INTRODUCTION

The Indian mandate to substitute personal laws based on the religious texts and traditions of each major religious community in the country with a widely accepted set of rules governing every citizen is an ongoing point of debate. The goal of the Uniform Civil Code in India is to substitute the individual laws with a single set that governs every citizen.

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) advocates for the creation of a single law for India that would apply to all religious communities in areas such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption. Article 44 of Part IV of the Constitution which states the Directive Principle of State Policy, states that “the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for citizens throughout the territory of India.”

While DPSPs are not legally binding, several of the provisions listed in them have been made into laws in the years since the Constitution was adopted.

HOW IT ALL STARTED: BEGINNING OF UCC

During the Shah Bano case in 1985, the uniform civil code became a flashpoint in Indian politics. The Supreme Court ruled that Bano, a Muslim woman, was entitled to alimony from her ex-husband. The court had said a uniform in the context of that judgement. During the British Raj, personal laws were first drafted, primarily for Hindu and Muslim citizens. The British, fearing opposition from community leaders, refrained from interfering further within this domestic.

Women activists first advocated for a uniform civil code in the early twentieth century, with the goal of advancing women’s rights, equality, and secularism. “Until the country’s independence in 1947, a few laws were enacted to improve the status of women, particularly Hindu widows. Despite strong opposition, the Indian Parliament passed the Hindu Code Bill in 1956. Despite Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his supporters, and women activists demanding a uniform civil code, they were forced to accept the compromise of including it in the Directive Principles due to strong opposition.”

NEED FOR UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

Some of the reasons why uniform civil code is needed in our country are:

1. To mitigate the gender based discrimination born of of different religious laws-  In India, society and ancient religious norms have perpetuated severely patriarchal and misogynistic traditions that continue to dominate family life. All Indian women are subjected to subjugation and cruel treatment as a result of this. Men, for example, are typically conferred supreme special status in succession and inheritance matters. Furthermore, the UCC will assist in eliminating these disparities and improve women’s conditions in India.

2. “To help in combatting the loophole created by personal laws in our legal system- Personal laws in India pose a serious problem due to their bias toward upper-class paternalistic conceptions of society in all religions. As can be seen, panchayats proceed to issue judgements that contravene our constitution with no consequences. Honour killings and female foeticide are prevalent violations of human rights in our country. We’ve formed a concurrent court system rooted in thousands of old values by legalising personal laws. The universal civil code would tip the scales in favour of society by closing all loopholes.

3. To help in unifying Inida- A unified civil code will help India’s integration more than at any other time since independence. Much of the resentment stems from religious sects receiving preferential legal treatment, which could be eliminated with a unified civil code. It will help to bring all Indians together, irrespective of caste, faith, or tribal groups, under a single national civil code of conduct similar to those found in criminal and other civil laws.

4. To ensure equal status to all citizens- While Muslims are frequently permitted to marry in India, a Hindu or a Christian will face prosecution if they do the same. Similarly, many religious-related regulations have significant disparities. Equal laws are required in the areas of marriage, inheritance, family, and land. In this case, UCC comes to the rescue by bringing it all under a single roof and helping not only in assuring equity but also in simplifying the legislative and judicial processes.

5. Promotion of secularism- As we all know, secularism is a critical aspect of our nation, as reflected in our constitution’s preamble. At the moment, we practise selective secularism, which means that we are secular in some areas but not in others. A Uniform Civil Code requires all citizens of India to adhere to the same set of laws, regardless of whether they follow Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or Sikhism.” A Uniform Civil Code does not mean that people’s freedom of religion will be restricted; it simply means that everyone will be treated equally. That is authentic secularism. Additionally, as previously stated, in modern classification laws and religion are two distinct concepts, and thus entwining them will result in social disruption and inequality.

BENEFIT OF UNIFORM CIVIL COE

1. It will help in accelerating national integration 
2. It will help in avoiding overlapping provisions of law 
3. There will be a decrease in litigation as a result of personal laws
4. Sense of unity and national spirit will be given a push 
5. India will emerge with new power and authority to face any odds, eventually defeating communal and divisionism forces.

INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK ON UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

“Israel, Japan, France, and Russia are powerful today because of a sense of unity that we are yet to develop and spread. Almost every country has a uniform civil code or, for that matter, uniform law—civil or criminal. The European Union and the United States have secular laws that apply equally and uniformly to all citizens, regardless of religion. Islamic countries have a uniform law based on Shariah that applies to all individuals, regardless of religion.”

DISADVANTAGES OF UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

1. “India is a secular country. It is a home to many different religions. Implementation of the uniform civil code will be a difficult task due to the diversity of religion in India.” Cultural difference varying all over our nation will be another reason which will hold back the implementation of UCC.
2. Personal laws are for personal matters and if the state interferes with the same, it will be taken as an interference of state in personal matters. Right to freedom of religion is a personal choice and the same religion is governed by personal laws.
3. People of different communities and cultures and religion in our largest populated country will not be ready to share a single law and instead will be fixated on age old tradition of personal laws.

CONCLUSION

“Finally, I’d like to state that citizens of various religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws, which is not only an affront to the nation’s unity, but also raises the question of whether we are a sovereign, secular, republic or a loose confederation of federal states where people live at the whims and fancies of mullahs, bishops, and pandits.”

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