The Supreme Court’s observation that the Government lacks secular commitment by bringing reformations only in Hindu personal laws (Times of India, February 9, 2011) is being debated among legal experts. Being a student of law I find that reformation in Hindu Code was diluted when even the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad sought to intervene.
During his early days in the office, the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, asked then Law Minister, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, to prepare a comprehensive Bill covering all aspects of the personal laws of Hindus as legally and socially carried on by them. After studying various scriptures of Hindus, the rites and rituals of different castes and sub-castes, their conventions and traditions, and holding long discussions with renowned scholars and jurists, Dr. Ambedkar introduced the Hindu Code Bill in Parliament on February 4, 1951. But, to his utter chagrin, the Bill drew a plethora of protests not only from many Members of Parliament and religious dignitaries but from then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad and then Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel as well.
As for a Common Hindu Code, Shri E.S. Venkataramaiah, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has gone on record that there are hundreds of personal laws among the Hindus and it would not be possible to evolve a law agreeable to all the Hindus. It may surprise many to know the fact that even all the Hindus don’t have their common Hindu Code. While in some Hindu families marriages between cousins is considered incestuous, in others it is not. In the South a Hindu man has a prior claim to marry his niece while in the North this is prohibited. Hindu khasis believe in ‘Matriarchal’ system while Keralite Hindus are contended with their matrilineal system. Vast populations of Hindu tribals are kept out of purview of Hindu law. Hence those advocating a common civil code should work seriously to bring a common Hindu code for Hindus being India’s single majority community. Only then would it be advisable to talk about a Common Civil Code for all other communities.
To bring some sort of uniformity it would be a good idea to start with a uniform tax code. Why should there be income tax exemption only for Hindus under Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)? Also, let the reservation be extended to all Dalits without religious restrictions. Why should there be an appeasement to a ‘larger vote bank’?