Uniform civil code and conflicts of personal laws

Abstract

Uniform Civil Code is one of the most progressive mandates of the Indian Constitution. The term ‘Uniform Civil Code’ connotes the idea of same set of civil rules for the citizens irrespective of their religion and caste. Directive Principles of State Policy connote personal law contained in Article 44 stipulates that: “The State shall endeavor to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” However, the bill could not see light of the day due to strong oppositions from religious minorities, especially Muslims and a certain section of Hindu. After 70 years of Independence, UCC stands as a distant dream leading to various ambiguities in the interpretation of personal laws. Since, personal laws are an integral part of every religion, modification or abrogation of personal laws will have its own complications. While one section of people criticize that implementation of UCC will bring country’s pluralism to an end and paint all in ‘one colour’, the other section of people demand that change in personal law is essential as it would directly affect the status of women. The paper presents a judicious study on the much debated and controversial topic of implementation of Uniform Civil Code and its conflicts in personal laws. Further, in this paper, an important section is devoted to the approaches of personal laws of different religions toward codifying civil laws, but it requires fighting the communal and political overtones that overshadows the innate merits of UCC. An equal platform in the form of a legislation created for all classes of society will definitely be a challenging task. Creation of its structure, its objective and finally implementation needs a different outlook so that it shall not create further disparities and uphold the secular character of the State.

Keywords: Uniform Civil Code, Article 44, Indian Constitution, Personal Laws in India

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