The Search for Similitude

KM Munshi, a revered drafting committee member, wanted a uniform civil code; otherwise, he believed it would be impossible to reform the attitude of Hindu society towards women. However, the case for a uniform civil code would lose out to a 5:4 vote split in the same and has remained a controversial page ever since. Today, the call for UCC is pressing in the Islamic corners of Indian society, as the supreme court noted in its landmark Shah Bano case of 1985. The then-incumbent prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, was already worried about his northeast and south pursuits and did not want to mettle with the turbulent religious politics. Ever since BJP has made it a part of the manifesto.

There are a few merits to the UCC case, such as the ambiguous nature of marriages in multiple committees and the growing disparity in the civil laws between the Hindu and Muslim communities. one of the most cited examples is the provision of polygamy in the Muslim community and the triple lakh law. Present-day politics need to be more polarised to accommodate these differences. One of the greatest needs for the UCC comes from the women population, which remains a vulnerable class in the rural and economically deprived sections of society. In principle, the UCC would give an equal legal standpoint to all citizens of the country and could work to alleviate the anger against political appeasement.

However, social laws and amendments have always drawn scepticism. The BN Rau committee, which drafted a familiar series of rules for Hindus of the country, had to underwrite several special provisions to accommodate Hindu practices around the country. For example, interfamily marriage among cross cousins is considered contentious in the north but auspicious in the south. Such has also been the case with IPC rules, with each State having disparity in fines and criminal procedures. Any exercise to iron out these differences will be insensitive to the accumulated diversity and states nurture as their identity.

Perhaps that's why multiple committees have often delayed the implementation of the UCC, calling the Indian society premature for the grand uniformity. This is where the Indian union closely resembles the European Union, an assembling of states which agree on polity and economics. However, when it comes to civil and personal laws, it is uncomfortable to have the State interfere in them. This leaves us with a final question, what about the injustices prevalent in religious laws? We will have to cherry-pick and criminalise them, as with their antecedents, until religion becomes a personal affair and the State can enforce common basic civil laws.