raging religious polarisation and majoritarian turn, a call for UCC is bound to be viewed with cynicism. There is an extremely worrying upsurge in hate speech and violence with impunity, targeting minorities, especially Muslims. It is upsetting that minorities are being systematically otherized, marginalized, and stigmatized in contemporary India. Attempts are also being made to erase their presence and contributions. Cities, railway stations, and roads with Islamic/Muslim-sounding names are being renamed. In the name of the revision of the history textbooks, the details of the country’s Muslim history are either being purged or are already completely gone. Today, there is not even a single Muslim representation in the ruling party or in the Union Council of Ministers, for the first time in history. There are reported open calls for genocide and economic boycott of Muslims without any qualms.

In this communally vitiated political climate, when there is not only tremendous distrust between communities but also a deep trust deficit between minorities and the government, enacting a UCC on the basis of brute majority, will not be a prudent decision for the moment. A harmonious political climate is a must for a dispassionate debate on this extremely contentious issue. It is important to first create the right political climate by dispelling fears and misgivings among minorities about UCC before proceeding further. A UCC, howsoever desirable, enactment in the present polarised scenario would be inexpedient and may prove to be even counter-productive. One must recall the observations of the Supreme Court in Lily Thomas etc. v. Union of India, where it was rightly emphasised that though the desirability of UCC can hardly be doubted, it can only be achieved when a proper social climate is built up.

It needs to be highlighted that personal law reforms, or UCC, have nothing to do with the issue of national integration or national unity, as often highlighted, and are purely a matter of gender justice and women’s rights. This is based on the flawed and questionable logic that uniformity leads to national integration. Having distinct identities is not against national integration, and they do not necessarily lead to separatism. National integration comes with the feeling of ‘togetherness’, and not with the feeling of ‘sameness’.

Furthermore, the majoritarian agenda is being subtly advanced by selectively applying the concept of equality to attack ideas like secularism and minority rights. In this discourse, only one aspect of equality – ‘formal equality’ is highlighted, which emphasises the sameness of treatment. But the notion of ‘substantive equality’ is deliberately overlooked, which recognises differential treatment for minorities and other weaker and marginalised sections of society. By employing this concept of equality, the ordinary people can easily be misled that any concession to minorities to protect their religious or cultural identity, which the constitution itself enjoins, is against the principle of equality and the true concept of secularism.

Personal laws must be gender-just

If we are genuinely interested in addressing gender discrimination in personal laws of the different communities, we need to tread with extreme caution. Instead of insisting on UCC as a magic wand or panacea for all the ills Indian women suffer, we should first focus on reforming discriminatory personal laws and guaranteeing equality within communities between men and women, rather than equality between communities. It must be admitted that what the women need is not uniformity and sameness of treatment, as often argued, but empowerment, justice, and complete relief from exploitation, which a UCC is intended to guarantee. The goal of implementing UCC would become easier once personal laws become gender-just and compliant with basic human rights. Attaining gender justice should be the main goal, whether it comes through personal law reforms or the UCC.

No chance should be given to communal and obscurantist forces on both sides to exploit the situation and vitiate the atmosphere further. We must wait for a draft of the UCC to come before forming any opinion on it. Rejecting or approving the UCC altogether without knowing it, would not be a prudent decision. 

The Muslim Personal Law Board is committing the same mistake by opposing the UCC as it did during the discourse on the abhorrent Muslim practice of instantaneous triple talaq without realising its far-reaching consequences. Muslims must know that all that is there in MPL is not a divine law and has more human elements. There are many discriminatory practices that cannot be condoned in the name of religious freedom or minority rights, and any attempt to do so would badly damage these very ideals themselves.

(The author is professor and chairperson, Department of Strategic and Security Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Views are personal. He can be contacted at aftabalam2004@hotmail.com )