Frame Uniform Economic Code, then UCC

The COVID-induced economic slowdown diminished the capacity of Muslims to finance their children’s education. Devotees attend Eid al-Fitr prayers at Bandra on April 22. Representation Pic/Atul Kamble

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his advocacy of a uniform civil code (UCC), argued, "If there is one law for one member in a house and another for the other, will the house be able to run? So how will the country be able to run with such a dual system?" His remark suggests India has been unable to function efficiently because of its diverse personal laws. Always quick to take a cue from Modi, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said a uniform civil code will "bind Bharat, its nationalism more effectively."

Their remarks are illogical. Manipur burns today not because the Kukis pay bride price to the girl's family. Kashmir's separatist movement was sparked not because Muslims have a different system of divorce than that of others. The Anand Marriage Act, under which traditional Sikh marriages are registered, did not fan the Punjab militancy decades ago. Dalits are killed for riding a bike even though they subscribe to the Hindu law. Tribal customs cannot account for Maoists enjoying support among Adivasis.

Scholars studying India's social conflicts would get enmeshed in absurdity if they were to try teasing out a link between a community's discontent and its personal laws. Indeed, economic inequality often goads communities into erupting. Yet, the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks a UCC would do for the nation's unity what demonetisation was to do for corruption-free India.

It is common wisdom that Modi's talk of UCC is designed to provoke Muslims, and harness the emotions thus generated for turning the 2024 Lok Sabha election into a Hindu-Muslim one. This attempt comes even as Muslims lag behind other communities on socio-economic indices, as shown by Christophe Jaffrelot and Kalaiyarasan A, in Indian Muslims: Varieties of Discriminations and What Affirmative Action Can Do, a chapter in Handbook on Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action.

In 2011-12, the average annual per capita income of Muslims was R20,062, as against R26,037 for all Hindus. There was a yawning gap among Hindus, too, with Brahmins earning R40,569, the Scheduled Castes R20,472 and the Other Backward Classes R23,841. In no state were Muslims, in 2011-12, better off than Hindu OBCs except Rajasthan. Of the 15 states the two authors analysed, Muslims earned less than Dalits in nine states. About 42 per cent of Muslims were daily labourers, next only to Dalits (54.8 per cent).

Jaffrelot and Kalaiyarasan write, "The educational gap measured in terms of percentage of graduates between Hindus and Muslims in 2004-2005 was 1.7 percentage points; it became 2.3 percentage points in 2011-12." The 2020-21 ASHE survey shows the Muslim community's enrolment in higher education dropped by 8 per cent, compared to 2019-20, in contrast to SCs' increasing by 4.2 per cent, STs' by 11.9 per cent and OBCs' by 4 per cent. The COVID-induced economic slowdown diminished the capacity of Muslims to finance their children's education.

Let me not flood you with more statistics, but you get the picture, don't you? Among all the Directive Principles of the Constitution, the BJP has been obsessed with Article 44 and Article 48 - the former asks the State to endeavour for a UCC and the latter to prohibit cattle slaughter. These provisions enable the BJP to place Muslims in its crosshairs.

Seldom does the BJP show concern for other Directive Principles. Article 39 (c) says the economic system should not lead to concentration of wealth to the common detriment. However, the last World Inequality Report shows that the top 10 per cent of India's economic pyramid corner 57 per cent of the national income, with the top 1 per cent pocketing 22 per cent.

Article 38 (2) directs the State to try to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities among groups of people residing in different areas. The earlier BJP government in Karnataka abolished reservation for Muslims there. They fare far better in Kerala than in any other state, largely because the entire community qualifies for the OBC reservation there.

The Modi government discontinued the Maulana Azad National Fellowship to financially help students from minority communities. This scheme benefited just 6,772 students, mostly Muslims, but in the BJP's eyes, the "appeasement" of even 6,772 Muslims was unacceptable.

The Manmohan Singh government gave statutory status to the right to work and education, as provided in Article 41, which also directs the State to provide public assistance to the unemployed. But such assistance is free "revdi" for Modi. Will he implement Article 43A that directs the State to secure labour participation in the management of companies? Don't be funny!

Intellectuals, beset with angst over the likely nature of UCC, should know that the BJP's version will likely be anchored in the Hindu Law, from which the tribals will be protected. This flawed code may get rejected by the Supreme Court, but by then the BJP's goal of creating a polarising narrative for the 2024 elections would have been achieved. These intellectuals should expend their energy, and ink, to demand a Uniform Economic Code, for only a more equal society can glue India together better than a UCC, which is one more addition to the BJP's bogus policies ostensibly devised to serve noble goals, such as gender justice.

The writer is a senior journalist.
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