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The BJP-led government is unlikely to push through a Uniform Civil Code — one law applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, etc — in the current term. The UCC is the last of the BJP’s ideological agenda after the scrapping of Article 370 and the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The party would, however, keep the issue alive and fresh in the political discourse, sources in the government and the party said.
Following PM Narendra Modi’s first public push for the UCC at a rally in Bhopal on June 28, expectations had built up that a legislation may soon be enacted. Top functionaries in the party as well as the government said a law would require far deeper research and wider consultation, and thus it was unlikely to come into force before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
To keep the issue alive, a number of BJP leaders have made statements on the need for the UCC. On Friday, a private member bill ‘Suitable legislation to implement Uniform Civil Code throughout the country’ moved by BJP Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand Sunil Kumar Singh was listed. The Lok Sabha did not function to take up bills.
As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the Sangh Parivar has been of the view that states may implement the UCC on their own, and the Centre may wait before it embarks on an exercise for an overarching law. “It can be taken up in the next term, but the preference is to get it implemented in the states,” the source said.
A number of state BJP governments —Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat — have already begun efforts to bring in a UCC; Uttar Pradesh and Assam are yet to make any significant moves.
“The party is keen to see that a bill on UCC is introduced in Uttarakhand as the state government-appointed expert committee is at the final stages of its report and is expected to submit it any time soon. We will see how it is rolled out and its impact,” said a source. Once Uttarakhand starts implementing it, other BJP ruled states could follow, the source said.
Sources said there are multiple issues that need to be looked into including the diverse marital practices in the tribal communities across the country, laws of inheritance in various communities, and certain regional practices.
“This is not Article 370 or triple talaq, where bills could be hurried… UCC is a complex issue concerning various sections of the society across castes and communities. It will require far wider consultation and much deeper research. Given the size of the country and its diversity, it will not be easy to complete that process so soon,” a government source said.
A BJP functionary said, unlike the Indian Penal Code, the UCC can’t be codified. “Also, among tribes, cultural practices vary from region to region. An Uttarakhand or Himachal tribal has a very different set of practices compared to a Chhattisgarh tribal. Then in the North East it is totally different. It is good that a debate has begun in the country. It will throw up new ideas to have a common civil law. There can be general agreement on women’s rights though,” the functionary said.
The Law Commission of India has already begun consultation on UCC. It had issued a public notice on June 14 to solicit views and ideas of the public on the UCC, and its extended deadline to submit suggestions ended July 28. It also plans to have consultations across cities.
There has been a note of caution from the Sangh Parivar as well. Earlier this month, RSS-affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, which works among the tribals, welcomed suggestions that tribals be kept out of the purview of the law. It also urged tribal communities to express their reservations and apprehensions, if any, to the Law Commission, and not be influenced by social media discourse.
The outfit was reacting to a suggestion by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi that tribals, including those of the North East, be kept out of UCC in view of Article 371 and scheduled areas. He had made the suggestion during a recent meeting of the parliamentary panel on law.
TOP FUNCTIONARIES in the government, the party and the Sangh Parivar are coming around to the view that the UCC throws up complex and sensitive issues for several indigenous communities in different geographies in the country. These need to be understood well, and also call for tactful and careful handling. A deadline with elections in sight may not be wise.
“We welcome the role of Sushil Kumar Modi, the head of the parliamentary committee, in keeping the scheduled tribes out of this law,” Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram’s Vice President Satyendra Singh had said in a statement. “Kalyan Ashram also requests the Law Commission to visit various tribal areas of the country and try to deeply understand their traditional system and their views on the subjects like marriage, divorce, adoption, and succession after holding discussions with prominent people and organisations of the tribal society,” Singh had said.
On the draft UCC Bill that the expert committee in Uttarakhand is almost ready with, sources said its underlying theme would be gender equality, and it will have provisions of equal rights for daughters and sons in property inheritance, equal duty of both to parents and equal grounds for adoption and divorce in all communities, cutting across religions. It will also have provisions that will make a declaration mandatory to start and terminate live-in relationships.
The source also clarified that “a UCC does not mean that the existing practices or customs of communities or tribal groups get affected.” “All communities will be able to continue with their customs and practices. The focus will be on gender equality and on the registration process,” the source said.
