SAD submits its UCC response: ‘Against minorities… must respect sentiments of the most patriotic community’

The Akali Dal has reiterated its stand at a time that the BJP is seen as looking to rebuild ties with the party, which was one of its oldest allies before they parted ways over the controversial farm laws.

The Akali Dal also spoke of the policy’s impact on “social tribes”, saying they have their own “diverse customs, culture & different personal laws”. “It will thus unnecessarily cause disturbance & unrest in the country, especially in certain, the North Eastern states which enjoy special exemptions from certain laws under Article 371 of the Constitution,” it said.

On the Sikh community, it said that “the sentiments of the most patriotic community should be kept in mind” while taking any decision on issues such as a UCC. “It will be worth mentioning that Punjabis in general, and the Sikhs in particular, have made supreme sacrifices for securing and safeguarding the freedom of the country. This tradition of sacrifices continues even today.”

It added that this was “all the more important as peace and communal harmony in the sensitive border state of Punjab must always remain a national priority”.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal is of the opinion that any attempt to enforce a Uniform Civil Code without extensive consultation and approval of the minorities and without a dispassionate evaluation of the vast data requiring deep research and without building a genuine countrywide inter-faith consensus, shall not only be against the letter and spirit of the constitutional provisions but will also have the potential of generating and aggravating fear, distrust and divisive opinions,” it said.

It said, “As far as the Sikh community is concerned, the question of their religious Identity, which includes their customs and culture, is more important to them than life itself. The younger Sahibzadas of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji preferred martyrdom to life in order to demonstrate that for the Sikhs, the Khalsa identity supersedes even life.”

Stating that “a federal structure in the country is a prerequisite for protecting the fundamental rights of religious, linguistic, ethnic and regional minorities in the country”, the party said: “In its historic Anandpur Sahib Resolution passed in 1978 in Ludhiana, the Shiromani Akali Dal resolved to uphold and safeguard the vision of India as a federal entity of various languages, religions & cultures.”

The party said: “The 21st Law Commission, having done an exhaustive and commendable study, (had) stated that a Uniform Civil Code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage; and reforms in family laws of different communities would provide better guarantee of securing rights of women and children than bringing in Uniform Civil Laws.”

It added, “Nothing significant has taken place after 2018 to compel the GOI to seek views of stakeholders afresh. The previous commission had completed the exercise & submitted a detailed consultation paper on the issue in 2018. Now without considering this report, a fresh exercise has been started which appears unjustified.”

Akali Dal noted, “In this report, the 21st Law Commission has categorically stated that UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. It further emphasised that cultural diversity must not be compromised. Nothing should be done that can even remotely pose a threat to the idea of ‘unity in diversity’ and eventually pose threat to the country’s territorial integrity.”

Demanding a concrete draft, the party said, “No draft has been prepared…Without the relevant draft, it is impossible to make any tangible suggestions on the issue.”

Apart from the SAD, the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab have all either opposed or declined unconditional support to the UCC. This is despite the AAP at the Centre professing support to a UCC.