BJP dragged UCC with political motives, says social activist Theja
Experts say --UCC is not Hindu-non Hindu dispute, the key issue is legal
New Delhi
Social activist Theja Therieh on Saturday flayed the BJP central leadership for dragging high-voltage Uniform Civil Code into Indian polity at such a sensitive time and urged authorities to allow people "have their personal liberty and space" for overall national growth and prosperity.
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"The law recognizes that personal beliefs and choices can differ among individuals and communities .... so why can't the Government of the day allow people to have their choices of personal liberty and space for wholesome growth of the nation," Theja told this journalist here.
Therieh, who is camping in Delhi for important socio-political matters, said, "The idea of leaving personal choices and practices to individuals is deeply rooted in the principles of individual autonomy, freedom of conscience, and cultural diversity."
Answering questions, he said, there is a clear political motivation for the BJP to revive the Uniform Civil Code debate at this juncture.
"Political opponents may feel the Prime Minister is indulging in doublespeak. The BJP leaders cannot deny the allegation outright. Only a few days back, Mr Modi was in the US and also Egypt, a large Muslim-stronghold nation, where the cards were 'inclusive development' and to push Modi's image of a 'catalyst of modernity and transformation'," Theja pointed out.
He hastened to add, "But back home, it is election season and the BJP needs votes; and thus to address to the core voters, the UCC issue has been flagged off".
Of course, for BJP the UCC is linked to electoral politics because along with it two other agenda items Ram temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Art 370 in J&K gave the party the votes and made it a force to reckon with.
The BJP is now awaiting to make a hat-trick of electoral victories under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it has to live up to its reputation. Its politics is also guided by popular sloganeering such as 'Modi hae toh Mumkin hae' -- meaning it is 'possible' to win with Modi as their leader.
Such slogans are assets and also liabilities. In 2014, the Hindutva champion, that is Mr Modi, had played a dream merchant and promised 'Acchey din' (Good Days); some of it 'for core Hindu voters' were achieved like the Temple and abrogation of Art 370. But jobs remain a complaint area and so are other challenges like agrarian crisis.
Therefore, Team Modi needs UCC to keep the cadres energised and also keep the RSS bosses happy that their agendas are being catered to.
Now, the Modi Govt is likely to table a Bill on UCC during the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. It is understood that the proposed UCC will impact the Christian personal law such as inheritance, adoption, and succession. Of course, in the northeast the customary laws would also have to be defined properly and make it gender-justice.
The Succession Act of 1925 gives Christian mothers no right in the property of their deceased kids.
All such property as per present law is inherited by the father. This provision would also be abolished if UCC comes in. The Section 10A(1) of the Christian Divorce Law makes the separation period of two years mandatory for any couple to get a mutual divorce, but if UCC comes in, this would be universal.
Though in many quarters, the UCC is being seen as a Hindu-non Hindu, some say, essentially it is not. Experts say the implementation of the UCC is likely to 'subsume personal laws' across all communities.
Here we have a few classic instances -- and sadly these issues are not being debated in the din of scoring political points. Under the Christian law, a woman has to prove 'cruelty' as well as 'adultery' to obtain a divorce from her husband.
Under Muslim law, adultery is not recognised as a ground for divorce by a woman unless it can be proved that the husband committed adultery with "women of evil repute or leads an infamous life".
Yet again, the Hindu law allows the husband to seek divorce for adultery. But the wife has to prove cruelty or desertion along with adultery to get a divorce.
ends
My understanding is that most of the personal laws for minority communities (and even majority!!) are biased in favour of men and women are deprived. In modern times there should be no gender based discrimination.
ReplyDeleteI feel that UCC is need of the hour. As far as timings are concerned , some State or the other will always be on the boil. 🙏: a retired military office