When Modi talks of UCC he is for fulfilling obligations of Govt as enshrined in Art- 44 of Constitution of India

Better place the draft UCC Bill in public domain so that specific suggestions could be made by all stake holders

DAYA SAGAR

Very often the subject of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) / Common Civil Code (CCC) for Indian citizens becomes live for discussions and debates . The subject has been becoming more live more particularly when the times for general elections to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembles/ Assembly are approaching / are there. The debates become hot and more so to be brief some people project the discussions looking something like making changes in the civil laws /codes applicable to ‘only’ Muslims and that too according to ‘Hindu’ traditions/ codes whereas which is surely not the case. The UNIFORM Civil Code would be covering all the religions / sects in India and surely the civil laws / codes applicable presently to Hindu too. But the debates / discussions remain in air only for a few weeks or so where in the social / emotional peace remain disturbed since the socio- political leaderships talk more as critics than solution finders which they should otherwise feel duty bound in terms of Directive Principles laid down in Constitution of India in Part IV Article – 44 which says <, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”>. No doubt at the same time Art-37 says that the provisions contained in directive principles shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws ( Art-37 < Art- 37. Application of the principles contained in this Part.-The provisions contained in this Part shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.>}. So raising questions on the intentions of Union Government, presently with BJP as lead unit and Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, whenever they talk of or make suggestions for securing to the Indian Citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the country, is not fair . Instead all should work to ensure that the subject of UCC is not allowed to be dragged into communal controversies ( particularly Hindu- Muslim) and work should be started by conveying to the common man that UCC will fairly affect/ effect the prevailing traditions/social codes/ community codes / prevailing civil codes of all Indian citizens may it be from Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jain, Parsi, etc and will be drawn out with fair consensus.
No doubt the subject of UCC or Common Civil Code (CCC) has been in discussions before 2014 also but it has been more in discussions after 2014 when Government headed by Narendra Modi appeared taking more intimate notice of the duty of the government enshrined in Art-44 of the Constitution. Recently during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections too and in the Parliament also the BJP lead NDA Government have expressed ‘humble’ intentions for carrying through the UCC proposals that may be with the government.
The 22nd Law Commission of India (LCI) had through Public Notice dated 14th June, 2023 again solicited the views & ideas of the public at large and recognized religious organizations ( who may be willing ) about the Uniform Civil Code with in 30 days from 14 June 2023 so as to reach Member Secretary LCI (Commission of India, 4th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi- 110 003 –[email protected] ) in the form of consultation/ discussion/ working papers on any of the issues pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code.
Contents of the public notice issued by LCI did reflect that the Commission was “very serious” about the subject, particularly seeing into the text of the notice where it says “If need be, Commission may call upon any individual or organization for a personal hearing or discussion.”
Similar exercise was initiated by 21st Law Commission during n 2016 to 2018 where after it was said that LCI though received overwhelming responses had not prepared any draft /sketch document on Uniform Civil Code but had only issued a “consultation paper” on “Reforms of Family Law”. More than five years had lapsed since the 21st Law Commission had issued to the government a “consultation paper” on “Reforms of Family Law”and 22nd Law Commission had in 2023 considered to deliberate a fresh.
Whenever BJP or Narendra Modi talks of UCC immediately hard anti reactions start coming from political leaders /thinkers like Asaduddin Salahuddin Owaisi (President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen -AIMIM) and prominent constitutional lawyers like Kapil Sibal who among other things too suggest that government should first place in the public domain the draft UCC Bill that government might have got prepared / is in the process of preparing so that specific nods/ suggestions could made . But such a draft bill has yet to be placed in public domain. So ,why not place the draft UCC Bill that Narendra Modi Government is working on in public domain so that the occasional discussions / debates on the subject are stopped and this subject is no where allowed in future to provide opportunity to any one for disturbing even a bit of social peace and communal harmony and the subject is taken away from Hindu- Muslim controversies.
To be continued…
(The writer is a Sr Journalist Social activist & analyst of J&K Affairs)