Support a gender-just, religion-neutral UCC

Javed Anand and Feroze Mithiborwala

Given the clamour of voices for and against bringing in a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), that UCC acronym can very well stand for Undoubtedly Contentious and Controversial. Differing from several Muslim bodies that have slammed the UCC, the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) is rooting for the Code.

In a recent statement the IMSD said, "We support a religion-neutral, gender-just UCC. In secular India, the Ulema continue to cling to medieval, patriarchal notions of gender relations in the name of Islam. Contrary to their false claims Muslim Personal Law is not God-given but man-made." The IMSD also pointed out in an excerpt from its public statement on UCC that, "millions of Muslims live in western democracies where there are no separate family laws for the community."

A question-answer with IMSD convenors Javed Anand and Feroze Mithiborwala.

Your statement, espousing support for UCC also cautions: do not fall into the trap by the BJP. What does that mean? Isn't the BJP for a UCC?
On the face of it, IMSD and the BJP are talking of the same thing: UCC. The fact remains that IMSD's position is based on principles, while the BJP's stance is rooted in Hindutva's politics. The Ulema have never taken a step in reforming the blatantly unjust and anti-women Muslim Personal Law since Independence. Given this, progressive Muslims turn to the courts and government of the day for a religion-neutral, gender-just law.

The BJP and Sangh Parivar, rake up the UCC issue on the eve of elections with an obvious political motive. To date they have no draft to offer to inform the public on what to expect from their UCC. Each time the myopic ulema vehemently oppose the idea and the BJP's purpose is served. It helps their propaganda machinery float the idea that Muslims don't believe in the law of the land and that all secular parties are guilty of "Muslim appeasement". That is why we are appealing to secular parties not to fall into this familiar BJP trap.

The UCC is staunchly opposed by many Muslim bodies. Who should be part of the UCC discussions?
Yes. Many Muslim bodies have staunchly opposed the UCC proposal. A bonafide endeavour towards UCC must mean encouragement of nationwide discussion and deliberation aimed at evolving a national consensus and not imposing the codes of any one religion, culture, tradition on all others. All stakeholders must be equally engaged in this exercise. One thing is clear: IMSD is not talking of a referendum or opinion poll. That is not how changes were brought about in Hindu or Christian personal laws. That is not how the Supreme Court outlawed triple talaq either. Constitutional principles must prevail.

The UCC will be the most contentious. Do you think it will be pushed before the general election in 2024?
It depends on the political calculations of the BJP and its Sangh Parivar. For the 22nd Law Commission to produce a coherent draft, assuming it does propose a UCC here and now, will take time. What the BJP seems to have already achieved may well be sufficient for its purposes in the run-up to the coming state and national polls. Muslim bodies have promptly spoken out against the UCC and opposition parties too have questioned the BJP's motive. This is enough for it to go to town to claim Muslim "refusal to change" and the opposition parties' alleged practice of "Muslim appeasement".

There is suspicion about the BJP. Yet, the party does pick up the burning coal, unafraid not to appease a large part of the Muslim vote bloc...
Since the late 1990s the BJP has established that it does not need Muslim votes to ride to power. The personal laws of all religious communities that we inherited at independence were grossly discriminatory against women. In the decades since, there have been a number of enactments ushering in some reforms in the family laws concerning Hindus and Christians. But Muslim religious bodies have staunchly resisted any change.

Given this failure of the ulema and secular parties, the communal BJP has opportunistically hijacked what belongs to a secular agenda. The party and the Prime Minister who shed crocodile tears for Muslim behen-beti remain silent even in the face of open calls for the economic boycott of Muslims. Not surprisingly, the BJP's motives remain suspect in the eyes of most Muslims as also all secular individuals and organisations.