Among the handful of issues that India’s Constituent Assembly was starkly divided on, the fractious question of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was the most prominent. On one side were modernists and reformers who believed a free India should do away with personal laws and focus on creating equal pathways for all, especially women. On the other side were pragmatists and conservatives who argued that faith was a critical part of the everyday fabric of Indians, and this connection shouldn’t be severed abruptly, or in any manner that could fuel the perception that minority faiths were under threat. Eventually, the body decided to categorise UCC as a non-justiciable right and placed it among the directive principles of state policy. For seven decades since, it has sat there despite sporadic efforts to initiate a national conversation on the issue. A new decision by the Law Commission this week marks the latest attempt in this direction. Headed by former Karnataka high court chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, the panel has sought views and suggestions on UCC. Though the its recommendations are not binding – it only works on references from the Union government — the initiation of a fresh discussion is a key political signal. Three aspects of the debate merit note.
One, this is not the first time that the law commission is taking up UCC. In a 2018 consultation paper, the panel felt UCC was “neither necessary nor desirable at this stage” and instead focussed on finding ways to preserve meaningful aspects of personal laws while weeding out inequality. It remains unclear if any efforts were made in this direction. Therefore, questions linger about the reason and rationale for the panel to take up the issue afresh. The second aspect is the ongoing legal debate on the efforts of some states, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, forming committees to study UCC in their respective jurisdictions. Uttarakhand is one such province where an expert committee is already examining the issue. These moves have been challenged before constitutional courts. Important issues such as whether state governments have the right to enact civil codes – especially because questions such as marriage and divorce fall under the state’s remit – are yet to be decided.
The third is the explicitly political and ideological aspect of the debate. At its core, UCC is a political issue and one that has been part of the ideological agenda of the BJP for decades. Against that backdrop, the new announcement, made just months before the 2024 general elections, assumes importance.
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