Gender perspective of the UCC matrix amid politics

THERE can be little debate over religious personal laws being discriminatory towards women. Therefore, many men and women may support the idea of a Uniform Civil Code in principle because in a civilised society, women must have equal right in marriage, inheritance, divorce, maintenance and custody of children. Yet, given the politics of the day, there is deep scepticism about the BJP pushing for the UCC, nine months before the General Election.

For the ideologically-driven BJP and Sangh Parivar, the UCC is an article of faith along with the abolition of Article 370 (done in 2019) and the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya (almost completed). These are the three issues that were kept out of the common minimum programme that the BJP would hammer out with allies during the era of coalition governments led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

These are, conversely, the very issues that have played out during the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So, now that he has spoken of the UCC, it will presumably be the big issue going into the 2024 General Election.

In terms of political narratives, the idea of uniting the country under a common law gels with the mega projection of Modi as he seeks a third term as PM. It is a good issue for the BJP to pick up and would motivate cadres and were he to implement it, make Modi the biggest Hindutva icon.

Yet, the UCC is a complex issue and would impact many communities, including tribal groups, such as Mizos and Nagas in the North-East and Adivasis in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh who are governed by customary laws. In some pockets of the country, thus, the UCC can be counterproductive.

There are reservations beyond those in the Muslim community, partly because no one really knows what a uniform law would be as it has not been debated as various articles of the Constitution were in the Constituent Assembly. The UCC is mentioned in the Directive Principles of the Constitution.

Also significant is the fact that the 21st Law Commission had concluded that reforms should take place in the family laws of various communities and the UCC was, therefore, not ‘necessary nor desirable’. But last month, the 22nd Law Commission began actively seeking the views of religious groups and the public on the UCC, and, presumably, it would speed up the process now that the PM has publicly declared support for a uniform code.

Yet, it’s a complex matrix. There are, for instance, questions within the Sikh community as well: Sikh marriages should be registered under a separate marriage Act, but many states have not notified it, so they are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act. In February, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a PIL seeking directions to states to frame rules for the registration of Sikh marriages under the Anand Marriage Act of 1909.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has always flagged the issue and though the BJP has been making attempts to patch up with its former ally, the Akalis have strongly opposed the UCC. Punjab’s ruling party, the AAP has, intriguingly, supported the UCC ‘in principle’.

On July 2, a Sikh Personal Law Board was set up on the lines of the Muslim Personal Law Board in order to oppose the UCC. So, the counter-mobilisation has begun.

However, the fact that the UCC baits the Muslim clergy and sections of the community makes it useful to create an ‘Us-vs-Them’ narrative before a General Election. This also comes at a time when there has been commentary about Hindutva issues not working electorally. Presumably, the BJP/RSS would like a replay of the events of the 1980s. The BJP had no traction till the Shah Bano judgment of 1985, when the then Chief Justice, YV Chandrachud, father of the current Chief Justice, granted Shah Bano, a Muslim divorcee, maintenance in perpetuity from her husband.

This had the Muslim clergy in a rage and it prevailed on the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to overturn the judgment through a regressive law, named the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, in 1986. Suddenly, the BJP had an issue: the ‘pandering’ to Muslim males (never mind the injustice to women) by the Congress. Now, 37 years later, the issue has come full circle with Modi actually being in a position to bringing about the UCC.

What’s changed since then, however, is that the very same liberal modernists, who, in principle, would seek a secular law enhancing women’s rights are now deeply suspicious of the BJP’s motives. Therefore, progressive women’s groups are increasingly supporting reforms within communities and stressing on maintaining diversity of customs and laws in a large country. Those who once supported the UCC from the gender perspective are now wary of it being just a stick for a majoritarian regime to beat Muslims with.

Politically, however, what would be significant is whether the Muslim clergy would take the bait that is being dangled before it. Would it respond in the same manner as it did after the Shah Bano judgment or would it be restrained, knowing that the community today faces greater threats to life and livelihood?

Indeed, beyond shouting and, in the process, perpetuating the image of the regressive Muslim male, there is little else the clergy can do since the Modi regime is unlikely to listen to it. All opponents must remember that the UCC has multiple nuances, but the BJP has in the past been able to create black-vs-white narratives out of issues that had many shades of grey.