UCC is a constitutional obligation. Fulfil it now.

False narratives that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a smokescreen for a majoritarian political agenda need to be debunked.

Almost instantaneously after the 22nd Law Commission solicited views on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) last month, wonted groups unleashed their dishonest tropes. UCC is nothing but a smokescreen to further a majoritarian political agenda was the bogey they bandied about. Pegging UCC under the provocative majority vs minority religious binary is not only meretricious but malicious. These false narratives need to be debunked.

Not effecting UCC in all likelihood was a deliberate British ploy to keep the religious tinderbox of discord simmering, which served their divide and rule agenda.(Shutterstock)

In as early as 1860, the British effected a common Indian Penal Code, but conspicuously steered clear of codifying personal civil laws. Not effecting UCC in all likelihood was a deliberate British ploy to keep the religious tinderbox of discord simmering, which served their divide-and-rule agenda.

The provenance of UCC is the historic Constituent Assembly, and not any conclave of a political party. Strongly favouring UCC, the architect of our Constitution, BR Ambedkar, cited Allauddin Khilji, who made several changes to the Sharia to the objection of the qazi of Delhi. "If Allauddin could not, much less can a modern government accept the proposition that religious rights cover personal law or several other matters which we have been unfortunately trained to consider as part of our religion,” he said.

In another intervention, Ambedkar remarked, ‘I personally do not understand why religion should be given this vast, expansive jurisdiction so as to cover the whole of life and to prevent the legislature from encroaching upon that field. After all, what are we having this liberty for?”

By a close vote of 5:4, UCC was enshrined in the directive principles of state policy. The rationale in the immediate aftermath of Partition was to implement UCC in the future, given the fractious milieu then. The Constituent Assembly could have advocated reforming personal laws in various religions, but instead affirmed faith in UCC, underscoring its idea of India.

Cynics who allege that UCC is an assault on our Constitution, are indeed impugning the egalitarian intent of our Constitution framers.

During the 1950s, only Hindu personal laws were defined expansively and codified to include Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs. This brought about uniformity and gender justice in marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance and custody to these religious communities, while personal laws remained the status quo for others. For example, at present, an adopted child has the right to inherit property under the Hindu law but not under the Muslim, Christian and Parsi laws.

Over the years, we have witnessed aggrieved citizens following Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism beseeching our highest courts on questions involving personal laws. The 1985 Shah Bano and the 2017 triple talaq verdicts of the Supreme Court (SC) delivered justice to Muslim women on issues of regressive personal laws concerning marriage and divorce. The 2003 John Vallamattom case vindicated a Christian priest who felt discriminated against by the Indian Succession Act, imposing unreasonable restrictions on the donation of their property.

In the ABC vs the State (NCT of Delhi) 2015, SC provided relief to an unwed Christian mother who as per the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, was unable to become her child’s legal guardian without the father’s consent.

Observing that UCC remained an unaddressed constitutional expectation, SC asked the Government to take a decision on UCC to end the confusion over personal laws applicable to different communities. The top court in 2019 cited Goa as a shining example where UCC was applicable to all. In various judgements, the court also observed that UCC would usher in national integration.

A couplet in the Thirukkural, the timeless spring of sagacity, affirms “To incline to neither side, but to rest impartial as the even-fixed scale is the ornament of the wise.”

The conspicuous absence of a common civil code is a divisive colonial remnant. The Prime Minister (PM) recently made an impassioned appeal for UCC which resonates with the idea of a new India. Guided by our PM’s inclusive vision of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Greatest India), implementing UCC in this Kartavya Kaal (the era of responsibility) is our bounden duty toward the framers of our Constitution. An impartial UCC will decisively address the prevailing prejudices to pave the way for social justice over discrimination, empowerment over entitlement, and equality over tokenism.

CR Kesavan, a former member of the Prasar Bharati Board, is with the BJP. The views expressed are personal.