Three Indian Laws - Part III: Uniform Civil Code

Universal Civil Code - Constitution of India

The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally regardless of their religion. Currently, personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.They cover areas like- Marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption and succession of the property.

Indian Constitution by Dr. Ambedkar

During the drafting of the constitution of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr B.R Ambedkar pushed for a uniform civil code. However, they were successful in implementing it due to opposition from religious leaders and a lack of awareness among the masses. They were able to pass the Hindu Bill of Code in the 1950s that aimed to codify and reform Hindu personal law in India, abolishing religious law in favor of a common law code.  These laws apply to all "Hindus", defined expansively to include Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, The Muslims were excluded from this law and continued to follow Muslim Personal Law based on centuries old Sharia laws.

Challenges with Religion-based Personal Laws

Personal Laws represent parallel alternate judicial system that operates on thousands of years old values. Many provisions of the religion-specific personal laws are in violation of human rights specially the right of women.

Nikah - Muslim Wedding Ceremony

All the Muslims in India are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims.  It is said that the Muslim Personal Law discriminates against women in three distinct ways:

• Muslim man is allowed to marry up to four wives at a time but a Muslim woman can only marry one husband.
  
• Muslim man can divorce his wife without entering into any legal processes by verbally stating the word 'Divorce' three times in succession (Talaq-Talaq-Talaq)
  
• Muslim man does not need to provide financial support to his ex-wife after three months of the divorce.
• Inheritance is not equally divided between male and female off-springs
  

 The extension of Hindu Bill of Code to religious minorities such as Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists in the language of the bill is objected to by these communities.

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  Vivah - Hindu Wedding Ceremony
  

The Sikh Objection to Hindu Code of Indian Constitution

 The Sikhs have objected to their inclusion in the term "Hindu" in the Hindu Code of Bills. Its common in legal document to refer to a majority stakeholder as the primary and assume that the notion applies to the secondaries. So in legal terms, the term 'Hindu' also applies collectively to the Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists.

The text of Hindu Marriage Act states:

This Act applies—
(a) to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj,
(b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion ....

Explanation.—The following persons are Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by religion, as the case may be:—
(a) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, both of whose parents are Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by religion;
(b) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, one of whose parents is a Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion and who is brought up as a member of the tribe, community, group or family to which such parent belongs or belonged; and
(c) any person who is a convert or re-convert to the Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh religion ...

The problem is of 'appearance' and this language can be misinterpreted as subjugating the minority communities of Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists as 'Hindu'. Sikh politicians have exploited this loophole to state that the language in Indian Constitution assumes Sikhs are not a separate religion but a part of broader Hindu group. 

This confusion is further complicated in the past by the right wing Hindu organization maintain that Sikhism as an evolution of Hindutva and not a separate religion. This language has softened over time and now they now accept Sikhism as separate religion than Hinduism but a key member of the broader 'Sanatan" family of religions.

Anand Karaj - Sikh Wedding Ceremony

This led to the call for Anand Marriage Act that legitimizes the Sikh marriage ceremony. In my younger years, I was confused on this topic just like other Sikhs who felt that the Sikh ceremony of Anand Kaaraj is not legitimate as per Indian Constitution. Does that mean that I am an illegitimate offspring of my parents as their marriage is not recognized by the Indian Constitution?

There are only two solutions - either Indian constitute adds specific amendments to legitimize marriage ceremonies of each Indian religions. OR it creates a universal law that treats all Indians as equal and breaks away from the religion-based personal laws.

Uniform Civil Code

The Universal Civil Code passed in the Indian parliament states that all the laws related to marriage, inheritance, family, land etc. should be equal for all Indians. India is a country with many religions, customs and practices.

As a Sikh, I feel that this uniform law will help clear the confusion and help in integrating India by bringing every Indian, despite his caste, religion or tribe, under one national civil code of conduct.

The codification and unification of the distributed personal laws will produce a more coherent legal system. This will reduce the existing confusion and enable easier and more efficient administration of laws by the judiciary.

A uniform civil code doesn’t mean that it will limit the freedom of people to follow their religion, it just means that every person will be treated the same and all citizens of India have to follow the same laws regardless of any religion.

The People of India