How to implement Uniform Civil Code?
What happened after the innocuous CAA and Farm laws was incredible. In such a scenario, can the BJP government implement the Uniform Civil Code without protest? Lets discuss how.
People get a heavy heart just at the mention of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Today, the state applies “personal laws” related to each religion on the subject of marriage, divorce, adoption and succession.
UCC refers to a regime where the same law related to marriage, divorce, adoption and succession is applied irrespective of the religion of the citizen. We can think of it as default options for certain subjects. What it really does is makes the government blind to the religion of the citizen - everyone is equal before the law. This eases inter-religious marriages, and succession issues and reduces conflict. Further, it simplifies the law which makes it easier for everyone to know and abide by.
But there are issues too.
For Muslims, the law does not allow polygamy. It allows for divorce the same law for all religions. Islam allows for multiple forms of divorce Talaq (unilateral divorce by husband) being one just category with 3 /4 subtypes. All these will be subsumed into just one form of divorce based on modern law. It will also allow for legalised adoption that is not allowed as per Islam. It will increase the inheritance received by Muslim women. Most Muslims favour these laws.
It will alter Hindu Law (which governs Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs etc.), Christian law and Parsi Law in minor ways. The personal laws in these religions have been amended a few decades ago. Yet, inter-religious marriages, adoption, and succession will be immensely simplified.
Clearly, we should expect resistance from radical elements within the Muslim community. These radical elements control the madrassas and masjids, and will weaponise the Muslim population against these laws.
The government will be wary after what happened post-CAA. The CAA did not affect Indian Muslims, nor did it deny Muslim refugees asylum or citizenship of India. It merely fast-tracked citizenship of refugees of other religions fleeing persecution on religious grounds by Muslims. Despite this, the divide India forces tried to create disruptions and riots using CAA. The UCC, on the other hand, definitely affects the Indian Muslims and affects the laws they are governed by.
Radical preachers have begun the propaganda that UCC will dictate who they can marry, dictate the rites and rituals of Muslims, they will have to marry in a temple, say Jai Shri Ram and all sorts of bogus misinformation. The reality is every person is free to pursue his or her rites, rituals etc. UCC only standardizes the Application forms, marriage registries, and all such mechanisms through which the State sees the individual.
We can build acceptance
Pilot Study: Thankfully we have a pilot case already in India. Goa, has adopted UCC since a long time ago. Goan Muslims do not practise polygamy and have uniform laws when it comes to succession. We can undertake a detailed study and create videos and reports on the experience of different religious communities in Goa and share it across the country.
Global experience: We should have documentaries, videos and experiences from people from other countries. The Singapore government does an excellent job of media messaging before the laws come into place.
Law is not a trap: In India, every law seems to be like a trap set by the government for the citizens. The enforcement police then wait for innocent citizens to fall into the trap and then extort the citizens using the law. Even genuinely good laws are scuttled by the bureaucracy. This needs to stop. If explained properly, repeatedly (Cicero says at least 3 times), it will be easy to create acceptance.
New Implementation: The government can also use the example of Uttarakhand which is trying to implement UCC at present. This will perfect opportunity to create, test the acceptance messaging and create a community-level buy-in across the state. The same methods can be replicated in other states too.
In Sum
The divide India forces are using the Ukraine Model to disrupt India into riots and revolutions as they did in Ukraine. The hasty implementation of UCC will give these divide-India forces ammunition.
But, if we do the homework, create awareness. Create videos and posters and a mass-information campaign, appeal to logic and explain the benefits, you will find people more welcoming of these changes.
UCC was always necessary and we can make it easily possible.
Note:
Here is a video by Amber Zaidi that gives a Muslim perspective on UCC. If you are interested in progressive Muslim commentary on various issues, you may want to follow her work.