On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for uniform civil code, Abdul Bari Masoud observes that it might backfire as the ruling BJP’s North East allies, the AIADMK, past ally Akali Dal, and others all declared their opposition to the proposed UCC and the Sikh organisations threatened dire consequences if the government attempted to impose it. Also, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB),in its reply to the Law Commission of India submitted on July 5, reiterated its continued resistance to any move on UCC.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi raked up the uniform civil code issue at his party’s meeting, he couldn’t have foreseen the fierce opposition from his current and former allies as well as tribal groups, which have thrown a spanner in his scheme of things.
Political analysts believe that Prime Minister Modi’s push for a UCC is consistent with the BJP’s divisive politics. But the move seems to have backfired as the ruling BJP’s North East allies, the AIADMK, past ally Akali Dal, and others all declared their opposition to the proposed UCC. Even the Sikh organisations threatened dire consequences if the government attempted to impose UCC.
In the North East, parties like the NDPP in Nagaland, the NPP in Meghalaya, and the MNF in Mizoram have opposed the Uniform Civil Code, claiming it will have an impact on the customs and laws observed by local tribes.
While Tamil Nadu’s main opposition, the AIADMK, maintained its opposition to the UCC.
“Our stand on UCC is explained clearly in our election manifesto for 2019. Read it carefully, and you will understand it clearly,” AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Edappadi K. Palaniswami, or EPS, responded to the media when questioned about his party’s stand on the UCC. He noted that the AIADMK’s general election manifesto for 2019 mentioned the UCC issue a couple of times.
In its chapter 14 titled “Secularism”, the manifesto stated, “AIADMK will urge the Government of India not to bring any amendments to the Constitution for a Uniform Civil Code that will adversely affect the religious rights of minorities in India.”
The manifesto’s chapter 21 titled “Minorities Welfare” stated, “The AIADMK will urge the Government of India not to make the Common Civil Code applicable to the religious minorities, to protect their religious rights, as safeguarded by our Constitution.”
The UCC is also being opposed by tribal organisations in the tribal state of Chhattisgarh. Former Union minister Arvind Netam, a prominent tribal leader from the state, has warned the Modi government against hastily enacting a UCC, arguing that it would be impossible to implement in tribal communities without adequate consultation.
Netam, an 80-year-old who heads the Chhattisgarh Sarva Adivasi Samaj, says he speaks for 42 different tribal groups and more than 70 lakh inhabitants of the state.
In a press conference at Raipur, Netam said: “All communities will be affected by UCC. India is known for its diversity. The government of India should not rush into UCC in tribal areas.”
Netam said his party would send a memorandum on the issue to President Droupadi Murmu, who is the first head of state of the country belonging to the tribal community.
“Tribals do not have a codified law. We have customary laws that are well-accepted within our community. It’s not that we do not want change… With time, customary laws change too. But we first want the Indian government to understand the tribal system and build confidence among them. Without consultation and dialogue, a UCC is impractical,”Netam, who was a minister during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government, said.
Article 13(3)(a) of the Constitution recognises the customary rules of tribal communities. According to the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution, the tribal people also have unique rights to land and property, he added.
“For example, marriage, divorce, land rights, religious customs, and several other community rules followed by the tribals will be unlawful if a UCC is implemented,”Netam said.
Another tribal leader from Chhattisgarh, Amit Jogi, who is the son of the state’s first Chief Minister Amit Jogi and heads the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-Jogi (JCC-J), said he concurred with Netam on this matter. “Babasaheb (Ambedkar) could have put UCC in fundamental rights (of the Constitution), but he decided consciously to put it in the Directive Principles of State Policy because he believed that unless and until there is unanimity among all people, there cannot be a UCC. In Chhattisgarh, what is required is dialogue and discussion with the tribals,” Amit Jogi said.
On July 4, in the national capital, a gathering of Sikh organisations took place to talk about the UCC issue. They cautioned the Modi administration that attempting to impose UCC would have catastrophic repercussions for the integrity and unity of the country and that the Sikh community would oppose it tenaciously. Two resolutions were passed during their meeting at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib to address the proposed UCC. They swiftly announced the creation of the Sikh Personal Law Board and referred to the Aam Aadmi Party, which backed the UCC demand, as the BJP’s “B-Team.”
The meeting was addressed by former presidents of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), including Paramjit Singh Sarna, Manjit Singh GK, and Harvinder Singh Sarna.
In the meeting, it was demanded that Sikh leaders, including former Chief Minister Capt. Amrinder Singh, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and others connected to the BJP and other political organisations, state their positions on the UCC.
Sarna and GK talked to the media following the meeting to express their opposition to the UCC and how they thought it was an effort to splinter the country.
Delhi SAD chief Paramjit Singh Sarna told Radiance that we passed resolutions demanding the government withdraw the UCC proposal and the recently passed Punjab Government’s revision to the Sikh Gurdwara Act.
Sarna asserted that it is useless to contact religious organisations regarding the Law Commission’s proposed UCC before a draft has been submitted. Since we cannot express an opinion if we do not understand what is right or wrong about us.
Sikhism, according to Sarna, is a distinct religion that has nothing to do with Vedic religion, and the promises made to the Sikh community upon the country’s independence have not yet been fulfilled.
Sarna criticised the AAP’s choice to endorse the UCC in response to this correspondent’s query and referred to the AAP as the “B-team of the BJP”.
“This move by the AAP is evidence of its ultra-majoritarian ideology, and raises serious concerns about the future of India’s diversity and pluralism,” he added.
Earlier in a statement, SAD national spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said, “SAD is of the firm view that implementation of UCC is not in the interests of the minorities in the country. The 21st Law Commission has already opined in its consultation report that UCC is neither desirable nor feasible. Implementation of UCC will affect the civil rights of minorities, and unrest and tension will start in the country.”
When questioned if Sikhs assert that they are an autonomous religion but are subject to the Hindu Marriage Act, Sarna responded that while the Anand Marriage Act was partially acknowledged under the UPA government, we are striving to have it fully accepted. Hinduism, which lacks uniformity in every way, should adopt UCC if the government is so eager to do so, Sarna said.
Akali Dal will hold major meetings in Delhi and other cities with a large Sikh population to raise awareness of the Sikh identity. It will also approach other religious communities, such as Muslims, Christians, and tribal communities, in an effort to forge a broad coalition against the UCC.
The SAD cut ties with the BJP in 2021 over the three agriculture laws that have since been overturned.
After a meeting of Delhi-based Sikh activists on the UCC at Gurdwara Mukherjee Park on July 1, the Sikh Collective, a group of activists, announced the creation of the Sikh Personal Law Board. Representatives of the Sikh Collective claimed that their contention was between uniqueness and unification.
“We are a unique and distinct religion but are already facing unification under the name of uniformity of civil laws,” said Jagmohan Singh, activist and columnist on Sikh affairs, who has been appointed convenor of a 3-member panel to work on the issue.
In the meantime, on July 5, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) submitted its reply to the Law Commission of India, reiterating its continued resistance to any move on UCC. It emphasised the need for “majoritarian morality” to respect minority communities’ rights to freedom of religion.
“Majoritarian morality must not supersede personal law, religious freedom, and minority rights in the name of a code that remains an enigma,” underlines the 100-page document.
“The Goa Civil Code, as detailed out, is packed with diversity; even the Constitution of India has different provisions for different classes of persons and also for different regions. Even the Code of Civil Procedure does not apply uniformly across the entire territory of India. Even the Hindu Marriage Act, specifically framed to regulate the personal laws of one community, does not apply uniformly to all the Hindus in India, as stated already above. The Special Marriage Act takes the parties to the Hindu Succession Act and dilutes customary laws regarding prohibited degrees of marriage. These examples demonstrate just the tip of the iceberg,” it further highlights.
Speaking with Radiance, Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas, AIMPLB spokesperson, said the representation was sent to the Law Commission after the AIMPLB discussed the issue at a meeting. “In the representation, we have answered how the justifications being given by some people and the political parties in favour of the UCC are useless,”Dr. Ilyas said.
The Muslim Board argued that the Constitution itself is not uniform since it secures special rights for certain groups.
“The most crucial document of our nation, the Constitution of India, is itself not uniform in nature, prudently and with the intention to keep the country united. Different treatment, accommodation, and adjustment are the nature of our Constitution. Different territories of the nation have been given different treatments. Different communities have been given different rights. Different religions have been given different accommodations,” it said.
It also highlights the fact that unlike other personal laws, the Muslim personal law is “directly derived from the Holy Qur’ān and Sunnah (Islamic laws), and this aspect is linked with their identity,”Dr. Ilyas said.
“Muslims in India will not be agreeable to losing this identity for which there is space within the Constitutional framework of our country. National integrity, safety, security, and fraternity are best preserved and maintained if we maintain the diversity of our country by permitting minorities and tribal communities to be governed by their own personal laws,” it said.
Along with the representation to the Law Commission, Muslim Board leadership also started an outreach programme with other stakeholders. Dr Ilyas said we got positive response from Sikh and tribal leaders on the issue and had a good meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.